A Year In - Part Ten (at last)

It was with good intentions that the last blog post -- made a couple of weeks after my return from Angola in July -- was entitled "Re-entry part one", and it may seem like I lost interest in thinking about Angola or keeping folks informed of what I'm up to. I suppose, if I'm honest, for a short while I did. But my silence has stemmed more from a feeling that I did not have anything to say, as my brain played some sort of suppression trick on me and thoughts of the gap year were pushed to the back of my mind.

I am really pleased that this period has passed, although the passing does mean that recent weeks have been spent, amongst other things, trying to juggle the various demands on my brain: on the one hand, I find myself grappling with new musicological concepts, the dissection of fifteenth century counterpoint and electroacoustic innovation; meanwhile, the trickle of African memories for processing is turning into a flood. I am blessed to have a half-hour walk from my flat to the University. As a result of the irregularity of my timetabled appointments, I tend to spend at least two hours a day just walking, which can mean some quality thinking/praying time. Sometimes, admittedly, the thoughts run more along the lines of "do Manchester skies do anything other than leaking grey?" and "I wish my umbrella hadn't broken", but it's a start!

It is now some four and a half months since I left Lubango. My mind was jolted back to the day of departure last night, by a James Bond film of all things! I tend not to go to the cinema much, as for years I have felt that, for me at least, it is somewhat over-indulgent to spend all that money on a couple of hours' escapism, given what the entrance fee would do for someone suffering in the Third World (if you know anyone who worked on a Comic Relief short film from Africa in the late 90s, tell them that the guilt trip worked!) However, some friends managed to persuade me to see my first Bond flick yesterday on the basis that I would get a student discount, after all. Anyone who has seen "Casino Royale" will know (if their brain is anything like mine at retaining useless information) that much of the action towards the beginning of the film is set on 6th July '06: the last day of my six months on African soil. I realise that I should probably have been paying attention to however our man in MI6 was causing terminal damage to some villain, but instead I was pinpointing where in the globe I was at the time displayed on Bond's carefully product-placed Sony Ericsson phone.

I know the world doesn't revolve around me, yet this discourse would seem to be hinting at the opposite thus far! So perhaps I can redress the balance... Four and a half months' worth of life has gone on around the world, not least-of-note in Lubango. I am particularly pleased to report that in the past few weeks, CEML (the hospital where I was teaching English) has opened, first for consultations, and now more fully. It sounds like the docs I was working with are rushed off their feet, and life is already considerably different for them than that which I witnessed in the first half of 2006. Nevertheless, we praise God that at last the buildings are being used for their original purposes, and that the intensive care unit is now an ICU, and no longer an English classroom! Please do pray for Peggy Smith, who went out to Lubango from Canada just a few weeks ago to take my classes on. My hunch was that many of the students would have forgotten much of what I taught them as they wouldn't have had any chance to practise... until now, when they'll be finding themselves inundated with English-speaking med students and doctors flying in from around the globe. I don't envy them!

If you want to keep up with what is going on at CEML as I do, watch the space at the Advancing the Gospel in Angola website, which is about to become a site dedicated to the hospital and some of the related projects that I wrote about whilst I was in Angola.

Life continues for me too, not without a few challenges on my life from out of control cars and maliciously-thrown fireworks, but perhaps I would be best advised to wait until the next instalment before overloading you with information. I would nudge members of St Mary's towards flying the nest, the blog which has been set up so that you may keep reasonably abreast of ALL the WAM alumni. See the post entitled "Pitching up in Manchester" if you're desperate to get more of an idea of what I'm up to.

petitions and praises

• Give thanks that, despite teething troubles, the hospital on the hill is at last open and bringing God's healing love to the population of the Huila province.
• Thank him, too, for sending Peggy Smith and her husband to Lubango, so that the students should now get at least a year's solid English teaching.
• Praise him for his faithfulness to you and me: that he loves us and never leaves us; that he is constantly teaching us new things and challenging us to trust in, commit to and delight in him (Ps 37:1-7).

• Please continue to pray with me for the English students (especially for César, Alexandre and Judith, whose jobs made it difficult for them to attend every lesson even before the hospital was open), particularly that God would encourage them with tangible progess as they communicate with native English speakers in a professional context. Pray too that Peggy will be able to use the lessons as a discipleship tool in the workplace.
• Remember the docs, especially my "Uncle" Steve Collins, who noted how overwhelming the 24-hour hospital work could potentially become (although he is currently relishing the challenge!)
• Do pray for all the GAPers too, all of whom find themselves at different stages of the re-entry process, still. Pray for those who long to be back where they were a few months ago, and those who are not sure whether they are where God wants them to be (myself included).

An update on Tom
Just before I go, I thought you would be interested to hear where Tom is at. As you'll remember, he was all set to study Architecture at Plymouth at the beginning of the gap 'year'. He's now a few months into his second gap year of three, as he studies for Chemistry and Biology 'A' levels whilst gaining some experience as a healthcare assistant in the NHS. In 2008, he hopes to start a Medicine course ... perhaps to end up at CEML himself in a few years! He's convinced that this is what God has for him, and I've no reason to doubt that. Nevertheless, do remember him in your prayers please, as he is feeling a little disheartened by the fact that most of his friends will have graduated from Uni before he even embarks on his course. I will gladly pass on any words of encouragement that anyone might want to write for him!