Blessings friends!
After an initial delay, the flight over was uneventful, as Cayce and Tom tried to do some work and “catching up” on the 15 hour flight as possible. All bags arrived as expected, although 70 pounds is the new maximum limit on all baggage. This change meant that some of the “feminine hygiene articles” that were made by Rez Blue Springs had to be transferred from Cayce’s 79 pound suitcase into Tom suitcase in a relatively public way…fun…:-)
Cayce is trying a new “no jet lag” technique of not sleeping on the plane, which allowed for some valuable reading and prep time, but also meant that multiple diet cakes/coke zeros were required. It also meant that Tom had to endure Cayce being relatively wired for 15 hours, but… Cayce also introduced Tom to what is sure to be his next craze- the iPad game, Plants Vs. Zombies! Tom was a natural, until he wasn’t (thanks Dan!), because eventually (several hundred miles later), “the Zombies ate his brains.”. Ah well… Such is life.
Post customs and immigration, Cayce and Tom were whisked away by John Mitchley (SAMVIM) to meet with KK, the MCSA Missions Unit Director and Zipho, the new Presiding Bishop of the MSCA. What an amazing man and pastor! The nearly four hour meeting involved both hysterical laughter and very serious discussions. There was talk surrounding each of the five pillars of the MCSA –
- spirituality,
- evangelism & church growth,
- justice & service
- human development & economic empowerment
- education
Partnership discussions around sustainability were also very productive including the following analogy:
- Give once- appreciation
- Give twice- anticipation
- Give three times- expectation
- Give four times- entitlement
- Give five times- dependency
Next steps and proposals/recommendations should be coming from the MCSA this spring!
Food for thought… Until next time!
-Rev T