The Migration

I am contributing on a new blog now, but I will keep this one for reference. So for all my adoring fans, you can check out the new site here.

New Elders and Biblical Food for Thought

Yesterday morning after Pastor Nicki described church government, William Vaughan, Phil Spencer, Jimmy Lungu and Mike Van Heese were “elderized.” Mark Melville will join them and several other men on the elder board next Sunday.

In the evening Uncle Rob preached on the importance of a Christian’s thought life, as we looked at Philippians 4 verse 8. We considered that a person’s actions and attitudes, what he’s ‘all about’ is determined by what he thinks, and therefore that this is a matter of critical importance. Uncle Rob urged us to consider what we think about, to test our thoughts and be sure that they are God-glorifying, that we may as a result glorify Him in our actions and attitudes. Philippians 4:8 tells us the things we should be thinking about.

I started school again last week, on January 8. I’m finishing up high school in the spring of 2009, if not sooner. I might go to The Master’s College after that.

Greek class starts again tomorrow! It’s the second and final year for my class. I’m working to translate and diagram John 15 right now. I also have the option of taking Hebrew this year, which I might take advantage of.

Life Without Mom and Dad

Monday night was family night, and my turn to pick what we did. We went out and saw “Surf’s Up”, which I really enjoyed. Chicken Joe, man! Chicken Joe was the surfer dude from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It’s a really cool movie.

My parents left yesterday with baby Luke to go to Johannesburg. They’re going to the American embassy to get Luke an American birth certificate and passport. Everything is going well so far here at home, and with them as far as I can tell. They will be back tomorrow afternoon.

Right now I’m just hanging out at home. The little ones are at the Isiaho’s for the day, and I have school off. I’ve been reading the Bible. That’s pretty much it. I finished reading the whole Bible yesterday! So now I start over from the beginning. Let’s see, what happens in the beginning…

By the way, Revelation is an awesome book. Literally. I read about ten chapters yesterday, and the time just flew.

I also updated my Facebook. I’ve been trying to get my friends to join the Rockstr band I’m a part of (sorry for all you non-Facebookers, who didn’t understand a word of this). Some of them are still holding out. I won’t mention names, but I think it’s about time guys like Brendan, Doug and Micah joined the ‘guys’ band’ so we can pass the ‘girl band’ in fan base size. Gosh, the girls’ band has more fans than ours does!

“As long as life runs through my veins

I will continue to sing Your praise!” … there’s a song that goes something like that, and it’s how I feel after yesterday.

I taught Sunday school in the morning. We were in Matthew 2, verses 13-23. The passage talks about the angel of the Lord warning Joseph in dreams to take Jesus and Mary and travel to Egypt to escape Herod, and eventually to take them back to Israel once Herod was dead.

There is a lot of fulfilled prophecy in the passage, as there is in all the Christmas story. What we were able to learn from the passage is that God is in control of everything, He is always truthful, and He always keeps His promises. He is not bound by anything. The fulfillment of His prophecies proves these facts.

We learned that God guides people, and that if we put our trust in Him and do not lean on our own understanding, like Joseph, He will strengthen and keep us in all circumstances. Joseph trusted in the word of God brought to him by the angel, and today, we can learn what God wants us to do by reading His word, the Bible.

So the application is, since we know that God is constant and true, and that His word is the same, and that He guides us by His word, we must put our trust in Him and His plans for us, found in the His word, as Joseph did, and He will make our paths straight.

REVERB Summer Camp ‘07

I spent five days at the BYSA (Baptist Youth of South Africa) summer camp last week with my youth group from Christ Baptist, Rattpack. A youth group from Tzaneen joined us for the 12-hour bus ride to camp, which was held at Berkley West, near Kimberley. All of the guys from Rattpack were in the same dorm.

The food was definitely less than perfect, but what really bugged me about it was that it came in such small amounts that we were forced to buy extra food from the tuck shop (snack shop) to fill up. (Actually I never was really ‘full’ at camp. They gave us enough to live on.)

During the hall sessions, we listened to the MC’s (lame) and worshiped, which got better as the week went by. There were a few songs with verses I didn’t care to sing, so I didn’t. Verses like, “I won’t be satisfied ’till I find who You are,” and “I see a new revival starting as we pray and seek.” For the most part (at least for the last couple of days) the worship was pretty good.

Unfortunately, almost all the ‘preaching’ involved the misuse of some passage, and at least a few blatant theological errors. One of the speakers, Craig Duval, described a visit he made to someone’s home. He talked about how the bathroom was connected to the kitchen, without a door separating them, and there was a hole in the roof. The house was dirty. The home owners told him to make himself at home, and he told us that that would definitely take at least a few minor adjustments on his part. Then he compared the bad condition of this house to the condition of a person’s heart, describing how you must be aware if your heart is in the same broken-down condition as this house was, and if so, Jesus probably doesn’t really like living there, so you need to be aware to make/take adjustments in your life to make your heart a nice place for Jesus to live.

The other camp speaker, Corin Matthews, abused the passage in John 21, verses 15-17. He talked about how Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him ‘more than these’. Then Corin said that what this passage is teaching us is that we, as Christians, must love Jesus more than anyone or anything in our lives. We must love Jesus more than our money, more than our partners, more than our T.V. and MXit. We must love Jesus more than anyone or anything else, and he invited those who were ‘loving other things more’ to come to the front and the leaders would pray with them, that they might ’start loving Jesus more’. Eish!

In John 21, verses 15-17, the restoration of Peter is described. Jesus visited the disciples for breakfast, and asked Peter if he loved Him, ‘more than these.’ ‘More than these’ can be rendered ‘more than these other disciples love Me‘. Peter gave Him an affirmative. Jesus then questioned Peter again, and Peter, not fully trusting himself after previously denying Christ three times, answered, “You know that I love You,” or, “You know that I am fond of You.” I like what William MacDonald says in his Believer’s Bible Commentary concerning Jesus’ third repetition of the same question: “Just as Peter had denied the Lord thrice, so he was given three opportunities to confess Him.” (MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc., 1989.) (p. 1571.)

Peter answered Jesus for the last time, appealing to the fact that Jesus knew all things, saying, “You know that I am fond of You.” Jesus told Peter that he could demonstrate this love in feeding and leading Christ’s sheep. The point of the passage is that the only good and acceptable reason for serving God, for taking care of the sheep, is your love for Him. It is not about making sure that you’re not loving your spouse or your kids or your friends more than Jesus. Jesus commands us to love Him and love one another.

Anyway, besides the preaching and the food, which were less than stellar (unfortunately, because those are pretty much the two most important aspects of camp), camp was good. I had a really good time, swimming (although the water was filthy) hanging out and chatting, playing sports. There was a big soccer tournament which 80 teams joined, including RP3 (of which I was a part) from Rattpack and the Cavemen from Tzaneen (from the youth group that traveled with us). The Cavemen won, which was pretty cool. RP3 (Rattpack 3; there were two other teams from Rattpack that didn’t play) got into the final 8, before being knocked out on a goal that wasn’t a goal. A guy shot wide, missing our goal, but the ref immediately ended the game, giving the other team the win and knocking us out. Oh, well. We had a good time.

Our Rattpack volleyball team went 10-0 and won the tournament hands down. The team included Des, Doug, Stephen, Nathan, Brendan, and Natasha (Nathan and Brendan’s cousin).

In the afternoons we had REVERB sessions, or workshops. They were basically talks about various relevant subjects relating to church, ministry and young people’s lives. I attended the REVERB sessions on missions. We learned about missions for two days, and then on the third day went out to a village and shared the gospel with people on the street. Some people invited us into their homes, where we ministered to them and prayed with them. I talked with a young man on the street for a few minutes. We also went to the local sports field and played with the little kids. I had a great time, and it was a good time for all of us who went, and I think for the people in the village as well.

I made some new friends, and enjoyed camp. On the spiritual side… well, it wasn’t defective, but I can’t say it was much more. I had a good time though, and will look forward to attending next year’s camp, when Pastor Nicki will preach! And another good thing: the man who is organizing next year’s camp is a caterer!

Thanksgiving

Yesterday evening we had some people over for Thanksgiving, including the Vaughns, Venters and Mullins. The food was great. The Mullins brought mashed potatoes, which were excellent; we provided the turkey, and other people brought various dishes. As usual in regards to the order of the supper line, “Males between the ages of 10 and 20 go last”.

After eating Thanksgiving dinner with the Nathan, Brendan, Timothy, Stephen, Kimberly, and Nikki, I pretty much spent the evening playing XBOX with Stephen and the Vaughns. Sad, I know. At least I won… in Halo. Des wanted to see some football as it was Thanksgiving, and since they don’t show the Thanksgiving Day games in South Africa, we had to make our own (on the XBOX, of course). It was Stephen and Brendan (the indomitable duo) verses Tim (Vaughn) and Tim (myself). We did random teams. Tim and I were the Jacksonville Jaguars, and they were the Washington Redskins. They ran all over us with Clinton Portis. Halfway through the game, the Vaughns had to leave, and Stephen and Brendan were up 14-6, after they had had an interception returned for a touchdown, I had returned a kickoff for a touchdown, which was called back due to a penalty, and we had kicked a 48-yard field goal into the wind.

Wes’s birthday was yesterday. He’s now 18.

Happy Birthday, Wes!

Nathan and Brendan told some “How many does it take to change a lightbulb” jokes last night. “How many IT technicians does it take to change a lightbulb?” “None; that’s a hardware problem!” “How many politicians does it take to change a lightbulb?” “Five. One to do it and four to deny it!” “How many female labor workers does it take to change a lightbulb?” “Five. One to do it and four to form a support group!”

I couldn’t think of a title for this post, or maybe I was just too lazy to try

Grandma isn’t here anymore, so I had better post again. I had my birthday on November 6. It usually comes on that day. This was the sixteenth. I got a cell phone, an N70! (Nokia, just in case anyone didn’t know.) Cell phones are the big thing here. In the States, it’s cars, here, it’s cell phones. So now I can instant message for 1 Rand cent, take pictures with my phone and all that other junk that really helps to kill time.

Wes’s birthday is tomorrow. He generally doesn’t check blogs, so I’m not going to bother saying happy birthday here. It’s not even his birthday yet. It’s tomorrow. I said that.

In fantasy football, I believe I am at the top of the standings. I believe. I haven’t checked it for about a week. We’re about half-way through the season. Des is losing, as usual. Wes is winning without even looking at his team, as usual. My Dad and Doug are at the middle of the pack. Stephen is winning, that’s not usual.

Just to let everyone know, I’m through with putting tags on my posts. It takes too long. I will no longer be sacrificing my time for your convenience in this matter. Good luck with finding a post on a particular subject from here on out, and may the force be with you.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I won’t say more, because people don’t like to read long posts, and this one is getting long. Cheers!

Grandma is Here, Stephen’s Birthday, Fantasy Football

I’ve been doing school work and Greek homework. Grandma is here. She came a week ago last Monday.

Stephen’s birthday was October 3! I gave him some money. We celebrated here at home. Grandma got him a remote-controlled Porsche. It’s pretty cool. I took it for a spin.

I taught Sunday school last week. The 1-4 graders. We were in Genesis 21, looking at how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah, and gave them a son, Isaac. We learned that God has always kept His promises, and that He will continue to do so. We looked at some of God’s promises for us today, as Christians and non-Christians.

Fantasy football has started again! I think I already mentioned this. Anyway, here’s the standings after week 5:

Steve’s Fezz Denters: 4-1, 546 points

Timothy’s Killer Jellyfish: 3-2, 486 points

Wes’s Chicken Wrestlers: 3-2, 426 points

Doug’s Sharks: 2-3, 533 points

Stephen’s Scourge: 2-3, 418 points

Des’s Shadesball: 1-4, 466 points

I’m playing Stephen in week 6, and things aren’t looking so good. As far as my quarterbacks go, both Alex Smith and Peyton Manning are on bye weeks. I’ve brought in Jeff Garcia, who is now with the Bucs, but I still need to find another quarterback. I dropped Vince Young after week 5, when he got me -2 points due to several personal turnovers.

My top running backs, Reggie Bush and Marion Barber III, are both playing tough teams this week (Seahawks and Patriots, respectively). One of my wide receivers, Reggie Wayne, and my tight end, Dallas Clark, are both on byes. I still need to see about changing out the Dallas defensive team for another one, as Dallas is playing New England this week. And finally, both Nate Clements and Ed Reed are out on byes. It will pretty much take a miracle for me to pull off a win this week.

Family Camp and Fantasy Football ‘07

Yesterday I came back from family camp. As you know, if you’ve read my last post, my little brother Luke was born on Thursday. We went to the hospital on Friday morning to see him, before Stephen, Kimberly and I left for family camp. My Dad stayed home with Catherine and Michael.

Stephen, Kimberly and I traveled up to family camp on Friday afternoon with the Vaughans, picking up Tebatso on our way. On the first evening, we had supper and attended a session in the conference hall, which included worship songs and teaching from Pastor Johann concerning Christ’s second coming, the theme of the preaching of the weekend. Afterwards we went outside and hung out. Most of the youth (myself included) only got to bed at about 1:30 a.m.

On Saturday morning we had breakfast, and then attended another praise and Bible study session at 9:00. Uncle Charlie preached this time. At about 11:00, we went to a big field to start playing the organized games, designed by Des and Doug. The whole camp was split up into six different teams, and I was in team #6, along with Wes and Nathan. We called ourselves the ‘Vertigo Scoffers’.

The first of eight challenges involved one team member at a time running to a certain spot in the field, picking up a piece of paper, and running it to another spot. Each piece of paper had the name of a book of the New Testament written on it. After all a team’s pieces were at the right spot on the field, one team member would arrange them into the proper canonical order.

For the second challenge, each team had to paddle at least ten of its members across the swimming pool (which has a diameter of about 30 yards) without anyone falling in the water. There were only two rafts, however, so the first two teams who got away from the first challenge the quickest would have a head start to the third challenge. The Vertigo Scoffers were the second team there.

The third/fourth challenges were two obstacles on the obstacle course (obstacle #6 and #12). Whichever obstacle a team did not conquer the first time around, they would have to come back later to complete. Wes asked Des which obstacle was easier, and Des said #12 was, so off we went. Apparently we took the wrong direction, though, and another team got there first. We waited for about 20 minutes while they took their time there. During that time, the other four teams ran through obstacle #6, which was obviously easier. It turned out to be good, though, that we went to #12 first, because everyone who didn’t go through it had to go later, and it cost them in the end more time than it cost us.

The fifth challenge was to find a certain tree, marked by a sign which had the number 617 on it, and was a European olive tree of some sort. (The camp we were at, called Schoemansdal, is a nature reserve with a wide range of botany, usually marked by such signs as the aforementioned.)

The sixth challenge was finding five different types of leaves, and taking them to a certain place. After completion of the sixth challenge, teams had to go back and complete either obstacle #6 or #12, whichever one they had not already done. Then, teams had to race back to one of the lappas. My team, the Vertigo Scoffers, came in first to the lappa.

After organized games, we had lunch, and then free time until supper. Unfortunately a lot of the youth had to go and set up the stage for a puppet show, but Brian, Johnny, Stephen and I went up the mountain which is the camp’s scenic backdrop. We were about half an hour from the top, when we were forced to turn back due to time. It was a nice hike, though. There are lots of waterfalls and pools, and the water is clear and cool. There are excellent views in certain places, but not many, due to the vast array of plant life around the stream which winds down the mountain.

After coming down from the mountain, I went swimming with a bunch of people. Wes and I tipped over a raft, removing it’s means of buoyancy, and sinking it to the bottom of the pool. We brought it back up again. The water was cold, and I was only swam for about 20 minutes.

On Saturday night we had supper, and attended another session in the hall. This time, we were there for a family concert. We all sat with our respective teams, myself with the Vertigo Scoffers. Different people performed in various ways, singing songs, playing instruments, reciting poems, and putting on short plays. Throughout the evening, in between performances, Pastor Nicki showed slides symbolizing thoughts, such as a picture of an apple with an eye in it. Each team would write down what each picture meant, and then turn in their answers for review, earning points for correct answers. This was the eighth and final team challenge, the scores for each team being tallied at the end, and the top teams rewarded with candy.

After the concert the youth packed up the props, and hung out. We played a game of sardines, and then talked for a while. I got to bed at about 3:00.

Yesterday morning, we ate breakfast, and attended the last session, in which Pastor Dave preached. Afterwards we packed up, and then I left right after lunch with the Vaughans, my siblings, and Tebatso. We got back to Polokwane early in the afternoon.

In other news, Fantasy Football is back! The NFL regular season has started, and the teams in our fantasy football league, the Polokwane Football League, are as follows:

Timothy - Killer Jellyfish*

Wes - Chicken Wrestlers

Stephen - The Scourge

Steve - Fezz Denters*

Des - Shadesball

Doug - Sharks*

Most of the score for Week 1 is in, and so far the teams which I marked with an asterisk look like they will win their first game. So far the highest score for one player is quarterback Tony Romo of Doug’s Sharks, who single-handedly earned 32 fantasy points this week, with over 300 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.

Sibling #5 Is Here!

My baby brother Luke Augustine Plodinec was born yesterday (September 6) at about 2:15 p.m. local time. He’s 9 1/2 lbs., and is 22 in. long. Us kids are going to go visit him this morning! Well, we’re not actually allowed to hold him, but we can see him through the glass. Thank you all for your prayers. He is a healthy baby, and content so far.