Autumn is well underway

Lots of stuff has been going on this week. Tuesday was ANZAC day, I went to my first ever dawn service. I really enjoyed it at the time, but later in the week thought maybe it glorifies war too much. I think there is a fine line between remembering the sacrifice and glorifying the sacrifice. In the midst of remembering the heroism and the self sacrifice for our freedom we really have to remember the waste and the suffering. This above all should be what makes us both angry and grateful. I watched part of a TV programme that showed a TV presenter (sorry cant remember her name) who was travelling through Europe recounting the journey her great uncle made during WWI. I was amazed at the memorials they had that were specifically for N.Z. soldiers. One town had a picture of N.Z. on its foot path. Another held a nightly memorial service for N.Z. soldiers (and maybe others but I didn’t quite pick it up), they have had this service every night since the end of WWI (except a few times in WWII). Isn’t that incredible!

Yesterday was Man Camp, which is the yearly camp for the guys in Cutting Edge from church. We were originally going to go to Enhakkore in Ranfurly but plans were changed so that we could help the flood victims. It rained a lot on Tuesday and Wedensday, the Leith was as full as I have ever seen it and some farms and houses were flooded in the Taiere area. Pastor Mike decided to go and see what help was needed and how our church could help. Some people went out on Thursday and Friday and a bigger group (about 50) of us went on Saturday. The first house I was at didn’t need much, we helped them chuck their carpet and white ware into a skip. Then we went down the road to a farm and cleared all their fences. There were a lot of fences that had collected lots of grass, branches, sheep crap and fire wood we spent the morning pulling it away from the fences into piles and then latter in the day we pilled it into trailers and moved it all into one huge pile. My body is very achy today! The owner of the land said we saved him 3 months work! His wife said when she woke up that morning she had burst into tears becasue there was so much to do and she didnt know where to sart. Wow, shows the difference you can make with a big group. It was really just great to do something practical for people and show them love, especially at a time when they were in need. They feed us pretty good with heaps of baking (Jared Clowe reckons he ate the best slice he has ever had in his whole entire life! Yeah I didn’t get any of that slice it went fast) and sandwiches and soup and pies and other stuff. It was heaps of fun working with cool people and getting to know some of the new Cutting Edger’s. I feel so old when I have to tell them Im in my 6th year at Uni. I meet one dude who is studying Economics and we had a conversation which reminded me of 7th form Economics – I was reminiscing of what seems like so long ago, but for him it was just last year. Crikey!

Today as I was at this computer in the library I became dissociated from my water bottle. There was a water bottle to my right but it was just a bit too far to my right that I thought it must belong to the person on my right. But then they went and another person came and I noticed that there was a similar looking water bottle also placed just a little too far to my right, all water bottles look the same these days. But then that person also left and the bottle remained. I was suspicious because there was a lid of a water bottle on my left side and there was no water bottle in my bag so where was my water bottle?! Maybe that one just a bit too far on the right was mine? But what if it wasn’t! What if I started drinking from someone else’s bottle right in front of their face! How rude would that be! So I waited for that person to leave, just waiting for my opportunity to get my water bottle back. But they didn’t leave and I got thirsty. In a flash of bravery I reached out and took the water bottle, for a moment I paused I waited for their reproach. None came then I sipped and drank of the water and still none came, and so I placed it in front of me, safe in front of me.