Leadership lessons - 9 March - Dawie

The African Leadership Institute asked me to comment on what this trip has taught me thus far in its most recent newsletter. This was my reply…

What the Founder learns about leadership while travelling the world.

I am grateful towards my board who allows my family and me to travel the world. We saw and experienced London, France, Switzerland, Germany, Phuket and Singapore.

We visited churches, businesses, museums, resource centers, leaders and local citizens...asked questions, observed, read, prayed and meditated.

What have I learned so far? So much, but let me try to summarise:

• Great things take time, deliberate planning, focus, courage and endurance
  
• Expertise and sound finances are needed to make a difference
  
• Without good leadership and hard work, worthwhile legacies will not be created
  
• Following Jesus' example and character was prosperous for many nations
  
• A healthy family foundation remains non-negotiable for any country
  
• Working together in teams speeds up development
  
• Political stability is a precious necessity for growth
  

The world is in a growing recession and times are changing very quickly. Therefore, more well equipped and integrous leaders are necessary. I was amazed and blessed to realise that our curriculum is timely and relevant to equip leaders to transform Africa.

Lastly, I encourage you all to appreciate and pray for our government. There is so much about them to be thankful for. But, I wish to boldly state that we as leaders in Namibian (government, business and church) should let much more happen to ensure ongoing growth and the fulfillment of the great commission.

The 2 sides of Phuket (3/3/09) Chrisna

(not for sensitive readers)

Phuket in general, has 2 sides. Also for us personally, it had 2 sides.

Phuket really is a tropical paradise, with white beaches,crystal clear lukewarm water and rainforests. The people, once you spend some time with them, being friendly with them, are soft, kind and servants by nature. (That is most probably the main reason why so many western men has Thai ladies as wives/girlfriends.) There is a lot of development and building of millionaires security complexes. One sign reads: "Millionaire mile is just getting longer!"

The other side? Phuket is dirty. The water at the main beach is not crystal clear anymore, the streets full of paper and the water undrinkable. The people are so lost: giving offerings at cement alters, praying to budha, spending the little money they have on flowers for the gods. The tourists are also lost. Sun bathing until they are a blue-brown colour (or crayfish red), getting yet another tattoo, shopping a little bit more and walking on the beach with nothing but a small bikini pant (I’m talking about the ladies!) The rural areas and houses of the locals are also dirty and messy.

The Thai food is very good and not too foreign on the tongue. The fruit is wonderful and affordable. We could eat enough and stock up on vitamins! The shopping is an adventure, with bargaining a must. The excursions too many to choose from, well organized and affordable. All in all a good place for a family holiday.

Dawie J did describe our 2 daytrips. What a joy to be out on the open sea on a speedboat, to dive and snorkel as if swimming in an aquarium and to see the beautiful nature. God truly is amazing and creative.

Tuesday, 17 Febr we had a wonderful time around Phi-Phi Islands. After lunch, we snorkeled in the deep sea and then went to Maya bay. An idyllic place. I was still on the boat, when I heard Dawie, that’s old Dawie, call me. And then I saw it: the tip of his finger was gone, it was not hanging on a thread, it was gone! A bleeding finger was looking at me, the fractured bone in my face. I knew, I cannot fix this, one of my plasters won’t help.

“What happened?” I hear you ask. His finger got trapped in the ladder of the boat as he went down into the water. He could have jumped, but did not want to splash water on the older lady standing there.

A Summary of what followed: we went back to Phuket in a very speedy speedboat of another tour agency and went straight to hospital. Dawie was as white as a sheet and in a lot of pain. The 3 boys were brave, but quiet.. Dawie J was shocked, but his 2 brothes supported him in a special way. We were all praying. I prayed for a clean hospital and a good orthopaedic surgeon to be there. It happened like that. Dawie had to spend the night in hospital and the front tip of his 2^nd finger on his left hand was formally amputated and stitched up.

The 4 of us went back to the hotel, alone. We fetched Dawie the next day and stayed in the hotel for the next few days. We decided to have 2 days of school and take our holiday the next week, which worked out good.

We prayed a lot, talked a lot and tried to learn what we could learn from this trauma. One thing we know: God can and will continue to protect us from the evil one. No matter how hard he may try, he cannot harm us or steal our joy. Our Joy comes from within.

We did not write about this earlier, because we did not want my mother to hear. She is in Hong Kong now and will come to us on Saturday. Then she can see it for herself and see that it is healing. Hopefully the shock will then be less, and we will be with her to comfort her.

So yes, Phuket had 2 sides for us: an exciting ,fun side and a traumatic side. But God is faithfull and in Him we are content and at peace.

So when Dawie says: "I lost my finger in Phuket", he literally means it! We jokingly tell him that he is taking this weightloss thing too serious!

We praise God that we still have each other. An accident can happen so quickly….

And now... SENSITIVE VIEWERS, DO NOT CONTINUE...

....

....

I Repeat: SENSITIVE VIEWERS, DO NOT CONTINUE

....

....

....

....

Summer holiday in Phuket (15-27 Febr) Dawie J

Phuket was wonderful!

It was nice to feel the heat again, but on some days the heat was just too much. The humidity sometimes struck me like a sound wave.

The time in Phuket felt like a Strand holiday. I enjoyed the cricket on the beach, unfortunately my dad always win. We even taught some Phuket locals how to play cricket.

It is amazing that the water is so warm. It does not cool you off, but other than that, the swimming was very nice.

Some nights we went out to "shop till you drop". One night I dropped before I shopped, and did not go at all, and other nights I dropped very quickly. Shopping is not for me, but shopping in Phuket is a nice experience. Two nights we bought waffles and pancake on the street. It is amazing how they make the pancake from a small piece of dough.

We had enough of Thai food for a long time. We also ate a lot of fruit, even me - who do not like fruit!
We went on 2 excursions. One to Phi-Phi Islands where we snorkeled. We saw a lot of beautiful fish. The other one was white water rafting and riding on elephants. My mother made me mad, because she told me the whole time that I must hold on tight to the rope. I think I am big enough to sit with out holding on.

With the elephant riding ,we sat on a small bench and Charlie on the neck of the elephant. He was the driver! All the adventures was really very exciting. I know that I am really priviledged to do all of this.

Phuket is amazing and a wonderful place for a family holiday. So: if you have not been there - "GO!" You will not regret it.

Various degrees of chilling - 27 February 2009 (Tinus)

Traveling is hard work. You need to rest every now and then when traveling, or else you'll burn out (if anything heat related is possible in freezing Europe, that is.)

Therefore, our tour plan includes several days of tranquility and relaxation: our time Germany and Phuket being constituted primarily thereof. It is thus, at this juncture between Thailand and Singapore...between rest and work...between fantasy and half reality (since it would be ludicrous to refer to our present situation - even within a week set aside for intensive labour - as reality) my pleasure to testify to our time of sanctuary.

Those who know the Fourie family, will know however that even in our holidays, we rarely slow down. We mostly just shift our attention from work to utter immersement in the joys of having fun. The same was partly true this time round also. As you can relate from the posts of my family members this is certainly true of Germany and is also of Phuket. But, I will not be writing about our busy experiences in Phuket, but our tranquil ones. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back and relax...

Anyone that has ever driven with my father to Swakopmund or Oshakati when he is slightly late, can testify that we as a family (excluding my mother off course) love speed. Imagine therefore our bliss at being in Germany. Fail to understand our jubilance? Well, the Germans thought it bright to drape their landscape in huge roads with no speed limit. And we were driving an Audi... (Oom Rolie, I think I am starting to understand your fascination with the four circles.)

Driving was thus a breeze. The times we were cruising for hundreds of kilometers at 180. The periods we were blazing at 220. And then that other time..

We were driving from Heidelberg back home. It was fairly late and the road, all 3 lanes thereof, was quiet. We were driving at about 170 (slow and steady in other words) and my brothers were asleep. My parents were talking in whispers up front and Nianel from our I-pod was streaming across the stereo. That was wonderful! More than an hour of watching the landscape change. The slow and powerful movements of the numerous windmills. Resting, Thinking, Relaxing... Oh, that was wonderful!!!!

Well, just to stay accurate, I must remind all that immediately after this relaxing experience we had to hike in the snow...

---|Off topic a little. The road system in Germany was fast, but the infrastructure in Switzerland just awesome. Hundreds (and I'm not exaggerating) of tunnels. One moment you're in one valley, staring up at insurmountable mountains, the next you're in another valley all together. WOW |---

Back to my story. From chilling in the chilly Germany to chilling in the scorching Phuket.

Well, we had a great many wonderful experiences here. Many of them were relaxing and thus earn their right to be written about in this post. Writing about all of them, however, would hinder my relaxing this last few hours, so I shall write about one... No, I shall let the photo do the talking...



Chill, I mean cheers all.

Last on Germany - 24 February(Dawie)

One of the special aspects of our tour, for me, was that we started our tour in Europe...the place where our forefathers came from. The Fouries from France and the von Gerickes from Germany.

I very recently read through the first five books of the Old Testament again. The family-inheritance-line in the Bible is one you can't miss. The most valuable thing in my life is the fact that I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This good news was brought to my forefathers through missionaries or the church from France and Germany. Many church leaders like a Martin Luther and Calvin came from areas we traveled through.

We, therefore made an effort to visit churches...old ones...not only from the 1800 but also from as far back as 1400 and 1100. One of our last visits in Germany was to their oldest town,Trier, apparently founded decades before Christ!. (Some claim it is older than Rome.) We visited the oldest "bisschopskerk" called "De Dom". They took a photo of me standing in front of their "leadership"board. A board with the names of their leaders since incorporation which went back to 250 years after Christ. Yes, you read correctly, they were founded a generation or two after Christ was on earth.

In the church there is a special place they call "die heilige rock", where they keep a part of the original cloth of the robe of Jesus. There is a whole history behind this cloth which was last shown to the public in 1969. They plan to open and show it again to the world in 2012.


WE spent quite some time in the church...worshiping God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes, we as leaders want everything done through a 3-5 year strategic plan...maybe we should learn from the past...sometimes it takes many, many generations...

From 1 Cor 3:13 it is clear: our work will be tested...

"O Heavenly Father, may our work bear fruit for not only this generation, but for many to come... for your Kingdom, for your honour and glory... in Jesus Name...Amen"

From freezing to steaming 23/2/09 (Charlie)

I am now writing from a very hot Phuket, thinking about the interesting physical exercise scenarios thus far, happy to share them with you! Before I do that, I just want to talk about a few things that's going on in my mind and in my heart.

The last few days have been like a rally: of emotions, time, traveling and finally relaxation. Some of those emotions were laughter and happiness inside while at other times they were regrettably exhaustion, impatience and worry. My mother already shared all our travel frenzies with you and thus you can understand the above emotions. I felt unsure inside with all that was going on around me but then, during one of my silent times with the Lord last week, I felt in my spirit that the Lord said to me He knows my thoughts and feelings and He will be there to comfort me. It was then that He gave me Acts 2:25 "Nothing and no one will let you stumble"! It was then that Jesus' teachings hit me, "You of little faith". I realised then that I just have to have more faith in Him and trust Him to guide me and to protect me. From there on , after asking the Lord's forgiveness, I began to enjoy everything to the full again, not stressing or worrying about future road blocks, but giving it to the Lord and deciding to praise Him no matter what.I was stealing my own joy, because I was thinking about myself and not about the people around me who were also having a tough time traveling. God came through for us thus far and I believe that He always will!

Having talked about that I decided to write about all our perspiration and exhaustion. It began in Switzerland... My father (previously manager of my WHS rugby side) did not want to send back an unfit son to Namibia, especially because the reason for going back to Namibia was to play very tough rugby. Thus me and Tinus started jogging and running in the mountains. Those first few jogs were devastating. Not only because I was unfit at the time but also because of the high altitude and because everything was up hill. The icy cold weather didn't help either. I didn't know my fingers and ears could burn that way without heat, sometimes after a jog I couldn't even stretch my frozen face enough to smile... At the end I enjoyed all the mountain running a lot not only because I knew it was great exercise but because I had a breathtaking view every time.

When we arrived in Germany about two weeks ago, it was a whole new experience again. Being in the woods with a slight drizzle and no snow(not for long) me and Tinus decided to go and jog in these woods. Except for still being very cold, everything was different. We had no view, just trees. When it snowed the following few days there it made all the jogging in the woods even more interesting and more tiring. Leaving Germany with all it's traveling and driving to Frankfurt and back I knew that my exercise routine was going to go up a notch, in toughness and degrees Celsius.

Arriving in Singapore with all the humidity and searing heat I knew this was going to be a mental battle, but I was determined to win... "Traveling is amazing" I thought when standing without a shirt on the beach in Phuket after our first jog. I was sweating all over after a steaming hot, blazing fast run. No more cool mountain jogging. This was extreme! What made it more exciting and tough was that my Father got a whistle and wanted to see sprints... A lot of them... Although this wasn't easy I tried to slow time and think about God's grace and goodness to give me a healthy body to use all energy and to move most of my body on full capability. This made running exciting and gave me the feeling of freedom.

I am glad to inform you that my father is going to another gear with me and that it is going to get a lot worse. I Praise God and trust in Him.

Till next time I write, be faithful with your time with the Lord and trust in Him because He is There for you as well(Psalm 11 - 13)! Sorry That is all for today, I have to go and run sprints now! God bless!

Charlie

P.S. "Come on Charlie you can do it!

What happened the last 2 weeks? 20/2/09 (Chrisna)

Travelling is not for the fainthearted! Or in good Afrikaans: reis is nie vir sissies nie!

The 2 most important things you need when you travel, especially low budget and long term travel, is: A tough mind and a soft heart. Without those 2, you can rather stay home…

We are in Phuket right now, but let me take a few steps back to where we last wrote in this journal, that is where we last had good internet.

We left the chalet in Switzerland early Friday morning. The sun was shining and we could travel down the mountain on a dry road. That we saw as answer to prayer, since the weather forecast said there will definitely be snow. We travelled all the way out of the Valais and then started to cross the Alps towards the north.

It started snowing. It looked as if a feather duvet were torn open above our heads, and the snow came down in big feather size flocks. The snow was deep and the roads were slippery. We could not see much further than the front of our own vehicle. Should we go on or stop or turn around? We prayed: “God, please help us!”

Within the next minute, a road sign diverted us off the road and on to a train, that took us right through the mountains! Never before did we pay 30 Swiss franks so easily! God always answers prayers and help us where we cannot go on!! You can imagine the “thank you” prayers that was said while sitting in our car on the train. No map said anything about not being able to travel that road in winter and the GPS said “railway connections ahead” when we were halfway through the mountain(on the train) already!

On the other side of the mountain ,we went down an impressive road and through numerous tunnels. We saw green for the first time in weeks and thought that we have said goodbye to the snow. We were content. We visited Lucerne along the way and reached the destination as were indicated on the resort map on the internet. There was one problem: our resort was not there. It was 80 km to the west… The navigator lost a few points, but every one was forgiving. What we went through earlier the day, made that this obstacle was a small one! We reached Landal Hochwald, a RCI resort after 22h00, VERY grateful and full of praise unto God.

Saturday and Sunday were both days of rest, after what we‘ve gone through the previous day. Monday morning early, we drove to Frankfurt. We had to go the Thailand embassy for visas for Phuket. When we came there, they were closed for the 1 day, we had to come back the next day! Luckily it is only a 2 hour drive. We went to Heidelberg the rest of the day and enjoyed the old town with cobblestone streets and churches and castles. Then we went back to where “home” was for this week.

It started snowing along the way. It kept on snowing the whole way… The last 10km of the way, we prayed without stop. Our car could hardly move . The “snow tyres” they gave us in Gap, was definitely NOT snow tyres.( We once again saw God’s Hand of protection on us for the time in Switzerland, keeping us in the house, keeping us safe.) Back to Germany and the last 10km home. We literally crawled with our car uphill and very carefully also crawled downhill, with just enough speed to take us over the next hill. Dawie did an excellent job, driving in those circumstances, while we prayed. Two km from our house, the car could not, would not go any further. We had to stop. We walked home in the down pouring snow, on ice slippery roads, with our Namibian running shoes and got home ,once again, safely. We praised God for taking care of us in so many different ways. I must say that not 1 of us was moaning or groaning. We tackled this obstacle as a team! Dawie J got a new name along the road. Since he and his dad walked next to each other and looked exactly the same from behind, only the size differed, he was called “Mini-Paps”, because his dad is “Paps”! See for yourself on the photo!

The next day ,we had to go back to Frankfurt ,again. Going with the same road ,again. It rained through the night and the snow was washed off the roads. Dawie walked back to town to fetch the car, and we were off again. Although it started to snow again on our way back, we could make it back home IN the car. We were very grateful when we saw where we came from the previous night ,that we only had to walk 2 km.

The resort had a heated indoor swimming pool, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Wednesday and Thursday were schooldays, with lots of catch up to do. The limited internet was only available in the restaurant at certain times of

the day, only enough to deal with important e-mails. We visited Trier, the oldest town in Germany on Thursday afternoon, but Dawie will tell you more…

Friday morning early we had to leave for Frankfurt again, to fetch our visas, which was ready, praise the Lord, and fly out on Saturday. The place that was green when we got there, was snow white when we left. We were ready to leave the snow and winter behind.

Yes, we had the privilege to be there in Germany and we enjoyed it.

We also gave thanks to our Lord for allowing so many life threatening situations, because it strengthened our faith, practicing being dependant on Him and Him alone and realizing once again: Plan WITH God and ask Him to Bless you. Do not plan and then ask Him to bless your plans.

We greeted the snow and headed off on Singapore Airlines towards summer, which will last now until next year May! We flew for 12 hours into time, spend another 10 on the airport and arrived in a hot and humid Phuket on Sunday evening.

Thank you God for being with us in Europe and in Asia and with our family and friends in Namibia. Surely, you are alive and almighty and I praise your name, now and forever more!!