Reflections from the Zambezi

The Theology of washing dishes : By Tim Chester Reviewed by Sylvia Bester If you’re anything like me you’ll hate washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen! In this delightful booklet Tim Chester reminds us that mundane tasks such as washing the dishes can be done for the glory of God.  We read that because we have the wrong approach to these everyday tasks they become tedious and joyless. What then should our attitude be to this seemingly irksome and useless activity? Tim gives us 2 suggestions: Ordering Chaos: “We are expressing our true humanity and sharing in God’s joy at creation. It is the same with washing the dishes.  The dirty dishes become a pile of clean crockery. The cluttered kitchen becomes new again” (Page 10) Serving Others: “ How do we move from washing the dishes as an unpleasant duty to joyful service? Part of the answer,  I think, is to offer the washing of the dishes to god as an act of service, to consciously think of doing the dis...

Staying in Cape Town During my Dissertation Writing Settling in Cape Town In February 2015, I travelled to Cape Town for the tenth time. The purpose of my visit was to finalise my dissertation writing for my studies at the University of Cape Town. I had been working on my dissertation since 2012 and needed to bring it to a conclusion. I thus needed a quiet environment, ready access to my supervisor and access to physical learning resources and electronic resources. On the first night, I spent a night at Bohemia Backpackers Lodge in Observatory. For the next three nights I rented a room for a Zambian national in Kenilworth. It was interesting to travel to campus using train. It was much faster than using taxis (minibuses in Zambia). Search for accommodation In my search for suitable accommodation my next stop was Off the Wall Backpackers Lodge. The lodge was clean and comfortable. I intended to spend only one night but ended staying for three nights. I made some friends the...