Becoming Chris Kamalski

It's metaphorically ironic how much the NieuCommunities/Pangani Ark looks like a coffin (Something must die for something else to rise!).

Really proud of NieuCommunities South Africa  for carrying forward the mission and memory of NieuCommunities South Africa into the heart of Pretoria from our old stomping grounds way out in Pretoria North, Pangani.

I was initially called back to Pretoria to not only pursue Maxie (the real reason :)), but also to help NieuCommunities South Africa move into the heart of the city center and transition towards apprenticing Africans into sustainable mission around the world. It’s been amazing as Maxie and I have somewhat returned to square one in the past few weeks of our discernment process to realize that my two initial reasons in mission for returning to Pretoria are well on their way to completion, within the time frame (2 years from early 2010) of my commitment towards this very transition (again, 1: helping our missional community move into the heart of Pretoria to align ourselves more centrally with the life and needs of the city, and 2: transitioning toward the apprenticing in mission of South African leaders).

This is happening people, as evidenced by NCSA’s wonderfully creative “Pangani Ark” retreat this past weekend. Here’s Joe’s thoughts, and a Facebook album:

As a missional monastic community, Pangani played a critical part in our formation. God met us all in deep ways. This is our constant reminder that we stand on the shoulders of many others who came before. As we move to where God has us in the city, we carry these memories with us. Baie dankie dat jy God vir die gawe van Pangani! (via Joe Reed, Director of NieuCommunities South Africa)