Africa Day, Wesley Day

Yesterday was Africa Day and Wesley Day and I was planned to take two services with the on trial local preacher I am mentoring. Sylvia is from Zimbabwe so it was appropriate that she should take Africa Day while I did the Wesley Day topic.
She spoke with some passion about her beloved country (Africa)about its beauty, its scenery, its multi cultural population and its wild animals in their natural habitat. She shared a story about offering to take one of her sons to the safari park to see the lions etc., he asked are they wild and she said well not really and he said he had seen the real thing so no he didn't want to go to the safari park. She spoke on the lectionary readings from Isaiah and Matthew and tied them into the Africa topic exceptionally well. There were many favourable comments made directly to her and to me about her and she was invited to speak at a ladies meeting at the one church (something I have never been asked to do at this particular church in over 10 years of preaching there.
While all this was very good she gave me a newspaper to have a look at that really brought home the truth of the bad situation in Africa. I have scanned the front page item and hopefully have reproduced it above - please read it and pray for Africa.

Revival Fires & Wesley Day

A bit of a tenuous link her in one sense but perhaps not in another. First point is I have received an email today from somebody who has been to the revival fires meeting in Dudley and said they felt a real sense of the presence of God and that there were people who were healed.
Second point is that I have been thinking about the fact that tomorrow is Wesley Day and while I knew that Mr Wesley had been listening to Luther's preface to the book of Romans that was all I knew. I have just read it and I think it is extremely powerful stuff and I could imagine if it were read by a gifted orator it would be the sort of thing that would make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. I could see how someone could say they felt their heart strangely warmed. If you haven't read it I would recommend you have a look at it and see for yourself.
You can check it out here http://www.ccel.org/l/luther/romans/pref_romans.html