11/06/2020
Hoop in hierdie vreemde tye (English follows the Afrikaans)
Die chaos blyk woedend te wees. Soos die daeraad oor die pas afgelope maande in ons vasgevange bestaan verby gesleep het, was dit al asof donker magte saamgesweer het om ons slagoffers te maak van vrees en onsekerheid.
Maar, tog was daar die storie oor die Kaptein uit Suid-Korea. Onthou jy dit nog? ‘n Storie oor hoe die chaos ‘n nuwe orde daar gestel het. Een waar die dekhand en die Kaptein ten spyte van hul nasionaliteit, rang, rykdom of status gelyke grond kon vind. Dit was ‘n storie oor vrees, angs en ander naamwoorde wat so baie van ons se toestand deesdae beskryf. En die wending? Dat hulle ten spyte van al hierdie byvoeglike naamwoorde tog rus kon vind. Rus in die woorde waarmee Danie hulle kon bedien: ‘Wees stil en weet, Ek is die Heer’.
Dan was daar die seeman in Richardsbaai. Woorde was arm om sy gebrokenheid te verpleeg. Want, hoe troos jy die ontroosbare? Geen woorde kon sy pa terugbring nie. Geen woorde sou die afstand oorbrug na sy familie wat hartgebroke aan die anderkant van die wêreld nie net ‘n pa, oupa en man begrawe nie, maar ook akuut bewus is van die leë stoel en bed van hul seeman seun en pa. Maar, in sy gesprek met Loffie ontdek hy dit: Teen die donker klink daar ‘n stem op wat onmiskenbaar hoop gee. Teen die agtergrond van afstand, vrees en angs is die stem duidelik. En, dis soveel meer as bloot woorde. Dis tasbaar, teenwoordig, werklik ... ‘Wees stil en weet, Ek is die Heer’.
Onthou jy die storie van Chris wat reflekteer op sy laaste paar skeepsbesoeke in Durban hawe? Die norm was altyd oop deure, vriendelike gesigte en gretige gespreksgenote. Nou, in die nuwe realiteit, vertel hy, is slot-en-grendel en agterdog die nuwe normaal. Van agter ‘n steriele wit masker word jy sinies bejeën met oë wat jou onseker meet. Die skielike agterdog natuurlik simptomaties van ‘n verwaarloosde waarheid – dat daar tussen ons almal - ek, jy, hulle, ons - ‘n onteenseglike band bestaan. My manier van wees beïnvloed iedereen. Dis hoogs aansteeklik.
Hy het vertel van sy besoek aan ‘n behoueringskip met Indiërs en Filippyne aan boord - hoe hy met meelewing en omgee kon luister na elkeen se storie met ‘n diep bewustheid dat die boodskap wat hy met hom saamdra hoogs aansteeklik is ... dat die boodskap van “Wees stil en weet, Ek is die Heer” vir elkeen van hulle, kan raak, kan beïnvloed en kan rigsnoer. Sy storie oor hoe hierdie waarheid ten spyte van slot-en-grendel oop harte kon vind ...
In ‘n ander hawe was daar Peter uit die Oekraíne. In al die jare op sy seeman-kerfstok het hy hiérdie nóg nié gesien nie ... Sy vrees vir hoe woedend die see kan word, is jare al getem. Ervaring het hom storms laat deursien en hom onwrikbaar en kalm agter die stuur van sy majestueuse ertsdraer laat staan met die definitiewe wete dat hierdie storm verby sal gaan ... Maar hierdie woedende chaos is anders as die woedende see. Gesigloos, reuk en klankloos trek dit deur die heelal en dít - dít is vreesaanjaend. Dit laat sy normaalweg kalm gemoed aan skerwe en laat hom soms verpletterd in ongekende deurmekaar waters van angs.
In sy gesprek met die CSO Kapelaan het dit gegaan oor die onsigbare - oor die werklikheid van dit wat ons nie kan sien en die vrees wat dit inboesem. Maar, dis hier waar hy ook bewus raak dat hy heil kan vind in dit wat onsigbaar is. Die teenpool van dit wat ons hoor wat verdoemend is, wat ons sien wat vreesaanjaend is en die gewigtige beklemming op ons borskas is ‘n stem uit die onsigbare: ‘Wees stil en weet, Ek is die Heer’.
En so is daar ‘n legio meer stories. Stories oor hoe CSO die realiteit van hoop in hierdie vreemde tye met seemanne kon deel.
CSO is soveel meer as ‘n paar Kapelane ... dit is uiteindelik ‘n familie donateurs wat elke gesprek, elke Bybel, elke kospakkie en elke stukkie omgee na elke skip in ons hawens neem. In elke liewe storie is die rol van ons donateurs onteenseglik vervleg. Wil jy dit nie dringend biddend oorweeg om deel te word van ons familie en met jou bydrae die boodskap van die Evangelie aan seemanne te neem nie? So sal ons seemanne in die woedende chaos kan aanhou herinner:
Wees stil en weet, Ek is die Heer.
Wees stil en weet, Ek Is.
Wees stil en weet.
Wees stil.
Wees
Mag jy ook hierin rustigheid vind.
Donasies: sms cso na 42030 om R30 te skenk. Of https://www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/cso vir ander EFT en kredietkaart opsies.Bankrek: Christelike Seemansorganisasie. ABSA. 630509. Rekno: 1520-230-226.
Hope in these difficult times.
The chaos seems really angry. As the daybreaks dragged their feet over the past few months, during our caged-in existences, it seemed as if all dark powers converged to make us the victims of fear and insecurity.
Yet, there was the story about the captain from South Korea. Can you remember? It was a story about how chaos created a new order. The story was about the captain and the deckhand, how they managed to find, despite their nationalities, rank, wealth or status, equal ground. It was a story about fear, anxiety and other descriptive words that describe how so many of us feel at the moment. In this situation, they found peace in spite of the many descriptions of our feelings. They found peace in the words that Danie shared with them: ‘Be still and know, I am the Lord’.
Then there was the man in Richards Bay. Words were not enough to heal his brokenness. How does one pacify those that cannot be pacified? No words could ever bridge the distance to his family that just buried a father, grandfather and man on the other side of the world. They did not only bury an important family member, they were also acutely aware of the empty chair and bed of the son and father that works at sea. While talking to Loffie, the man discovered the voice in the dark. A voice that, without a doubt, gives hope. Against the background of distance, fear and anxiety the voice was clear. It spoke more than mere words. It was tangible and present. It was real, ‘Be still and know, I am the Lord’.
Perhaps you remember the story about Chris, thinking about his last few visits to ships in the Durban harbour? The norm had always been open doors, friendly faces and people eager to converse. In the new reality this changed. Everything is locked and suspicion is the new norm. With faces hidden behind masks, only the eyes assess you with cynicism. The sudden suspicion is symptomatic of a neglected truth – that there is a bond between us all. There is an unmistakable bond between you, me, them us… My way of being affects all I meet. My way of being is highly infectious.
He told about his visit to a container vessel with a crew from India and the Philippines. He had a chance to listen, truly listen to each member’s story. He could empathise and care about the stories. He left with a deep awareness that his Message, the one he takes to them, is highly contagious. He realised that the Message of, ‘Be still and know, I am the Lord’, has the power to touch each of the men. He understood that it influences them and that it could become their guideline too. It is a story about the truth getting through to open hearts despite locks and keys…
In another harbour we met Peter from the Ukraine. In all his years of working at sea, he had never encountered a situation like this. His fear for the angry seas had been tamed a long time ago. Experience means that he can navigate through a storm calmly and securely, steering the majestic ore carrier to safer waters. He knows, without a doubt, that every storm will pass. But, the current angry chaos is different. It is not like an angry storm at sea. It is faceless, odourless and silent. It travels through the universe without being seen or heard. That, Peter finds nerve shattering. It changes his normal demeanour, his calm spirit and leaves him feeling broken and often in despair. It feels like unknown territory, not of the open seas, but of fear.
During his conversation with the CSO chaplain, they talked about the invisible, about the reality of things we cannot see and how that causes fear. That was also the moment when he realised that there is an opposite scenario. That the invisible can also heal and care. It is the exact opposite of what we hear about damnation and the heavy feeling in our chests. There is an invisible voice, ‘Be still and know, I am the Lord’.
There are thousands of similar stories, stories about the CSO sharing the reality of hope with men working at sea during this difficult time.
The CSO is so much more than a few Chaplains. Eventually we are part of a family of donors. Our donors are present in every conversation, every Bible, every food parcel and every single act of caring that we take on board the ships in our harbours. Every story is intertwined with the role that our donors play.
Your donation will help to share the Word and Message with the men working at sea. It will help us remind the men trying to survive the angry chaos, again and again:
Be still and know, I am the Lord.
Be still and know, I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
We hope that this will bring you peace of mind too.
Donations: sms cso to 42030 to donate R30. Or https://www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/cso for EFT and creditcard options. Bankacc: Christelike Seemansorganisasie. ABSA. 630509. Nr: 1520-230-226
