Kapalpal Christadelphian School, Vanuatu

Where’s Vanuatu?  These picturesque islands are in the South Pacific, about 1,500 miles from Australia. This beautiful archipelago is not only noteworthy because of its stunning landscape, but also because of the spiritual inroads that have been made to spread the Good News.

The Kapalpal Christadelphian School is located on the island of Tanna  in Vanuatu.
The school opened its doors in 2009 and was begun in support of a brother who was volunteer teaching. The school, originally built to accommodate 70 children, was soon overburdened with 200 students!
A second building was added in 2010 and this year, a junior secondary school has been established. The extra classes for high school have meant that space has again become a major issue.

Thanks to volunteer workers and funding supplied by WCF, this summer a new building was constructed of earth-bags and timber. The students in the high school range in age from 12-20. Such an age range is not unusual in Vanuatu, where non-compulsory education can be interrupted for many reasons. The school follows the curriculum provided by the Vanuatu education department. Since Kapalpal is considered by the authorities to be a 'mission' school, the brethren have the freedom to teach the Good New of the Scriptures.
In the primary school, Sunday School lessons are also taught and a Bible camp is held annually.
The new building is made in good part of earth bags – synthetic bags filled with dirt. The upper half of the building is made of timber and is covered by an iron roof. Because the cost of getting materials to the island is high it was decided to employ local materials—bags of dirt and timber. Not only did this reduce building costs, but it was also a design that the local community could afford and replicate. The bags of earth would also in turn provide better protection from the cold, wind and rain compared to thatch and bamboo. It is anticipated that if built well, the earth bag homes should last much longer than those made of traditional materials. This project was facilitated by a grant of $20,000 from WCF.

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Maker of most popular weapon asks for repentance

In the world we can find many designers of instruments that can kill human or animal beings. they manage to create a thing able to destroy elements of nature, parts of the creation.

We can wonder how such creators can feel.

Just six months before his death in December Mikhail Kalashnikov described his struggling with the “unbearable spiritual torment” of knowing the carnage the AK-47 rifle wreaked upon the world.

The AK-47, the iconic assault rifle,  best known as the Kalashnikov [Avtomat Kalashnikova (Russian: Автомат Калашникова)], is widely regarded as one of the best - and deadliest in the world. It is is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first designed in 1945 in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov and in 1948 it became introduced as the fixed-stock version into active service with selected units of the Soviet Army.


Mikhail Kalashnikov was born in 1919 to a farming family in rural Russia. His family was viewed unfavorably by the Soviet establishment and deported to Siberia where the young Kalashnikov was forced to hunt with his father's rifle to feed the family. He was a self-taught tinkerer who combined innate mechanical skills with the study of weaponry to design arms that achieved battlefield ubiquity.
Seeing the drawbacks of the standard infantry weapons at the time, he decided to construct a new rifle for the Soviet military. During this time Kalashnikov began designing a submachine gun.

Mikhail Kalashnikov himself personally negotiated many contracts for weapons exports and licensing.  Over the course of his career, he evolved the basic design into a weapons family.
He created the AKM , the RPK, the general-purpose PK machine gun.

On his 90th birthday on 10 November 2009, Kalashnikov was named a "Hero of the Russian Federation" and presented with a medal by President Dmitry Medvedev who lauded him for creating "the brand every Russian is proud of".

In the months before his recent death, the world's greatest gun-maker Mikhail Kalashnikov suffered 'unbearable' pain over the lost lives caused by his weapons, an extraordinary new letter reveals.  
He sought urgent spiritual guidance from Russia's top churchman on whether he was guilty in the eyes of God, according to his emotional appeal to the Orthodox Patriarch.

"The pain in my soul is unbearable,"

he wrote.

 'If my machine gun has taken lives of people, does it mean that it is me, Mikhail Kalashnikov, aged 93, the son of a peasant, an Orthodox Christian, who is guilty of the deaths of people, even if they are enemies?'

"The longer I live, the more often that question gets into my brain, the deeper I go in my thoughts and guesses about why the Almighty allowed humans to have devilish desires of envy, greed and aggression. Everything changes, only a man and his thinking remain unchanged: he's just as greedy, evil, heartless and restless as before!"

In his letter to Kirill, which was reproduced by the Russian daily Izvestia on Monday morning, the aging designer explained how he turned to God as he grew older.

Mr Kalashnikov wrote that he his conversion began with the sense of “excitement” he felt when he first entered a church at the age of 91, later being baptised into the Orthodox faith.

A spokesman for the Church said Patriarch Kirril had welcomed the letter and even written a reply.

“This letter was very welcome at a time of attacks on the Church. The Patriarch thanked the legendary designer for his attention and position and answered that Mikhail Timofeevich was himself an example of patriotism and appropriate attitude to the country,”

Patriarch Kirill’s spokesman Alexander Volkov told the paper.

When we look at the answer we only can find it strange that those who call themselves man of God can give such a reply:

"If the weapon is used to defend the Motherland, the Church supports both its creators and the servicemen using it."

The poor excuse of Mr. Alexander Volkov did not help:

“He invented that weapon for the defence of the country, not for the use of Saudi Arabian terrorists.”

This clearly should let the members of that church think about the closeness of that church with the Creator and should wonder how much love they have for the Creation of the Supreme Being.

It is good to notice that this reply may not have comforted the dying Kalashnikov, who began visiting Church at the age of 91 in his working hometown of Izhevsk. At his old age perhaps the sense of responsibility for what one does came to him and made him question all his previous actions.

Even when Kalashnikov would not have killed any people himself, he should have been aware of what the tanks he worked at, the guns he designed and let been manufactured would have done to many people and destroyed many families. His designs remains eminently deadly to this day.

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Brits believe Santa present at Jesus’ birth, new poll reveals

A survey of over 2,000 Britons reveals a myriad of false assumptions surrounding Christmas, including Santa Claus’ presence in the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth.

According to the poll, 12 per cent of Londoners think the Bible features Father Christmas, while 60 per cent believe the same is true of Mary riding a donkey.
A whopping 84 per cent of the public believes that three kings visited Jesus, despite the Gospels only mentioning “wise men from the East”.

Seven per cent of the public think Christmas trees – introduced in Britain’s Victorian era – are in the Bible, a proportion which nearly doubles among 18 to 35-year-olds.

Continue reading: Brits believe Santa present at Jesus’ birth, new poll reveals

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Additional reading:

1. Christmas customs – Are They Christian?
2. Jesus begotten Son of God #1 Christmas and Christians
3. Jesus begotten Son of God #2 Christmas and pagan rites
4. The nativity story
5. Christmas, Saturnalia and the birth of Jesus
6. Irminsul, dies natalis solis invicti, birthday of light, Christmas and Saturnalia
7. Holidays, holy days and traditions
8. Wishing lanterns and Christmas
9. Christmas trees
10. Focus on outward appearances
11. Hanukkahgiving or Thanksgivvukah 
12. Thanksgivukkah and Advent
13. The imaginational war against Christmas
14. Peter Cottontail and a Bunny laying Eastereggs
15. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious

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Which Christians Actually Evangelize

A Christian is one who should follow the teachings of Jeshua, the Nazarene born in the tribe of king David, who is been called the son of God and the Messiah or Christ Jesus. One of those tasks Jesus has given to his followers is to go out into the world and to evangelize or witness.

According to a new survey from Barna Group. "Is Evangelism Going Out of Style?" evangelism is fading fastest among the middle class.

On Stepping toes I talk about my frustration when I look at the current position of people willing to bring the Good News to others.

73% of born again Christians say they have a personal responsibility to share their faith with others, but I can not see that they live or take action according to what they believe. Only half (52%) of born again Christians say they actually did share the Gospel at least once this past year to someone with different beliefs, in the hope that they might accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Evangelicals have the highest rate of failure to follow through (31% did not evangelize in the past year). By contrast, Catholics are the least likely to believe evangelism is their personal responsibility (34%), but in the United States have the highest success rate (33% did evangelize in the past year).

The study brings out that millennials are the one generation of "born-again" Christians where "the practice of evangelism is notably on the rise." But also that I can not really notice when I do look at the 'preaching world". Despite being known as the "social justice" generation — alleged to be trading spiritual causes for physical ones — evangelism among millennials increased nine percent in recent years, according to Barna. Other generations either stayed the same or declined in their evangelism practices.

Middle-class "born-again" Christians have the lowest rate of evangelism among other household income groups. 

Notes Barna:

This is particularly paradoxical since born again, middle-income adults are the most likely out of all income groups to affirm their personal responsibility to evangelize—76% do so. Yet only 37% of those adults have shared their faith this past year. Furthermore, born again, middle-income adults are evangelizing less and less. For example, from 2010 to today alone, their outreach efforts dropped from 51% to 37%.

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Christadelphian Youth Coalition 2013 Bo City conference

From 19^th to 22^nd December 2013 the Christadelphian Youth Coalition of the Christadelphian Bible Mission (CBM) is holding their annual conference at their Ecclesia Hall Water Lane in Bo City.

The event wants to bring together youths from various CBM branches in Sierra Leone (Freetown, Kenema, Bo, Blama, Wanjama, Talia etc.), for strengthening the relationship in the Body of Christ and to prepare the mindset of young people to be more focused and committed to the things of God.

In this world of materialism the spiritual is often forgotten. Youngsters are quickly taken by the modern gadgets and the facilities of internet social media and youtube video-clips.

At the conference various youth leaders shall be able to deliver messages of sound doctrine to sway the minds of youths from such worldly activities. In the Christadelphian community it is important to put the mind on the true values of life.

We and the CYC Youths believe that the youngsters are the future of the church. For that reason Stepping Toes is still looking for young people to write on the platform and to help create a magazine where youngsters also could find stuff interesting for them.

This gathering in Bo City shall enable the youngsters to come together to discuss issues of importance that ensures the development of their various Ecclesiae.

Several activities have been lined up to ensure a successful conference. These include:

• Bible Discussions in the morning and evening,
• general meetings to discussing and addressing issues of development that unites the Christadelphian Family in Sierra Leone,
• outdoor preaching, elections of new executives and indoor games.

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The Christadelphians, “Brothers and Sisters in Christ”, are a body of Bible believing people, who aim to live by faith in Jesus Christ, according to the teaching of his followers from the first century AD, finding their instruction in a wholly inspired Bible. Central to Christadelphian belief is that Christ will one day return to the Earth to establish the Kingdom of God and grant eternal life to his people – those who have tried to follow him and God.

The fundamental Christadelphian beliefs are:

The Bible is God’s word and the only message from him. It is without error, except for copying and translation errors. (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1:1. See also: The Bible, Why I Believe the Bible, and Alleged Biblical Errors.)

There is only one God – the Father. The Holy Spirit is God’s power. (John 17:3, Luke 1:35, Deuteronomy 6:4. See also God, Jesus and the Crucifixion, and The Trinity.)

Jesus is the Son of God, and also the son of a human being, his mother Mary, so making him Son of Man. Jesus was tempted just like us because of this. But Jesus was not just a great man, he was the Son of the Most High God, and was perfect. (Luke 1:30-31, John 3:18.See also God, Jesus and the Crucifixion, and The Trinity)

Man is mortal, having no existence when dead. (Psalm 6:5, Isaiah 38:18, Acts 2:29,34)

By living a sinless life, ending with his sacrificial death by crucifixion, Jesus has opened the way of salvation from death. (Hebrews 4:15, 1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Corinthians15: 20-23, Galatians 3:27-29)

Belief and baptism are essential steps to salvation. (Mark 16:16. See also Baptism and Salvation.)

God raised Jesus from death. Jesus is currently in Heaven, on God’s right hand. He will one day return. (Acts 10:40, Romans 8:34, Acts 1:11)

When Jesus returns, he will raise his “sleeping” followers from death and grant immortality to the faithful who have tried to live by God’s precepts. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

His followers will help him to rule, bringing justice, righteousness and peace to the whole world – the Kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 15:23-26).

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Find Stepping Toes the internet magazine composed by (more progressive) Christadelphians: Stepping Toes

Being Religious and Spiritual 1 Immateriality and Spiritual experience

Being Religious and Spiritual 2 Religiosity and spiritual life

Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual

Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people

Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences

Being Religious and Spiritual 6 Romantici, utopists and transcendentalists

Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one

Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious

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