I was brought up to believe that Christians would always be a minority and that we had to defend ourselves from the ‘world’ and from those who would try to destroy our faith and steal our values and beliefs. Our church was like a castle with the drawbridge up. If only we can hang on till Jesus comes and judges our enemies, then will be saved, but everyone else will be for ever punished in Hell.
We tried our best to drag others in but every Sunday the gospel was preached largely to the already converted. “Come and join us,” was the message: “Sign on the dotted line, believe what we believe, stop smoking, drinking and dancing and we will accept you as one of us”.
I will be 70 years old later on this year. I have always had a sense of purpose in my life though it took me some time to realise what it was. At the age of 45, I left the computer industry to set up a charity. I have now passed control of the work to young people who are doing an excellent job. But what does the future hold for me?
I was in Sri Lanka visiting a mobile clinic run by Heidi. I had to drive up a muddy track with trees on one side and a drop on the other side. As I was driving up the hill an ox cart came the other way. Heidi thought the situation was hilarious! As I got hot and bothered trying to manoeuvre so the ox could get by, Heidi laughed and laughed! It was typical of her sense of humour.
In these days when ‘celebrities’ are revered it is tempting to think that it is only the big names like 
Gandhi is one of my heroes. I use the word “heroes” with caution. No one is perfect and we can be tempted to idolise. But there can be no doubt that Mahatma Gandhi was a remarkable man. People have written books about him, many films have been made about him including the well-known film directed by Richard Attenborough.
Compassion and Justice 