MemberJohn5918

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1,087 Books 3 Collections 539 Reviews

Collections: All collections (1,087), Your library (1,087), Recovered books (2)
Tags: fiction (293), africa (218), railways (214), spirituality (168), sudan (108), uk (101), war (90), steam (89), fantasy (83), christian (79), history (64), peace (51), church (46), south africa (46), children (36), erotic (36), humour (35), classic (30), east africa (27), ecology (24), human rights (24), creation (24), travel (22), usa (22), women (22), theology (21), biography (20), poetry (20), kenya (19), south sudan (18), music (15), justice (15), simple life (14), birds (14), footplate (14), nature (14), world (13), CST (12), liturgy (12), heritage (12), sf (11), uganda (11), reconciliation (11), pictures (10), maps (10), signalling (10), community (9), dictionary (9), hiking (9), psychology (9), art (8), stories (8), graphic (8), australia (8), aviation (8), islam (8), christianity (8), military (7), restorative justice (7), aid (7), model (7), gone away (7), songs (6), celtic (6), ireland (6), prayer (6), religion (5), grammar (5), garratt (5), cape to cairo (5), arabic (5), ministry (5), development (5), nuer (5), awareness (5), transport (5), pastoral (5), wildlife (5), london (5), zimbabwe (5), industrial (4), back-packing (4), pilgrimage (4), thriller (4), ilford (4), language (4), tanzania (4), bus (4), myth (4), liberation (4), mindfulness (4), politics (4), physics (3), hymns (3), botswana (3), cartoon (3), creation spirituality (3), autobiography (3), food (3), spain (3), dinka (3), wales (3), rhodesia (3), southern africa (3), congo (3), burma (3), native american (3), china (2), crime (2), gone (2), namibia (2), zambia (2), score (2), non-violence (2), tanganyika (2), narrow gauge (2), locomotives (2), mushrooms (2), landie (2), philosophy (2), reference (2), maritime (2), india (2), oil (2), countryside (2), buddhism (2), economics (2), mission (2), cosmology (2), organic (2), war crimes (2), medical (2), gardening (2), survival (2), egypt (2), animals (2), lyrics (2), catholicism (2), snakes (2), modern (1), poverty (1), ethnology (1), propaganda (1), forgiveness (1), science (1), empire (1), biafra (1), negotiation (1), literature (1), swahili (1), canada (1), ethiopia (1), railways. africa (1), serious (1), libretto (1), danish (1), gender (1), civil rights (1), sierra leone (1), culture (1), weird (1), slavery (1), zulu (1), europe (1), france (1), malawi (1), switzerland (1), catholic (1), asia (1), plants (1), encyclopedia (1), scripture (1), cars (1), walking (1), astronomy (1), dmu (1), falklands (1), zanzibar (1), cookery (1), nuba (1), ubuntu (1), diy (1), social (1), emu (1), self-defence (1), cranes (1), dialogue (1), massage (1), carols (1), standards (1), nonviolence (1), essex (1), saudi arabia (1), humanitarian (1), sport (1), arabia (1), electronics (1), linux (1), arabs (1), doctrine (1), hitler (1), angola (1), land rover (1), mozambique (1), diesel (1), syria (1), ruwenzori (1), computers (1), analysis (1), sotho (1), iraq (1), broad gauge (1), underground (1), swaziland (1), toilets (1), tube (1), cooking (1), trams (1), engineering (1), gay (1), kiswahili (1), coaches (1), buddhist (1), camino (1), crosswords (1), sanitation (1)
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Groups: African Literature, History and Politics, All Books Africa, Birds, Birding & Books, Catholic Apologetics, Catholic Tradition, Christian Worship and Liturgy, Christianity, Council of Elrond, Current Events, Emerging Church, Evangelists, Faith and Reason, Flashman and Fraser, Let's Talk Religion, Librarything Railroad (The LTR), Military Fiction, Military History, Monks, Monasteries and Monasticism, Pro and Con, Progressive Christianity, Readers for Peace, Readers Over Sixty, Speaking of Faith with Civilility, Steampunk, Sustainability, The Drones Club (all things P.G. Wodehouse), World Religions
Joined: Jan 3, 2006

Real Name: John
About My Library: My non-fiction collection probably falls into three main categories: (1) railways, related to my hobby; (2) and (3) spirituality and Sudan/Africa, related to my work. My taste in fiction is eclectic, and I have not catalogued a lot of the "pulp fiction" paperbacks of the sort I pick up at airports to keep me occupied while travelling. For many years my books were divided between two continents, so the LT online catalogue was very useful for me.

A comment on someone else's profile page about how many books they had which are shared by no other prompted me to look at my own statistics. Apparently about 11% of my books are unique to me, shared by no other LT member. These are mostly obscure books about railways and Africa.
About Me: Born in UK, I've spent most of my adult life living and working in Africa (Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa) in various sectors - education, church, justice and peace, human rights, reconciliation, nonviolence, humanitarian aid and development. I'm passionate about railways and I was a steam locomotive driver and fireman when I lived in South Africa. I'm also a volunteer on steam locomotives in Kenya, and I'm building an Africa-themed model railway in a forty foot shipping container at our home at the top of the escarpment overlooking Africa's Great Rift Valley. I'm married and we live in Kenya where I claim to be semi-retired. When asked to sum up my current status I usually say "retired missionary".

In 2020 I changed my username from "johnthefireman" to "John5918". Over the years a few people had assumed I was a firefighter. In fact I don't belong to that noble profession and the term refers to a steam locomotive fireman ("tallowpot" in US railroad jargon), stoking fires rather than extinguishing them. My new username is of course related to steam locomotives - 5918 is the number of a 250-ton East African Railways Beyer-Garratt named "Mount Gelai". This behemoth survived into preservation and I have been privileged to help maintain and operate her. By coincidence on a clear day I can see from my window the actual Mount Gelai after which the locomotive was named.

I think I've reached the point where I can describe myself as an author. I've produced four non-fiction books related to Sudan, "The Voice of the Voiceless: The Role of the Church in the Sudanese Civil War 1983-2005" (2014), "An Angry Shepherd: Sudanese Bishop Macram Max Gassis" (2021), "Pastor, Peacebuilder, Statesman: Rev Dr Haruun Ruun Lual" (2022) and "Faith on the Margins: The Diocese of Malakal" (2024), and one on Uganda, "Stop Fighting, Start Talking: Archbishop John Baptist Odama" (2024), all published by Paulines Publications Africa in Nairobi. I'm also the editor of "One Church from Every Tribe, Tongue and People: Symposium on the Role of the Church in the Independence of South Sudan" (2012). Rather a niche market, and certainly not likely to become best-sellers.
Location: Endoinyo Sidai, Kajiado County, Kenya
Homepage: http://groups.google.co.za/group/sudan-john-ashworth
Favorite Authors: Thomas Berry, Thich Nhat Hanh, Anthony de Mello, J. R. R. Tolkien