Tragedy

Monday, July 12, 2010, 12:20AM

Driving, Free State, South Africa

We’re driving to sleep somewhere after the world cup final.  Man that was a rough match to watch.  It was a tragedy that the Netherlands didn’t win.  I'm not sure if I'm mad or sad... maybe both.  Either way its still tragic.

And it's snowing!  Which is very new for Lourens and Elsa and very old for me.  It's almost exactly appropriate to tonight's outcome.  I think the perfect weather would be a tragic rain storm.  It would definitely fit the mood.

Friends and Soccer

Sunday, July 9, 2010, 6:00PM

Driving through the Free State, South Africa

Not much has happened since I wrote last.  I’ve been at Louren’s parents’ house since Friday, hanging out and doing a couple things.  On Wednesday night, I went to a public viewing park (right) with a friend I met in Brussels last year, Jaco.  We met up with some of his friends and had a really fun time.  There was maybe a thousand other people at the park, nothing too serious but enough to get the crowd feel.  The crowd seemed to be split 50/50 on wanting Spain or Germany to win.  I wanted Spain to win because I felt like they would be an easier team for the Netherlands to beat, but now I’m not sure!  They looked so strong against Germany.  Anyways, they did win and we had fun cheering for them.

On Thursday, Lourens and I had to drive to a different town to get his tires changed.  His dad was able to find someone to sponsor his new tires, so we met them at the shop.  While the tires were getting changed, his dad took us out to lunch.  We went to this fairly nice restaurant where all four of us got big steaks.  It was really good!  By the time we got back, another friend from Brussels, Andre, was at the house waiting for us.  We were giving him a lift to the airport and hanging out beforehand.  On the way, we picked up Jaco, making it a really fun time.  For me it was kind of like a very small Brussels reunion… except it was missing a whole lot of people.  When we got to the airport, we had some time to kill so we just got a table at a restaurant and hung out for the remaining time.  It was so much fun just relaxing and hanging out with those guys.  I definitely already consider them some of my closest friends and to have that time together was really good.  We said bye to Andre and drove Jaco back.  On the way, Jaco offered to show me around Pretoria and drive me home.  That was another really fun experience.  I got a tour of the city, seeing the Parliament building (right), the city center, and a great view over the whole area.  Then I got to see where Jaco usually hangs out with his friends, and a tour of Pretoria University.  I felt like I got to see everything in a very different way than most people since it was at night and with a well-educated local.  Jaco is about to get his history degree at Pretoria, so he knew all the details about every little piece of Pretoria.  At the end of the night, we took a picture for the memories and headed home.

On the way home, I got a great email from my aunt.  My cousin, Andrew, is in Kenya for the next year plus, working on a water sanitation project there.  If you would like to know more, he is also maintaining a blog: http://savannahgrams.blogspot.com

With Elsa's parents

Friday we left Elsa’s parents’ house to go to Lourens’ parents’ house (only a 30 minute drive or so).  When we got there, we unpacked and waited for their domestic worker, Martha to finish her shift.  Martha has worked in the Martiz family home for more than 25 years, helping raise Lourens and his two sisters.  When she finished up, Lourens, Elsa, and I drove her to her home in a township down the street.  We sat down and had a conversation with her, doing a needs-assessment of their life in this township.  By the end of the conversation, we found out a lot.  This township has electricity, decent roads, waste removal, access to clean water, and sanitation- all of the basic physical needs of a community.  The major needs there are access to income and adequate nutrition for children.  So as a start to the development relationship, Lourens’ mom is sponsoring a feeding scheme there.  A lady that lives with Martha said if she could be paid, she would buy and make food for children.  This system will be a start to helping the larger problem- feeding 40 children three times a week and creating a job for an unemployed woman.  On the way back from Martha’s home, I took a video outside the window while Lourens and Elsa talked and explained some of the conversation to me (it had all been in Afrikaans).  The rest of the day we spent hanging out with his family, relaxing and watching movies.

Lourens, Martha, Elsa

Saturday was pretty much the same except we woke up early to watch the Springbocks Rugby game.  It’s really interesting how similar SA is to the US!  The rugby-soccer relationship in SA is the same as the football-soccer relationship in the US.  I’m still the minority, preferring soccer over rugby here too.  After the game, Lourens and I went on a bike ride around a farm close by.  It was really cool to see where he used to play as a kid and all the stories that came with.  By the end, I was nice and sweaty and sat down to recover.  Three movies later, I got up to eat dinner.  I was a little ashamed with how lazy I was, but it was really good to relax for a while.  After dinner, we watched the Germany vs Uruguay game.  I was so happy Germany won!  They not only deserved it, but Uruguay deserved to lose after cheating so horribly against Ghana.

Now today, we woke up at a decent time, packed up the car, ate lunch, and got on the road to drive back to Stellenbosch.  We are stopping tonight to watch the Netherlands beat Spain in the World Cup Final!  Man I’m excited.  I’ve got my dutch jersey on again.  So far they have won every time I wear it! (They’ve also won their last 25 games, somewhat reducing the correlation between my support and their success… somewhat.)  After the game, we’ll spend the night somewhere close by and finish the drive tomorrow.  The next ten days will be very significant.  They are the last days of this trip in South Africa and will really answer a lot of questions.  Til next time, “Hup, Holland, Hup!”

Mamelodi!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010, 6:00PM

13^th Floor Headquarters, Pretoria, South Africa

Monday was a nice, relaxing day of driving and hanging out with Elsa’s family.  And I got to talk to Clancy (below)!  It was really nice to have a conversation with her after she had been in India.  I finally got to hear some stories (I’ve been bugging her for some over email since she got home).  It sounded like she had an amazing time.  If you would like to find out more for yourself, check out her blog: www.clancyosullivan.blogspot.com

The little white thing on the left is the 3G internet! Pretty cool!

Yesterday, I got to serve in the township here, called Mamelodi.  It was such a cool experience to see how God is working in this part of the country.   When we got there, the kids were all split up by age, doing different activities (right top).  We met the coordinator for the week and got the quick run down of how they do things.  She is also staff for a community building center that has sponsored the kid’s event.  The organization is called Funanani and is very similar to the organization that was a part of Keep Them Safe in Kayamandi called Kuyasa (I can’t remember if I meantioned it before).  Nonetheless, in a couple of minutes, I was hanging out with the kids.  They were doing an “obstacle course” where they ran under some string and through some hula-hoops.  They had a fun time doing it and were dismissed for snack once everyone completed the course.  I was so impressed with the organization of this program because before each major shift in schedule, the kids would line up at the bottom of a hill, settle down slightly, and then move on to the next event (right bottom).  From their lined-up stance, they all got snack, and then went to their small groups.  I joined a random group, trying to blend in with the kids and observe.  Unfortunately, I stick out.  Not sure if it’s from the beard, the height, or the white skin… or all of them.  I did my best to encourage the kids around me to focus on the Bible verse they were supposed to be memorizing, but they were much more interested in petting my arms and checking out my watch- classic.  A few of them did memorize the verse and by the time we finished up, it was time for lunch.  Lunch was a huge accomplishment!  Feeding 1,000+ kids was extremely impressive.  The leaders lined up tables for the kids to wash their hands at one station and get a cup of soup and bread at the next (below left).  It went surprisingly smooth and there was plenty of food.  And it was good too!  By 1pm the kids left and the teenagers came.  By 2pm the morning volunteers had left and a new set of volunteers from Ambassadors for Sport arrived.  The changeover of leadership was smooth and we got right in to the soccer workshops.  I found someone who needed some extra help with running a “header” workshop where we played a new type of volleyball (below right).  We set a row of teens in the middle of the field as the net and the opposing teams had to volley the soccer ball back and forth only using their heads.  They had a fun time playing and it was definitely amusing to watch.  After an hour or so, we had snack and sat down in small groups.  We went through the story of Jonah, focusing on how he couldn’t hide from God, and then related it to soccer when we make a mistake and get a red or yellow card.  We can’t hide from the ref or the video replays that show it over and over again.  This story paved the way for one of the leaders to talk to all of the guys together, unfolding the gospel and explaining it in one of the most majestic ways I have ever seen or heard.  As I was standing there I couldn’t help but smile as I could see how God was working in the words that the man was speaking to the teens.  I left there feeling very energized and encouraged.

Taking a step back, I was sometimes worried with the program in Kayamandi; it seemed to lack some organization or structure at different times.  I don’t mean to discount or bash the program there, but it definitely needed a little help.  The program here in Mamelodi was encouraging because it was extremely organized, having a strict schedule, driven leadership, and well-behaved kids.  After seeing how the two programs were lead and carried on, and having some background info explained to us, Lourens and I realized that money definitely plays a huge role in the organization of a program.  We also realized that implementing local leadership might not produce the exact product that we usually expect or hope for, but the long-term effects of that leadership could have much better, lasting impact.  The program in Kayamandi was lead by leaders from that community, local leaders that show huge potential.  The program in Mamelodi is lead by leaders that reside outside of the community, leaders that have a lot of experience.  Now the question commonly asked is “Which method is better?”  Well, I certainly don’t know.  Hopefully over the years I will figure it out.  But at the same time, God is still actively participating in both scenarios, and with him the results are exactly as they should be.  So maybe I shouldn’t try to figure it out and just invite God to lead my life more deliberately.  All in all, it is really the question of the century, something that may or may not ever have an answer.

And on a lighter note, after the program, I went with Elsa and Lourens to get dinner and meet up with another friend I met in Brussels.  We got KFC for dinner which is actually MUCH better in South Africa than the U.S.  I do not know why or how, but it was almost as good as Chik-fil-a… almost…  From there we went to the CEO of 13^th Floor’s house to watch the Netherlands beat Uruguay.  It was such a good game!  And it was very fun to hang out with those people and meet Flaps, the CEO.  Now I’m thinking and searching and trying to find reasonably priced tickets for the final game!  The chances of getting them is very slim, so I don’t have my hopes up too high.

Today, I spent the morning catching up on the blog, writing some notes, and doing the wash.  It’s almost time for dinner now, and afterwards I am headed to a public viewing park to watch the Spain vs Germany game.  Hopefully they don’t close this one down for high winds like last time!  Let’s go Spain!!

Animal Kingdom

Monday, July 5, 2010

Elsa’s Parent’s Home, Pretoria, South Africa

Wow what a weekend!  I’m in Pretoria now, after an extremely exciting weekend spent in the Kruger National Park. First let me explain that around the world there’s a group of animals called “The Big Five,” consisting of the leopard, lion, rhinoceros, buffalo, and elephant (respectively listed in order of scarcity).  The Kruger contains all five, so people always try to find them (I’ll count for us).  On Friday we drove (you must be in a car at all times) into the Kruger Park around 11am.  We didn’t expect to see much since the best time is in the early morning and before sunset.  But, man were we lucky!  Within 10 minutes, we saw a buffalo (1/5; picture 1 below)!  It was pretty far off, but we could still see the huge horns rocking as it ate grass.  As we started to leave, Lourens stopped.  Leopard (2/5; picture 2 below)!  The cat came walking right out onto the road.  Lourens said he has been visiting the Kruger his whole life and never saw a leopard on the road before.  Then someone told us where we might see some lions.  On our way there, we saw a bunch of elephants (3/5; picture 3 below)!  There was a mom with a fairly small (still taller than me) elephant.  We came around a turn to a wide-open area, surrounded on one side by cars.  They were all stopped, looking at three male lions (4/5; picture 4 below)!  We had only been in the park for an hour and seen four out of the five “Big Five.”  Lourens and his whole family said they have never experienced this.  Someone must have told the wild kingdom I was coming!  Now we were determined to see a rhino before the day was over.  We spent the next two hours searching, driving past warthogs, giraffes, elephants, and wildebeests.  While we were looking at the wildebeests, Lourens, with his amazing eyes, saw something in the bushes.  It looked like another leopard!  We realized it was headed for the road and drove towards it.  Then three cheetahs popped out (picture 5 below)!  They were on the hunt and it was so cool to watch.  We headed back to camp and on the way we finally saw the rhino (5/5; picture 6 below)!  In three hours we had seen all five plus more- so cool!

The rest of the day and weekend we relaxed, eating way more food than I needed to!  They have been treating me so well here.  I really am extremely blessed.  And it’s fun too!  I got to experience a true South African braai (right).  It’s basically grilling but is held at a much higher place in the SA culture.  We had huge steaks and salad and potatoes- making me feel a bit closer to home.  I also got to drive around the park a bit (picture 1 below).  Man was that weird!  If you didn’t know already, South Africa drives on the wrong- I mean left- side of the road (it’s been really hard to try to get used to; I’ve freaked out a couple times, thinking the driver was crazy).  The rest of our drives were not as fruitful as the first, but we still saw a lot of wildlife and some really cool birds (picture 2 below).

On Sunday, we drove back to our friend, Nikita’s, house in Nelspruit, where I continued to feel even closer to home.  The family was loving, the house was warm with memories, and the food was delicious- all the things I love about my own home.  It definitely made me miss my parents and brothers but at the same time made me a lot more relaxed.  This morning, Nikita made us a delicious breakfast and sent us on our way.  And as a background for those who don’t know: Nikita was one of the people I met in Brussels last year when I met Lourens, so this was a very cool and exciting experience to meet up a year later in her home country (left).  I am always amazed when I look back on the past year and see how God has brought me to this point.  It’s awesome.

God Uses Ghost

Thursday, July 1, 2010, 7:02PM

In the Car, Mgodwana, South Africa

I am currently in the back seat of a Toyota Yaris, driven by Lourens.  We have been driving for the past ten hours today, after driving eight hours yesterday, headed to Nelspruit.  We will spend tonight in Nelspruit with a friend and then drive another hour tomorrow into Kruger National Park!  For the next three days, we will be hanging out and searching for lions, rhinos, elephants, leopards, buffalo… basically it will be the Discovery channel, but in real life.  Nonetheless, this past week was filled with some great experiences.

On Monday we put down the concrete foundation/floor of a shack that Serve the City built last week (Lourens pictured right).  It was some pretty intense labor, leveling the ground, compressing it, and mixing sand, cement, and water together to create the proper mixture for concrete.  We had some help from some of the local boys who brought us the water.  It was neat to get them involved in the process. After a couple hours, we completed the task.  The rest of the day was pretty relaxed, spending some time together as a team in what they call “face-to-face.”  It is church for the 13^th Floor groups.  Once a week, they come together in fellowship (Matthew 18:20).  This week, we focused on forgiveness- that everyone has people in their life that they have not forgiven, whether it was the kid who stole your lollipop in first grade or something more serious.  It was a very neat experience, opening up to some of the other people and having an intimate conversation about our pasts.

Then Tuesday rolled around.  Well, more like epically crashed into us.  We went to a juvenile detention center.  On the ride there everyone was talking about how uncomfortable they were with the idea and all of the precautions we were going to take.  Once we got there, we unpacked the truck so we could set up to show the Japan vs Paraguay game and so the 13^th Floor crew could perform their show.  While we were setting up, we slowly realized how wrong it was for us to be so worked up about being in a detention center (below).  These were just kids.  No older than 16 years old.  And they were human.  Just like us.  But trapped, barricaded, removed from society because they didn’t fit the institutionalized norms.  And they were the best audience the 13^th Floor crew ever had.  It was as if God had been prepping the group for this moment.  To understand completely, let me describe the play, titled "Ghost," to you that they have been performing all week:

A soccer star from a township gets caught up in selling drugs.  He made the choice to try to take the easy way to making money.  That choice led him to a party where acid was accidently poured in his eyes.  The soccer star was instantly blind, no longer able to play his beloved sport and pursue his dream of winning the world cup.  His mom spoke some words of wisdom to him, encouraging him to coach the team he was once a part of.  His coaching skills lead the team to victory, bringing them to the world cup.  The ending scene has him looking into a mirror, reflecting on the choices that he has made.

This play sets the stage for one of the 13^th floor guys to come up and do ministry.  Pieter spoke straight truth into the boys’ lives, summarizing the play and making it relate to them a bit more personally.  I got extremely excited as I watched God take over, leading Pieter in his talk and convicting some of the boys.  Afterwards, there was one boy that was really touched by it; two of our team members were talking with him and praying with him.  It was awesome- in the true sense of the word.

On Wednesday (Compassion Day), we took the kids from Kayamandi to paint the same park that we cleaned the week before.  The kids had a great time, almost fighting over whose turn it was to paint next (right).  Then the team drove over to Enkhanini where we finished the bridge that we had started the week before.  It turned out great and we took some time to debrief ourselves, sharing what we liked and any cool stories that connected us more with the locals.  Then it was time for me to say bye to the 13^th Floor team.  It was really hard!  The past two weeks had brought us very close.  Driving all around the greater Cape Town area, loving on kids, and serving in a township quickly solidified many friendships.  We all hugged and said our goodbyes, taking a final photo of us all (below).  As we were leaving (Lourens, Elsa, and I were leaving for our roadtrip), one of the locals that we are good friends with asked when we were coming back next.  We told him it would be about ten days until we were back again and he said, “No, no, that’s no good.  You must say one and a half days and that is good!”  We felt extremely encouraged at this statement, realizing we really have good relationships there.  It put us in a great mood for the drive up north towards Pretoria.