A little piece of big news...

Once again it feels like time is flying by, this school seems to be going so much faster than my DTS (Discipleship Training School) did earlier this year.

I wanted to take a minute to give an update on the "big news" I mentioned in my previous post. I have decided to make a 5 year commitment to the YWAM base here in Cape Town. It was not a decision I took lightly, a lot of prayer and thought went into this. I feel called to stay here and work with the DTS department for the next few years. How that will actually look as time progresses is something I'm unsure of but I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. South Africa is now home for the next 5 years...that's a scary thought sometimes! I'll leave this news as it is and will refrain from expanding on it anymore than I already have. If you have questions or want to know more please send me an email and we can talk about it.

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Our speaker in class this week has had many thought provoking statements and testimonies to share. Today he shared a song with some spoken lyrics read in the middle of it. The entire thing was incredible but there was one line that hit closer to home for me than the rest. The speaker said this about the current Christian generation that is rising up: they pray as if it all depends on God and they live as if it all depends on them.

When I first heard this a rebellious thought rose up in me. We aren't supposed to live as if everything we do depends on us, we aren't saved by the things we do. I'm not even debating that, I know it's true, but follow me with this here.

A new generation is being established and a new revival is breaking out in front of our eyes. People today are buying into the idea that they can change the world. Our speaker, Jeff, put it like this. People are buying shoes (like TOMS) that make their feet stink only because a new pair of shoes is being sent to Africa to help children in need. People go to fair-trade coffee shops (because it supports third world farmers) even though the coffee might be horrible compared to the shop next door.

This generation is looking for something to believe in and live out fully. They aren't happy with the folks who speak out on various issues but don't actually live it. If we don't live our lives as if we believe in God on more than just Sunday morning then who are we going to influence?

I think some of us need to start living our lives as if it all depends on our actions. We need to stop standing around waiting for God to tell us to move and actually start moving.

I met a man this week who sold his business in the US, packed his family onto an airplane, and moved to Africa. Do you think God will punish him if he wasn't supposed to move? He's taking a step to do what he believes is right. If a child brings you a drawing do you yell at them for coloring outside the lines? Of course not! If we know to not punish someone who is trying their hardest to please us then how much more does God know about this? He is desperately seeking those who are willing to take a step of action!

These are the forerunners of a new revival, are we running with them or are we running scared because they are doing something different?

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In other news, I'm leaving for India in 5 weeks! My co-leader and I are meeting regularly to figure out details for helping the students with ministry options during the 11 weeks we'll be there. I'm excited to be reconnecting with 2 cities I was in earlier this year and working with established missionaries to help continue their work there.

I still need help to make all of this happen though. I'm praying for $1,500 to come in soon so I can cover my share of the food and housing while we are there. I also need $300 within 48 hours to be able to pay for the plane ticket that we have booked right now. If you are interested in making a single donation or you want to help with continuing monthly support you can find a link at the upper left corner of this page labeled "How to Donate". I would love it if you would stand with me in prayer for this need.

September Updates

I know this is a bit overdue, sorry for the delay. Life has been hectic lately, you'll see why momentarily.

Before the update though, I need to make a few administrative details known.

I have two addresses for my blog, www.beardedramblings.com and www.beardedramblings.blogspot.com. Please bookmark the second one and use that as it will always work. The first address simply redirects back to the other site and apparently it quit working temporarily a month or two ago. I'm not sure why it happened but I was able to get it corrected. In case it happens again it would be handy to have www.beardedramblings.blogspot.com saved.

I've started sending out monthly updates via email. My intention is to gradually shift my blog to a space more for thoughts on what is going on around me and have the email updates focused on the actual work I'm doing. If you would like to receive these updates please send me an email at kennyhall1985@gmail.com or contact me via Facebook.

I think that's about everything I needed to cover so here's the juicy updates you've all been waiting for...

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After a request from my school leader and much prayer I've decided to lead a team of students back to India for 12 weeks. We will be leaving about a week before Christmas and there's not much else I know at the moment. The students will start praying about whether they feel led to go to India or not next week, please stand in prayer with them as they decide their outreach locations.

I've been in contact with a great woman of God whom I met back in August. She lives in my hometown but her parents live in India. Her and her husband will be in India during Christmas and we are looking at ways my team can partner with the ministry her parents work with. It will be an exciting time if everything works out.

I'm also looking at returning to two of the previous locations that I was at earlier this year. The goal would be to continue to build relationships with established Christians in southern India. Both locations have relatively small ministries and our work there last time was a great help to them.

Please pray for wisdom in determining the ministry options we are being presented with. Also direction for the students when they choose their outreach locations (they get to pick between Kenya, Johannesburg, and India), and for the finances to come in for everybody. Our outreach will be the most expensive because of it's location, we're budgeting approximately $2,500 per person.

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Things have been quite chaotic as I mentioned earlier. My main focus at the moment is staffing the current Discipleship Training School (DTS). My duties include sitting through lectures each day, mentoring two of the students in a one on one setting each week, helping to facilitate a small group of students (seven to be exact) to further their understanding of the lectures each week. I'm also taking a financial planning class two afternoons a week, planning for the India outreach, attending the numerous staff meetings at the base, and working to establish a local ministry within Cape Town.

The ministry in Cape Town is something that has been on my heart for quite awhile now. You can read about my first experience there by clicking here. Since that time I've had a desire to return and start ministering to the people that frequent the area. I was able to do that for the first time on Friday night.

I took one other staff member and 5 students to Long Street and we had an amazing time. This is what one of the students had to say about the evening on Facebook the next morning.

"Long street in Cape Town was amazing! Talking to different people,

praying for them! it was a great experience!

It was quite a night to say the least. We were able to talk with a man selling marijuana on the street, a prostitute who had had all of her clothes stolen the night before, and a man who owned a nightclub nearby. Our goal is to establish connections and build relationships with local people in order to share our passions and their burdens.

It's taken time to get to the point of taking a team into Cape Town. I know it's only been one night but this was a huge step and I'm eager to see what the next couple months bring. I have three students who will be going with me on a regular basis and a handful of others who have expressed an interest in going when they are not busy with other ministries.

Please pray for our safety during these times. The best time for us to go is during the weekend nights when the most people are out, it's not exactly the safest time to be out on the street. We would also appreciate prayer for finances to come in for this specific ministry. It costs money to cover the gas and parking fees while we are there. We'd also like to be able to meet some of the practical needs of the people (buying food for the hungry, etc).

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Thank you for all your prayers already. I feel so incredibly loved over here. Life is still a struggle but God is moving in big ways. I have one other announcement, it's quite a big step for me personally. You're going to have to wait for my October newsletter at the end of the month though. :D

Much love,

Kenny

This is your life!

I've been rearranging my blog again. On the left side you'll notice a couple quick links for various topics. I'm still working on one or two but the others are up and ready for review. Check them out and see how you can help support the work I'm doing. These will be updated often to give a better idea of what is needed.

The past couple weeks have been hectic and relaxing at the same time. I've spent quite a bit of time visiting with friends and working on getting my paperwork finalized in order to get back to South Africa. The visa process is long and frustrating but will hopefully be shipped off for approval towards the end of next week. Stay tuned for further updates but in the meantime I've written down some thoughts from a few days ago.

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I was driving around town recently when a song I've heard hundreds of times came on the radio. I actually heard the words and the depth of them this time, I'd encourage you to listen to it right quick if you're able to.

The line that really struck me was "this is your life, are you who you want to be?". As it repeated over and over it resonated within me. I realized that I am who I want to be. I'm finally at a point in life where I enjoy what I do and know that I'm working for a cause bigger than myself. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed every job I've had for various reasons but I'm doing something that I believe in now.

I know some people who do mission's or humanitarian work simply for the praise of others. While that's nice, it's certainly not the reason I'm returning to Africa. I've been criticized by loved ones and have unfortunately seen distance grow in certain relationships. South Africa was the last place I wanted to go originally; it's on the other side of the world and I didn't know a single person when I arrived. It was impossible for me to step back onto a plane and just turn around, I had to figure out what I was doing and why.

I've seen the kids who ask for a dime so they can buy a piece of bread for dinner, the parents who want to talk about their unemployment and alcohol problems, the grandparents who have become a burden on their children because they are too old to work. The men on the street who wake up every morning wanting to be a "good man" but have to sell drugs in order to make a living, the women who sell their bodies for money, the blind, paralyzed, limbless bodies that seem to clutter the streets asking for food. I've become broken for a broken world. I can no longer sit back and watch life's atrocities pass by while sipping a coke. Something has to be done.

I've come to accept that I'll never be rich, but I can help enrich the lives of others. Helping families find work, playing with children who crave attention, just sitting and talking with people; these are skills that I have and can pass on. My desire is to help others learn to listen, speak with compassion, and share their heart.

The greatest Biblical commandment is to love. Love is not silent or passive, it takes action. You can't love your spouse, friend, neighbor, or stranger without performing some action to show them the feelings inside you. Love gets up and moves.

I understand the predicament that most people are in. They are tied down for various reasons whether financially, for work, friends, family, ailments, love, or anything else. It makes sense to me, but not doing something at all doesn't make sense. You don't have to travel the world to make an impact, your home is your world. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, give a buck to a homeless man (even if you think he might spend it on booze), watch the bratty kids of a single parent for an evening and let them have some time alone, smile at a stranger for no reason other than to possibly brighten their day.

We all are citizens of the same world and we all have certain gifts that others don't. Everyone has a talent; baking, cleaning, singing, painting, writing, etc. Each of those talents can be used to help change the world around you. Like an earthquake, that change will create a ripple effect and affect a greater number than you'll ever realize.

I recently heard of a man in New York who loves to draw and figured out a way to use his passion for change. He's offered to send an original drawing to anyone who sends money for a certain charity he supports. The charity gets money, the people get a picture, and he gets to draw. His passion is inspiring change within his sphere of influence.

This last video was presented to us on our DTS by a man from the US. He moved to Afghanistan when he was 18 to do missionary work and has been there for over 10 years now. He currently helps hundreds of students get a better education because he wasn't afraid to get out of his comfort zone and move to one of the most dangerous places in the world. The creator of this video made it as part of an inspirational contest about what matters to him in life. I hope you're as invigorated by it as I am.

What the future holds now...(possibly my longest post ever)

I apologize for the lack of communication lately. It's been well over two months since I last wrote and while I can justifiably blame that on the busyness of my life, there have been times when I had the time to update everyone but didn't. For that, I apologize. So now, without further ado, an update for your reading pleasure.

India:

Our final 3 weeks in India were spent in the northern part above Delhi. We worked in 3 different towns that are all linked together by the missionaries who work there. They formed a network in order to provide moral support as well as technical support for the many issues that they face on a daily basis. The 4 families we had the privilege of staying with blessed us immensely with their hearts and passion. They truly live out what it means to lay your own life aside and work to improve the lives of others.

If it seems like I'm being vague about the specifics of who we visited, where we were, and what we did, it's meant to be like that. The area we were in is a heavily unreached area but the government fights Christianity as they see it. There were many words we weren't allowed to say (such as missionary and anything related to YWAM) in case someone was listening. In order to have Bible studies in the evenings we would shut the doors to our house, close the windows and draw the curtains shut. Everything had the be a secret.

These are some of my favorite pictures that were taken during our time up there. We did many things and this will give you a better picture of what was involved.

At one of our first stops we had the opportunity to improve the quality of a local school. We spent a week painting an ocean scene on some of the walls of the school. We also told stories to the children, performed skits, colored, sang songs, and played games like "Duck, Duck, Goat". One of the boys heard me wrong when I was explaining the game and he heard "goat" instead of "goose". It provided quite a few laughs for those involved. This photo is showing my extreme painting skills. As my ability to draw anything more complex than a smiley face is somewhat limited all I did was paint between the lines of what was drawn on the wall. :)

At a separate school we spent 2 days working with the students who were learning English. We even had a debate set up where we discussed the differences between many things (coffee vs tea, rural life vs city life, baseball vs cricket).

This is the start of our five day hike at the foot of the Himalaya's. We were joined by two Norwegian guys on vacation and spent our mornings and evenings involved in worship and prayer for the local people.

Dinnertime after our first day. We had a beautiful view from this wall where we ate.

The morning of day 4 was spent on this hilltop with an amazing look at some of the Himalaya's. This is the majority of our team immersed in prayer.

The last four days of our time in India were spent in Delhi. We took time to debrief the previous nine weeks and then spent a day in Agra at the Taj Mahal.

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After India the team returned to South Africa where we were reunited with the rest of our school. It was exciting to see everybody else and hear the stories of how their outreaches were spent (the other teams went to Thailand, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines). The 10 days back in SA were quite amazing but I was happy for the opportunity to head back to sunny California.

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So, many people have been asking what is next on my agenda of life. After much prayer and thought I've decided to join the staff of the YWAM base in Muizenberg, South Africa and assist with the Discipleship Training department.

I'll be leaving California sometime in mid-September and have committed to 9 months at the base in Muizenberg. I'll be working directly with the students, helping with the local ministry in the township, and filling various roles as needed. I'm incredibly excited about the opportunity to continue with YWAM and am getting ready for an onslaught of preparation in the next few weeks. It's going to be very hectic but I'm confident it will be just as rewarding at the same time.

If I haven't had an opportunity to visit with you in person yet and you'd like that to happen, let me know. I've been traveling between California and Oregon for the last 6 weeks and still have a bit of time before I leave. I can't see everyone, but I'd love to make an effort to catch up face to face and enjoy some laughter and fellowship.

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I still need help from friends and family. YWAM is an unpaid ministry, none of their staff receive payment for their time involved so I'll still be needing financial and prayer support on a regular basis. If you feel lead to give you can contact me directly at kennyhall1985@gmail.com or you can use the handy Paypal link in the upper left corner of this page. No donation is too small, I truly appreciate everything. For those that are interested in tax deductible donations, I'll be completing the requirements to get that setup in the next few days and can give information on that when it's ready.

On a final note, if you know of an individual, church, or group of people who might be interested in hearing about what I'm doing please don't hesitate to let me know. I've given a few presentations at various events and would love to spread the news even more.

To all those who have stood by me in love and faith so far, thank you.

Updates from Southern India

Well, we recently finished our time in Southern India and have now arrived in the north. What an amazing time we had down there, I'm so blessed! As with many India towns, it had two names. I thought the English name was long (Trivandrum) however the local's called it Thiruvananthapuram. Ugh, there's no way I even tried pronouncing it properly. Our team was quite restricted on our actions because of the government in Kerala State, it was actually a bit confusing. Technically we were in a closed state that was not open to Christians preaching the Gospel however, there were so many churches and open Christians that we found in the area. I came to the conclussion that Christianity was allowed as long as you weren't trying to convert other people. So, we did a lot of praying under the guise of visiting tourist locations, tried to build local relationships with Christians and non-Christians, and preached in churches and Christian related events during most of our time there. We had a lot of fun and built some amazing friendships in just a few short weeks. Here's some of my favorite highlights from that time:

• Getting on the Sleeper Train for our 10 hour ride to Trivandrum and realizing that we only had 4 beds for the 7 of us (but then quickly being blessed by the conductor with the 3 extra beds that we were told weren't avaliable).


• Meeting Communism face to face. The Communist party is one of the major ruling political organizations in Kerala, their logo is everywhere. We even were stopped in traffic because a Communist parade was marching across the street!


• Hearing wild lions roaring from across a lake before speaking and singing at a youth rally.


• Teaching 30 teenagers from a church how to share the Gospel message with other people.


• Getting asked numerous times if I'm Muslim (and once an American Jew). Maybe my beard it getting too long now?


• Walking inside the first church that Thomas/Didymus built in India! It's now run by the Indian Orthodox Church, it was so amazing to see!


• Seeing 3 different oceans come together at Cape Comorin (the most southern tip of India).

In the last post I made about Coimbatore I mentioned food poisoning. In Trivandrum it was all about heat rashes (I counted 4 different rashes on my body at one time) and getting Giardia on the last day. The temperature in our new town is cooler and so the rashes are disappearing and I was able to get some medicine to counteract the Giardia so life is peachy again. Again, I had such an amazing time in Trivandrum but I think my favorite memories from the whole trip were those with one of our hosts and his family. He was such a blessing to our whole team and he laughed at all my jokes. I look forward to the day when we can meet again.

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And now, a request for help. Due to the cost of living being higher than we had expected in both Coimbatore and Trivandrum, my team is running low on finances. We have a small stop for 3 days in another town next week before embarking on a 5 day prayer trek through remote villages near Nepal. We have about half the money that we need for the prayer trek, and then we're broke (we also have 3 days in Delhi after the trek and before our flight back to South Africa that we need to have money for). I feel bad asking for money again, but the truth of the matter is that I don't have many options. All of the 7 people on the team each pulled their own weight on this trip and raise their percentage of the group finances that we needed. We haven't spent money on anything extravagant or run off for any trips to the day spa. There was no mismanagement of funds, lost or stolen money, or anything else along those lines, we just miscalculated and ran into things that cost more than had been originally planned on. Asking for money is always hard and never fun (some things are hard but fun, this is neither).

If you have a desire to help there's two different ways. The first is financially obviously. Every little bit helps and no donation is too small. The second is through prayer, James 5:16 says that the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective and I believe that. We need the money asap.

If you are able to use the Paypal link (it's safe, simple, and secure!) in the upper left corner then please do so. It's the fastest way to get money to us. Any help is appreciated, as always. Also, in roughly 1 month I will be landing in sunny San Francisco with many pictures, stories, and friends/family that need visiting (hopefully some of them have a couch I can sleep on for a few nights haha). I'm enjoying my time here immensly but I'm also looking forward to June 13th.

A few brief updates from India

I haven't posted anything since I arrived in India. Internet cafes are plentiful but they are usually slow and frustrating beyond belief. Plus, finding time to sit and write a proper blog gets harder and harder. So, with that being said, here are a few updates of what I've been doing with my team. Someday I hope to post pictures, but not right now unfortunately.

We arrived in Mumbai (Bombay), and stopped for a day before heading south to Coimbatore. These are the Coimbatore highlights.

• Out of 7 team members, 3 of us arrived in Mumbai without any luggage. I was one of those lucky folks, so I spent the next 3 days in the only pair of clothes I had with me before the airlines figured out where our stuff was.
• Watching India win the Cricket World Cup while in India.
• Taking showers from either a bucket of water or using a broken pipe sticking out of the wall.
• Learning to preach and share stories through the use of a translator.
• Great Indian food = sketchy bowel movements. I'll leave it at that.
• Picking up garbage at a Leper colony, preparing medical bandages, and then being able to sing worship songs and pray with the Leprosy victims.
• Spending time with a group of widowed women, listening to their stories, giving them some clothing, and sharing a meal with them.
• Food poisoning goes right along with sketchy bowel movements.
• Waking up to the sound of wild peacocks in the forest of coconut trees outside your window.
• Serving almost 100 people who gathered at a week-long seminar for healthcare in Southern India.
• Being blessed by our host family with a pizza from Dominoes in India was an amazing cure for my cravings for American food.

We had an amazing time in Coimbatore but we've moved on. We're in a more restricted area right now where Christians are under a lot of persecution. We had to register with the local police so they can watch us and we have to be careful with who we talk to and what we say. We're here for another week and a half as ''tourists'' before we fly north. More updates will follow, but I don't know when.

Rememories

Tomorrow will be my last full day in Africa for a couple months. It's one of those happy/sad moments when you realize you're about to embark on a new journey but are stepping away from some wonderful friends and memories.

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I've been remembering some great (and not so great) memories from my last few months here in Africa. I remember hiking to the top of St. Elsie's Peak with the rest of the DTS students when we first got to Muizenberg, playing games with the kids in the township, going to watch a soccer match in Cape Town (and getting stuck in town at midnight because of bad information after the game), spending a day wandering around with an old friend from California, and swimming with penguins. I also remember the simpler times. Walking to the beach at night, sitting on a couch sipping tea and watching people go about their business, the half hour walk (and therefore half hour conversations) to the township and back every week, the different speakers who took time out of their busy schedules to come minister to us each week, Thursday night worship at the various buildings we occupied, piling couches and mattresses into the classroom and watching movies at night on the weekends, praying and worshiping on the roof, the trips around the block that my accountability group would make every Wednesday morning. It's been an incredible 3 months and I wouldn't trade one moment for anything. I've learned so much and have so much to learn. I can safely say that these past few months have opened my eyes, but did they change my life? I'd like to say yes but only a mixture of time and my actions will show the truth.

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Something I've been realizing lately is how other countries feel about the Gospel. I think there's this stigma in America that is there's resistance then a country must be ''closed'' or against Christianity. Since I've been here in Africa I've met some incredible people that have been opening my eyes. I met a man who left his home almost 2 decades ago and had been serving as a full-time missionary in China. I met a guy not much older than myself who has been serving God in Afghanistan for 8 years. I even met someone who has led teams of young adults into N Korea. All of this goes against what I'd heard while living my sheltered American life.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..."

-Jesus

Car loans, Gatsby's, and Afghanistan

It's been almost two weeks since I last posted, I apologize for anyone that was absolutely dying to read my updates. I'd say it won't happen again but realistically it will happen a lot more frequently in the next few months (keep reading and you'll find out why). I've been in an uninspired mood lately and have had no desire to write anything relevant. Today is different though.

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So, my last post mentioned that I was still in need of almost $1,000 to finish paying for my outreach fees. God totally provided and everything is covered and paid for! I'm still praying about money for bills while I'm away but thats another topic haha.

This may have been the greatest testimony of money coming out of nowhere to pay for this trip. In August of 2008 I sold a car to a family I know with the agreement that they'd pay it off as they had the money. They ended up unemployed 2 weeks later. We talked it over and agreed that they'd continue paying as soon as they could. They repaid the last $555 last week, the timing could not have been more perfect!

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Lunch on the weekends is the African equivalent to Top Ramen around here. Sometimes I eat it, sometimes I find new foods to try. This has become one of my favorites. It's called a Gatsby, and it's the biggest sandwich I've ever seen. It's enough to feed 3 starving men though it usually fills 4 people up just fine. At the price of R75 ($12), the price is just right when split between a couple people. They're usually filled with chips (french fries), lettuce, sauce of your choosing, and a main item. This one was chips and calamari and it took Ben and I two meals to finish it.

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Our speaker this week was a guy from Afghanistan. God called him there 9 years ago, when he was 18. It was a privilege to hear his stories of faith and inspiration directly from the mission field. We shared our classroom with another DTS (Discipleship Training School) from Worcester, South Africa and despite being a bit more crowded than usual, it was fantastic. I also met a girl from Placerville (about 45 minutes from my California home) who was one of the Worcester students! It's amazing how small the world gets when you step away from what you know.

Our team bought our airline tickets early this past week, so assuming our visa's come in on time (they will!) this next week is my last week in Africa for a few months. We had a slight change of plans for our stop on Ranike. We're joining up with a prayer team from the Norway that is already established in that area. They lead prayer hikes throughout a bunch of tiny Himalayan villages, so we're probably going to end up going on an 8 day journey in the foothills of some of the tallest mountains in the world. It's going to be an amazing stop on our trip!

Because of the amount of traveling we'll be doing and the areas we're planning on visiting, I won't be bringing my laptop with me. Except for our time hiking, we're expecting to be relatively close to internet cafe's the majority of the time. One of my teammates is bringing a computer along and we'll all have cameras so there will be plenty of pictures posted sometime in June! Updates from now on will be less frequent but I plan on being to post occasionally, we'll see how it works out...

India Update

I stumbled across this great quote the other day on somebodies Facebook wall. I can't remember the source and Google wasn't very useful, so the author is unknown for the time being. I'm absolutely enthralled with this quote right now, I honestly think this fits so many people. How many of us will strive to reach that though?

"The world will know when I achieve my potential, the ripples

of my existence will outlive many generations."

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This mustache is incredible.

I was looking for a picture on Google and randomly came across this glorious mustachioed Indian man. Someday I'd like to shake his hand and thank him for achieving his mustache potential.

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This evening we received some confirmation about places we'll be staying and helping with in India, so I thought I'd share it with everybody!

We'll be leaving South Africa on March 28th and arriving in Coimbatore, India shortly after that. The plan is to stay there and help with the work in the slums and townships for 3 weeks. There is a lot of poverty in Coimbatore, we'll be helping out wherever we can and in whatever capacity we are able to.

From Coimbatore we'll head south to Trivandrum (the most Southern YWAM base in India). In Trivandrum we'll be working with churches and camps in the area. We'll be teaching classes similar to what we've held during our DTS.

After Trivandrum we'll head to the Northern part of India to a town called Ranike. In Ranike we'll be helping restore old classrooms and working within 3 different areas around Ranike. We'll be doing a lot of strategic praying throughout this area and again, helping wherever necessary and loving people.

We'll fly from India back to SA in the beginning of June, spend a week debriefing with the other outreach teams, and then I fly back to California!

I would love to give you more details, but this is all of it. We're open to whatever God has for us and going wherever He leads. These are places that He put on our hearts and doors that were opened, so this is our plan.

I'm still praying for God to provide another $950 in the next couple days. Every dollar counts, if you're interested in contributing please use the "Donate" button on the left side of the page. I'd appreciate prayer support as well as ideas on ways to raise money over here. There's two other members on my team that are trying to raise more financial support, please be praying for them also!

Stories of faith

I think South Africa has some pretty sweet money. I'd say it's the coolest ever, but I really don't have much to compare it to.

South African currency is called a Rand. The conversion rate constantly changes but it's roughly 7 Rand for every 1 US Dollar right now. So, $7.50 would get you that R50 with the awesome lion's head on it over there to the right. -->

During a time of prayer for the DTS (Discipleship Training School) students tonight, we were asked to write down how much money we were still waiting for God to provide for our outreach fees (which are due on March 10th).

Out of the 27 students we still need R95,000, or $13,500.

I personally still need R7,500 to pay for the rest of my outreach to India. That's a little over $1,000. I love seeing God work and move and I was so encouraged to see how many different people that God used to provide for my ticket to India. I'd like to share a few testimonies about different people God used recently.

• $10 received from a Dutch friend. I've never met this guy in real life (we've only had a connection online). He's also an unemployed college student. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that we don't believe in the same God, but he still believes in seeing the world changed and improved.

• $4 from a friend in the Mid-West. I stayed with this friend and her husband for a few days last year and was blessed to have met them and enjoyed their company. This friend has ongoing health issues and they continue to pay her hospital bills using only the husbands income because she can't work. They later sent another $20!

• $100 received from a family on the East Coast. I lived with this amazing family for a few months in 2009. One day at work I was given an old box of books. I picked one out and then passed it on to them. It was filled with Bibles and old Christian books from an estate sale. One day, one of them picked a Bible out of the box, flipped it open, and found a $100 bill! They passed it along a few weeks ago, what a blessing!
  

The list could go on and on, but these are some of my favorites. Each donation is a blessing in it's own right. It's someone taking a minute to pass something on, it's another person partnering with the ministry God is using me for right now. It's a step of faith and an act of giving.

I've really been dwelling on Hebrews 11 lately about the great cloud of witnesses (I'd encourage everyone to re-read it , click here). I love all the stories of faith, but I think my favorite part lately has been the first few words of verse 38...the world was not worthy of them. I want to have faith like that.

Prayers for South Africa

Every Monday morning the entire base here meets for prayer and intercession. The leaders pick a topic and we pray into it. Today was Somalia/Somaliland and the civil unrest they have up there. I thought it would be helpful to give some facts about South Africa specifically for people back home who might be interested in praying for this nation. While it is fighting and struggling to become a stronger country and overcome many of the issues going against it, South Africa still has a lot of problems.

Starting at the top with President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma. A man who currently has been married 5 times (and is still married to 3 of his wives) and is engaged to two other women. His 20th child was born in 2009.

Zuma was quoted recently trying to gain votes for his political party, the ANC (African National Congress, the SA equivalent to republicans and democrats). This is what he said:

"When you vote for the ANC, you are also choosing to go to heaven. When you don't vote for the ANC you should know that you are choosing that man who carries a fork...and who cooks people [...] When you are carrying an ANC membership card, you are blessed. When you get up there, there are different cards used but when you have an ANC card, you will be let through to go to heaven [...] When (Jesus) fetches us we well find (them) wearing black, green, and gold, the holy ones belong to the ANC."

In 2005 Zuma was accused of raping a woman. Despite heading the National AIDS Council and having knowledge of this woman being HIV positive, he did not use a condom. His response, in court, was that he took a shower afterwards to "cut the risk of contracting HIV".

His response shows the lack of awareness amongst South Africans about a disease that runs rampant in this country. In 2007 it was reported that 12% of the SA population were infected with HIV/AIDS. In some areas, that number is now close to 30% of the population. South Africa is believed to have the largest percentage of infected people in the world. There is a large number of AIDS denialists throughout the country, including former presidents and health ministers. The health minister in 2006 advocated "a diet of garlic, olive oil and lemon to cure the disease."

There are signs that things are changing though. Between 2005-2007 the percentage of teenagers with HIV/AIDS went down 3%. Awareness has also been raised drastically due to two television programs aimed at teenagers and adults.

Things to be praying for:

• South Africa is in desperate need of revival and an awareness of their situation.
• More people being trained and raised up to bring that awareness and share God's love.
• For the political and social leadership of SA to fight the rampant corruption and begin to set positive examples.

This post has been kind of off topic, but it was on my heart this evening. Please take a minute to pray and pass it on. All the information I posted here can be found in the following articles. Once again, if you want to help with what I'm doing, please use the donation button on the left side of this page or shoot me a message/leave a comment. I'm trying to raise $1,500 by March 10th.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS_in_South_Africa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Zuma

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article896486.ece/Zuma-should-apologise-for-God-comments--DA

More ramblings

I like the ocean, and I really like being within walking distance of the beach. I enjoy spending time alone on one of the multi-colored benches watching the waves roll in. I like sitting in silence and I like praying. I like seeing the waves come up and erase the mess that people left on the beach, footprints turned back into a clean slate for the next day. That would be the reason you might have found me alone after dark on one of those benches last week. Well, alone for a few minutes at least.

Earlier in the day I had run across one of the numerous beggars in Muizenberg and he asked me for some money for bread. I normally try to make up an excuse for not giving money or food to the beggars because there's a soup kitchen right in the middle of town. I told him that I wasn't going to the store (because I wasn't) and kept walking.

I saw him on the way to the beach that evening and he (Fabian was his name) followed me and sat down beside me on the bench.

We started talking about money and food (the most important things on his mind). Honestly, it was a frustrating conversation for me. I wanted to be alone and he wanted my money. We talked about how his Grandma lived alone and didn't have any income, how he couldn't go see her during the daytime or he'd get beaten up. We talked about his love for music and his desire to make it big as a musician. We talked about the Dutch guys who would come on vacation and pay him R5 (about 80 cents) to watch their car for the night so nobody messed with it. We talked about his love for marijuana and God. We talked about a lot of stuff, but it always came back to wanting money.

I shared with him my many reasons for not giving him money. There's a soup kitchen in town and that's their ministry. I'm jobless as well. If I give him money today and see him tomorrow then he'll just want more. If I give him money then everybody else in the area will want some also. If I buy him a loaf of bread then any money he has right now will just go for drugs.

We finally came to a point where I broke. I offered to buy him a loaf of bread, but he brought up the point that if I did that then anyone in or outside the store would know I did it and would want something from me also. I had R20 (about $3) and so I gave it to him. I told him to bring me the change right back. He offered to leave his bag as a promise that he would come back but I told him I trusted him. The store was within eye-sight if I turned around and moved 10 feet to the side. He could be there and back in 4 minutes if he walked slowly.

Fabian left and I finally had my peace and quiet.

20 minutes later, I still had my peace and quite....and no money. I headed home feeling a little bitter. Honestly, it wasn't about the money or the fact that I was robbed.

I started to wonder where the line was according to the Bible, or if there even is a line to draw? When is it okay to give someone money and when do you put your foot down and say no? Not to be cliche but what would Jesus do?

James 2:14-16 says "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?"

So, where's the line?

I saw Fabian again on Friday. He didn't try to hide or walk away. He crossed the street and we started talking. I reminded him that he'd stolen some money from me and he tried to tell me how he'd gotten lost. I interrupted him and told him that I forgave him. We were able to pray together, for his Grandmother, for a job for him, and for his friends and their situations.

I'll probably see him around, and he might ask me for money or food again. I don't know what my response will be.

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Once again, I'm in need of another $1,500 before March 10th. This will be my final payment and will go towards covering all my costs while I'm in India. I'll be buying my plane ticket later this week as well as applying for a travel visa on Monday. Any donations are very appreciated, I wouldn't be here without the help of you guys! I know that God is more faithful than I am, He got me here and provided the money for a ticket to India, He won't let me down halfway.

Broomheksienhidrochlorie

Team India!

3 1/2 Americans, 1 German, 1 Dutch, 1 South Korean, and 1/2 a Swaziland...er? Swazilandite? Swazilandian? Let's just say 4 Americans!

This week our topic was on dreams and visions for the future. I missed half of it because I was sick. I feel like I've been sick since I got here, maybe because I have. It's a lingering head cold basically. I get rid of it for a week and then it comes back and knocks me out for a few days, this is the last time though. We've had an irregular schedule this week due to the schedules of our speakers, but it leaves more time for recuperating, so I'm not arguing about anything haha. God is great and broomheksienhidrochloried is good. I don't even know what that is, but it's an ingredient in the medicine the pharmacist gave me. I'd challenge you to try saying that 3 times fast but I don't know that anyone can actually even say it once...I know I can't.

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I'm still trying to raise another $1,500 before March 10th. Let's see, that's 15 days away...so $100 a day. Totally possible, but I could use your help! I'd like to spread my blog around, but I only know so many people. Can you pass my link on to a friend; send it to your pastor, youth leader, church missions board; or share it on Facebook? You don't have to post pictures and links on neighborhood telephone poles...unless you think it would help. ;)

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I love the story of David. His entire life is a huge roller-coaster, the highest highs and the lowest lows but he was still known as a man after God's heart.

We talked about David and Goliath briefly in one of our sessions this week, so I went back to 1 Samuel 17 to read the story again.

In class we talked about how David shared his ''war stories'' with Saul to justify his experience and capability in battle. In verses 34-37 David talks about how he would watch his father's sheep. When a lion or bear came to take a lamb David would kill it. It wasn't really that big of a deal though, he stood on top of a hill a long distance away and shot it with a high-powered rifle, so he was never directly in harms way. Oh sorry, that was a different story. This David would grab the animal by it's mane and beat it to death. (This is a bit harsh, yes, but not as gruesome or brutal as 1 Samuel 18:22-27...look it up, really). Who does that kind of stuff?

I love how Saul tried to give David weapons to defeat Goliath with because he felt David was under (or un) equipped. David couldn't handle the weight of them, he didn't have any experience with them so he resorted to what he knew he could use. He pulled out his sling and grabbed some rocks. David didn't need the approval or criticism of others to encourage him, he was confident in who he was and the skills he already had.

Verse 48 says that as Goliath moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him....what? I picture Goliath walking (maybe sauntering is a better word, or strutting?) confidently and suddenly David takes off running towards him!

David is definitely one of my favorite guys ever. He probably knew how to pronounce broomheksienhidrochloried also.

The cost of discipleship

It's a happy grimace on my face, I promise!

Good news, I have all the money I need for the first deadline! Now I need an additional $1,500 before March 10th and then I'm free and clear for quite awhile! God is always so faithful to provide, it's pretty great. Many thanks to everybody who listened and gave as God directed, He's an incredible orchestrator!

This week our topic in class was the cost of discipleship. Our speaker had some amazing authority in that area, he was falsely accused and imprisoned in Iran for 9 weeks! He overcame two death sentences (one for being a missionary and the other for being a spy), and was freed the same way he was thrown into prison, without much explanation.

Aside from sharing a couple incredible stories, Dan imparted some great wisdom, mainly in one-liners mixed into his stories. These are some of my favorites:

• The Christian life is experiencing Jesus over and over again.
• God is more committed to fulfilling His will in our lives than we are to find it.
• God is in love with who I am right now. Not who I will be or could be, but who I am now.
• Readiness doesn't define our obedience.

Those last two are my absolute favorites. I don't need to change who I am for God to love me to the best of His ability. God doesn't love ''more'' or ''less'', He's an equal opportunity lover!

Back in December I wrote about God qualifying the called, and I think that last point fits right in with this. It was a great reminder this week, that I don't need to do anything except step forward and be willing to go where God wants me to. If I always needed to feel ''ready'' to do something big, where would I be? Probably sitting on the couch, or maybe even still in bed. Dan mentioned how when people hear his story of imprisonment they often say that they could never do that, that they aren't capable of going to prison for the Gospel. I can tell you that Dan didn't wake up one morning and think he was capable of doing it either, but God gave him the ability to persevere.

A short documentary and re-enactment was made recently about Dan's time in prison. I'm not able to watch these clips (because of my internet speed) but I wanted to pass them along with you guys. (Someone let me know if they don't work please!) All 3 parts are less than 15 minutes total I believe.

Imprisoned in Iran [Part 1]

Imprisoned in Iran [Part 2]

Imprisoned in Iran [Part 3]

This post has no title or picture but it's not boring...

I have lots of exciting updates today!

First, completely non-related to Africa. I found out yesterday that I'll be an Uncle for the first time ever in August! Second, my brother (who was in a car accident in the beginning of December) will be able to start walking again next Tuesday. Go get 'em Travis!

And now, Africa:

This past week in class we learned about the Holy Spirit. It was an amazing week filled with a lot of breakthrough moments for myself and many others in the class. I feel like one of my funniest realizations came on Tuesday. We were talking about the power of the Holy Spirit and what Jesus commanded the original disciples to do (raise the dead, heal the sick, etc) and it dawned on me: this stuff is weird, but it was weird when Jesus did it also. People weren't walking around raising the dead and casting out demons like it was a normal thing, thats part of what made Jesus effective in His ministry. Jesus had authority because of His relationship with His Father, people wanted (and still do) want relationship, not religion. I'd rather strive to have that relationship and fail a million times than never try and never know.

As a reminder, I'll be leaving for India sometime in late March and returning to S. Africa for a week in the beginning of June before heading back to the States. Our itinerary for India is still being finalized, we're relying heavily on God to lead us on this trip because we want to do His work.

I'm still about $1,700 short of my final goal. Due to the time it takes to wire money overseas and take care of account transfers and such, I need to majority of my money in....the next 4 days! The time is getting closer and closer, God is good though and I'm not too worried about it. If you're feeling inclined to give, please do it. If you don't want to use the Paypal link on the left side of the page then send me a message on Facebook or leave a comment here, I'll let you know other ways to donate. Every dollar counts, I've learned that so much more lately.

And lastly, another request. I have the ability to take videos (with my webcam and my camera). I'd like to edit some of the videos with some effects (words, graphics, etc). Is anyone aware of a web program that would be of any use?

Meat!

[Note: Please don't be alarmed, I'm redesigning my blog, more changes may be coming but it's still mine! - Kenny]

Today I went and spent some alone time with God at the beach. I came down with some sort of flu or bug on Thursday morning and spent about 48 hours in bed. It was nice to get off the base and sit in the sunshine for a little while again.

While in bed I enjoyed 3 wonderful books. Against All Odds by Jim Stier was about the development of YWAM in Brazil. From Pimp To Preacher by Jan Eriksen was the true life story of a Norwegian man who turned from a life on the streets to ministering to those on the streets. One of my roommates had a John Grisham book, Ford County. Not one of his best books, but John Grisham is always enjoyable in my opinion.

Some people have asked what the food is like over here, so you get a language lesson and a cuisine lesson at the same time.

The picture above is boerewors (the best pronunciation I can come up with is ''boo-er-vurs''). It means farm sausage and is made from beef with pork or lamb (or both) included occasionally. It's pretty much the main meat ingredient in everything. I found it to be an acquired taste but I enjoy it now and look forward to it really. It can be cooked numerous ways, but one of the favorite ways seems to be on the braai (rhymes with ''pry''. It means barbecue, or braaied for barbecued).

Biltong is the most famous and popular snack food in SA. Similar to droewors (''dry sausage'', literally dried boerewors) but closer to what American jerky looks like, biltong has a couple of distinct differences. First, it's much more popular than jerky is in America. It's also made differently and therefore tastes a bit different (though the end result looks similar). Biltong is dried with vinegar among other things, so the flavor and texture are different than jerky.

Biltong is popular enough that some stores specialize in carrying only biltong related merchandise (see picture to the left, the whole store looks like this!). Biltong can be cut up and added to anything from stews to muffins, chips have been made to taste like biltong, and they even have some made without any spices to give to teething babies.

On a completely unrelated topic, please don't forget about my outreach to India. I'm a couple hundred dollars closer to my halfway point, God is good! Feel free to pass my blog address along to anyone you think would be interested in reading it, the more the merrier!

Oh yes, smaak means ''taste'' or ''like''. It's okay to smaak me but don't smack me please.

Lawnmowers in Church? (An update about India)

I divided this blog into two halves. The picture is completely unrelated. It's the Muizenberg train station, one of the nicest buildings in town.

Half one.

Sometimes I hear something in class that triggers a response. I write down whatever was said (or the thought that it created in my head) and go back to it later to see if it's worth writing about or just worth pondering. I have so many highlighted things in my notebook but I know I'll probably never get to even half of them.

We're learning about our identity in Christ and the authority that we have as believers this week. Our instructor, a Swiss missionary living in France, has done an amazing job of backing everything he says up with Scripture. What hit me today was a great comparison:

"The church is like a barn. You sharpen your tools in it, but then you have to go out to the field to use them."

Now, there's a lot of things that could be interpreted about this that would make that an incorrect statement. Let's focus on what makes that a correct statement though. At church (the building, not the body) we are edified and built up from the pulpit. We are sharpened. What do we do next? Go home and think about how sharp we are? What's the point of even going back to the sharpening stone every week if we don't do anything about it?

What if we aren't sharp enough to do any good in the ''field''? It's hard to know if a tool is sharp enough until you use it. Even a dull lawnmower cuts some grass.

Another great one-liner I heard yesterday was in regards to Matthew 28:19. We are called to the nations, including our home nation. We don't always need to cross an ocean to follow a calling in life.

Matthew 9:37 continues to resonate within my heart more and more every day. "Then He said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.'"

The other half.

I need more money. If I'm being honest and straightforward, that's a hard statement for me to make. Receiving money has never been an easy task and I struggle to fight that. I'm in an awkward position right now. I have no way to make money, but I still need it. I need to eat, to pay the few bills I still have, to buy clothes when I need them and deodorant when other people say I need it.

Right now I have a goal though, the other half of my program isn't paid for. I posted a handy chart on the left side of this page, it shows how far I've come and how much I still need.

What is this next $3,000 going to? I'm going to India, that's the easy answer. It will pay for my plane tickets, food, accommodations, and whatever else comes up.

My deadline for having money paid is February 20th. It seems like a ways off but the sooner I can pay some of the money the cheaper my flights will be (and ultimately, the less money I need to raise). Every dollar counts. Can you skip a movie and wait for it to come out on DVD and save $7? If every one of my Facebook friends sent that money to me instead I'd have enough money to cover the next 3 months.

Raising financial support is a new concept for me, so I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying about what it means. The conclusion I've come to is that this is less about asking for money but more about creating partnership. I have a will and a desire to be on the mission field. You have money. Can we be partners?

Cape of Good Hope

I had the opportunity to go to the Cape of Good Hope yesterday with some new friends. I went with Levi (a friend and fellow classmate) and a couple people from the YWAM school in Auckland, New Zealand. Here's a couple pictures of what we saw. I haven't figured out how to change the order of them, they appear kind of random, sorry haha.

One of about 6 ostriches we saw walking along the roadside. This one was by himself, the others were closer to the beach in a group.

A lone baboon up on the rocks. Levi was so excited to see them that he kept yelling ''bamboon, bamboon!''. That became to re-occurring phrase the rest of the day....bamboon.

Farthest southwest point of Africa! If you jumped off there and started swimming it would take you awhile to reach land again...

A wild Eland. There were 3 or 4 of these guys hanging out below the parking lot munching on some bushes. We stood there and watched them for awhile, they acted a lot like cows back home.

Levi and myself trying to figure out where in the world we are.

The sign, in Afrikaans, says "Cape of Good Hope, the most south-western point of the African continent". It truly seemed like the edge of the world...

The story of how I lost my Bible

This is a longer post but something that I felt I needed to share.

I got to see my first 'football' (American soccer) game in South Africa the other day. We took two groups of guys to go see the Moroka Swallows lose to Ajax Cape Town in one of the stadiums that the 2010 World Cup was played in. We had two vehicles but there weren't enough seats for all of us, so 4 of us took the train into town, walked to the stadium and met up with the rest of the group.

After the game, those of us who took the train in, were going to stay in Cape Town with some friends of Folker's (one of my classmates). The trains stop running at 7pm and it would be close to 11pm by the time the game was over. However, on the ride to town we learned that the train makes a special trip after most football games at 11:30pm and it's free if you have a game ticket.

So, when the match was over we decided to take the train back instead of inconveniencing Folker's friends. We bid farewell to our classmates and caught a shuttle bus to the train terminal while everyone else piled into the cars and drove back to the base. When we got to the train terminal we realized a crucial fact: the train only makes that special trip after some of the games. This was not one of them. We were stuck in Cape Town at 11:30pm on a Friday night. It wasn't a big deal though, we called one of our staff leaders, Henzel, and he said he would come pick us up after he dropped his car full of guys off at the base. It would be about an hour before he could meet us.

The four of us decided to find a place where we could sit and wait. We found a KFC nearby and sat there for a few minutes. Folker, being familiar with the area, knew of a place that was still open and had an amazing view from their eating area on the roof. We decided to go check it out while waiting for Henzel.

KFC and this rooftop eatery that we were going to are both located on Long Street in Cape Town. Long Street is known for it's nightlife, especially on the weekends. There are numerous bars and clubs on every block and many, many people were out that night. There were so many people, in fact, that they spilled out onto the sidewalks and streets from the clubs and made it difficult to walk without navigating around them all.

As we started walking we were approached by a man from the street on our left. He came up close and asked if we wanted to buy any ''pot or shrooms''. We all said no and kept walking without breaking stride. I found out that this was par for the course on Long Street. I counted 3 more people who asked us the same thing in the next couple blocks that we walked. The total people who asked us to buy their drugs would be at least 7 by the end of the night.

It actually became frustrating. These men weren't just trying to offer us some drugs, they were pushing them on us. Asking repeatedly and not necessarily leaving when we said no. At one point I turned to Folker and told him that I was going to start witnessing to the next guy who offered us something. God put the right guy in my path a few seconds later.

Said (pronounced "Sigh-EED'') also approached us from the left, coming across the street. He asked if we were interested in buying any weed. As we walked step in step, I told him how I was more into Jesus than drugs. He quickly changed his whole attitude. We walked with a determination in our step but we really had nowhere to go, so we stopped on the street and started talking. The four of us crowded around Said as he told us his story.

24 years ago Said was born in the Congo and only moved to Cape Town 6 months ago. He didn't know anyone but came here to get away from the army that was trying to recruit him. He didn't want to be a part of that so he fled the country.

Without any contacts, Said turned to what he knew he could do, push drugs. He lived with a family in a nearby township (slum). He tried to join a church and had sought help finding a job from the pastor but nothing happened. He told us that he woke up that morning and told God, as with most mornings, that he just wanted to be a good man. He was tired of doing bad and just wanted to be good.

As we talked, Said told us that he really wanted a Bible, specifically an English one, that he could read.

This is where the story gets hard for me. I have pride issues and didn't even realize it at the time.

See, I had a Bible on me right then. It was my favorite Bible (like most American's, I have multiple Bibles). My Bible was maroon, soft cover, and just the right size. It had the Old Testament and New Testament, was the New American Standard Version and was small enough to fit in my back pocket. People who saw it usually commented on it's delightful size and the fact the it was the whole Bible (not just part of it, like most Bibles of that size). It was my favorite Bible, but what was I supposed to do? I pulled it out of my pocket, regretting that decision before I even registered what I was doing, and handed it over.

We finished talking to Said a few minutes later and parted ways. We got in Henzel's car and Said walked away with a new Bible. I have no idea what will happen to it. Maybe he'll throw it away, maybe it will sit on a shelf for the next 50 years and never get opened again, maybe he'll try to sell it, maybe he'll use it's pages for rolling paper to smoke, or maybe he'll read it and let if transform his life.

I have no idea what will happen to it, but it was my favorite Bible. I had a lot of pride in it, as you can see. God knew I had that Bible in my pocket and He knew that I was serious when I told Folker I was ready to turn the tables on the next drug peddler we met. He also knew Said needed a Bible, and maybe the most important thing for me, He knew that I had some pride that needed to be dealt with.

Pictures of Penguins

Probably my favorite picture out of the whole penguin trip. Riding in a combie (taxi van) on the way back from the beach.Penguins.....really!
Maybe the best sign ever? If you look closely at the car in the bottom left corner you can see a "living" penguin beside the car and a "dead" penguin underneath the car. Please look under your vehicles...
This is my friend Folker. He likes whales, and penguins. I snapped this picture as he slyly tried to eat this poor penguin.
A view from Boulders Beach (where the penguins live). The shoreline on the opposite side of the bay (right side of the picture) is where I live in Muizenberg.

Pictures from Capricorn

Two kids involved in the coolest game I've never played. Pulling each other on a tire, it's awesome.
Matt, our English/Chinese leader from New Zealand. He's cooler than he looks, and he has a huge heart for the people of Capricorn.
Photo credit goes to Derrick (see below).
Derrick's on the far right, his favorite mode of transportation seems to be on top of my shoulders.
A wall in front of someones yard with Muizenberg Mountain in the background, notice the trash everywhere. The amount of litter is standard in Capricorn.

Chocolate pie, colored people, and homemade guitars

My internet connection is barely working right now. When I saw barely, I mean I can't do anything simple in under 30 minutes. Complicated things, like responding to email messages won't be happening anytime this century at this pace. That's why there's no picture with this post, I was going to post a picture of the adorable penguins that I saw the other day...

So, the issues with the internet has got me thinking about major differences between here and the States. I thought I'd compile a list for your viewing pleasure.

1. Chocolate pie does not exist. I was trying to explain it to my friend Folker (a native to South Africa). First, we had to establish what pie is, SA has a large Dutch influence so most meat filled pastries are considered pies. We decided that it's like a mince meat pie, but without the top crust. The bottom crust is made from biscuits (similar to graham crackers), the filling is chocolate flavored custard, then you top it off with some cream. It was a fun conversation.

2. Everyone drives on the wrong side of the road around here. You get used to it but I still find it difficult to remember which way to look when I cross the street.

3. Racism. In SA there's so many different ethnicities and mixes that they've broken things down to a simple level. If you're Indian, you're Indian. If you're Asian, you're Asian. If you're skin is black and have no other ''color'' in you, then you're black. If you're black but you have anything else (white, Asian, Indian) then you're colored. You'd offend a colored person by calling them anything but colored (such as mixed race). Beyond it all though, no matter the skin color, if you were born in Africa, you're African.

4. Drugs and begging. Ride the train for more than 5 minutes and you're bound to come across some of the more entrepreneurial beggars. They sell anything they can for whatever price you'll pay. Ice cold soda, knock off Ray-Ban sunglasses, superglue (for getting high), razor blades, even socks. I refuse to buy anything from the people who sell glue. Blind people will be lead (usually by a small child) from train car to train car singing a song while holding a cup for spare change. I saw a boy playing a ''guitar'' made from a milk jug, a 2x4, and fishing string while singing a song. He was quite good and made everybody laugh on the train. We also have the normal beggars who sit somewhere and ask any white person for money.

5. Salt shakers always have rice in them (because of moisture in the air).

6. Most words that we consider ''cuss words'' in America are not considered bad in SA. The ruling theory seems to be (as far as I can tell) that if English isn't your first language, the words aren't bad.

I'd like to start answering any questions you might have in a weekly blog post. From the practical to ridiculous, feel free to ask away! Questions about culture, religion, food, sports, past blog posts, or anything else you can think of. You can leave questions in the comment section below, or if you know another way to contact me you can use that method. If I don't know the answer I'll find someone who does.

One last thing, I've been under the impression that my outreach location would be Thailand but I was wrong, it's India. I'll be going with a team of 4 other people plus 2 leaders (7 people total) from the end of March until the beginning of June. We don't know any details yet, so there's not much else I can say (except that I'll be needing prayer to receive all the money I need before I leave).