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).

The price of a life

Read these questions slowly, then read the rest of the article and come back to these questions.

Think of the person you love most in this world, how much would you pay to save their life? What if you had to pay double that, would it be worth it? Why? Is it because you love? Do you believe we are all truly equal, or are some worth more than others? How much would you give to save the life of someone you'll never meet? What is the difference between a price on someone's life and the value of their life? Does a person only have value if you know them? Does a person only have value because of their past (which makes them who they are) or is there a value on their future as well? Would you give someone an opportunity to have a future, to have a tomorrow? Can a person with a future change the world? What if that person was Billy Graham, Mother Theresa, or Martin Luther King Jr? Can a value be put on the lives that were impacted by these people? What's the price of a human life?

Somewhere in the middle of Central Africa is a girl named Hope. Hope is under attack because she was born without skin pigment, an albino. African witch doctors believe that albino people contain supernatural properties, this leads to the killing of albino's for their skin, hair, organs and bones. Hope's sister (Sarah), also an albino, was killed last month because of this witchcraft. It's in a small house, protected only by men with machetes, that Hope hides in right now. There are organizations trying to get her out of Central Africa and into a nearby country where she can live in better (but not safer) conditions in a refugee camp. The ultimate goal is to get her somewhere where she can apply for a permanent visa because of her persecution at home.

So, who's helping Hope right now? Justice [ACTS] is one organization trying to get Hope into a safe environment. This is an act of human trafficking, the main reason for Justice [ACTS] existence. Their focus is to change the world in practical ways by empowering those who are the most at risk for human traffickers. They are a ministry right here in Muizenberg and work closely with other staff at the YWAM base. They are currently trying to raise money to escort Hope to the border into a refugee camp.

What can you do about this situation? Maybe nothing, maybe a lot. Maybe you'll wake up and drink your coffee while reading this update. Maybe you'll think about Hope as you drive to work, or go to school, or relax in front of the television... or maybe you'll do something practical like Justice [ACTS] is doing.

Not everyone is called to go out and do something about these tragedies, but I believe everyone is called to do something. Can you give $5, $50, $500? What is the price of a life? Is $500 too much to spend on someone's life who you'll never meet in the middle of Africa, or is it not enough? What are you going to do about it?

Practical ways to get involved:

1. Donate something! Time, money, resources, whatever you're gifted in, do something with it. Can you do accounting work, pack boxes, mail letters, design websites? Use your talents!

2. Check out the Justice [ACTS] website and find ways that you can volunteer and help raise awareness about human trafficking.

3. Take a look at a new local ministry in California. The Audacity Project is working to bring awareness to the people of Northern California about the realities of human trafficking in Sacramento.

4. A Ban Against Neglect (ABAN) is turning thoughts into action in Ghana. They saw two problems and were able to combine efforts to fight both of them with one common goal, helping people in practical ways.

What are you going to do about this? Do you want to get involved? Do it now, don't wait until tomorrow.

If you have a desire to donate to one of these great causes, please do it! If you want to donate money directly to the effort to get Hope to a safe area you can use the donate button on the left side of this screen. Please mark in the memo line what it's for.

Go back, re-read those questions and ask yourself, what's the price of a life?

The rest is just details...

Tonight I sat in a pizza shop and split a whole pizza with my friend Levi. Granted, it wasn't quite the same as an old fashioned pepperoni (this one was a salmon and cream pizza) it was still tasty and hit the spot.

This week we had a speaker from America named Dan. He talked about hearing God's voice and evangelism. Dan proposed that our two main areas of focus in life are to love God and make Him known, the rest is just details. He then asked a thought provoking question of us. Is it enough to just make God a part of our story or are we asking to be a part of God's story?

There were a lot of new experiences this week (every week will probably be like that though). We started our weekly outreach ministries to a township called Capricorn. Townships aren't nearly as fancy as they sound, we don't have anything comparable in America. In essence, a township is a slum, a small place where too many people are living with not enough of anything. The houses are small and dark and patched with whatever is laying around. Dogs and kids wander the streets without direction, old men sit in any shade they can find with alcohol on their breathe and empty bottles nearby, teenagers kick beaten up soccer balls around the narrow streets. Despite this though, there's happiness. We played with some of the kids we found in the street, their eyes lit up and mouths yelled out joyful noises. They climbed all over the guys in our group (and most of the girls as well) like we were a jungle gym. They flipped and twirled, showing off to the best of their abilities. They yelled ''Jackie Chan'' and ''Ninja!'' at the Koreans in our group (Asians are not often seen around this area). We sat and talked with a Muslim man and his family and shared testimonies of God's grace with them. One man admitted his alcohol addiction, a huge problem in Capricorn, but shared what God had been doing in his life lately with a joyous smile and tears in his eyes.

I can't help but have a broken heart for the people there, but they are happier than a lot of people I know. They lead simple lives, poor by every standard in America. They probably won't ever taste a latte from Starbucks, or put on a suit for work, or worry about what to post for a status update on Facebook but they know how to laugh with pure joy and take delight in the simpler things. I sat and ate a whole pizza covered in salmon and cheese tonight but I can't remember the last time I laughed with the joy that those kids at Capricorn had. Who's the poor person now?

The rest is just details....

Muizenberg!

I don't even know where to begin.

Words can't describe the feelings and emotions I've got going on inside me. It's pretty much a ''shock and awe'' experience right now. God is so good, that doesn't even begin to cover it though.

I arrived in Muizenberg 3 1/2 days ago. The base is just a few blocks from False Bay on the Western Cape of South Africa. False Bay leads directly to the Indian Ocean and is home to the one of the worlds largest populations of Great White Sharks. Normally I wouldn't post volatile information like this, but my Mom already found out about the sharks and made me promise to not go into the water unless I was firmly tied to a rope with at least 3 other people on the other end. Even then she asked that I don't go in past my ankles. I told her I don't like swimming and left it at that.

So, because of the ocean, there's sand everywhere. Most of the buildings are made of brick, stone, or cement. English is spoken everywhere along with Afrikaans and numerous other languages. Among the DTS (Discpleship Training School) students, less than half speak English as their first language. The diversity is incredible. The accents, languages, colors, and customs all blend together to make this amazing conglomerate of what a true melting pot looks like. There's no racism, only a desire to love others while spreading the news of Jesus.

We began school today. It was orientation, which wasn't too strenuous, but it's the beginning of something bigger than any of us. God is clearly in the blueprints for bringing everybody together in Muizenberg. There's 25 students here, with another 4 planning to join us before the weekend. The countries people call home include America, Canada, Germany, Madagascar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and Zimbabwe. God has drawn representatives together from the Nations to reach the Nations. We'll be spending the next 3 months learning and growing with each other before packing our bags and heading out together to respond to the Great Commission.

On another note. I was eating dinner with some people from the base today and got into a discussion with a girl who not only spent a lot of time in my hometown, her best friend was a former employee at Wolf Mountain Camp. It's a small world after all.....

I think this might turn out to be a good year.

An update with no information about Africa

I'm not really sure how to keep this blog post short unless I don't post anything about South Africa. So, that's what I'm going to do. I realized that I haven't posted in a month, so that means I have some catching up to do.

I'll just clear up a few things right from the start. I am sitting in the YWAM base in Muizenberg, South Africa. That obviously means my passport and visa came through without any issues. I actually picked my visa up at 5pm on the 30th and left town to go to the airport around 9am on the 31st.

I've been fighting the urge to call God a procrastinator. I know He likes to answer our petitions at the last minute in order to build our faith and trust in him, but it gets frustrating sometimes! Having my visa come in at the last moment was a great testimony, but a little hard on the nerves.

Now, on to more difficult subjects.

The last month has felt like a year. My Brother was in a car accident on December 12th and was in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks after that because of his injuries. I unexpectedly lost a close friend on Christmas night and went through two memorial services for him right before leaving for Africa. I had to deal with a cold, and an unordinary amount of empathy for a friend who lost two family members in a car accident. Along with all that, I had to pack, move, repack, say a bunch of ''see ya later's'' (because it's not goodbye, it's ''see ya later'') and then sit on an airplane for 25 hours. Like I said, it's been a rough couple of weeks.

However, God is so good and I've seen many miracles and answered prayers through every single burden that I listed. Even getting sick, God was telling me to rest for a few days.

And now some happy things! I had the pleasure of enjoying a 12 hour layover while in Dubai. The airline gave me a free hotel room along with a complimentary dinner and breakfast buffet. I decided to spend a bit of cash ($30) and go on a 2 hour tour around the city.

It was fantastic! (Note, all the dollar amounts listed above and below this are in United States Dollars)

I saw the tallest building in the world, drove around on an island shaped like a palm tree, saw a bunch of apartments that had a 99 year lease for only $400,000. I stuck my hand in the Persian Gulf, walked around a hotel with rooms that rented out for $36,000 per night. In every bathroom, next to the toilet, there is a little water sprayer (kind of like what we use on our dishes in fancier sinks). I never got the nerve to ask someone how it's used, but I can imagine. I found out that gasoline is cheaper than water in Dubai (mainly because water is expensive, not that oil is cheap) and heard about a shopping mall that is so big it has a ski park inside it!

I'll make another post in a few days and update you all on Muizenberg. It's so hard not to write anything now, but it can wait. I love you all!