Tracy - AIS South Africa

July

2009-07-21T13:03:00.001+02:00

July 11, 2009
The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy. The week before last I was trying to get one of the curriculums edited so that it could be sent to the publisher. I had started it a little before I went to Johannesburg, but didn’t get a good look at it until Tuesday and it had to be done on Friday, including a graphic for the cover, so my time wasn’t spent doing much else other than coaching and going to practice in the evenings. But I got it done.
This past week we held a soccer camp at our home field for 3 days for kids within a 2K radius of our field. So we spent Monday and Tuesday finishing preparations and finding kids and then Wednesday to Friday held the camps in the morning. We had about 60 kids a day, a little less than we had hoped, but all of the kids enjoyed it I think. We led Bible Study each day and did a skit at the end of the day to present the gospel. We had a local church very involved with working with the kids and helping out and they are committed to continuing a partnership with us to plug any kids in to the church who desire to do so. All of the kids and families have been invited to their service on Sunday morning, where we will also present the kids a certificate for the camp.
My leg is starting to feel a bit better. I have been able to job and was able to do a little over 3 miles Thursday night, which is the farthest I’ve gone since I pulled my muscle. I’ve also been able to kick the ball around a little bit with kids and have more range of movement. I can’t do anything major, but I think I might be playing goal keeper again on Sunday. We don’t have enough players and without me, we can’t even put out a full team, but I think I can do enough with my left foot to be able to play in goal, I hope. We shall see.
I had some crazy evenings the last couple of days. I have a friend coming to visit before I come home in August and we wanted to go to Kruger National Park, the largest game reserve in South Africa, while she is here. I went online Thursday to book reservations and found out that all accommodations in the park and in all of the game reserves around the park were booked. I was in a bit of a panic and quite disappointed. I called asap Friday morning and was told I could get accommodations, but not exactly what I wanted, but I didn’t care at that point, I took them. Then, I went online later Friday to pay and found I couldn’t do it without doing a bank transfer, which is very difficult from the US to Africa, and only had yesterday afternoon to do it. So, I searched for accommodations online again, and was thankfully able to get everything I wanted, when I wanted it, and after 5 attempts with a credit card, got it all paid for and confirmed. I think there are so many websites that allow provisional booking for accommodations and hold them for 48 hours, that it appeared as if there were no accommodations left, and was able on the fourth try to find what I wanted. It was a bit crazy, but now I’m at ease and excited to be going. We are supposed to be staying at a site in the middle of the best game viewing area in the park, including lions. I hope to see lots of all kinds of animals. Speaking of which, I went for a drive along the southern coast of Africa with my friends on Monday afternoon and I was just admiring the coastline and the view and saw a whale surfacing in the bay. We pulled the car over and he surfaced a few more times for us to get a good look. Also, I think I forgot to mention before that when I was near Johannesburg we had four baboons hop a fence and run across the road in front of us and continue through the field. It’s sort of fun to see baboons here like we would see deer at home.

July 13, 2009
I spent the weekend watching soccer in the rain. I had to coach two games, played one, and just went to watch the fourth, but everything I own ended up drenched. I wasn’t planning to play yesterday, because my hip flexor is still sore and definitely not 100%, but I dressed for the game just in case there was an injury. There were no injuries but with 15 minutes to go in the game my team was down 4-1 and my coach thought we could still win, so he said he was putting me in. I didn’t think he was serious, but he was, he just wanted me to send the ball forward to our attack. I was able to run and do everything left footed, but there was no way I was going to make a tackle or stop with my right leg, even reaching for a ball too far away hurt. I’m not sure what impact I had on the game, we still lost, but the final score was 4-3, and I had one assist, a nice left-footed cross.
I had a couple of the players on the team I coach over for dinner Saturday and then they spent the night, because we had another game Sunday morning. They begged me all afternoon Saturday to buy them a chip roll, which is French fries on a hot dog bun. I find them disgusting, and I refused to let them fill themselves on junk, so after much arguing I finally convinced them to settle for homemade spaghetti bolognaise. It is quite a culture where people would pass up on a nice homemade meal for 75 cents worth of mushy fries on a white bun. Healthiness is not a priority. Sometimes it makes me laugh.

July 19, 2009
I think the team that I coach may be done with their matches. The league doubled up games the past two weekends to get the season over with (I’m not sure why) and although we had one game postponed earlier in the season and yet to be played, I’m not sure we will play it. If we don’t play again then we fittingly ended our season this morning with another no-show team, I think it was our fourth for the season, which is just ridiculous. We will practice on Tuesday, but it will be sort of a fun practice and a wrap up to the season. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the girls and hanging out with them. I know I’ve been encouraged by my relationship to them and hope they have been encouraged somehow through me.
The team I play for still has two more weeks left, but things will wrap up there quickly as well. The coach asked me earlier this week to lead devotions for the team twice a week for the last couple weeks of the season. Normally it is on a rotation, but he thought it would be good if I could hit them with some good solid gospel teaching. I did the first two already. I’m sort of hitting them with characteristics of God. The first was God Is There, including the fact that He is the only God, that He is at work, that He desires to be in a relationship with us, and that knowing those things should change us. The second devotion was sort of a hard hitting, God Is Holy and Just, leaving them to think about our sin and how we cannot stand before a holy God, but are deserving of punishment. I’ll do at least two more, God Is Merciful and God Is Our Hope, and possibly a fifth. I’ll lead the last devotion with my other team on Tuesday as well, the final 2 fruits of the Spirit, so I really need prayer that I will have the time and diligence to put in to preparation and guidance from God to speak the right things. It will be 5 devotions in 10 days, which is a great opportunity, I’m really thankful for the chance to share so much of my faith, but a bit of a task as well.
This past week was beautiful weather. It stopped raining midday on Monday and besides a few sprinkles on Wednesday, it has been sunny, clear, and warm. I was in shorts today and was hot in the sun. Good weather was much needed as well, because we were running a holiday club (Vacation Bible School) for about 200 kids. It was a last minute addition to our schedule, we were meant to go out of town, but thought we would be rained out and we were supposed to camp (it did get very cold at night and would have been nearly unbearable even without rain anyway). So at the last minute, someone asked us to help with this club that would have been cancelled otherwise. It was at a church just a couple of blocks from where one of my roommates grew up in a very poor area outside the city. It was a bit unorganized and I had to fight the temptation each day to want to take over and run things myself, because it wasn’t really my place. So, I dealt with a little chaos and just waited for the time each day when I was on my own with a smaller group of kids. The kids were rather unruly, mostly just loud and distracted. It was hard to keep their attention with the programs in the church unless they were actively involved. But we sang songs, did skits, taught Bible verses, etc. I somehow was left on my own to handle all of the kids 12 and up, but there were really only about 10 of us with 200 kids, so I dealt with it. I was one of only 2 people who didn’t speak Afrikaans though, so it would have been nice to have someone helping who did speak Afrikaans. The kids in general spoke English pretty well, the biggest problem was that they don’t care to speak English if they don’t have to, so it was hard to be a part of conversations. We spent about an hour to an hour and a half each day in our small group and my group tended to double as soon as we stepped outside. I literally have no idea where the kids appeared from, but they would show up out of nowhere the second we went out to play. We spent most of the time playing games, and the majority of our group wanted to play soccer most of the time (I think that’s why the kids appeared out of the woodwork, because I had a ball and they didn’t). It was a little difficult to get everyone involved, especially with a few quieter people being intimidated by a couple of rough guys, but for the most part there weren’t any major problems. I had a chance to share the gospel with them each day and I’m not sure if many of them cared, but I at least got their attention for a bit in the middle of our games.
It was definitely an area in need of Christ (not that there is anywhere not in need of Christ), but it was good to get the kids in to the church and hopefully some of the kids will continue to be involved. One thing I still find hard to believe is the number of very small children being cared for by older siblings. Everyday we had a dozen or so 1 and 2 year olds who came with their 8-12 year old siblings, who seemed to be their primary source of care. A couple of the small ones were dropped off by an adult, but for the most part, I kept seeing 2 year olds completely dependent on their 10 year old siblings, and it always seemed rough for both of them. You know that the older ones are doing their best and they often care for the younger ones, but the younger ones tend to get pushed around and dragged about as the older ones get exhausted and weary trying to find freedom. They both need love and proper discipline, but lack both.

2009-06-29T16:16:00.002+02:00

Myself and our tour coach with one of the prisoners in the first picture. The tour team in the second picture.

Me playing with some tiger cubs in the third picture.

Last Few Weeks Updated

2009-06-29T16:15:00.001+02:00

June 10, 2009
A few observations from my day… On the way to work in the morning, there is always a vendor setting up at a busy corner a couple of blocks from my house; he sells wooden and wicker furniture, as well as plastic basket shelves, bean bag chairs, hangers, and laundry baskets. I also usually see a couple of men selling random items at street corners. They are usually dressed in steering wheel covers, phone chargers, shoe caddies, and trash bag rolls.
While I’m at work, every once in a while I will go to a “Take-Away” shop across the street. These shops can be found sometimes 2 or 3 to a block in commercial and residential areas and sell drinks, snacks, sandwiches (usually grilled or on hot dog buns with fries), other fried items, and air time for mobile phones. Some of them are small buildings no large than a one stall garage, and others are “shops” set up in a room of someone’s house, in their garage, or constructed from scraps of metal corrugate.
Today I drove to the homeless shelter along one of the major national highways. On my way there I always see people running across traffic to get to the other side of the road, jumping the 3 foot median on the way; groups of children playing soccer right next to the highway, in the largest patch of grass near their homes; or cows, horses, and goats chewing on whatever bit of grass they can find. The cows are not behind fences and I don’t know how they are protected from theft or injury; today one crossed the road right in front of me, stopping to itch at a fly or some other insect along the way.
During rush hour there are myriads of people at every street corner. There are young men selling oranges, nectarines, avocados, tomatoes, pineapples, butternut squash, and many other seasonal fruits and vegetables, usually for about 50 cents an item or bag. There are often men collecting trash from your car for a small donation, and women and children asking for donations of money or food. And each day, men are selling newspapers to commuters, whose headlines decorate every street sign and lamp post, hung diligently each morning along every block.
Around the corner from our office, there was a tent set up today solely for the purpose of selling ear muffs; all sorts of children’s animal ear muffs. It doesn’t get below 40 at night and gets up to at least 60 if not 70 during the day, so ear muffs don’t seem a necessary commodity and not a highly profitable business, but none the less, they are there.
I encounter taxi vans daily, a dozen to a block, picking up any passerby who might need a ride in their direction. You often hear them before you see them, either their incessant horn honking or their deafening bass. Signs in the windshield advertise which area of town they are traveling to and passengers pile in to overcrowded seats to get a lift home. Today there was a taxi full of passengers refueling at the “petrol” station en route. Many times taxis will pull over to solicit passengers and wait for customers, while paying customers wait on board.
Kids can almost always be seen walking to or from school in their corresponding uniform, consisting of a pair of trousers, collared shirt, sweater, and black shoes. If children aren’t walking to and fro, then you are sure to see dozens, if not hundreds of young adults making their way between home and work.
When you pull in to the parking area at a grocery store (only referred to as a supermarket here) there are attendants to guide you in to and out of your space and secure your car while you are shopping. In the major shopping areas, they are working legitimately and often very friendly. But, particularly on nights and weekends, when you park along the street to go to a restaurant, you may very well have a group of drunken men “attending” your car while they stand around chewing the fat with their buddies. At the first sign that you may be returning to your car, they will follow you there to receive their payment; but to their credit, I’ve always found my car just as I left it.
I guess I went longer than I intended, but hopefully it painted a picture of the things I encounter each day in the bustling and energetic city.

June 16, 2009
I have been in Joburg for 2 days now, we are actually staying quite a way outside of the city where it is quiet and safe. We are in a small Christian camp staying in round thatched-roof buildings. The condition and level of facilities are about what I imagine Seneca would have been about 40 years ago. There are 2 horses and 2 geese roaming the grounds, literally unfenced. Yesterday, one of the horses walked right in to the dining hall and they had to chase it out. It was a little scary, because there is a narrow blind turn corridor in to the building and it charged around the corner at 3 of us who were entering and couldn’t see it coming. I wonder what the US health department would say about a horse in a dining facility?
We have a team of 12, including our coach, so a few people from the local AIS office will join us for games. There are 3 other Americans, including one guy who is a senior at Grove City College, although we’ve never met before. The coach and one player are from Italy, 2 guys are from Australia, 3 guys are from England (including the tour director who works for AIS in Pretoria) and 1 guy who works for AIS in Zambia.
Everyone arrived Sunday and we played a late scrimmage to train in the rec hall. We finished at about 11:30, so it took me a few hours to settle and sleep.
Monday we did some orientation and training and then went to watch the US play Italy. It started out as a great game and the U was playing well. Then, we got an undeserved red card and a player was sent off and we had to play over an hour with one less man. The US scored first, but laying down proved to be too much and we ended up losing. We got home from the game at 1:30AM and had to be at breakfast at 6:30, so we pushed through today on very little sleep.
We did a clinic this morning at a church for about 200 kids. It was a church AIS has never worked with before and they were impressed with how things were run, so hopefully it will create a partnership with the church in the future, which is the goal. Most people are knapping now, but I don’t like to knap and needed to spend some time in devotions, so that’s what I will do now. The dynamics of the team are fun and it seems like a really solid group, so hopefully the next 2 weeks will be fruitful.

June 18, 2009
Yesterday morning we did another soccer clinic. It was at a pretty well-off school, which meant all of the kids were white and not as skilled at soccer as most blacks and coloreds. (That’s stereotypical, but true, most whites tend towards rugby and cricket). I shared my testimony with 4 of the 6 groups that I coached and asked 2 other coaches to share during the other times. I pray that the kids might have heard something. It was really good for Ambassadors regardless, because the clinic went well and the school is literally across the street from the Pretoria office, and it is a great opportunity for long-term relationships.
Last night we played against the U19 Women’s SA National Team. I wasn’t sure what to expect playing with a co-ed team against women. I’ve played co-ed against all men and women against women, but never co-ed against women. We won 5-3, but it was a good match. They were very skilled, but our height and strength played to our advantage. I played the entire game and was pretty tired after, but felt good about the way I played.
One of the girls on our team gave her testimony and I think it was a great opportunity to share the grace of God. I think it met the girls where a lot of them are and was relevant to their struggles. I think it resounded with what South African girls struggle with, what they desire, and what they need. Two girls from AIS work with the team everyday and they are excited about the opportunities it would allow them in future conversations.
This morning we played again, this time against the AIS prison team in Leeukwop. It was a hard fought game and we tied 2-2. I played all but about 20 minutes and I’m a bit bruised and beaten, but all of the guys were impressed with how I played. Afterwards, one of the Italians on our team shared his testimony, and again it was really relevant to the prisoners. They also sang for us and it was amazing to hear 25 guys singing praise songs, even though I couldn’t understand the language.
Three of their players gave their testimonies as well and God is definitely working in their lives. Not only have they experienced God’s grace, but they want to change their friends and communities now and when they get out. The AIS staff who work with them regularly said the 3 guys who shared were very hard when they entered the program. They only wanted to be there to play soccer and then were broken and changed.
This afternoon we were able to go to another game, US v Brazil, but unfortunately, the US lost 3-0. Our chances of moving on in the tournament are now pretty much over, but I guess that’s life.
We’ve had very lat nights and very early mornings and 2 hard games back-to-back, so I’m feeling pretty tired. We get to sleep in an extra 2 hours tomorrow and have breakfast at 8:30 instead of 6:30 and I need it at this point, so I am looking forward to it.

June 22, 2009
Friday we worked with a township football club and ran a small clinic for them. Afterwards, we played a game against their U17 or U19 guys team, and most of us took it easy to catch a break, but our team still won. There were about 200 kids just running around the field playing and looking for attention at the same time, so a drama group we have been working with took the kids inside for worship and skits, which I heard went really well.
On Saturday, we went to Soweto, the largest township in SA. It actually was not as impoverished as I expected (some people had block homes, although much smaller than even a 2-stall garage). I am sure there were very impoverished areas, just not where we drove. My guess is that there are over 2 million people living there. We easily found 150 kids to come to the clinic. We rotated them through 6 coaching stations and shared a message or testimony after each station. Most of the kids only understood very little English, but we had local coaches translate (some of the time). The kids all got juice, water, fruit, and chips afterwards for lunch and it was the first time I saw kids not pushing and shoving for food, but they were all appreciative. They all got a shirt as well and 2 US girls hd brought about 65 pairs of donated soccer shoes also, and they were all passed out with much appreciation. There was a gospel message presented in one of the local languages and about 90% of the kids stood to accept Christ, so hopefully even among peer influence, some were at least sincere.
After we finished the clinic, we ate KFC at the field. About 30 of us split 3 buckets of chicken and fries. When we were done eating, the garbage was left outside of our van, while we had devotions and played a game. When I got back to the van later, it was evident that some kids had eaten our scraps, all of the skin, fat, and cartilage off of the bones, as well as the ketchup and vinegar packets. It is sad that either those kids were so desperate for food that they ate our garbage or that it is their normal way of life and they don’t know otherwise.
During the game, I unfortunately pulled a muscle while taking a shot; I think my hip flexor. It hurt so much I went immediately to the ground in tears. It is 2 days later now and it feels a little better, but I’m not sure how long I will be out.
Sunday was a bit more relaxing. We moved out of the camp where we were staying, went to church, and had lunch in a host home. In the afternoon we went to a popular square in Pretoria where people would be gathering to watch the games that night and did street evangelism. It is not my area of giftedness and my hip was hurting waling around, so I was sort of content to sit and talk. I think some people had some decent conversations and a lot of soccer-based tracts were passed out.
After that, we went to watch the Italy v Brazil game at a church near the stadium. There were close to 200 people there and about half had just wandered in or had been invited in from the street. An ex-pro player who works for AIS shared his testimony and some 1 to 1 conversations took place as well. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to watch the US game that was played at the same time, but the US won by enough that it put them through to the semifinals.
This morning, we went back to the prison to play the guys again, it was my first game out with injury and our team’s first loss. (They played the ex-professional and former Nigerian national team player in my place, but he apparently couldn’t make up for my absence). Just after 2 days with the prisoners, I love being with them. If I didn’t meet them in jail, I never would have guessed they were criminals. God has gripped so many of them by His grace that they are a delight to be with. I pray that God really uses those guys to reach and change their communities, and that He continues to work in them to grow them and bring more and more to Himself.
For the next 3 days, we will be attending a conference designed to get people and churches equipped to do sports ministry, specifically focusing on the SA 2010 World Cup. Some of our staff came over from Cape Town, so hopefully it will be good.

June 25, 2009
I have spent the last few days at a conference; it has been a pretty good conference and most of the devotionals and talked are applicable to any ministry. Last night, the church hosting the conference also hosted a big screen showing of the semi-final game. About 400 men came from a squatter camp next door, even when it was a game between the US and Spain. SA plays against Brazil tonight, and they are by far the 2 most popular teams in the country. (By the way, the US upset Spain, who was expected to win by a wide margin, and the US shattered their 35 game winning streak). Before the match there were some games, entertainment, and face painting. There were also 2 professional players who talked about the competition and shared their testimonies. It was a good opportunity to introduce people ot the church, as well as to bridge the church to the community. Jus one of the opportunities the soccer tournament offers to allow ministry.
I though my hip was getting better and I was walking okay, but not able to run or kick; then, when the US scored their first goal against Spain, I jumped up from the floor to cheer and somehow reinjured myself. It hurt a lot and I didn’t want to move for the next half hour and my whole body was shaking, so I think it may be worse than I hoped and I am going to try to see a doctor when I get back to CT.

June 29, 2009
Well, the US lost in the final, but played well enough in the tournament that hopefully our country has gained some respect in the European and South American dominated soccer world.
I got back to Cape Town this morning to some bad news. I had loaned my car to one of the Ambassadors staff on Saturday and Sunday to drive girls to soccer games. She unfortunately rear ended one of the other players on our team on the highway on the way to the game on Sunday. The damage isn’t bad, but the car definitely needs repaired. I hope the insurance isn’t a hassle (it doesn’t seem to be so far) and I hope I’m not without my car for too long while it is being repaired. My friend who was driving the car is going to pay the deductible, and I’m not mad, things happen, but I’m hoping it isn’t too much of an inconvenience and that it doesn’t affect the resell is August.
I’m tired now, but I’m going to run to the internet café to hopefully get this posted before it closes at 5.

2009-06-10T10:48:00.001+02:00

June 4, 2009
Yesterday was my 30th Birthday and I feel pretty much the same as I did before, only the whole morale of being 30 may be a little ominous. I didn’t really do anything for my birthday, because I had to work all day and then had Bible study in the evening, but I plan to go to dinner with friends on Saturday. My plan is to go to a Mexican restaurant in town and then for milkshakes.
I continue to work on the Bible Study material, I’m on the second of four booklets. I’ve been searching for examples from professional soccer players to illustrate the lessons. Quite frankly, I think I may be the worst person for that job. I’m limited to searching for stories by key words on the internet. As much as I like soccer, I don’t follow European soccer at all, which is where it is easiest to find relevant stories. I’d be way better off using NFL or NHL athletes, rather than European “football”. The sessions start with an illustration, then have an introduction to the value being presented, followed by sports discussion questions, life discussion questions, and a Bible focus. Most of the material is already written, but I’m doing my best to make it relevant and clear.
I’m enjoying working at the homeless shelter, and the girls who come seem to enjoy our time together, but lately attendance has been sporadic. I think a couple of months ago there were closer to 16 girls and today we were lucky to have 9, yesterday was closer to 3 or 4. Some girls who don’t live on the property can’t arrange for their transportation to come later and a couple of the girls are constrained to their quarters for discipline reasons, but I don’t know what excuse the others have. We’ve been talking about the fruits of the Spirit (which is what I’ve been leading for devotions with my reserve team), and I think it is something valuable for them to hear. So, I pray they come and listen. I know they get Bible teaching where they live, but today I asked the girls who wrote most of the NT letters and none of them could tell me Paul, even after much prompting, so I’m not sure how much they hear and care to retain.
The girls who I coach need some prayer for encouragement as well. Two weeks in a row our opponent has not shown up for our match and that’s after a rained out weekend prior, so they are discouraged. Some of them say they want to give up, but I told them that at least we still get together and practice and play small-sided games when the other teams don’t show, which is better than being on one of the no-show teams. I also arranged a scrimmage this past Tuesday with the team I play on and they did pretty well. Hopefully that gave them a bit of a boost and I really hope the team shows up this Saturday. If they don’t, I’m going to have to find another competitor very quickly. Winning by forfeit is not fun.

June 8, 2009
Well, the opponent for the team I coach did not show up again on Saturday. That’s three teams, three weeks in a row. I think the league tried to add a bunch of new teams from townships where they aren’t taking the league seriously and don’t make provisions to transport players. Needless to say, there was discouragement all around. We ended up scrimmaging a group of U15 boys, but it’s not quite the same as playing a league game. The girls had to pay to be in the league and it really isn’t fair to them to keep missing out on their games.
Other than that, not much else is new. It rained for about 2 weeks straight and finally stopped on Saturday morning. It was sunny yesterday and today, so I’m taking advantage and doing some laundry while I can hang it to dry. It took so long for my clothes to dry last week that some of them started to smell and I’m rewashing them this morning.
I leave on Sunday to go to Johannesburg for the Confederations Cup, so I’m sure that I will write more about that later.

I have no good title

2009-05-27T19:07:00.000+02:00

May 25, 2009
So again, another typical week, I think the month of May can be labeled as fairly routine. I did hear an interesting talk on Monday night though. I met an MTW missionary from St. Louis last week who has been in Cape Town with his family for the last 10 years. He is organizing an MTW team to do ministry for the 2010 World Cup under The Ultimate Goal, which I talked about a couple of weeks ago. So, he has been working some with Ambassadors on the preparation and plans and came to do our staff devotions last Thursday. While he was there he invited me to come hear a guest lecturer at a class he teaches at a nearby Bible college. The guest happened to be the bishop of the church I attend, but who has been on sabbatical since I’ve been here. He spoke about a massacre that occurred at the church in July of 1993. It was just at the time when there was great unrest in South Africa and apartheid was coming to an end, with the new South Africa being established in 1994. No one knows why, it was most likely a random act of violence, although the church was diversified in a time when separation was the norm, but 3 gunmen came in to the Sunday evening service, attended by several hundred people and opened fire with 3 automatic weapons and hand grenades. 11 people were killed and over 50 were wounded, many very seriously. While it was a tragedy, it was also a great witness to the community and the nation, because through all the media coverage and turmoil, the people remained faithful, humble, and forgiving. He spoke about what the church learned through this experience of suffering. After this bishop spoke, 5 of the students from the class shared briefly their past and what God has taught them in suffering as well. One student lived through the genocides in Rwanda, another had family near last year’s earthquakes in China, one guy talked about the witness of a man he saw die from a brain tumor, one girl talked about her abusive stepfather, and the last woman was also a part of the church massacre. It was sobering and saddening, but comforting to see that each of them had hope in God. I have been studying 1 Peter lately, and he speaks a lot about our suffering and how it is a gracious thing and brings glory to God and how those who suffer for righteousness will be blessed.
Since last Saturday’s rain kept most of the team I coach from being able to come for dinner, I had them over again this Saturday. There were 14 of us total, 10 from the team, and it was a really good time. They were more social than I have seen them be yet and they talked for a long time and then we played games and had several good laughs. I think it was good for the unity of the team, but also hopefully a good leap in my relationship with them to let them see that I care about them and want to know them and minister to them.
I ended up in goal again on Saturday, my second time there. Our goal keeper got a red card and was thrown out of the game and I was put in goal in her place. That meant we were playing down a player and when the other team saw me coming in, I think it gave them a go sign to shoot as much as they could. I had to make a handful of saves and thankfully held my ground. We ended up winning 3-0. I’m not sure yet if her penalty carries over until next week, but there is a possibility I could be playing in goal again, but this time it would be against a very strong team, which makes me a bit nervous.
Yesterday, I started experiencing car troubles and had to take my car to the shop today and I think just in time, because it actually stalled out on the way to the garage. I was able to get it there, thankfully, but I am really praying that the repairs aren’t too expensive. Since I was afraid to drive anywhere yesterday, I had my roommate drop me off at church on her way to her church, which put me there about 30 minutes early. So I explored the church a bit and found that there was a restaurant and book shop on the second floor. I had heard about the restaurant, but it was much bigger and busier than I expected. I bought a couple of books as well, and after walking home from church (it was only 1 ½ miles) I spent the afternoon reading. I got about 200 pages through a biography about John Newton and had trouble putting it down. My roommate came with me to the evening service last night so I didn’t have to take my car. I also found a friend to take me to the garage this afternoon to drop my car off. I had asked her dad to recommend a place to take it, so hopefully the place is trustworthy. It is frustrating being in a new place and just not knowing what places are good and where to go, so I was thankful to find someone to help out. Please pray that I won’t be without my car for too long and that the repairs won’t be too hefty.

May 26, 2009
I found out today that our goal keeper received a two game suspension for her red card on Saturday, which was for a handball outside the goal area. That means for the next two games I’ve been elected by our coach to play goalie. We are facing two of the top teams in our league, we lost to won and beat the other so far this season. But that means the pressure is on. I’ll be training as a goalie for the first time ever tonight.

May 27, 2009
I’ve been working in the office a lot lately. I’ve been asked to edit and format a lot of the Bible Study material that Ambassadors uses for soccer schools and with teams. It isn’t very exciting work, but it is definitely a need I can fill. Unfortunately, the office has been without internet a lot lately, due I believe to a bad networking system. It doesn’t help that internet service in South Africa is very poor and often shady as it is.
My car has also been in the shop since Monday. They told me they looked at it yesterday and that the problem is more complicated than something clear cut with a simple solution. I really hope I’m not getting the run around and I really hope this doesn’t end up being something of great expense. I’m a little fearful of that, but I really don’t know if there is anything I can do about it. I feel pretty stranded without a car and while I’ve found rides where I need to go, I can’t find rides where I want to go, when I want to go, particularly to an internet café.
I’m also feeling a tiny bit flu-ish with a sore throat and trouble sleeping, so any prayers for grace and sustenance would be appreciated at this point.

Contest Question

2009-05-19T14:39:00.000+02:00

Here's a question for you: This past Friday I purchased a large bag of nectarines from a road side vendor for 5 Rand, which is roughly about 60 cents. Can you guess how many nectarines were in the bag? Post a comment with your guess, the person who guesses closest wins (I'll bring something back from South Africa as a prize). You can only guess once and the cut off date for the contest is May 31st.
This week's blog post follows...

2009-05-19T14:34:00.003+02:00

May 17, 2009
Once again, this was a typical week for the most part. It was nice weather for most of the week, but started raining late on Thursday and didn’t stop until this morning. The team I coach started to play our game (even though most games in the area were cancelled because of field conditions, ours was not) and played about 15 minutes before the refs called the game because they couldn’t see through the rain. Luckily, we had had once chance to score at that point and did, so it counted as a win. The team I was supposed to play against decided they didn’t want to travel in the rain, but in order for us to win the forfeit, we had to wait until game time. We normally meet 2 and half hours before game time to eat a light meal and get ready, so we had to sit around that entire time, even knowing that the other team wasn’t coming. The refs checked our registrations, made us get completely dressed in our uniforms, and even walk out of the locker room together at game time, before they told us we could go. At that point I had been sitting in wet clothes for a couple of hours and was ready to go home.
I had invited the team I coach over for dinner though, and they had already been waiting at my house for a couple of hours, because there was no game for them to watch, (they were going to watch the game I was playing in), so I didn’t really have time to do anything other than get home, change clothes, and start cooking. Because of the rain, only a handful of girls were able to make it, so I’m going to have them over again soon.
I’m going to try to post a picture soon, but in the meantime, be praying for a girl here named Ode (pronounced like Oddie). She plays on the soccer team I play on, but she is also the foster daughter of Joelle, a woman who works for Ambassadors. She has been in South Africa for 15 years (she is 19 now), but she does not have any identity or documents, like a birth certificate, for citizenship in any country. She came from the Congo and her father is in Angola, but she has no links to either country and no proof of her past. Joelle has been working for 2 years to get her citizenship in any of those countries (although South African would be best for her) and has been unsuccessful. Right now she just continues to renew her refugee status in South Africa every few months, which isn’t the best solution, but has no other choice. Without any identity she can’t get a driver’s license, vote, or get a passport to leave the country to visit Joelle’s family in England. She is also a very good player and could play for the South African national team, but can’t do so without citizenship. Her dream is to come to the US to play college soccer and she is studying hard to take her SATs in June (I tutor her in Math once a week), but she won’t be able to see that dream through without citizenship. That’s a long story made not so short, but please be praying for Ode’s citizenship, for the right contacts to be made to move the process forward, and for encouragement in the meantime. One other thing, the refugee office where all of this takes place is not very safe. I went there on Wednesday with Joelle so she didn’t have to go alone after someone attempted to rob her there on Monday. There are hundreds of refugees trying to force their way in through the gates outside and a couple hundred more waiting inside each day, just hoping to be seen. Many of them have been waiting for several months and are desperately seeking refugee status in South Africa. Most of them are told that life in South Africa will be so much better than their home countries, but after months of waiting, just want to return home. It was very sad to see them all there and a little scary to see their desperate state. One man saw that we were given special treatment (Joelle and I couldn’t decide if it was because she called the right person ahead of time to let us in the building or if it was because we were white, and the only 2 white people anywhere around; maybe it was both, which made us feel bad), but this man was pleading with us to take his papers in and just give them to someone inside to look at. He said he was a chess coach and had left Malawi to come to Cape Town to play and coach, but had been there for 6 months waiting for refugee status and was ready to give up. There wasn’t anything we could do for him though. We didn’t get anywhere that day either. Joelle just wanted to get Ode’s refugee status renewed, which has expired again, and after almost 3 hours and 3 meetings, she was told to come back later with Ode, because the process was being changed and she had to be there. She should have an ID instead of needing to renew her refugee status, but after two applications and several follow-ups, it still hasn’t come through. In one office, we watched 2 men flip through about 200 IDs looking for hers, but of course it wasn’t there. I just wonder where those 200 Angolans are whose IDs were sitting in that drawer. It has been frustrating for both Ode and Joelle, and Ode will graduate from high school in December, so for her to start college in August 2010, things need to move through more quickly than they are now.

2009-05-14T12:50:00.000+02:00

May 11, 2009
This past week has been fairly normal, I’m pretty settled in to a regular routine. This weekend was busy though. Saturday morning I went with a couple of the other Ambassadors staff to volunteer at a deaf school soccer tournament in the morning. There were teams from 5 different deaf schools in the area. Unfortunately, they were a little late in arriving, and I had to leave early, so my job was mostly limited to set up and preparation. I did get the chance to hear a friend give his testimony to the kids, and it is a pretty powerful testimony full of God’s grace and forgiveness.
I went straight from there to coach the reserve team. We played probably the best team in the league and were tied 1-1 at half time. The girls showed a lot of potential and were working well together (the 1st team was watching and made some comments about how impressed they were). Unfortunately, the other team was just too much to handle and we ended up losing 7-1 (although, we didn’t have our usual goal keeper, which didn’t help). I think the other team had 2 Americans playing for them, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to them after the game, because I had to quickly run off to the 1st team game. That game went much better, winning by a score of 7-1. I scored one goal, my second of the season, and I was pretty happy with it. One of the other girls on the team kept commenting about how fun the game was, it wasn’t even our highest scoring game, but she said she thought the team played really well against a another skilled team, so we really earned the score.
Sunday morning one of the girls asked me if I wanted to run in a 10K race with her. She told me it was supposed to be one of the most beautiful races in Cape Town (they actually have a lot of races, Africans love to run), so I agreed. It was a pretty venue. It was right along the Atlantic shore, next to a lighthouse, and on the side of a mountain. That meant that there was about a 2.5K uphill stretch up that mountain side, but it did make for some nice views. I kept reminding myself to enjoy the scenery and made sure I was looking around as much as I could. At one point the song “All Creatures of our God and King” started playing on my iPod and I looked up with the shore to my right, a rocky mountain ahead of me, and another mountain to my left and I just praised God for it. When the line “Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit three in one, oh praise Him, oh praise Him, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...” was being sung, I almost raised my hands up in the air while I was running, but I didn’t want to kill my momentum. I did however fly up that hill with considerable ease (although it was much shorter than the first 2.5K hill).
Did I mention I won? I won a gift certificate to some farm village outside of Cape Town. I don’t know what they have there, but it was a nice prize. Actually, that prize had nothing to do with the race. I ran 10K in 55 minutes, which is respectable, I think, considering I did no training prior and played a game the day before, but nowhere near the winning time. Some college girl won the race. I just won a random drawing after the race. They gave away about 30 prizes, mostly water bottles and small stuff. My prize was the second to largest prize (worth about $50). The largest prize was a two night stay for two guests at a local hotel. It was only accommodations, no food or other package, which would pretty much be useless to me, so I’m actually glad I didn’t win that.
Please continue to pray for both of my soccer teams. I still need a couple of players for the team I coach and am looking for opportunities to reach out to the players. I’m also still trying to build relationships with the girls I am playing with as well. Yesterday, because of the race, I was able to spend about 6 hours with one girl, and that was a blessing, but there are others I would love to spend time with as well. I’m praying also for the girls at the homeless shelter; they haven’t been very committed to coming to our program. We are lucky to get 10 when we could be getting 20. The next couple of weeks are really important for relationship building, because I’m going to be busy in June with a few other projects and may not be around much. The last two weeks in June will be particularly busy, as I’m joining an international team of players to do ministry around Johannesburg for the Confederations Cup. It is a big tournament being held in South Africa this year with 8 men’s national teams, the best from each region. (For anyone who cares, the US will be playing).

2009-05-05T13:55:00.000+02:00

April 25, 2009
The last week and a half have been fairly uneventful, sort of just settling in to the routine. I have soccer practice Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday with games on Saturday, including coaching on Tuesday and Saturday. The team I am coaching is still struggling to get enough players though. There are no youth teams for girls, so we are trying to find teenagers and adults with no pool to draw from. I’ve been going to the homeless shelter to work with the young girls. My first week there, none of the staff were able to go, so myself and two of the other interns took charge and ran the program straight out of the blocks. It went fine, the girls were responsive to us and we had a good conversation at the end of our time together. One of the other interns lived at the shelter for a while and left a year ago to do a training program and then joined Ambassadors in January. He shared about his goals and dreams to get out of the shelter and then to join Ambassadors, so we talked with the girls about their goals and dreams as well. Many of them want to go in to ministry, so I hope they are able to see those dreams fulfilled. (Although we did talk about doing ministry in everyday vocations as well).
Speaking of vocations, I have been trying to figure out what I want to do when I get home in August. I don’t know if I will be able to find something permanent from here. I may have to find something that pays the rent when I get home and then look for something more suitable at that time. I had been thinking last year that I would want to stay in ministry full time, but now I am wondering if that is the best option. I want to do ministry, but I’ve been thinking that moving in to a secular job may open up more opportunities and allow me to build more relationships to be effective in talking to others in need. I’m wondering if I am to expand and build the relationships I am in, if it would be better to not work within a “ministry” context. If anyone wants to keep an eye open for possible opportunities and pray for God’s guidance in that area, I would appreciate it.
May 1, 2009
This week was a pretty typical week, except that it seems to be the time of year when South Africa has a lot of public holidays. First it was Easter and then last Wednesday was election day, which is a holiday here, then Monday was Freedom Day (I didn’t notice any celebrations, it was just a day off), and today was a holiday, but I have no idea what is was.
Wednesday we went to a meeting to talk about the ministry centering around the 2010 World Cup. All of the ministries and churches in South Africa will come together under one heading, The Ultimate Goal. The meeting left a bit to be desired, but it is exciting to think about what kind of ministry potential there is during the World Cup. FIFA has actually granted churches rights to show the games on Big Screens without licensing fees, as long as they don’t charge admission. It is a first as far as I know. But that means bars won’t be the only ones opening their doors for public viewing and churches can reach people in their communities. Most South Africans don’t have access to TV, especially satellite and most people won’t have transportation to get to pubic viewing areas around the stadiums, so local churches seem to be a great option. The Ultimate Goal is also pushing churches to do clinics and tournaments, and further encouraging them to get involved volunteering, offering hospitality to visitors and ministry teams, and providing information and aid to tourists.

2009-04-16T10:49:00.002+02:00

This was just a nice sunset between Table Mountain and the adjacent mountain during soccer practice one night.

This picture was on my day off visit to Cape Point, sorry I'm squinting so much, the picture took a while to take, I couldn't hold my eyes open any more.

I took a few pictures during our soccer camp in Capricorn. This gives a little glimpse in to the condition of the field as the kids are being coached by the AIS interns.

Cape Point Excursion

2009-04-16T10:48:00.000+02:00

April 15, 2009
Yesterday was in the 80’s so a few of us went to the beach, you never know when it is your last chance, so you have to take advantage. It was nice today as well and it was the last day of our break, so I went with two friends to Cape Point. It is a national park where you can go to the very southern tip of the Cape Peninsula where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. It is also where the Cape of Good Hope is, and monument in recognition of the exploration of DaGama and Dias. It was a beautiful area where rocky cliffs and beaches fell spilled over in to picturesque sandy beaches. We saw signs everywhere warning about Baboons being dangerous and attracted by food, but we only saw two baboons, and they weren’t even in the park, they were walking along the street in the town just north of the park. (Yes, they literally were baboons and not goofy people). We did see a family of 7 ostriches though as we were driving to the Cape of Good Hope. Ostriches are fairly common here on farms, but it was fun to see them in the wild.
My roommate from Scotland leaves for home tomorrow morning, she decided pretty early on that she was not going to continue with the internship after the initial training phase, and I’m still not quite sure why. My other roommate from Cape Town will also be moving out this month as well to save money by living at home. Another woman will be moving in on Saturday, she does not work for AIS, but is loosely affiliated. I just met her about 2 weeks ago and we have not spent much time together, so my prayer is that we get along fine and that living together goes smoothly. I believe she is from Cape Town originally and as far as I know is employed full-time.

Soccer Camp Conclusion and Easter Weekend

2009-04-14T11:21:00.001+02:00

April 9, 2009
Well, by the second day of camp, word got around the area that we were there and we had a few people (kids and young adults) trying to jump the fence and steal our equipment. We lost may be 5 or 6 soccer balls the second day. And when we sent people away who didn’t belong, they threw rocks over the fence or stood along the outside and swore at kids. (I felt terrible when a little boy about 6 years old came to me and told me there was a man standing at the fence swearing, no one should have to be exposed to that at that age). Everything else with the kids seemed to have gone well, the drills and Bible studies that is.
The third day, we were told that kids had stolen balls in their backpacks the day before and caught 3 kids with balls in their bags that day. We also caught kids hiding balls in a bush to come back and take later. I’m not sure if they got any, I tried to search the bush, but it was too dirty and smelly to get close. We also had to break up a few fights; it seems that a lot of the kids take to violence as their first solution to a problem, a cycle which I pray can be broken. We had to have people constantly watching the fence to keep people from jumping in and still had people get over. The gospel was still presented and kids were still influenced, regardless of what a few kids and locals did, the gospel went out.
Today, we had intended to allow locals to come participate in competitions and a tournament, but we had to be careful about who we let in. We did end up running a tournament for 15 teams and the day was successful. Again, there were a couple of fights, but mostly among the younger teenagers, and the older teenagers were pretty well under control, which was an answer to prayer. I was really disturbed though by 3 kids who were beating up on a much smaller boy, because they were angry about the result of a game, which he had nothing to do with. Two of them were holding him up in the air by his hands and feet while the third boy drop kicked him in the back. When I confronted them, they felt justified and really didn’t seem to care.
We presented soccer balls to the two winning teams in two age groups and it was amazing how many others came begging for balls for themselves, kids and adults giving any reason to get a ball. Unfortunately, some of the younger kids who had won soccer balls had them stolen from them before they even made it out of the school gate. I really can’t understand how someone can be so greedy or desperate and so conditioned to stealing that they think it’s okay to steal from a kid half their size. We did replace the stolen balls, but I would imagine that they were soon stolen as well.
I’m still amazed (appalled) at the state of a community that is so conditioned to fighting, stealing, and disrespect that it could be so evident in a kids’ soccer camp. It really showed the despondent situation the community is in. God is needed so desperately there. There were some good conversations in the oldest group of teenagers, between some offended Rastafarians and our staff. They were offended at nothing more than the bold presentation of the gospel, so hopefully God will continue to make them think and question and turn to Him. I am confident that a seed was planted in others as well and I pray that God will continue to water and nourish that seed until its fruition. We had a local church involved each day and encouraged all the kids to get plugged in there. Ambassadors was only there for a week, so I pray for the church to continue to make a long term impact.

April 14, 2009
Saturday, I played in probably the most boring game of my life. First of all, I was asked to play goal keeper, which I have never played before and most people will laugh when they read this. Our starting keeper wasn’t around, and the two back ups were both injured. So, since I’ve coached keepers before, I was the next option. The team was new to the league, so we didn’t know what they would be like, but it turns out anyone could have stood in the goal (and I mean anyone, like a 5 year old would have been fine). We won the game 9-0, I touched the ball twice, plus a few times that my team kicked the ball back to me from about 30 yards out, I think because they felt bad for me. I basically watched for 90 minutes.
Sunday didn’t feel much like Easter except the church service (actually I went to good services both on Good Friday and Sunday). I was a little sad after church, because at that point I had no plans for the day and thought I would end up doing nothing all day. But then one of the other interns called and a few of us went to the Waterfront, where we knew all of the tourist restaurants would be open and ate an overpriced lunch and then walked around for a while.
I would ask for prayer for church. I enjoy the sermons and I am comfortable with the worship and the doctrine. However, it is a fairly large church, so a meet someone new each week, but then never see them again, so I’ve found it hard to get to know people. There have been 3 social events since I’ve been there, but I haven’t been able to go to any of them because of commitments with Ambassadors. I haven’t seen any of my small group in church yet, so I haven’t really built relationships there either. I have friends from Ambassadors to hang out with on evenings and weekends, but it would just be nice to have friendly faces to connect with on Sunday mornings at church.
We completed the training portion of our internship on Thursday, so we were given a couple of days off this week and don’t have to be back in the office until Thursday. I still have practice and games, so it hasn’t been completely responsibility free, but a nice change of pace anyway. Yesterday we went to an amusement park that said it was Africa’s largest amusement park. I’m not sure I believe that claim. It would have trouble competing with Kennywood and Cedar Point makes it look more like the Big Butler Fair. It was fun, the lines were fairly short, but so were the rides. We rode everything we wanted to in about 3 hours, watched a poor dance show (not my choice), and then went home. It was a good day trip, but it made me yearn for an end of the summer trip to Cedar Point when I return.

Soccer Practice and Soccer Camp

2009-04-06T15:25:00.000+02:00

April 4, 2009
My first practice coaching the Ladies reserve team was interesting. Because we only found out about the league a couple of days prior to starting practice, there were only 8 players there. I was told that there are more interested, just unable to attend on short notice. The level of players was quiet varied, from brand new to retired semi-professionals, which will make practices interesting. I think if we have a decent core group of experienced players it should be okay and it will help the new players along. Apart from the soccer aspect, I think there will be a lot of potential opportunities to disciple the young girls, which is a definite area for prayer.
After a busy week last week, this one was a little bit lighter. We will be running a soccer camp next week at a local school while they are on break. There are 800 kids in the school, but we are limiting the attendance to 250 kids because of space and staffing. The camp will be paid for by businesses who have agreed to sponsor kids, so getting 250 9-13 year olds there shouldn’t be a problem. It is a very poor community, where kids don’t even have a field or a park to play in, so we will be using the school facilities. AIS is working with a church and another soccer organization to run the camp, but I was asked to run the AIS portion of the camp (who knows why?), which will be the older half of the kids. So this week I have been getting all of the details planned (coaching and Bible study sessions) and coordinating all of the other interns to make sure everyone is prepared and trained to lead a group of kids on their own. Please pray that the program runs smoothly, that coaches lead well, and most importantly, that the gospel is declared clearly and made known to the kids. Pray particularly for Thursday, which will be a day open for all kids and families to come from the community. There will be games and skits, as well as a gospel presentation and testimony. We have invited local churches to help that day as well, to allow people to be plugged in to a local church to allow ministry to continue.

April 6, 2009
We had our first day of soccer camp this morning. We were supposed to start at 9:00 and thought there would be a couple of hundred kids, but there were only about 40 there. Apparently, the recruiting in the schools was a little lacking compared to what we expected. Thankfully though, a couple of us drove out in to the township while a couple others walked around the block and within 15 minutes we had 200 kids at the field, ages 6-18. The field is in pretty poor shape, mostly sand pits and hills, and more glass than grass, but the kids were happy to have soccer balls to kick around and play with. From the road you can’t see how poor the community is, so I was actually glad to be able to drive around looking for kids, because I was able to see the homes the kids came from (I was actually a little scared, I would not go there at night or alone, you could tell from people’s looks that outsiders are not normally there). Literally, the homes were filthy shacks, falling down and unmaintained. Some kids showed up without shoes at all, and very few kids had soccer shoes. Each intern led a group of about 12 kids (except for myself as I was coordinating) and spent about an hour doing soccer training then 20-30 minutes sharing a Bible lesson, and then a few minutes scrimmaging. The day started a little late, so we didn’t do everything planned, but we ended the day with a skit to present a brief gospel message and a bit of an explanation of why we were there. Overall, I think things went well.

Citrusdal Pictures

2009-03-31T11:49:00.002+02:00

The first picture is of my roommate and I playing a game with kids in the squatter's camp we worked in each day. It was basically dodgeball, only we always threw and the kids always dodge. What a great game for the thrower! The second picture is from the day we served hot dogs and candy to the kids, the picture doesn't show it, but it was quite a mob when I pulled the candy out of my car. I thought the littlest kids would be trampled.

The last picture is one of the interns presenting a skit to the kids at school. It is a skit relates soccer to our need to have God in our lives to live as He intended us to, to fulfill the purpose for which He created us.

Citrusdal and soccer teams

2009-03-31T11:48:00.000+02:00

March 21, 2009
I got to play in my first game today because my clearance finally came through. Our team one for the first time and it was against one of the best teams in the league (I’m not saying it was because I was playing). I played all but about the last 10 minutes and I played alright. My hamstrings have been very tight since I got here, and today my legs felt better than they have been for the last 2 months, so I was really happy about that. The team played well together and fought hard the whole game, even when we went down 1-0 with about 20 minutes to go in the game. We ended up winning 2-1 with just a minute to go in extra time. The whole team has not been all together yet for a game, and once they are all there, I’m not sure that I’ll be starting, so I’m thankful for any playing time I get now.
Last night we went to hear Philip Yancey speak (I wasn’t actually planning to go, but some people backed out and I didn’t want the ticket to be wasted). His lecture was decent, but the worship and other presentations weren’t very good, so we decided not to make the 20 minute drive again to hear him tonight. It was nice to hear an American accent and stories about familiar places though.

March 29, 2009
What a week! We spent this past week in a little community about 2 hours outside of Cape Town, called Citrusdal (if the name doesn’t give it away, it is a huge valley where there is orchard after orchard of citrus trees, lime, lemon, tangerine, and orange). It was a beautiful place, the mountains were very rugged, with huge rocks and jagged boulders on each face, and citrus trees lined every road (unfortunately the fruit was still very green, except some tangerines that someone bought for 50¢ for a huge bag, and they may have been the best I have ever had). Unfortunately, there is a huge diversity among the people, between the business and landowners, the laborers, and the unemployed/migrant workers. I didn’t get the sense that the wealthy didn’t care or weren’t trying to do their part, the population of the unemployed is just too high and alcoholism and HIV is just even worse. We actually found people very helpful in donating buns, hot dogs, and snacks to give out in the communities, but what the people need is to know God, and that is what we were trying to show them.
We spent our mornings in 4 different schools, at each one we did an assembly where we shared about God and then led games with the kids. It would have been nice to work with those kids longer term, but we only had an hour or 2 with them for a day. They are so unaccustomed to having anyone come to them from the outside that when they heard there were people coming from Cape Town and that some of us even came from England and the US, they treated us like we were superheroes. They didn’t want to let us go after spending just such a short time with them.
Our afternoons were free, but all of us saw that the community really needed to be impacted, so we spent each afternoon in a squatter’s camp about a mile from where we were staying. It was an area where there were about 200 government built block homes, most about the size of a small American kitchen or living room, and shared by whole families, so beds were often stacked all around the 1 or 2 room homes. Most did not have running water. Beside the homes were another 200 wood shacks. They were no larger than 10 feet by 12 feet, and they looked like something a group of kids would build for a fort out of collections from a dump. We were told that about 10 years ago there were about 10 wooden shacks, but over the past several years, a lot of the migrant workers who would come in for the citrus harvest would not leave afterwards, but were unemployed because of the seasonal harvest, and so ended up building these shacks. For the 200 shacks, I saw about 5 port-a-johns, like you would see at construction sites or fairs at home. The quality of life was very, very low.
We would spend a couple of hours there each afternoon, and we just walked around talking with people and playing with the kids. There was a language barrier (in the schools and the community) because most of the people only spoke Afrikaans, so only 6 people in our group, those from Cape Town, were able to speak with the people, and the rest of us relied on them. That was by far my biggest frustration of the week. The first day I walked around with one of the guys from Cape Town, but I spent most of the time just listening to him have conversations with people in Afrikaans. So the second day I decided just to find a way to serve any way I could, so I spent a couple of hours picking up litter on one street. By the end of the 2 hours, I had about 40 kids helping me and we picked up 7 bags of trash from about a 100 yard section of road. We could have filled a dump truck had we been able to cover the whole community. It was the highlight of my day though to see that the kids cared and realized that the trash shouldn’t been there. (Unfortunately, by the next day there were chip bags and candy wrappers on the ground again). After that, I spent the rest of the time just playing with kids. When we would drive in to the community, immediately we had 40 or 60 kids chasing our cars shouting and waiting for us to play with them. And when we left, they crowded around our cars so tightly I just had to pray that one of them wouldn’t get hit. There were kids as young as 16 months playing in the streets by themselves, may be with an older sibling to watch after them. I couldn’t talk to them, but I could play with them and smile at them, and give them a hug when we left. On Thursday we gave away hot dogs to the kids, almost 100, and I bought little candies to give to the after, and they were so anxious and excited to get this little thing like a Starburst that I couldn’t get them to sit down for anything. They crowded around practically trampling the littlest kids. I would have to grab on to the little ones and place the candy directly in their fist to make sure they got one. I don’t know if candy was that unusual or if it was just a contagious mentality to crowd, but it was so crazy I actually had to stop giving the candy out. I just hope that the kids understood we were there to show them God’s love and not just to play games and hand out candy.
One of the Ambassador’s staff has a mother-in-law who lives in Citrusdal and was our contact in to the community. She is working to get grants to set up shelters/orphanages for children with HIV. She told me she hasn’t met a woman in the squatter’s camp who does not have HIV, which is very disheartening, because that means that most of the kids would have HIV as well. Medications are available, but most adults don’t take them for themselves, and wouldn’t be responsible to give them to their children either.
Some of the other interns spent their time in 2 homes in particular, people who they met on the first day and talked with throughout the week. One man had been an engineer, but was crippled in a taxi bus accident that killed most of the other passengers. He lost his job and his home and ended up in the squatter’s camp in a wheelchair with his wife and young kids to take care of. A couple of guys prayed for him all week and encouraged him with Scripture. They believe he is a Christian, but that he had given up hope. Throughout the week he told them how they had showed him that there is hope in God and that he can carry on. God provided for him in many ways throughout the week, rides to and from the hospital, food for his family, and money to buy bread, and he acknowledged that it was God at work. He even was able to get up out of his wheelchair and walk across the room on crutches for the first time in a long time. I think he was given hope that had been previously dampened and I think that if God continues to work in him that he could make an impact on that community.
On Saturday, we hosted a fun day for all of the kids around Citrusdal. Unfortunately, there was a political rally that day and a lot of people were at that instead. The schools we visited were all about 20 minutes apart down bumpy dirt roads and schools were supposed to provide transportation for kids, but they didn’t, may be due to the rally. So, we had hoped for about 500 kids and ended up with around 150. I think it was the right 150 kids though, because the squatter’s camp and government homes were very close, so it was mostly those kids who came over to spend another day with us. We played games, sang songs, and did a skit. The guy who has been with us several times doing our evangelism and discipleship training also came out for the day from Cape Town with some of his staff. He presented the gospel to the kids and pretty much every single one of them stood up to receive Christ. I think it was a contagious act where when the first person stood, everyone else stood as well, but may be a few at least made a sincere commitment, at least I hope and pray. I also pray that someone will be there to follow up and that the kids can get plugged in to a church, if at all possible.
Sort of a side note, we spent the week in a campground, which turned out to be nicer than anyone expected. We did sleep in tents, but the area was very grassy and in nice surroundings. We were afraid we would be on dirty, dusty, hard ground, digging holes in the ground for our bathroom, but that wasn’t the case. One of the staff also brought a lot of cookware, so we were able to do all of our meals in an electric skillet, a pot, or on the grill. It was actually pretty relaxing and enjoyable. There was a pool, but we all laughed when we saw it, because I think you could have jumped over it without touching the water, at least width wise, and there was definitely no room for swimming laps length wise. We did have one touristy afternoon, on Friday when spent about an hour at some natural hot springs. It was actually a hot spring fed pool, but it was very nice and relaxing, and it was a good change of pact to the week.
I would say that it was a good week, but I feel like you do when you come back from a short term mission trip. You hope that you made an impact, that people saw and heard the gospel, but you know that they need something more. My heart has been impacted by what I saw and experienced, and I pray that God will provide people in the community to work and build relationships and disciple people for an extended time so that there is a lasting impact on the community.

March 31, 2009
I was asked to coach the Ladies’ Second Team on Saturday and practice starts tonight! They had to join a league other than the one they had planned to join, so it begins much earlier than anyone planned or hoped. It is basically the feeder team for the semi-pro team that I am playing for. We will have practices just one night a week and games on Saturdays. It will mean that I will miss my practice one night, but hopefully it won’t interfere with any of my games. The girls will mostly be 15 and 16, but some will be older. Pray that the team itself will be impacted, that God would bring Christians as well as non-Christians to play, and that there will be gospel ministry as well as discipleship taking place. Pray that the team will also make an impact on others in the league through our values, attitudes, and play. Pray also that I will have wisdom in how to be a leader for the girls and how God will use me in their lives, and that I will coach well also.

Ethics and Prison

2009-03-20T13:41:00.001+02:00

March 15, 2009
This week we spent quite a bit of time talking about ethics and different scenarios that one might come across in sports and debated what Biblical principles would teach us about how we should act in those situations. Some of the debates were pretty interesting. We also talked about Sports Values, things like winning with humility, losing with dignity, teamwork, etc. Basically, it is about applying Biblical principles again to sports, which are valuable lessons to teach to Christians and non-Christians.
I met again with the girl from the college who I am mentoring. Our conversation was pretty general; I am just trying to get to know her. I asked her how much she has studied the Bible and she that outside of church, she hasn’t. So I asked her if she would be interested in studying the gospel of John with me. She didn’t know what that was, but I think that is partly due to the fact that she has gone to a Xhosa church and only has ever had a Xhosa Bible. She asked me if I would get her an English Bible, so I went out and bought one for her to make our studying together easier. I also got her a notebook and wrote down passages that we could read this week. My plan is to meet with her after church next week to talk about what we’ve read. She also came with me to church this morning (I was supposed to pick her up at 9:30 for a 10:00 service and she got in the car at 9:55, which meant we were about 5 minutes late for church, because knowing Africans I had built in some leeway time, next week I’ll have to lengthen it). She enjoyed the service and said she would like to go with me again next week. I don’t know what will come of our time together or what God is doing, but it is an area where I would appreciate prayer.
I went to Bible Study again on Wednesday night and they asked me if I wanted to switch groups, recognizing that I had been placed in a very young group. They moved me to a group with people my age and it was more comfortable and more challenging, so I guess God answered that prayer. There was one person who was very overzealous though and it made it very difficult for anyone else to contribute to the conversation. I was a little unprepared for such a person, but next week I’ll know and be prepared to talk and think at the same time instead of thinking before responding and not getting a word out. The leader said this person has only been there a couple of weeks and he’s still trying to figure out how to handle the situation as well.
Yesterday we had our second game and this time we had 12 players available, so there was at least one substitute. I don’t have my clearance still, so I was not able to play again. I did invite the team over for dinner afterwards and a handful of them came. We had dinner and then we hung out and played some games. It was fun.

March 16, 2009
Today was our day off, but it was a little rainy this morning and windy this afternoon, so it gave the air a bit of a chill (still warm enough for short sleeves). I went to the waterfront with 2 other guys and we visited the Two Oceans Aquarium, which was actually a little disappointing. There were animals from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, but not a huge selection. It cost $8 and we saw everything in about an hour. Afterwards we were walking along the wharf and saw 8-10 huge seals lounging on a pier, and one swimming in the water. We thought that was more exciting. Tonight I have practice and have to pick up my laundry on the way. Not many people have washing machines, including us, and most people wash all of their clothes by hand, but I just don’t think I would get my clothes very clean and don’t want to invest that kind of time scrubbing all of my soccer clothes, so I pay about $4-5 every week and a half to 2 weeks to have my clothes washed for me. They wash, dry, and fold them for me, and usually even match my socks (I always have to refold them after for myself, but that’s partly because I’m picky about how my shirts are folded). Sorry that wasn’t very exciting information.

March 19, 2009
Yesterday we went back to the prison where AIS runs their academy and we spent the afternoon with the guys in the program. They took us in to the prison and to the room where the guys stay. As part of the program, they all live together in one room, like a giant dorm room, and all adhere to the same rules and standards. Ambassadors has even been allowed to provide posters and other decorations for the room, so there are a lot of Scripture verses around the room pointing the guys to the truth about who they are and what God has done and can do for them. They have to follow pretty strict disciplinary guidelines to stay in the program and these are posted and tracked in their room as well. We trained with their “team” (they have training 3 days a week and will soon start competition in a local church league on Saturday as well), so we got to interact with the guys a bit. Part of their training includes spiritual training as well. This week’s lesson was about lying and we participated in the discussion as well. The conversation was challenging and encouraging and the guys seemed pretty engaged. Everyone was divided in to two groups and two of the prisoners led each group discussion. They are both Christians (I wrote about one of them in an early post) and know the grace of God and what He has done for them, so it is really cool to see them teach the Scriptures to the guys, because they can relate so well. There seem to be wardens in the prison who are leading them as well, I am fairly certain that their cell warden is a Christian and has a great impact on them. So God is at work there.
Please pray for that prison though. These guys are in an area of the prison that is for younger offenders and their section is specifically for sports and ministry, and is slightly separated from other parts of the prison, but not entirely. It is a very dangerous and very horrific place. Gangsterism runs very deep throughout the prison, which means murder, rape, and violence and very prolific throughout the prison. There are sections of the prison that are controlled by gangs and guards are stabbed regularly. The maximum security areas are unsafe for anyone from the outside to enter and ministry is next to impossible. Pray that the guys in the Ambassadors program would be freed from any gang ties (some of them have been heavily involved and breaking ties is very hard, as it puts their lives in jeopardy). Pray that they would be open to hear the truth of the gospel, that the Spirit would be at work in their lives, and they would be free from the binds of their past. Pray for those who have given their lives to Christ that they would continue to be a witness and continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our great Lord and Savior. Pray that God would put people in their lives who are able to minister to them from within the prison at lengths that Ambassadors is unable to go to during their limited time there.
I’d also like to ask for prayer for myself with one of my roommates, I’ve been frustrated with her lack of motivation and diligence, and it is affecting my attitude toward her, so I need pray to know how to motivate her and help her along with some things she really needs to accomplish.
I spent significant time in prayer today for some friends at home and each time I pray for people at home it gives me great assurance knowing that God is the same God there and here, and I’m able to pray for you to our great and awesome God as if you were sitting here with me even while you are an ocean away.

March 20, 2009
Today we organized a tournament for the college across the street from our playing field. They help us out by allowing us to use different facilities and stuff, so in return they asked Ambassadors to participate in their “Fun Day”. We ran a tournament for 8 teams of students and I spoke for just a couple of minutes during the tournament just to tell them who we are, what we do, where they can find us, and what we believe. This afternoon we are heading back in to the city where we will do outreach among a Muslim community. Last week only a few kids came, and the teens were not interested in talking much with us, so hopefully this week more will participate.

2009-03-13T13:01:00.004+02:00

The first picture is the fishermen I wrote about catching fish in their nets. The second picture is my soccer team after their first game.

Hot and Busy

2009-03-13T13:01:00.001+02:00

March 6, 2009
My weekdays have been very busy. I haven’t had time to journal regularly and I have probably forgotten some of my thoughts and experiences from this week. Monday was our day off, but I spent a few hours in the morning in the office and then had practice in the evening. But, in the afternoon I went to a place called Boulder Beach where there is a natural penguin colony. It is protected, so I had to pay to get on the beach, but you could actually walk around and sit on the beach with the penguins. There were hundreds of them all over the place, it was really pretty fun.
Tuesday, we were in the office and we talked more about evangelism and discipleship. Wednesday, we went to help mentally and physically disabled kids at a track and field event. The kids were from about 7 to 16 and it was fun to be with them and see how enthusiastic and excited they were to get to compete. Thursday, we were in the office again, wrapping up our time on evangelism and discipleship and just came up with creative ways to share the gospel, like songs, dramas, art, spoken word, and written word. It was an incredibly hot day and we are scheduled on Thursdays to have one-on-one meetings with a mentor, but the office gets unbearable, so we went to her house for lunch and then to a swimming pool downtown. It was definitely a good way to beat the heat.
Today, however, was just as hot (it has been about 100 degrees the last two days) but we were too busy to get out of the heat. It was a good day though. We had our workout this morning and then went to our supervisor’s apartment for breakfast. We watched a video from Louie Giglio, called Indescribable, where he talks about how enormous the universe is and yet how God loves us. So, we are basically insignificant and significant. It made me wonder why the universe is so huge and so magnificent. The only reason I can give is that it is to declare the glory of God and sing His praise. Later, we went to a park for about an hour and a half to have lunch together and relax, before going to do outreach through a local church. A few guys from the church basically go in to a community and play soccer and share a testimony and talk with the young people who turn up. It is a Muslim community and most of the young people are very heavily in to drinking and addicted to drugs. Many of the people often come drunk or high and often are rude and unresponsive to the gospel. Today however, one of the interns from Cape Town shared his testimony and one the key teenagers, who has often caused problems in the past, actually paid attention and said that he saw how Christ was impacting this kid and said he thought it was good what this church is doing in their community. It is a small step, but was very encouraging to the guys who have been doing this ministry for the last several months.
I went to church on Wednesday night and joined one of the young adult Bible studies, they were very young adults. Most of the people there were in college or just finished. I’m 99% sure I was older than my group leader. At this point I’m going to pray about whether I should keep going. I enjoyed the study; they are going through the book of Mark, but it was pretty basic. I’m not sure how much I’ll get out of it and I know I can give input in to it, but don’t want to step on the leader’s toes. I’m also not sure how well I’ll relate to the students. At the same time, it could open up opportunities for ministry and discipleship. I think if I am being fed and challenged at church, it will be fine; I just want to make sure that I am not being drained without being refilled, so I’ll have to keep watch and see how it goes.
I’m almost forgot may be the most important part of my week. On Wednesday afternoon I met with this girl at the College of Cape Town where some of the interns were staying. It was sort of a “random” thing; a God thing. She has been talking with one of the male interns and has been telling him about her life and her desire to do a degree in social work. She comes from an abusive home, but seems to be very hopeful and motivated to do something with her life. She wants to help other people to see that they can succeed and wants them to be hopeful as well. She was basically looking for a mentor and the other intern asked me if I would meet with her. I asked her what her goals were and how I could help her meet her goals, and she asked me to mentor her and also help her find ways to get involved in the community. I also asked her if she was a Christian and she said yes, but that she has not been able to go to church since she has been at the college, which has been since January, because the taxi route is so long. So, I asked her if I could pick her up for church, so she could come with me, and she said that would be great. We talked for a while about her family and her home and some of her experiences. I don’t know why God put me in her life, but I think it is potentially a great opportunity to disciple someone I would never have met on my own. I hope we are able to continue to meet together. I am praying about what I can do to disciple her. I would like to ask her if we can study through a book of the Bible together. I’m not sure what or how it will work, but I think that is where I am leaning and pray for God’s direction. I think I will start by asking her how much she has studied the Bible so far, and then go from there. I just pray for opportunities and guidance from God. He is a good God.

March 10, 2009
Saturday I ran some errands and then sat at the beach while I worked on a “homework” assignment we were given. We are working through some material called “Born to Play” and had a booklet to read through that talked about what it means to be a Christian and an athlete. There isn’t much that I haven’t studied before, but it has renewed and challenged my thinking in areas in which Scripture applies to sports.
Sunday the ladies soccer team played their first league game. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to play because I don’t have my clearance yet between the US and South Africa. I sent my papers in a couple of months ago, but after getting lost in the mail and then a slow processing here, I’m still waiting. Hopefully, it will be done this week. We only had 10 eligible players for the game, including one girl who was sick, so our team ended up losing and will have to fight its way back now. It is a 22 game season, so there is time.
Monday we went and did an assembly for the school we helped last Wednesday with the track and field event. We were able to present the gospel to them through a couple of skits, and the teachers thanked us, because they said presenting the gospel through sports was a great way to reach the kids in a way they have not been able to. Then, because it was supposed to be our day off, most of the interns went to the beach together. We went to a place called Fish Hoek, which is on the eastern side of Cape Town, so in a bay where the water is a little warmer than on the Atlantic side. Because there were guys there, I had people to play in the water with me (I can’t get any of the girls to go swimming). The water is still too cold to stay in for long, but the weather has continued to be really hot, so it was very nice to go in for a while and dive through the waves. It is a fishing community, which the name entails, and there was a fishing crew on the water while we were there. It was a pretty neat process to watch. About the time we arrived, there was a man on a cliff about ¼ mile above the sea, spotting for fish. He started waving a white flag and all of the fishermen ran to the shore to shove their boat out in to the water. It took about 12-15 guys to push the boat off and then four guys jumped in a rowed out in to the bay. They began casting nets in to the water and did so for about 2 hours. When they started they had towed ropes about a hundred yards or more long with them that they attached to the nets. When they returned to the shore about 20 guys started pulling the ropes and dragging the nets to shore. It took a good half hour for them to get the nets, which were full of fish (although not as full as I expected). I think they had 3 or 4 of these nets to tow in, with a fish called Yellow Tail or Snook, which are about 2-3 feet long. They loaded up all of the fish and immediately took them to sell.
Today we discussed Romans 12:1-2 most of the morning and how it applies to sport, or anything else in life. I decided that I would type up some of my notes to record a little about what we have been studying. It is very long and no one is expected to read it. We basically broke down the verse and thought about what it said and meant and then how it applied. These are my personal thoughts. “Therefore,” Paul is looking back at the previous verses (and chapters) that say who God is and what He has done. ‘To him be the glory forever,’ is the conclusion of chapter 11, and now what Paul continues with is to be our response, the only proper response in light of God’s glory. What has God done in my life, what has He shown me, and how does that incite me to respond? He has given me gifts, talents, abilities, strength, health, love for sport, and love for Him.
“I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy,” in light of God’s love and grace enacted in our lives, this gives us more reason to respond in the manner Paul sets forth. It is God’s love and His desire to have a relationship with me that has given me my abilities and desires and He has blessed me because of who He is. I have nothing to earn and therefore nothing to lose, so I should play to the best of my ability for God, with no hindrance or fear.
“To offer our bodies as living sacrifices,” is a willing giving up of ourselves for God. It is total and full commitment (a cow sacrificed to God in the OT couldn’t later graze in the field or be used for milk, it was completely given up for its purpose) of who we are and what we do for God’s glory and service. Sport is a way to show our total and full commitment; to be completely dedicated to God by serving Him through sport.
“Holy and pleasing to God,” being set apart from the world in our obedience to God. This is by God’s grace and by dependence on Him as He transforms us in to His image (just as we were saved by grace, so we live by grace). We have an opportunity through sport to show we are different, to be set apart from the world and corruption of sport, to represent Christ.
“Our spiritual act of worship,” all things at all times should be in worship of God. Our heat and our mind should be set on glorifying and praising God. We can worship God in our play and our attitudes; with our teammates, opponents, and officials we can follow Scripture and bring God glory.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,” when we are redeemed we are called to put off the old self and put on the new self, created new in true righteousness and holiness. We are no longer to follow the ways of the world, our deceitful desires, or selfish interests. We can’t follow both God and the world, but need to be completely made new in the attitude of our minds. Our sport should be under our relationship and obedience to God; not following the ‘social norms’ and letting the pace or emotions of the game get the best of us, but being a new creation in follow God and playing with righteousness and holiness.
“Be transformed” is being mad new and being made more and more like Christ, which requires both obedience and dependence on God’s grace to work in us through the Holy Spirit. It is a change of heart, mind, and body. It is not an instant change from the patterns of the world, but we can pray for our attitude and actions, our team, our opponents, etc. We can work on issues that conform to the world, become more Christ0like in our play and attitude, and apply Scripture more and more to sport to determine God’s desires and pursue them by His grace.
“Renewing of your mind,” destroying thoughts, temptations, and arguments that are against God’s ways, and taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ. Continually focusing our thoughts on Christ and God’s word and brining light in to the darkness. This entails knowing God’s word and seeking to apply it to sport, pursuing how we can follow God through it.
“Test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing, and perfect will,” only as we are transformed and our minds are renewed can we know and discern God’s will. As we are made new and more like Christ and our thoughts are turned to Him, we can know God’s desires, which is to reflect His image, to be in a relationship with Him and others, and to have dominion and care over creation.
I have to turn my laptop off; it is 94 degrees with no breeze and way too hot to keep it on.

2009-03-02T09:49:00.002+02:00

The first picture is me at the top of Table Mountain overlooking the Atlantic Ocean (from the south east side of it). The second picture is a classroom at the homeless shelter. The third picture is the group of academy boys who will be trained and discipled by Ambassadors in the prison.

A busy week

2009-03-02T09:48:00.001+02:00

On Monday morning we did our workout and then went to the intern supervisor’s apartment to watch ‘Facing the Giants’ and talk about some of the aspects of sport’s ministry. There were 9 of us who carpooled together, and when we got there, we all got on the elevator together to take it to the 5th floor. The elevator capacity was 8 people, but we aren’t huge people, so all 9 of us got on. I don’t think the standards for elevators are the same in South Africa as in the US. I’m pretty sure at home we would have gone up the 5 floors just fine. However, we heard the motors turning for a while, like we were going up, but all of us had the feeling we weren’t going anywhere. Instead of going up, we actually dropped about 2 feet below the ground floor. We were able to pry the inside door open, but because we were below the floor, we could not get the outer door open to get out. Nine of us were stuck in the elevator. I called the guy we were supposed to be meeting and he came down and called the engineer, who came over rather quickly to get us out. We were only stuck for about 20 minutes, which meant the situation was more funny than anything else. No one was claustrophobic or had any major fears, although a couple people admitted afterwards that they were nervous. It was just a great way to start the week!
Wednesday we went to the ARK, which is a homeless shelter outside of Cape Town. The part of the shelter we visited housed orphans from 18 months up through teens, mothers with children, single women, and elderly women. There is a separate camp for men and families, which we weren’t able to visit. Every person we met wanted to be with us and talk with us. The little kids clung to us in seconds, wanting to hold hands, look at our cameras, and follow us everywhere we went. The older kids were just finishing school and working on their homework, so they were a little less interested, at least outwardly. A couple of the Ambassador’s women were working with a large group of girls, teaching them soccer. So, we split up teams and played with them for a while. Their skills ranged from good to not so good, but, they all had a good time. We talked with them for a little while afterwards as well. I think that they were the girls that Ambassadors does the most work with. They teach them soccer to build relationships, but they talk with them individually and apart from soccer a lot also. It would be nice to go back there and get to know some of the girls and talk with them more.
I’ve been praying for a couple of the girls on the soccer team specifically also. I pray that I will have opportunity to disciple them more individually, so I pray for relationships to form and opportunities to challenge them.
Friday we climbed Table Mountain. The route we took was straight up a gorge on huge step-like rocks. It was a muscle burning climb, but it was beautiful and well worth it. We were given a target time of 1 hr 45 min to climb, and we did it in half an hour less than that. The day was beautiful and the view from the top was spectacular. I would love to go back up again sometime, maybe on a different route. We rode the cable car back down, which was a fun experience as well. The inside of the car rotates as you descend so you can see all around.
Saturday Ambassadors hosted a soccer tournament, so the interns put a team in. I was the only girl playing in the tournament, but I didn’t care. I don’t have the speed to keep up with guys, but I did alright anyway. I scored a goal; it was actually the game winning goal in the quarter final game of our section. So, that was fun. Our team sort of fell apart in the semi-final game though, and I got really frustrated with some of the guys. It wasn’t frustration over losing to a team we should have beaten. I was frustrated because we ended the game with 2 yellow cards and a red card, which was not the way we should have been representing Christ. The game got physical and our team (or some of the team) just responded the wrong way. We even talked about that exact thing this week as well, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. I really fear that the opposing team saw nothing different in us, nothing that would make them want to know Christ. I really wish there was a way to rectify the situation, but I’m not sure how to do that. I do want to talk with somebody about it and see what can be done. It was definitely not the way the tournament should have ended for us.
I visited 2 more Church of England South Africa churches today and I enjoyed both services. The sermon tonight was very good; it was challenging and Christ-centered. I think the closer of the 2 churches will be where I decide to go. It is a fairly large and diverse congregation with a lot of young people. I was told that 60 young adults went on a retreat this past weekend and 100 regularly attend their small groups. I am going to try to go to their young adult Bible study this Wednesday and see how that goes.

2009-02-25T12:41:00.002+02:00

I have taken a bunch of pictures with my phone, but haven't had a chance to put anything recent on my computer, so I can't put any new pictures on now. But here is a picture of my car (actually taken a couple of weeks before I bought it), being used to jump another intern's car.

I always said I would never own a 2-door, but I also never thought I would be buying myself a car in South Africa. It seems to run well and the interior/exterior are in very good condition.

2009-02-25T12:37:00.000+02:00

February 18, 2009
We have been in the office the last two days after having Monday off and have been meeting in the mornings with a local pastor. We have been talking about evangelism and discipleship, but have focused mostly on the relationship aspects of each, rather than methods and such, which is good, because I think I would benefit more from this than from methods. His approach is somewhat untraditional and goes a little over the top and reads in to some passages a bit, but for the most part it has been enjoyable. Yesterday we talked a lot about creation and God’s creating man in His image and what that meant for evangelism and discipleship. Today we talked about the relationship between Adam and Eve, particularly their coming together as one, and how those principles applied to evangelism and discipleship. It was a little awkward at times, but we ended up talking about some relevant points. I think what I drew from the discussion on Tuesday is that it is a great need here to talk to people about their identity in God. It seemed that more than anything people need to know their worth as God’s image bearers and their value to Him, how much they are loved and the dominion God has given to people. At home I think evangelism has to make more of a point to stress people’s inability to attain salvation on their own because of their sin. I think the issue is different here, people don’t think they are good enough, they are not worthy of being loved; so they need to see that they are loved by God because they are made in His image.
We have been asked to write about three things so far. First, our thoughts on self-worth: who I am is not who you or others say I am, my worth comes from God, the fact that I am created in His image, called His child, bought at a price for an eternal inheritance in His kingdom, guarded by Him, pursued by Him, persevered by Him, and glorified by Him. Second, how we value others: all are created in God’s image and loved by Him, so it is my calling to see them how God sees them, love them as God loves them, and show them grace as God has showed it to me each and everyday in great measure. Third, what principles of a marital relationship apply to evangelism and discipleship: intimacy with God is first and most important; we must have a relationship with the other, we plant the seeds that God will make grow, but we must continue to nurture, care for, and admonish the new child of God; we must seek to leave a legacy, not just a fleeting relationship that will die; we must be rooted in Scripture, honest, personal, real, and vulnerable; and we must rejoice when someone comes to Christ.
I had my dad transfer money from my bank account in the US straight to the car dealer’s bank account. It has been over 24 hours and he said that the money has not appeared in his account yet. I pray that it will soon and that there won’t be any complications or difficulties and that the transaction goes smoothly.

February 21, 2009
Yesterday, we went to visit Drakenstein prison where Ambassadors runs a program called Hope Academy. This is the 2nd year of the program at that prison (it was previously held at a different prison) and they just selected their 22 members from 4 or 5 different prisons to move there and participate in the program. Because the new year is just launching, they held a ceremony yesterday and then they played a match against the Ambassadors interns and staff (guys only, girls were restricted from playing). The prisoners were selected for their soccer abilities, their attitude, commitment, and discipline. A would guess that a few are Christians, but most are not, although they have shown some desire to succeed and change their lives around. The program seems to have support from the right people, there were area directors and regional directors in attendance and all of them spoke for a couple of minutes to the guys in the program about the success of last year’s program and what the guys need to do to succeed this year. Their cell block warden and the recreation warden seemed like good role models, and also greatly supported the program. I was almost in awe when we were sitting with these 22 offenders and interacting with them, because you could see their potential and their desire for something more. They seemed like the kind of guys who I would hang out with and enjoy joking around with, even though most of them have been imprisoned for serious offences. When one of the staff members shared God’s word, it seemed as if they were listening eagerly and hopeful of what they could become. They have had many bad influences put on them, they’ve grown up with the wrong people, and they have made a lot of bad choices, but I pray that God would transform them and draw them to Himself, that they would know Christ as their Savior and Lord and start new lives.
There were two young men who I met whose lives were changed by God’s grace through the ministry of Ambassadors. The first guy was released last year and is now doing ministry in one of the townships through soccer and with the support of Ambassadors. He wants to reach kids before they make the mistakes he did, and he wants them to see that there is more out there for them. The second guy is a guy named Precious. I’ve read about him in some of the material from Ambassadors. This guy has a great testimony and a heart that has been won for the Lord. He went from a gang in the townships and a life full of violence to a young man who is loving God, witnessing for Christ, and leading other prisoners in their walk with God as well. He’s been sentenced to 10 years, but the joy he exudes is amazing and you wouldn’t know he is living his life in confinement. I pray that when he is released that God will use him mightily.
I got my car yesterday, the payment was all squared away, and I got an insurance policy put in to effect. The payment ended up being more than it was supposed to be because of some transaction fees taken out by the bank in Johannesburg, lowering the exchange rate by a full point. It ended up costing me an extra $100 from what I anticipated, but I ended up getting the car with the registration and license for $2800. I just have to pray that I don’t have any major maintenance issues, theft, or accidents, and that I can resell it and get them money transferred back to the US without any problems. That’s actually a huge prayer considering the crime and crazy driving in Cape Town, and the bank difficulties.
I also went to my first Rugby match ever yesterday (Friday was a big day). I really enjoyed it; those guys seriously take a huge beating. It was fun to watch and I think I understood most of what was going on. I went with a group of English guys, so they were knowledgeable teachers. It only cost $4 for standing room seats, which were tiered levels right behind one end line, so it’s reasonable enough that I would go back.
Today I did something stupid. Although I don’t feel entirely at fault. I activated my insurance policy over the phone yesterday and I was told that policy is conditional until you take your car to an inspection station, which you have 48 hours to do. There are only a few specific places you can go to and one was in Wynberg, which is where I live. I was given a number, an address, and the manager’s name. So I got up early this morning and called and they said bring it right it. So I drove to the intersection, which was the address I had and I didn’t see any garage, but right at that exact corner there was a sign that said Wynberg Vehicle Test Center to the left. So I followed that sign and found this facility that said Automotive Association Test Center. So I went in and said I needed an inspection to activate my insurance policy. They gave me a form to fill out and on the form where it said reason for inspection I wrote ‘new insurance policy with Auto & General.’ So I paid $25 and they took my car and started looking everything over: the tires, wipers, lights, etc. Then they drove it on to a spinning wheel to test the tires and brakes, then they pulled it a little bit further forward and sort of shook it around and tested the steering and such. (I’m not sure how some cars could even pass this test, but I felt good that mine did). Then these 2 guys asked me for my South Africa registration, which you need to be able to buy a car here. I told them it was at home, but they said they needed it to do the vehicle registration and licensing (which I already thought was done and paid for, which I mentioned). So I had my roommate run the paper over for me, along with the vehicle registration and proof of licensing. In the meantime I had a good conversation with these 2 guys, they were asking me about what I was doing here and how long I had been here and what Ambassadors did, so it was fine, and they were nice. When I got the papers I explained to them that I already had a current license and registration, which they saw, and asked why the insurance company sent me to them. I said I don’t know, but I was told to go have my car inspected to start a new policy. Then I showed them the name and number I was given and they told me I was at the wrong place. They felt bad because they don’t normally work at the front desk, but the administrative woman was not there that day and so they didn’t really get the information that would have let them know I was in the wrong place to begin with. They apologized and told me that I could try to come back on Monday to get my $25 refunded, because the administrative woman would have to do it. I don’t know if I’ll ever get that back or not, because they did run the test, which is what I paid for, but I think they felt partially to blame as well, which is why they offered for me to try. They also called the place where I was supposed to be and one of them let me follow him there. However, to make the story even funnier, I went in to that garage, which was a windshield replacement company and asked if that was where I was supposed to be. They said it was not. They sent be down the block back in the direction I came from, about 100 yards from the place where I originally saw the misleading sign (also 100 yards from the intersection where I was told the inspection station was). It was a windshield replacement garage as well, but they knew exactly what I needed for the insurance inspection. I filled out a new form and the inspection took about a minute to complete. What a morning!

February 22, 2009
I finally went to a church this morning where I would like to visit again as a potential temporary church home.

2009-02-16T13:40:00.002+02:00

February 13, 2009
I just spent my week at soccer “boot camp,” a program called Trailblazers, that is intended to take a group of 12 people from a church and teach them how to start a soccer ministry in their church. We received material on loving God, sharing the gospel, building Bible study groups, and starting a soccer club. We also had physical training at 6AM every morning and played matches everyday as well. The physical training was good, although it wasn’t really necessary to run it at 6, and the idea of the program is good, but much of the material was very rigid and demanding, which sort of turned me off from the program. There were also some military aspects meant to teach discipline that I could have done without. Overall, it was a really good team building experience for our group and we enjoyed the time we got to scrimmage each other, but there was a lot of stuff I could have left behind. We will continue the physical training for the next 2 months, meeting 4 or 5 times a week at 7AM, which also includes time to read Scripture and pray, and I think I will look forward to it. That was basically my whole week, we were in a secluded area, unable to leave, unable to check email, and unable to use cell phones.

Please pray for some of the theological challenges I have been facing everday. It is a very different culture and many people's beliefs differ from mine, particularly concerning spiritual gifts.

February 15, 2009
Please pray that I find a church where I am comfortable and spiritually nourished. I would like to be active in a local church, but I would like it to be one that I agree with theologically as well.

Township Picture

2009-02-09T11:57:00.002+02:00

2009-02-09T11:55:00.000+02:00

February 7, 2009
Yesterday we drove around to some of the townships around Cape Town. For the last 2 weeks I kept thinking that Cape Town doesn’t feel like a huge city, it’s not like Chicago or LA. I couldn’t figure out where the3 million people were, because it has felt like a city more the size of Pittsburgh. But now I know, there are millions in the townships. They are slums. Those who are more fortunate have shacks built from cement. Those who are less fortunate have shacks built of corrugated metal. Most were lined up one right next to another is long narrow rows with foot paths in between. We started in an area were coloreds lived, most of it government housing, apartments where families shared small spaces and played in the streets with anything they could find. One little girl jumped on a stack of old mattresses with springs sticking through as if it were a trampoline.
Then we moved on to another area where blacks lived. They had a meat market where you could buy a variety of meats that they displayed on tables, protected from flies and bugs only by wands that resembled sparse pom-poms which the sellers waved back and forth over their product. There was nothing to protect from the heat. If you purchased meet though, there were people working over large fires and grills behind the food stands who would cook it for you, so you could eat in that common area and enjoy your meal with family and friends. I was told that it was quite a gathering place for the locals on weekends. Every part of the animal is used and sold as well. Many stands had piles of offal from a variety of animals for sale. One man was selling sheep or goat heads. They had been skinned and boiled, but still very much resembled the head and face of the animal. Outside, we saw a group of men preparing the goat heads, they had piles of them sitting on the ground outside their hut where they were skinning and boiling them.
After that we moved on to another township where the shacks were stacked closer and tighter together than you can imagine. After driving about a mile through the township I was amazed at how huge it was. After the second mile, I still couldn’t see the end in any direction and wondered when we would get through it. I don’t know how long and far we drove, but I would guess that it took 30 minutes to get from one side to the other. I don’t know how many 10 ft x 10 ft corrugated houses were in the distance and I couldn’t see the back side on either side of us, but there were thousands upon thousands, with over a million people living there. On the far side of this township the houses were spaced much further apart and all built upon the sand, as it got closer to the shore. It was almost as if people had yards in that area. We pulled in to the township and drove a little way back to an education center for children. There were about 30-40 kids under the age of 5, being cared for by half a dozen workers. The kids swarmed around us inside and outside, wanting their picture to be taken and then wanting to see the image on the camera screen. It made them giggle and squeal. A few of the kids followed us everywhere we went and wanted to hold hands and receive whatever attention we would offer. One woman let us go inside her house. It was corrugated metal on every side and the roof. She lived there with her 5 small children, but I would guess it was no larger than 8 feet by 16 feet. We were inside for about 2 minutes and were soaked with sweat when we walked out. It was like a hot box baking in the sun. We were told that in the winter time, huge eastern winds come up from the shore creating near freezing temperatures for shacks that are insulated as little in the winter as they are cooled in the summer.
No one had any water or electricity in their homes, but the government has built public water wells where people can go get water in buckets from pipes that come out of the ground every few hundred yards. I also saw very tall street lights throughout some of the townships and wondered if they were lit at night.
We were told that there are very few organizations working in the townships to make living better or more hopeful for the millions of people. At the first township we went to, we stopped at a little Christian center that had been transformed in to a place of worship and fellowship, after being used for years as a hang out for a gang. We were told that the walls had seen many repairs because when they took it over they were full of bullet holes from exchange of fire going in and out. I didn’t hear how the change took place, but you could see that the community was being transformed and one young man told us his testimony of going from the gangs and being shot to becoming a Christian and working for that particular center. We also went to another center in the middle of a fairly rough area where our guide works as the director. They take in 15 young men for 9 months in to their program where they work and are trained and discipled. One of this years interns completed that program and it is a part of his testimony and transformation through Christ.
It is an area in great need spiritually, physically, financially, and emotionally. South Africa is the wealthiest nation in Africa, but the wealth is incredibly unevenly distributed. The majority of the people are unemployed, with no hope for employment, and they waste their lives away.

2009-02-05T13:26:00.003+02:00

The first picture is Lesley, Nomfundo, and Simone. The second picture is from one of the tourist sites in Cape Town. Table Mountain is in the background covered by a cloud. I like it because it looks like it is smoking. Like many vacation destinations, the tourist areas do not reflect the poverty just outside the resort areas. I will post pictures of other locations in the future.

2009-02-05T13:08:00.002+02:00

I haven't been in the office until now and I have not had a decent internet connection, so blogging has not been possible. Today, I was able to get on my laptop in the office and to catch up I decided to paste parts of my journal. I apologize if it seems like rambling or for the overwhelming amount of information. I expect that maybe only my parents take the time to read it, and that's fine, but it is available for anyone who has a few moments to waste.

January 23, 2009
I arrived in Cape Town this afternoon. I’ll admit I’m somewhat nervous. I spent the descent on the plane reassuring myself of God’s promises and His ability to protect and watch over me. The time I believe will go quickly, especially as God shows me where and how He plans to use me. It will be good.
What of I saw of Cape Town from the air was beautiful. I didn’t have much of a tour from the ground. We drove straight from the airport to the house where I am staying. We drove past some of the townships outside of Cape Town, they are small shacks made of tin panels, and are known for their crime and gangs. I was told that the South African government is going to put up billboards or walls along the highway to hide them from sight before the World Cup is played here next year.
The area where I am living is called Wynberg, I don’t know yet where I am in relation to Cape Town, but it seems like a fairly quiet street for such a big city. I am in a house that Ambassadors just took over 2 days ago, so it is pretty meager at this point. We have beds, but no other furniture in the bedrooms (there are 2 rooms for 3 of us, at this point I will be sharing a room). The living room has one borrowed love seat and the kitchen has a table that came from the AIS office with 2 office chairs, which is supposed to be replaced with an actual kitchen table soon. We don’t even have a fridge yet, which I guess is okay, because I don’t have any food, nor have I had a chance to exchange money yet to buy food.
One of my roommates arrived Wednesday, the other is to arrive sometime next week. Lesley is from Scotland and just left the British army (she’s called me mate about 20 times in the last 5 hours, which sort of makes me laugh.) Simonae is from South Africa, but she is the one who I have not met yet.
There is a house 2 doors down where two other girls who work with AIS live. They are both South African and grew up in Cape Town. They stopped in this evening to say hello, but we were just sitting down to our two seat table for dinner, so they left and we went to see them a little later. I think it will be nice to have them close by. The neighbors seem friendly as well, but we do have bars on our windows and padlocks on all the doors. A little different from living in Butler or Harmony. I have to work really hard to understand what people are saying when they speak, their accents are thick.
I was told that I was put on a team to play in a tournament tomorrow. I know I am not in any sort of game playing shape. It will also be weird playing with a completely unfamiliar team and style of play. I don’t know how much playing time I will get, but I might be happier with very little until I figure things out. I just hope I won’t collapse in the heat; I haven’t been in weather this warm in 5 months.
My plane flight was uneventful once I was out of the US. But on my flight from Pittsburgh to JFK, the plane was ready to taxi when the ground crew overflowed our toilet. They pumped in 23 gallons instead of 2.3, and the chemicals poured out of the bathroom in to the cabin. They had to reroute us on an American Airlines flight that took off 2 hours later. Thankfully, I was supposed to have a four hour layover at JFK, because once I landed, it took me 45 minutes to get from one gate to the next, and they were just beginning to check visas when I got there, so I got right in the front of the line. That gave me just enough time to stand in line for 20 minutes to get a bagel and then board the plane. It was a long flight, 17 ½ hours on the same plane with a stop in Dakar, but I had two seats to myself the entire way, so I was able to spread out a little and even lay down in a ball to get a bit of sleep.
I pray for God’s sustenance and peace. I have always been an independent person, but God may be using this time to make me fully dependent on Him.

January 24, 2009
I experienced major jet lag last night. I laid awake all night, and nothing I did could make me tired enough to fall asleep even though I was very tired. My body just kept telling me that it was the middle of the afternoon and it was not time for a knap. So after not sleeping last night, or much the “night” before on the plane, I spent all day outside in the heat and the sun playing in a soccer tournament. I can only hope that I am now tired enough to get a good night’s rest for the first time in 57 hours. It was also pretty noisy here last night, which didn’t help, and it seems to be even worse tonight. Last night there was a dog that barked almost non-stop until 1 AM and then started again around 6. There was also some foot traffic outside, and then a Muslim mosque blasting its prayer at 4:30 AM. The walls are very thin and everyone has metal gates and gated doors, so anyone coming and going within a few houses away can be heard. Tonight there is a party going on somewhere, it sounds like it could be next door, but I think it is actually a few houses down.
I met about 8 of the girls today who play on the AIS Ladies football team, which is the team I will most likely be playing on or helping out with. Most of them were very friendly and I will look forward to getting to know them. They seem to be pretty close, so it may be hard to break in to their relationships, but I pray that they will accept me and that I will have the opportunity to disciple some of them. I think most of them are still in their teens, so I hope I am able to fit in with a younger generation within a different culture.
I pray that God would show me who is in need and how I can be used to offer help and healing. I pray also that God will allow me to be used in the lives of my roommates, who I will have even greater opportunity to interact with (although they may not be completing their internships in Cape Town).

January 25, 2009
I slept last night, very well, probably about 7 hours, and woke up this morning for church wanting to sleep a couple more. I wouldn’t let myself nap today though, because I just want to get good sleep at night. I went to church with the other interns this morning and two staff workers. The sermon was simple, but fine. The pastor, who I guess was not the head pastor, talked about Bush and Obama at the beginning of his sermon. It has nothing to do with the sermon, but it was interesting to hear what a foreigner had to say about American politics, even though I believe his opinions were a bit skewed. The church was a little charismatic, but nothing carried away (although I wonder if it is ever otherwise). It may be difficult to find any church around here that isn’t a little charismatic. I did get in touch with an MTW missionary before I came down who recommended the Church of England in South Africa though. I was told that we would be taken to six churches that have a relationship with AIS and then could decide which one we wanted to become a part of, so I don’t know if going to a different church will be an option or not.
One of the staff also invited two of us over for lunch and then took us for a drive and a walk down at one of the beaches. She has been here since 2003 and now has 3 foster girls and 2 American students living with her. It was nice to have lunch with them; I enjoyed the hospitality and hearing a little more about South Africa from her perspective.
The trip to the beach was interesting as well. We drove past some fairly poor areas and then through the rich white areas, very close together, but so very different. Even the beach was divided. It was only about ½ a mil long, but one side of the bay had rich houses up the hillside, and they looked straight across the bay at a very poor fishing community. I don’t know how people can live in a place where they are literally flaunting their wealth to people who barely survive on hard labor. Even the wealthy houses don’t compare very well with houses in the US. From what I saw, the wealthy houses compare more to middle class or may be upper middle class in the US. I don’t think people realize how wealthy and how well off the US really is. I’ve already felt rich a couple of times. I find myself thinking about the exchange rate and how cheap things like food seem and then I realize what I consider to be small change, the people here view as considerable.

January 27, 2009
It is very frustrating not having a car, because we can’t get anywhere and have to rely on other people all the time.
We went to the office for the first time this morning and all of the interns met and got an introduction to what we will be doing. I think there are 13 interns, but only 11 were there today. I think the first 10 weeks will be very busy and fairly intense hands-on training. After that, we sort of choose the area where we want to focus our attention and are more on our own to pursue ministry opportunities. Depending on what we choose, there could be a full-time staff focused on that as well, so there would be someone to oversee and give direction. Without having seen or experienced anything yet, I think at this point I would lean more toward the homeless/orphan shelter or the women’s prison. I don’t know what doors will open or what the possibilities will be, but it gives me something to think and pray about.
The interns all seem very nice and I think it will be a good group. There are about 4 from England, 1 Scotland, me, and the rest from South Africa. I don’t know how long most people are doing the internship, some just the first 10 weeks and others up to 2 years. It will be good to see every person’s passions and gifts and how they fit in to the ministry.

January 28, 2009
I went to my first practice yesterday for the ladies team. I think I should do okay. I am a little out of practice and my touch could be better, but I think I should be able to compete with them. My clearances that I sent a few weeks ago never arrived though, so I’m not sure what happened there, but was hoping that had all been taken care of. I hope it does not cause any delay.
I went to a supermarket today. I bought a 1 kg bag of plums for 69 cents, and my groceries totaled $8.26, including 2 big bottles of water. I’ve spent $35 in 5 days on food, but I have to buy more expensive items at little corner stores because I don’t have a refrigerator, and I still have some extras in the cupboard. Things seem so cheap to me, but I know they are expensive to locals. Tonight we bought a large pineapple and chicken pizza for dinner, for $6.10, and it was enough for 4 of us. My Scottish roommate and I split the cost and shared it with two other girls who could not have afforded to pitch in for it. Then, when we were done eating, we were talking about the townships, and one of the local girls was telling us how we just couldn’t understand the townships. Here I am feeling so good about getting a great pizza for so cheap, sharing it with two girls who couldn’t afford it, and they are telling me about people who are so far worse off than they; people who have nothing. She was very distressed as she was telling us how she wants to work with them, but they can’t afford soccer balls or shoes, so unless she is supported from elsewhere, she can’t get those things for them. She doesn’t work, and I think she believes that she cannot get a job if she tries, so she hasn’t. I had a conversation with her last night about what she wants to do in life and she says she just doesn’t know. I asked her what she liked, what she was passionate about, and what her gifts were, and she said she doesn’t know. I have started to believe that it is hard for people here to be motivated to do anything. They see hopelessness in their situation and resign to it. Not everyone; there are people who are very motivated and work hard, but I think others really need to be pushed to make something for themselves.
My second roommate moved in yesterday. She is 21, but this is the first time she has been on her own, so she has admitted that she has been apprehensive and nervous about not having someone to depend on. She finished high school this year and was the first one in her family to do so. And I think that was with a lot of support, as she was previously living with her principle, which seems to be common. If someone shows potential, but does not have support from their family or anyone who can help them with academics, they are sort of taken on as foster children to get them through school.
There is great need here; I think I have only begun to glimpse a small part of it. I feel small and insignificant in my ability to make any sort of impact, but if I just reach one person, it will make an impact, and I know God is great and mighty and He can do great and mighty things.

February 2, 2009

We have been attending TREC all week (Training, Resourcing, Equipping Churches/Coaches), which is similar to what I did in Cleveland in July, but this time it is with different people and a different culture. I think I got to know people better this week; it was much more relaxed and comfortable socially than it was in the US (which may just be the African people). There were leaders from the different offices in Africa; it was nice getting to know them, because they have passion for what they do and where God might use them as they start from grassroots. It was a hot and busy week, but I think it was a good first week, getting to know people, as well as getting things moving at a good pace.
I stayed up to watch the Steelers game last night, it ended at 5:15AM, so I am falling asleep writing this. The Steelers won, so that’s all that matters. But, I will go to bed now if it is not too noisy outside.

February 4, 2009
The last two days have been pretty slow. We didn’t do much yesterday, except spend about 2 hours at the internet café looking at car options, without finding any good ones. I played in a friendly last night against one of the best teams in the league. We lost 5-0 (I don’t think the score very accurately reflected the game), and I think I played okay for my first game in over 8 years. I played holding midfield, which was new or me. Playing with a new team in a country with a completely different playing style may take some getting used to as well. The players tend to get the ball and dribble forward, rarely slowing down and looking around for the best pass to make. The work ethic of the team seemed a little low; girls did not move up and down the field as much as I would have anticipated. I often felt like I was passing the other two midfielders in both directions in order to be where I thought I needed to be. They have been waiting for months for their season to start, but keep getting the run around from the league, so attendance at practice has been way down, which probably accounts for the fitness and lack of motivation as well. There are a lot of areas I know I can improve on and will continue to work as hard as I can to contribute what I can. My pray has been that I concentrate on how I am playing, not focusing on others and not focusing on what others think about me, and that whatever I do, I will represent God well and bring Him glory.
We wanted to go to the beach today, but the battery in the car we borrowed was dead, so we are waiting for the mechanic to call and let us know that he got one and can install it. It is almost 2:00 now and we have been waiting since around 9:30. It looks like it will be yet another day without making it to the shore.
We also found out today that our refrigerator, which the office just bought for us secondhand, is a dud. The lines in the freezer section we cut and patched and the gas has all leaked out. It would have cost just as much to fix as a new refrigerator. So, it has been almost two weeks and it seems we are back to square one, except that one of the wives said she would go out herself to look for one and not rely on the guys to do so. We still don’t have any other furniture either, so may be it is to be a lesson in humility and being thankful for God’s blessings and abundance that I have taken for granted in the past.

Pre Trip Post

2009-01-10T06:30:00.000+02:00

Everyone keeps telling me I need to blog while I'm in Africa. So I have set up this blog, but I am not making any guarantees to regular or timely posting. I will try to post pictures, but no guarantee there either.
I will be in Ohio from the 12th-16th for orientation (I am not sure what that entails) and then I will be leaving for Cape Town on the 22nd.
I have signed up for a Skype account and purchased a local number, so anyone can call me from a land or cell phone and talk to me for free (or for minutes, because if you call after your free minutes start it will be the middle of the night in Cape Town and I will not talk to you). You can email me to get that number.
That's it for now.