Sanibona!

Phew, already a few days have gone by since a substantial blog. It may only grow longer between blogs now that classes have begun and the reading list grows daily...

We arrived here at the Africa Enterprise campus for Azusa Pacific International on Saturday after a short flight and bus ride into Pietermaritzburg. We were greeted by a traditional African tribal dance on the front lawn of our campus; unfortunately for those of you reading, rather than watching through a lens it seemed more appropriate to just be in the moment and no photos were taken. Apologies. Shortly after that surprise we found ourselves sitting together in our main classroom being introduced to the local staff and being 'oriented' once again. Then we were given our lunch coolers, laundry bags, room keys (which are skeleton keys - heck yes) and sent to unpack. The story with the laundry bags is that African Enterprise (AE) has provided two local women with work and wages for washing the clothes and bedding. We were given lunch coolers so that when we go on safari and to our service sites we will be able to pack a lunch and water that will stay cool; plus they have our names on them - bonus! The way the room situation was broken down was 7 people per chalet, four rooms with three of them being two-person rooms and the fourth being a single. It just so happens that I was selected to be in one of the single rooms, which is actually a blessing. That is in no way because I do not want to be around the others, but it is nice to have a place to get away once in a while...not that there are no other places to get away when you are in South Africa. But that's how it is and I am loving it.

On Sunday we were piled into one of four vehicles after breakfast and set out for one of four local churches. Some of us ended up going to a church that is made up largely of an Indian congregation - for a split second it was unclear whether or not were were in South Africa or had been transported back to India - it is always refreshing to attend a service where the people are so into giving their all in worship that they do not care about how on key they are when they sing. The message was relevant to the congregation and ended with practical ways to put the message into practice. Don't get me wrong, no congregation is perfect, but at times it is mind-blowing how backwards and incomplete we seem to get things back home. If all it will take to make a change in the North American church is to step outside our culture and see how the rest of the world does things then I pray North America will take that step.

The rest of that Sunday was spent in another brief time of orientation and then dinner and tea times...Oh yeah, Tea Time - South Africa has ignited a love for tea, specifically Rooibos, the leaf of which only grows near the Cape.

Monday brought our first chapel session which put the director of our program, Reg Codrington, up front to share a little about the Kingdom of God and doing Kingdom work. Part of what he talked about regarding Kingdom work brought back memories of another time in another part of the world, India, where Kristie Voth challenged me by asking whether or not I was willing to labour for Christ. The temptation is to say yes without thought but two years later it is still something worth mulling over from time to time. It is not something one can say yes to a single time and then forget about, it is a daily choice. Another thing he said reminded me of one of Jim Badke's favorite things to say regarding being 'ruined for the ordinary'. Jesus would you consume us here that when we return nothing will be the same! Such things can be dangerous prayers - kind of like praying for struggle before setting out to climb a mountain - but a life of normalcy is no longer an option.

Monday was also the first day of classes. Mainly getting to know the profs and going over the course syllabi for Biology - which will see us taking 'field' trips every week - Intercultural communication and Introductory Zulu - a language which is fun and challenging, it even involves words which require clicking. If you are not sure what I mean by that just watch a movie called "The Gods Must be Crazy" and you will see (although Zulu is not nearly as 'clicky' as that). Each class already has a fair amount of reading required for the next few days and so the time for work begins. As intense as these next six weeks are certain to be I look forward to learning as much as the Lord will allow my little brain to take in, so long as it never becomes more about the grades than the lessons.

It has been raining here for the last week and the landscape is rich and green and beautiful because of it, looking much like the lower mainland of BC. There is a constant drizzle and a wonderful mist over the trees and the hills. The waterfall right behind our chalet provides a constant backdrop for the birds and the bugs to sing over. You could say many of us are in the 'romantic honeymoon' stage of falling in love with a brand new and exciting place, but it would be false to say that is all it was. This place provides much of that which any adventurous soul hopes for. Even the less 'sightly' parts, the townships - one of which we got to visit today - where the kids are lucky to go to school and luckier still to find work when they finish, where livestock populates the middle of the road and where far too many homes are run by children. Yet it is rare to see a face unwilling to smile, or an individual reluctant to interact...It is becoming increasingly evident that those who have absolutely nothing are the ones who cherish the most important things.

It would be easy to sit back and point fingers at a materialistic culture like that of the majority of North America, but when has pointing a finger ever fixed anything? What will it take to wake a nation, a continent, to throw away the misery of the 'American dream'? Individualism, Materialism, many other words which shed light on the fact that what is called a dream is really a nightmare if it were to become total reality. Much of our western way revolves around having, getting, taking, owning, wanting. The world would not survive long if everyone simply chose to live for themselves. Survival needs giving, helping, pouring out, providing. Forgive me for seeing these things both now and previously and yet not truly applying them. Let's make a difference. Let's stop the 'keeping up with the Jones's lifestyle'. Am I a naive youth with more passion than sense? Maybe. But why does sense have to replace passion? They are not mutually exclusive.

All that said, please pray for a continued growth in community, for perseverance as the semester gets into full swing of the busiest part and that nothing we do here is about good grades but that God would truly be given full reign to form, shape, change, destroy, and rebuild in many ways.

Sala Kahle!