Month One.

It has now been one month since I left the United States. One month prior to this moment exactly I was enduring the longest plane ride I have ever been on. Now that's just crazy.

The last couple of weeks have been a wild ride. College in and of itself feels extremely long as there is so much going on, all the time. It's no different here in Africa. A day feels like several and a week feels like a month. Time is a confusing concept.

Last weekend we went on a battlefields tour, traveling for hours in two buses (one a charter bus and one a "baby bus") to see various battlefields here in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the history of this beautiful country. Not only was there tension (war, etc.) between whites and blacks (Anglos/Boers and Zulus) but also amongst the whites (the Dutch whom were called "Boers" and the British). The picture above is a memorial that was set up for several British soldiers who died in the particular war that happened at that battlefield. Underneath the stones are the bones of several soldiers as the British had fled the area and couldn't retrieve their dead until days later.

Overall the weekend was a great one. We learned a lot and stayed at an aged hotel characterized by the wars that have happened here. Flags, spears, and other items decorated the entire building filling it richly with history. On Saturday night, the night we stayed at the hotel, we had an amazingly delicious three-course, buffet-style dinner. It was one of the best meals I've had while I've been here, that's for sure! After dinner, sipping on tea and coffee, all 53 of us gathered around Reg Codrington, our director, to ask him any and every question we could think of. The amount of wisdom and grace in that one man is mind-blowing. He is certainly one of the greatest men of God I have ever met.

This last week was a rough one. Everyone was exhausted after being gone all weekend and having been pretty busy in general. On Wednesday for my biology class we went to Treasure Beach: a rocky beach with an abundance of wildlife and "treasures" to be found. We got to swim in some of the rock pools and had a total blast. The Indian Ocean is so warm! (In case I haven't mentioned it before. :P)

On Thursday we visited a sangoma--a witch doctor. In the case of the one we visited he was more of an herbalist but a witch doctor nonetheless. He uses traditional medicine to heal those who come to him; he calls upon the ancestors for healing as well. Ancestral worship is a prominent part of many African religions; even within African Christian circles many of the practices surrounding the ancestors are still continued. Needless to say visiting the sangoma was an interesting experience; my mind continues to be opened every day.

On Friday we went to a Bible Institute and shared the entire day with them. Their chapel service was filled with plenty of worship and song; every transition had a song to fill its place. The worship "leaders" sat in the crowd and sang from their seats; how cool this was! They did a dance and sang some songs for us and we did the same for them; we taught them the Cupid Shuffle (dance) and sang "Bless the Lord (Son of Man)" for them. They certainly loved it!

The rest of our time was spent playing games and getting to know the students there. I met a man named Luzuko, a former pastor and current professor at the Institute. He had taught there from 1998 to 2005 and then left to do pastoral work for a number of years. He then returned to UBI (Union Bible Institute) in 2009 and has been teaching there ever since. He loves what he does, and as it turns out, has family in Washington State--small world! The games we played were plenty: relay races, bobbing for apples, tug-of-war, and soccer. Their soccer team had uniforms and cleats that they wore which was a lot more professional than any of us expected. Unfortunately we lost the soccer game but had a lot of fun playing with them! It was raining the whole time too so we were soaked by the end of it.

God has been doing so much in and around me over the last month that it's difficult to put it all into words. Feelings of loneliness were common during the first several weeks. I noticed within this last week that something shifted, however; I haven't felt lonely anymore and I feel that I've finally reached that point where I'm comfortable with everyone here. I've been able to be myself and not worry about holding back or being concerned about what others think; it's been so freeing! What I've had to remember about myself is that I take time to open up to people; I tend to be more observant and quiet at the beginning but open up as time goes on.

I've also had to remind myself to give myself a break. While I've been here the things I have been struggling with seem to be things that I haven't dealt with in years. The other day a friend and I had a great conversation and she made a really good point: "just because you're dealing with something here that you haven't dealt with in a long time doesn't mean your regressing. It's a completely new environment with a new group of people and the challenges are going to be different from what you deal with back home." There is a abundance of truth to that statement and it has relieved me of a great burden. I know more than anything that I want to keep moving forward and seek God in all things--my prayer is that my life reflects that pursuit. Not for me, but for Him. For His Kingdom.

Speaking of His Kingdom, the spiritual manifested in a profound way last night. We watched a documentary called "Furious Love"--a documentary where a guy went around the world in search of seeing God's love overcome the powers of darkness. It wasn't where he intentionally provoked demons or anything of that sort; he simply went to places where God was working. For example, the documentary starts off at a revival meeting in Tanzania. Several people (in the documentary) ended up getting possessed by demons and delivered by God through much prayer and His power. The documentary moved us in a prominent way; we ended up spending a lot of time in prayer, rebuking the powers of darkness and declaring God's victory over ourselves and this campus. We know that He has a lot of good things in store for us and we are ready to fight as soldiers of His army. I am so incredibly blessed to be a part of all of this and I cannot wait to see what is to come. It may not be easy, but God is on our side and that is all we need. He is all we need.

This is Africa. Month One.

Like Warm Waves Crashing on a Sandy Shore

I look around me and see the waves crashing on the shore. They're bigger than a lot of waves I have seen before; or maybe they just seem bigger because I'm in an unfamiliar place. Two flags mark off a 50-foot section of the shore, between which swimmers have to stay between (shark nets were in place not too far off the shore to keep sharks away). Because the oceans of South Africa, the Indian on the eastern shore and the Atlantic on the western shore, are home to the Great White Shark, swimmers have to be careful. Every few minutes the lifeguard blows his whistle for several minutes to get everyone back in between the flags. This section of shore is between two piers, one of which is closed and the other used by surfers. With surfboards in hand, they jump off the pier and head into the waves. Back on shore, although many are wearing traditional swimsuits, many are wearing normal articles of clothing.

The ocean is warm. It feels cool when I first get into it, but after a while it begins to feel too warm. With the ozone-free, South African sun beating down on me I'd almost rather be in waters as cold as the Pacific. But maybe not--playing in the ocean is a lot easier when the water is warmer. I look behind me and there are buildings everywhere. The beach is located in downtown Durban, an eastern port city in South Africa. I look around and take in the sun, the waves, the people, and everything else that surrounds me. I can't help but feel especially grateful for I do not deserve to be in a place like this. It's a wonder that God can bring someone so far in life. His power is endless and there is no limit to the things He can do. The beach reminds me of this.

Before we went to the beach we went to an indoor market, which was a sense overload. The smell of various spices filled the entire building. If you slow down even slightly as you walked through the market, merchants would be on you in an instant. "Would you like to try this on?" "This costs forty rand." "Where are you from?" Millions of questions are thrown at you. Being alone is out of the question; you're either with friends or merchants; or both.

The market we went to was the cheapest place to purchase souvenirs at in all of South Africa; what a buy! I won't say what I purchased for I don't want to ruin the surprise for those I got something for, but I got a lot for what I spent!

Today, February 2nd, marks four years since my dad passed away. And doing what I did today was the best thing I could have done. Being surrounded by 52 people who have shown so much love and support towards me as well as each other is a tremendous blessing. We did an activity last night called Cross the Line which told us a lot about each other. We want nothing but to support each other and seek God together--it truly is an amazing group! Needless to say today has been incredible and my cup has overflowed with joy and peace. God is too great to not be happy today! My dad is in Heaven and free from all pain and struggles; I could not be more grateful for it, considering that he is not on earth anymore. This is not to downplay grief or to say that it is not okay to be sad (because it is!) but rather to share how I have been feeling today. God's grace is more than enough.

We're venturing into our third week of classes next week, which means we are one-third of the way done with intensive classes (aside from our history class, which continues for a while longer).

I have felt a freedom here that is irrefutable; God has spoken some deep truths and as I said before our group has gotten tremendously closer over the last couple days. I am so grateful for them!

It is crazy to think that we are only two and a half weeks into our semester here--it feels like it has been over a month, at least! It is strange how quickly relationships happen here; we are also doing a lot every day so it makes one day seem like several. I like to say that college is like Narnia; time in college does not work the same as it does in the real world. Six months in the real world is like years in college. Or something like that.

And that concludes week two.

TIA

Chaos

Having been in Africa for almost two weeks now, I have had a lot on my mind these days. I feel like my worldview has expanded--become much more of a worldview, both literally and in the abstract sense--and I am very grateful for it.

Recently I have been reminded of the brokenness of this world, the struggles we go through as human beings, and the sense of hopelessness that we could easily feel if we try to take it all on by ourselves.

I have been reminded of the need for money, but more importantly, the need for God--Jehovah Jireh, the One who provides and "owns the cattle on a thousand hills." (Psalm 50:10)

I have been made more aware of the significance of social media in this generation; and although we can try to "get away from it all", in many ways, we cannot. It is something that will not go away and we will have to learn how to best deal with it and use it in a way that is beneficial.

I have been made more aware of the negative effect your emotions can have on you--and that you should not be ruled by them for they can be extremely misleading. For example, you may feel alone, but are you really alone?

There's plenty more that has been going through my mind over these last couple of weeks; it would be impossible for me to put it it all into words. The good thing is that I do not have to. God knows it all and is in control of all things. He will reveal to me what needs to be revealed, let me wrestle through what I need to wrestle with, and lead me to the people and experiences that He wants to use to shape me into the man He wants me to be.

Whatever you may be going through, be encouraged. Remember that there is a big world out there, and that in light of God and eternity, there are a lot of things that may not matter after all. Of course, there is a balance to this as there is with anything. God does care about the little things. But beyond that, He wants the best for you. Trust that that is true, because it is.

He has overcome.

Through Him, we have overcome.

We. Can. Overcome.

This is Africa.

It's been a little over a week since myself and 52 others left APU. We had a 5-hour flight from Los Angeles to Washington DC, which wasn't too bad; that was just the beginning. We then flew from DC to Johannesburg, South Africa with a stopover in Senegal (a country in West Africa). The total travel time was about 26 hours and we were all pretty exhausted by the end of it. On the flight from DC to Johannesburg I was given a seat at the front of the plane with no APU students nearby; I changed seats in Senegal (to sit with my fellow APUers) as I decided to sleep the whole way there from DC. I took a nap on the latter half of the flight too. Although the flight was somewhere around 17 hours it was not as bad as I'd thought it would be. We had plenty of movies to keep us entertained.

We spent the first night at a local hotel. We had dinner at a roadhouse across the street where the food was pretty good. The next day (Friday) we spent a good majority of the day touring Soweto, a local township where many of the blacks were forced to live during the apartheid era. It was interesting to see how both the rich and the poor live in such close proximity to each other. I must say though that South Africa as a whole is beautiful. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

That evening we had our final flight (only one hour this time) from Johannesburg to Durban. Upon our arrival at the Johannesburg airport there was a large crowd of people blowing horns and dressed in attire in the colors of the South African flag. It turned out that the soccer teams were flying in for the Orange Cup, which is being hosted in South Africa this year. I felt like I was in a movie; the scene was unreal.

The flight to Durban had quite a bit of turbulence but was not too bad. Durban was warm and very humid when we got there. We had to drive somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes to get to African Enterprises, a conference center that would become our home for the next 11 weeks. I cannot express how great it felt to finally get there. We'd spent several days traveling and we were finally home!

The campus is beautiful. There's a waterfall only a couple hundred meters from most of our chalets. There is plenty of wildlife to go around; the campus is also near a game reserve which is home to zebras (pronounced zeh-bruhs in South Africa), rhinoceroses, monkeys, and a myriad of other creatures.

Over the weekend we had the remainder of our Orientation (the first half was held back in the States), which went well. We received a lot of information and it was quite overwhelming. We made a trip to the mall as well, which was huge! The mall is viewed as more of a luxury here, whereas in America it's more of just another place to go shopping. Converting money from dollars to Rands isn't too bad; one American dollar equals almost nine Rands.

On Sunday I hiked to the second of supposedly four waterfalls, which was quite the adventure. I as well as many others got cut up, bitten, muddy, soaked, and nearly everything else you could think of that happens outdoors. We had a blast though and it's a day I certainly won't be forgetting any time soon.

Classes started on Monday and today is now Thursday, so the first of six weeks of intensive classes is almost over. Life as a college student in South Africa is a tricky one; it's tempting to go out all the time and not do your school work as there is so much to do! Hiking, swimming, mall runs, dance classes, going to the movies, working out, and much more quickly fill up your free time. I went to a "hip-hop" (it was really much more than that) dance class on Monday night and had so much fun! South Africans can certainly dance!

The people here are extremely friendly, for the most part. They have a joy and a freedom that is seldom seen in America. It's tough to understand (thus difficult for me to explain) without having interacted with them. A man I spoke with this morning thought it was crazy that Americans are so protective over their children and buy guns like there's no tomorrow. I explained to him why this was so and he seemed to understand. Here in South Africa children roam around all the time; granted many of them probably do so because they are orphans and lost their parents to AIDS. I found it interesting the way the man I spoke with viewed gun control, the Church, and possessions. It was an eye-opening conversation.

And then there are all the little things that make this country what it is. Chicken is an extremely popular food; there are chicken-serving restaurants like KFC and Chickin Lickin everywhere. They drive on the left side of the road (still can't get over it). Toilets flush counterclockwise. Racism is not an issue here (a dark-skinned woman is a "black woman"; a light-skinned man is a "white man"). I found this a relief as  America's obsession with being politically correct gets extremely tiresome.

That, in a short summary, is South Africa. I already feel pretty close with everyone here; how can you not when you're living so close to one another?

As we like to say all the time, when things go right, when things go wrong, and just because we can...

This is Africa.

Hanging out with pre-schoolers at a non-profit

An all-natural water slide!

Enjoying Tea Time--a genius idea!

One hour. Literally crazy.

It's 1:45 a.m. as I write this. In a little over an hour I'll be meeting up with the rest of my team (I guess that's what they're called) to go to the airport. Shuttles will take us to LAX, we'll spend however long checking in and going through customs, and then our flight will leave at 7:30 a.m. We fly from Los Angeles to D.C., then to Johannesburg, South Africa with a stopover in Senegal (in West Africa). It's all so weird. So weird.

Today was unreal. We had orientation from 8:30 to 2:30, which was all-around strange. It got me excited for Africa but at the same time made me extremely anxious; it wasn't a bad anxious, just... anxious. That feeling of being in anticipation, of being in waiting. Our commissioning service was at 4:30, which was overwhelming but so good. Because I'm attending a university significantly far from home, my family couldn't make it to the service; having a myriad of college friends nearly made up for it though. You generally don't realize the love and support that you have until something like this happens. "You never know what you've got until it's gone" could not ring more true. My appreciation for APU and my friendships here has grown, and I can only hope that I've left some sort of impact in my short year and a half here so far. I'm grateful to have two more years after this. But for now... Africa. That's my focus.

Although I can somewhat pinpoint the ways in which I want to be changed, I have this feeling (and I've been told) that my expectations will be blown away; I'll be challenged in ways that I won't expect. I will grow in ways that I do not see coming. But for that I cannot wait.

There's nothing like the semi-awkward initial interactions you have with people. As I walked into the venue where our orientation was held and looked around at the 50 or so people that I will be spending the next four months of my life with, I said, "This is it." I've heard nothing but amazing things about the people I'm going with. To experience it for myself, though, is one of the many things I am excited for. To no longer simply hear about the people I'm going with but to experience it first-hand. I feel blessed already.

One hour and seven minutes. Definitely not getting sleep tonight. But that's okay. 26 hours on a plane will provide plenty of time to sleep. It's gonna be a crazy trip!

Well, here we go! Goodbye America, hello Africa.

Hello, Africa. Woah.

Do You Know the Way You Move Me?

Have you ever dwelt on the notion of the love of God? And how deep, and how wide, and how long it is? It's huge. And even that is an understatement.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand--when I wake, I am still with you" (Psalm 139.13-18; NIV).

"But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5.8; ESV).

So let me get this straight. God formed me, saw me from the beginning, and loved me. He formed you, saw you from the beginning, and loved you. Crazy.

And then we fast forward a bit. We'd lived life a little. Heck, we screwed it all up. Yet "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us". In this God has shown us His love. So He loved us from the beginning. He loved us during. And He will always love us. Nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).

I'm preaching to myself as much as I am preaching to you. This is something that I often forget and wrestle with often. I don't want His love. Sometimes I am so frustrated with myself, I dislike myself to such an intense degree that I don't want Him to love me. Cause I don't deserve it. And guess what? I don't! None of us do! But God loves us anyway.

Let His love change you. Let it transform you. Think about those around you who make you think about the love of God. Those around you who are beaming with His love. The shine of His glory that radiates off of someone reflects the time spent seeking the face of God.

He is love and we are made in His image. With Him, we too, can be love. Love to ourselves (for some of us do not love ourselves), love to others, and love to the broken world around us.

Six Days

Yup. I've got six days left in the States. Talk about weird. Talk about super weird.

I reached a state of limbo when everyone returned to APU and I was still at home in the Northwest. And then it got worse when classes started. Having APU go on without me; it was bizarre.

And then... it got even worse. I returned to APU yesterday and now things are really strange. Sleeping on a couch, needing my roommates to let me in to what was once my apartment, having no bedroom to go to, going to chapel without having to fill out a chapel card, having almost nothing to do while everyone else is busy... it's weird.

It's nice being home though. Christmas Break was good, but nothing beats being with friends and being back at the place in which you live. Even if I don't technically live here anymore. I've hardly been here for twenty-four hours yet I have had an amazing time. Catching up with friends, going on a run in the beautiful sunshine, relaxing... it's too great. I figure I'm going to need the rest before I leave, because once I leave, I won't be sleeping much until summer break. Life's about to get crazy!

I wish I had more to say but not much is happening these days. God is good.

Six days. HOLY MOLY.