Nov 13th - 24th
Monday, November 24, 2008
This morning’s class was on conflict management, transition, debriefing, and other things having to do with going home. At one point, Adam was supposed to frustrate everyone in the class and he did such a good job that some people are still frustrated even though it was a simulation of how to handle conflict.
We had this afternoon off and after a quick swim in the pool; I continued to read my book. I have enjoyed reading and in a recent book there was a quote about missions that I thought was really cool. It says, “None of us go into the mission field to force our beliefs on unsuspecting people. We go because the people already know about God. But they are desperate for answers concerning Him” --Bob Asher, (from Karen Kingsbury in Found). This is referring to people that have never heard the gospel before, but God makes himself known to them in different ways. Its pretty amazing if you think about it.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Today was a slow chill day. I (Adam) did however have the privilege of being on night security. One of the leaders came by our room in the evening and asked if I would escort him for security in the neighborhood from midnight to 1 am. Apparently it is a organized neighborhood watch that involves 22 people who take one hour shifts from the end of November through January. Apparently crime escalates here in December and it is one way to alleviate some. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun, we walked on the main road mostly, I was carrying a small copper pipe. I really don’t know what I was going to do, but I was going to have something with me. I did happen to hear a bit more regarding about the criminal that we caught last week. I heard that they had to wait about an hour for the police to show up. They had called South Africa’s 911, but there was no answer numerous times. Then they called a private service and they could only get the answering machine. Lastly, they tried a cell phone provided emergency service of which connected them to someone who could help, but had no idea of our location. Eventually they got it all sorted out, but it definitely did not calm any fears regarding crime in the country for me.
Friday, November 21, 2008
This evening I (Adam) had the opportunity to go back to Crossroad coffeehouse. It was the site of our inner-city outreach, where we got to spend quite a bit of time their over the course of the three weeks. I enjoyed myself, though it felt a bit different. While we were there, they ran 10 or so minute devotionals and then had plenty of time to spend talking with guys on the front porch. This time, the devotional drug on for over an hour. It was crazy, no one was paying attention and a few were falling asleep. I was anxiously awaiting the chance to go outside and talk with them. As soon as we mobilized outside, they began playing an Angus Buchan DVD. He is a South African farmer who is a huge evangelist, the present day Billy Graham of South Africa. It was a good Dvd, but it really made conversation difficult. I did get an update on Jaimee though. He has found a job and is hoping to be able to pay the labola (bride price) for his finance this Christmas. Terrance on the other hand was the same. He hadn’t changed a whole lot, though he did seem interested in watching the DVD. I don’t know if it was because they don’t watch a lot of television, but I hope some seeds were scattered through it.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Time seems to be flying by. This morning we had a prayer morning. This afternoon we had class where we talked about the Holy Spirit. It is a topic that does not seem to get a lot of face time. We talked how the Holy Spirit has personal attributes and also attributes that belong to God alone.
Also on Wednesday night we went to go bowling with our care group. It was a fun night out. Adam drove and had trouble seeing the road because it was raining and they don’t often have lights on the roads. I found it interesting that bowling balls are in pounds, not kgs like everything else. Adam and I did not bowl too well, but better than some with us…I guess it is not hard to beat a score of 41.
Johanna and I slept quietly through and interesting evening last night. Around 3 a.m. one of our leaders heard rumbling in his garage. Sure enough some was breaking in, mind you we had a break in last week, so he called two other leaders for their help. So, with a golf club in hand, he ran after the criminal. Another leader had a baseball bat and they last one caught him trying to climb the fence. They hit him a few times before he fell and one of our bigger guys sat on him until the police came. I wish I could have been there, it sounds so funny, but another great reminder of a prayer of protection around us. It has seemed like crime has risen dramatically around us the last month or so.
As far as our class this morning, we are in the process of going over a life management plan. Jo and I had fun taking another personality test and seeing how different we truly are, but I also enjoyed writing out some of my values and making statements. Here are two of my examples, we were each asked to write out ten: I value excellence therefore I attribute my time and energy to do the job at hand with the best of my ability. I value accountability therefore I pursue relationships with others that can speak truth into my life. It was a great exercise and one that I can send to you if you are interested.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Today we started a week of discipleship. We first covered the discipleship principles found in 2 Peter 1:2-9, take a look when you get a chance. We also did an exercise that I thought you may like: (since becoming a believer) 1. List some areas that you have grown in? 2. List some people who have helped you grow? 3. List some of the events that have helped you grow? 4. List some of the people that you have helped to grow?
We also learned a decent model of discipleship. It is an acronym of course: GROW
G – Goals – what do you want to achieve from this time?
R – Reality – where are you currently, what is your reality?
O - Options – what are the options available to help me get from my reality to my goal
W –Workplan – have them write it out how they will get there.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
We left early on Friday morning from Cape Town to drive part of the way back. Due to some heavy rains, there was flooding on some of the highways. South Africa doesn’t seem to have many roads, so we took a three hour detour. All in all, it made for a really long day especially for how cramped our bus was. We stayed at the prison and were very thankful that we did not have a smoke filled room again. We slept well and were ready for another long day on Saturday. But we made it back safely and we even had pizza for dinner. I tried and loved seafood pizza topped with calamari and shrimp which is much better than banana and bacon (another new option for you)!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
This past week we spent in George, South Africa. It is about 5 hours drive from Cape Town to George. We have heard how beautiful it is and someone had accommodations for us, so how could we pass it up?! It seems to be a quiet city, but gorgeous. We were very close to the beach and if it hadn’t been cloudy we would see the mountains as well. We left the Cape on Monday and arrived in the afternoon. We explored a little when we got there. We found the beach and another little beach, Herold’s Bay where Ernie Ells has a house. Tuesday we went to Knysna because it was cloudy and lightly raining. This is a small town that is very touristy. It is right on a lagoon that feeds into the ocean and it is apparently the most dangerous water way in the world where the two meet. We went on a ferry ride around the lagoon and then hit up a seafood restaurant for dinner. It was great fun! Wednesday it rained again and we were disappointed that we could not go to the beach for another day! So we headed to an indoor heated pool not to far away. We also walked around Mossel Bay, where the Garden Route starts. It was a fun afternoon and then we relaxed for the evening. We decided to head back Thursday and stay with a team mate so that we wouldn’t have to drive through the night to get our bus back on Friday morning. It was a short, but nice trip, even though it rained the entire time!
