November 20-24
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.
