South African Thanksgiving

Here's a few pics from the festivities in George. Enjoy!

A Realization

I've been feeling pretty unsettled for awhile now, and I couldn't put my finger on the source of my anxiety or restlessness. After having a talk with someone very close to me, I think I've discovered my problem. I am just trying too damn hard. This realization has come at just the right time. Here I am in a place that I love with a lot of great people around, and I just feel like time is slipping by me. That's because I've been so worried about what others will think of my experience here, that I couldn't just enjoy myself. The expectations of what a missionary should do have bogged me down to the point that I've felt guilty and worthless here. Now don't get me wrong, I've received nothing but encouragement and support from everyone I've been in contact with (and I appreciate that support greatly). But the fact of the matter is, I feel an internal pressure to impress people with what I've been doing, and honestly, I'm through with that. I don't care who's impressed or disappointed with what I do in South Africa. While I'm accountable to an extent to the people I work with, I am here because I feel that God wants me here. So at the end of the day, this time abroad is an experience that God and I are supposed to enjoy together. Sometimes I just need someone else's perspective to receive some clarity I suppose. There. That felt good. I hope that my honesty here is not perceived the wrong way. I am immeasurably lucky to have the family and friends that I do. I think I've just reached the point of knowing that I need to stop juggling, and just enjoy the circus.

Tick Tock

Time flies when you're havin' fun, or so I hear. While I knew that time would go quickly during my journey here in S.A., I had no idea how fast it would travel. There's no way to prepare yourself for the seemingly exponential rate at which your life will pass you by. As a result, I'm trying to capture moments here as they happen, and embrace the good that is all around me. I'm beginning to realize what a unique position I find myself in during this stage of life. My decisions will significantly change the direction of my life, and the places I will find myself in for the next few years. In recent weeks, I've decided to apply to grad school for the Fall of '09. It amazes me how different my life could look on the east coast at a large university versus life here in South Africa, or life in L.A. during my undergrad, or Oregon for that matter. All I can do is not take for granted the life that God has gifted me with here on the other side of the world. I'm doing what I want to do, and how many people can say that? As the great Bob Dylan says, "A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do." Back home in Oregon in less than 3 weeks. Excited, but not for the cold.

No Worries

Riding down a steep, zig-zagging road through the dense jungle of South Africa fills me with life and contentment. I'm learning to live in moments like these, to appreciate the fullness of how beautiful the trees look in the wind, or the smell of the air as it breezes by my helmet. Life is more easily taken in at slow speeds on a moped, and I'm finally beginning to master the art of two-wheel transport. My job description here is rapidly expanding and solidifying. I lecture on spiritual disciplines every Thursday for the gap year program, Life Academy, act as a pseudo-journalist for OAM by taking pictures and writing occassional articles, and keep in contact with families whose homes have been built by OAM and sponsored by church groups abroad. Starting in January, I also hope to begin community development in the area of Blanco, which incorporates roughly 2000 people. In my off time, I am still learning (and failing at) surfing, play tennis from time to time, ride my Vuka around town, and enjoy some South African barbecque (known as a braai) with some friends. The pace of life here is slow, and I'm beginning to get very accustomed to it. I'm sure that's annoying for my parents and others Stateside, especially when they're wondering what nonsense I'm up to, but come visit and you'll find yourself breathing easier as well. Just trying to soak this in one day at a time, and to not take things for granted. In one month I'll be back in the States for Christmas (which will be great), and the last 3 months will seem like a vivid dream. Fortunately, my plane ticket back is already booked.

Moving from the Honeymoon to Real Life

First off, the hiatus has been far too long between posts, and for that I apologize. It's been almost two months now since I've been here in George. The time has arrived for the real groove of life to start here. My "honeymoon" period is over now, the time when every experience is fresh and interesting simply because it's done in the context of a different culture. While this was a bit discouraging for me initially, it has been replaced by something more meaningful. God is not only introducing more and more genuine friends in my life, but is revealing to me more of Himself, and for that there is no substitute. Regardless of what I thought going into this time, I packed along a great deal of expectations into my mind as to what my South African experience would look like. In reality, most of those expectations have not come to fruition, and I'm totally okay with that. This time has been formative already for me, and I am falling in love with the many cultures and people groups in South Africa in new ways. I'm not sure what my future holds, but I know that this country will be a part of who I am for the rest of my life. My only response at this stage is to be open to what God would do next, an openness which is both risky and freeing. I am incredibly fortunate to be here, and equally blessed to have good people in my life. Please keep me in your prayers, I cherish them as I walk through each day.

Good Things

Work up early this morning (7 am- yeah I know that's not all that early but come on) for a bit of a surf to start my day. As I was out on the water, with the sun sparkling off the waves and a pleasant breeze in the air, I saw a Southern Right Whale out to sea from me breach out of the water. This made me think of how lucky I am to be here. Of course, I was quickly brought back to reality when I got a mouth full of sea water on the next wave and wanted to yack my innards out, but it was still a good moment. Here are more good things I'm thankful for. My good friends Kenny and Carla Kneezle are moving out to South Africa in April or May! They will then join one of my best friends, Jeremy, out in the Cape Town area as missionaries. Let this officially coerce anyone of you sitting on the fence. Move out to South Africa! It's the only place to be. All the cool kids are doing it. Ok, enough recruiting. Also, the Red Sox are still in the playoffs. Ah, how good it is to wake up in the morning, check espn.com, and know that your favorite team is gonna bring home another World Series title. Sorry Tyler, it's too bad the D-Backs didn't even make the playoffs. Do you owe me money again? Oh, and also, sorry Ben, did my BoSox beat your Halos, YET AGAIN in the playoffs? :) Enough gloating. Yet another good thing, easily the most important announcement, is the arrival of Gary and Courtney's daughter Joelle Zoe Christenson into the world. Congrats guys, and I'm stoked to meet her in a couple of months. Lastly, the man who floats my musical boat, the man whose albums have been the soundtracks to my worst and greatest days, Ray LaMontagne, is coming out with his new album on Tuesday. I can't exactly express how unreasonably excited I am for this, but his music is something that speaks to me in an incredibly significant way. Go buy Gossip in the Grain, you won't be disappointed. And please, someone email me a copy, I can't get it off iTunes internationally. Ok, I think I'm done now. Been here a month already, I can't believe how the time has flown by. Hoping this finds you well, whoever happens to read this.

Camp

Last weekend I helped supervise an outdoor camp for 30 teenagers in the bush (the outdoors) at Ballot's Bay. Despite the fact that the guys chose to sing Alicia Keys at the top of their lungs until 3 am the first night, I think we all had a great time. My time was mostly spent at the beach with the kids, where Wayne, Suzi, and I facilitated some team building games, a treasure hunt, and some surf lessons. I, of course, did not do the surf lessons as most of the kids were already better than me on their first try. My admiration and gratitude go out to Wayne and Suzi McAfee, a couple from Northern Ireland, who run the OAM Sports Academy. They provided a weekend of entertainment and good food that was a gift for these kids. You can watch the Youtube video of the camp at the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wLW_OhVQv4 .Man it was good sleeping under the stars again too. Peace and love.

Here Ya Go Madre

At the risk of displaying vanity and receiving some sarcastic comments from a great deal of friends I know, I should probably include some pics of myself to let my mum get a good look at her baby boy. Yes mom, the beard is temporarily gone because Kate, Pierre and Sonja's 3 year-old, said that she saw Jesus with his ears pierced. There's no way I can live up to that, so I had to shave. Peace.

At Long Last

Well good people, I finally have the internet. Time to update a bit on life in the past few weeks, eh? Well I must say, life is good. This was a move for me that needed to be made. I found myself in the strangest stage of my life after I graduated in May. Even though I was back in my hometown surrounded by a lot of great family and friends, I just didn't feel right in my own skin. Now that I'm here, I feel a great deal more peace than I have had for quite some time--probably a year or so. Although I know that you can never run from your problems or doubts just by changing destinations on the globe, the change of scenery has been beneficial for me. That being said, I miss a great deal of people, and tend to get nostalgic when browsing through older photos. So what have I been up to you ask? Well, lots of things, some of which will be documented with this post. Getting settled and moved in to my "granny flat" has taken quite awhile, and is almost finished now. I will show y'all an epic video about my place when it's finished up. I've also had several meetings with pastors and social workers in the informal settlements around George in an effort to cultivate relationships with the right people in those areas. I have also had some fun working with our Sports Academy, an after school sports program for children from all over George whose schools do not facilitate any formal sports teams. As a fundraising effort, OAM has created XMas cards from some pics I took of the kids during practice. If you are interested in purchasing some, just email me back or send a holler out to Ashely Elsdon at info@outofafricamissions.org. Currently, I am working on creating some blogs for families in the informal settlements who have had homes built for them by OAM. Also, I will be helping supervise the yungins at the Sports Academy weekend camp this coming Friday. Almost forgot, I had my first surfing adventure on Sunday at Vic Bay and got humbled multiple times by some waves that I shouldn't have been trying to challenge. Anyway, all's well that ends well. Enjoy the photos. Some are of the house and office I'm living/working at. Others are of the X Mas card pics, and my day at Vic (where everyone in the picture is leaning way too much). Yep, that's all for now. I'll make it more regular now. Promise. Stay well.

While I Have an Internet Connection....

While the opportunity presents itself, and before I have that fateful internet capability that was supposed to be installed by Telkom weeks ago (gotta love monopolies, they have no customer service and could care less), I will send a quick note. I am currently babysitting for Pierre and Sonja. Pierre is the founder of Out of Africa Missions, and his daughters, Megan and Kate, are 7 and 3 respectively. After dinner and a little movie time of Fox and the Hound 2, they are currently sawing logs. As I'm still in the 2 week adjustment period here in George, I've been doing two things mainly. Spending time with some unbelievably quality people who work with me at OAM, and reading. Two suggestions for some good reads? Kurt Vonnegut and Ernest Hemingway. Whew! Geniuses, both of them. Remember how I said it was freezing here with my last email? Well it was in the upper 80's today. Go figure. I move to the opposite side of the globe and find weather just as inconsistent as Bend, Oregon. If you read this, do me a favor. Take some time out of your schedule and read something quality. Also, tell someone that you love how much they mean to you. Life is short. As a sign in a bar in Chicago said, (paraphrasing): "A man should listen to good music, read poetry, and view a fine picture every day of his life." Wise words. Be blessed one and all.

SAFRICA

Yup. I made it. After 30 hours of travel time I arrived in George last Friday, and have been settling in ever since. As promised, my internet availability has been extremely limited, but once Telkom (the internet provider) gets their act together, I should be able to keep in touch more regularly (and provide pics). Anyway, life is so good here. I feel at peace here in S.A., and felt very welcomed by everyone at Out of Africa Missions. In about a week, I will start my position here as Development Manager, which sounds quite official I know. While I'm still not settled on what this position will fully entail, I will be doing several things that I love to do, including time with families in the informal settlements, photography, writing, and time with the short term mission teams. On the superficial side of life, things are coming together swimmingly. I'll soon have my own place complete with my own shower and bathroom (a bonus), a surfboard and wetsuit so that I can pretend to surf, and a 110 cc scooter to cruise around George with! All in all, life is good, and I feel confident that the Good Lord has me in this place for a good reason. The adventure has already begun. Peace and love.

Leavin on a Jet Plane

In less than 10 hours I'll be leaving the beauty of Bend, Oregon for the road ahead in George, South Africa. I feel a multitude of emotions right now, and my stomach is pretty upset, but most of all I feel incredibly blessed. Thank you to all of my amazing friends and family for your support and encouragement. Know that I'm doing what I've been longing to do for quite some time. This experience is going to be so challenging at times, but I consider myself exceptionally fortunate to be doing this. I'll keep you updated in the near future (the internet connection is not quite as reliable in good ol' SA). Peace and love to you all.

First Attempt

Well. Here goes nothing. My buddy Nate recently lent me a book entitled The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which I highly recommend. In it, the main character Charlie discusses with his friends after a party about their "place in things." These idealistic and "progressive" young teens discussed their views of cynicism regarding music, politics, and the media. This seemed to resonate with me at this particular juncture in life. I'm 23. I graduated college in early May. And I am oh so proud of my enlightenment up to this point. However, I am growing into the sobering reality that I just have no idea what I'm doing in this life. Once my travel visa clears, I will be moving to South Africa in early September (God willing). Quite simply, I hope to travel there and live for 11 months in order to give some love to people that don't receive very many embraces or meals in a day. However, I'm beginning to realize how unspectacular this is. I am going to South Africa because I have enough money to. There are thousands of recent college graduates in this country that would cherish the opportunity to do what I'm doing, but they're loaded down with college debt. There are thousands more who are doing what they can for the needy without leaving their hometowns. God, forgive us all for making something like social justice fashionable. I am proud to be part of a generation that is awakening to the dire circumstances and needs of others around the world, but I am growing disenchanted with the elitist attitude that accompanies that passion. Real love is not fashionable. I can tell you all how fulfilling it will be to hold an AIDS orphan in my arms, but that would be glamorizing the suffering of someone who doesn't care about my online blog. My friend and professor Craig told us that abstraction is always one step away from murder. I think he meant that if we fail to see the humanity in each person in this world, then it becomes easier to treat each person with less than the dignity that they deserve. I also believe that abstraction allows people to love insincerely. It's hard to believe someone tell me that they love people they've never even seen. I'm thankful to get the chance to know the names of some wonderful people in South Africa, and share my life with them. I'm trying not to love in an abstract way.
My heart is heavy today, but I am learning valuable things from heartache. Maybe all I need is a late night drive with the right music. After all, there's nothing that the road cannot heal.