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.