South African Culture... Part 2.. My Brew

And I will praise YOU in this storm! I will lift my hands, for YOU are who YOU are, no matter where i am. And every tear i have cried, YOU hold in YOUR hand. YOU never left my side. And though my heart is torn. I will praise YOU in this storm.

For the most part, we have been spending our time with the blacks because our contact is black, the church is black, and the teams we play with are black. I do not say that because I am racist... In fact, I feel like I get along better with the blacks here than I do with the whites. Mostly because the whites wonder why we are here and sometimes make it difficult for our ministry because of their lack of love for people of a different skin color. However, our ministry is not just out to the blacks. It is also to the whites. Our main goal is to spread the love of Christ to whoever will listen. We can do nothing but only be open to let God work through us. We are powerless to force people to listen to us. All we can do it hope and pray that people listen and that seeds are planted. And the crazier thing is... I feel so much better and I feel so much more alive by not trying and not worrying about what I can do and just giving it up. Our main goal here is just to let God shine His light through us and to plant seeds. Hopefully good ones... I will consider myself lucky and blessed if we get to see the seeds grow...

With that being said, we had a great night last night when we had a bri with our neighbors. It was such a blessing on many different levels. We had an opportunity to get a different view of the culture in South Africa while hopefully shining our light. We have been hearing things that blacks like/dislike about the government and culture but we haven't had much chance to hear about it from whites. It was very interesting to hear and actually surprised us a bit. We had some amazing Bri'd meat and got to watch Beowulf on dvd! (which isn't out yet.. Gotta love bootlegs!)

Back to the culture (the main point of this blog). We talked about things like the differences between the US and South Africa. They asked us what we expected when we got here. The truth to that answer is... We didn't know what to expect. We didn't know if there would be Lions roaming the streets or Rhinos having a beer at the local pub. We didn't know if there would be any infrastructure at all.. much less cars or communication at all. We didn't know if the roads would be gravel/dirt or paved (and the answer to that is yes). Obviously, we assumed that cities like Joburg and Cape Town and Durban would have these things but considering we were going to Polokwane, (a place that I did not know existed until I got here), it was all a big fat question mark. We were trying to describe the similarities and the biggest similarities to the US is the huge array of different people. South Africa is the USA of Africa. There are people of every nation here and the people from all over come to South Africa because it is an easy place to get into and there are opportunities all over the place. Businesses are starting to boom. Entrepreneurs are free to pursue many different things with little interference from the Government. Another similarity is the infrastructure. There are roads going all over the place from city to city, the communication system is similar, electricity, and transportation with buses and taxis.

However, the US is by far, well ahead of South Africa on almost everything. With the exception of the major cities, everything here in South Africa is behind the times and almost medieval. Yet, it is well ahead of the rest of Africa! South Africa has come a long, long way, but still has a long, long way to go! The biggest difference between the US and South Africa that I can see is the quality of life. In the US, everything is right there, you can get it anytime you want due to mass consumerism and all the business terms that go along with that. In Africa, because of unknown reasons there are shortages due (probably to some kind of scandal or the government) to unknown reasons. I have heard some blacks say they liked the way things were before the apartheid ended which absolutely blew my mind. Things here can be very corrupt and harsh yet it is a free country that is pursuing democracy...? Interesting...

We got to talk to our neighbors about the apartheid which was really cool. Daniel, the bartender/seriously bad potty mouth/biggest and only Lion fan (Rugby- they are like the KC Royals.. nobody likes them.), grew up during the time when everything changed in 1994. He said that it was really hard because it was a release of power from the whites. He said that there was a lot of hate and racism. There is obviously still much animosity going on however from my own experience, love breaks down that barrier instantly just by a simple "hello" or "how's it!" Brandon makes fun of me because whenever we walk anywhere, I am always saying hello to everyone who even acts like they look at me. It isn't because I am scared but because God has shown me that we are all His children and that everyone deserves a chance, then another, then another... I never quite understood what the big deal about Martin Luther King Jr. was until I got here. He said, "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." What is important is that people realize the subtleties that are going on here. That everything is not always what it seems. It is important that people do what they can to make a difference in the world. Half the time, I feel like I am not doing anything here. I think to myself, "what can I possibly do?" Then I have to continually remind myself that South Africa has a lot of work to do but the good thing is that God is here... in HUGE ways which means that there is hope, a light at the end of the tunnel.
The important thing is never to give up and keep pressin' on!

There is something that is downright scary about the fight in the man that does not fight back.

Happy Holidays to everyone back in the states! (Merry Christmas is coming next week!)