halfway

Well, the first camp ended today. And we're pretty tired, so we'll update more later. (Hopefully I'll convince Brittany to write something -- but she's asleep right now).

And it finished great. Nobody got seriously injured, the kids had fun, and more importantly, the story of God's unconditional love was well received this morning. I did that talk. It was a little intimidating when I signed up for it a few weeks ago, but with all the practicing that I did it wasn't so bad. Even good. Which is cool, because it's quite plainly God working through me to speak into these kids lives. I used an analogy of a pot -- which breaks to pieces because of sin. And though it is broken, it still belongs to and is loved by its creator. Good stuff.

And as Dennis mentioned to us before we left, the first group of facilitators was really, really great. They were great with the kids, were nice enough to interpret for us, and were good role models for the kids. I just wish they would have gone to bed earlier :)

But camp is not about rest. That's what the days between camp are for. And that's what i'm going to do now.

camp is on!

The bus showed up yesterday morning, and since then it's been non-stop camp action. They have so much energy it's crazy. The boys in my cabin stayed up until well past 11 chatting and being noisy boys -- and somewhere during that process I threatened to wake them up early the next morning if they wouldn't go to sleep. But that didn't work out at all because they woke up (all of them) at just after 6am.

And I think I'm learning that Xhosa is a very loud language. Aside from all the clicks and tones, the people that speak it are just very verbal and like to talk about things. The male facilitators that were sleeping in my cabin the night before seemed to be like this. They stayed up watching music videos and talking about... basically anything... until about 4am Thursday night. So all that said, this week is going to be an exercise in staying energized and staying awake!

Camp food is great. I just had to throw that in there. There's just something about it that I love. Even in fI have to spend two hours washing every single cup and plate-holder that we used for dinner.

And, well, the kids are on an unorgaized free time right now. Most of my guys (we have 6 'rhinos' + Mike (the smaller) + 2 facilitators) are out playing soccer. Something makes me think my guys could play soccer until the end of time. They just don't get tired! Or maybe I'm just getting old :)

So pray for energy, and for connections with the kids!

Prayer updates

Hi friends,

Just a quick update.  The facilitators arrive in 30 minutes and then we start camp planning.  The kids come tomorrow.  Please pray for our connections with both.

Brittany and Ted (BOH staff) have both come down with colds.  Pray for quick recovery and that no one else will get sick.

Thanks!

Denise

Philippi + Penguins

Time for some more pictures!



Here's a suitcase full of the stuffed turtles that we brought down from Santa Barbara. Thanks everyone for writing all the notes! In case you're wondering, there are somewhere around 170 of them?

Now on to Philippi. We drove over to meet up with Mama Lulu and see what the bridges ministry was like in the township. These wonderful women were downstairs making lunch in the soup kitchen. (PS, it smelled fantastic down there)

Then next door we saw CHE training in action! These are all CHEs learning about influenza.

This is the inside of St Paul's church. We got a group shot with mama, who made sure that we got the lettering in the picture (in Xhosa, it means "glory to God").

Then later on in the day, Ted took us on an adventure. And we found penguins! Just hanging out near the beach. Quite a place, South Africa.


Then we had to make sure that they weren't under our car.


Here are a couple shots from Cape Point -- very close to the very southwest point of the continent.

On the way out of the park, we saw baboons! Even a little baby one.

The Reality of Race

Today we got some of our first exposure to the community around the retreat center.  We went into two nearby towns to purchase food and supplies for the camp.  Beyond the major things that stand out in a new country (clockwise round-abouts, signs in Afrikaans, prices listed in Rands), the one thing that really struck me today was just how deep the racial divide continues to be.  Yes, Apartheid itself has come to an end, but the cultural and socio-economical boundaries continue to create much of a divide.  I spent a lot of time today talking to Ted about the reality of racial relations here.  We talked about the fact that churches remain largely segregated, that "colored" (mixed race) and black people living in the same community might not even speak the same language, that someone like Ted who wants to minister in Phillippi must live out side of the community in a white neighborhood lest he become a target for thieves.  I am still processing these facts, but am struck with the reality that history leaves its mark.  And cognizant of the fact that the issue is far from simple: race, economics, history, theology - all are are deeply intertwined. I imagine I'll have a much deeper understanding of this complexity tomorrow after having visited Phillippi and Robben Island.

day of rest

So today, much to my surprise, is basically a day off. There's very little on the schedule other than buy some groceries and go out to eat later tonight. I'm not sure if the lax schedule was intentional or not, but I think it's a good things. Partially because we're physically still a little bit wiped out from traveling (whether we realize it or not), and partially because it's a chance to connect with the rest of our team and prepare ourselves for the week ahead. So much of the trip up to this point has been go go go go -- it's quite a relief to have a chance to spend good quality time in the word, or read a book, or go out and take pictures, or just grab a nap. Way to plan things, team!

Also, today I had my first experience driving on the left side of the road. And sitting on the right side of a car while doing it. Really it wasn't too bad. The driving itself is pretty straight forward, and there's pretty good motivation to stay in the right (left) lane (eg, oncoming traffic). The part that probably confused me the most was the turn signal. It's on the right side instead of the left, and the windshield wiper control is also switched. Something in my brain just wants to reach out with my left finger when I'm turning left to hit the signal. Bah. But I only messed that up twice, so I think that's pretty good :)

This time we just went to a grocery store in a mall to get some food for the week, but I'll also be driving to our mini-safari and then into Philipi to pick up our facilitators. It's a little unsettling after signing a waiver today that mentioned getting mugged and robbed at gunpoint, but you know, that's what faith is for. Faith that my God is bigger than all the sin that goes on in this world, and that he "works all things according to the counsel of his will". How cool is that.

we made it!

After some shuttling to and from LAX, three flights, and a 45-minute vanagon ride, we finally made it to Bridges of Hope in South Africa! And because we're all jet-lagged to pieces, we're up writing updates to our blog.

And what better updates to add than pictures!? So here we go.



(lots of luggage)




(excited about flying?)


(arrived in Amsterdam)

(our ride in South Africa from the airport)



(woohoo! made it to the Academy)