A Thinking Man's Game

Dumela my friends! (Dumela is "hello" in Northern Sesotho). It has been great hearing from so many of you and I ask that you keep the comments and/or emails and/or Facebook posts coming. I know that I don't always get back very punctually, but I figure in the small amount of time I have on the internet I should probably spend it working on the blog so that everyone can have an update rather than the few that I could get to via email and Facebook. So, my apologies if you feel left out, but know you are in my prayers. Also, nobody likes a whiner. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

As I've been thinking about what I will want people to know most about my time spent here in SA I've decided on a few things. I won't share them all now, but I will let you in on what I feel like is the most important aspect of the work that is-and will continue-being done.

It is very hard for us (by us I mean Americans) to think in a way other than that which has become standard in our country and culture. That is to say: most Americans are analytical/conceptual thinkers, because that is what is taught in our schools and that is how those who run our country think. We are not overly concerned with details, but think in a much more broad sense which then enables us to understand the details. It is partly because of this that there is a common world-view in which we understand that there is the Supernatural (God's realm) and the Natural (the realm God has created for us to dwell in during our lives) each with their own seperate time and space. From this then, we can understand that anytime God intervenes and causes something in the Natural realm that wouldn't happen by nature taking its course we call that a "miracle". Now, since we know that God has set nature in motion with specific laws and patterns we know that we can do as He calls us to do in Genesis and take control over our environment for the glory of God and His Son Jesus Christ. (This also means we have a responsibility to care for it folks. Don't forget that.) Here's where alot of the work Uncle Stu has done comes in. (PS Dr. Stuart Cook has been told that he has made the biggest contribution to the field of anthropology in South Africa. Not too shabby for a guy from little ol' Wheatland, Wyoming sure?)

African culture and religion has been around for thousands of years and you can imagine how defining that can be for a group of people. Unfortunately, their culture and religion are centered on anamisim and sangomas (witch doctors) and therefore believe that there is only one realm that is divided in the Visible and the Invisible. They believe that everything is controlled by the spirits of the ancestors and so they conform, try not to "rock the boat", and surrender all individualism because that would cause the gods to be upset. So now if everything is controlled by these spirits then there is no sense of consequences for actions as long as you are doing what everyone else is doing (lots of drinking and sex, hence the overwhelming numbers of people with AIDS) and no sense of planning for the future (which includes saving money or conserving food and water). This kind of thinking makes it easy for people to accept Christ, but to them He would just be one of the great spirits. The hard part comes when they learn that they have to give up their old customs, beliefs, and traditions to truly be in relationship with Jesus. And therein lies the struggle.

I know this is a lot of stuff to digest at once (like a Bedda Chedda Bacon Burger from Granite City...ahhhhh, if only), but I hope that when I am back and able to speak with each of you this will become much more clear. This is the real issue that faces the missionaries all over the world and many people say that we can't go and try to change peoples culture, but that we just need to adapt the Gospel in a way that they can identify with it within their culture. Let me tell you something right now: that is a load of crap. Since when does the God we serve adapt to us. We are called to be in the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ, His nature, character and deeds, not the other way around. GOD IS BIGGER THAN US!!! Hello, McFly! How often do we forget that? We are here to glorify and serve the Lord with all our heart, strength, soul, and mind. This is not up for debate, it is the truth; His Truth which is the only truth. We belong to the culture of Christ and that is all. Our sole identity should be that we are Christians. Whatever else we do should always come back to that. Always.

#6: Find somewhere away from everyone and everything thing and just worship the Lord. Sing, pray, dance, yell, cry, whatever it may be. Just take some time to get away where no one else can see you and just be exactaly who you are called to be in Christ Jesus. David's wife saw him dancing in the streets in worship and despised him for it, but David was not the least bit ashamed. He was a fool for Christ. Better to be a fool for Christ than a fool for something else. It will give you the Joy of the Lord as your strength and that is all we need. WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, SING UNTO HIM A NEW SONG!!!

Grace and Peace.

Mighty Men

First, lets get one thing clear: when I said "more tomorrow poppets" I really meant about a week. Ok, so that's my bad.

This last weekend I went to an Angus Buchan (South African farmer, immigriant from Zambia, Scottish heritage, Christian evangelist) event aptly named the Mighty Men's Conference. The event was held out on Angus' farm and played host to about 68,000 men. Yes, I did just say 68,000 men. It was an unbelievable experience to worship and fellowship with that many guys. It was one of those times in life where I feel like I got a small taste of what heaven will be like. Everyone singing so loud that you can't hear yourself, instead it just sounds like one loud passionate voice praising the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (that would be God for those of you playing the home game). Angus gave very inspired messages about fearing God, pride, and dying to self (this years theme was Dying to Live). He has probably the coolest accent I've ever heard before (Scottish mixed with South African...awesome) and looks kind of like the guy who played Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Needless to say it is very encouraging to see that many other men passionate for serving Jesus Christ and I feel very refreshed after coming back from that.

One other funny tidbit from the Mighty Men's Conference: the showers there were like how you'd send cattle through sprayers, so it was quite humorous to see a few hundred butt-naked chaps queued up without shame waiting to get their turn. Thought you might enjoy the imagery of such an event.

#5: Call the Lord by His Name. All to often we refer to God as "The Big Guy" or "The Man Upstairs", let's knock it off, sure? He's not to be humanised and He's to be respected. We can't try and lower Him to our level so that we can try and identify better with Him. God created us and accepts us through His Son Jesus Christ even as we sin continually, something we cannot even begin to truly understand. Respect that and show the Lord the proper respect and fear He deserves.

Love.

NO TALKING!!!

Ok so I've now gone longer than ever before in my life without actually speaking to someone in my family, or anyone else I knew before I got here for that matter, and I'm here to tell you it doesn't suit me very well.

Still, it continues to be great fun down here in the South of Africa. I love looking up at the Southern Cross every night and I've never seen Orion look so big (or upside down) before; I quite enjoy that.

More tomorrow poppets.

#4: Call your parents, the rest of your family, and your best friends if even just to hear their voices for two minutes. (This is me living vicariously through you.)

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Cheers then! Thanks again for all the great comments thus far! Keep them coming even if I'm not doing a great job of keeping this up. Its been hard to get time to get to a computer and really give you something worth reading, but I'm trying to be a diligent as possible. Even as I say that I don't really have time to write a big update on here now.

I will give you a quick something though. Due to unforeseen circumstances I am no longer living in the apartment in Vaalwater. (Long story, you'll hear it before long I'm sure.) I'm back out on the Cooks plot which is only about 10 km from town so its really not bad.

I'm enjoying the scenery, Aunt Marilyn's cooking and hospitality, Uncle Stu's teaching and love of driving to fast, and all of the stories and teasing that both of them seem to have endless energy for.

The Lord is teaching me some amazing things and with this is mind I will rap up and give you your third challange. Take time to read the Word and then really meditate on the sacriface that Jesus made for us. Really try to understand the pain He felt, that He died knowing billions would reject what He did, and that although He was blameless His Father turned away from Him and poured out all the sin ever in the history of the world on to Jesus while He was hanging, bleeding, and dying on the torture device called the Cross. It is a truly awesome thing He did for us.

Love.