Home Is Where You Drag Two Large Bags And Have Internet Access

On 2 July my time in South Africa came to an end. People have been asking if it was sad to say goodbye to those I became close with there and my answer thus far has been consistent: it still hasn't set in that I've really left and won't be going back for probably two years. However, I do already realise that the friendships and connections I've made there will be ones I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Thus brings us to my travels from South Africa to the Faroe Islands to visit my sister Abby and her husband Ben. Unfortunately, I did not know that the trip via Qatar Air would end up costing me big bucks for overweight baggage, nor did I really plan on lugging my two very large and very awkward bags throughout London for four hours until I got to the International Student House on Great Portland Street where I stayed. Needless to say, it was quite the impromptu workout.

It has turned out to be worth it. The Faroe Islands are a very beautiful and epic place and my time with Abby and Ben has been great. I hadn't seen either of them since their wedding last summer and it has been great to reconnect and be a part of their lives for a time. As I'm writing this they are wrestling, teasing, and kissing each other. It seems an appropriate time to give a very resounding "Yuck!" coupled with a cute chuckle. I am enjoying how they love spending time with one another, Abby's joy of cooking, and Ben's passion and amazing talent for photography. It has also been great to have constant and reliable internet access, which has given me time to catch up with watching TV shows via the internet (The Office and Grey's Anatomy mostly) and chatting with people back home via Skype. I hope to talk to each and every one of you soon and know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers constantly.

#8: Take time to reflect on the many blessings the Lord has given you in your lives and thank and praise Him accordingly.

Grace and Peace.

Homesick Heartaches and South African Sand

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back to the blog Mr. Mick Westerman! (Applaud as you see fit.)

Ok, so its been awhile and my apologies for that, but no use crying over rancid 2 month old milk I always say. It has been a very busy, very eventful, and very good time here over the last few months since I've posted something real. 

Being in Vaalwater with Uncle Stu and Aunt Marilyn has been very nice and relaxing and I enjoy teaching the youth group on Saturday's, doing a small amount of volunteering at the Waterberg Welfare Society (WWS) an HIV/AIDS clinic started by people from the St. Johns Church that we attend, going to soup kitchen on Wednesdays, and hanging out with the older guys from Leseding throughout the week. I honestly never thought I would end up fitting in so well with such a completely different culture that the one in Leseding, but they have just accepted me like I were one of them. I've even been given a name: Thabo Gidli. Thabo means joy and Gidli means busy and nervous one. The latter name was given as more of a joke than anything but I hardly ever hear my Christian name called when I am with the youth or in the township. It has also been interesting how the longer I am here the less English they speak to me. I can't speak much Sotho still, but I've been amazed at how much I seem to be able to understand without actually understanding if you catch my drift. I will definitely miss this place and these people as much as any when the clock of my journey to South Africa strikes midnight.

Truth be told, I absolutely love this country. Not only is it so diverse in people and culture, but in wildlife and geographically as well. And for all the mess that has been going on here with governmental corruption and incompetence and the xenophobia the vast majority of South Africans make this place feel like it could be home one day. 

The entire Cook family has taken me in a treated me like I was just another member of the clan and none more so than the Wicks'. Obviously having been living up on the farm with Uncle Stu and Aunt Marilyn they have done more than I could have every asked for or expected, but their daughter Connie, her husband Billy, and their family (Jefferson, Jonathan, Morne, and Josh) have also been kind enough to take it upon themselves to make sure I see as much of SA as possible. I've been over to the farm that Jeff and Josh are building a game lodge on to see Cape Buffalo, go on giant rope swings into freezing rivers, and almost kill myself on a quad, I've been down to the coast at East London to play in the Indian Ocean (3 of 4 oceans for this guy now), see where they spent most of the boys childhoods, and almost kill myself by eating to much delicious food, and I've spent plenty of time in Joburg seeing the work that Connie and Billy are carrying on for Aletheia there and just enjoying the big city and the comfort of such an amazing family.

I also had the privilege of going to another men's retreat weekend at Cayara Men's Retreat. This one wasn't nearly as big as the Might Men's Conference, it only played host to about 250 men rather than 68,000, but it was still an amazing weekend of challenge and self-discovery. Cayara stand for "Come ye and rest awhile", how appropriate.

 I feel so blessed to have been able to make this trip and I thank each of you for you love and support in all the ways you have shown it to me. Please know that the Lord Jesus Christ is being served here and that His work is never finished, neither in our lives, nor in this world. Keep the faith brothers and sisters, and if you don't have it then find the faith my beloved friends and family. You are all in my prayers and with only a few weeks to go I look forward to seeing each of you. Oh, how I love the sand of Africa on my feet, but oh, how I long for the Wyoming wind on my face.

#7: Take the time to pray and reveal to God the deepest desires of your hearts and ask for them in accordance with His will. He knows us better than we know ourselves so we might as well not try and keep anything from Him. He is our ally, our best friend, our King, and our Creator, what a mighty God we serve!

Love.

Bad Days and Date Nights

Okay so I've become a terribly lazy blogger for the past month. Its been very busy and very good around here lately and I'll get to that just now, but I would like to rewind quickly and remember a few important dates in the last month.

April 18- Happy Anniversery Dad and Mum! Its hard to believe that it has been 15 years since our families blended and now I can hardly imagine life without Dad, Hannah, and Abby. The Lord has been ever faithful to us and I would say that has made all the difference in my walk with Him.

May 13- Rev. Charles Beck Westerman goes home. Just as hard as it is to believe that its been 15 years as a Kirkbride-Westerman, it is probably even more so that it has been 17 years since Dad Chuck has passed away. As I grow older the ways that I miss him are different. I wonder what he would say to my current situation, my future career decisions, and my woman troubles among many other things. One thing I do know: he would be extremely proud of the men of God that his boys are becoming and of the family that they are part of.

May 18- Char Char the Dog Face Boy graduates High School! What in the world happened to the whiny, bed-wetting, penny-swallowing 9 year old Dog Face? Now he's become an 18 year old gradation-speaking, Washington State University-attending, clever writing, whiny, bed-wetting, penny-swallowing Dog Face! We kid. But in all honesty (and trust me, I hate doing this in full view of everyone) I am so proud of my little brother and I love to brag on him to everybody from Wyoming to South Africa. I am so excited to see him go make his own tracks at WSU and I'm sure one day we'll be watching the 10 p.m. SportsCenter hosted by our very own Charles Westerman. I take comfort in the fact that I will still be able to pummel him like the very, very little girl he is, however.

May 30- Happy Birthday to Jer! The quarter-century mark for the ol' ACC Bandwagoner himself! It has been so good for me to be in Souix Falls, SD with my older brother the last 3 years. His level-headedness and rational approach to life has helped me out of many a tricky situation. I appreciate all the support he has given me as a brother and a best friend. NOW MAKE ME AN UNCLE DANGIT!!!

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.