Joshua's Blog

Wow, the real amazing thing is, even though I now have access to 'on all the time highspeed internet' at the house I am staying at (Sharron and Llewellyn's) I have less time to do many of the things I want/should do! Wierd eh? See, South Africa is much like North America or Europe... it's very developed, it's a whole different world compared to Central Africa. But along with that, comes the the capitalism and disconnectedness that is so common to the more developed countries. It seems that we get so caught up and busy with so many things but in the end accomplish so little... So I guess I haven't given an update for a while... Let's get on with 'er! a break down of the past few days.... (excuse the spelling and grammar... I didn't reread this one and I have a feeling it's heavy with errors!)

Well, as you know, I arrived on Wed. afternoon... chilled out with the family, of course has some of the best curry in the world! (You people really can't grasp or understand the depth of just how much better the food is here! :P) Anyways, yes, enjoyed my first evening, exposed the whole family to a pepper called Pilipili... it's a pepper grown in Rwanda which I have come to love very much... although you must be very careful with it, only a couple drops on a large plate is needed because it is EXTREMELY potent... (I had the 'wonderful' experience of being able to accidentally eat one of these cooked yellow peppers whole... honestly... kidney-stones or child birth would probably be better!) Anyways... back on with the story! The whole family was trying it (I was very surprised to how hot they found it! Usually they use TONS of spices and peppers in their cooking, but they found it quite hot!) Then Llewellyn decided that he should give 'er a try! I have to explain a bit, see, I didn't bring the peppers themselves, I brought an extract of the stuff, mixed in with oil in a small bottle... the bottle is a very thick plastic and the opening is just wide enough to allow drops to come through. You are NOT suppose to squeeze the bottle, just tip it over and have the patience to wait for the drops to come out. Well I wasn't paying attention enough to warn Llewellyn about this and so he squeezed the bottle. What makes the matters even worse is that he didn't pop off the lid! So I'm sure your imaginations are well formed enough to know exactly what happened... squeeze, squeeze... struggle struggle... BOOM! Sprayed his whole food! He ate it, and of course that was quite entertaining!

Thursday basically was just relaxing... rented some movies, went for some walks and a drive... nothing to big of a deal

Friday we went to say hello to Clinton and his new 3.somethin' Kg baby girl named Grace! I tell you, his boy Jeremiah has grown SO much! He's talkin' and living life large! Of course it's assumed that grace looks just like any other normal baby always does... an animated sack of potatoes! But she's got her mom's nose, and lots of hair... One can only assume she will be quite the beautiful girl! Again pray for Clinton and his family... he has moved over five times since I was last here (due to good and bad situations) and he's finally found a good home which has Christian land-lords, nice area, lots of room in the yard... We all really hope that this will be a home that they can stay in for a while... especially with a new baby in their midsts!

Saturday was quite fun... the day was pretty much spend preparing a presentation for the evening. Llewellyn invited a bunch of the youth to come over for some Brai (BBQ) and to hear me talk about Rwanda. I spoke on dreams and ambitions (a usual title I choose for young people who will be graduating soon) and man... I tell you, it was great... many of you know when talking to a crowd if you are getting through... It's not always obvious, sometime you can just sense that things are going well... that what you are saying is being received... this was one of those moments! I spoke very frankly about the struggles they have living in Mitchell's Plain and very directly to the lies and whispers the enemy speaks... and I hope that it will inspire some of them to dream, or at least experience for a time, life outside of helping themselves! The great thing is, it's not just a preach and run situation (that normally frustrates the heck out of me!) I know that Sharron and Llewellyn have and will do follow up on these kids... okay, I'm rambling, carry on Josh...

Sunday I left with Errol to church, but there has been many things that have changed in Errol's life, including his church. I will not go into to many details (because both time's sake and the nature of broadcasting something like that over the internet!) Summed up version... Pastor Ricky started adopting some new philosophies and even a new mentor... his leadership style was changing... and his sermons began twisting what the bible says. He has adopted a 'prosperity teaching' view on scriptures... For people who do not know what this is, it basically rests on the concept that with the gifts we give God (really it means money, and not God... the church/pastor) God will bless you back with 'interest'. Kinda like a celestial mutual fund! Except I have never met a congregation member who have received God's '100 - fold - blessing' but I definitely have met the pastor of a church like that driving up in his new Mercedes-Benz! (only one of 5 high-class vehicles he owns!) now you must understand, I've become a little jaded toward this subject. Three reasons... one, because I am just plain tired of hearing the same sermon preached from church to church, it doesn't really change "people, for you to receive God's store-houses of goods, you must let go of your money and give give give!" ... two, because it preys upon people in poverty, many people who I care about very much battle with severe poverty and it makes things that much more difficult when you hear that you aren't going to receive God's blessings or you aren't really devoted to God's kingdom unless you give more money! ... three... it's not biblical! The most frustrating thing of all is it's all based on loosely thrown together twists of scripture and takes one idea or phrase presented in the bible and grossly blows it out of context with what the passage, book, culture or author is trying to say! This is not saying that God does not bless... that God is not the provider... I've received God's blessings and abundance (and yes, some of it was in worldly 'things' and money!) but the problem is that there is an ARMY of people being trained to pursue and serve God for little more than a hand out! If I smooze God in the right way, he'll make me rich! God should be served because he's God! If or if he doesn't bless you, he's our king and he can do what he wants... period... (as you can tell, I'm a little perturbed about this subject...!)

I'm sorry, but I just finished a day of hearing and learning all about a severe church split of a church that I loved very much. You should have seen the unique and inventive ideas and approaches these people had before... truly inspiring actions done for the betterment of the community! And now the church has been torn! As you can assume, Errol and his family do not attend their church any more, they now do house church at various members houses. But this split has turned things very ugly... not so much from the house churches side, but there is so much distention from the people who remained at the church. Friendships destroyed, and lives rearranged... all in the pursuit of money! (I am SO glad that Errol and his family where on the end of saying no to that kind of ideology) I think I'm going to stop there... but please pray for this situation, pray for Pastor Ricky, the church, Errol and the house church he is over seeing.

So anyways, I'm staying with Errol for a few days. Some other news in Errol's life... in the time that I was gone he was teaching in a secondary school, and has now decided to go back to university to obtain his masters. I will be with him for the next few days (until wed. morning).

I believe that is all for now... give me grace with my emotional response to what is going on... definitely still a fresh thing I'm hashing out! And please, do not forget or stop praying now that I'm in a more affluent area of the world... if anything I need more prayer here that anywhere! Apparently Capetown has now surpassed Johannesburg's reputation for being murder capital of the world and is now has been ushering in a new level of violence, drug use, and perversions. I am of course under God's grace and protection, but only through prayer will my efforts actually make a difference and be able to encourage the people who have to live in this land.

As always, love you all... see you in a few short weeks... Joshua