Odds and Ends

Mesmerized

This past week, as Sarah and I were killing time before boarding a taxi, I had one of those "Yes, we are definitely in Africa Moments". (Normally they come when we see herds of cows walking down a main street.) I was walking in this shopping area when I noticed that the guy walking next to me was carrying an AK-47. If you do not know what an AK-47 is then I suggest you Google it or go to YouTube. (As I type this Sarah says to me, "Why would anyone want to Google AK-47?" Seriously, if you don't know what it is look it up. It is a powerful weapon that is used in wars all over the world. Simply put, it is Nasty!) This may sound crazy, but I could not help but be mesmerized by it. This is probably the "crème of the crop" when it comes to guns. Honestly, I wanted to have my picture taken with the guy. I wanted to ask him if I could hold it. I had fantasy's of being Rambo for a moment, but, since he was a security guard and there was a large money transaction taking place, I decided it wasn't the right time.

 
 

Friday visitation

Last Friday we visited some of our students and families. Because of the houses we wanted to visit, I went with Tenneisha (Hands On M) and Ben (native translator). The first house was the home of one of my students and one of Tenneisha's. Other than using my deficient language skills to speak to their 4 year old brother as if he was a 40 year old man (and being called out on it by a 12 year old girl), it was a wonderful visit. The mother was very proud when we told her that her children were model students and very smart (which they are). We then went to visit another student who is in Tenneisha's group. We spoke to her grandmother about her and prayed with them all. Pray for this house because the grandmother is taking care of three children on her own.

 
 

African servers

I must get used to the type of service Africa delivers in their restaurants. Today we went to a hotel on the beach to eat lunch. We wanted to enjoy the beach but the weather would not cooperate so we decided to make the most of what we could. The funny thing I laughed at was when we asked the server about the desserts. Normally, in the States, the servers are quick to ask you if you would like dessert and have it all memorized in their head. When we asked our server about their desserts she said sheepishly, "Oh, I don't know…cake?" We ended up getting dessert, but not without a chuckle.

 
 

The Present

I have been very convicted about not enjoying the present. Specifically, my tendency is to think about the future more than the present and think about the past more than the present. So what ends up happening is that I don't enjoy the present until it becomes the past. I look forward to the future until it becomes the present. God is convicting me of this because the present is all I am guaranteed. The past cannot be changed and the future may never arrive, so therefore all I can do is live…in the present. This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalms 118:24 ESV)

 
 

Hang on

One of the more frustrating things about working in another culture is that your slang does not translate very well. I have documented some of the quirks of the South African language in a post entitled "Awkwardness", but recently it is becoming more apparent the quirks of my own language. For example, when one of my students wants me to see his work, but I am busy at the moment, I tell him, "Hang on." The problem was that he never would leave me alone. I didn't catch that he was clueless of what I was saying until he kept repeating one day: "Hang on, Hang on, Hang on." I guess he didn't know what he was supposed to "hang on" to?

Also, whenever I give a devotion I will ask questions of the group like, "So, what can we take away from this story?" To which nobody would answer. Sarah had to tell me that that might not be the best way to start a discussion. I found out that I was asking them if there is anything we can steal from this story.

 
 

Ben-Hur

Sarah and I recently watched the movie Ben-Hur. I was surprised that it so Christian. There is a lot of Jesus in the film and all of it is positive. I admit that it is hard to watch a Charleton Hesten film without saying, "Dang, dirty apes!" but I managed to only say it about 5 times. Also, what was interesting was that the film was rated G. Overall it was very clean except for the guy's face on fire, the whipping of slaves repeatedly, the trampling of a guy who fell of a chariot, the scenes of the lepers, and many men with spears going through their chests.

 
 

I leave you with this piece of wisdom: "Not every thought in your head is from God."