Hey friends!
So hopefully with this blog post you will get fully up to date before I leave the country yet stay in the country. So I hope this blog post gets to you wonderful people and finds you well!
By the by, I hear that some friends of mine have had an epic feast and I would love to hear stories about people’s perspectives and how they found eating and feasting with some 80 people either facebook message me, or send me an e-mail and tell me a story about that wonderful evening.
Anyways, cool and exciting stories here from PMB, I guess I should explain the photos that got up onto the flickr page, because contrary to some people’s beliefs zebras don’t just wander around PMB. So I went on a game drive with some friends a couple of weeks back, I had a blast and a half. Incredible time. So we as a group (about 9 of us) piled into a large Convi sized van and went off to Howick to go for a game drive with a member from NCF church who manages the game reserve. Hilarious side note for you, as we were driving we let somebody off on the way, and we picked up a guy who was waiting for a minibus taxi and drove him to Howick with us. It was so odd but so very good of us to do as well. Anyways back to the main story, we went for a game drive so myself, and two others went in the back of one truck and the rest of them in the other truck. We drove into the bush and saw a variety of animals, including Boks (deer equivalent, think Springboks, except these were bush boks), Impala, wildebeests, zebras and several giraffes, as well as enjoying the stunning African landscape. Truly amazing scenery and sights. Giraffes are really tall in real life, and absolutely stunning. I always thought that the colouring was a bit odd, (Yellow with brown spots), but now I can see how effective it is during winter and fall when everything gets dry. Beautiful creatures just take a look at the pictures on flickr. Anyways after the game drive we had a braai and watched the rugby game (where South Africa lost to Australia by one kick. Terribly exciting way to lose). Then after that we got the meat on the braai and spent some time chilling out and chatting around the braai. We then ate together and had a wonderful evening getting to know people on a closer level. It was amazing afterwards to be able to watch Bafana Bafana play soccer with all of the guys and it gave me a solid opportunity to get to know them better.
Hmmm other good stories from my weeks... Well I have been playing more Touch Rugby and I am slowly getting better (it is starting to make much more sense and I am getting better each time I play). Also I got a pool pass so that I can stay in good swimming shape. So far I have only been twice. The first time I went it was on a very cool day, the sun had just come out but the temperature outside was in the cool twenties, and the pool was freezing. I swam about 200m before my arms were just not willing to work anymore. The other time that I went swimming I went about double that before I realized that I was really tired. That was on the hottest day this past week. I went back to my room utterly exhausted, and downed about 1.5L of water right afterwards. After that I napped for 45 min but still I was really out of it. But still the weather here is right hectic. So that same day (It was Wednesday this past week) I went to chat with Emily (which was a wonderful chat in spite of my being exhausted from the heat). But by the time we finished (Less than 2 hours later) it had rained briefly and the temperature had dropped by like 10 degrees or more! Just amazing! I walked back to my dorm room a bit chilled but smiling in disbelief. For a day that was like 35-36 degrees Celsius with no wind to drop to low 20s in the course of like an hour and a half was just incredible. (I was complaining about it to Emily during our conversation but I got proved wrong). Then Thursday this week was just miserable and Cold, but John came over and we chatted for a bit and he drove me to the mall so I could get a hat and he could get some things for his family back in Zimbabwe. So we went to the mall and I got a wonderful hat (for 30$ or so, which is a steal when you see my hat that I got).
Other than that this past week has been really quiet, I didn’t have class this past week on Thursday, and My Friday class was also cancelled so I have had three days of no classes in a row (right before a Vacation as well).
Oh and two more stories for you before I am done writing this blog post (I was just checking to make sure I don’t double up on stories).
Firstly A couple of weeks back I took a very important test. So the Theology department (led by a class dealing with HIV/AIDs and theology) organized a testing campaign on our campus. It was an excellent event (though possibly one of the scariest things I have ever done). So on Wednesday (several weeks back now... crazy) I went out to go to the clinic to get a VCT test done, at first I walked past. I was totally freaking out, I was nervous, and not sure if I wanted to hear my results even if I did get tested. So I walked past and went to the LAN (though it was closed and locked up because of the Strike on Campus that day). So I went back in the direction of the clinic. And After almost walking past I convinced myself to do it. Really I need to convince myself. It was scary to think that if I get tested I could test either HIV positive or HIV Negative. But the thing that made me decide was that it is more dangerous to keep living HIV ignorant in our world of vulnerability today. So I went and got tested. They did a tremendous job and spent between 45min to an hour with each of the people who were going to get tested. They started with a counselling session to discuss and talk about HIV. Talk about the fears, and what happens either way, prevention, and what HIV actually is. Which put me much more at ease to hear either result from the test. So I went and they took a blood sample from me (using a spring loaded needle much like how a diabetic would test for blood sugar levels), and then put it to the test. They took two samples in case the first sample came back positive they could do a second test to be sure. If the two tests were in disagreement they would do a third test and that would be the deciding vote. After then sitting for 15 min to wait for the results (which was extremely nerve racking). I got called back to the tent for a consultation about what the results were and what that meant for me. So now officially I am no longer the most dangerous status of HIV-Ignorant.
(by the way if you are wondering what my status is that is really none of your business, if you need to know it I would tell you, the truth about it is that HIV is just a disease with many ways to contract it, in fact most people should be testing yearly. Even in monogamous relationships, if you get an injection, get surgery, have a tattoo, or get a piercing you put yourself just as much as at risk as if you are engaged in promiscuous sexual activity as an uncircumcised male. HIV means the HUMAN Immuno-deficiency Virus, if you are HUMAN you are susceptible to the virus so everyone is vulnerable). So my status is HIV-Aware, and as such I am able to know how to protect myself and other people, and I can start eradicating the stigma that is around the disease. Like Jesus in John chapter 9 the question isn’t who sinned, or what sin, but How can the Glory of God be displayed. (I tell you these Christians all ways looking to accuse... just kidding, but seriously) Cheers eh!)
The other story is about a church that I went to this past week. It will remain anonymous as I am going to be critical of certain aspects about it. Firstly it is definitely a neo-charismatic church (not that all neo-charismatic churches are like this but that is probably the quickest and most easy definition of this church). I went on a Sunday with a friend from here at the Varsity, and it was an interesting experience to say the least. Firstly the Pastor of the church came to the front and announced this church’s vision for the next couple of months that it was going to be a period of harvest and growth for this church. They were hoping to have 4000 added to their church before the end of the year and to do this they would have at least 300 committed evangelists stepping up and reaching out to friends that were not yet ‘saved’. (I do need to interject to say that I am not a person who believes that this is out of line, I think big vision for growth is a good thing, but the processes and the means are important, yet again I think as a Christian if I had two people who came to know who God is in a deep and meaningful way than 4000 people who just become another face in the crowd I would be twice as overjoyed. I have fears about things trying to get that big that fast as when things are that big there is always a big back door, and people disappear more easily.) The biggest problem that I had with it was that they were going to keep a tally of the number of each person saved next to the name of the evangelist. It just sat really funny with me. Next the sermon was just very hard to deal with. Though it had some valid points just it was not absolute on the subject. The pastor was starting a sermon series on “Taming the Mind”. He was making links between being in control of your inner being making you healthy. I will give him the fact that certain emotions are related to certain health problems but they are only one factor of many factors for many of the problems. His theology left a very slippery slope by which he could easily lead people to believe that if they are in control of their mind then they will never get sick. (Which can lead to all sorts of problems as people then might believe that they don’t need hospitals or medicine for certain disorders, or that they don’t actually have those disorders.) Ughh just a very odd experience. Another odd point in his preaching was that he was suggesting that we as believers need to be colonizing our own minds. Honestly, we as believers need to accept and allow Jesus to be king in fullness (not us claiming our own selves as Jesus’ own...). The action of being transformed comes from God’s action not from our own listening to and filling up our mind with Christian materials. Again it leads itself into a very dangerous realm of an ‘I’ centered Christianity. So it begins to look more like chrIstIanIty rather that CHRISTianity. (I hope that you get what I am saying. Individualism is problematic for Christianity, as it puts too much importance on the one and not upon the One who is actually important in our communities.).
Anyways, sorry for the lengthy rant about a bad experience in a church, there were positives like hanging out with my friend that I haven’t had a chance to hang out with, and I can identify more clearly problematic dimensions in certain theologies. But I am super excited for tomorrow, as I get to pack. I did laundry today so my room smells of the detergent and fabric softener. So keep your eyes open for the next blog post going up by tomorrow night: Andrew is out of the Country yet in the Country... (Just think about it). And I will tell you all about my travel plans.
Peace and Blessings!
(PS thanks to those of you who sent me emails and stories, I love and appreciate getting stories, and It may be then that I will even tell you and extra story! I hope you guys are all doing well!)
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