I just realized that one of my favorite authors, Jane Jacobs, in her book, "The Death and Birth of Great American Cities", stated that the one of the biggest obstacles to affordable, integrated, housing and integrated cities is the combination of zoning laws and neighborhood covenants. I would add to this Socialized Parking supported by Parking Requirements.

For a start, check out:

There has been a great deal of discussion in our county on whether the Wake County should abandon the program that buses children from their neighborhoods to schools in other neighborhoods in order to maintain balance of children from more well-to-do families and those from less well-to-do families.

I believe that it is possible to work for Integrated Neighborhood schools. That would imply that we have neighborhoods that are integrated economically. So the question is: what is it that keeps neighborhoods segregated economically? One of the factors is zoning and neighborhood covenants. Many of these mandate that only certain lot sizes or certain house sizes and that houses and business be built with parking privileges attached to them.

Things that need to be discussed are:
What is the purpose of zoning?
Why is it necessary?
Who is in favor of it?
Does it shut out the working poor from living in much of the city/county?
Does it, in effect, segregate?

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I didn’t think I could stretch the gap between two blogs more than the previous two, but apparently I can. Way too much has happened since my last entry. I will try to briefly tell some of the things which I have done and been doing.

Firstly, Cape Town has so clearly and effectively became a home away from home. I have grown to love this place and its people immensely. Every day is a clear demonstration of God’s great love towards me and I am grateful beyond words for where He has lead me. I did write a ‘newsletter’ of sort for my church so I’m just going to copy some of that on here and then tell you a bit more

Two and a half months have gone by since I first landed at Cape Town International Airport. Though I haven’t been as disciplined about my blog duties as I should have been, I hope you may have been able to follow some of my experiences and their due reflections throughout these first essential weeks. They have been an incredible time of appreciation towards the bountiful amount of blessings which God has bestowed upon me. A time of constant reflection reflected through action. In other words, a time where the lessons I learn are not just being kept within me, but represented in the love which I wish to show others in my daily life.

I want to give you a little idea of where I am today. I am continuing to live in Ocean View, located in the Southern Peninsula of Cape Town. It is a vibrant Coloured township which few to no foreigners take chances to live in (I believe the Princes are one of two white families.) It has a large Muslim population; I’ve heard 40% of the 40,000 people living here. Its negative reputation doesn’t do the positives justice. Despite, and perhaps because of the insecurity and high crime rate, there is an incredible feeling of community and communal protection. Everyone knows everyone and their business and news spreads quite quickly. Neighbors keep an eye out for each other’s well being. This concept has been made clear to me in a few occasions. On one of them, I had left my scooter parked outside, thinking my family would be back at about 7 PM, before we move it in the house at nightfall. I was going to be gone until late that evening but knew that my family would keep an out to make sure no one got too curious towards the bike. As it turns out, my family didn’t get back until 11 PM. Seeing that nobody was home, my neighbor across the street kept a nervous eye on the scooter. After half an hour of this, he decided it would be best if he moved the bike into his own house, just to assure the 5 guys wandering up the street at the time wouldn’t proceed past their prying looks. As soon as my family pulled in, he hastily made his way over to explain the situation. Though I’ll never be able to tell if it really needed to be taken away into his home, it was a great opportunity for me to really appreciate the community in which I lived.

Casey and Sarah Prince live just a few blocks away, making it quite comfortable for me to pop in whenever I need. Their yard continues to be a safe haven for Ocean View’s children. Whether they show up to play soccer, ride their bikes, or just hang out, it is a great opportunity for us to show them the love of Jesus Christ. I find it incredible and worrisome that they are allowed to wander around all day, implying a lack of family structure in their lives. While we will never be able to fully supplement the absence of their parents, hopefully our presence may give them a sense of self worth.

Though simply spending time with the children has been a great form of ministry and relationship building, our official Ubuntu Sports Outreach clinics have been greatly successful as well. The first ones were held at the beginning of December, the last week of school. Because we are in Africa, children spent the last two weeks of school doing absolutely nothing. When Casey and I showed up to let them know that we wanted to play soccer with the kids, the principals and teachers were eager and excited that we would be giving their students something productive to do. The clinics took place in four different primary schools. Two, Marine and Kleinberg, are in Ocean View, a few blocks from my house. Another, in Masipuhmelele, the Black township just 5 minutes down the road. The last clinic took place in Simon’s Town, the white Navy town just around the Peninsula. In the smallest clinic, only 8 kids showed up; in the largest, 40 or so kids made their way down to play with us. While we would love to reach out to a great number of kids, it can be really hard to handle that many 9 to 13 year olds. All the same, the clinics were greatly successful and seemed to effectively let kids know what we were all about.

While I am not playing soccer with the kids, with Ubuntu or not, I have been working a bit with Living Hope, the large AIDS organization in the Southern Peninsula. There, I go to Kid’s club in Capricorn, a mixed township where many refugees have made their home. I spend about 2 hours playing with these amazing kids, most of them aged 4 to 11. It is an incredibly rewarding experience to able to love these kids to whom affection is rarely shown. While at club they are also fed, as that is often the only meal they receive for the day.

As part of being here, I inevitably go through the process of knowing myself. The thing which I have found out, however, is that the only way of truly knowing yourself is doing so through others. This is the basic idea of the word Ubuntu. The concept explains that everyone is interconnected, that everyone’s well being is directly correlated with the well being of others. During Apartheid, Desmond Tutu explained that the dehumanization of the victims was equally as dehumanizing toward the perpetrators. When the White police treated the Blacks like animals, they themselves became animal-like. Through a translation into my life, I have found that the love and goodness that I show others is the love that Jesus Christ shows me. My devotion to others is what makes me a follower of His. It is a concept which may make more sense in my head than I am capable of verbally explaining.

Through the last three months I have also discovered that I find myself relating more to those older than me than to people my age. It may be because I rarely get to be with people my age or because most of my friends are in their mid twenties. This has made the thought of going back home and going to college a bit of a challenge.

That was some of my newsletter. I figured I should tell you a bit about the awesome places I’ve visited as well.

I think it was between Christmas and New Years that I visited Boulder’s Beach. This place is a magnificent one not just because of its stunning view; it is also the home of many African Penguins, formerly known as Jackass Penguins. They are the best combination of goofy and cute in any living creature. I think most of you have a general idea of how penguins walk. This, and the way the jump in and out of the water, made for a humorous excursion. The best part of visiting the penguins was when me, and the two friends I was with, took a nap among their home. Lying on a giant boulder with one of the most amazing views of the Ocean, quietly listening to my iPod’s speakers, and watching the penguins walk two feet in front of me as if I wasn’t there, all the while dozing in and out of sleep, was an overwhelmingly great experience.

There are times like these, or like when I see myself driving a manual scooter on the wrong side of the road, which simply make me smile. The scooter part mainly makes me laugh, but seeing where I am today brings me great happiness. With this happiness also comes an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness towards my Heavenly Father.

I also saw baboons for my first time. On our way to Cape Point, 20 or so of them were hanging out by the road. They’re angry, funny looking creatures. However, they are also some of the smartest animals in the world. The stories you hear about them are incredible. If you throw something at them, they throw it back. When breaking into a house, they will send the smallest one through a small open window so that he then opens the big window for the rest to come in. If you’re in a car taking pictures of them with an open window, one will distract you to take pictures while another sneaks in on the other side of the car where no one is looking. They’ll go through your backpack and steal all your food while leaving everything else behind. To me it’s quite humorous, but they are obviously quite dangerous as well.

Staying on the topic of dangerous animals, there was a shark attack last week in the beach that I go to just 10 minutes away. A Great White, the size of a mini bus, or about 20 ft long, devoured a 30-some year old Zimbabwean. I think that’s the only attack since I’ve been here, but the shark flag has gone up 3 different times while I’ve been at the beach. They try to keep this information from the public, but apparently there are around 30 of them in the area. The father of the house where I live works in the Navy, who is responsible for keeping track of everything going on underwater.

During the holidays I also got to visit Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. The views from the top of the mountain there are simply breathtaking. Cape Point is the southernmost tip of Africa. The Cape of Good Hope is the peninsula that all the European explorers had to sail around when trading with India. As a history lover, I couldn’t believe that I got to be there.

This past Saturday I got to go to the first ever game played in Green Point Stadium (the World Cup venue in Cape Town). While the soccer was terrible, it was an awesome and exciting time. Being in a World Cup is going to be the single most exhilarating, purely joyful things that I ever do. If you can’t tell, I’m pretty pumped about it.

I’ve done a lot more touristy stuff but my brain is worn out so I’m just going to tell you about things that actually matter.

The holidays were the hardest time for me so far. Christmas and the weeks preceding it were the first time that I truly missed home. Every once in a while I get to missing Raleigh, but the holidays were more consistently home sick times. I spent Christmas morning at Church and then with the Princes eating at some friend’s house here in Ocean View. I did really enjoy New Years though. One of the churches that I attend the most and where a lot of good friends are, holds a New Year’s service every year. While it may sound like a strange concept to us at home, I thought it was an awesome idea. You are receiving the New Year in the House of our Father with people whom you love. It would be pretty cool if churches in the U.S caught on to this tradition.

Please continue to pray for me as I hit the three month mark. I have just over 5 months to spend here and it really is going to be terribly hard to leave. While I am excited about getting home and seeing everybody, I realize how hard it will be to be back in Raleigh and leave everything in Cape Town behind. Through the power of prayer, I have made Cape Town my home away from home. It will undoubtedly be hard for me to leave the friendships, my home, the kids, and the city itself.

Please pray for the youth of South Africa, that they may get to know Christ in a very real and personal way. That this year, such a huge year for the country, will be one where the love of Jesus is revealed to the children that Ubuntu is working with. Pray that our work here may be efficient and broad; that we may be able to represent the love which is shown to us every day. Even though this is closer to you than me, please pray for the people of Haiti. That hearing the stories will break our hearts as it does God’s.

I love you all very much and miss you and hope that you don’t freeze during these cold minds.

Love,

Andy

It has now been closer to a month than a week since my last blog. My internet usage is quite restricted as it is dependent on my own transportation which for the past few weeks had been non-existent; I just bought a scooter but have yet to buy a helmet. But a lot has happened since my last post so I’m going to try to summarize and be brief. That’s always a challenge so please bear with me.
I have now gone to the beach a few times. My first time was with my family when we went for 4 hours to an incredible tidal pool 5 minutes away from the house. The water was brought in over the walls by the crashing waves of the freezing Atlantic Ocean. It’s incredible to be laying in this beautiful clear water completely surrounded by mountains and ocean on a perfect day. Really sacrificing myself to be here.
The second time I was at the beach was with the Living Hope volunteers. Again the water was as close to freezing as it can be without becoming ice, quite literally intolerable. But it was a lot of fun. Second time we went surfing to a nearby beach which is supposed to be the surf capital of world, which sounds a lot more intimidating than it seemed to me. It just means that the 90% of the people who live there do so for the surfing.
A few Saturdays ago I also got to go “caving” with Casey and Matt Berry. Not really knowing what I was agreeing to go to, I went along. After about an hour and a half worth of hiking, half of which was spent figuring out where on the mountain we were, we delved into a giant crevice on the side of one of Cape Town’s many mountains. We went through and found ourselves on the other side of this giant natural structure of rock and dirt. It was a lot of fun.
The Prince’s yard continues to be a community center for the kids of Ocean View. It was expanded to more than just soccer which can be both good and bad. We often need to kick out the teenagers who for some reason think it’s ok to smoke a hookah in someone’s backyard. Casey also had to speak to the guys who smoke marijuana right on the outside of the yards cement wall. Things like this, along with inevitable but infrequent fights between the kids, can make everything quite exhausting.
I’m not going to talk much about it because it is still a bit fresh on my heart and my reflection on it will likely be kept within my family, but my Grandma passed away on Saturday the 28th. It’s hard for me to think of her as dead so instead I like to think that she just got a promotion. I, as well as my family, am a direct reflection of who she was. There was concern for me during this time as I was away from the comfort of mourning with my family. My family, nuclear and extended, figured that I may be having a very hard time due to the fact that I was here by myself, without anyone to share my pain. But as horribly sad as I was, I realized that at no moment I had felt alone. I have come to form such a personal and REAL relationship with God that I genuinely felt the presence of my Father with me during this time. My biological family may have been thousands of miles away, but my Father and Creator was right there with me, suffering as I did over the temporary loss of an AMAZING woman. I’m never alone. He will always be by my side. There is a song in Peter Pan that says: “Me and my shadow, my shadow and me. We’re always together, as close as can be.” This is a bit how I feel about my relationship with my Father.
This past week we also got to go to the World Cup draw festival. I don’t know if it’s worth trying to tell you how incredible it is to be here during these preparatory months before the World Cup. If you’re reading this then you know how IN-LOVE I am with soccer. I would say it’s like a child in Disney World for the first time but that isn’t anywhere near as exciting as the festival and events like it. There were around 150,000 people lining Long Street and the streets that intersect it. There were Germans, Koreans, Brazilians, Dutch, Argentines, Nigerians, Americans, Scots (not sure why considering they dint even qualify), South Africans, and every other nationality you can imagine; which also made for a lot of beautiful girls. There was an incredibly healthy blend of nationalistic pride and global community in accordance with the festivities that should accompany such an event. I kept getting goose bumps as I walked through the crowds. It’s just one of those moments in your life where you are happy beyond your mind.
On December 2nd through the 6th I attended a conference at the University of Cape Town with Sarah Prince. Its aim was to bring together some of the most prominent scholars on the topic of Restorative Justice and Psychological Trauma in post-conflict societies to discuss different approaches which they found successful in help healing those affected by trauma. The topics were absolutely fascinating to me. Some of the sessions I attended included “The Silent Narrative of Violence – The Transgenerational impact of Violence on Children in South Africa Today,” ”Are any actions unforgivable,” “Speaking at the Limits of the Human: Witnessing ‘The Greatest Silence, Rape in the Congo,” and “Transgenerational Transmission of Holocaust Survivor Process of Dialogue between a Holocaust Survivor and his Descendents through Three Generations.” The other topics were related to the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda, violence in Northern Ireland, Xenophobia violence South Africa, the Romanian genocide, and the Chivu Conflict. While these topics may not be that interesting to everybody, it was fascinating (and disturbing) to get to listen to the narratives of the people affected by these atrocities and to hear the research been done by in these societies.
To hear some of the stories that took place during the different genocides and how the survivors must now live along their perpetrators is surreal. You literally cannot believe that humans are capable of such inhumanity. It was all the more real when you had survivors themselves, just 5 feet away, sharing their story. Babies being decapitated by child soldiers and thrown into the trash right in front of their mothers, seeing your family burned alive by your next door neighbor, having your lips and ears cut off by the man you used to buy bread from. You wouldn’t believe the things people did. As hopeless as hearing all this for a week can be, it also affirmed my belief that there are some situations out of which nothing can get you other than the promise of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to forgive your family’s murderers by your own human capacity for compassion. In these circumstances, nothing can give you the strength to forgive except the empowerment of love that Jesus’ gave us.
During the conference I also got to meet one of the men who I truly admire the most. The most exciting part of the whole week was meeting Desmond Tutu, twice. He first spoke on the second day of the conference and was presented with an award on the fourth day. The first time he was there was to have a ‘roundtable discussion’ where he would answer a question from 6 distinguished scholars who were attending the conference. Listening to their questions was SO annoying. Instead of asking the damn questions, these idiots babbled for like 5 minutes about themselves and the work they were doing, trying to impress someone who they were inevitably impressed with. But through his humor and simple manner, Desmond dismissed the fanciness and answered the questions as a true man of God. The night before, Sarah had asked the speaker, who recollected narratives from Rwanda survivors, about the importance of faith in the process of reconciliation. His answer was so sad as he spoke about the Church’s hypocrisy and how it had no room to talk after being on the wrong side of so much violence. Hearing Desmond speak so unashamedly as a pawn in God’s Kingdom was so refreshing and encouraging. He really is an incredible man.
On a lighter subject, Ubuntu had its first clinics this week. School ended last Friday, and since school is a joke in South Africa, especially in Ocean View, the kids were literally doing nothing when they attended. Attendance was 25% for the last two weeks and the ones who did attend just ran around the yard and did whatever they wanted. That said, it was a great accomplishment to get a good amount of 5th and 6th grade boys to show up to play soccer with us. Casey wrote more about it on the Ubuntu blog (www.ubuntusports.org) if you would like to find out more about it. Basically, it was successful in getting our name out there and letting the kids know who we are. The clinic included some fun drills and games along with a 10 minute period where we got to speak to the kids about a particular character trait as it relates to Christ; this is the basic structure for all Ubuntu events. This week we spoke about confidence and self-worth and how our true feelings of worth coming from being children of God. I would say that between the three, there was an average of 20-25 kids in each. We’ll have another clinic with the same kids during the first week of January, before school starts.
I’m getting tired of writing so I’ll tell you the rest very briefly.
I got a scooter on Saturday. It is manual and it drives very well. It will be very nice to depend on myself for transportation.
I think I’m going to Robben Island this Saturday. As someone who respects and admires Nelson Mandela so much so as to call him a role model, I am very excited.
I find out if I got in to NC State tomorrow. I am curious and excited to find out what happens, but at the same time, I am having a really hard time thinking about going back and hearing about the ‘problems’ people at home may face. I have another 7 months here but I am already preparing mentally for the impact that I will face when I have to go back.
Thank you so much for reading this. I would think it’s quite exhausting and even boring to read but it is encouraging to know that you are interested in what God is doing in other parts of the world. I know I need to make these things shorter but it is a big challenge for me.
Please continue to pray for me and all of the people here. Pray that Ubuntu’s injection into our community may be well accepted and successful. Our success is just another brick in building God’s Kingdom. I will be praying for everyone at home, that we may realize how blessed we are and how much responsibility comes with the empowerment of God’s blessings on us. I encourage you to not be a half-ass Christian but to be a TRUE follower of Christ in all ways, despite our failures and shortcomings.
My email is andychenlo@hotmail.com in case you would like to have it. I would enjoy hearing how you are doing back home. Please understand that my internet access is very limited.

Love,

Andy

... makes me feel invincible. It's true. Even though I swear I'm not going to do one, I find that not much tops the feeling of that beautifully crafted 15-pager staring back at me in the sweet morning light. It's a time when my paradoxical traits of procrastination and perfectionism combine to form my little typing frenzy.

Sorry for taking so long to put this up. I’ve had a hard time getting internet for a while.
Another good week has gone by. I am now living with the Marthinus family, and they are wonderful. Julian is the father, Shermaine the mother, and Sharmina is the 17 month old girl. Though it was quite a change to finally leave the Prince’s household, they have been wonderful in making sure I feel welcome and at home. I’m getting settled into my room, slowly taking in the fact that I will be living here for another 8 months or so. It’s very weird to settle into a home which is not truly your own, yet you must treat it as if it were.
This past week, as the others, went by very quickly. The past Sunday I, along with Casey, Sarah, and Mike Jenkins, went to Hillsong Church. Some of you may have heard of their ministry or at least of their music, more likely the latter whether you know it or not. I won’t be able to give you too much information but I know that they are a Sydney Based Church whose song and albums have been increasing in fame over the past few years. Many of their songs have caught the attention of big name Contemporary Christian singers including Chris Tomlin, and David Crowder Band. The service had about 250 people and was held in the fancy Cape Town International Convention Center. The sermon was given by Phil Dooley, the head pastor who moved here a few years back after leading an incredibly successful youth ministry in Australia.
They also organized a ‘Men’s Conference’ this past Friday and Saturday. Casey, Mike Jenkins, a good friend, Shagmie, and I, attended. There were around 350 men (my guess.) Over the two days, 4 sermons/messages were given by Phil and another Australian pastor, Steve Penny. They spoke of ‘serving Christ as broken men’, ‘love, sex, and marriage’, ‘always finding a way’, and I don’t remember the other : / When three different sessions were offered, I chose to attend the one speaking about “Becoming A True Man Of God.” It was an amazing 45 minutes that really seemed directed at me in many ways. Jon Norman, the speaker, talked about managing each of our weaknesses which too often lead us away from God. The visual metaphors and examples he used really spoke to me in the way I must handle my weaknesses in order to stay a man of faith. It was a greatly useful time.
Saturday was also my birthday. From 9-4:30, I was in the Hillsong Conference. When I returned home, I spent a few hours at the Prince’s, playing soccer with the kids there. It was a lot of fun, and I found out they all think I’m in my mid 20’s. They kept guessing I was 23, 24, 25, I even got 28 years old. I know they’re still young but there is no way I look or act anywhere near that age. But I suppose I am in my last year of being a teenager. It sucks. I’ve talked to a lot of people who have tried to comfort me saying that my tough teenage year will be over and life picks up afterward. I wish they knew how great my teen years have been. I’m really unhappy about the fact that I can’t help getting older. Generally speaking, these past 6 years, along with the previous 13, have been the best years of my life.
The Marthinus wouldn’t be home for the rest of the day, so instead of coming home and being bored on my own, I went with Shagmie and some of his friends from Church to Century City, one of the biggest malls I have ever seen. It was fun to be able to spend time with them, learning some Afrikaans as well. Which leads me to my next point; I’m not sure how much you guys know about South Africa’s history, but I’m guessing you know enough to know that it was a Dutch and British colony, not sure in what order. Afrikaans is the Dutch dialect language spoken by the Afrikaners (White Dutch South Africans) during the time in which they first came to the country. I knew people here spoke it, but I figured it would only be a small percentage of the population. As it turns out, I was wrong. Just about every white and coloured person speaks it as their first language. When they speak to each other they don’t speak English, the speak Afrikaans. On Tuesday and Wednesday I went to a special youth-aimed service. After we were done with the music, this girl was supposed to come up and share this incredible testimony. I was really excited to hear the way God had worked in her life and the amazing turnaround that she had. Little did I know, her whole testimony was in Afrikaans. It seemed so exciting and some people even cried. I wanted so bad to understand and be inspired but it’s kind of hard to do when you don’t understand the language. So from now on I have decided to try to learn some Afrikaans. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’ll also mention that the Black population speaks Xhosa. This is the clicking language, though it’s not quite as exciting as you are probably thinking. The actual clicking is used once or twice every 3 or 4 sentences. But it is pretty cool.
This week I was blessed enough to go to one of the support groups that Sarah is helping lead. The Princes know this amazing family of Congolese refugees. It’s a 30-something year old couple with two young kids; a 3 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. They live in Capricorn, a poor township about 25 minutes from where we live in Ocean View (realize that when I say poor, I don’t mean public housing. It’s actually poor; houses/shacks made out of cardboard and scrap metal poor. Nothing like anything you can find in the U.S.) It was a group of about 10 other women, one from Rwanda, and the rest from different parts of Congo. I took three years of French in high school, so it was really funny to see how I would live up to the challenge of understanding and communicating with these women. I must compliment my teacher, because I could actually hold a decent conversation, much to my surprise, and understand almost all of their enthusiastic prayer.
As I sat there with my Aeropostle jeans and Nike winter jacket, I could not help but feel bad about myself. I have no doubt in the strength and trueness of my faith. Yet as I watched these women with hurt in their eyes, I almost felt invalid as a Christian. I hadn’t heard their stories, but I kept imagining the terrible pain that these people had experienced. These are the people who have experienced things like the Chivu conflict first-hand. They had lived through the Rwanda Genocide. I’m sure many of their friends and family members had died from the atrocities of humanity. If it weren’t for their decision to flee, their children would have been potential victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army. And there I was, having just graduated high school, what college to attend being my biggest worry. I almost felt unworthy of their presence. When we finally got to pray, in French, these women, instead of asking God why their lives were as they are, they were praising Him with incredible passion. I am so blessed to have been there and grateful so Sarah for letting me accompany them.
I almost forgot to mention the other moment this week where I was reminded of how alive Jesus really is. Red Hill is a very poor community about 20 minutes from Ocean View. It is built on the mountain so there are three ‘levels’ where people live. The two lower ones are Black while the highest level is coloured. This past, a great wild fire took out all the first level and some of the second. It was a devastating blow for these families that have so little. A lot of the first level has already been rebuilt with the shacks that stood there before. Living Hope has a ‘kids club’ and a ‘teen club’ there. When Casey and I pulled into this informal settlement, 4 or 5 kids surrounded the car. Some of them recognized Casey from his previous stay in Cape Town so we gave them a ride to the kids club on the second level. When we got to the small opening by the Living Hope container where most of their work took place, I saw about 30 all sitting down on three big benches, looking at a man who seemed to captivate their attention like nothing else. They were all following Mzoa’s (again, a guess at the spelling) singing of Jesus’ live and love for them. Mzoa’s gift with children was amazing. After the singing, he told them about the time when Jesus’ feeding of the 5000. With pictures he drew himself, he had different kids come up to hold a different image representing different parts of the story. Between each activity he would say “Christ is” to which the kids would respond “alive.” He would then call out “in Red” and they would respond “Hill.” The process would then be repeated backwards. It was so amazing to be there, witnessing how God was investing in these kids’ lives through these people. I couldn’t help but think of how alive Jesus still is today, whether in North Raleigh or in Red Hill, He is alive through the people that follow His Word.
On Sunday evening we had a braai (barbeque) for my birthday at the Princes. The volunteers for Living Hope came over, as did my host family and other friends from the community. It is hard to be away from all your family and friends during a birthday, but I am so blessed in that God’s community transcends all political boundaries and crosses the deepest oceans. I am so grateful for the love that He continues to show me through all the wonderful people I’ve met here and for the overwhelming support that I have at home. I cannot tell you enough how much it means to me. I know many of you think I’m doing something great by being here serving Christ, but your love and prayers are equally as representative of God’s love for the world.
Over the past year or so, I have really come to witness and understand the true power of prayer. There must be a lot of people praying for me because I have felt the comfort and happiness of my Father so clearly. I ask that you may continue to pray for me this week as I keep witnessing God’s work in Cape Town. Please pray for the youth here in Ocean View. Having nothing to do, the great majority of teenagers turn to alcohol and drugs to shun the boredom which seems to overtake their lives. Also, please pray for the huge amount of unemployment in Cape Town. Too many people are wasting their lives away, giving up all hope that they may be productive in some way. It is horribly sad. I may also be getting a scooter for myself this week, so if that is the best option, I pray that it may work out as it should. I will continue to pray for you in your daily lives and struggles. I really pray that you may be able to appreciate everything you have. I know it is human nature to complain, but very few of your complaints actually deserve to be so. Please appreciate what you have, not just the materials, but the structure and peace in your lives as well. Be grateful for your family, your health, your education, and so much more that God has blessed you with. It is awesome to live so comfortably, but as Christians, God expects a lot more of us than to just be happy with what we have. With great power comes great responsibility.

Love,

Andy

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I keep telling myself that I need to keep up with this thing more. But I am either too lazy about it, or I’m actually busy enough to have an excuse. Probably both.

A lot has happened since my first post so I’ll try to hit the highlights. On Friday the 31^st (Halloween) we visited a young missionary couple living in an area called Mitchell’s Plain. It is notoriously hostile and did not seem to be much of a welcoming environment. Because of this, these people wouldn’t go out of their house for whole days. I really felt bad for them, realizing that missionary work is not for everyone. When we (Case, Sarah, Kieren, and I) picked them up to try to eat lunch somewhere nearby, they did not know how to get out or go anywhere. We decided to follow our instinct. Apparently it wasn’t very sharp because we ended up in Khayelitsha, the second largest township in the world. If you can imagine one of the informal settlements that sprung up during Apartheid, this black township is the most extreme case of ‘civilized’ poverty that I have ever seen. Every single house or store was a scrap shack, no bigger than 10 by 10 yards. Children were everywhere, most with cheap shoes or sandals ran down to the sole, as if they had been worn every day for 3 years. As we accidentally entered, Casey looked at me and said, “This is the real Africa.”

I heard on the radio the other day that South Africa was now the nation with the largest disparity between the rich and the poor. Driving through the coast, you can find multi-million dollar homes looking down on some of the most spectacular displays of nature and humanity combined in the world. A few miles down the same road, you can encounter places like Khayelitsha, where AIDS and violence kidnap the future of thousands of South Africa’s children. It is a gruesome reality, but the result of a system of hatred, ignorance, and fear. Though there is no legal Apartheid in place, the divisional structure which it left behind will take a long time to disappear.

Though it’s already been two weeks, I feel like I am getting into the final stages of my transition. On Monday I move in with the family with whom I will be spending the rest of my time here. It’s a couple with a 16 month old daughter. The wife’s name is Shermaine, Julian is the husband, and the little girl is Sharmina. His may be the only name that I didn’t misspell. They are a wonderfully friendly family and live 10 yards away from Nash, whom I will be working with in his ministry as well. He, like Ubuntu, tries to target the young boys in Ocean View to try to keep them from the drugs and violence that corrupt the township. On top of that, he targets the heavily conflicted Rastafarian population by pulling them away one by one. They have some surreal stories.

Kids are continuing to come to our yard. They come after school at like 2:30 PM and leave when the sun goes down 5 hours later. Don’t know where they get their energy from. It’s awesome to be able to spend time with them, but again, it’s hard to feel like I’m working when I’m having so much fun. The challenge is to be direct about Jesus’ love for them. I have a Bible verse tattooed on my wrist, which most often makes the transition into why we are here, ministry. Once we open up about it, they really seem to want to show me that they too believe in Christ. There is a lot of work to be done but there does seem to be an openness and willingness to hear our message.

Sunday night we went to Hillsong Church. Some of you may have heard of them or at least some of their songs. They are a contemporary church based in Australia. The evening service we attended had about 300 people, mostly young adults but many families were there too. The music was awesome, the message was even better, and it was a great experience to feel God’s presence so clearly among these people. It just comes to show you that Christ’s passion is the same here and everywhere.

I want to thank you again for all your support. It’s been such a fun and exciting 2 weeks, I’m really looking forward to the resting 8 months. I also forgot to mention how dedicated the people of Ocean View are to Christ. Most of the people I’ve gotten to know are involved in ministry in some way. It seems like anytime I walk into someone’s house, they are always listening to worship music. All of their thoughts come back to their faith and they are grateful for what all they have. We could really learn a lot about what it means to truly follow Christ.

I keep remembering things that I had wanted to tell so I’ll just make a quick list.

- Met the Living Hope volunteers, one who attended Casey’s youth group and went to Enloe. It was nice to see people my age going through similar things, though a lot more sheltered than I in regards to what they’re allowed to see and live.

- Casey and I got invited to play on a local team. They’re an amateur league but very competitive and players often get seen by Ajax Cape Town, the local professional team. It’s a lot of fun to still be able to play competitively.

- I’m training Casey every morning, hopefully preparing him to make a comeback into professional soccer; the dream being to play for Ajax CT.

- This has to be the windiest city in the world.

- There was a motorcycle accident yesterday that we witnessed. A girl from Masipuhmelele, the poor township just 5 minutes away from us, jumped in front of a motorcycle. The guy tried to avoid her, which, combined with the rain, made him slip out completely. We stopped and both Casey and Sarah were extremely helpful in calming the girl down and calling an ambulance. Everyone was fine but it’s worth telling.

- I’m realizing how adaptable I really am. It’s so exciting to be in a whole a new country with new people to meet and wonderful experiences to be lived. I’m wondering if being away from everyone will get harder as time goes by because it has not been a challenge at all yet. There are people and things that I kind of wish I could still see and do, but it has not been anywhere near as challenging as I had originally thought.

I hope and pray that all is well at home. Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I move in to a new house. Please pray that I may be useful to His work in South Africa. Also for the extreme poverty that engulfs this country. It can be overwhelming.

Love,

Andy

Obviously (thought my lack of blog entries would lead you to believe otherwise) I did make it back from El Salvador in one piece. It's hard to believe I only have 3 more weeks of classes. This semester has flown by even more quickly than it's predecessors. In many ways I have felt things change. Some have been very abrupt alterations, while others have moved a long at a glacial speed. All that being said, this is semester of many new things.

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Hello :)

I didn’t think I would have a hard time writing this thing. But apparently it’s a bit hard to know how to start.

I’ll begin by giving everyone my most genuine thanks. Though I have traveled internationally quite a bit through my 18 years, I had never realized the preparation and nervousness that comes with it. One of the biggest obstacles was to get all the paper work done in order to submit my Visa application. Thanks to His grace and all your papers, I received my passport with the confirmed Visa acceptance on Wednesday, October 21^st, four days before my departure on the 25^th. Although it should have been a stressful situation, I had a hard time pretending to be worried so the parents wouldn’t lecture me about my irresponsibility. I knew there was the possibility of the application not being accepted or to not get to me on time, but through my and your own prayer, God’s will was done so that I could leave on time. For that and so much more, I cannot thank you enough.

As happy, relieved, and excited as I was to receive my passport with the Visa stamped in, it really dawned on me that now that I had it, it was actually time to go; very weird feeling. I eventually began to pack away what seemed like my whole life. I didn’t have much experience packing for 9 months, so that was definitely a fun challenge.

In between the packing and the chaos that it entailed, I was also having to say all my goodbyes. Again, a very weird feeling knowing that I wouldn’t see everyone for a little less than 9 months. It did feel a bit like people were mourning my death. I’m not sure they realized that I was coming right back. But I couldn’t complain. The support and love I received from everyone was a direct representation of Christ’s immense love for me. It seemed almost greedy to pray to Him for more when I was already experiencing His Grace more than some people do in their whole life. I had said during service that the whole experience of preparation was strong enough to stand on its own, and it really was that powerful.

After being accompanied to the airport by my family and two close friends, my Southwest Airlines flight left at 12:32 PM. It would only be an hour and a half flight to Detroit where I would then board to Amsterdam. Always having enjoyed flying, I wasn’t too nervous about being on a plane for that short a time. I happened to sit next to a 20 year old girl who was returning to Green Bay, Wisconsin. After talking to me about the misfortunes that come with living in a town like Green Bay, we got to talking about what and why I was going to Cape Town for a whole school year. It was a great opportunity to revise that myself but more than anything, for her to tell me a bit about the struggles and decisions she had faced as she had begun her college life. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how someone who lived hundreds of miles away faced the same struggles that young adults faced in North Carolina, and everywhere.

I arrived at Detroit having 4 hours to spare. I made my last phone calls, checked my soccer news, looked at my emails, and skyped a few friends. I left the country at 6:30 that evening on an 8 hour flight to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Having never flown outside of the Western Hemisphere, I was SO excited to be flying over Belfast, Manchester, and the English Channel. It was also time for the sunrise over the clouds, a sight I will never forget. I couldn’t help but be in awe of God’s amazing artistry. It was unbelievable.

I arrived in Amsterdam at 7:15 AM, completely thrown off by the time difference. However, my extreme tiredness was completely overpowered by the excitement that came along with seeing all these Dutch people speaking their weird language. It was AWESOME. By the time I had to leave though, 10:30 AM, I was barely alive. I hadn’t slept at all in the flight and it was now 5:30 in the morning for my Raleigh time.

My three hour break in Amsterdam was followed by an 11 ½ hour flight to Cape Town, South Africa. My butt was felt like it was missing after all those hours sitting down, but it was well worth it. After going through customs, I walked out to meet Casey. It was really nice to see a familiar face waiting for me after all those hours on my flight adventure. We drove to his house about 30 minutes away. It was definitely an educational ride. Besides all the information being thrown at me by Casey, I got to see in just that short drive, the enormous disparity that engulfs this beautiful country. The first sight was one of Cape Town’s biggest and poorest black townships, followed almost immediately by heavily secured white neighborhoods with beautiful homes and barbed wire on top of the 3 foot thick walls. We then crossed one of the city’s many mountains to find another distraught black township. Not even the darkness of the night could hide the terrors that haunted these people. And apparently they live directly across from the home of many baboons; my first sign that I really was in Africa. I got home to a beautifully welcoming room with a note from Sarah saying just that, “Welcome.” It felt good to finally be there.

The next morning I woke up at 7, something which I hadn’t done in over 5 months. I ate some good Kellogg’s breakfast and took a 10 minute walk around the block. Casey, Sarah, and Kieren live in a mixed township called Ocean view. It has a large Muslim population, an infamous and dangerous Rastafari population, and mostly colored families. There are more children in a block than ants in an anthill. Teenagers and adults walk around with a toxic bag that doesn’t leave their nose, fuming a terrible smell of glue, paint, or thinner; it’s a sight that I’m still struggling to deal with. There are many boys and ‘men’ with long dreads, known as the Rastafari. For those of you who don’t know, these are the drug dealing, violent, uneducated desperate followers of the Rastafarian movement. I know pretty much nothing else about them other than the fact that Bob Marley was one.

On Tuesday I also got to go on a run with Casey. Though running has always been a dreaded requirement for me, it was a whole different experience to run to the top of the hill where we went. If only you could be there. When running up hill it seems like your body just wants to torture you, yet when you get to the top, you cannot believe your eyes. As you lift your sight to see the pavement slowly crouching down, the waters of the Atlantic Ocean open up, accompanied by two majestic mountains that curl around the sandy beaches. If you weren’t a believer, you would definitely re-consider after witnessing His majesty through nature. Casey had told me not to look back where we had come from because he had a surprise. The surprise didn’t let me down. When running back up the hill from the other direction, I was met with an almost exact replica of the previous view. Again, the splendor of the Atlantic greeted my eyes. So whether I chose to look left or right, I was met by God’s artistry at its best.

On Thursday, I got to meet the man who I would be working with the first few months. Nash (whose name I’m sure I misspelled), is a friendly, Christ-driven man whose ambitious drive to save young men one by one has led him to go out to the lowest of the low. When at his house, we got to meet two men who had been saved by His grace through Nash. One was a former Rastafarian drug dealer, his missing teeth had rotten off his gums. The other, also a former Rastafarian who had been clean for two years, was delighted by the fact that I was from Argentina, to which he greeted me with a big hug. It should also be said that Nash’s son is named Diego, after the Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona. I will definitely be telling people where I was born more than where I live J. The effects of heavy drugs were clearly visible in both these men and the way their brain had been damaged; something which not many people really get to see in person. Nash told us about his ministry, the terribly violent and drug-afflicted society that was the Rastafarian movement, and some of the people which he had brought to Christ. During my whole time there, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. What could I, and 18 year old who had just graduated from high school in Raleigh, be teaching these murderous men? Literally murderers. I can tell them of nothing but the love of Christ. It was a good reminder that I myself am nothing, but by His side, I can do anything, despite my youth. I must admit I felt dismayed at the moment. One of Tini’s favorite verses reads: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I will be keeping this verse as my prayer over the next 8 months, and would ask if you could do the same.

The Princes live in a 3 bedroom house on the Methodist Church’s ground. It has a beautiful yard with wonderful grass; used as a parking lot during service. As Casey’s attempt to begin playing competitively once more, I was volleying some balls into his arms, testing his reflexes and hands. After about 5 minutes of this, two boys showed up, asking if they could play. Taking the opportunity, a 2 on 2 game broke out. We played for about 20 minutes before another 5 kids showed up. We then turned the game into a 4 on 4. Casey and I had to go meet this family with whom I may be living the next 8 months. When we returned an hour and a half later, approximately 20 kids had organized themselves into 5 different teams, switching out every two goals. I jumped in and tried to show them some tricks so they would validate me as a player. The only thing was that I felt like I wasn’t working. At first I felt like this was bad because I had traveled thousands of miles and here I found myself just playing soccer and having a blast. Then I remembered that this was what I had set out to do. I feel like I’m being lazy just playing, but that is my work. I am so blessed to have this opportunity. The kids seemed very excited that I was there, telling me about their favorite teams and players, and asking me if I could do certain things with the ball. It really feels like this is what God intended me to do.

I also forgot to say that I drove a manual car on Friday. While you may think that there isn’t anything too special about it, you should know that I drove on the wrong side of the road, and wrong side of the car. I’ll admit to having swayed over to the right lane twice, but I’m still alive. I also got to eat a Gatsby for the first time. One of our friends here in Ocean View makes these delicious, HUGE sandwiches with sausage, home-made fries, fried chicken, cucumber, lettuce, and tomato. It’s about 2 ½ inches tall and over a foot and a half long. It was enough to fill up all three of us and it only cost 35 Rand. Equivalent to less than 5 DOLLARS!!

I hope you got to read this all without getting bored. It’s a bit hard to say everything I need to in a short enough time that it is convenient for everyone. Reason why I have now written 3 pages single spaced. I can’t promise that the posts that follow will be this long but I do hope to keep you updated. I will be posting pictures up soon so that you may better understand what I am living.

I would also like to request your much needed prayers. Prayers that I may not be overwhelmed; prayers that I may find myself useful and worthy of His work; prayers for the progress of Ubuntu; prayers for the Princes as they continue to adapt to a new life style; prayers for me being away from home and coping with all that it entails; and most of all, prayers that His will be done in a country where the scars of racism and apartheid are so fresh and deep.

I thank you for all your love and prayers and hope that you all continue to do well. I am praying for everyone as your lives take new and old paths.

Love,

Andy

It was more years ago than I care to remember. Gone is the cute outfit, odd little hat and very likely the guy who portrayed Santa that season at the mall. What remains is an amazing smile, warm eyes, deep compassion and an innocent wit that can have me chortling like a schoolboy.

Somewhere over the years we have raised two children, moved eight times and buried three parents. The twentyseven plus years since our meeting have flown. To continue to have days together full of laughing, griping, talking, arguing, smiling, crying, doubting and hoping is an incredible blessing for which I’ll never be able to give enough thanks.

I often wonder if this has been an arranged marriage…

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Other posts you might find interesting:

1. Communionity
2. Tuesdays with Nicole
3. From a Friend

I was touched tonight by one of those wonderful and all too rare moments in life. Those moments where the special of our past bumps into the ordinary of our present. I had the sweet opportunity to chat with one of my ‘wayback’ friends. Throw in dinner with my daughter and on a dime my somewhat crotchety day has turned into a gently pleasant evening.

That and a healthy dose of sweet tea inspired the following:

Crossed Paths

by jeff mountz

The paths I have crossed,
memories sneaking a peek –
I count myself blessed.

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Other posts you might find interesting:

1. Didn’t Forget My Lunch
2. Price of Happiness
3. Christ, Be Our Light