friends and braais

All this being home is tiring work! But it is still great to get in touch with old friends. Not too much has changed actually, I seem to be able to pick up where I left off rather easily.
Friday I was invited to try out the new volleyball court at the church where I was youth pastor until July last year. I started the project and Rob and the team did a great job of completing it - the site looks great. Had some fun in the sun and the sand, finishing off with a braai and chats to my old youth and leaders. Went to another family for dessert and then to a club/pub/bar place to meet my sister.

As I was walking in to "Pete 'n Jerry's" i was 'accosted' by a very attractive lady shouting 'Gareth! Gareth'. It took me a while to realise that this was one of my old youth leaders, fresh out of school and all 'grown up'. She was there with her best friend and boyfriend. She immediately started telling me that she had gone to church once last year but it was boring. For some reason people sense this need to confess their church attendance stats to me, as if i can get them extra Noddy-badges with God. It was funny.

Later that eve this specific lady, and her friend were dancing on the tables, and enjoying substantial amounts of alcohol. Vaughn commented, "great advertisement for today's youth ministry". I agreed. Reflecting on that later that night got me thinking about the whole way we measure (and do) youth ministry. Too often the purpose of keeping kids busy is to 'stop good church kids from going bad'. If that were the reason, i failed on these two wonderful girls. But there has to be another way to do it. Here were two wonderful people (not 'evil' or even 'bad' at all) who were so vivacious that they would far prefer to be out with friends than at a youth group. Can you blame them? There has to be a way of being church that moves beyond trying to keep people 'nice' and 'good', and makes them alive. The way the friends and crowd (and music an alcohol) seemed to do there.

Anyways, that is my little reflection. Being home and hearing the dissatisfied church stories and seeing the 'drop out's' has reinforced why i am at Columbia - to research and begin to find some solutions to the foundational questions i have about the church. Time to get to that thesis!

criss&kate @church braai, v-ball, the men & the meat.

Sat was spent with young adults from church at a braai (and more 'church attendance' confessions), tea with the council secretary of the church (they did pay for half my degree) and then Tania's 25th bday braai (where i was pleasantly surprised to bump into an array of old friends).
Today was church with family (Midrand Presby) , lunch with family friends, meeting with an ex-youth leader, more church (RPRUC) and finally a beer and controversial theology talk with JT.
Tomorrow I'm off to Pretoria to meet two professors at the Uni, worship with the Presby students and have a swim and lunch with two high school friends. Good times!

the bird sanctuary

Another day at home. Slept in late, then cycled down the road to the dentist. Thought I'd get a cheap, familiar check-up while i was here. Tash came over after lunch to say hi. It was a glorious day, so we took a walk down the road to the Glen Austin Bird Sanctuary. It really is looking beautiful: water, grass, bird-life, veld and big sky (and no trees everywhere!!!) It is one of the gifts of living out in the plots and not in the city proper.
It may seem like an idyllic picture, but all is not paradise. Thanks to Apartheid's Groups Areas Act legislation, a few kilometers over the hill (nicely out of sight) is Tembisa - an ever-expanding township with informal settlements and zink 'shack' houses. This is where society's inequalities stare at you out of every home, and the poverty cannot be ignored.

South Africa - the land of life-giving tensions and contradictions. It is still good to be home.

home

Yes! I'm home. It's just for 2 weeks, but it is home nonetheless.

The trip across was long and, apart from a flat tyre on the plane in Atlanta, thankfully uneventful. I had a 7 hour layover in Frankfurt, but that wasn't enough time to get my German confidence back up, so i spoke English to the airport staff. I did however read a German magazine. Well, bits and pieces of it. Need to visit Germany again to remember how to sprachen Deutsch.

Got in to Cape Town at 6am and it was already 20 degrees Celsius. It got up to 30 by midday. Yay for summer. Had a fabulous 3 days with Julie, saw some friends, tried to read my thesis books, went to Kirstenbosch gardens, played Ultimate etc. Table Mountain had as much presence as ever, and the breeze, fresh air and big sky was a welcome change to Atlanta.

Julie, flower, sculture - kirstenbosch.

This morning i flew to Jo'burg and Matthew collected me at the airport. It is sooo good to see my family again. They are all looking radiant, the garden is the greenest and thickest I've seen in a while, and the dogs remembered me. The chickens didn't and the mosquitoes never cared about me anyway - they are frustrating me right now as i type. Small price to pay for being home though.

I'm working out my schedule for the next week or two, and hope to get to see friends and catch up on what has been happening here. I'll be sure to put up pictures - to show off the beauty of 'home'.

We go, and keep going

We go, and keep going,
Until the object of the game
Seems to be
To go and keep going.

We do, and keep doing,
Until we do
Without knowing - without feeling.

Is there no time to stop and reflect?
Is there no time to stop?
Is there no time?

If we stopped, would we keep on going?
If we reflected, would we keep doing
What we do?

In all our doing have we done anything?
In all our going have we been anywhere?

(Author unknown; abridged)

georgia et al

Back in Georgia, (almost) safe and a sound.
Had a great weekend in Bloomington with friends. Kathy showed us around Indiana Uni and the student town. Bloomington is famous for the Coug (John Mellencamp - a country singer guy) and the University's basketball. I also learnt that the Dalai Lama's brother lives at the Tibetan monastery just outside the town (on the way to the winery). The Uni has wonderful old buildings and grounds - made all the more 'scenic' by the continuous light rain that fell the entire time. We met her parentals, heard funny stories, cooked marshmallows and made smores, played cards, chess, jenga and Life, visited her church, went wine tasting at Oliver's, analysed the group dynamics, ate at Steak-n-Shake and over all had a wonderful time. My best parts were just relaxing with good friends, getting to know them more, standing in the rain in the dark, and going on a two hour paddle on the lake. It was neat to 'get out' of the city again.
Kathy - thanks for hosting us. Everyone else - thanks for a great time!
We had a little bit of excitement on the way home last night which made us even closer: We we half an hour away from home, on the Interstate when an 18-wheeler truck in the lane to the left of us changed lanes... into us! NOT COOL! We got side swiped, and spun around, out of control and back into the truck again. It was all in slow-mo and really scary. Maggie's Jetta is a write-off, and the five of us are all shaken. Thankfully we are all okay - there are so many other things that could have gone wrong but didn't. Not something I'd like to repeat anytime soon. Even having people asking me about it on campus today made me queasy.
Now I'm really glad to be going home on Friday, to hang out with loved ones for a while.

indiana et al

A quick update:
Class: My liturgical theology class with Martha Moore-Keish is going really well - interesting readings, ideas and students. I realised i'm more liturgical than i thought!
Health:Elizabeth and I went to see Justin 'Dr Ducky' 'Smokin'-hot-husband' Glass last night for a check up. He is the husband of a fellow student, and says to visit him if we aren't feeling well. He said i must have had a double viral throat infection but that it was on its way out. So - it wasn't anything to be worried about, and i'm almost back to 100%!
Indiana: I'm going with Chris up to Bloomington, Indiana after class today to Kathy's lakehouse. We are going to meet some fellow students there (David, Bryan, Kathy, Maggie, Bekah and Amy) and have a relaxing Martin Luther King Jnr weekend by the lake. Should be good.
NM diaries: #2 and 3 (the monk and the conference) still to come - watch this space...

NM diaries #1: the tourist

Here at last are some of my thoughts on my wonderful little December foray out West - into New Mexico!
#1 - The tourist

Obviously, my main intention for this whole trip was contemplative and spiritual. Obviously! ;) But... to get to the monastery and the conference I had to pass through some towns. And what better way to pass through them than cleverly disguised as... a tourist! Shocking I know, but i had to do it. Armed with my camera, hiking bag and fake South African accent I headed for the nearest student hostel and pulled off a sterling 'tourist' performance!

Santa Fe
First stop was a very expensive shuttle from the Albuquerque airport to Santa Fe. (NOTE: next time don't ask the information desk for transport. Ask an airport local for the cheap public transport.) Anyways, $25 dollars lighter I arrived at Santa Fe International Youth Hostel. It certainly has seen better days, and i'm never too sure who is a visitor and who is a resident, but I had a dorm to myself so I wasn't complaining. It started snowing when i arrived, so i couldn't do too much touristy stuff. I made some light conversation with the residents and guests, took a shower and went to bed.

The next morning I finally got to see the town and this is what i saw:

Santa Fe is a very quaint little village. It is an art mecca, and locals complain about the high property prices. It is also one of the oldest cities in the US. Some place in Florida says its the nation's first city, but SF has been around since about 1610 (i think). There are also wonderful old churches, one of the most famous being the Lorretto chapel with its miraculous staircase. I was planning to visit it when I got back from the monastery, but the 20 inches of snow stopped all those plans. I did hear the cool folklore surrounding the staircase from one of the nuns at Christ in the Desert.

I did at least have one evening walking around town. It was snowing a little bit, but i had my music machine, my jacket and an adventurous spirit. I went to some neat modern art galleries, got a coffee at Borders, visited a great second hand store, some antique furniture places and even found a shop selling Carrol Boyes and other South African stuff. In New Mexico! After talking to the owner it seems like Carrol Boyes has quite a following in the US. I walked the mile or two back to the hostel singing along to Damien Rice.

The next morning i met up with Anne Stewart (Maggie's cool aunt) and got a ride to the monastery just before a huge snow storm came and closed the roads off. (monk diary to come)
10 days later the snow was gone, and i made my way back to Santa Fe for a final night at the International hostel. I was hoping to see the historic part of town, but a huge snow storm came in and everything closed down. I managed to get one of the last busses to Albuquerque before the interstates shut down.

Oh yes - one more thing: Santa Fe may have Georgia O'Keefe to thank for its art life. I was not too familiar with her, but she is one of the most renowned artists of American Modernism. She lived and painted at Ghost Ranch, near the monastery, where the vistas are breathtaking. The area, galleries and high property prices reminded me a lot of our own art mecca - Clarens. I've just seen that my mom even has a website as one of the 'Clarens artists'- go mom! O'Keefe had a very colourful life, and i got my mom a book about her and her art - could she be the next Georgia?

Albuquerque
I think i first heard this name in a Wierd Al song, and thought he was joking. He wasn't. There really is a place called Albuquerque. Albie for the locals. No, thats a joke. The town isn't - it is rather a nice place! Great downtown strip with retro neon lights - from the route 66 heyday; wonderful Old Town square with touristy shops - the Native American fleece is made in Pakistan; and pretty earthy adobe style houses. I wouldn't mind visiting again.

After paying $3 for the state subsidised bus from Santa Fe, i arrived in downtown Abq and walked to Route 66 hostel. They let this poor snow covered stranger in and gave me a top bunk with a bad mattress. The dorm was full with 5 other guys. At least one of them snored! I had 3 nights there and then after the conference a friend of mine let me stay in his other bed in the hotel Albuquerque for my final night. For all my talk of simplicity etc it was very nice to be out of hostels and into a hotel with a big bed, clean sheets and a private bathroom for just one night! Thanks Ed!

Again the snow didn't allow too much exploring, but I did get to see Richard Rohr's Centre for Action and Contemplation; eat at some New Mexican food houses, explore Old Town and Nob Hill and have great meals at The Flying Star cafe and Kelly's Brewery. Both very arty and edgy places. As to the locals, i made friends with my waiters and hung out at Nickie and Adam's place for New Years with some friends, champagne, cigars and a Beck dvd. It was a neat time.

The conference ended and I caught my 7am flight, which only left at 9:30 and flew 'home' after a wonderful little adventure. I was very inspired to continue backpacking around, and to be intentional about meeting people that i admire and learning as much as i can from them.

The End.
Not!

groan

Been caught up with a crazy sore throat and cough since I got back. The all-nighter-paper-writing frenzy didn't help matters, so I'm just taking it slow at the mo, trying to do reading for class and get some sleep. Haven't gotten around to blogging those NewMex diaries or the pics.
Groan.
But - my papers are done (for now) and I'm looking forward to migrating South for a while in a week and a half (yikes!). May also be going to Indiana this weekend to hang out with some fellow students at someones lakehouse. I asked if we can swim, but they said I'd freeze to death. Somehow here I don't think that is a figurative expression.
How's the sun-tanning in SA?

distracting weather

needing a little break from writing my paper (almost finished Mom!)..
so let's talk about.. the weather!
I left 3 feet of snow to come to Atlanta in mid-winter. Thanks to some environmental change 'mid-winter' now means a wonderful 20 degrees Celsius and rain! I can live here in that! The sound of the rain on the patio outside my window is soothing, and the smell and subdued light reminds me of driving the windy Lowveld roads up to Sabie in the mist.
There was a seminary party on friday night, and i fiddled a bit with my camera and it's settings. Above is me at 2:30 am in our lounge feeling thin, and below are some shutter speed and colour experiments.

i miss...

... Christmas with my family.

I guess that's one of the prices to pay being in a far off land - you can't get home to have a great Christmas lunch in warm summery weather with parents, siblings and friends. Seems like they (the Beyers and Da Silva families) had a good time, even though two of the kids (Bianca and I) were MIA.

the beyers and the da silva's christmas lunch.
Mat (with new black hair) and Rich had to put up with a lot of females :) Dad was watching the fire i guess.

NEWS JUST IN:
Luckily I will get to see some of the SA summer (and escape the worst of ATL's winter) - I am the proud new owner, thanks to generous help from Julie, of one ticket to SA! I leave as soon as the winter term finished, and have a week in Jo'burg with my family, and a week in Cape Town with Julie and friends. I have a sneaking suspicion that i will realise how much i needed this trip home when i actually get there and the pressure of being a 'foreigner' vanishes.

So friends... chat to my secretary ;) and hopefully we can meet up in Jo'burg or Cape Town for a game of Ultimate/ a visit to Mugg and Bean/or an evening in Melville. Lemme know! I'm really looking forward to it!

hello...

Hello!
I'm back after a wonderful trip to New Mexico.
It was a fantabulous time, and I am inspired in many ways after this trip.
The monkery was great - I really got into the Gregorian chant, did a bit of hiking, and met some cool peeps. Santa Fe is a great town, well worth exploring. Plenty of art galleries and old churches. Albuquerque was busy and full. The conference was challenging and refreshing, and again, the people I met were most interesting.
Having said all that, it was still good to touch down in Atlanta yesterday, to be 'home', to see my friends, and to get out of all that SNOW!
My next class starts on Monday, so in between writing a paper for it, i will put up some posts with more details on the last 3 weeks. I'm also going through my pics and looking for a forum to post them on so that you can see all the snow.