united in africa

Apologies for not updating this thing regularly. My internet time has partly been spent reading, but mostly jumping into bed a little bit early.

It's been a challenging summer so far. With my god of comfort being smashed the moment we landed in Jo'burg, God's been good to point out some sin. Our study in Mark has shown Jesus' goodness, power, understanding, leadership, and compassion; reading Humility has shown His hatred of my self-glorification and divine rescue through Christ's perfectly humble life; and reading Holiness by Grace, by Bryan Chapell, has shown that apart from my union with Jesus, I am nothing.

It shouldn't be a surprise that I'm as sinful as these resources tell me, but following my thoughts, motives and actions for a day would support such a claim. It doesn't matter that I'm in South Africa, I'm still a sinner in need of grace. This is why Holiness by Grace has been so good.

If I woke up, lived my day, and fell asleep trusting the union I have with Christ in his perfect life, death, and resurrection, I wouldn't sway on the pendulum of despair and pride. Instead, an understanding that the economy of good works is dead would provoke me to live even more radically for Christ. Please pray that I would trust in my union with Jesus and rely on his righteousness, not those filthy rags that I offer God.

taste of reality

Here's a picture of me throwing up the sign for the Orlando Pirates, the PLS champions and team that hosted the soccer game we went to on Saturday.

Here we were, 20 Americans strolling into Soweto in our 10 person vans to watch some South African soccer game by some team that we've never heard of. And there they were, only a handful of the 2-3 million people living in Soweto who would do ANYTHING to get a ticket to the game (which only cost us about $6). These residents are notorious for being die-hard fans for their Orlando Pirates, seemingly the one thing that can bring them together in celebration. What other reason do they have to celebrate?

On Saturday, the Orlando Pirates gave people from Soweto a reason to go to bed in their shacks with a smile. But only for a day. It was a humbling reminder that this world is passing away. Without the Gospel, there is no hope. Sadly, the incredibly impoverished people of Soweto are no different from some of the wealthy students at WITS. Without trusting in Jesus, our hope might as well be rooted in a soccer game for contentment.

Also, the guys who took us to the game said that people stared at us, not because we were the only Americans, but because these people have never seen white people. That should tell you something about how little the residents of Soweto get to experience outside of their township.

Soweto made me think about Proverbs 3:9 because of my vast wealth compared to others who have nothing, and Mark 2:17 because the need for Christ was so obvious in such poverty.

almost a week down

ok here's the break down for this summer

-we're studying Mark for this 8 weeks in South Africa
-I'm partnered up with Joel Mathews to labor at WITS
-last night we attended a Brai for the first time, which is like a BBQ or cookout except it has dance music playing the whole time with people dancing the whole time
-as a white I'm most def the minority

It seems like we've been down here a lot longer than just 4 days, but that's because the culture is totally different. Life is much slower in South Africa even though most people here think that Jo'burg is a fast-paced city. But that's probably because we're in a town with about 7 million other people.

There are three things that really pop out as the most exciting things to happen so far this summer. On Thursday morning Matt and I went on our first run around Aukland Park, the community we live in, and got very lost. We ended up running a bit longer than expected before some helpful locals pointed us back to our neighborhood. And last night, at the Brai, a guy that Tim Byrd (the WITS campus director) has been sharing with named Valentine made a profession of faith in Christ. I got to know him earlier in the night before it happened, so it's really encouraging to see God redeem the lost right before our eyes.

And to top it off, today we went to the biggest township in South Africa, Seweto, to watch a soccer game played by the Orlando Pirates (a local team). Apparently we came at the right time because this was the last game of the season and the Pirates had to win it to take their league title. I've never been to a more exciting game and I doubt that anybody back in the States will either. With the rich culture of Seweto, the nonstop sound of the vuvuzelas, and the very friendly South Africans, I don't think I'll ever experience something like that again. Oh yeah, the Pirates won 2-1 with a goal in the final 5 minutes of the game and we all rushed the field in victory.

Well I have 2 opportunities a week to get online while down here (Tuesdays and Saturdays), so expect a little more than just an explanation of the summer in the next post. But I've been seeing a lot of sin and experiencing Christ-centered repentance and I'm excited to let you guys in on what's going on in my life.

about to leave

I've never kept or followed a blog, so this may not be as intellectual or encouraging as Kevin DeYoung's, but I hope to keep everyone out there updated on our trip. It was suggested by my stud of a brother-in-law to make this, so I'm going to really try to stay faithful with it.

I'm sitting in a hotel room with Mike Hoy, Matt Wilburn, and Zach Hamil waiting to take off tomorrow at noon for Atlanta, and ultimately Jo'burg! Be praying for good conversations with others riding on the plane, safe travels, and for Christ to be worshipped as we prepare and leave.