Life in the Res

So it's been a good three weeks since we got here. Life here is definitely starting to feel like home. I can tell because it takes me less then an hour to go grocery shopping now. I just go in grab some snacks, bread and some apples and I'm out. It has been good to be able to not feel like I am living out of my suitcase.

Speaking of suitcases, we finally got to do some laundry for the first time last week. Odd enough I had just started to run out of clothes. The coolest part of about that is that we were able to get some of the students from the university to help us, instead of going to a local laundry which was the original plan. The good thing about that is our support money set aside for laundry instead is really going to support some students going to Joint Winter Conference.

The Joint Winter Conference (JWC or J'Dubs as some students call it) is coming up in the middle of next month. It is a four day/three night conference about an hour outside of Jo-town. Students come from four of the universities and get to hang out, have some fun, and learn about what having a relationship with God is all about. It's kinda like the conference we have back in the states called Christmas Conference. I am excited that we are getting to go, but at the same time it is in the middle of exams for the students here. So pray that God would make a way for them to get there. Some are planning on going back home and many don't have the money. It costs 500 rand, which when converted to dollars doesn't seem like much to an American student, it really is a lot here. I am hoping the guys that Devin and I have been talking to will see the benefit of hearing God's word taught, coming to find out more before they make their decision or learning more about the One that they are trusting as their Savior.

Saturday we got the chance to go to the Aparthied Museum. That was quite eye opening. Segregation ended so long ago in the states that it is hard for me to really understand what life is like when people are separated by law based on the color of their skin. This museum did a lot to make that it a bit more real to me. Even some of the guys from the res talk about what they remember of the aparthied, like being forced to learn Afrikaans (the language of the white folk here). The museum was filled with signs that showed how far separation went, like reserving one end of a park bench for whites. It was interesting to see the way that men would stand up for what was obviously injustice and risk their lives to end it. Even though I do doubt the religious stand point and some of the political strategies of the civil rights leaders here, I can clearly say that it is obvious that the church was not doing it's part to bring about justice. Time after time in the Old Testament, God makes it know that He loves justice and stands for those who are oppressed. I can't see God loving those things so much and the church completely over looking them. There was a man named Steve Biko that the museum had an exhibit about. I think I am going to try to find his book "I Write What I Like" when I get back. I think that his influence on history is largely over looked in the states. Besides the book seems a lot more manageable then Mandela's biography.

God has been working amazingly through his providence the last week too. I have run into several people that have given me a much better picture of the social climate here. Like the Indian man that I talked to at McDonalds who told me to give a letter bomb to our president next time I saw him (a suggestion that i found appalling.....I sure hope putting something like that on the net won't get me in trouble). There was also a guy from Canada who is here with his girlfriend working with NGO's for health regulation compliance. He actually offered me a job. But just getting to see what the attitudes and actions the common people you will find in Joburg makes me understand the country much more.

The time in the res has been interesting too. God has put Devin and myself in several situations that we have gotten to share the gospel and to fight against a lot of the misconceptions that the guys have about Christ and eternal life. Just yesterday we stopped by the room of a guy named Majaha. When we came in there were some guys who were not students there discussing whether or not eternal life existed or not. It was a great chance to discuss scripture with them and reason about the meaning of life. It seems to me that if life is going to be the end and during life suffering is unavoidable, then the quicker you die the better. That's part of the beauty of the gospel to me, that my suffering serves the purpose of making me Christ-like as I wait for the day that all suffering ends. We also got to talk to a guy who has been disfellowed from a Jehovah Witnesses church for having a child with his girlfriend. He said that during this time of "repentance" that no one in the church is even allowed to greet him and that he is not allowed to discuss scripture with anyone. That was amazing because I was able to make my case to him without much rebuttal. JWs don't believe that Jesus was actually God, a point that I think is near the heart of the gospel. I even see God preparing me for this conversation. My first year in Daytona the family I was "adopted" by had been in the JW church for 20 some odd years before they realized that it was wrong. And that same year a guy that Jonathan and I were sharing the gospel with at school was a JW and had us talk to his elders. I hope that I get some more time to talk with this guy and even that he gets refellowshiped (i guess is the word) so that I ask him about some of the scriptures that point to Christ's divinity.

Last night was quite awesome also. It was the first time that we were able to hang out with the guy leaders in an informal setting. The visitor policy at the res changed because of exams and we are now required to leave at 6pm instead of 10pm (this is something I would also ask you to pray for....that we would get the permission needed to stay there longer). This worked to our advantage yesterday though. We took some of the leaders to get some pizza and then just to hag out at Kofifi for a while. It was fun getting to hear how God has worked in their lives and on their campus, as well as getting to talk to them about the usually guys stuff (sports, girls, etc.). We ended up playing some soccer back at the compound. I am beginning to love these guys the way that I love the guys back home. It's amazing to see how God has worked in them in ways similar to the way he has worked in mine.

Well it is about time to head, and once again without having any pictures to post. There is hope though. I think that i will be able to get the cable I need next time I go to the store. I'll have to see. And i think this is the last time I will get to write before people start to leave for SBP. Just tell Juras, William, Jason, Ben, Corrie and everyone else you might know who is going that I am praying for them and thier summer. Love ya'll all and hope that things are well back in the states.