Wow! I didn't know that a month could fly by soooo quickly! It seems like just yesterday that I was getting off of the plane, yet here we are with just two days left before we leave to go home. I'm not going to deny that I am uber excited to get home. Just the same I am sad to leave all of the amazing people I am with and the ones I have met. While in Grahmstown I met two really cool vendors named George, who was from the Congo, and peter, who is a part of the Masai tribe. i got to talk with them quite a bit...Peter took me around the market pointing out all of the things that were from his people...this is Masai...and this is Masai...and this is Masai...etc. etc. I also got to talk with a Buddhist monk for close to an hour. What an experience. He was trying to give me some books that were sure to make my spiritual walk (of course any spiritual walk will do) more vibrant. He also did his very best to convince me to become a vegetarian, but i still love my meat...oh well. Anyway, although we talked a lot about Christ and His saving grace it was difficult to tell what came of it. He sees Christ as one of many paths...not the only Way. All I can do is pray. He was really nice and respectful though and I really enjoyed our conversation.
I don't know if I have already told you all this, but the stars in Africa are AMAZING! imagine a whole new set of stars that you have naver seen before...God is sooo awsome. i slept outside on the grass with the crickets the other day which was pretty sweet. However, as I looked at the stars this stinking cat came out of nowhere and jumped right over my head and scared the livin daylights out of me. Speeking of cats, Kali and Laitlin were almost eaten by a lion the other day! How cool is that...oops, I mean how terrible :) We went on a little safari and saw all sorts of animals: lions, hippos, giraffes, kudus, springboks (by the way springbok sausage is delicious), and a ton of other animals. This male lion walked to withen like not even ten feet of our open air vehicle...it would have made short work of Kaitlin and Kali but i told it that if it did it would have to deal with me and it decided that it wasn't worth it...I'll say :) We also got to play with baby lions!!! Crazy! Sorry, Michael, but they were larger than we expected so we couldn't do a restaging of THE LION KING, but I did get some sweet pics of one tearing my hand off..can't wait to show.
Me, Kaitlin, Bert, and Anika (yes i know that that wasn't correct grammer) went to a jazz concert while in Grahmstown. Apparently the group is really well known b/c the place was packed. It turned into a groovin middle aged dance party. African's absolutely love to move to any beat. They are dancing all the time! It was pretty fun to witness, although my own dance moves are still pretty much nonexistent.
We are back in Capetown now. Kali, Kaitlin, Cathy, Laura, Sarah, Tina, Kylee, Mia, and i all took a train to Kalk Bay today to work on our papers...we didn't get anything done...oh well...just means another late night of paper writing tonight. This is our last paper! I am soooo happy!
Earlier today on way from the train station we decided (everybody else decided) that we should take a taxi to get back. i told them that it was not that long of a walk but they wanted to drive so I conceded. We ended up crammed into a minibus. For those of your who have never been driven around in a minibus in South Africa, you are missing out on an important part of life. In short, what could have been a ten minute walk was a half and hour drive all throughout Capetown. Apparently there is more than one Church Street in Capetown. i could barely keep myself from busting our laughing, but I decided not to rub it in to all of those who wanted to drive, although i really hope K and K read this hahaha.
Anyway, that is about all for now.
From Half a World away,
josh
p.s. Molly! i still haven't found a World Cup T-Shirt and it is driving me crazy. i havn'et given up but it is beginning to look hopeless. I will keep trying.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
WOW-it seems like it has been forever since i have blogged, so here is a fast forward version of what has taken place over the last several days. First off we are no longer in Stellenbosch. We finished our gig with Habitat for Humanity last Wedensday. It was pretty sad to leave all of our friends behind. I'll never forget our homeownwer's smile as he told us how much of a blessing we had been to him in building him a home. Even though the house we gave his family is a small, humble, cinder block structure the size of some living rooms-he seemed to think it was a castle. He invited us back to stay with him whenever we come again-"that his heart and home will always be open." I will miss him dearly. I am also going to miss all of the Irish and South African's who built with us. We had to leave a day earlier than they and our goodbye consisted of us standing by the side of the road singing to them as they drove off in a bus (yes mom, I sang).
We then drove up the coast along what is known as "the garden route" for like 7 hours until we arrived at Plattenberg Bay where we were to stay just two nights. It was gorgeous-although it is nothing like the townships. It is a small ritzy coastal town where most of the people are substantially well off. It is crazy that if you drive down the road only 10 kilometers there are people living in wooden shacks and shanties. Why?
The first morning was absolutely amazing! Some of us drove to the Boulkrans and went bungy jumping off of the boulkran's bridge--the highest bungy jump in the world!!!! I didn't think that words could ever describe the feeling of hurling yourself off into nothingness and falling 216M (over 700feet!!) but I found one--crazycoolinsanesurrealterrifyingspectacularterrificiwantmymommysweetnessyeahbabyyeah!
I have to check the spelling though. I wish I could bottle up the feeling and bring it home so you all could have just a little taste. You only fall for like four or five seconds but it seems like sooo long. I was thinking "where's the rope! where's the rope! i'm gonna be the first to die on this thing! whooooaaaaa!!!" (Sorry i didn't tell you before grandma but I didn't want you to worry :)
Kaitlin decided to go sea kyaking with dolphins and i told her i wouldn't rub it in that she was a scaredy-cat and didn't jump so i won't say any more--YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE!!!
By the time we got back to the beach it was freezing cold out but that didn't stop Kali and I from taking advantage of perhaps our only opportunity to jump in the Indian Ocean (and no grandma Kali and I are not an item-just great friends--besides, you, mom , em and alise are the only women in my life so you can stop worrying). Everyone else was too chicken to go in and for good reason-for those of you who are under the impression that Sout Africa is always warm and that the water is warm and clear and balmy-FORGET IT! At least the equivalent of jumping into Puget Sound on like a forty-odd degree day with like a -10 degree wind chill factor! You think I'm exaggerating! Need i remind you that South Africa is the last counrty before ANTARCTICA! Yeah, you know, penguins and eskimos and forstbite and ice!Mine point is that it was a bit cold.
We left for Grahmstown the next morning and arrived after like a four hour bus ride. Since then we have seen a number of spectacular performances. Olivia, we saw the Romeo and Juliet African ballet and i thought of you--i admittedly was not very excited for it but it turned out to be pretty swell. We have also seen a number of productions documenting different eras of apartheid-my eyes have been thrown wide opened to the struggles of this nation and the scars remain everywhere.
Hey Michael Frank-I though of you today when i ate a huge plate of ribs with chips and onion rings. Just wanted to let you know. Can't wait for next year man!
I'm going to the market tomorrow to visit with people and hopefully buy some sweet African masks. Schoolwork had been overwhelming and i am surviving by the skin of my teeth.
Well, I had better write one of my five papers now-C-Ya all on the other side--of the Pacific that is.
jmm
We then drove up the coast along what is known as "the garden route" for like 7 hours until we arrived at Plattenberg Bay where we were to stay just two nights. It was gorgeous-although it is nothing like the townships. It is a small ritzy coastal town where most of the people are substantially well off. It is crazy that if you drive down the road only 10 kilometers there are people living in wooden shacks and shanties. Why?
The first morning was absolutely amazing! Some of us drove to the Boulkrans and went bungy jumping off of the boulkran's bridge--the highest bungy jump in the world!!!! I didn't think that words could ever describe the feeling of hurling yourself off into nothingness and falling 216M (over 700feet!!) but I found one--crazycoolinsanesurrealterrifyingspectacularterrificiwantmymommysweetnessyeahbabyyeah!
I have to check the spelling though. I wish I could bottle up the feeling and bring it home so you all could have just a little taste. You only fall for like four or five seconds but it seems like sooo long. I was thinking "where's the rope! where's the rope! i'm gonna be the first to die on this thing! whooooaaaaa!!!" (Sorry i didn't tell you before grandma but I didn't want you to worry :)
Kaitlin decided to go sea kyaking with dolphins and i told her i wouldn't rub it in that she was a scaredy-cat and didn't jump so i won't say any more--YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE!!!
By the time we got back to the beach it was freezing cold out but that didn't stop Kali and I from taking advantage of perhaps our only opportunity to jump in the Indian Ocean (and no grandma Kali and I are not an item-just great friends--besides, you, mom , em and alise are the only women in my life so you can stop worrying). Everyone else was too chicken to go in and for good reason-for those of you who are under the impression that Sout Africa is always warm and that the water is warm and clear and balmy-FORGET IT! At least the equivalent of jumping into Puget Sound on like a forty-odd degree day with like a -10 degree wind chill factor! You think I'm exaggerating! Need i remind you that South Africa is the last counrty before ANTARCTICA! Yeah, you know, penguins and eskimos and forstbite and ice!Mine point is that it was a bit cold.
We left for Grahmstown the next morning and arrived after like a four hour bus ride. Since then we have seen a number of spectacular performances. Olivia, we saw the Romeo and Juliet African ballet and i thought of you--i admittedly was not very excited for it but it turned out to be pretty swell. We have also seen a number of productions documenting different eras of apartheid-my eyes have been thrown wide opened to the struggles of this nation and the scars remain everywhere.
Hey Michael Frank-I though of you today when i ate a huge plate of ribs with chips and onion rings. Just wanted to let you know. Can't wait for next year man!
I'm going to the market tomorrow to visit with people and hopefully buy some sweet African masks. Schoolwork had been overwhelming and i am surviving by the skin of my teeth.
Well, I had better write one of my five papers now-C-Ya all on the other side--of the Pacific that is.
jmm
Sunday, June 22, 2008
JOSHUA MICHAEL MCCOY'S NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE!!!
First off, the title is a bit misleading. It makes it sound like I have had only one near-death experience while i have been here but in reality, with the way people drive here, any walk down the street is a near death experience. Also, forgive me if I have alread written about this but i don't really remember but i am too lazy to read my own blog (i hope it is good). Without further adiue ( i probably spelt that incorrectly) the other day while we were still in Cape Town i was taking a study break and just walking around the city. The wind wicked. It was so incredibly hard that people could not walk forward and would hide behind walls until it lessened up so they could move again! I was walking back through a place known as the Company Gardens when I heard this earsplitting CRACK! I turned around and saw this massive tree begin to fall and i saw this elderly lady sitting on a bench right under it with her two grandchildren so i dove and pushed them out of the way but the tree landed on me and broke my back but they took me to the hospital and I am better now. Ok ok, but really, a massive tree did fall right behind me and this Xhosa guy and i just looked at each other and then sprinted out of the park to avoid any other trees that had it in for us.
Working with Habitat has been wonderful yet a little bit frustrating. We have until Weds. to finish building our house but we have not yet been able to put in a full days work due to the rain. We would work through it but the problem is it keeps washing away all of the danga ( mortar) from in between the cinder blocks. Even so my group is the farthest along and we a re smoking Kali, Kaitlin, and Grant's groups--Haha all in fun. Lord willing we will be able to finish on time. Yesterday was Saturday and all of the kids were out of school and running all over around the worksight. i have never given so many piggyback rides in my life. There were always a minimun of three kids on our backs and a line of tons more kids waiting their turn. After building we played a futbol/soccer game with the Irish and South African s. Man they are good. I looked like I had three left feet out there compared to these guys (yes three). It was a blast!
What would Jesus do? My friend faced a moral dilemma that we have been discussing a lot lately. As we were leavin gthe township a guy probably in his 20's to 40's 9it was a little hard to tell) came up to my friend and started asking him for money. My friend could not give him any however b/c we don't usually bring our wallets to the build sites. The guy then just started pestering him for anything saying "i know you are rich just give me something, i know you are rich." My friend gave him his granola bar but the guy wouldn't leave and suddenly grabbed onto his jacket that my friend was holding on to and would not let go. I was looking on and my friend and i did not know what to do. This guy was wearing a coat...not a nice one but a warm one. this was my friend's only jacket and he kind of needed it for the build b/c of the rain. On the other hand he could proabably buy another one while there was probably no way this guy could afford one. Doesn't Jesus say something along the lines of if someone asks for your staff give him your coat as well? Does that apply to a $100. + North face jacket? And if he gives it too him won't that teach the guy that he can just take from people whatever he needs? What would Jesus do? What would you do? What would I do?
Love you all
josh
Working with Habitat has been wonderful yet a little bit frustrating. We have until Weds. to finish building our house but we have not yet been able to put in a full days work due to the rain. We would work through it but the problem is it keeps washing away all of the danga ( mortar) from in between the cinder blocks. Even so my group is the farthest along and we a re smoking Kali, Kaitlin, and Grant's groups--Haha all in fun. Lord willing we will be able to finish on time. Yesterday was Saturday and all of the kids were out of school and running all over around the worksight. i have never given so many piggyback rides in my life. There were always a minimun of three kids on our backs and a line of tons more kids waiting their turn. After building we played a futbol/soccer game with the Irish and South African s. Man they are good. I looked like I had three left feet out there compared to these guys (yes three). It was a blast!
What would Jesus do? My friend faced a moral dilemma that we have been discussing a lot lately. As we were leavin gthe township a guy probably in his 20's to 40's 9it was a little hard to tell) came up to my friend and started asking him for money. My friend could not give him any however b/c we don't usually bring our wallets to the build sites. The guy then just started pestering him for anything saying "i know you are rich just give me something, i know you are rich." My friend gave him his granola bar but the guy wouldn't leave and suddenly grabbed onto his jacket that my friend was holding on to and would not let go. I was looking on and my friend and i did not know what to do. This guy was wearing a coat...not a nice one but a warm one. this was my friend's only jacket and he kind of needed it for the build b/c of the rain. On the other hand he could proabably buy another one while there was probably no way this guy could afford one. Doesn't Jesus say something along the lines of if someone asks for your staff give him your coat as well? Does that apply to a $100. + North face jacket? And if he gives it too him won't that teach the guy that he can just take from people whatever he needs? What would Jesus do? What would you do? What would I do?
Love you all
josh
Thursday, June 19, 2008
RAIN RAIN GO AWAY
Hey all!
I'm not sure what the weather is where you are but i'm a little confused as to whether I am in Africa or Seattle right now--the wind and rain just keep on commin'. Anyway, we left Cape Town yesterday and arrived in Stellensbosch where we are building houses with Habitat for Humanity. Kali and I were pretty much Zombies after staying up all night the night before working on our papers but i got a lot of sleep last night to make up for it-it was heavenly. We are staying in the dorms at the University of Stellenbosch with a bucn of Irish students and a few from SA who are also helping out with the build. The Irish guys are a riot! They be's a bunch of bonnie lads and Ive been havin' a wee good time witdem. Aye and I 'm also pickin' up a wee bit of the North Ireland accent! At the dors they give us a wake up call at 6:30 and we need to shower, eat, and be on the buses and rollin' down the road by 8:00. We drive to a township called Mfuleni which is a good bit smaller than Khayalesha with a pop. of 25,ooo. My group is comprised of myself and Mia, a girl fro SPU, 2 chaps and a gal from Ireland, a few girls from university in Stellenbosch, a guy from Kansas, and the two builders and a couple of other volunteers who I don't really know yet. All in all I pretty much have the greatest crew ever. Our crew leader is a native Xhosa whose name is Rasta and who is pretty much one of the funniest guys on the planet! If he needs you to something he asks you to do it by thanking you before hand. Josh! Thank you for handing me that spade. Thank you for mixing more Danga (the mixture of concrete, water, and sand that we use to hold the cinder blocks together)! He's great. It was rainy and windy most of the day but it wasn't too difficult to stay warm as long as you kept working. When we stopped for lunch and tea however it was freezing! And no i didn't stutter we really did stop for tea-it was amazing. The tea was milk and water with sugar and a teabag (it was delicious--Olivia, knowiing how much you love tea I think you should really try it) and was accompanied by fatkeks which are like a bread that is a mix of a doughnut and indian fry bread---in a word it was pure bliss. Nzuko (probably just butchered that spelling0, the woman for whom we are building the home, has been waiting 13 years for a house. I guess the way that Habitat works is that the family must raise half of the money themselves. She does have a husband and a three year old son but the father is unemployed and we didn't see him at all. Work went great and the house is progressing quickly. Well, I must go b/c it is getting dark out and Kali and I need to make it back from the cafe we are in for lucnch--and we are supposed to be in groups of three after dark- Gotta Run-Bye
I'm not sure what the weather is where you are but i'm a little confused as to whether I am in Africa or Seattle right now--the wind and rain just keep on commin'. Anyway, we left Cape Town yesterday and arrived in Stellensbosch where we are building houses with Habitat for Humanity. Kali and I were pretty much Zombies after staying up all night the night before working on our papers but i got a lot of sleep last night to make up for it-it was heavenly. We are staying in the dorms at the University of Stellenbosch with a bucn of Irish students and a few from SA who are also helping out with the build. The Irish guys are a riot! They be's a bunch of bonnie lads and Ive been havin' a wee good time witdem. Aye and I 'm also pickin' up a wee bit of the North Ireland accent! At the dors they give us a wake up call at 6:30 and we need to shower, eat, and be on the buses and rollin' down the road by 8:00. We drive to a township called Mfuleni which is a good bit smaller than Khayalesha with a pop. of 25,ooo. My group is comprised of myself and Mia, a girl fro SPU, 2 chaps and a gal from Ireland, a few girls from university in Stellenbosch, a guy from Kansas, and the two builders and a couple of other volunteers who I don't really know yet. All in all I pretty much have the greatest crew ever. Our crew leader is a native Xhosa whose name is Rasta and who is pretty much one of the funniest guys on the planet! If he needs you to something he asks you to do it by thanking you before hand. Josh! Thank you for handing me that spade. Thank you for mixing more Danga (the mixture of concrete, water, and sand that we use to hold the cinder blocks together)! He's great. It was rainy and windy most of the day but it wasn't too difficult to stay warm as long as you kept working. When we stopped for lunch and tea however it was freezing! And no i didn't stutter we really did stop for tea-it was amazing. The tea was milk and water with sugar and a teabag (it was delicious--Olivia, knowiing how much you love tea I think you should really try it) and was accompanied by fatkeks which are like a bread that is a mix of a doughnut and indian fry bread---in a word it was pure bliss. Nzuko (probably just butchered that spelling0, the woman for whom we are building the home, has been waiting 13 years for a house. I guess the way that Habitat works is that the family must raise half of the money themselves. She does have a husband and a three year old son but the father is unemployed and we didn't see him at all. Work went great and the house is progressing quickly. Well, I must go b/c it is getting dark out and Kali and I need to make it back from the cafe we are in for lucnch--and we are supposed to be in groups of three after dark- Gotta Run-Bye
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Exhausted!
Hey everybody!
Wow i am tired. This last couple of days we have been swamped with schoolwork. Last night I didn't get to bed until four and had to wake up at seven to finish reading a book and tonight I have to write a paper on the book...whoa nelly! Besides the work the last couple of days have also been the most eye opening on this trip. We went to the orphanage yesterday which was located in kye-leche township (not really sure how this is spelled. I can not begin to describe to you the conditions or poverty of this place. It is unbelievable. You think of a township as a small place, but the pop. is close to a million! Miles and miles of tin roofs, a sea of tightly packed humanity. I have heard that the murder rate in this township is the second highest in the country! As our van turned off of the highway and started toward this place I had a whirlwind of emotions and feelings. I myself have not yet sorted them all out. There was this feeling of anguish and fear, willing the bus to turn around and take us far away from this place. This feeling was complimented by a further feeling in the heart, a peace and the knowledge that this is where Christ would have me. If Christ were to physically walk the land of South Africa, this is where he would be found. Not along the beautiful streets of Cape Town of staring at the Sea at the Cape of Good Hope, but here among his children. The orphanage is sequestered in the middle of the township down one of the side streets. The tiny complex houses just around 150 kids ranging from newborns to the age of 18. kids are often abandoned by their parents and left on the doorstep or wander in and are given a home. It is heartbreaking that most of these kids never find homes. If their parents don't claim them by the time they are 18 they must leave the orphanage and usually live in the township and try to find a job in the city. The children are beautiful.One boy was eager to give us a tour of the entire complex while some of the younger children just ran from person to person wanting to be held. We were not able to spend as much time there as I had hoped, but the time we did have was precious. We played with the kids, held them, and loved them. I took a box of latex gloves and fascinated a group of them when I blew them up and turned them into cows and people. Everyone wanted one and even as i climbed into the van to leave i was still trying to blow up gloves for the sea of kids calling outside. We left the undertakers with many gifts to give to the children, but as i was there i came to realize that this was not really what the children need. Sure the gifts are great, but they have clothes and toys and candy-maybe not much but just enough. What the really need is us...to love them...to hold them... to give them the acceptance and security that they never received from their parents. In this matter we are to imitate Christ. Yes he occasionally blessed people with gifts such as food, but his true ministry was the giving of Himself.We too are called to give, not just of our pocketbooks, but of our hearts, our labors, our lives.
I must write my paper now, but I hope the Lord is blessing and keeping you all under His wings. And Chris I hope that you are not too bored at SPU without us...me and Kali were thinking you might be :)
JOSHUA
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