Jun 30, 2010 | Prayers in Poetry & Prose, South Africa, Stories
A comment someone made the other day made me think you guys might like to hear a little more about what it’s like to live life here in SA, at least for the Collie family. The thought reminds me of the moment in the movie Amelie when Amelie decides to walk the blind man quickly down the street and tell him what she sees. He’s so thankful for someone else to see for him. If I were to walk you down the street of our days, these are some things I would probably mention.
On the way to the gym we stop for diesel. (Mr. Potato Head is a diesel potato, you know.) We used to go to the nearby BP before we discovered the cheaper diesel place just a little further down the road. We would often see a station attendant called Miemie at the BP. (Pronounced Mee-mee) He lives in a nearby township. His skin is light and his eyes are piercingly pale. He sees the Bear in the backseat and always waves and says “Hello Tiny Bubbles!†while the diesel hums along to fill Potato’s big tank.
Miemie’s wife just had a baby. We offer to bring him baby clothes and things the Bear isn’t using anymore, but he says lots of people have been bringing him things. Though his mother only lives a few miles away, the baby was four months old before she met him. Being far away from family hits home for me, but the fact that four miles is an insurmountable distance tugs at my heart.
We take the Beach Road (Kusweg) from our flat to the gym and watch people out walking on the beach with dogs and babies and friends as we roll over speed bumps and pass women selling newspapers. Table Mountain is across the bay and on clear days you can see all the way to Cape Point. When the sun’s shining the other side of the bay seems close enough to swim to. We pass a coffee shop called De La Creme that I want to visit sometime. It’s decorated in a 50s-60s Americana sort of theme; Elvis and Marilyn Monroe posters, inviting you inside. As we bumble along we sometimes see planes heading to the airport against the backdrop of the mountain. Lots more planes than usual lately.
Our gym is the nicest gym at which I’ve ever had a membership. There’s a beautiful big pool and a separate pool for water aerobics. Almost every piece of cardio equipment in the CV area has its own TV. We often do the circuit and wish other people would pay attention to the instructions and lights and move along in an orderly fashion. It is a strange feeling sometimes…the wealth and poverty that entertwine so closely here. I smiled at one of the ladies cleaning the sinks as I went into the potty a while ago. When I came out she asked for a job for her sister. I felt really uncomfortable because I didn’t know what to say. We have a lady who helps with the cleaning once every two weeks and we don’t exactly have the funds for that, but we are glad to forego something else in the budget to give someone work. I regretted not having any suggestions for the cleaning lady’s sister.
Sometimes we rent a DVD on the weekend. There are two little boys who look like brothers who beg outside the store. I am sad whether I have something to give them or not, because I wonder if they are begging instead of going to school. I saw the little one in the parking lot at the grocery store down the street the other day. Seeing the familiar face of a stranger is sometimes just plain strange.
At one stoplight for a long time, there was a nice and large lady with a brilliant smile. Her “spot†was always just outside a lovely golf living estate that stretches on and on, called Greenways. Her daughter sat on the edge of the plant bed which sat in front of one of the Greenways signs outside the gate. It seemed like her daughter had a mental disability but I wasn’t sure what it was. She was there begging day after day and she began to recognize us. My heart ached if we didn’t have anything to give. I began to think about learning to knit so that I could teach her. If she had a skill, a trade, surely she’d be better off? If she could knit scarves to sell? Before I had a chance to think it through or buy knitting needles, we passed by one day. As the change clinked in her ceramic cup, she joyfully declared “We are going home to Zimbabwe! Good bye dear friends, God bless you!â€
Those words broke my heart. It felt like I’d missed a chance. I wasn’t sure how things would be better for her in Zim. I wished I’d had the opportunity to do more.
After the gym, we sometimes stop at a nearby grocery store. Some days they give away samples, and I’m glad because it distracts the Bear for at least five minutes. He tries new cookies and Pink Lady apples with equally happy appreciation. I stroll the aisles and sometimes still marvel at how expensive things seem to be here. I wonder how people who make so little make ends meet.
An older gentleman who always wears a hat sits on a big cement block, or if it’s taken, sometimes a brick turned on its end, in the grassy area that runs between our complex and the road. Every day we pass by and I smile. He hasn’t smiled back yet, but I keep trying. I want to bring him cookies or banana bread the next time I bake some.
The security gate closes behind us and the security guard on duty in the booth stretches his hand high to say hello. For a little while, we escape the poverty and sights that tug at my heartstrings. But tomorrow is always a fresh battle. A fight not to grow cold…a fight to give, to at least pray, to smile and believe: tomorrow is a fresh opportunity to give, to love, to smile.
xCC
Jun 29, 2010 | South Africa, Travel..ling Tuesdays
While waiting for Uncle Russ and Erin to arrive, we enjoyed the excitement of World Cup Fever at Cape Town airport. And we sure did document it for you to enjoy it, too! Happy Tuesday!
These vuvuzela-laden, aptly-dressed kids are obviously ready for some World Cup action. But what are they looking at?
It’s a delightfully “African” band, welcoming international arrivals to Cape Town and the World Cup. (And singing songs that mention Bafana Bafana {South Africa’s team!} and lilt along Welcome to Ah-free-cahhh…).
They were kind enough to let the Bear enjoy the fun! He is apparently a budding musician.
But if you buy him a drum set, I. Will. Hurt. You. Don’t you love that one of the musicians is dressed as a soccer player?
Check out this cool instrument which has an African name I couldn’t pronounce, let alone spell.
The Bear thinks it’s interesting too. I suppose you can get him one of those. They are lyrical and peaceful.
If you make it down here, FIFA is ready to welcome you!
And the minute your plane touches down, you’ll be seeing flags. Everywhere.
I’d never seen so much lovely decor at an airport. Not even in Dubai!
Okay, except that the big black trash bags are kind of pretty darn visible. And they kind of feel like creepy shrines to a nonexistent soccer god.
Before I sign off you must enjoy this last moment that I wish we’d better documented. One of the band members taught the Bear how to dance to the music!
“Ashley” as the band member called him, is a very good dancer and a clever boy indeed! 🙂
My brother and Erin are visiting a game reserve overnight, so I had a brief moment to give you an update and a Travelling Tues! Hope you enjoyed it and that your week’s off to a great start! We are enjoying our visitors and can’t wait for them to get back, but I have a special stroll in the queue for you tomorrow. Even though Ashley isn’t featured, I think you’ll enjoy it!
xCC
Jun 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
To let you know that I’m going to be enjoying my brother and his girlfriend’s visit and not spending too much time on my laptop!
We waited at the airport with great excitement…
And although the soccer hasn’t exactly gone our way…
We’re still gonna get out there and enjoy beautiful South Africa!
There are a few things I’ve already written for you I might get a chance to post, but in the meantime, will you say a prayer for our little family? HH, the Bear and I are all sick. No fun anytime, but especially when you have guests visiting! Hope you’re enjoying the weekend! More pictures and posts coming soon!
xCC
Jun 24, 2010 | South Africa, Stories
Let’s be honest. A pretty decent number of us have not watched a soccer game since the World Cup packed the streets of Germany back in ’06. But now it’s here again…it’s big, it’s international, it’s exciting, and if nothing else, your home country’s involvement has hopefully peaked your interest.
But I think what keeps a lot of us interested, and what really provokes us to move past being a “I’m just watching because it’s on and I guess it’s kind of interesting” to a “I really care about this. This really matters. It matters to me!” kind of fan is the personal involvement that tugs at our hearts when we see things going a different way from how we think they should.
A few nights ago, Brazil played Côte d’Ivoire and won the game 3 – 1. But after the match was finished and the stadium was cleared, it wasn’t the score that people were talking about. The thing that drew folks in, that is still drawing folks in, was the second yellow card that one of Brazil’s most shining gems, Kaka received. Two yellows equal a red, and Kaka walked off the field before the clock was out, and may or may not be allowed to play in the next match. (Depending on whether FIFA decides to step in from what I understand.)
Why was Kaka’s red so controversial? Because an Ivory Coast player, Keita, ran into Kaka. Kaka lifted his arm to block the oncoming player from running straight into him in a natural, and after studying the replays I’d like to say, very reasonable manner. Keita feigned having been elbowed in the face, brought his hands to his face and fell to the ground as if he’d just been assaulted by an armed guard with a bully club. The replays make it clear he was not hit in the face, but the ref bought it and carded Kaka. It might be fair to go so far as to say Keita cheated and Kaka was punished for it.
Injustice prevailed and the world took notice.
Just a few nights before that, the USA played Slovenia. They were down 2 – zip at the half and rallied back with goals from Donovan and Bradley to level off at 2 – 2. Then the unthinkable happened: in the 86th minute, second-half sub Maurice Edu knocked in a close range shot to put the US ahead. With just minutes remaining in the game it seemed like a sure victory, until the goal was disallowed. The replay has been watched and  re-watched. There are currently at least 24,711 views on youtube, and probably enough news articles and blog posts to circle the globe twice. It seems that at present no explanation has been offered.
Once again, injustice prevailed and the world took notice. (Fortunately, beating Algeria 1-0 last night means the USA boys are still in the game — feels like a bit of justice after the officiating tragedies.)
A friend of mine said ESPN is showing the disallowed goal footage back in the US before they show any highlights from the World Cup. Why? Because it engages people. It incites people. It takes people from “I’m just watching because it’s on and I guess it’s interesting” to “I really care. This really matters. It matters to me.”
Here’s the thing. I want to know what it will take to grab hold of the average Western churchgoer and bring them from “I will do something about injustice in the world when it’s easy and convenient for me” to “I care about this. This really matters. What happens in our world matters to me.”
Because for all the injustices on the playing field, still this is just a game. At the end of the World Cup there will be a trophy, some teams will win, some teams will lose. In 50 years not very many people will be able to remember what happened.
But in our world, these injustices are a different matter. The game is still going on, and it’s more than a game. I’m not going to bombard you with stats because I think you know them, but here are two, just relating to hunger: About 1 in 7 worldwide–854 million people–do not have enough food to sustain them. Approximately 25,000 people die each day of hunger or its related causes–about 9 million people per year. I won’t even get in to clean water, preventable disease…or this post will go on all day.
But here’s the thing. We literally could be the generation that ends extreme poverty. $65 billion could eliminate the most extreme poverty on the planet for more than a billion people.* Please read that again. (That’s how much America spent on Jewelry in 2008.) Less than a third of what we spent on pets in 2003 could bring clean water to most of the world’s poor.^ I could go on and on with statistics which could demonstrate the fact that making a huge impact on the lives of the world’s poorest people is within our grasp. It is even within the grasp of just the American church, if every churchgoer in America tithed.
The reason I address the church is because this mission for us is a non-negotiable, unmistakeable absolute command and as long as we fail to follow through with it, we are falling short of what we have been repeatedly instructed to do. On average we’re giving 2.2 percent of our income to the church and 2% of that is going to overseas missions of any kind.§
You probably don’t hold that $65 billion in your hands, I know. But you do have something to give. If Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish, one boy’s lunch, and fed more than 5,000, surely we all have something to give. Mother Teresa once said:
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
Let those drops start today (or continue to flow as I believe it is for many of you)Â with loving the person in front of you. Loving the neighbour God puts in your path. Make sure you’re willing to let Him stretch wide the understanding of your heart to answer that simple question: “Who is my neighbour?”
To paraphrase Edmund Burke, on or off the field, for injustice to prevail is for good men to do nothing. Keep believing you can make a difference. You can, and especially with God’s love at heart, you will.
xCC
*Sachs, Jeffrey D. Â The End of Poverty, (2005) 295. via Stearns, Richard. The Hole in Our Gospel, (2005).
^Stein, Joel. “It’s a Dog’s Life.” Time Magazine, May 19, 2003. Â + United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report, 1998. via ” ”
§Stearns, R. Hole, 2005.
Jun 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
Today is a very special day! Hero Hubs and I have been married for three delightful years! The day is likely to fly by with everything that’s going on right now, so we are planning to wait to celebrate once the busyness of this particular moment in time has passed us by…hopefully things will slow down a little in mid-July! But in the meantime I thought I’d wish Hero Hubby a Happy Anniversary right here, in the space where greeting cards are free and fully customizable. Well, as customizable as I have skill to customize anyway.
Dear Hero Hubs,
It’s not just a catchy nickname. You are an awesome man after the Lord’s own heart, a hero to me, and I am so blessed to be your wife! I will save the major mush for an actual card that the rest of the internet isn’t going to read, but I just thought I’d make sure you know you’re loved and celebrated right here, too!
Here’s to these three, and many more!
During this time we’ve lived on three continents: Africa, Europe and America, and we’ve visited three other countries together: Honduras, England and France!
We’ve physically moved all our stuff three times, have had three home addresses, at least three flat tires, and perhaps no more than three proper arguments. We’ve visited three game reserves, enjoyed three major sporting events (and at least three games where we cheered on the Pirates). We survived about three months of morning sickness (thank you for being so great!) and three major life decisions (your entry into ministry, stopping my PhD and our move to South Africa.)
We’ve had a blast scoring deals at Old Navy while back in the US on at least three separate and special occasions. I think you’ve consoled me while I cried at at least three hundred movies, and we’ve had three slightly scary visits to the hospital. I think we’ve broken down in the Ikea parking lot three times, too. 🙂
So while we might not have the opportunity to fully celebrate the joy today, I just want to take a moment to celebrate it right here. Thanks for being the Hero Hubby that you are. Thanks for always reminding me that God’s got us right when I need to hear it. Thank you for living out Ecclesiastes 4 with me, and for picking me up so well. Thank you for selflessly making an amazing cup of coffee for me almost every morning for the past three years! I’d like to ask the Lord for another three hundred.
With Love,
Your CC
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together, they are warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
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