Catching Water In My Hands

That second when you think that things won’t change, that things can’t change, for different reasons known only to you. Then the second’s gone and you realise that things can and do change. No two moments are the same, no two seconds are the same. Everything changes, shifts, moves accordingly per what’s happening around it.

On December 22, something changed for me. When I arrived in Uganda I was well aware that there was this change was coming. I just wasn’t sure I was ready for it. It came anyway. Before you begin freaking out that something terrible has happened that I had somehow foreseen, I’d better explain… December 22. It's the date I was born on, 22 years ago, in a hospital in Kampala, Uganda. For many, the progress of time is something they’ve gotten used to. I've just gotten used to blocking it out. However, this just means that every now and then, it'll catch up with me.

I don't intend to make this post a rant or anything like that, but one thing that always gets to me over Christmas is how we're in the process of loosing the real meaning of Christmas. For so many, its about the presents and the decorations. It never fails to annoy me that people are becoming more and more focused on the gifts, the food, the decorations that go up that they fail to see the blatant sign. Christ as an innocent babe... when did we loose this? No one knows when exactly Jesus was born, though in the fourth century people began to celebrate it on December 25. Another thing that a lot of people don't realise is that in the East, before Christianity came to Europe, the pagan celebrations (namely the winter festival), would take place over this period. A lot of our modern 'traditions' come from these festivals. The date itself, too, was chosen to christianise the Roman festival of the 'birthday of the unconquered sun,' which to celebrate the sun god. I'm not judging anyone for deciding what they'll do on Christmas... at home we exchange gifts, though we know who has bought them and given them (Santa's never had a place in our family). May my prayer for this season be that you will find the true meaning in tomorrow's celebrations again.

Nothing Like It

Here's something you should know about the Kenyan coast. Long after the sun has set, the heat still remains. It's not just the heat, but also the humidity, that work together to cause that sense of discomfort. It causes you to sweat, late in the evening or after you've just stepped out of the shower. You feel it the most when you step out of the heat and into an air conditioned room, then you feel the sweat go cold on your skin. The only other place I've dealt with the heat and the humidity together, other than on the Kenyan coast, was when I was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, back in February 2013. I know that there are people who don't like the heat and the humidity when it comes hand in hand like it is now, but I love it anyway. I love the heat and the smell in the air, the smell of salty water. Thankfully there's barely no seaweed because decaying seaweed doesn't smell very nice. The previous times we've visited, the sand was almost completely invisible because of the seaweed.

The days at the coast are coming to an end and we head back to Uganda. There's a deep sense of sadness as I say that we're going to be staying in the Yellow House. It's the house we stayed in, the house I called home from when I was seven right up until I left for the Netherlands when I was nineteen. It's the house my parents renovated back in 2000. It's going to be so strange going to the house I called home for so long, but is no longer my home. There are people staying there now, they've brought their own furniture in, changed things. The dogs aren't there anymore. Mac, my brother's German Shepherd/Border Collie cross, died about a year and a half ago, and the dashounds are in the care of another family. I've told my mum that I want to see them because I want to know they're alright. I want to make sure they're in a good place. It's going to be hard though, because I'd love to take them back to England with me, but I can't. I'll try to take some photos of my darlings...

Last time we were in Kenya we went to visit one of the local conservation projects. I don't know how else to call them. One in particular is a place I've wanted to go back to. Its called Local Ocean Trust: Watamu Turtle Watch. As the name implies, they're an organization that is trying to raise the numbers of an indangered animal. There are so many reasons why turtles are dying. Mainly because of humans. They get caught in fishing nets and on hooks. They eat plastic bags they think are their favourite food, jelly fish. They're also hunted because of their meat (to make turtle soup) and their shells (to make turtle shell jewelry and other accessories). Their eggs are getting dug up and their young are eaten by birds and other animals. The statistics are showing than 1 in 1,000 turtle hatchlings will make it to adulthood. Watamu Turtle Watch works with the local fishermen trying to change the culture and the mindset. The Trust also goes into schools to run educational sessions. It's really hard to see that these beautiful animals are being killed. In the years since Watamu Turtle Watch opened, the number of turtles have gone up slightly in the area, as the nests are being protected by the Trust, which has lead to more hatchlings making it into the water. Also more and more of the local fishermen are calling Watamu Turtle Watch when they find a turtle in their nets.

The photographs. The first and second photos are of the beach outside the hotel we're staying in, and the last photograph is of a Green Turtle that was brought in to the Turtle Hospital at Watamu Turtle Watch. 

The Sunbaked Lands

One thing about the equatorial countries is the light. There's almost too much light, and it's that intense light that will burn you if you're not careful. Its everywhere. It goes everywhere, penetrating into the recesses of the corners of the room. It's one thing I've sorely missed since I moved to England. The sun doesn't shine in the same way as it does here in East Africa. My skin's been lapping up the sun, though I've been extremely careful not get burnt so badly I end up looking like a lobster. There's a sense of beauty in being able to truely enjoy the heat. I'm so glad that I'm here now, when England's so cold and dark. The equatorial lands are blessed with roughly the same amount of light and darkness all year round, and the temperature. It's the same all year round. Sometimes when people go back to England they don't realize how cold it can be, how cold it can get over there. It's something I'm still getting used to and sometimes I don't know if I'll ever totally get used to the weather or the light patterns of the northern hemosphere. 

I still can't believe that I'm here, that I'm back in East Africa, that I can visit Uganda and Kenya. Both countries have had such a big impact in my life, both in a good and bad way. It's been a dream, to come back, since I finished my DTS* in March 2013. However, at the same time I'm really grateful that I didn't end up coming back then because I wasn't ready to come back to this part of africa. In a way, I wonder if I'm still not ready to be back. Though, I'm sure The Lord would have shut the door on my coming back now if the timing wasn't right. Yet here I am. In East Africa. Sometimes I do feel like I'm dreaming as I've wanted to come back for so long that I have had dreams about being back. I don't think I've been able to celebrate my birthday in Uganda since I turned nineteen, and that was almost three years ago.

*DTS = Discipleship Training School

In Kenya

The Maasai

We're at the Kenyan coast! We flew in yesterday afternoon after traveling for quite a few hours. One of Caleb's school friends flew up from South Africa and is spending the rest of the holiday with us. He's also going back to Uganda with us. Its exciting being back here after so many years (two and a half, to be exact). We've been coming to the coast for as long as I can remember. We're fortunate to be able to come! The hotel we're in is a lovely all inclusive hotel that encourages their visitors to come back again and again. I'm not going to say how many times we've stayed here.

One thing that really shocked me this morning is that in twelve days time I'm turning 22. Its hard to believe how fast the time goes as it feels like only last week I turned 21, on the Kwa-Zulu Natal coast in South Africa. I didn't think or even dream that I'd be celebrating 22 in Uganda as I wasn't sure if I'd come back. I'm still processing everything.

I'm Back In Uganda

The view from my parents' land

I still can't believe that I'm actually back in Uganda after about two years and three months. I've been praying about coming back since I finished my DTS (Discipleship Training School) back in March 2013. However I didn't think think the time was right, until now.

It's was quite an ordeal getting here. Hannah missed the flight to Uganda because her flight from Paris to Amsterdam was delayed, so the computer system at Schipol automatically moved her and her luggage to the next flight out, which left at 9pm (Dutch time). I had made the flight to Uganda which meant that we didn't end up flying together, which had been the whole plan. So she flew with Kenya Airways and had to change at Nairobi. I must say that KLM is an amazing airline to fly with. Even though I've flown via Kigali, Rwanda before, this experience was so much better than the previous time. The cabin crew on both flights were great. I do admire how smoothly they can flick between English and Dutch.

One of my brother's first catches... it was released again!

Hannah arrived in Uganda on Saturday morning and soon after we traveled to Kampala, before driving through to my parents' land near Jinja. Its really nice being here, but I'm still adjusting to being here. I'm not used to the lack of noise level, compared to London, but all in all, I'm enjoying being back in Uganda!

Caleb's in his element being back, as you can see by the photo on the right. He loves snakes and has the knack of knowing if they're poisonous, semi-poisonous or harmless. He's also extremely fast so can catch them with lightning speed, so that they almost don't know what's hit them... This snake was released soon after he caught it! No one was harmed in the process, nor was the snake!

Tomorrow we're heading back to Kampala before heading to the Kenyan coast for our family holiday. A school friend of Caleb's, will be joining us. I'm really looking forwards to the next few weeks, and I'm glad to be with the family again after almost year since we were last together.

News Feed

Fireworks on 5 November

Walking down Oxford and Regent Streets today, I realised all over again, how big an effect this city has had on my life and how the people I live with have changed me so much. I've lived in London for eight months now, but every day I've come to see as a blessing because I'm always learning so much about God and those I'm living with. Being a part of the house staff has something very special about it. Even though I'm the youngest of the house staff, my age doesn't place any weight on my role in the house. The students will be leaving on mini outreach to Luton next week. Like what happened on my outreach, the students won't be going with any of the school staff, rather they'll be spending their outreach stepping out as leaders, though two of the students will be over seeing the leadership of the team.

Guy Folks Fireworks

Part of the reason I'm writing this post now, and not in a few days time (closer to when the school leaves on outreach), is because tonight is my last night at the YWAM London base. Tomorrow evening I'm travelling to London Heathrow to catch my flight to Uganda. I'm heading over to Heathrow in the evening because the Underground doesn't run when I need to travel to the airport, so I'm going when it is running so that I do get there. Yes. I'm going back to Uganda for the first time in about two years and three months. I left Uganda in September 2012 to go join YWAM Heidebeek, the Netherlands. I haven't been back since then and I must say that it still hasn't totally hit me that I'm actually going back. Its been a rather vague dream that I'll heading back to the country I grew up in. Yes, I'm really looking forwards to it, but I can honestly say that I'm really looking forwards to coming back to London and joining the base again next year.

One of the joys of living in a strong Christian community is that my relationship with God has gotten that much stronger. They've all had some part in encouraging me in my walk with Him. Because there are so many different nationalities and countries represented, everyone has their own opinions. It adds to the joy of living with these incredible people. I'm definitely going to miss them when I'm away and I'm really looking forwards to seeing them all again in a few weeks time! I'm looking forwards to hearing all their stories too!

Hopefully I'll be able to post something over the next few weeks!

London Calling

London St Pancras International, walking down the concourse towards the Underground station of King's Cross St Pancras, I was home, back in my city. It's a strange feeling. Knowing a city is home now. It getting into your skin and stays there. I don't honestly remember that moment when I knew I would one day live and work in this vibrant city, all I know is that I was called to come here. It was a disire that was placed in my heart by the Almighty One and its burns like a fire in my soul, one that I can't contain, control or ever put out, not that I'd want to do that. Uganda's my homeland, it's where I was born and grew up, but London's my home now. It's my city and it welcomes me with open arms whenever I leave, even for thirty six hours to visit family in different parts of the counties that surround London city.

I don't know if I mentioned, few weeks ago, that the last of the seven LMD students arrived. Philip, from Indian (pictured on the far left in the above photo). He arrived about a month ago and fitted right into how things runs on the base.

It's been a rediculious last couple of days and weeks. The LMD are fast approaching their mini-outreach to Luton but before they go, I'll be boarding a plane to Amsterdam and then Uganda. Yes! Believe it or not, I'm going to my beautiful homeland of Uganda for a whole month (though some of that time will be spent on the Kenyan coast). Hannah came back last week for another short visit. During this visit we went to the hairdresser and had our hair done. I wouldn't have mentioned this is if wasn't such a drastic change. I had my shoulder length blond hair cut to around my ears (as seen in the picture on the right). We also coloured our hair, ourselves, so I'm no longer a blonde, but a brunette (I don't know if that's spelt right). There were mixed reactions on the base when I returned from having it cut and when I came down stairs after coloring it.

Sorry about the fact that this post is a bit all over the place. Hopefully the next post won't be like this, but I don't know when I'll next post. Hopefully before I leave but I can't promise.

The Best Of Me

There's moments when things don't make sense to me. There's so many times I've stopped to think about my life. The good things can be so hard to see even when they're staring me in the face. Over the last ten days or so, God showed me, very clearly, that things aren't over. The journey isn't over just because my LMD finished months ago. He asked me to let things go and come out of my shell. To open up and learn to trust again.

There's a part of me that won't trust, can't trust, the others around me. I love them dearly and they've come to mean everything to me. I just liked hiding behind my walls because I thought I was safe there, even though it was lonely. I tried to see the good things from behind the walls I'd build, but the view wasn't there to see. The dam began to give way last week when we had a simple, yet extremely difficult challenge. Opposite spirit week. We all have to go in the opposite spirit to what we normally did. We didn't choose what our challenge was, God did. He told the staff what each person's challenge was going to be. It was tough hearing what God wanted but in a way, it didn't come as that big of a surprise.

In one go, my defense was gone, taken away. I'm an introvert (please don't tell me that I'm not one, just read this article when you're done. I love people but I also need time to recharge, on my own). I've taken to hiding behind my technology (my phone in particular) because I didn't want to talk to anyone as I didn't want to be forced to let them in to my heart and truth them. I thought it was safer that way. When God took break through my defenses, He showed me what one of the cornerstones of friendship is. It's trust. Trust also means not letting the people I share my life and this beautiful house with see only the best of me. It means letting them into the moments of pain, the moments of fear and the moments of inner struggles. It's a journey I'm on and I'm still learning, but that's the beauty of friendship. True friends love you even when you mess up, big time. They love me despite it all. They've become a family away from my own family in South Africa. It's a privilege serving alongside such a vibrant, international group of people.

Photos: the first one is the view from my window, at night, and the second one is of my vibrant and beautiful friend, Laura, from the distant land of Argentina.

Autumn

There's something beautiful that happens when the seasons change. London goes from being cloaked in green to being dressed in a multitude of different red, orange and yellow shades. It's lovely watching this happen. It's been years since I've last encountered a British autumn. Two years ago I saw the seasons change when I was doing my DTS in the Netherlands. It's not been so cold as when I was over there, as I clearly remember being freezing cold when I would bike to the base. On the last day of October, I was walking without a jacket or sweater on, as the temperature had gone up into the 20's (Celsius). It was said to be the hottest Halloween in years. I've seen the seasons change in the Southern Hemisphere too, on South Africa's lowvelt, which is different from here. Down there, is cold and very dry with no rain (there, the winter occurres during the summer months in the northern hemisphere) whilst the summer, over there, is full of thunderstorms and heat waves, one after another. In many western countries, having a swimming pool is a luxury, where my family live in South Africa, having a swimming pool is a nessecity to keep cool.

In regards to seasonal shifts, there's been one here on the base. This last week, as a house, we've been spending time praying and fasting. This was a choice we made because we wanted to go to a new level spiritually as both the School of Leadership and Ministry Development (LMD) and the Discipleship Training School (DTS) had lectures on Freedom in Christ. It was a very intense week for the entire base, but I'm thrilled to say that when we sought God's face, with everything, He turned to us and gave us our request.

I don't know if I posted about the two newest members of the house. Philip, one of the LMD students arrived last week, from India. He arrived late because of the process it took getting his visa. The other new arrival is Aby, who was born at the end of September. Everyone was very much looking forwards to her arrival. Aby's the first YWAM Urban Key baby to be born (there have been a few couples tie the knot over the last few years since the base started nine years ago).

The next few weeks are going to be very busy, not only with the LMD and WildFire (the new name for King's Kids, London) but also personally. Weekend duties, visiting family, and having my sister coming to visit. In a matter of weeks, I'm going to be traveling back to Uganda for the first time in over two years. It's the first time I've been back since I left to do my DTS in September 2012. I'm really looking forwards to going back, though I honestly don't know what to expect.

October LMD: Week Two

It's Tuesday, and the beginning of another week for Youth With A Mission, London. It's also the start of of another week of lectures for both the School of Leadership and Ministry (LMD) and the Discipleship Training School (DTS), October 2014. The last few weeks have been exceptionally busy for the base and for me personally. About ten days ago, the October LMD and DTS started. That night I went straight through to Stansted Airport to catch a plane to the Netherlands. One of my closest friends, from my own DTS (two years ago) got married on October 11. It was my first Dutch wedding and I really enjoyed being there and seeing a few people from my DTS. However it was a very short visit. I was only in the Netherlands for three days (two nights). The day after I arrived back in England my sister came to visit for Tuesday and Wednesday. We had so much fun together and she's already planning her next visit to London to visit. I'm really looking forwards to her coming back.

This afternoon we have a government outreach. We've been doing quite a bit of that since the school started. The day before the LMD officially started we did a spiritual mapping day, which involved walking around London and praying for different topics as we passed that location. This week is international disarmament week, so we're going to go and stand outside parliament. It's a first for me to do this, as we didn't do this on my LMD.

Otherwise, things are going well. My parents are still in South Africa with my younger brother Caleb (who's turning sixteen in a few weeks time). They've had some issues with my parents' South African visas. The laws changed a few months back and led to a lot of problems with my dad being able to get back into the country after his visit to the Netherlands to visit my grandmother with Caleb. He had to wait until the ban that had been laid on his return to South Africa had been lifted. They're currently working with the Home Affairs Office to get the visas sorted out before we meet up for Christmas in Uganda. Hannah's still in Paris, working as a chef in a restaurant that's located in a posh train station.

Till next time

A New Season

A lot has happened since I last wrote. One of the biggest things you can probably see from the photograph on the right. Two weeks ago I had braces fitted. Some of you might remember that I had some teeth removed last November (the full story's here). One of the teeth removed was an impacted twelve year old molar, which is the second to last molar in one's mouth. The wisdom tooth behind it had surfaced a while ago, at a slight angle. The aim of braces are to straighten out my teeth, which have moved about a bit since there was nothing to prevent them from doing that (since the molars were removed) and to move the last remaining wisdom tooth into the now vacant slot of the twelve year old molar. My lower back teeth currently have brackets on them, but the wire I currently have in my mouth isn't thick enough, so none of the three twelve year old molars, and the wisdom tooth have the wires fitted, yet. That happens in November. I've finally gotten used to having braces in my mouth. It's taken a while to get over the discomfort.

Another new big change is what I'm going to be involved with, in YWAM london. I'm still going to be working with WildFire (King's Kids International), but I'm also going to be staffing the October LMD (School of Leadership and Ministry Developement). It was something I didn't quite expect but it's going to be good. There are currently about eight students from a number of different locations, who are going to be coming. Two are from the April DTS (Discipleship Training School), which my LMD were working with. We did part of our outreach with them in Islington back in the beginning of July. It's going to be a exciting season.

There are also some news items that have come up over the last few weeks. Tomorrow, two of the YWAM staff from Dartmouth Road are getting married. And whilst we're talking about marriages. A Dutch friend of mine is getting married next week. So I've booked my ticket to go and celebratie that with him. Hannah, my sister, is also coming to spend some time with me in nine days time. She arrives the day after I get back from the Netherlands.

I'm not sure when I'll next write. Hopefully it'll be soon.

Newly Fledged

It's been a week already and I can't believe I haven't posted. I've really be meaning to since I last posted but things ended up taking a turn that I didn't quite expect.

Last week I arrived back at the base and was asked on Monday night, if I wanted to sit in on the lectures of the counseling school. I wasn't sure about it but after some encouragement I decided to do it. It's been an interesting week, I can tell you. The speaker's style is unusual, as he uses more stories than other speakers I've heard. For me, I've really enjoyed that aspect, as I find it easier getting something out a talk when there are stories involved. The stories will stick in my mind and I'll think about them and try to figure out what was meant behind the story. That's one thing I love about the stories Jesus told, there are so many meanings to the parables he shared with his followers. Last week, the story of the lost son was one of the stories that Gus, the speaker, talked about. I've heard sermons and talks on this parable before but I must say that the way Gus presented his thoughts about it, have given me something to process and think about.

There's already preparation for the next LMD (School of Leadership and Ministry Development) which starts in the beginning of October. It's going to be a busy month because the school is still in its foundation years, it's only the second time the school is being run here in London and the staff are still working on finishing a few things up. It's exciting. The October LMD is also about double the size mine was, and from quite a number of different countries.

October is also a busy month for me, personally. Within a week, I'll be attending two weddings. One of these weddings are between two members of the London staff, and the other wedding is between one of the people my from DTS team and his girlfriend. I'm really thrilled for them all! It's hard to believe how fast the year is progressing, and as the weather changes, I can't help but thank The Lord for the changes that have taken place in my life. It's been an extremely challenging last few months, I can tell you. I also know that the next few months, years, will be challenging in their ways as I sense that I'll be pushed out of my comfort zone.

From London Town

It's been only a few weeks since I last posted and so much has  happened since then. I've visited family and even went over to Paris to visit my incredibly talented sister, Hannah (pictured on the left). I've never been to Paris before, but I have been to France on road trips to the port cities (to catch the ferry to the UK), so Hannah took me to see some of the monuments for which Paris is famous for. We had a lot of fun together and are planning on meeting up again some time in the near future. I guess that's the lovely thing about living in capital cities that are so close together. I also spent some time with not only my mum's sister and aunt, but also with my cousins in Luton. We also had a YWAM London Retreat in Harpenden over this last weekend. It was amazing spending time with the people who have become family to me. We spent some listening to some incredible talks and had some amazing worship times.

You're probably wondering what the future holds, now that my leadership school has finished. Over the course of my outreach I couldn't help but ask God if He wanted me to move on to another base, somewhere else in the world, but I didn't get anything. A number of people mentioned that I should really be open to the possibabilty that God might want me to stay on in London. So towards the end of my outreach I asked God if I should stay. It became clear that's what I should do. The kids ministry, here at the base, needed another perminant staff member as they've been depending on the help of the students from whichever school's running. I really had peace about staying on and I don't know for how long I'll be here for. It's s bit daughting because I've not put many roots down anywhere over the last few years, because of the traveling I've been doing. Coming to think about it, I've not stayed anywhere longer than a year, in over three years now. It'll take a bit of adjusting to the idea that London is now my perminant home. I've been in London now about five and a half months and I'll be here for as long as The Lord wants me to stay in this beautiful, diverse city. Along the way I could well end up seeing the realization of a dream I've had for some years now, to learn to speak Spanish.

Now that I'm back in London, I should be posting articles on my blog more regularly, so do watch this space for the latest information. Things do change suddenly, so I'll be posting  about what I've been in... The time between posts may very a bit depending on what my schedule looks like from week to week.

Photographs: Hannah and me, on one of the many lock bridges in Paris (believe it or not, there's more than one, and some of them are bracking because of the weight of the locks); the Notre Dame Cathedral, I seem to be making a habit of visiting cathedrals when I'm traveling (in the six months I've been in the UK I've been to three, Canterbury Cathedral, Glasgow Cathedral and, now, the Notre Dame) and one of the lock bridges; you can see what I mean about the locks. There were so many that there wasn't any room for people to hang new locks up. That's why there's a number of bridges are being used, and why it's spreading, slowly, to London. I've seen some padlocks hanging on the bridge outside parliament and Big Ben. I wonder if people are trying to bring spread the idea, of hanging padlocks on bridges, around the world. Hmmm...

Chapter Finished

It's been ages since I've had the time to actually sit down and write a decent post. The last couple of weeks have been the climax of not only my outreach, but the entire YWAM Urban Key, London's year. It's been really busy, to say the least.

Bones Camp started on the 15th of August. Bones is run by the Arts House (one of the three houses in YWAM London) and is basically the preparation time for going out onto the streets during the Notting Hill Carnival. Unlike the global carnivals (like the one I was at in Rio de Janeiro back in February 2012) that take place at the beginning of lent, the Notting Hill Carnival started in the mid-1960's. One of the reasons that the carnival began was due to widespread racial attacks that had occurred in 1958 and the poor state of racial relationships at that time. In 1975 it became a major festival, and has become known as one of the most famous carnivals, along side the Rio Carnival.

For me, the Notting Hill Carnival was quite a different experience to the night evangelism we did in Rio in February 2012. Due to my participation with the kids, I wasn't as involved with what was happening at the Bones camp as the others were. They'd spent most of the week practicing their dances, their drumming and their stilt walking. So when we arrived, with the kids, on Sunday morning, it was a nice surprise to see everyone dressed in bright colours and with vibrant face paints. We had an incredible time raising the joy levels of the carnival. Once the kids had been taken back to Dartmouth Road, we went out and talked to people. There were a number of people who were open to talk with us about God, whilst with others, we could tell right away that they just wanted us to leave.

Then on Monday, it rained for more or less the entire day, but that didn't stop us going out to do another parade. The stilts weren't used because of the slippery conditions of the roads. This time I helped with keeping people from walking amongst the dancers. It was a lot of fun, but meant that we had to keep an eye out on where everyone was.

Yesterday, everything from the carnival had been cleared away, this included the rubbish, the stalls, everything. We tidied up the church we'd been staying in and had a debrief session with lunch. That's when I ended up leaving. I dropped a bag off and headed to Liverpool Street to catch the train to spend a few days with my aunt and uncle. I'm going to be doing some travelling over the next weeks, which include going to Paris to visit my sister, Hannah (who's working there as a chef) and going to another YWAM gathering in Harpenden.

I'll post again soon with more news and an outline about what the next chapter of my adventures will look like.

Photographs: the first and second photos are of the street where the church, we were staying in, is. The first one I took Friday 22 August, before the carnival started, and the second one I took yesterday morning, the day after carnival ended.

Changes To Adjust To

It's been a while since I last posted, but things have been rediculiously busy and I've had a number of things I've had to do before moving back to Dartmouth Road.

So yes, I'm back at Dartmouth Road, though I'm the only one who's moved here, as more or less everyone else is moving into the church in Notting Hill for the Bones camp, which starts tonight. The reason I'm back at Dartmouth Road and not in the church with the three DTS's (the April DTS, the July DTS, and the Arts Revolution DTS, which started last night), and a number of the staff, is because I'm going to be working with the Bones Adventure Camp. This is the King's Kids camp, which runs during the afternoons here at Dartmouth Road. There going to be three of us who are the stay in staff, for this house. So yes, I'm back in a normal bed, after spending almost the entire outreach on bedrolls or camping cots.

So, last night the new Arts Revolution Discipleship Training School was introduced to the base. We celebrated this new chapter in the story of this base, with a BBQ (braai, in Afrikaans), but not any old BBQ, it was Argentinian style BBQ. It's exciting having another DTS running here, as the Arts house hasn't run a DTS before (they do run internships twice a year; you don't need to have a DTS to do an internship with YWAM Urban Key). To see people who are willing to follow God to another country to allow Him to work in their lives, to change them, is something I love to see.

Looking forwards to the next ten days, is exciting. I'll be working with some incredible kids, and along side some inspiration people from the base. The 'adults' Bone Camp runs to the 26th of August, whilst the Bones Adventure Camp for the kids, runs from next week Tuesday to August 24. We've got some incredible things planned to do, which has meant that I've been painting a few practical things, which I'll have to finish at a later date.

Photographs: double rainbow, taken from Station Road (if you follow me on Instagram, you'll have already seen this photo); and the barbecues used last night. Wheelbarrows have many purposes, you just gotta be inventive.

Westminster

It's another beautiful day, in the beautiful city of London. We got back to Station Road on Thursday morning. I spent the entire day at the house, relaxing. I also had the opportunity to chat with my parents.

Dinner on Thursday was prepared by the two Argentine guys, Denis and Ezequiel (Denis is one of the DTS staff but had stayed at the house whilst the July DTS are on their mini-outreach). We had quite a lot of fun together over the meal.

On Friday, the three of us walked over to Dartmouth Road to join some of the staff who live at that house. We'd been asked to help out at a conference in Westminster, near the Abbey, so we decided to travel over with them. I helped Hannah and Heidi (who came to Islington with us last week) with the registration during the morning meeting and sat in on the evening meeting, which was open to everyone who wanted to come. It didn't finish until really late, so we weren't back at Station Road until just before midnight. Denis, Ezequiel and I didn't travel back to Station Road via Dartmouth Road with the Counseling School (who'd joined us for the evening meeting), we came went straight back to the DTS house.

The July DTS arrived late last night Station Road today, though we didn't see them until we got back just before midnight, because we were in Westminster, helping with the second day of the conference. I spent more or less the entire time sitting at the book table (of course) to help with selling the books that the speaker has written. The guys were at the books table on Friday, but were helping as ushers yesterday, so I said I'd sit at the book table for them.

I'm not sure what's going to happen over the next few days. Bones starts next week and I'm helping with the King's Kids, again. I'm really looking forwards to working with the kids and with Kat and Amy. These two ladies are such an inspiration to me. They're really incredible with kids and I love working along side them.

Photographs: the entrance to the main auditorium, these words were beamed onto the wall with a projector; and the building where the British Channel 4 offices are based, we were walking past and I couldn't help but stop to take a photograph.

Preparing For Something New

Our time in Islington has drawn to a close. Today Ezequiel and I returned to the house on Station Road whilst Amy went back to the Dartmouth Road house. We've had an incredible time here. I wrote a little in an earlier post about what we've been doing here. We spent the entirety of last week working with a local kids camp, called Dover Soul after the estate it's annually held in, which ran for a few hours every afternoon. It was very different from the camp in Scotland but still a lot of fun.

The five of us from YWAM were separated into one of four groups (red, green, blue and yellow) as team leaders. We had to wear clothing that represents our team. I was one of the adults in the green team, and thankfully I had remembered to pick up a shirt in Glasgow (the shirt was being given away by the WildFire staff). We spent five afternoons, with the teams, and competing against each other in a series of games and other activities. There were a number of people who were leading the whole event and they were keeping a tally of the scores and also ran Dover Soul according to the schedule. This year's theme had been space so all the talks were about space. We had short dramatized stories everyday and small group times. We encouraged the kids to think and talk about what they thought of the story and about God. Whilst the 5-12 year olds were with us, the pastor's wife was running a crèche for the under 5's.

On Sunday morning, we had the community service of thanksgiving at the Green Space, where we had Dover Soul. The camp has had increasing support from the local community over the years (this was the eleventh camp that's been run) so we had a few people from the community come to the service and stay for the barbecue afterwards. After we'd taken the equipment down and brought back to the church, the four YWAMers left at the church (one of the girls who'd joined us had weekend duties so had to go back to Dartmouth Road) had been invited to s meal with a family from the church. We've spent the last few days helping the church where they've needed help. So we've been sorting things out, washing the toys that had been used by the crèche and going on follow up visits. It's been nice being able to see what we were advertising when Ezequiel and I were here at the beginning of July with the DTS.I'll post again soon... As I'm not too sure what the next few days are looking like. Next week we've got another kids camp, which I'm looking forwards to (even though it's my third kids camp in a row).

Photographs: a squirrel outside the church we've been staying in and the Dover Soul sign that the DTS made. I took this photo on Friday, at the end of the week, so that's why it's falling apart a little.

What Is True Love?

In the early hours of this morning, The Lord kept me awake until I'd penned this. It's something that I've thinking about for quite a while and I just wrote it down last night.

That moment when you realize you truly love someone, you're willing to lay down your own happiness just so they can have it. Yes, love makes you do crazy things, but what if you're crazy enough to deny your own desires for the sake of the other person?

There's a type of love that is deeply rooted in selfish. Yes, you love the other person but deep inside you only care about yourself and your own happiness. You're more willing to sacrifice their happiness on the alter than you are. You desperately want that person to love you back, because you think you deserve to have their love. You try to force their hand, try to take their free will. This isn't true love, not matter what anyone may say.

True love is when you're willing to let the person you love go. When you're willing to sacrifice your own happiness so the other person can be free to love you in return, out of their own free will. At the same time you're giving them the freedom to choose to love you back. I know it hurts deeply when you discover that the person you love, actually loves someone else and is loved back. I've had first hand experience. But if you truly love that person, you'd quietly let them go, without making a fuss, without trying to win them over to your failed cause. True love is risking everything without the hope of getting anything back.

True love and free will should walk hand in hand. You can't have one without the other. You might wonder where I'm going with these two statements. In the beginning, when God created Adam and Eve, He loved them with the purest and truest of all loves. He wanted them to be happy and thus He gave them the freedom to choose, out of His passionate love, He gave them free will. When they chose to disobey, and thus face the consequences that their actions merited, they lost the real meaning of true love. When sin entered the world a twisted concept of love came in too. This twisted concept of love was rooted in selfishness, pride, sin (to name but a few). All you need to do is look around, you can still see it in the world today. That's why there's so many broken relationships, so many broken marriages, so many ruined families, when at least one of the parties were out to seek their own interest, their own ambition without worry about the cost it'll have for all involved. Selfishness destroys. Love builds.

It should be a two way deal. When both parties constantly give without worrying about getting anything back. When one side constantly gives and the other side doesn't, then something's wrong. The giver will feel drained, tired of giving and getting nothing back. Whilst the receiver (or should I say, the taker?) uses the love that they're receiving to manipulate the giver. They don't care about the other person, but they like the feeling, that they're needed. They'll try to manipulate the giver, to continue to give, but they'll never go through with their promises. This isn't always the case, but it could be. There is hope for both parties, but only if both see the effects of this dangerous relationship. It isn't just between two people in love, it could happen between parents and children, between friends, between husband and wife, between anyone.

The relationships we have with those around us should reflect the love God has for us. Many of us know the Bible's most famous verse, John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This verse is just saturated with God's love for us. We failed Him. We disobeyed Him. You might point out that it was Adam and Eve who disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, but how many times have we broken the rules? Too many times, but God still loves us. He'll always love us. I remember my father once saying something like this in a sermon "if we really knew how much God loves us, we'd be dead where we sit." God loves us so passionately, so violently, but because God's love is purer than anything found in this world, He'd never let us know the full extent of His love for us, well, not whilst we're on this earth, at least. God's love is true. He'll continue to love each and everyone of us, despite our rotten, miserably messed pasts. He chose each and every one of us, and gave us a golden invitation. That invitation was through the death of his son, the son He loved! What's more powerful than that? God, the God who created heaven and earth, gave up His perfect, innocent, blameless son to die for our sin, to die a sinner's death, in the most violent way possible (at that time), so that we may enter into the kingdom. He loved you and me so much He sent His only son to take away our sin and shame. If that isn't true love, then I don't know what is.

God wants a relationship with you, He knows you aren't perfect. He knows you make mistakes. But He loves you anyway. That's what true love is, it sees over your mistakes, even though it isn't blind. He'll keep waiting for you to turn to Him. "My son, my daughter," says God the Father, "See I'm standing by the door and I'm knocking." You can choose to let God into your heart, choose to leave the old behind, and let Him make you new. It won't happen overnight. It's a journey you'll be on for the rest of your life. It'll be a journey of learning the true meaning of love and when you find it, learning to incorporate into every aspect of your life. It's not easy. You'll fail, but I can guarantee you, that every time you fail, Jesus is right there next to you, helping you up, helping you learn from your mistakes.

You might be wondering how I came to this conclusion, about the differences between true, perfect love and selfish, worldly love. Yes, I gave my life to God when I was three, but it wasn't until recently when I got this revelation from God. I'd seen how true love can effect and change every relationship we ever have. I'd seen it in the lives of the people who'd attended the marriage courses my parents ran. I've seen both true love and selfish love in my own life. I once loved this guy, and I wanted him to love me back. I think I was willing to do anything to 'make' him love me back. It didn't work and I'm so grateful to God that it didn't. I wasn't ready for a relationship. I doubt I am ready for one now. In a way, I wonder I'll ever be ready for one, because of the ongoing work God's doing in my life. Over the last year and a half, God definitely opened my eyes to what love really is. It's being willing to let go, to risk heartbreak, to trust that God knows best. Love is knowing when to stay silent, and when to speak. When to fight and when to stand down. If I ever fall in love again, I won't do what I did before. God has placed some incredible people over me and I know I'll be able to trust that they'll be able to lead, guide and pray with me. He's given me incredibly wise parents, who's advice I trust. With true love comes wisdom. Wisdom in knowing who to trust, who to go for advice. Sometimes those people aren't who we think.

WildFire Takes Glasgow

I had an incredible time in Glasgow, Scotland. God really used me and the young people I was with. We arrived in Glasgow on July 17, after about 12 hours of travel (via The King's Lodge, Nuneaton, where we met up with some of the staff, who we travelled to Scotland with). That evening some Egyptian teens joined us, the next day we started.

Of the one and twenty people in WildFire, half were over the age of 18 and the other half were under the age of 18. We had lectures and worship in the mornings and outreaches in the afternoons.

I knew that God wanted me to join the evengelism team. Evengelism isn't something I'm overly brave with. I've always struggled stepping out and talking to people, especially about my faith. The lady who was leading the evengelism has a gifting in this and she really inspired me in this area. We also were working along side a Christian Theatre Company, called Saltmine. They did a number of dramas. Many of them are around my age and they really inspired me with their passion to reach out to people through the arts. I really learnt a lot from them.

We celebrated the opening games with one of the churches we were working with in Glasgow (we were also using their buildings to sleep and meet in). It was a lot of fun watch that with the Taboo Arts Team (from YWAM Urban Key, London), Saltmine and the members of both the WildFire team and the church. It was great to see all the nations of the commonwealth come in. I had to holler when Uganda came in. It was a proud moment to see my country at such an event. We'd seen about fifteen people come to Christ during the outreach earlier that day. These people were mostly teenagers and the people who spoke to them where teenagers themselves. That day I had felt God ask me to talk to certain people and I hadn't been totally ready to when they'd walked past, but God kept giving me a chance to do that and in the end I'd found the courage and stepped out. It was an incredible feeling being able to share the gospel. We'd made gospel bracelets. Each bracelet has two green beads (green is for creation), two brown beads (brown stands for sin and separation from God), two red beads (red is for love, God so loved us and wanted a relationship with us, he sent his son to die), two white beads (Jesus' washed our sins away and made us white as snow), two blue beads (blue stands for when Jeaus went to heaven he left his Holy Spirit so we won't be alone), and two yellow beads (yellow is for eternal life, when we die we'll go to heaven if we've chosen to follow Jesus). It see an amazing way to share share the gospel with people.

We also had an incredible time of worship, last Friday (if I remember correctly), outside Glasgow Cathedral, where the body of the city's patron saint, Mungo, is buried.

On Sunday afternoon and into the night, Amy, Ezequiel and I travelled back to London by bus. It took us eleven hours, because we traveled by bus from Glasgow to London and then had to get from the bus station to the house. After spending one night in the London base we headed back to Islington, where we are now. When we were here in the beginning of the month we spent a lot of time handing flyers out for a kids camp that the church we're working with is running, now we're taking part in staffing that camp. It's called Dover Soul. There's five of us from YWAM London. Three staff and two LMD (School of Leadership and Ministry Development) students. Its a lot of fun working with the kids from the local community. Dover Soul started yesterday and runs in the afternoons, finishing on Friday with a closing service on Sunday.

Photographs: Glasgow Cathedral, we had a worship time here; the Ugandan flag, I found this flying outside the Cathedral and had to snap a photo; and Saint Mundo's tomb, his remains we're moved from the crypt and have been laid elsewhere.

Until next time.

Islington: An Amazing Time

The last two weeks have just flown by. I've been meaning to post something about what we've been doing, since we arrived but we've been extremely busy since we arrived.

I'll try to bring you up to date with what we've found ourselves doing since we arrived in Islington ten days ago, but if I wrote about what we've been doing every day, then this would definately be the world's longest post. As I don't want bore you with a long post, here are some highlights of the last two weeks or so.

We arrived in Islington nine days ago and went straight into things. We've spent a lot of our time doing evangelism, which has been quite challenging for me because I find it quite s challenge going up to people to talk to them about God and what I believe in. Last Tuesday we were on the street talking to people. For some reason I'd put my South African hat (one of the hats I brought on outreach with me I picked up in South Africa and  looks like a cowboy hat but made in South Africa and is extremely hardy) on that morning and this brought some curious questions up. I had good conversations with two of the Save the Children volunteers who were also on the street, trying to raise awareness about the lack of  immunization in developing countries to stop preventable diseases (like measles and polio) from killing children.

Friday was another day that left a large impact on me. We spent the whole day evangelising is Soho, London's red light district. We were working with a church that operates out of a cafe. They set up a stall near the cafe and we helped handing out free tea and coffee. A lot of people said "no" or just ignored our invitation and thought that there was a catch involved. Though there were a few people who were interested in, and had something to drink. A number of the team were able to share their testimonies with people and were able to direct them to the cafe. Friday's ministry didn't stop there as in the evening we joined another church, who do open air evangelism outside St. Pancras and King's Cross Stations. We had a red box (which you can see in the picture) that had been brought by one of the men. How the evening ran was quite straightforward, someone who sing a song, to draw a bit of crowd and then there was a short testimony (or more than one very short testimony) before a five minute talk. The reason why I'm sharing this particular day with you is simple. More or less the entire DTS (Discipleship Training School) don't speak English as their first language, some even came to London not speaking any English at all (though there are a few who's english is almost fluent). Yet this didn't stop them from talking to people. It really impacted me deeply, that they really want to share the love of God with others. I'm really proud of them.

Tomorrow a new chapter of the outreach starts. The April DTS, along with Alina (one of my fellow leadership students) will be travelling to Germany to continue their outreach. I won't be joining them. One of the other LMD (School of Leadership and Ministry Development) students, Ezequiel (who's from Argentina) will be travelling to Scotland, this coming Thursday. We're going to be working with the July DTS until then. The King's Kids Wildfire team will be doing evangelism during the commonwealth games in Glasgow and the two of us, along with one of the staff, will be joining them. I'm really looking forwards to going to Scotland. I haven't been since I was eight, when my family travelled there on holiday (we were living in England at the time). I loved my time there. I'm really looking forwards to working alongside KKI (King's Kids International). We'll be travelling back to London at the end of the month. We'll probably be back in Islington to help out with Dover Soul, which is a kids program that is run annually by the church we've been working with this last week (we've been staying in their church building whilst we've been here).

I'll try to keep you posted. However, for more regular updates, do keep an eye on my blipfoto account. It where I post a photo every day with a caption about what we've been doing during the day.

International City

It's hard to explain that feeling, when you're in a new environment and you're trying to find your feet after having moving locations. Being such an avid reader, and to some extents, a writer, it's easiest to explain it like this, it's like that feeling I get when I'm a few paragraphs into a new chapter in a book. Since we moved from Dartmouth Road I've been back a few times and I can't tell you how weird it is going back there, knowing that I'm not staying there anymore. The house on Station Road is so different from the house on Dartmouth Road... Yet at that whole feeling of begin a part of something greater is still very strong for me. Station Road end just as international as Dartmouth Road, something that is really highlighted by the World Cup (yes, I know I'm using the World Cup as an example again), as it's normal for there have people coming from the countries that are usually playing each other. Chile vs. Brazil on Saturday is one example, as one of the staff is Brazilian and three of the DTS (Discipleship Training School) students are Chilean. For those of you who are watching at least some of the matches, I should advise you to keep an eye on Argentina, who have strong support over here.

That sense of being in an international setting is something I feel very strongly here, not just because I'm sharing a house with people from so many different countries, but also when I walk the streets of London city. I was walking down Oxford Street today and there was such a mix of languages and accents that I couldn't help but marvel. I chatted with a German girl, briefly as I waited to use the toilet in Starbucks, and I was offered a free book by Hindu man. London's one of the major metropolitans that so many people dream of going to. There's such potential to reach the world just from this ancient and beautiful city. What are we really doing? Where are the Christians? Hiding behind our shopping bags and coffee cups, but what were we called to do?

Lightbulb

The LMD (School of Leadership and Ministry Developement) outreach started two days ago. We moved from the house at Dartmouth Road to the house at Station Road where the DTS (Discipleship Training School) live. We're with the DTS until mid-July when they go to Germany with one of us three LMD's who moved, whilst the two of us left will head to Glasgow, Scotland with one of the staff for the King's Kids Wildfire outreach. Since we've moved, I've already been thrown out of my comfort zone, doing things that I'd normally prefer someone else to do. One thing in particular is leading a outreach preparation group on my own. The first evening here (Wednesday) we had outreach preparation, which was the DTS being spilt into three groups that were led by the three LMD students, which meant that I was leading a small preparation group. It was big and very scary. I've spoken in front of people but have always preferred someone else to step up and take charge when it comes to leading a group. Thankfully we were preparing in an area that I've had some experience in. So I wasn't thrown totally into the deep end, as it were.. I was in charge of brainstorming with two of the DTS girls to put a schedule together for a children program. I'm so grateful that we've had King's Kids because I used what we usually end up doing with the KKI (King's Kids International) preparation. We had a lot of fun thinking up some songs and bible stories as well as games to do with kids. This preparation isn't only for Germany but also for our time in Islington. We're leaving in just over a week's time (Friday 4 July). It's all very exciting. Over the last few years, I've been on two missions trips (my DTS outreach and with the Operation Mobelisation's Africa Trek team). I loved those times and I love being able to go and reach out to people with other Christians. It's incredible.

Among other things, yesterday was a day of light bulb moments. I had one during the community meeting yesterday evening, which was at Dartmouth Road (it was supper weird going back and knowing I wasn't staying the night there). One of these lightbulb moments was a revelation from God, you could say. I grew up in a small African country and I've seen what hunger and poverty do to people. I hadn't really thought about it until I read an article in the July 2014 issue of National Geographic. The article was about farming in Africa, I ended up praying about the whole small scale farming in Africa. Africa could so easily become the breadbasket of the world. Yet so much food gets shipped to Africa from the Western world. Africa has so much potential, yet sending equipment that they don't know how to use, isn't gonna help (growing up I rarely saw tractors that actually worked, they were either in the showrooms or sitting in a field, broken and rusting), they need methods that they can put into practice. So I was praying about that last night.

Keep posted for more information!

Let's Go!!

On Wednesday, the outreach starts. Its hard to believe how fast the last few months have gone by. Its hard to belive that it's already almost July. With the outreach starting I should at least say what the next few weeks will be looking like. We're going to be spending about two weeks with the DTS at Station Road and go through the outreach preparation together before they leave for Germany. One of the LMD's is going with them on outreach, those of us who aren't going with the DTS are either going to Scotland with the Wildfire (King's Kids) team, or are envolved with other things. I'm really looking forwards to going to Scotland, for a number of reasons. I have Scots blood running through my blood, which comes from both sides of my parents (mum's Murray and papa's Mackenzie), and I'm also looking forwards to working with the kids who will be coming. We're going to be doing evangelism during the event. Out of the six LMD students, only me and one of the others will be in Scotland, as the others will be involved in different things here in London or abroad. We'll be going to Glasgow with one of the staff who's been actively involved with King's Kids, here in London.

This last weekend I've been on work duties. It's forced me to look at my packing and the sorting out of my things, which is something I really don't like doing. I'm borrowing a hikers backpack from one of my roommates (she's doing the art internship) and I spent some time yesterday focusing on packing that, and now I don't have an awful lot left to do before we leave for Station Road.

As this page turns, I look back over the last few months. It's incredible actually being in London. The novelty hasn't begun to wear off, yet, and I'm still enjoying being in such a vibrant, international city. It's so different from the little town of Hoedspruit, South Africa. I don't thing you can find such a huge difference between two places. I'm really glad I had the few weeks between leaving Hoedspruit and coming to London. It softened the culture shock considerably. I've also learnt a lot from living in such an international community. With people from so many different countries and cultures it's really insightful learning so much from these incredible people.

Until next time!