I had my front tooth knocked out back in '02, and no thanks to Alice, she took the only photo that exists of me without my tooth.
For this and many other "shocking" photos, feel free to visit my online photo album.
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Sunday, September 5, 2004
Blessed Be the Name of the Lord
Today was another day of being a tourist. We spent most of the day in the countryside, visiting a few farms and wineries, and it was absolutely beautiful. They even provided us with a tasting and an incredibly decicious South African lunch. (Yep, still a missions trip =). At one of the wineries, they even had a motorcycle that they let us ride. One of my prayer partners, Jonathan, and I switched off taking peeps on the team for laps around the winery.
Tonight, we went to a local Dutch Reformist Church. It was very interesting! The service was a mix of English and Afrikaans (which sounds like a mix of Dutch and German). People commented that it was similar to The River church (in Sunnyvale), but I’ve never been there. The worship style was very contemporary, but people (as is the case with the culture here in South Africa) were very reserved. Basically, it reminded me of Evanston Vineyard, except where everyone pretty much stood perfectly still during the worship. But it was cool to worship with people who were on the opposite end of the earth (both laterally and longitudinally)… and even singing similar songs that we sing at home, like “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord” (which, incidentally, was sung three times throughout the service).
Tomorrow is the big day. We meet our clients for the first time. To be honest, I’m incredibly nervous and scared… People here have been telling me to chill out, but it’s tough for me to forget about the fears that I have of failing – failing God, failing my team, failing my client, failing myself. I’m going to spend the rest of the evening preparing, doing the reading (that I should have done 8 weeks ago), and praying – but ultimately, I know and I need to keep remembering that I need to give it up to God and trust Him. After all, as I said in my prayer letter before, I’ve already failed God. But it is His love that has redeemed me, and it is His love that will continue to redeem me. And I just need to trust in Him, and Him alone, for that.
Praises: That God has provided me a wonderful transition to South Africa. Especially as this has been only the second time I've even been out of the country in the past 11 years (and moreover the first time that I've ever been on the African continent and the first time that I've ever been south of the equator), the time we've been able to spend relaxing, enjoying the culture, and acclamating to our surroundings have been a tremendous blessing in helping to alleviate at least some of my fears and concerns.
Requests: The bulk of what we are doing here starts tomorrow. Pray that I continue to depend on Him wholly for strength, wisdom and guidance.
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