We're Back!

(This is a long one, but hey… it’s been two years!)

This blog has purpose now! When Anne and I came to South Africa, we were excited for a break. We were leaving stressful jobs to pursue interesting graduate studies on a Rotary scholarship, explore South Africa and do prison rehabilitation work on the side for fun (maybe that makes us strange… heh). This blog began with a string of hiking vacations and interesting cultural anecdotes. There was never a sense of urgency other than my mother demanding new pictures!

We couldn’t help ourselves! There is too much potential in South Africa to go through as a tourist or even just as a student. Without always making a conscious decision, we gravitated more and more into our volunteer work. Maybe it’s the confessions of an adrenalin junkie—prison ministry is even more exciting than surfing! I like to think we found our purpose.

As our days shifted from Table Mountain to Pollsmoor prison, this blog stopped working. How do you turn the intensity of a counseling session in a maximum-security prison into a clever anecdote? Especially with no pictures! (it seems the gold standard of a blog is pictures… if it’s not pretty, who wants to read it!). It was challenging enough to work in this context, let alone write about it.

Basically we did the missionary thing backwards! I always thought missions involved raising support, building a team and then staging a big farewell sendoff… whoops! Suddenly we found ourselves volunteering in intense cross-cultural ministry and development work, but with very little support.

Now blogging has a purpose again! We cannot do what we are doing—what God has called us to do—without your support. This isn’t “christian-ese” for “give us your money!” If we think about our lives here in South Africa, we have been able to participate in some incredible, life-changing events. We have experienced more success than two random Americans dropped into the middle of the South African prison system could ever hope for.

If I reflect honestly on what we have accomplished, everything could just have easily ended in disaster. We have experience, advanced degrees and a team of volunteers behind us. Not to be melodramatic, but that doesn’t mean much against a homemade knife! South Africa continually receives bad press for its crime problems, and yet we have always had perfect safety even in the midst of some pretty scary places. Prayer works! There has been a small team of people from around the country who have continually been praying for us, even when they had no idea where we were. It would be arrogant for us to continue in our work here without building on this foundation of prayer. This rejuvenated blog will form the backbone of our prayer network, and we would be honored if you would join us.