reconcile.

Looking down Colfax.
Denver, CO

I have been in this city for a little over a month now. I really can’t believe how quickly it has gone by. I feel at home walking down Colfax, the “Boulevard of broken dreams”, I’ve driven the prayer tour countless times, and have enjoyed more meals at ethnic restaurants than my growing waste line would care to remember. I have had my hand (quite literally) in thousands of meals given to Denver's homeless. I've had the opportunity to sort text books being shipped off to Africa, and even help plant fields of vegetables that, when harvested, will go to people who don’t have access healthy produce.  

All of these things are wonderful, and I am so blessed to continue to have these experiences with CSM. However, when I am asked what the favorite part of my job is, none of these things seem to make the list. So what is the best part of the job for this City Host?

Watching reconciliation happen.

Let me explain… 

Being born and raised in South Africa, reconciliation is a word that has been close to my heart my whole life.  I was born just two years before the democracy of my country was, and I grew up with the first generation of people born free and equal by the law. Since 1994, my country has been working tirelessly to break fresh stereotypes of anger and hurt left behind from Apartheid. It has not been easy for the country’s leaders. So much seems to rest on their shoulders, but the place I see reconciliation most in South Africa is not in large-scale government attempts or in politics, it is in the people. This is not a South African reality, but a universal reality. In Denver, not only is there a great need for racial reconciliation, but also reconciliation between the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the marginalized and the included. 

Reconciliation doesn't happen when the rich feed the poor, it happens when we all get on the same level, sit on the ground against a tree stump and talk about life's joys and hardships. That is why Jesus sat at the well with the Samaritan woman and went to dinner with tax collectors. Jesus set this example of reconciliation for us as something that we must all play a part in.

Being with CSM, I have been able to watch those walls of separation break down. I get to see the story being changed;

When a 15 year old girl calls a homeless person ‘my friend’. When a young student quietly sits and listens to the entire life story of a 68 year old man living on the street. When a group of teenagers stand in a circle in a McDonalds, hold hands, and pray with a man that most would simply ignore.

I have seen students hearts changed by these experiences, and I have seen my homeless friends with joy on their faces because of the mere fact that somebody listened.

These are the moments that impact lives and bring reconciliation. These are the stories that will change the future of our churches, our countries, and our world.

I want to leave you with a quote from one of my heroes, Desmond Tutu. When speaking of the role of Christians in reconciling our world, he says:

"We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know. We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders. All are welcome: black, white, red, yellow, rich, poor, educated, not educated, male, female, gay, straight, all, all, all. We all belong to this family, this human family, God's family."

And that, friends, is the best part of my job.

thanks hey durbs...

I think I’ve expressed how I feel about the word ‘home’. I’ve also expressed my love for the continent of Africa, Durban, my family, and my life there. But this December holiday was different. The old saying of 'you don't know what you got til its gone' has never been so real to me. Coming back was even better than I ever expected. Everything about the last 3 weeks was perfect, and I hope to capture a bit of my time here in this blog.

The excitement of arriving home came to one ginormous climax as I looked through the glass arrival doors of King Shaka International Airport to see signs and faces. The best signs I've ever seen at an airport welcome... ever, and people that I love the most. people I missed and voices I had not heard. It was all too much. There is no feeling quite like it. it was the best welcome home I could've asked for. thanks guys!

Once all the hugs went around and the hello’s were exchanged, we settled down and headed for the beach. There really is no better thing to do on a Durban December day. Did I burn? yes. Was it worth it? uh, of course. The beach was packed with friends and strangers (vaalies). I was carted off to a friends house and hung out there for a bit. The lack of sleep was starting to kick in, and my body was tired. it was 7pm and I decide that I was way too tired to do anything, and jet lag was attacking my system. The plan: go home and sleep. The four friends that were with me invited themselves over for dinner… I stumble into my house extremely tired and see this. Yup, I have the best friends in the world.

A night of Pizza and cooldrink (pop/soda) made with real sugar and not high fructose corn syrup with a group of my greatest friends. what’s better?

Three weeks later, on my last day in Durban, I look back and have a hilights package of the best weeks I can remember. Here is just a taste of some of those hilights along with some photo’s (instagrams)…

 

 Drinking tea outside on a couch while starring at the view of the ocean in front of me. 

Finally getting to be with the Livesy’s and visiting Mike’s memorial. love and miss you bro- so much!

 local SA soccer match - Ama-zulu vs Kaizer Chiefs in the worlds most amazing stadiums. Nothing quite like it

Christmas down time with my parents and a perfect Collins-tradition styled Christmas dinner. relaxed, lounged and enjoyed Durban summertime.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka Cricket match!

 Boxing day traditions with my cool ballies. (the coolest)

Enjoying good music with the indie kids at Unit 11’s last gig. these are local heroes: Gangs of Ballet.

Eating the best indian food at House of Curries. with cool friends, of course.

beach!!

Making another t-shirt with our trusty old sewing machine

African Sky Sunsets

New Years party in westville with old friends.

On that note, an incredible home-made firework display, where one misfired firework nearly killed me.

Jumping off the pier during the first sunrise of 2012 into a beautiful and glassy indian ocean.

Lunch with friends at my house, followed by good old bronze beach and a Dear Reader gig in true indie-durban fashion.

Maaaaates

Hanging with the biggest gangster I know. (not really, but its fine.)

Farewell on the roof of The Royal Hotel

Durban Durban Durban. Even with all your flaws, messy roads, terrible internet speeds and buckets of sweat that you draw from my body, I still cannot think of a reason not to love you. Thank you city, old friends and new friends for the most incredible December Holiday of my life. I really pray that the memories I made in these 3 weeks will last me until next December when we see each other again.

Cheers for now.


Jordan

Blessed - A crash course of my first semester

I have a friend who explains everything good that happens as a blessing. for example, “I had such a good conversation with _______ today. it was such a blessing!”. This was a little confusing to me at first, but now I’m starting to enjoy it. I think all of us (particularly me) don’t see every good thing that happens as a blessing from God. Instead we just see it as life. Something good happened, and that’s it. So upon reflect on this first 6 months in the US, I can’t help but say that I have so many blessings. Ridiculous amounts. In fact, I’d say I’m over blessed, which is a blessing in itself. So I want to attempt to share some of what’s been happening in my life from the eyes of someone who sees life as a blessing.

Firstly- so blessed to be at Belmont and blessed with an accent that helped me meet people quickly.

A few weeks into being at College, I realized that I was going to have to start making a whole new group of solid friends. A new support group, and new accountability group. The beginning was a struggle because I didn’t have much community. There was a really hard week or two during this time, where I had probably the first mini-meltdown in my life. Yup, I was homesick to the max- There’s a whole blog about it. To add to this, things often reminded me of Mike, who had died a month or two prior while I was away in the States. I was dealing with all of this alone, and my friends thousands of miles away. it was a struggle to say the least.

enter Pembroke Hall…

Pembroke is a dorm (res) at Belmont. They’re known for their community. Pembroke has a tradition where the whole hall dresses up ridiculously and goes to support the women’s volleyball team (which isn’t a hugely watched sport). I started going to these games and slipping in. I made a few friends from the group and decided that I wanted to move there at some point. Enter Sam, Jesse, Asher and Brook: Four oddly different guys with odd names. The first time hung out with these guys, we played racquetball (the american version of Squash). In typical Jordan fashion, I over-competitively went for an impossible shot and ended up diving into the wall head first and being semi-concussed. first impressions right?

Starting friendships with pembro’s was easy. They convinced me to go camping with them over a break. I went along somewhat reluctantly. Little did I know that building friendships would be so easy with these new friends who were as obsessed with Lord of the Rings as I was. 9 of us were on a man-weekend of epic proportions and each took a name of one of the Fellowship from Lord of the Rings. I was given Gandalf (naturally) and we were the fellowship. I realized that this was the community and brotherhood that I needed.

Since then, I have taught them as much South African slang as their minds can take, and everyone now says my name how I say it (with an accent) so that it’s different to other Jordans on campus. Riley says 'kiff, bru' more than I do and every day I am reminded how blessed I am to have these friends. It was God’s plan and God made it happen. He turned that difficult week into something great.



To add to all this, I've been so blessed to have my boet Josh and his wife Heidi so close to me. So close that I was able to be at the hospital the night that their son Jonah entered the world. I’ve selfishly wanted a nephew since the day they got married, and I was there the night that he arrived. crazy! Spending time with the 3 of them has been a massive blessing and even better than I thought.
Thanksgiving came around and my entire family came to Nashville! It was the reunion of all reunions- our first thanksgiving altogether since 1999. Having family to give advice and to love on me for a week was the exactly what I needed.

Right now (as I write this) I am in the air heading home for the first time in 6 months.  what a blessing! The anticipation has been building for weeks. I started counting down the days 2 months ago, and its finally here.

So there’s that… My year of blessing. count them, because there may be more blessings than you realize.

A letter to Home...

The time has come. Yes, I've been living almost 4 months in the United States, and I have finally started feeling homesick. I was mostly in denial, thinking I’m just not a ‘homesick person’, but alas, the sensation has hit me lately and there isn’t much I can do about it. This so-called 'sickness' isn’t necessarily sadness. For me, its a thought process.

I guess the first time I noticed it was when the Springboks were getting their big sendoff to the world cup in New Zealand. I was in class, thinking about the tweets I’d read and the video’s I’d seen with all the thousands of people cheering for the boys. Memories from 2007, and last years World cup flooded back to me and I started to miss my country. I told the person next to me that I missed home. she said, “yes I know. I can tell by the flag you drew and the lyrics of your national anthem that you just wrote out on your notepad”. I looked down. there it was: the SA flag with the worlds of the anthem, Nkosi Sikalel’ iAfrika. I even added in a little bit of ‘Shosholoza’. Caught redhanded.

I think the rugby has made me miss home more than anything. Sometimes I tell my roommates or people around me in-depth team news about the Springboks just because I NEED to tell someone that Patrick Lambie is starting, or that Australia lost to Ireland. They just nod and pretend to be interested (which I appreciate). I guess its just not the same. not the same as hearing it on the street, on the radio and from our pastor on stage at church on a sunday!

Watching the boks play and singing the national anthem cheers me up a little, even though I usually watch alone from a dodgey online stream on a small pixelated screen. People say I wear South Africa shirts like every day. I also have my flag on my wall, and my scarf either around my neck, or on the side of my bed. (thanks to Siya and Damien for that one!) But this missing rugby has made me realise the small things that I miss about home. 

First and foremost, I miss my family. I miss my friends. my little carpet-dogs. I miss walking into a home. that is mine. that I can lounge around wherever I want, eat whatever is there, and watch as much South African and European sport as I’d like. I miss braai’s with family and braai’s with friends. I miss the smell of that boerewors cooking with the sound of Hugh Bladen screaming “STEFAN TERBLANCHE” in the background. I miss home-made meals. (no, “home-made” meals in a box don’t count). chutney, and its flavor of Simba chips. Meat that tastes like real meat, Coke and fanta orange -made with real sugar, BILTONG, milo cereal, R5 bunny chow.

I miss hearing different languages and that wonderfully bland thick durban accent. I miss being able to talk to car guards, security guards and petrol attendants. I miss seeing the ocean anytime I drive home or to church. I miss driving on the left-hand side of the road in a manual car. having said that, I miss driving. I miss Grace and playing in that awesome band. I miss saying ‘howzit bru’ and ‘cheers’. I miss the South Africa handshake (trust me, there is one).  I miss paying for things in Rands. I miss beautiful South African children. 

The list goes on and on. I know some of the mentioned ones are random, but I think it explains my point… 

I miss home.

I guess the old cliche, “home is where the heart is” is totally true, and I've finally come to understand it now.

I hope this blog doesn’t sound depressing, that was not the idea. I want you to know that I am loving life, my university and I love being here. God is so good, and every day I remember how blessed I am to be here. Even in all the joy reflected through facebook status’s about my great life, I miss you all. a lot. This is reflected in the fact that I have started counting down to the day I come home Christmas. Under 3 months now! also, I watched Invictus tonight. I had chills for most of the movie. I am glad I have been taught how important home is- It will make my 3 week visits mean so much more.

Lastly, I'm pretty sure facebook has rejected me as a South African. I never see anyone in my news feeds and I'm pretty sure you don't see me. I do love hearing South African voices on Skype calls though, so feel free to call anytime!

I love and miss you all. Don’t forget about me! 

Jordan

adventures of USA: Phase two

Can you believe that I have been in the United States for almost 3 months already?? no, neither can I. It has been a whirlwind. So much has happened in life in the past few months, I don’t even know where to start.

there are two times in my life where I can say I’ve felt frozen in shyness. the first was when I was merely a kid, and asked to go the bathroom in swaziland when 300 schoolkids -who had never seen a white boy- enthusiastically mobbed me and took me to a long drop.(needless to say, I got there and told them 'I don't need the bathroom anymore'. the second time was the day I arrived at springhill. No joke. I was overwhelmed by everything. I always saw myself as pretty wild and energetically crazy, but these people were 500 times crazier. I walked into the Dining hall and I felt like a kid in the movies on his first day at school. totally small and lost and overwhelmed. 3 food stations with different hot food options, a salad bar, a sandwich bar, and a couple of desert options. not to mention chocolate milk, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and fruit juice all "on-tap". Completely freaked out by this new world, I sat at a table and quietly ate a small sandwich. not because I wasn’t hungry, but because I my body was in shock mode. 

Now I sit at the end of the summer with friendships that I believe will last for years. I feel like that dining hall is my home and I attack that foodline with intent. I’ve stood on stage dressed like a pirate with a South African flag and proudly danced to ‘waka waka’ by Shakira. I’ve lead kids to the Lord, and had some incredible conversations with young men about life and their struggles. So what has happened from that first day of camp training to today? 

I don’t really know. Yes, the 'making friends' part isn’t so difficult when you have a really cool South African accent, but that isn’t it. all I know is that I have been used by God, and God has used others in my life. I feel such a connection to this camp, the people here, and the work that is going on.

I guess I have really learned what it means to rely on God. To fit in to a new environment, for strength, and to trust him for what I need. Lets be honest, 22 hours a day, 5 days a week in a new country with frustrating pre-teens isn’t easy! I’ve relied a lot on God, and the people around me to get me through those tough times.

A few weeks ago, I got a skype call that one of my close friends from South Africa was killed. I thought I was done. there was no way I could put up with kids for a whole week with no personal space to break down and wrestle with God. And not only did God comfort me through that pain, he gave me the joy of being an area director that very week,! an incredible week in a new position at camp. Along with that was hanging out with some awesome people who really helped me out and prayed for and with me. I’ve just realized how God provides what we need at those critical moments. and I am so blessed. 

Sometimes relying on God for what you need is difficult to grasp, but it's the only way. I feel like coming to the states and following that call has been so rewarding. I don’t know what the rest of my america journey’s will hold, and heading to Nashville NEXT WEEK (!!!!!!!!) for college is incredibly scary. I feel like starting there will be somewhat similar to starting here at camp, but I’m looking forward to it, because following God has been incredibly rewarding so far.

In my last post, I spoke about being used by God, and expecting to be used by Him. He succeeded in that. I learnt a LOT. If I summed up phase 2 of my journey in one sentence... When things in your life get completely changed up, cling to God, and he will provide.  What more could I ask for in a summer?

I miss you all!

and Mike, I love and miss you bru. so much.

adventures of USA: Phase one

Greetings! Hi. Howzit. 'sup. ja
I have been in the US for 11 days... It has been a great 11 days. its weird to think not long ago, I was in Durban; sitting on bronze beach with good friends and swimming in the warm, salty Indian ocean. Now I am in Michigan. With a beautiful clean saltless ocean (okay fine, its a lake) that people claim has waves, none of which reached above my shins.

Here I sit at the end of “Phase one” of my journey. Phase one is what I called my ‘holiday phase’. I spent some time in wonderful Chicago- and even though it was raining most of the time, we did some cool touristy things for the long weekend before I got on a train to Michigan where I’ve been able to spend time with family and help out at their church on the weekend!

Being a tourist has been fun. I'd say I've done some pretty cool things. I've eaten some good ‘local’ food, seen cool sights, watched a live baseball game at Wrigley field, snuck into an NFL football stadium, been up a 96 story building, took pics at 'the bean', jumped in a river and a lot of other rad things.

These things have made the past 10 or 11 days fun- but the adventure has been a lot to do with the people. Usually when I come to the states, I shadow my parents and do whatever they do. But this time I have met and hung out with people (closer to my own age) that I have a lot in common with.

Day/Morning number 1 in the US I spent giving clothes to needy people in the Chicago area. Since my body does not have the word ‘jetlag’ in its internal vocabulary, I went along with a friend and helped out at the church. It was so interesting to hear these peoples stories, and to learn that Africa does not have the only poor people in the world- and Africa is not the only place that needs Jesus to intervene, and people to share love. 

Spending a weekend with my cousin and his friends in Grand Rapids, Michigan was pretty interesting. I taught them the meaning of a ‘bring-and-braai’ and tried to explain why I call girls ‘bru’-but they taught me a lot too. Not only do they have a community of young Christians living simple lives together as a family, but they have loved their neighbourhood as their friends and family and are spreading the love of Christ to their little ghetto-town! I felt like I was in the ‘blue like jazz’ book or something.

On my last day in GR we took a kid with us on our adventures to the river. 5 year old Meechie. (I have no idea how you spell his name). Meechie comes from a really tough home-life, and.... had never been swimming!! WHAT?! so we took him out for a day of fun. He was going crazy. It was so great to see a kid experience so much joy out of things we take for granted!

and yes, my cousin matt took me dumpster diving. (google it). so maybe I was petrified of getting 'caught', and we didn’t find much in the dumpsters, but it was an interesting and good bonding experience none-the-less. 

So what have I learnt here in the first few weeks in the US? that people are pretty much the same everywhere. We all need love, we all need a friend, and we all need Jesus. I feel content about being here because I have realised that I can make an impact wherever I am, not just in the typical ‘missionary’ areas of the world. I miss Africa, but am excited for what I can learn and who I can be in these phases of my life.

Now begins phase two. tomorrow morning I drive up to SpringHill Camps in Michigan! (Along with my awesome film camera that my cousin gave to me for the summer! [what a good ou]) I will be working at SpringHill Summer Camps which is just an hour or two away from where I am now. if you were to ask me how I’m feeling, I’m slightly nervous about it all, seeing as I will literally know no one, but really excited! I will do my best to keep my jord-in-a-blog friends up to date with whats happening.

God Speed my friends
cheers

Africa, I will be back...

I cannot believe that the day of my departure is really almost here... It feels like I was just saying ‘Im leaving next year’ then, ‘I’m leaving in 2 months’ and now ‘goodbye. I’m leaving on thursday’... The last few weeks have been crazy! that’s pretty much the only way to describe it. Amongst all the terrible goodbye’s, there have also been some great times. great times with friends, with family, and my Grace Youth family. I’m so grateful for those moments! I guess it starting to hit me. I am going... forever. or for now?

I'm sure you saw my last post about the Watoto Choir. (pronounced. wa-toe-toe. not why-toe-toe, or wa-tooo-tooo! ha!) So since I wrote that post, I got connected with the organizers of the tour. Totally a God thing. And basically I said to the ladies in charge that I will do everything and anything they need me to do- JUST to be near these choir and spend some time with them. I started off by being a security guard at a merchandise table! Me? security guard? I know, right!

I was honestly like a star stuttered fan who would do anything just to be near the kids. I would offer to carry boxes to the bus, in a hope that I would have to put the box IN the bus, and thus getting to see the kids... Eventually, I didn’t have to celebrity stalk them anymore- I got to meet all of them! listen to their stories, play games, drive them around and just be in their presence. If I wrote all that is on my mind about these kids, you would be here reading this for days. no kidding. every little moment has become a story, every funny line from one of the little guys is worth a long laugh, and every cute smile from a favourite kid is a paragraph. I am now known as 'uncle jorda' (apparently there is no 'n' in my name) who is the brother of 'Aunty Carita' (because we have the same kind of hair!)

This is about to get very deep and soppy [I apologise]... I’ve seen a glimpse of Jesus in these kids and the adults around them. I have experienced love from them that I don’t think they themselves know that they are capable of giving! They have affected me in the deepest places in my heart. Kids who may have had no parents, no hope and nothing to give, have given me everything.

It’s really hard to explain what has changed in me, but one thing I can explain: My passion for Africa, and for kids- has been renewed, revived, revitalized, resurrected, reinvigorated (I can't pick one). Even though I wish I could move to Uganda right now to be with these kids and others like them, I understand that going to the US is what I believe God’s calling is for me right now. and the great thing is that I know I will be back! The passion for Africa and the unloved has grown in me HUGELY over the past 2 weeks, and I thank these incredible kids for the role they played!

Saying goodbye to them was heart-breaking. I honestly don’t know if I will ever see them again. But I know that God has put them in my life over the last few weeks for a reason, and that is: to remind me why I love Africa, and to help me never forget that Africa is my home, and that God-willing... I WILL be back!