home...

I made it.

But my heart is here.




and here...



.

no sleep in 43 hours... I'll be comatose for a while.

zzzzz....

My next post will be from Home!

The past few weeks have flown by... I've been keeping busy which is why I haven't posted recently... I will update my last month of my life in Africa once I get home!

I fly in Saturday afternoon.

Stay tuned........

Finally.

Thursday....



Two weeks of...



Finally.

my best buddies

One year ago today I cried tears of joy.
I was in awe, disbelief, and amazement.
One year ago today I saw a picture of God’s love.
A picture that has not faded since that day.
It was a day where I felt things well up inside of me that I have never felt before.
I witnessed a miracle. Well, two miracles.
I witnessed something right in this world of chaos.
I witnessed something as close to the word ‘perfect’ as we will ever see in this life.
There is nothing that can take that day away from me.
On April 4, 2005 I felt a kind of love that I had never experienced, nor could ever properly explain.
I knew from that day forward, my heart would never be the same.
My heart was captured.
My spirit was stirred.
I treasure that day, but not as much as I treasure the two miracles.



Happy Birthday Buddies.

I love you both so much.

.:true:.

Sometimes the unexpected happens... when your expectations don’t come through, there is always something that God wants you to see a little differently than you had originally planned...

So, Saturday...

The Plan: Surfing at the beach... I was with a student in the youth group who ‘wanted me to teach’ her how to surf... the problem with this is that I barely know how... okay, now that we’ve cleared that up...

Niel and Jen were going to meet us there... which we were counting on, because when you go to the beach, you have stuff... towels, cell phones, a good book, sunglasses... you get the idea... and you can’t just leave this stuff unattended on the beach in South Africa... things there have a tendancy of ‘walking away’... So the normal ‘surfing routine’, as I call it, is that Jen sunbathes on the beach (watches our stuff) while the rest of us get down to what I’ve found really matters in life (surfing)... right??

On my way there, I called Niel to see if they were ‘en route’... he said they’d be there in 20 minutes... perfect... so Candace (student) and I showed up at the beach, and I figured that by the time I got all the ‘gear’ ready and explained the ‘basics’ of surfing, that Niel and Jen would be there...

The beach was packed... like any normal weekend... the teenie-boppers, the surfer dudes, the old men in speedo’s... are we getting a glimpse? At the shoreline there was a drop-off where the tide was, but had gone back out, creating a sort of ‘cliff’ just before the water’s edge... There were a handfull of surfers and body-boarders scattered in the water about 100 yards out or so...

Now... The ‘gear’ was ready and the ‘basics’ were explained... and there was no sign of Niel and Jen... for a good half hour... for those of you who know me well, you’d think that by now my impatience must be starting to kick in to first gear... but I was patient... I called Niel again. he said he was sorry but they had run into a few ‘snags’ and they would be there as soon as they could...

Meanwhile I noticed a few little black boys playing about 25 yards to the right of us... They had the poorest clothes on and were the only one’s on the beach that weren’t a ‘shade’ of white... as we continued to wait, Candace and I were just talking about random things... I kept noticing that the smallest of the black boys kept getting closer and closer to us as he was occupying himself in the sand... he couldn’t have been any older than 6... you could tell that he kept looking at us but was trying very hard not to be noticed doing so... He finally ended up about six feet in front of us... the other boys kept looking at him funny and kept shouting at him in some African dialect... I thought he was pretty brave... I asked him if he was having fun and he just looked at me and smiled... I asked him what his name was and he looked at me and mumbled something shyly... I soon realized that he didn’t understand a word of what I was saying... I wondered, out of all the people on the beach, why was he drawn to me?

This little boy kept playing in the sand and eventually wandered off a ways... I told Candace that I was going to go down to the shore and see how the water was... as I was walking towards the ocean I sensed something coming towards me from behind.. I turned and saw the same little boy running at me... as soon as our eyes met he stopped cold in his tracks... and so did I... we both stood there in this awkward, ‘I can’t communicate with you’ sort of moment... his eyes eventually gravitated toward the ‘cliff’ at the shoreline and then back to mine, but a devilish grin was working it’s way up in the coner of his mouth... the kind of look that says ‘do you dare me?’ I immediately smiled, appreciating this young boy’s clever communication technique... I raised my eyebrows as if to say ‘yes, I DO dare you’. His devilish grin immediately turned into a look of focus... He looked at me one last time, revved his little engine and ran as fast as he possibly could in the soft sand, headed straight towards the edge of the cliff... at the edge he leaped with everything his might would allow him to leap...

I wondered again, as I was watching this unfold, this picture, this forty pounds of boy flying through the air, what he may have been drawn to...

maybe he thought my surfboard was pretty...

maybe he thought Candace was pretty...

maybe he just thought I talked funny, unlike anything he had heard...

maybe it was the fact that I smiled at him when he first saw me... hmm...

After he landed in the sand, he got up and ran back to his starting line again laughing the whole way... I thought to myself, this little boy’s joy is the joy that comes only from God... even if he doesn’t know God, God is here...

this moment was true...

this moment was reality...

this moment is what God intended...

When he got back to his starting line, he had that same ‘do you dare me?’ look in his eyes, but even more, the look that said ‘even if you don’t dare me to, you better believe I’m doing THAT again!’... he put his hands on his knees in the ‘ready’ postion and then looked at me... I then approached the starting line, adopted the ‘do you dare me?’ look in my own eyes, put my hands on my knees to let him know that I was ready... we both raised our eyebrows at each other, took off... and jumped...

there... 40 pounds of boy.

here... 170 pounds of boy (yes, boy).

flying... experiencing joy... experiencing God...

We repeated this practice about seven or eight times before I realized that there were now 4 other boys besides Mr. 40 and Mr. 170... all laughing... all enjoying... all speaking the same language... even if it was only for a brief time...

Thier language: joy

My language: Christ’s love

Joy + Christ’s love = same language

(are you seeing this?)

Eventually they grew bored with me and the jumping game... some wandered to the waters of the Ocean, some to the shade of the life-gaurd stand, some back to their spot on the beach, all-the-while still playing...

So, Saturday...

I was reminded that there is always a language that communicates to everyone...

you don’t have to know someone’s name (as much as I wanted to)...

you don’t have to have a degree in theology...

you don’t have to audibly speak in a way that is understandable...

People were drawn to Christ, People are drawn to Christ...

People followed Christ, People follow Christ...

why?

Christ showed love in a way that transcends anyone’s understanding...

I want to live like that.



Sometimes the unexpected happens... when your expectations don’t come through, there is always something that God wants you to see a little differently than you had originally planned...

new friends I can relate to...

Here are some furry creatures that I spent some time with last sauturday...



Ah, Mr. Goat... yes, I can relate to you my friend... sometimes I feel like I am the goat.








Hello Mr. Swine... you are awfully dirty! You think it's paradise though don't you... sometimes I think that my mud is paradise.






The Noble Steed... proud and true... always faithful, always brilliant... sometimes it seems like there is not enough creatures like you.



Chicken... you seem much braver than what your stereotype makes you out to be... I'm the stereotype.



Poor Mr. Donkey... you look like you need a friend... you always seem to be making a fool of yourself... most days I'm definately the Donkey...

HELP!!!

Friends,
I just found out some crazy news today and I may need your help... I got an email from my financial advisor at my missions organization and she said I'm still about 800 dollars short for my expenses while I'm in Africa... so basically if I can't raise the remainder of that money, I won't be able to pay for my room and board, food, ministry expenses, etc... I'm so grateful for those of you who have helped out financially and for those of you who have been praying for me... my request is for your continued prayers for this situation and also if there's anyway you can give anything, please consider doing so... every little bit helps!!! You can either go to abwe.org and click on "give" and make a secure, online payment thru paypal, or you can make a check out to ABWE with my account number on the subject line (Account # 078528), and a short note with my name on it and send it to:
Mr. Glenn Priddy
C/O ABWE
PO Box 8585
Harrisburg, PA 17105

I hate to do this because I know that a lot of you have already given so much... I almost feel like the kids I see here on the street with their hands out begging for anything you can give...
With all my love and gratitude,

Eric Wagenmaker

1/2

Today marks the half-way point of this journey of mine to South Africa... I don’t really have much new news to speak of other than that I’m really busy... I have a young adults event on Thursday, a youth event on Friday and I’m preaching for the first time in my life on Sunday morning... yikes! So this week has been filled with a lot of preparation for all of that... I haven’t even been able to surf in like 2 weeks now! I have the itch... as my buddy Dan Willis says...
six and a half more weeks and I’ll be back!!! Don’t forget about me America...

thank you God, for a moment...

Last night I was doing my nightly ritual of logging my expenses for the day and filing my receipts... it was about 10:45pm and the entire town seemed to be sleeping except for me... suddenly all of my lights went out... my first thought was 'the breaker switch probably fell again' (which happens about once a week), but about as quickly as I had that thought I looked out my windows and noticed the entire neighborhood was pitch black... I walked out on my patio and realized the power was out as far as I could look in every direction... except up... the night glowed with an amazing display of starry fireworks without the pullution of the bright city lights that are normally there... as quickly as I could, I pulled out two of my round, comfy chairs out onto the deck, grabbed a bed sheet and a pillow and curled up underneath the glowing stars amidst the black night... the only sound was the ocean waves crashing against the rocks and the shore about 200 yards in front of me... I couldn't see it, but I knew it was there... not only could I hear the mighty power of the ocean, but I could feel it... the waves are constantly pounding the shoreline, but the timing is usually off... a wave on the near shore will crash, then a wave further north will crash, which creates this swirling, echoing sound all around you... but then, all at once the waves will crash in unison, like a symphony that builds to it's crescendo... and it was then that I could feel the earth tremble... my deck would shake ever so slightly... it was so majestic... I thought to myself 'it would be nice to have someone here to share this with', but I realized that this was a gift given by God especially for me... I fell asleep like a little baby dozing off to his mother's sweet lullaby... like my childhood bed times I will never get these moments back, but it's cool to think that was just a small piece of the amazing, beautiful masterpiece God has given us to drink in... I like it when God shows Himself in these ways... If you look for Him, you will surely find Him... especially in moments like these...

tick-tock...

for nine weeks I’ve been incomplete...
for nine weeks I’ve been longing...
for nine weeks I’ve been lacking...
for nine weeks I’ve been missing...
for nine weeks I’ve been lost...
for nine weeks I’ve been misunderstood...
for nine weeks I’ve only been half...


five more weeks of anticipation...
five more weeks of seperation...
five more weeks of loneliness...
five more weeks of this ache...
five more weeks of wishful thinking...
five more weeks of hoping...
five more weeks of only distant memories...


In five weeks I’ll be liberated...
In five weeks I’ll be intoxicated...
In five weeks I’ll be undone...
In five weeks I’ll be unstoppable...
In five weeks I’ll be undivided...
In five weeks I’ll be undignified...
In five weeks I’ll be completed...


my darling, please come quickly...

5:08 am

this morning's sunrise over the Indian Ocean...

my week

There might be some of you out there who are thinking that I may just be on an extended vacation out here because all's I post about is my evenings and weekends.... and yes, that is when I do my 'fun' stuff, but during the week I work and keep very busy at doing ministry...

-I am leading Junior High and Senior High youth and planning events and Bible studies for both
-I am in charge of developing other youth leaders for when I leave
-I plan the worship service for Sunday and run rehearsals as well as individual music lessons for the musicians
-I am in charge of developing other worship leaders for when I leave
-I have a sermon that I have to preach in a few weeks that I have been trying to get together
-2 to 3 days a week I am in the studio editing the church's latest youth camp video
-Tuesday's are staff meetings
-Wednesday nights are Bible Studies
-and I try to meet with people within the church to cultivate relationships and also invest into them

Anyway, I will surely have more to blog about later! you know it's coming....
Meanwhile, here's a picture of my lunch today...

this weekend

This past weekend was fun... Niel and Jen wanted to show me the flea markets around town on Saturday so we made plans to do so once Jen got out of her ladies church meeting at 11am... meanwhile, Niel and I were driving around town killing time when all of the sudden he pulled his truck off the road... I asked him what he was doing and he pointed at a tree in someone’s yard... he said “do you see those coconuts?” I said “yeeeees.” He said “do you see the ladder in the back of my truck?” I said “yeeeees.” He said “Jenny wants coconuts so that’s why the ladder is in my truck... just in case there’s a tree low enough to where my ladder can reach.” Me: “So, you’re going to steal the coconuts.” Niel: “yep”. Niel then told me that no one ever picks their coconuts off their trees because it’s too much of a hassle... So Niel hops over the security fence into this random yard, while I’m thinking ‘we’re going to get shot’. I handed him the ladder and up he went... he’d pick the coconuts and then toss them to me on the other side of the fence and I’d put them in the back of his truck... we had gotten about 4 of them when Niel peeked around the side of the tree and quickly looked at me with a look of terror... I asked “Did you get caught?”... he gritted his teeth together, winced, and nodded his head at me... I just started laughing... I couldn’t see the guy because of the security fence, but I heard Niel trying to be as pleasant as possible as he climbed down the ladder... Then there was silence... for like 2 minutes... I thought to myself ‘maybe someone invited Niel in for tea’. Just then, Niel came through the driveway gate with 3 more coconuts in his hands as well as his ladder... I was rolling on the ground in laughter at this point... I asked him what happenned and he told me that he asked the guy that caught him if he minded him stealing his coconuts... he said the guy just replied “carry on” so he did!
Okay, so we finally picked Jen up and drove into Durban (like a half hour drive) to see the flea markets. All along the streets are these little stations and booths set up selling nic-nac’s and what-not’s... There are also these guys (like in the picture) that tow around these carts called rikshas... basically it’s like a wheel barrow, but backwards... well, I guess like a chariot, but these guys haul you around in them if you pay them some money... I didn’t actually ride in one, but I did get a picture of this guy... they wear these ridiculous hats and the ‘chariots’ are all pimped out in paint and accessories... no stereo systems though... anyway, the flea markets were cool... not like the flea markets and art fairs you get along the lakeshore in Michigan... similar though. I picked up a few souveniers... I’m drawn to the hand-made, authentic, African stuff myself... so I was pretty stoked... and everything is super-cheap...
I also went surfing three times this weekend... I almost stood up on my board this last time I went, so I’m getting better... It’s so much fun... Jerry, I wish you were here to catch these waves with me man.. I think of you everytime I go out! Oh, and Saturday evening when we went out, we saw some dolphins out about 200 yards away from us jumping and putting on a show for us! It was cool...
Well, one month down and two more to go! Time here is really flying by, so don’t worry, I’ll be home in no time!! I miss all of you my dear friends and family!!

an African iPod

*DISCLAIMER*

This picture is to show South African culture. In no way is this an attempt to make fun of anyone inparticular. When I was a boy, I'd tie two sticks together like a cross and call it a sword... If I had a picture of those instances, I'd post it and title it "An American Sword". For those of you who are my "annonymous commenters", how about you show some spine and let everyone know your name next time if you feel so strongly about your opinions.

Much love to my faithful....

the past week...

Sorry I haven’t posted much in a while... I’ve been keeping pretty busy out here...

Last Friday was my first youth event... we played water games and then made our own pizzas... there was about 15 kids that showed up which was a very good turn out compared to the size of the church and the amount of kids that actually attend there... so I guess it was a success... those kids sure do keep you young. They ran me into the ground playing water balloon tag and a game called stuck in the mud... I was exhausted by the end of the night!

Saturday morning some members of our church went and played another church in a friendly game of Action Cricket... it’s the first time I’ve ever played this game, so it was interesting... I’m not going to explain in great detail how this game is played, but it’s similar to baseball, but with only two bases... and when you hit the ball, you hold on to the bat and run... the first few times I hit it, I dropped the bat because that was what I’ve done my whole life after I’ve hit the ball... drop it and run! well, despite that fact, my partner and I ended up scoring the most runs on our team for the match! It was fun.... and hot.

Last week I also visited the Gateway Mall which is in Durban. It is said to be the largest mall south of the equator. There is a courtyard area in this mall and has this standing wave where people can surf! it was the coolest thing ever... I don’t plan on trying this because I hear you have to be good a skating and snowboarding to do this, and it’s concrete... my friend Niel said that everyone he knows who’s tried it has ended up breaking a bone, so needlesss to say with my track record, I think it would be a disaster.

well, three weeks down and about ten more to go!!! I can’t wait to see you all again...

my faulty apartment and my amazing girlfriend

Well, a few days ago I came home from doing some work and found that my electricity had gone out... I assumed that it was out most of the day because all of my food in the freezer and fridge were warm and spoiling... anyway, I called the land-lord and he said he’d have someone out first thing the next morning... as it turned out, the breaker had only fell, but it was in the lower level of the house where I do not have a key to... but I do now in case it happens again...
Yesterday as I was leaving to go to the studio, I shut the door behind me, and because it sticks quite fiercely at the bottom, I have to pull very hard to get the door to shut properly. As I did this, the door handle fell right out of the door! So, I called the land-lord again and he said he’d have someone out that day, but noone ever came... that evening I went to shut my door (I usually keep it open during the day because it’s so hot) and for some reason some of the gears must have fallen out because when I turned the handle to try and re-open it, the bolt wouldn’t turn... so I had locked myself in my apartment!! I once again called my land-lord and he said someone would be out in the morning... now I’m watcing two guys fix my door...
Also, yesterday Virginia surprised me with a special Valentines Day letter along with some pictures and flowers... I got home yesterday and they were just sitting there waiting for me on my counter... I was really confused as to how she pulled it off. In fact, I had to look around my apartment and make sure she wasn’t hiding somewhere... She had actually set it all up with Sara Hile to sneak over here and do it... She is a tricky one... and a sweetie... I miss her a ton... (:

my days

So far my days here have been busy. I have been gone for two weeks now and the time has flown by so quickly... I now know my way around town and have a pretty keen sense of direction here so it is beginning to feel more like home (even though I am leaving in 2 and a half months). So far most of my time here has been devoted to ministries within the church. That means worship, youth and media. For worship I pick the songs that coinside with what Bobby is preaching on, organize and run the praise team practice during the week, making sure the power point slides are accurate, creating the order of service for Sunday, having another run-through on Sunday morning and then leading the songs for the service. I am also responsible for training the musicians to play at a higher level and mentor a leader that can take my place when I leave. For youth I am in charge of basically creating something out of nothing. There is one teenager that consistantly attends the church here, but two others just started coming last week. All three are high school girls. My responsibilites include organizing youth events and Bible studies, growing the youth group and to mentor one or more leaders to take my place when I leave. In media there are a few video projects that Bobby wants me to work on so we go to the studio about twice a week. This is the most frustrating part of my responsibilities here, which I mentioned to Bobby, because I hate being cooped up in a studio all day where I am unable to interact with the people here I long to reach and minister to. I will also be teaching ages 5-12 at the church’s Family Retreat coming up in early April as well as taking my turn at the pulpit on Sunday morning, March 26. The orphanage that I was looking forward to working in I’ve been told is nearly 3 hours away from where I am staying and that I may only be able to visit it once or twice while I’m here. That was dissappointing to here, but I’m in search of one closer that I can go and volunteer in even if it isn’t connected with Bobby and Sara’s ministry.

I saw 5 African children walk by my apartment this afternoon. They barely had any clothes on, in fact two of the littlest boys had no clothes on at all. They each had an empty plastic pop bottle and were banging it on everything they walked past... they were competely entertained by this. It showed me how spoiled I am even while I’m here... in this nice apartment with a car to get myself around in... They had plastic bottles and thought they had the world... maybe they did have the world and we have it wrong... I want to find an orphanage... when I saw those kids it was the first time my heart fluttered since I’ve been here... I want to feel that again.

dead rat...

So like a day and a half ago I was walking down my stairs to leave my flat and in the grass was this huge, dead rat.... I was like, ‘gross’... so I just walked by it hoping maybe my maid or the guy that cuts the grass would find it and take care of it, but when I went down this morning it was still there, so I took a dish towel, folded it a few times to put as much distance as possible between my hand and this deceased rodent.... I picked it up with the towel and threw it, towel and all, over the fence into the tall weeds... I hope no one misses that towel.
yuk...

Niel and Jen (and my first surfing lesson)

I met Niel and Jen last Friday. They stopped in at the Hile’s because Niel was installing the fence around their house. We talked them into staying for dinner as well as to church on Sunday. Niel has lived in South Africa his entire life and Jen is from Florida. She took a job over here as a Nanny last year and met Niel then... They were married just 2 weeks ago in the states and returned to Ballito just over a week ago. Niel is 24 and Jen is 22. As Friday evening came to a close, Neil and I exchanged phone numbers because he told me he would teach me how to surf and that he may be going out the following day (which was Saturday). He ended up calling me at about 2 in the afternoon and told me which beach to meet him at... it ended up being just up the road from my flat... and about 3 blocks from Jen and Niel’s... He brought me into the ocean, told me how to balance on my board and paddle out. Once we were far enough we turned and faced the shore... he told me when I see a wave beginning to break, start paddling and try to catch it.... I attempted to do this several times over the next five minutes or so, but all the waves were just passing me by... It was about this time that I realzed even though I was paddling toward shore, I was drifting further and further out into the ocean! I started paddling harder towards shore and was just starting to gain some ground when all of the sudden... WHOOOOOSH!!! I was on a wave! Even though I stayed on my stomach the entire ride, I actually caught a wave... err... maybe it caught me... So Niel and I decided that was enough for one day because the water was particularly choppy and not the best for surfing.
Niel, Jen and I sat on the beach and talked for a while... I wasn’t too sure about where they stood as far as their salvation and their knowledge of Christ and the Church. Jen told me that she has always gone to church, but has never been able to settle in anywhere and that Niel hadn’t really gone until they were married. I was able to share with them where I am at in my spiritual journey, how my faith and walk with Christ has shaped me up unttil now and how much it means to me... I think it did them some good to hear that from someone their age. I hope that God will continue to give me opportunities to speak truth to them in ways that they need to hear.
Since then, the three of us have hung out a few times... they have quickly become good friends of mine and I already dread the day that I leave and may never see them again. It makes me think heavily on making the most of my time here especially with the people that I come to know.

the beach

here is what my beach looks like...