Super 14 Rugby

Super 14 Rugby, for those of you who don't know, is a competition between 14 rugby teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It's one of my favourite rugby tournaments to watch each year (that and the Currie Cup, a competition between South African regional teams). This year the Super 14 final was between two South African teams, the Stormers (from Cape Town) and the Blue Bulls (from Pretoria).

Since we live in Pretoria you'd think we're Blue Bulls fans, but if you've ever seen a Blue Bulls fan, well... they're a little crazier than the normal rugby fan. Yesterday, for instance, if you had driven around Pretoria, you would have seen a sea of people wearing blue. You would have seen bakkies with huge Blue Bulls flags flying behind them, bakkies with giant bull horns coming out of the cab, and bakkies with blue... um... balls hanging from the trailer hitches. You would have seen people wearing blue wigs, people wearing no shirts with huge bellies painted blue, and of course, people braai-ing all day long. A rugby final in which the Bulls are playing is very nearly a national holiday for those who stay in Pretoria.

For the record, we're Sharks fans (the Sharks play in Durban). Dan decided to wear his Sharks jersey yesterday. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. I played it safe and wore my Springboks shirt, always acceptable no matter which city you live in.

The game was awesome. I love rugby. It moves so fast, and there are no commercial breaks during the game, so you get to watch 40 minutes of uninterrupted rugby, then a few adverts, then 40 more minutes. I love blood substitutions. I love how tough the guys are. I love the excitement. I love watching Morné Steyn kick. I love watching Bryan Habana run. I love watching Victor Matfield's leadership and Schalk Burger tackling someone. Awesome. Just awesome. I am a definite convert to the game of rugby.

What Kind of Servant are You?

My friend Muriel reminded me that the difference between "servitude" and "servanthood" is the difference between a "have to" and a "get to." And I realised that I've had a bad attitude lately.

I've been helping renovate a guesthouse for the World Cup. The profits fund a hospice and clinic out in Soshanguve. It's nice to know that my work has purpose, but at the same time, it's hard work! My mindset of late has been:

• I have to scrub grime off shower tiles
• I have to scrape paint drips off tiles with a razor blade and acetone
• I have to scrape water damage off walls and seal them
• I have to pull a hairball out of the shower drain
  

I began grumbling and complaining to God when suddenly the image of a quadriplegic came to mind. I can't imagine not being able to walk, to feel, to make my hands do what my brain wants them to do. I broke down and wept, because somewhere in the world, there are people who actually want to do what I've been doing, and that made me feel ashamed. I had to repent of my sour attitude and I'm now trying to focus on the joys:

• I get to live in one of the most vibrant countries on the planet
  
• I get to do work that (indirectly) makes a difference in peoples' lives
• I get to listen to exotic birds and work in a lush garden setting
• I get to meet amazing people and learn from them

Thanks, Muriel, for the important reminder.

Thoughts on the Afrikaans Language

I learned a new word in Afrikaans yesterday: valskerm. It's the word for "parachute" but it literally means "fall screen." At least that's my interpretation. And I love it. A parachute is technically a screen, since there are holes in it, and it's for falling.

You probably think I'm crazy, but it's things like this that make me fall in love with Afrikaans and cross-cultural experiences in general. They add to my understanding of a word or context.

People often say that Afrikaans is harsh-sounding language, an ugly language, or even a pidgin language (for its lack of verb conjugations). That may be, but I think there are things in Afrikaans that are beautiful and poetic. It may not be a Romance language, but it has added to my understanding of the world, helped me see things from a different angle, and for that, I am grateful.

'n Afrikaanse Avontuur

Yesterday we went to the lake outside of the Centurion mall to get out of town and just relax. Okay, so that's not the most relaxing place to be, but it's fun for the kids, and there's an Exclusive Bookstore. However, I seem to have an uncanny ability to accidentally be at venues where large crowds of people have gathered (remember the Fifa Ticket sales at the Brooklyn mall?).

Yesterday, as it turns out, Jacaranda 94.2 (one of the main radio stations here) was hosting a concert. Bok van Blerk was there, Heinz Winckler was there, Prince Victor and the Rasta Rebels was there, and who knows who else. I happened to get there just as Bok van Blerk started singing, "De la Rey." And if you've never been the only American in a crowd full of Afrikaners singing "De la Rey," you have yet to live.

Then Heinz Winckler came up. He said, "If you're English, shout, 'I'm English' " And I'm thinking, yeah, right. Even I'm not that stupid. As it was, only a few people made some noise. Then he said, "As jy 'n Afrikaner is, skreeu 'Ek is Afrikaans.' " And the crowd went wild. "Is daar andere tale?" Nope. Oh wait, one lone German screamed, "Ich bin Deutscher!"

So today, after church, we went to Mugg and Bean for coffee and a light lunch, and guess who was sitting at the table next to us? Yup. Bok van Blerk. Two days in a row... and now I can't get "De la Rey" out of my head.

Dan reminded me that I wanted to have an adventure yesterday. I guess I shouldn't have expected it to be in English!

Pause... Admire

Yesterday at work I came across this grasshopper. I am not a huge insect fan, but even I can appreciate a beautiful insect when I see one. I'd guess it was about 12 cm long. The colours in the wings are just stunning. Things like this make me stop in my path and marvel at God's artistry. It was hard to go back to painting bathrooms after seeing this .

Tuesday Quote

I heard this song last week and can't get the words out of my head. It loses something to see only the lyrics and not hear the music as well, but hopefully the words will challenge you as much as they do me:

Jesus, all for Jesus,
All I am and have and ever hope to be.
Jesus, all for Jesus,
All I am and have and ever hope to be.

All of my ambitions, hopes and plans
I surrender these into Your hands.
For it's only in Your will that I am free
For it's only in Your will that I am free.

Jesus, all for Jesus,
All I am and have and ever hope to be.

- by Robin Mark & Jennifer Atkinson

Dented Armour

Whenever I think about the armour of God (belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God), I get this image of a cheap plastic child's Roman gladiator costume. I guess that comes from too many Sunday School classes where teachers tried to hold our attention by using cheap props and visual aids from the dollar store.

When I woke up this morning, reminded of the aftermath of this week and the challenges we've faced, I was reminded once again to "put on the armour of God." Only this time, for some strange reason, I had a different image in my mind. You know that classic image of a surgeon saying, "Scalpel." And the assistant hands him the scalpel? "Scissors." And the assistant hands him the scissors?

I had this image that I was saying, "breastplate of righteousness," "helmet of salvation," etc., and Jesus was handing me each piece as I said the name. Only it wasn't plastic Roman gladiator costume pieces, it was steel armour - dented, scratched, dinged and beat up. I looked up at Jesus, confused, and He said, "You're in a battle. You're always in a battle. Did you expect it to look pristine?"

And I don't know why, but I laughed. It was one of those "Duh!" moments. And Jesus laughed with me.