happenings

So, yesterday, we had more fun team bonding time while trying to sell tickets for the upcoming barbeque that we are having to raise money. The word "trying" indicates another attempt in a long string of fruitless attempts. None of us are disheartened though because when you cook barbeque this good (chicken barbeque, people) the masses are bound to show up. At least that's the plan. For more information on the barbeque, check out the church website. Come...please?

Anyhow, most of the team got to the church around 8:15 Saturday morning and then we made signs in the supply room as per the suggestion of Lindsey ("Well, we can make signs. We'd have to go to the supply room. I mean, only if you really need us to."[she likes that supply room]). After thirty minutes, we had some very questionable, but brightly colored signs and so we set off to the Harris Teeter and Food Lion parking lots to sit for four hours and sell tickets.

Tickets sold in four hours: two. Yep. And those were to a team member from last year, but we're still counting them.

We talked to innumerable race fans who would stop and peer with interest at our sign:
"If you're going to be here, we're having a barbeque next Saturday at Crossroads Church."
Without fail, we'd get:
"Oh, I'm from [insert southern state here] and I'm in for the race. Won't be here then, but it looks good."

Lesson learned: grocery store parking lots + race weekend + barbeque sales = baaad idea, but lots of fun (dependant upon one's definition of 'fun').

And that was pretty much the extent of that.

In other team news, tonight we are selling drinks at the Darrell Evans concert at Crossroads. 50 cent drinks, again--don't miss it...

There will be a bit of a change in the content here due to the fact that I am leaving tomorrow (oh. my. word. I am sososo excited. I can't really express it), so there'll be less about the team until they join me in South Africa, but I'll try to keep up with them. My father commissioned me in front of the church this morning--I almost cried, almost because it really touches me to see all the support from my church family, friends, and team. You guys are wonderful. Thank you so much.

For now, I have to finish packing and I'd love to go to bed early, but that never happens, right? Anyhow, all I know about my plans is that my missionary friends are picking me up at the airport in Durban. That is truly the extent of my knowledge. Oh well, you'll all hear from me on the other side...

camaraderie

So, we (the team) just got finished hosting a Family Movie Night at Crossroads complete with free popcorn. Not many people turned out probably because, hey, honestly there are more exciting things to do on a Friday evening than hang out at church with your kids and watch Madagascar 2. But we did have free popcorn. And 50 cent drinks. That gets us some points, right?

There's not really much you can do when things don't go exactly as you plan, so we made the most of it: played some dodgeball and volleyball, watched Madagascar 2 (ha--the penguins...), and hung out as a team. Honestly, time can't be considered a waste when you are spending it with wonderful people. Which brings me to well, the team...

It is incredible how God puts together the perfect team for every trip. This being my third year going to South Africa, I've tended to compare each year to the year before and wistfully think along the lines of, "Ah, but it won't be the same." No, it won't. It never is because each year the situations that the team is put into are different. And God is faithful and puts the right people in for each trip. That being said, I'm excited to see what's going to happen this year because this is a pretty awesome group of people:

Yeah, so there's no good way to name everyone because we were all tired and standing in some weird formation. So, from the left here we have Michael, Wilson, Chandra (green shirt), Alice (the one who looks super excited in the back), Lindsey, Ansley (in the soccer jersey), Richard, Grant, Kevin (the one who is standing like five feet in front of everyone else), Crawford, Billy, and me. That's everyone except Lowell and Craig. These guys are our senior pastor and associate pastor respectively. They deserve to be introduced seperately because we love them that much (Lowell, at least...):

Lowell

Craig

Isn't it really convenient how everyone who wasn't here had pictures on the staff page of the church website? I thought it was convenient. Anyhow, that is the Crossroads Church 2009 South Africa Mission Team.

ps, thanks to everyone who came out to support us tonight--we appreciate it so much!

the why

Saying that I might over analyze things is like saying that the sun might rise in the east and set in the west.

Yeah so, now that we have that established, I'd like to kind of throw out some thoughts on why I want to go back to South Africa. Some people have asked me why and it's really a hard thing to articulate. See, while it's very important to me to go back to South Africa, it's also very important to me that I am going back for the right reasons.

On one hand, South Africa isn't a hard place to fall in love with. I mean, hey, it's Africa and we're on the Indian Ocean or in the bush the whole time and so there is an element of romance to it all. It's freaking gorgeous. The people are amazing. On the other hand, I'd say South Africa is a hard place to continue loving...you see some hard stuff while you're over there, a lot of hard stuff. Then you get this feeling of being overwhelmed and not being able to do enough. It's frustrating. And I've only been over there short term--can you imagine living there and being faced with that every day?

Part of what draws me to this country is that whenever I've been there, God just shows up in incredible ways. Before I go any further, let me just say that I realize that I don't have to go through 36 completely hellish hours of travel to have God say, "Oh, that Ashlyn! She's getting serious, hopping on planes to foreign countries and all--well, I guess I can show up for a little while..." I know that God is capable of showing up anywhere that he pleases. I think that something about Africa makes it easier for him to move and move big though...maybe because the culture over there isn't as jaded to the spiritual world as America is or something? I don't know.

What I'm trying to figure out is...do I love South Africa for selfish reasons, for what it does for me, or do I love it because God has given me a heart and a vision for this place? See, I have no clue. I'm really hoping that this trip will help me to figure it out and I'm praying even now that God will give me his vision and his love for this country so that I can be effective for the short time that I'm over there.

ha--bear with the musings, people--I have to start processing things this far out, or I won't know what to do when it's finally here...

some history for you

For the large amount of people who don't really know me well and aren't aware of the events that have culminated in me traveling to South Africa, I am going to attempt to fill you in. This is a difficult thing for me to do because if I filled you in as much as I would like to, then this entry would be ridiculously long. So, here is an attempt at a bullet/skeleton point summary:

• October 2006: My father is asked to be part of an investigative mission trip to South Africa to see if our church can be helpful in a region of the KwaZulu Natal province, in the north eastern corner of the country. He goes. He falls in love with South Africa. He comes home.
• October 2007: My father asks me if I want to be part of a mission team from Crossroads going back to South Africa (the investigative trip being successful). I accept without hesitation, forethought, or prayer. Pretty much, I'm not about to turn down an opportunity to travel to Africa. We go. I fall in love with South Africa. We come home.
• June 2008: Repeat cycle and insert my brother where my dad and me previously were. It's getting predictable, hmm? I go on this trip as well only after sending out tons of letters to help raise funds. We go. My brother falls in love with South Africa. We come home.
• After my first trip in October 2007, I spent almost an entire two years trying to convince my parents to let me go back by myself to visit our missionary friends and be helpful in whatever capacity that I could. They didn't immediately veto the idea of me traveling 36 hours by myself, internationally. I was shocked.
• End of May 2009: hopefully, I leave for South Africa. By. My. Self.
• Mid-June 2009: the short term team from Crossroads (led by my father on his fourth year back and containing my entire family--ha!) should arrive and meet up with me and the missionary family. Then we'll get on with some serious working. Then everyone will fall in love with South Africa and we'll all go reluctantly home.

Believe it, or not that was a skeleton summary. So, that should pretty much cover the basics for now because there is a lot more coming...