First Day at CBC

The first day at CBC went well. We had Andrew Womack teach for two hours straight (some peoples dreams came true) on discipleship. The entire school was together and he was setting the foundation for the year and the vision he has for the school for the year. The core of his message was that it wasn't just good enough to make converts and get people saved. We have to disciple them into maturity in order for them to be able to produce after their kind and change the world.

Discipleship is a very familiar concept to me, but Andrew approached it like I've never heard it before and used Jesus teachings (the toughest ones) to make his point. One statement he made, was this: "If the church were discipling people properly, there would be no need for institutions such as CBC", something to think about. However, my question is this: What are we discipling people into? Are we discipling them into the good news of the gospel, or into the the precepts of the law?

Get to know the good news and then disciple people into it, as many people as you can!

Otherwise, registration went well and received all my books for the entire years study. Paid my full year in advance, so cheese and crackers it is for the next 10 months! There are many people here from all over the USA and the world. Ninety percent of the people attending CBC don't live in Colorado!

Below are some pictures of the college and another crazy 'housemate t-shirt'!

Me and housemate Dan outside CBC on my first morning

Another housemate t-shirt ... they just keep getting 'better'

After hours ...

Today was a holiday in the USA, Labour Day, something South African labour has been taking every day for the past month! This, however, meant that there was a day to explore before school starts tomorrow. My housemate, Basil, and I went up the 'Incline' today. Which, is a 3 mile hike straight up the Rockies. Vertical! See the photos and make up your own mind. The air is already thin up here, but another mile up and it gets ridiculous - they breed us tough in South Africa, so I pushed through and the view was worth it ...

Still smiling at the bottom

Basil not letting the steepness get to him

At the top at last - someone turned off the oxygen supply!

 Army guys training before shipping out to an undesclosed location next week

The Rockies!

Newer isn't always better, but in this case it is ...!

A new season of blogging has dawned. No longer the flashy sights and sounds of the 2010 World Cup, but rather the insightful looks at what the most important person in the world is doing in and around me. Having landed in Colorado Springs to begin my first year on the CBC campus, it has slowly become reality that, not only is something I have dreamed about for the major part of my life busy unravelling, but also that it could be the beginning of an entire new way of life for me.

God hasn't called me to bible school to become more religious or critical of other beliefs. He has called me here for the soul purpose of meeting Him, through the word that is taught here, through the people that are circulating here and through the beautiful surroundings. Never before have I been put in a position of one hundred percent reliance on Him. The situation I find myself in, however, is both challenging but also very necessary at the same time. Challenging due to the fact that my faith is being stretched, but necessary because learning to trust God doesn't come from always trusting your own potential!

This, hopefully, sets the tone for the posts to come and also the general theme the blog will be taking handling over the next while. Check out the pictures below from my first few days here. These were all t-shirts worn by my housemates over the last 48 hours, all independent of one another!

A new day, a new place, a new challenge ... same God!

Lifeguard: Mine Walks on Water

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No need to translate!

Until next time!

SWC 2010 Wrap-Up 1!

The beginning of the end of the world-cup posts. Restricted Internet access over the past 3 weeks has made it almost impossible to post any new posts. But, here we go, mainly with pics and some comments ...

The pictures below were all take the night before the final match between Spain and Holland, at Soccer City. There was a full dress rehearsal to practice how things needed to go down for the main event the following night. I had just finished my work for the day and so was on hand to capture some of the interesting details that you might have missed on  T.V.

The closing ceremony light-show, from just outside the stadium.

'The Trophy', there's no way of telling whether this was the real deal or not. There was security guarding it though ...

The goal posts in a top-secret location, before being erected for the final.

The organizers predicted a Spanish win. The following night proved that their predictions were correct!

Our pleasure ...

My dirty shoe on the 'holy ground' before the final!

The radiant Emirates girls practicing handing over the medals ... how hard can it be!

Me in the foyer of the highly impressive International Broadcast Centre near Soccer City

An interesting insight on how the matches made it into your home, all the way from deepest darkest Africa

Looking back at something we have looked forward to for so long can do one of two things: It can either leave you with a bad taste in your mouth or it can leave you with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. I can truthfully say that SWC 2010 South Africa has left me and many other people I have been working with,with the latter of the two scenarios.

To put an operation of this magnitude in to words doesn't do it justice, but  I hope the pictures I have been posting have given you an idea of how much went on behind the scenes in order to make what you saw on T.V, a reality.

Keep a look out for the final SWC 2010 posts, along with more thoughts and photos ....

Jo´burg venues and more ...

 My sojourn in Nelspruit came to an end on Saturday and it was immediately off to Ellis Park for me, to help the team there, with the bump-out after their final match. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of that match; the quarter finals between Spain and Paraguay. Well done Spain, now to put the Germans to the sword!

Ellis Park proved quite eventful, with people being arrested for ´stealing´food, that they were given, and our forklift getting stuck on the field. The driver, in his wisdom, decided to summon another forklift to try and tow him out, only to cause more damage to the hallowed Ellis Park field (better known for Joel Stransky´s heroics in 1995)! When the rocket scientists eventually decided to tell someone about the scenario (3 hours later), there was enough damage to the pitch to resemble a small excavation sight (a slight exaggeration, but you get the point!) The towing company eventually arrived to retrieve the stuck forklift, up a 50 degree slope ...  with the help of twenty guys pushing ..! 

I started at Soccer City today. The build-up to the final here is well underway; they are practising the opening ceremony and bringing in loads of fire-works already! More photos from Soccer City to follow in the next few days.

On another dimension: God is still proving Himself faithful day in and day out. It doesn´t take a stuck-forklift driver to realise that it´s no use hiding from Him, as He has the best in mind for all of us, all of the time! So why hide and feel guilty about things that we sometimes can´t help ...? Rest in His faithfulness, rest in His provision and rest in his grace and while you rest, start living!

Ivory Coast vs North Korea

Nelspruit stadium at dusk, in the bush ...

Inside the Ivory Coast players dressing room 2 hours before the match against North Korea. We were trying to locate the whereabouts of a `missing´Blue-ray player ...

Picture quality not that great, buit it gives you an idea of what greets the players, when they get to their dressing room.

Ivory Coast vs North Korea

The Eastern Stand basked in late-afternoon sunlight.

A big truck at the Log Point

Oz Vs Serbia match pics

These photos speak for themselves!

Friends at the game!