Friday, July 26, 2013
New Blog
I discontinued this blog a long time ago, but I'm trying to keep everything connected, so for more recent blogs, check out lmschreiner.wordpress.com. Holler!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Pictures!
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| Mini Derek Fisher |
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| Beard a month ago |
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| Beard 2 weeks ago |
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| All taken by my friends |
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| Taken by yours truly |
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| view from Table Mountain |
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| explanation of the cloud, or tablecloth, often spilling over table mountain |
Table Mountain- 4-18
Saturday, we were scheduled to climb Table Mountain. Table mountain is an amazing mountain that looks over all of Cape Town. Our bus arrived at the foot of the mountain in the morning, and we were met with incredible winds. We were advised by rangers, a policeman, and other hikers that we should not attempt the climb. Table Mountain is one of the top death causing mountains, but a small group of us were determined to face the winds nonetheless. And I justified that most of the deaths were from cliff climbers, not trail hikers. This “fact” seemed vaguely familiar to me as something I had heard, but it is likely that it was completely fabricated by my subconscious. But it was good enough for us and we were even more intent on climbing. Then our semester coordinators told us climbing the mountain was not an option because it was too unsafe. Plan B was to go downtown, and from there everyone could split up to shop, go to the beach, etc. After driving into town, me and 7 others immediately hopped into a taxi and went straight back to the mountain to climb it anyway. And we did. Our motivations of the morning were even more magnified by rebellion: not only against being told we may not do it, but against being told we were not capable of doing it. It was definitely a hard hike. It was very long and tiring, but we were pretty safe the entire time, and we ultimately climbed the trail in much less time than it was marked to take. The summit was beautiful. Our soreness and tiredness was obliterated inside the shadow of our desire to frolic. And frolic we did. We frolicked around the huge summit and all the way back down the mountain while thoughts of friendship and badassery danced in our heads.
Travel Week- pretend this was posted 4-16
This past week we drove all the way across South Africa, from Pietermaritzburg to Cape Town.
We stayed in six different hotels along the way, and because the entire drive was along the coast, most nights were spent hanging out on the beach.
On Sunday we were in Port Elizabeth, and it happened to be the day of the South African IronMan triathlon. The beach part of Port Elizabeth looked more like a level in Tony Hawk video games than any place I've ever seen. My good friend Derek and I have missed playing basketball this entire semester, and we often talk about how nothing sounds better than playing a game of basketball. Derek and I walked up to an empty swimming pool and I looked up and saw a basketball rise above the roof of a building and hit a backboard. My involuntary response was to ecstatically yell a swear word or two, and we were both running towards the court immediately. We came around the corner to see a group of guys playing ball. We asked if we could get in, and we kicked off our flip flops and played an hour of ball in our bare feet and beach clothes. Oh boy did we dominate. It was so awesome, and despite the new blisters on our feet, we felt so refreshed.
The following day we went bungy jumping, at what is apparently the highest jump in the world. On the platform, music was playing and everyone was dancing, which created a great distraction before the jump. The jump was so amazing and surreal. It was oddly peaceful, and if it weren't for all the blood rushing to my head, I wouldn't have minded hanging there all day.
We arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday which happened to be my birthday, and we had an awesome two days of exploring the city.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
End of Service Sites
I am now done with my time at Walk in the Light. Tonight we stay in a Zulu Village, then safari Monday through Wednesday, then off to Cape Town on Saturday. I can't believe there's only a month before returning home.
We finished the house just in time and it was so stinkin satisfying. I haven't finished processing my past month of work, so I may post more later about what I learned from it. Here's a couple things I've been thinking about the last few days.
First thing, I'm starting to really enjoy change. For the last two years, every set of four months has been completely different. I have lived in 4 different places and so many changes have occurred even when the place where I lived had been the same. But sometimes I think I might be too used to change. During class, I was counting down the days to service sites. During service sites, I was counting down the days to Cape Town. Now, both flew by, and I'm looking forward to going home for summer. I love it here. And I love it at home. I want to go home, but I also want to stay. I enjoyed service sites, but I was still looking forward to the next thing. Sometimes, I think I count down the days until the next thing for no reason other than the fact that a next thing exists. I don't really like that. Being an incredibly adaptable person is awesome, but I don't know if it's worth it if it means missing out on good stuff going on in the present.
On Wednesday, I met this kid whose Zulu name I can barely say, yet alone spell, but his English name is Patrick. He was about 13 years old, and he spoke great English and was very articulate. We just sat and talked for 20 minutes and it was awesome. We asked each other about our homes and families. I felt one of those weird connections to Patrick like we could've been really close, and I kept thinking about how I wish I would have met him earlier. I'm really sad that we didn't meet until my second to last day at Walk in the Light. I've been thinking about Patrick a lot. I don't know what to make of it. So many people, after mission trips, talk about the one kid that sticks with them, but I would have expected that to be due to a consistent progression of a friendship, not one 20 minute conversation. I wonder if Patrick will live in the township his whole life, or if he'll go off and do something amazing, or if we'll ever see each other again.
We finished the house just in time and it was so stinkin satisfying. I haven't finished processing my past month of work, so I may post more later about what I learned from it. Here's a couple things I've been thinking about the last few days.
First thing, I'm starting to really enjoy change. For the last two years, every set of four months has been completely different. I have lived in 4 different places and so many changes have occurred even when the place where I lived had been the same. But sometimes I think I might be too used to change. During class, I was counting down the days to service sites. During service sites, I was counting down the days to Cape Town. Now, both flew by, and I'm looking forward to going home for summer. I love it here. And I love it at home. I want to go home, but I also want to stay. I enjoyed service sites, but I was still looking forward to the next thing. Sometimes, I think I count down the days until the next thing for no reason other than the fact that a next thing exists. I don't really like that. Being an incredibly adaptable person is awesome, but I don't know if it's worth it if it means missing out on good stuff going on in the present.
On Wednesday, I met this kid whose Zulu name I can barely say, yet alone spell, but his English name is Patrick. He was about 13 years old, and he spoke great English and was very articulate. We just sat and talked for 20 minutes and it was awesome. We asked each other about our homes and families. I felt one of those weird connections to Patrick like we could've been really close, and I kept thinking about how I wish I would have met him earlier. I'm really sad that we didn't meet until my second to last day at Walk in the Light. I've been thinking about Patrick a lot. I don't know what to make of it. So many people, after mission trips, talk about the one kid that sticks with them, but I would have expected that to be due to a consistent progression of a friendship, not one 20 minute conversation. I wonder if Patrick will live in the township his whole life, or if he'll go off and do something amazing, or if we'll ever see each other again.
just doing our part in the exchange of increased cultural understanding
Derek: Do you guys do that’s what she said jokes here?
Sihle: No, what did she say?
Derek: It’s hard to explain. You know, if someone said ‘this is hard,’ you would say ‘that’s what she said.’
Sihle: (chuckles) Oh I see. So.... Wow, that took a long time, that’s what she said.
Derek: Exactly, you should say it all the time, and everyone will think you’re the funniest guy ever.
Sihle: Okay. Lets go stand with that group of girls and you guys can set me up for a that’s what she said.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Service Site So Far
Tomorrow is the last day of week three. We are well over halfway through our service sites. So crazy ridiculous. And you don't even know what I've been doing because I've been doing a terrible job at keeping my blog updated.
Typical Day at Walk in the Light:
8:00am- leave campus
8:30-9:30- someone leads a devotion, prayer and such, walk into the township
9:30-1:00- work on the house we're building, home visits, various other miscellaneous tasks
1:00-2:30- lunch, hangout time, nap, plan the remainder of the afternoon
2:30-4:00 or 5:00- Activities with community members depending on the day. Games, songs, soccer, prayer, Bible studies, and talks with little kids, old ladies, or 17-24 year olds.
The first few days of working were challenging because much of the work was so similar to my job last summer. I didn't feel like I was doing anything too special. The relationships with the people in the township are what have made me really grow to love the ministry of Walk in the Light and the town of Haniville. There are so many amazing people. Building the house has been awesome, and I'm loving the visual results at the end of every day (both with the house and the joyfulness of the lady we're building it for). However, building the house has been the most tangible of our work, but for me, it has not been the most satisfying. What has been truly humbling and meaningful for me has been our encouragement of the people already making a difference in the community. Last Friday, we met with the 17-24 year old youth group and talked to them about their work in the community, and it was amazing. They are so passionate and motivated, and they are full of ideas and the energy to match. I don't know what my expectations were previously; I don't think I believed we could change and entire community in 3.5 weeks, and if I did, I'm an idiot. We are building a house for a family and that will change their life for the better, but the big changes in the whole of the community will be the work of the amazing people we first met last week. I believe these changes will come from people my age, Snash and Tash and Alfred and Sihle, with a little bit of hip-hop and lots of prayer and love.
Typical Day at Walk in the Light:
8:00am- leave campus
8:30-9:30- someone leads a devotion, prayer and such, walk into the township
9:30-1:00- work on the house we're building, home visits, various other miscellaneous tasks
1:00-2:30- lunch, hangout time, nap, plan the remainder of the afternoon
2:30-4:00 or 5:00- Activities with community members depending on the day. Games, songs, soccer, prayer, Bible studies, and talks with little kids, old ladies, or 17-24 year olds.
The first few days of working were challenging because much of the work was so similar to my job last summer. I didn't feel like I was doing anything too special. The relationships with the people in the township are what have made me really grow to love the ministry of Walk in the Light and the town of Haniville. There are so many amazing people. Building the house has been awesome, and I'm loving the visual results at the end of every day (both with the house and the joyfulness of the lady we're building it for). However, building the house has been the most tangible of our work, but for me, it has not been the most satisfying. What has been truly humbling and meaningful for me has been our encouragement of the people already making a difference in the community. Last Friday, we met with the 17-24 year old youth group and talked to them about their work in the community, and it was amazing. They are so passionate and motivated, and they are full of ideas and the energy to match. I don't know what my expectations were previously; I don't think I believed we could change and entire community in 3.5 weeks, and if I did, I'm an idiot. We are building a house for a family and that will change their life for the better, but the big changes in the whole of the community will be the work of the amazing people we first met last week. I believe these changes will come from people my age, Snash and Tash and Alfred and Sihle, with a little bit of hip-hop and lots of prayer and love.
Two telephone related lessons
1. When cutting down huge pieces of bamboo, be careful that they fall in a direction in which they will avoid crashing down on telephone lines.
2. Reader, hopefully you know how to play telephone. Well, telephone is way funnier when played in spite of a language barrier. A four-click Zulu word became gibberish immediately, and "Jonah and the Whale" became "to know is the way." And "I choose you, Pikachu" became "Jesus is a penguin."
2. Reader, hopefully you know how to play telephone. Well, telephone is way funnier when played in spite of a language barrier. A four-click Zulu word became gibberish immediately, and "Jonah and the Whale" became "to know is the way." And "I choose you, Pikachu" became "Jesus is a penguin."
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