Goodbye South Africa

Hello to whoever is reading this right now, just letting you know that this is my final update on the south african chapter of this blog as i have now left the country and am heading home via England and Malaysia.
What an awesome final month i had in Cape Town. Enjoyed time spent with amazing friends, perfected a Pasta recipe, encountered the South African big five (lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard/cheetah and rhino i think thats right dont quote me though), received so many thank you's and hugged everyone saying goodbye.

Will try and keep this update shortish.

I got into much more of a routine during my last month, which really helped give me more structure and purpose from my days. I really enjoyed going into the prison, spending time and coaching the guys in there. Had some awesome chats with the boys at Cape United and got to see them play some amazing football, the best U 19 side i have ever seen with some phenominal players. Finished up with U Turn and got to share more talks with the guys and girls at the soup kitchens which i found was a complete blessing to me and i hope in some way was to them as well. And last but not least went crazy on friday morning with out Play Ball team as we attempted to keep the 5/6 yr olds at heideveld primary entertained during our PE classes. All in all this made it much harder to leave, but its funny how my last month was probably my best, i guess you really appreciate things more when you know they aren't going to be there for much longer.

Ok 2 quick stories.
1. Was out i believe on a Saturday evening or at that time would have been very early sunday morning in cosy claremont when i came across Rushana and her boyfriend (cant believe forgot his name), a couple from the U-turn homeless soup kitchens that i had been helping out for a little while. I didnt actually get a chance to say goodbye to them during the week so it was definitely a praise God moment. They didnt only say goodbye though and chatted with me for at least an hour and a half thanking me for spending my time trying to help them and sharing talks with them and listening to them. I was blown away. They actually wanted to keep on talking forever so i had to tell them i needed to leave, but funny how a night out can end up and couldn't think of a better way really.

2. Went into the prison for the last time on a Thursday after running my final training seshion with them the day before. Was really sad to say goodbye to those guys and they granted me with a goodbye wish singing a song for me. Now this isn't just any ordinary song (well to be honest i dont rlly know what they were singing) but the sound they make wow, Deep african voices all in harmony makes hairs rise in all over your body. took a final picture with the statue of Mr Mandela out the front and bidded goodbye to Drakenstein prison, maybe not for the last time but for a little while at least.

So it has ended. What a sad goodbye it was, nevertheless it was always going to happen and im so thankful to everyone i met for the experiences i had and to God for getting me through all of it and just i guess blessing me with the opportunites i ended up having.

Goodbye Cape Town South Africa, we may meet again one day.

Have joined Dad to visit family in England and will be heading home via Malaysia, where ill hopefully be getting involved in a couple more exciting things and spending time with lots of mum's family there for the next 2 months.

Im Home on the 28th November, can't wait

Will be seeing everyone back home soon, when you can ask me as many questions as you like (if you want to of course)

Chef.

World Cup and the 5 month mark have just passed me

Wow so been here 5 months now and the World Cup has just passed by. I haven't been the greatest with updating this blog and apologize to anyone who has actually been checking lately, i hope that this update makes up for that.

So where should i start?

How about we go from just before the world cup to right now.

So i think i wrote in my last Blog that i was being placed in a small township church to help them start up a sports ministry. Most of my time in the month preceding the world cup was meant to be dedicated to doing this but unfortunately it really didnt work out how we wished it would. Basically in the end the conclusion was that they weren't really ready to start a sports ministry, so i ended up pulling out of that initiative and as a whole that month was very difficult and frustrating. God definitely taught me lessons through it as he has done throughout my time here but it wasn't an easy time and im glad the world cup month came when it did as i really wanted to leave at that point.

June 11 Finally came the kick off of the 2010 World Cup. I was in Durban with Murray where we were ready to watch Australia play Germany on the 14th and we wont mention the result ha ha. But the atmosphere and excitement was just something that i cant explain and it was awesome to be a part of all the hype and the explosion of what was years of expectation and excitement from the South African people. It was finally here and many could not believe it was actually occuring a World Cup in Africa.

Returned home to Cape Town after the Socceroos match and straight away got stuck into 4 intense weeks of intense holiday activity with the kids.
1s week was a soccer school with St Johns church in a suburb called Wynberg. A soccer school is basically a 3-5 day soccer clinic where we coach kids in the basic skills of football, teach them some lessons from the bible and organize a mini world cup tournament for them to participate in. This week was really great, had a great group of kids, awesome group of leaders and good facilities. Oh and that friday was also lucky enough to get tickets for England vs Algeria, wasn't the greatest game as you know but was still awesome to see England play and experience the vibe their fans brought.

2nd week was another soccer school with Gleemore Baptist Church in Athlone. Athlone is a far more disadvantaged area on the Cape flats of Cape Town compared to Wynberg and there were many more challenges faced. The kids came and went everyday making it difficult in terms of numbers. A lot of them clearly didn't have the same educational opportunites as the kids from the previous week, which made it much harder to communicate and follow through with some of the material we were teaching them and the fascilities weren't as good. However despite all these challenges this week was probably the most rewarding. It was just a privelage to be able to encourage these kids and bring them hope through football and the Good news of Jesus. So many of these kids just came from really tough homes and backgrounds and the tears that preceded each day during the debrief amongst the coaches just showed how they were impacting our lives through their resiliance maybe even more so than what we were hoping to do for them.
For me the best part of the week was seeing the kids in my team, sing and dance silly war cries that we made up and just be kids without worrying about any problems that they face. it took a little while for the walls to come down and i have to say that some mornings i didn't feel like getting up and going again but it was definitely worth it.

3rd week- Soccer schools took a break for one week and this week i was involved in a Holiday club with St Johns Wynberg the same church as the first soccer school. A holiday club is sought of like a week long camp where we as leaders ran a kids program in the morning and then a teen program in the evening. The leaders all stayed at the church and it was awesome to finally meet and get to know some amazing young people here in South Africa. It was a really tiring week and i struggled with food especially, due to my special stomach condition but once again was awesome. The highlights for me were just being a fool for God during the kids program and seeing lots of barriers broken in young teenagers lives during teen program along with building relationships with the leaders.

Unfortunately i had to miss the last day as i had tickets for the Netherlands vs Brazil match In PE which is 800 km away, i know i was upset a well. So we left at 7 am on the morning of the match and got back at 5 am the next day. 22 hours and 16 + were in the car hectic! that is what the world cup does to you especially if you love football "feel it, it is here" (that was the slogan if you have no idea why i said that). Oh yeh the game was awesome got beer spilt all over me from a crazy brazilian fan and saw all the goals down my end. Definitely once in a life time when do you get to see Brazil play with the likes of Kaka against a top quality european team- answer: only if your very lucky.

Ok week 4 we did our final soccer school with New Destiny church in Silvertown a similar area to Athlone. This was only 3 days and im sought of glad that was the case as i was really struggling to go on, was so tired. Highlights were going into the newly turfed Athlone stadium for the final matches of our little world cup tournament, i thought it was just a mean joke they were telling the kids but we actually went in so awesome. We were the second people after the Netherlands team to use the new grounds. But definitely have to say the main highlight was when one of the kids in my team who had been giving me a hard time, gave me a 2 hugs as we said our goodbyes. So Lukien came up to me gave me a hug and said thanks for being his coach and then started walking off with his friends, but suddenly turned around came back and asked if he could give me another hug and say bye again. Of course i said yes! and yeh was just blown away by how much it meant to him as i thought that he really wasn't enjoying the week, which was so encouraging to me as at times i have struggled to believe that i've been making a difference, which is definitely encouraging to know.

So obviously there a more stories than that but they will have to wait untill i get back and we can chat face to face.

In summary was an awesome month, God definitely prepared me for it before hand and im sought of glad that i was frustrated and itching to get stuck into something as it made me so eager to get involved and push through the tiredness that the month brought with it.

Now am getting more involved with the Prison ministry (2 days a week) and Cape United (1 day, 1 evening a week). Car is going well, i just got sick of trying to buy one and hired one for 3 months its name is Louise if you were interested and its a old bomb as well just a much better bomb than my beatle lol.

Still missing everyone back home and will be interesting to see where God takes me in the next few months im not sure if they will all be spend in South Africa anymore, a few things have come up and im thinking and praying about them and will hopefully update everyone a little quicker than i did this time.

Much Love,

Chef

4/5/2010 and so begins the 3rd month

Ok finally im updating my blog, sorry to anyone who has checked it recently to find nothing, but now there is something to read about. So into my third month on the continent of Africa and thinking back to when i was on the plane i guess i can safely say that my experience has been quite different to what i thought so far. Cape Town seems to be a bright spot in Africa in terms of quality of life, what i mean is that one could feel like they were in a 1st world country if they wanted to, i.e only go to certain places which are nice. There would of course be some moments where you would need to shut your eyes or turn your head such as at almost every traffic light (or robot as they say) when someone will come to your window begging for money. Or when you are travelling along one of the major high ways and you pass a informal settlement of shacks pressed against the road. I did think that i would see more of the rural side of Africa like we see on the Tv where there would be mass hunger and such but there are still issues here which are just as pressing such as gangsterism, crime, drugs and of course there is still the need for food and shelter which many struggle with. What i have been learning though is that to change all this will take effort and time but most importantly relationships. Relationships give people encouragement and a reason to try to change things, so i guess god has been really saying that what you do physically isn't always the most important rather it is often the work on the inside of others and myself of course which will last when im gone and as life goes on. Ok enough of the deep stuff had to get it out there, pratically over the last month or so i've been getting up to a little more mischief. I have officially learnt to drive manual, was a baptism of fire and did embarrasingly stall a couple of time at massive intersections and hill but im moving smoothly now. Did learn that i was starting in 3rd all the time the other day which did help a lot but my 1st gear is busted now so emily and i start in 2nd now (thats the cars name btw). On mondays i've been going into Drakenstein prison with a guy called Adam from Ambassadors in Sport who i am going to be doing an internship for the next 6 months. He is the coach of the football academy team, so he does some life skills with them, encourages them and coaches them as well (and i try to help him). Tuesdays is a little more relaxed, i did go visit the Amy Biehl foundation who do after school programs and other stuff in the townships and do awesome work and today im going to the U-turn soup kitchen which is a part of their homeless ministry. Wednesdays i've been going to Network teaching basic computer skills (i know some ppl are like what chef knows nothing but trust me our general knowledge of computers is a lot more than we think compared to people who literally done know how to use one) Oh Network basically helps people get back into work predominantly foreign migrants. Thursday has been chilled, am going to meet with Pastor Severo this week to chat about the sports ministry we are hoping to start at his church as that is where ambassadors in sport and more importantly God has placed me to help at. the church is at the edge of i think a predominantly coloured township so there is a big need for outreach into that community. Friday have been heading to the Cape United football academy doing some more stuff with ambassadors there, it is a pro U 19 academy so hopefully will see some of those guys playing in the future.
Other than that, have been playing for my football team which is a good U 19 team which has been fun and doing some other stuff like going up table mountain recently with Murray (my friend from Australia) and have also been to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held for 17 yrs i think and of course marvelling at the beauty of this place.
If you have made it this far well done, should be some pics up on facebook shortly i hope. Can't wait for the World cup to start, wish you guys could be here as well but will have to enjoy all the more for your sake.
Much love,
Chef

Proper update

Hey, so im hoping this will be a much better update of what im up to and feel free to send me an email (jameschefoliver@gmail.com) or a facebook message if you have any specific questions.
So basically i've been here for about a month and a half now which is quite long, wow it has gone fast. It hasn't been completely easy, its been very frustrating soughting out what im going to put my time into as there is so much need and opportunity to serve and volunteer but finding what God wants me to do and what the best thing for me to do is not so easy. So i've recently applied to do an internship with an organisation called Ambassadors in Sport which basically do soccer ministry partnering with churches to do outreach in their communities using football (i know i said soccer before but football is the proper word). Im hoping that goes through well and am keen to get started with that ASAP. However, obviously i must have been doing something for the last month or so. I've sought of been doing a mixture of things from visiting organisations that do stuff such as job empowerment and training (which is really needed here), helping out at a HIV orphanage in Khayelitsha which is the biggest township in the Western Cape where around 2-3 million people live apparently (thats crazy and coming from Australia it does look crazy, so many people living in shacks and huts all crammed together amongst some brick housing as well. It is like a world in its own, yet it is very much a part of Cape Town), attending and helping at Hillsong Cape Town and i also helped out at a holiday clinic for Kids in Gansbaii where i did some soccer coaching where i was far more blessed than i was a blessing i think. After writing that it sounds like a lot but there have been many moments when i've been doing nothing at home and thinking 'why am i here? i surely didn't come all this way to do this?" God is good though and that's not just a cliche saying he's been teaching me things and wants me here so i guess im waiting on him to see what eventuates. Im so lucky that i'm staying with an awesome family who have made the transition so much easier, i've been meeting some amazing people some whom God has definitely strategically placed along the way and the next thing i wish i could say is that i've found a good, affordable car and learnt how to drive manual. I really wish i had learnt back in sydney, autos are quite rare here and much more expensive.

So its sunday night here, just watching the masters now with another week ahead of me, which will be very interesting to see what happens. Missing you guys a lot, hope your going well, much love God Bless- Chef.

short update for you to read

Sorry this isn't longer, this is just something to fill space and make sure your not thinking that this thing is a fake. Will definitely fill it with something better by tomorrow i promise. Heading off to soccer training now, i have to ride from claremont to crawford so its basically riding from a built up fancy rich white area to a lesser so coloured community area. Very interesting but sad demographics here, apartheid is unfortunately still very much around in some senses. But things are changing which is awesome! and they will continue to do so and everyone said amen.