Okay there has been some sweet stuff happen recently, and I have to share some of it....so here it is in random order:
1. While eating lunch at a restaurant on a mountain at Cape Point (bottom tip of Africa) a couple of days ago, we saw baboons steal food from people's plates (while they were eating) and people working there chasing them away. Every 2 or 3 minutes a baboon would return and try and steal more food. Then while sitting in the restaurant overlooking the ocean we saw a whale.
2. Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to teach a few math classes at a high school in Swaziland that a couple of orphans from the farm attend. The students were very polite, but not quick to answer questions in class. There are 30-50 students in a classroom, but it was a absolute blast!!
3. I got to walk with penguins on Saturday. Basically I was about 2 feet away at times. Then later that day we saw some ostriches a few feet from the car...no fence...no nothing.
4. I went to my first ever National Rugby game on Friday. It is almost as big in South Africa as football in the US. It is a pretty intense game. We were 8 rows up from the field, so we heard every hit.
5. Today in Cape Town I had the opportunity to attend the morning and evening church services at Hillsong Cape Town...all my hillsong fans know what a big deal this is to me.
6. Last Tuesday evening we had a party with kids, youth, adults, etc. There were like 500 baked cookies (thanks to Julie) and hot chocolate for about 80 people. We watched the movie "Elf." Good times.
Thats it for now. I can't believe that I will be home in less than two weeks. Peace.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
It's About Time
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Hello everyone I know that its about time I write more on my blog...so here goes...
Kruger National Park
This past weekend Julie, Allie, Alexis, and I traveled to South Africa to see what might be the largest game reserve park on the entire continent of Africa. It is almost the size of the state of New Jersey. Before I tell you what animals we saw close up, let me tell you some more details for our trip. We left early morning on Saturday and entered the park around 9am. The idea is that you can drive your own car around the park, but you can be fined if you leave your vehicle except at designated areas. The reason for this is so that you don't get eaten by wild animals of course. Saturday night we stayed in a couple of bungalows (Big circular room with 3 beds and a bathroom inside). These were actually quite nice. So, the plan was to enter the park Saturday morning, stay the night within the park that night, and then return to Swaziland Sunday night. We drove all of it except for a 3 hour morning safari on Sunday. We saw everything we wanted to see except for cats (lions, leopards, cheetahs) and wild dogs. We were almost attacked a couple of times which kept our adrenaline going. The first is when a herd of elephants crossed the street and we were about 10 feet away from this. The largest elephant went last and stood in the middle of the street and growled at us. Then a loner elephant crossed the street and these two got into a fight. Apparently this guy wasn't allowed to join the herd. So, lets just say I was going through escape plans in my mind while all this was going on. Another time these two big birds (3 ft tall with 1 ft long beak) were walking in the road just a few feet away from our car and we kept taunting the one with a plastic bag while our windows were down. Suddenly the bird darted towards my side of the car and I quickly rolled up the window, but let's just say one jab from this bird and my eye would be gone. Then there was the time when we were in the road with 30-40 babboons. Some were rather large. So again one of us was taunting with the plastic bag and the babboon was suddenly standing right next to Julie's window (it was down). I tried to drive forward, but due to my nervousness the car stalled, so before the babboon reached inside the car she was able to roll up her window. She was undoubtedly a little freaked out as were the rest of us. There was also a time when I thought we were going to be charged by a wildebeast, and when I almost hit a huge hippo who came out of nowhere to stand two feet from the side of the road. We also saw giraffes, zebras, water buffaloes, all types of deer, impalas, cross the road right in front of our car. We also saw many other animals including rhinos (mother and child), crocodiles, etc. multiple times. Seeing this all up close was unbelievable!! I took so many pictures and videos which I can't wait to show when I get back.
Typical Week in Swaziland
Each day here is different, but there are some things that certain days consist of that I will mention so that you will have an idea of what my life is like here.
1. Sharing testimonies/speaking in TCMI (ministry students) chapel, youth boys (orphans) cell group, and other various places.
2. Going out and doing community visits (talking with people, praying with people, finding out what some of their needs are, giving them food or gifts or medicine, etc.). Most of these homes do not have electricity, running water, or much food. They may have a chicken and a couple of dogs running around, but that is about it.
3. Doing some math tutoring in the evenings with a few high school students that live on the farm. I enjoy the opportunity that this gives me to get to know some of them.
4. Traveling to the office in town and getting to use the internet, email, and accomplish some long term office projects that I have been assigned.
5. Meeting short term missions teams from all over the world that come and do work on the farm. I have even helped them do some painting and cementing.
6. Kicking a soccer ball around every now and then with some of the kids. Also there is a sand volleyball court here so I have played a little of that.
7. Helping organize a community soccer tournament which was a little over two weeks ago (read more about it below).
8. Helping plan youth/young adult events for Potter's Wheel Church.
9. Setting up sound/powerpoint for the CLC church.
Soccer Tournament/Community Day and Rambling
A little over two weeks ago we had a community day and people were drawn to this because we were going to have a soccer tournament, free lunch, children's games, and door prizes. Hundreds of people came to this and two days before I found out that I had to run the soccer tournament. There were 3 small fields, 3 different age groups (5-10, 11-17, 18+), and around fifty teams, so this was a little overwhelming for me. The good news is that a lot of things had already been organized, but there was still some work to be done. Lets just say that due to a lot of different factors things were a little crazy at times, but in the end it was a blast. I was able to see some crazy skilled soccer players. Just before lunch all of the games were paused for an hour and a team from Northern Ireland did some ministry. They sang, preached, and prayed for people who wanted to accept Christ. There were a lot of cool things that happened. One thing that reminded me of how spoiled I really am was the door prizes that people were excited to win. At the end they called off the names of the winners and they won things such as a bag of apples, a bag of oranges, a box of spinach, etc. Could you imagine what you and I would do if we put our names in for a drawing and that is what we won? Then the very next day after church they held a health education seminar and lunch again was included, and after it was over there was a lady walking around and asking for empty peanut butter jars that had already been used. I found out that these are very useful for storing things...and for someone that can't afford to buy storage jars...they are very useful. A couple of days later I found out that one of the orphan homes that live on the same property where I am staying doesn't even have an inside bathroom...and also they have rats...but they don't complain. The scratching noises that I heard outside my door a couple of nights ago don't really seem like a big deal. On that note I am finished rambling. Thanks for reading (if you did).
Hello everyone I know that its about time I write more on my blog...so here goes...
Kruger National Park
This past weekend Julie, Allie, Alexis, and I traveled to South Africa to see what might be the largest game reserve park on the entire continent of Africa. It is almost the size of the state of New Jersey. Before I tell you what animals we saw close up, let me tell you some more details for our trip. We left early morning on Saturday and entered the park around 9am. The idea is that you can drive your own car around the park, but you can be fined if you leave your vehicle except at designated areas. The reason for this is so that you don't get eaten by wild animals of course. Saturday night we stayed in a couple of bungalows (Big circular room with 3 beds and a bathroom inside). These were actually quite nice. So, the plan was to enter the park Saturday morning, stay the night within the park that night, and then return to Swaziland Sunday night. We drove all of it except for a 3 hour morning safari on Sunday. We saw everything we wanted to see except for cats (lions, leopards, cheetahs) and wild dogs. We were almost attacked a couple of times which kept our adrenaline going. The first is when a herd of elephants crossed the street and we were about 10 feet away from this. The largest elephant went last and stood in the middle of the street and growled at us. Then a loner elephant crossed the street and these two got into a fight. Apparently this guy wasn't allowed to join the herd. So, lets just say I was going through escape plans in my mind while all this was going on. Another time these two big birds (3 ft tall with 1 ft long beak) were walking in the road just a few feet away from our car and we kept taunting the one with a plastic bag while our windows were down. Suddenly the bird darted towards my side of the car and I quickly rolled up the window, but let's just say one jab from this bird and my eye would be gone. Then there was the time when we were in the road with 30-40 babboons. Some were rather large. So again one of us was taunting with the plastic bag and the babboon was suddenly standing right next to Julie's window (it was down). I tried to drive forward, but due to my nervousness the car stalled, so before the babboon reached inside the car she was able to roll up her window. She was undoubtedly a little freaked out as were the rest of us. There was also a time when I thought we were going to be charged by a wildebeast, and when I almost hit a huge hippo who came out of nowhere to stand two feet from the side of the road. We also saw giraffes, zebras, water buffaloes, all types of deer, impalas, cross the road right in front of our car. We also saw many other animals including rhinos (mother and child), crocodiles, etc. multiple times. Seeing this all up close was unbelievable!! I took so many pictures and videos which I can't wait to show when I get back.
Typical Week in Swaziland
Each day here is different, but there are some things that certain days consist of that I will mention so that you will have an idea of what my life is like here.
1. Sharing testimonies/speaking in TCMI (ministry students) chapel, youth boys (orphans) cell group, and other various places.
2. Going out and doing community visits (talking with people, praying with people, finding out what some of their needs are, giving them food or gifts or medicine, etc.). Most of these homes do not have electricity, running water, or much food. They may have a chicken and a couple of dogs running around, but that is about it.
3. Doing some math tutoring in the evenings with a few high school students that live on the farm. I enjoy the opportunity that this gives me to get to know some of them.
4. Traveling to the office in town and getting to use the internet, email, and accomplish some long term office projects that I have been assigned.
5. Meeting short term missions teams from all over the world that come and do work on the farm. I have even helped them do some painting and cementing.
6. Kicking a soccer ball around every now and then with some of the kids. Also there is a sand volleyball court here so I have played a little of that.
7. Helping organize a community soccer tournament which was a little over two weeks ago (read more about it below).
8. Helping plan youth/young adult events for Potter's Wheel Church.
9. Setting up sound/powerpoint for the CLC church.
Soccer Tournament/Community Day and Rambling
A little over two weeks ago we had a community day and people were drawn to this because we were going to have a soccer tournament, free lunch, children's games, and door prizes. Hundreds of people came to this and two days before I found out that I had to run the soccer tournament. There were 3 small fields, 3 different age groups (5-10, 11-17, 18+), and around fifty teams, so this was a little overwhelming for me. The good news is that a lot of things had already been organized, but there was still some work to be done. Lets just say that due to a lot of different factors things were a little crazy at times, but in the end it was a blast. I was able to see some crazy skilled soccer players. Just before lunch all of the games were paused for an hour and a team from Northern Ireland did some ministry. They sang, preached, and prayed for people who wanted to accept Christ. There were a lot of cool things that happened. One thing that reminded me of how spoiled I really am was the door prizes that people were excited to win. At the end they called off the names of the winners and they won things such as a bag of apples, a bag of oranges, a box of spinach, etc. Could you imagine what you and I would do if we put our names in for a drawing and that is what we won? Then the very next day after church they held a health education seminar and lunch again was included, and after it was over there was a lady walking around and asking for empty peanut butter jars that had already been used. I found out that these are very useful for storing things...and for someone that can't afford to buy storage jars...they are very useful. A couple of days later I found out that one of the orphan homes that live on the same property where I am staying doesn't even have an inside bathroom...and also they have rats...but they don't complain. The scratching noises that I heard outside my door a couple of nights ago don't really seem like a big deal. On that note I am finished rambling. Thanks for reading (if you did).
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sweet Soccer Goodness…and Jesus too!
Ahhh!!!! That is a sigh of sweet relief and rest. The past couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur at times here as we have been preparing for a big soccer tournament and outreach at Hawane CLC. I have a pretty strong background in event management, so organizing an outreach day shouldn’t be too overwhelming of a task…until you add in the twist of being in Africa!!! I know what to expect at events in the US, but what do you expect in Africa? In the end, other than a bit of a late start, there was nothing to worry about!
Last Saturday was a beautiful day here in Swaziland for reasons greater than the weather! There were too many people to count on the Hawane CLC property…kids mobbing the jumping castle, teenagers kicking the soccer ball around getting ready for their game, mom’s sitting around talking. The only measure we have of how many people came to the event was that we handed out 700 hot dogs. Yes, 700!! It was such a beautiful sight to behold: men, women, and children of the community all gathered together laughing, cheering, and having fun. I don’t care what anyone says, but one of the most beautiful things in the world is a smile and there were lots of those on Saturday.
Of course, the best part of the day happened just before lunch as a team from Northern Ireland ministered to the people in song and dance, sharing the Good News at the end. They gave an opportunity for people to come forward if they wanted to commit their lives to following Jesus Christ, and the angels rejoiced as over 100 people stood up and walked forward!! It was an overwhelming response of children and teenagers. What an extra blessing, though, to see adults come forward. It is not common for an adult to come forward to an altar call here in Swaziland, it takes great humility to break the cultural norm and step out, and we had multiple adults ranging in age from their 20’s to 65!!
Thank you for your prayers for this community, please continue to pray for God to break through the hearts and mindsets of the people. Pray for the people that came forward on Saturday, for those at Hawane CLC, and for those that attend other churches in the area, that they will be disciple in the ways of the Lord and walk in His light!
Enjoy these photos from the event...... Julie
The Winning Teams:
Listening to the Gospel
Praying for People
Last Saturday was a beautiful day here in Swaziland for reasons greater than the weather! There were too many people to count on the Hawane CLC property…kids mobbing the jumping castle, teenagers kicking the soccer ball around getting ready for their game, mom’s sitting around talking. The only measure we have of how many people came to the event was that we handed out 700 hot dogs. Yes, 700!! It was such a beautiful sight to behold: men, women, and children of the community all gathered together laughing, cheering, and having fun. I don’t care what anyone says, but one of the most beautiful things in the world is a smile and there were lots of those on Saturday.
Of course, the best part of the day happened just before lunch as a team from Northern Ireland ministered to the people in song and dance, sharing the Good News at the end. They gave an opportunity for people to come forward if they wanted to commit their lives to following Jesus Christ, and the angels rejoiced as over 100 people stood up and walked forward!! It was an overwhelming response of children and teenagers. What an extra blessing, though, to see adults come forward. It is not common for an adult to come forward to an altar call here in Swaziland, it takes great humility to break the cultural norm and step out, and we had multiple adults ranging in age from their 20’s to 65!!
Thank you for your prayers for this community, please continue to pray for God to break through the hearts and mindsets of the people. Pray for the people that came forward on Saturday, for those at Hawane CLC, and for those that attend other churches in the area, that they will be disciple in the ways of the Lord and walk in His light!
Enjoy these photos from the event...... Julie
The Winning Teams:
Listening to the Gospel
Praying for People
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
My First Week in Swaziland - Chris Kavcsak
Being in Swaziland has been great so far. Here are a few things that I believe may surprise you:
1. It is much colder than I thought it would be, and there is no heat in the buildings that I am staying in. At night the temperature drops to the thirties, so I coverup with my sleeping bag and at least 4 blankets. One night I even wore a wool hat. I pretty much wear long sleeve shirts and often a jacket during the day. On a positive note, the showers are hot.
2. Almost everyone that I am around speaks English so communicating is not an issue. Apparently when we visit some of the poorer communities, they speak Siswati, so there must be a translator.
3. There are actually two different churches that I attend on Sundays. One is called Potter's wheel and is located in the capital city of Mbabane. This church starts at 8:30 on Sundays and is attended by middle/upper class families (Worship is a little more contemporary). The other church (CLC Church- Christian Life Community Church) is located on one of the orphanage properties about thirty minutes away and it starts at 10:30. This is located in a much more rural setting and is attended by all of the orphans and some members of the community.
4. There are two properties that are about 1 km apart where I spend most of my days (they are both 30 minutes from the capital city). The older property is called Hawane Farm and contains about 6 orphan homes (3-8 orphans per home), and has around 15 TCMI (Teen Challenge Ministries International) students. This is where the homeschool is (6 or 7 students), clinic, and a few other buildings. The other property (Timbutini) is where I stay (in 1 of 6 small cabins), and the church and preschool are located. There are also a small number of orphans and students that live here as well.
5. Everyone drives on the left side of the road.
6. Swazis drink hot coffee and tea almost all the time.
7. Swazis have the gift of patience.
8. There are actually some white people who are Swazi residents and they live mostly in Mbabane.
9. I watched the USA vs Brazil soccer game live in one of the homes in Timbutini. I was admittedly a little disappointed. The word on the street is that next year for the World Cup, prostitution is going to be legalized in South Africa. There are also talks of bringing in 150,000 prostitues from other countries. What a sad, corrupt world we live in!
1. It is much colder than I thought it would be, and there is no heat in the buildings that I am staying in. At night the temperature drops to the thirties, so I coverup with my sleeping bag and at least 4 blankets. One night I even wore a wool hat. I pretty much wear long sleeve shirts and often a jacket during the day. On a positive note, the showers are hot.
2. Almost everyone that I am around speaks English so communicating is not an issue. Apparently when we visit some of the poorer communities, they speak Siswati, so there must be a translator.
3. There are actually two different churches that I attend on Sundays. One is called Potter's wheel and is located in the capital city of Mbabane. This church starts at 8:30 on Sundays and is attended by middle/upper class families (Worship is a little more contemporary). The other church (CLC Church- Christian Life Community Church) is located on one of the orphanage properties about thirty minutes away and it starts at 10:30. This is located in a much more rural setting and is attended by all of the orphans and some members of the community.
4. There are two properties that are about 1 km apart where I spend most of my days (they are both 30 minutes from the capital city). The older property is called Hawane Farm and contains about 6 orphan homes (3-8 orphans per home), and has around 15 TCMI (Teen Challenge Ministries International) students. This is where the homeschool is (6 or 7 students), clinic, and a few other buildings. The other property (Timbutini) is where I stay (in 1 of 6 small cabins), and the church and preschool are located. There are also a small number of orphans and students that live here as well.
5. Everyone drives on the left side of the road.
6. Swazis drink hot coffee and tea almost all the time.
7. Swazis have the gift of patience.
8. There are actually some white people who are Swazi residents and they live mostly in Mbabane.
9. I watched the USA vs Brazil soccer game live in one of the homes in Timbutini. I was admittedly a little disappointed. The word on the street is that next year for the World Cup, prostitution is going to be legalized in South Africa. There are also talks of bringing in 150,000 prostitues from other countries. What a sad, corrupt world we live in!
What If......
3 miles doesn't seem very far to drive....but what if you had to walk it....twice everyday....alone....what if you had to do this early in the morning while the temperature is in the thirties (winter in Swaziland)....what if you had to walk only a few feet away from cars rushing by quickly....and what if you were walking to preschool....and you were only 4 years old....what if
Chris
Chris
I Can Do Nothing
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
Hey everyone, I am supposed to depart from the Dayton Airport in less than 24 hours from now, and I have been thinking about what is getting ready to happen. Over the past few weeks, the question that I have been asked quite regularly is “What will you be doing for six weeks in Swaziland?” I typically tell people that I get the opportunity to work with orphans, play some soccer, do some math tutoring, work with the youth in a couple of different churches, help with any construction, painting, or cleaning that is needed, take gifts to impoverished neighborhoods outside of property that I will be staying on (called homesteads), and the list goes on. I will admit that most people respond with words such as “Wow” or “You are doing such a great thing”, but the problem lies with the “great thing” that I will actually be doing. The New Testament book of Galatians has given me a different perspective on this. Reading from the message translation, there are a couple of phrases that have rocked me over the past week. “Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you.” “Don't be impressed with yourself.” “It is not what you and I do…It is what God is doing.”
This leaves me with two contrasting options. The first is that I can start my journey to Swaziland with the best of intentions to make everyone’s life better, asking God to bless it every step of the way….or I can choose the second… that is to focus not on what I can do with God’s help, but instead on what Christ has already done and what God is presently doing.
It seems that even Jesus Himself chose the second option, making the following statement in John 5:19: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.” God has been doing great things and working miracles in Swaziland, so who am I to think even for one second that I am going to go and do some great thing?
This leads me to another verse in Galatians. “For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself.” So, God’s purpose for me going on this trip is summed up in one word….LOVE. It is not to do some great thing, give some great gift, or even have a great time, but it’s simply to….LOVE. My prayers have been that God would allow me to enter into what He is already doing in this country that so desperately needs a touch from God and to….LOVE.
That being said, I would like to invite you to not pray for me, but instead for the people in Swaziland. If you are not sure what to pray, here is a short but very important list:
-- The pastors, the church leaders, parents, and grandparents
-- The 60+ orphans that live in homes on the two properties where I will be staying
-- That the churches in Swaziland would continue making disciples
-- That God would save Swaziland from the predicted HIV-caused extinction (statistics show that in 10 years if the country continues in the same trend, it will cease to exist).
Until All Have Heard,
Chris
Hey everyone, I am supposed to depart from the Dayton Airport in less than 24 hours from now, and I have been thinking about what is getting ready to happen. Over the past few weeks, the question that I have been asked quite regularly is “What will you be doing for six weeks in Swaziland?” I typically tell people that I get the opportunity to work with orphans, play some soccer, do some math tutoring, work with the youth in a couple of different churches, help with any construction, painting, or cleaning that is needed, take gifts to impoverished neighborhoods outside of property that I will be staying on (called homesteads), and the list goes on. I will admit that most people respond with words such as “Wow” or “You are doing such a great thing”, but the problem lies with the “great thing” that I will actually be doing. The New Testament book of Galatians has given me a different perspective on this. Reading from the message translation, there are a couple of phrases that have rocked me over the past week. “Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you.” “Don't be impressed with yourself.” “It is not what you and I do…It is what God is doing.”
This leaves me with two contrasting options. The first is that I can start my journey to Swaziland with the best of intentions to make everyone’s life better, asking God to bless it every step of the way….or I can choose the second… that is to focus not on what I can do with God’s help, but instead on what Christ has already done and what God is presently doing.
It seems that even Jesus Himself chose the second option, making the following statement in John 5:19: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.” God has been doing great things and working miracles in Swaziland, so who am I to think even for one second that I am going to go and do some great thing?
This leads me to another verse in Galatians. “For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself.” So, God’s purpose for me going on this trip is summed up in one word….LOVE. It is not to do some great thing, give some great gift, or even have a great time, but it’s simply to….LOVE. My prayers have been that God would allow me to enter into what He is already doing in this country that so desperately needs a touch from God and to….LOVE.
That being said, I would like to invite you to not pray for me, but instead for the people in Swaziland. If you are not sure what to pray, here is a short but very important list:
-- The pastors, the church leaders, parents, and grandparents
-- The 60+ orphans that live in homes on the two properties where I will be staying
-- That the churches in Swaziland would continue making disciples
-- That God would save Swaziland from the predicted HIV-caused extinction (statistics show that in 10 years if the country continues in the same trend, it will cease to exist).
Until All Have Heard,
Chris
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