who am I?

Last night I had a question pop into my head that I didn't know the answer to. Who am I?

you see, all through high school, I was one of few evangelical christians at my school. So it was easy for me to know who I was, and what my purpose was, to get people to be more than just social activists, and to be more passionate about loving God.

Then I joined this program, and spent a month at Jesus People, where we all were all trying to be open, and honest, and just trying to follow Jesus every way we knew how. and I was on Cloud Nine, possibly even ten.

Once we got here to PMB, our church's youth are passionately on fire for christ, and trying to spread the word every way they know how. Evangelizing is done by others who know how to evangelize, and have an opportunity to evangelize (I don't know anyone here who is not christian). But now I'm one of a few socially conscious christians in a sea of evangelicals. Everyone here is really excited about following christ, but don't seem to know that this has social consequences (read irrestible revolution, or Jesus for President both by Shane Claiborne). And I try to be christ's love, to others through my daily walk.

But that isn't defining me like the opposite did back in high school. And I now that I'm conscious of it, I don't know how to define myself, I'm me. I'm a six on the anneagram (see blog from september), but that doesn't really explain much more than tgat I try to be as dependible for others as possible. I don't know what my gifts are, because the thing that I was once so focused my energies on no longer defines me. I no longer know what makes me, me.

any thoughts?

Mthata

This past weekend we went down to Mthata for a visit with the Sawatsky Family.

Mthata (pronounced UmThata) is located in the eastern cape, it's the birth place of nelson Mandela, and is where the Sawatsky Family is.

The Sawatsky Family comprise of Joe and Anna, and their sons Isaac, Moses, Levi, Jesse. Joe and Anna work with Bethany Bible College, a school that works with African Instituted Churches (churches founded in Africa, not connected to a western denomination). This past weekend they had a conference about Farming Gods Way (no tilling, no burning, crop rotation) with James and Joan Alty (the MCCers, I talked about them in an earlier blog entry).

So We drove in on Friday, And slept at a back packers (kind of like a bed and breakfast, but no breakfast). The next day we had a walking tour of Mthata, and then went to the conference for a little while.

The next day we went to Church in Mandela Park. Mandela Park is an old farm, that Nelson Mandela made availible to the poor to build on. We went to church in a small one roomed building, sitting on plastic chairs, singing a capella in Xhosa. It was really cool. Joe preached about Abraham's Journey, and how he prepared the way for his children (he traveled from Babylon to Canaan to Egypt, opposite of his descendants that traveled from Egypt to Canaan to Babylon). And he spoke about how we are called to prepare the way of the Lord.

On monday, we went to see the Nelson Mandela Museum, which apperently used to just be a collection of Gifts that he's recieved from different people, but about a year ago got revamped, and now tells his lives story. I found it interesting and kind of sad, that the Man the world looks to as a symbol of Reconciliation is the one who decided to arm the ANC. As well, when he was in prison he had the opportunity to be released if he would disarm them, but he refused, continuing to use violence as a means to an end.

We then went home and made donuts/ the girls made skirts, and watched a dvd of Michael Jordan's final Basketball game with the Bulls, which was awesome.