Just looking for some good Thai.

I would like to tell you about last night because I think that people back home don't think that we live a "normal" life because we are in SA. Well... we had the night off to do some packing and get ready for tour and Rachel and I were hungry, but neither of us wanted to cook and deal with the dishes. So there is this service called Mr Delivery that will pick up food and bring it to you for a small charge of Like R17 which is a little less than $3.00. Well, I called Mr D and they were backed up and the delivery time was like 2 hours. So, I called in the order to the restraunt and when I went to fetch the food I brought Guinness with me. So there I am on a nice cool South African autumn night driving to the Lotus Thai with Guinness. I picked up my food, ran in the grocery for some eggs and headed home. Pretty normal night huh? See that is just an example of how we live a normal life here. Just wanted to assure everyone that we are fine and life is good. Hope you all have great day. Oh yeah, the Thai was good, not great, if anyone knows of a good Thai place let me know. Cheers.

Chris

Tour Dates

Here are our tour dates:

April 30-May 6: Bronkhortspuit
May 7-12: Jo'burg
May 14-19: Mokopane
May 21-26: TBA
May 28-June 2: lephalale
July 23-28: TBA
July 30- August 4: New Castle
August 6-11: Harrismith
August 20-25 Bloemfontein
August 27- September 1: TBA
September 3-8: TBA
October 2-6: Klerksdorp
October 9-13: Brackenfell
October 16-20: Worcestor
October 22-27: Mosselbaai

Please pray we can book up the weeks that are not booked yet. Cheers.


Chris

Suprise Rock Show!!

We are at the end of training and we have not had a chance to do a dress rehearsal for our Rock Show on Friday nights. So we loaded up all the band stuff and sound stuff in one of the trucks we tour and drove around to where people were rehearsing and the sides of the big truck open up and we did a suprise Rock Show for our team. The idea was good, but right before we went our drummer had to go to a meeting and when we got there we realized almost everyone was gone working in other places. So we ended up playing with me on drums, no bass, and about 12 people watching. It was quit a schlep to load everything, but it was a ton of fun and I think the people on team enjoyed it. Tour starts Sunday. Cheers.

Chris

Come on..

Hey Guys,

I just heard some news that hurts me. I got an email from a guy I haven't spoken with in a long time. He was telling me that he was working at a church and that the church was having major issues and he got fired and then the pastor that fired him got fired weeks later. now this guy is working for the government just to pay bills and is wanting to do ministry again, however he is a little burned out right now and needs some time "away" from ministry. How many people have stories like this, being burned out with ministry or been burned by a church. Whats the deal? What needs to change? Why is so much hurt coming out of churches? I know that we are all sinners and we aren't going to be perfect, but do we really think that or are we just finding a "spiritual" excuse? I just know so many don't want anything to do with Jesus because of the way we treat people, not just people in general, but other christians, not to say the way the church treats "sinners" (e.g. gays, muslims, drunks). I just hate to think the thing that scares me the most is working at a church. I know not all churches are like this, but enough are for it to be a problem that needs looking at. I hope my friend finds a place soon where he can be himself and do what he feels God has called him to do. Cheers.

Chris

Which is Right?

I was looking at a South African christian magazine today called Truth. There were 2 pictures that I kept looking at that are on my mind. One was a picture of a Hillsong United worship service, with cool lighting, great sound and expensive insturments. The other was picture of a man with some sick poor children in Kenya, the kids were dirty, sickly and hardly dressed. The thing that got me was that in this magazine these 2 pictures were only pages from each other, but they are worlds apart in real life. I was thinking which of these pictures is "right"? Which of these 2 pictures is what God wants? Which of these 2 pictures most looks like Jesus? Are both of these pictures "right"? Are the people at Hillsong doing what God wants them to do and is the man in Kenya doing what God wants him to do? Just makes me think. Cheers.

Chris

Almost done

Hey Guys,

We have a few more days until we start tour. I am so excited about getting on the doing the work we have been training for. This past week has been the infamous Skyne (skane) Week, which is dress rehearsals. We spend one day polishing up stuff while the other team rehearses and then we go. We got home after 0300 on 3 days. It was so tiring. However, running the shows over and over made them great and we are ready for tour. I will post our tour schedule when I get a copy. Cheers.

Chris

Winter Clothes

Hey Friends,

I am in the hunt for winter clothes and I have an issue. I can't find any quality thrift stores in this beautiful land. For you who don't know, I am a big fan of second-hand clothing, I would guess that 75% of my shirts and tops were used when I purchased them. I hate the idea of spending lots of money on clothes, I personally think it is such a waste of funds. However, without good thrift stores I am forced to go get clothes at the mall. I went the other day and found one nice shirt for $10, so I am on my way to a nice warm winter. If you have never gone thrift store shopping I would highly recommend it. Just looking through all the racks for that one perfect shirt is great. I would stay away from the underpants though, thats a little gross. Have a great day.

Chris

Tattoos.

Hey everyone,

For you who didn't know. I love tattoos. I think tattooed skin is beautiful. Well, I was at the mall yesterday and when I was leaving I stopped by the tattoo shop to see if anything was going on. In the chair getting tattooed was a small young black woman probably around 30. She was working on a oriental style full sleeve on her left arm. The tattoo looked great and the woman was tough as nails because she looked so calm and relaxed. As I was standing there I realized that the arm being tattooed was badly scarred, I could tell from a section that was only outlined. It looked as if this woman had been badly burned at some time. I am glad that now this woman has something beautiful in the place of something that she probably thought was horrific looking. Just another reason I love tattoos. Cheers.

Chris

Broken Heart.

Hey Guys,

Yesterday Rachel and I were at this store called Jet looking for cheap winter clothes and I saw a banner that broke my heart. Like most shops, Jet has a program where you pay a small amount a month and you get discounts. The thing about Jet's club is the program doesn't help you purchase clothes or get discounts of vacations or anything like that, it gives you discounts on funerals. If you were to look at this from a distance it seems comical, however the truth of the matter is there are so many people dying in southern Africa from HIV/AIDs that these programs are all over the place. What we have here in Southern Africa is an epidemic where millions of people have AIDS. There is a bordering country called Swaziland and they say if nothing is done against the spread of AIDS that is something like 50 or 60 years only 10% of the country will survive. It is staggering. One of the problems is lack of knowledge. We have heard of HIV/AIDs for the past 20 years, however there are many people in this country that has never heard of it. There is a campaign now to spread information about HIV/AIDs, but it is not everywhere yet. Check out: http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/appeals.nsf/stable/olr_home there is a lot of information about the HIV/AIDs crisis in southern Africa. Please also consider the problem in your own town. American's don't know so much about the problem, but there is a growing number of cases in the States. I am not just talking about NYC or San Fran, it is a growing problem all over. Just something to think about.

Chris

A good cup of coffee.

Hey folks,

There is something that some of you may not know about me. I have a crack-head like addiction to coffee. It's not really an addiction, however it is a pure, heart felt, love. I love coffee so much for the remainder of this blog I will type the word in all caps. That's love. Well the other day I finally found a place that serves a really good cup of COFFEE. I was so giddy. They serve the COFFEE in a paper cup with lid that makes me think that I am holding a cup of Starbucks, it's not Starbucks, but close enough for South Africa. So I am trying this COFFEE on the way to the movies and decide to put the cup in my man-purse and just stroll on into the theater. I am walking between the concession stand and ticket counter when I feel a warm sensation on my butt. I look to make sure it is not the hand of a stranger and notice that my cup of COFFEE has spilled in my man-purse. This is not good. So I continue walking like nothing is happening with this bag dripping COFFEE all over the place. There is a trail behind me of brown drops all over the floor. I hand my ticket to the short older black man that takes the ticket like nothing is wrong and walk straight to the bathroom to clean up this situation. I cleaned what I could and went and enjoyed my movie, reeking of COFFEE. Not the normal COFFEE breath reek that I carry on a daily basis, this was more of a submerged in COFFEE reek that was detectable from several feet away. After the movie I went back a purchased a second cup of COFFEE that enjoyed and yes I can say I have finally found a good cup of COFFEE.

Chris