Jesus.

I got to do a teaching called Know Jesus the other day and it really got me thinking more about who Jesus was. I think that so many people who want nothing to do with Jesus really have no idea who he was and there are so many misconceptions about Jesus that its easier just to bugger the whole thing. I honestly think that one of the things that makes people think Jesus was super cheesy was how he has been betrayed so poorly in “christian” art. There is this town near Pretoria that we toured in last year that has a painting in the office of Jesus walking on water. He is wearing a perfectly while robe and has his hands out to the side with his thumbs turned downward. Go ahead, put your arms out and see how silly it looks, see its ridiculous. He also looks like he is floating. Why is Jesus always floating?

In the class we looked at the human side of Jesus along with the divine side of Jesus. We looked at different snapshots from his life and tried to look at Jesus as a real man and not just the arms out, thumbs down, floating Jesus. There is a picture that I love where Jesus goes to a 12 year old girls house who had just died. Jesus walks in the room where the girl is, bends down besides her, takes her hand and says “little girl, get up”. I loved this because it is such a tender moment between Jesus and this little girl. I imagine him taking that small lifeless hand and feeling the warmth come back. I imagine him smiling as she opens her eyes. It was just a beautiful picture of Jesus as a real man, a man with emotions, friends, hunger, thirst, good days, grumpy days, being tired, etc. I think we the church have done a poor job of teaching who Jesus was. If you are a person that doesn't want anything to do with Jesus because of “christians” that you have met, I would like to encourage you to try to get to know Jesus on your own, look beyond the floating Jesus and look at the man. Cheers

Chris

My New Band.

My band got to play the other day for the first time and I think we sound pretty good. Some of the guys have never played on a click track before, but they are so close to being on time that it won't be long. My drummer is this kid who has never owned a drum kit before and has only played on borrow drums or at friends houses and he is really good. We have a drummer instructor that is amazing so I think this kid is going to be a brilliant drummer once he gets a little direction. I am super excited about his potential. Our female vocalist is a girl from Quincy, Ill named Giovanni. She is great. Plus, her voice is beautiful, so that pumps me up. So basically I was nervous about losing my band from last year, but I think we are going to sound great, after lots of rehearsal time. Cheers.

Chris

Afternoon Meltdown.

It has been so hot in the afternoons that I honestly thought I my flesh may melt off and puddle under my skeleton and fry like an egg on the hot african soil. Ok, perhaps not that bad, but its just been nasty hot. There is also no AC at work or at home here so that adds to the heat. I look forward to a nice cool drive home in the the air conditioned Corolla. Oh well, it will cool down soon, April. Cheers.

Chris

I Am So Sorry We Don't Have A Picture

Rachel and I have been discussing the possibility of getting another dog so that Guinness has a friend while we are at work for 16 hours somedays during training. So yesterday we went shopping. We drove out to the farm where we got Guinness, but they had no puppies. Then as we were driving home a friend of ours called and said that the pet store in the mall had great dane pups. So we left the farm and drove to the mall and found a beautiful little great dane puppy. She is harlequin (black and while like a dalmatian) and is so cute. Her and Guinness get along well, even though Guinness knocks her over and slides her around the tile floor. We are still deciding on a name. We started calling her Damar, which was the name of Rachel's dad and grandfathers photo shop in Savannah. Its a combination of her grandpa and grandma' names (David+Marian=Damar). It was said as a joke, but kinda fits. Other possible names are Andi, Hannah, Holstein (for the cows). Let me know what you think. I think I like Damar, however we have not made up our mind. I will get pics asap. Cheers.

Chris

Good Bye Friend.

Some of you may have met my friend Mike Depina at some point. He and my mom met when I was a kid and starting dating and they eventually moved in together. Mike has been part of the family forever. Well, he got sick a little while back and his liver became really swollen, like big enough to poke his stomach out. They checked him in the hospital and there was little they could do so he was moved to hospice where he died last Thursday. It is really sad for me, Mike was a great man and I hate that I never got to see him again. Please pray for my mom, they haven't been a couple for a long time, but they still lived in the same house and assumed they would grow old together. She will miss him terribly. Cheers.

Chris

Storytelling.

At the beginning of training each year we have a day and a half of storytelling. Basically it's time where each person has 8 minutes tell the teams their life story. They can talk about good things or bad things, but typically its a time where people can really open up and share something personal with the teams. Today we went through most of the team and some of the peoples stories break my heart. I am so saddened my the number of girls on team that have been molested or been abused by a parent, relative or friend. Its so sad to see the self image issues that many of the students on team have and how they handle these issues through some sort of self-injury or eating disorder. It breaks my heart to hear stories of people that were abandoned by their parents. The good thing about it though is it shows the teams that nobody's life is perfect and we all have been through something and God has been there to bring us through. I am so happy that C-Kruis doesn't try to fake a perfect face for people, that we are a group of broken, hurting people trying to rely on God's strength to get us through life's crushing. I love the honesty of the team members. Cheers.

Chris

It's a Boy.

Our friends Flaps and Amanda (Flaps is the CEO of C-Kruis) had a son yesterday. They are the proud parents of Ricado van der Merwe (pronounced ree-car-doo-fun-dare-mare-va). He is healthy and has hair. Cheers.

Chris

Back in the Game.

We are back from Adventure Camp and starting training this week. The teams did well and after several days of hectic camp they are back and stronger. Our A.C. is pretty tough on the students, but they made it and we are proud of them. Cheers.

Chris

Off To Adventure Camp.

We have been doing our leadership training this past week with the Management Committee and the Team Leaders and today the rest of the team with be arriving. It's so fun to see the looks of fear on the faces of the new team members. It is also really exciting to see these young 18 year olds who will some day be the leaders of this ministry. I was so impressed during auditions with the character of some of these young adults and after spending time with the leaders this week I am very excited about the team this year. We will be back late Monday night or Tuesday. Cheers.

Chris

Pictures of our Hike.

Happy New Year.

Happy 2007!!!! Ray and I got back from our hike late afternoon on the 31st and had the most boring new years I can remember. Rachel fell asleep about 11:50 and I was laying next to her reading. When I heard the fireworks going off downtown I nudged Rach with my elbow and said, "happy new year". She woke up, rolled over, and asked what I said. After I repeated, "happy new year", she replied, with her eyes have closed, "happy new year" and went back to sleep. It was kind of pathetic.

Oh well, the new year is here and we are starting with our leadership teaching today that run from 8:30 and run into the night. It's fun having the leadership from both teams together. We had a braai (cook out) last night and are ready to get this years training going.

Happy New Year. Cheers.

Chris

Walk In The Wood.

Rach and I are heading off in the morning for a 4 day hike in the Drakensberg mountains. The Management Committees from this coming years teams are going along with a guide and a member of the office staff. We will do some team building exercises and a lot of walking. Its going to be great. I will get some pictures up with when we get back. Cheers.

Chris

We Don't Have Football, But We Have Pancakes.

Merry Christmas!!!

Rachel and I are enjoying our day before we get back to training in a few days. We woke up and had a great pancake breakfast and are going to go to a movie this afternoon (I love going to the movies on Christmas). I would give up the movie though to watch some football though. Oh well.

Last night we went with some friends to a small methodist church on the outskirts of Jo'burg for a Christmas service. It's funny that we love this little church because if you can think of the stereotypical traditional church, this is it. Full of old people and lame music, but there is something about the preacher that draws us there. He is this down to earth guy that speaks so beautifully about God in a way that is not flashy or trying to be a rock star or anything else that makes churches so cheesy. He said something that was great. He said that Christianity isn't about trying to morally superior to everyone in the world or being arrogant about having some understanding about God, rather Christianity is just about accepting the gift of love, forgiveness and healing from God. It was simple and great. I needed to hear that. It's so easy for me to make God and Christianity my "work", but it was good for me to hear that God loves me enough to come to Earth and die for me. Because he loves me, that's all.

Merry Christmas.

Chris

Ain't My Truck.

I have never really been a huge fan of county music. I have lied many times and said that I hate it, but honestly while I'm not a huge fan, there are times when it's ok to listen to a little country (however, it is never acceptable at weddings when there is a slot in the program where the brides cousin gets up and sings some sappy country song while we awkwardly all stare at the two folks getting married as they just lit a unity candle and are making little chit chat and secrets which I can only assume are about sex or how crazy their parents are acting).

Anyways. Tonight I came home and started singing a mid 90's country song called "That Ain't My Truck". I don't know where it came from or how it was raised from the depths of my mind, but it was there and it made me laugh. It made me laugh on 2 levels: 1-It's a stupid song about a guy who goes to his girlfriends house and find a different truck in her driveway, sad I know. 2-I love the image of some redneck hick in the mid 90's driving around in his 4x4 crying and singing this song over and over while it plays on repeat in his cd player. I mean come on that's funny. Stupid hick. Hahahahahaha. Try to find the song, its really great. Perfect for karaoke. Cheers.

Chris

Rachel's Collection.

For you who didn't know Rachel collects fingernail clippers. Not just normal ones, but collector clippers. She counted them today and she has over 80 pairs of clippers. They break down into different groups: American Cities and States, Foreign Cities and Countries, Pictures (which are nail clippers with different pictures such as butterflies, sunsets or bass fish) and Novelty (which are clippers that are shaped and look like something else, like a ladybug, violin, alligator or race car (thanks Sean Ihrig). Just thought I would let you know. Cheers.

Chris

Barking at the Storm.

Right after it gets dark there has been a storm rolling in over the past few nights. I don't know if its the change in temperature after a really hot day, or some change in atmospheric pressure that I can't feel, but Guinness gets really excited. She comes alive and starts acting crazy, goes outside and runs around and starts barking at everything. I think she is trying to scare off the coming storm. However, a dog can fight as hard as he or she wants, but nothing that dog can do can stop the storm.

In life there many storms that attack and many times we fight and fight against them, but they still come. It can be an accident that cripples someone, a divorce, a cheating spouse, a best friend dies, cancer. Thats life. It's not pretty, but it's life. As humans another thing that we seek is someone to blame and many times that blame gets put on God. As a christian and more than that, as an "ordained minister" I feel people look to me and expect me to be able to have all the right answers, but what I have come to realize is that there are not clear answers to all life's questions. The other thing that I am learning now as I get older is that I don't have to have all the right answers. If I don't know, I don't know and thats fine, because that uncertainty is part of life as well. It just breaks my heart when people hate God because they have unanswered questions about life. And the more we chase these questions, that have no answers the more it's like we are barking at the storm.

Man, I wish I knew everything. Because I would write a book that everyone would buy and I would be rich and have a helicopter and a custom chopper built on the Discovery Channel with an airbrushed picture of my book on the gas tank, but I don't. I am just an ordinary guy who hopes that everyone realizes that there is a God and decides to live their life for God. I don't think it right for people to be to stop asking questions, but there just are some huge "I don't knows" out there and It's in those "I don't knows" that we see that there has to be something bigger than us, something with the answers. Just thinking. Cheers.

Chris

The Pacific Northwest.

Ray and I were watching a TV show, Grey's Anatomy, tonight and the show is set in Seattle. There was a closing shot where 2 of the characters were in a park walking on a pine straw path within a maze of towering pine trees. It was beautiful. I love the that area of America. When we were touring with Traveling Mercies we performed at an even in Portland, OR each year and I must say those trips to Portland were always a highlight for me. The scenery, the people, the city, the mass transit system, the coffee, it's a fantastic place. If you ever have the opportunity to visit that area I highly recommend it. From Oregon up to Seattle and onward to Vancouver. I would love a chance to go back sometime. I hope that becomes a reality sometime. Cheers.

Chris

Oh Christmas Tree.

Rachel and I bought a Christmas tree last year to decorate our house. It wasn't a typical green tree, it was a Christmas tree shape made out of sticks and twisted twigs, really cool. Well, when we got back from Europe we were going to get the old tree out, but noticed something strange. Our Christmas tree is being hollowed out by termites. If you listen closely you can hear them eating away. So needless to say the tree is going out with the trash tomorrow (Tuesday is trash day for us here if you had ever thought to yourself, 'I wonder when Chris and Rachel Holohan's trash day is?'). So no Christmas tree this year, maybe next year. Cheers.

Chris

Merry Christmas Us.

Rachel and I bought our first TV today. We got a Christmas present from a host family that we stayed with in London and used the money to get a TV. It's nothing fancy, but It's a ton better than what we had. We were borrowing this little bitty TV from a friend that we work with and you couldn't plug a DVD player up to it, so it wasn't the entertainment hub of the home. So anyways just thought I would express my excitement. I can finally play my Playstation that has been collecting dust. Cheers.

Chris

Home.

We are home. It's nice. It's been a long time. Cheers.

Chris