All Patched Up.

Ray and I got our fillings today. She went first and when she came out she couldn't speak clearly. It was so funny. Then It was my turn and I didn't think it was so funny. It's nice to have the teeth fixed. Cheers.

Chris

Date.

Ray and I went on a date today, it was fun. We went and saw a movie, ate Reese's Pieces, played Ms. PacMan, ate Cold Stone ice cream, walked around the mall. FUN.

While we were playing Ms PacMan there was a couple down from us playing another video game. They were around 30, I would guess, and while the woman and man were shooting plastic pistols at the monsters that were taking over the world she was holding a baby in her arms. I thought it made a beautiful picture. A smiling young women defending the life of her defenseless daughter from the radioactive creatures. I wish I had a canvas and some oil paints. Cuz I would have Bob Rossed dat shiz fo' show.

We are going to my moms for dinner tonight. Ray and I are fixing our world famous fried ravioli. We learned the recipe from some crazy NASCAR loving, red neck Italians living up in the mountains of Arizona. Thanks Kris. I am looking forward to it. We can't purchase the proper wrapping in SA, so its my first real batch in a while. I love them so much it makes me ache.

Tomorrow we are going back to the dentist for our fillings, we each get one. I am not looking to forward to that, however it will be nice to not carry the decayed part of my tooth around with me. Just another filling to go with the rest, I swear I brush my teeth, I swear.

Cheers.

Chris

Going Well.

Our visit in America is going well. We are trying to relax where we can and running around to see people at lunch and in the evenings. We are hoping to go visit my dad in Illinois this weekend and then see people in ATL and Savannah before flying home for work.

I hate that this trip is so short. There are things I want to do and people I want to see that just can't happen. Well maybe in 2 more years I can see those people. Cheers.

Chris

Big Sunday.

Now we can begin our holiday. From landing here on last Thursday our lives have been full of hectic wedding stuff. The wedding was Saturday, it was beautiful, congrats guys.

Yesterday I got to preach at Capital City Christian Church (CCCC), my home church. It went well. The more I get to communicate the things of God from stage the more I enjoy it. I had to wear a tie, which I have not done in a normal life situation since December 2004. I had to go purchase clothes for church so I would look "nice".

Then after church we went and ate lunch with some of our friends, Tim and Suzy Bomgardner, that were in town from NYC. After lunch we went and played blaster boats (pic above). It was a blast (pun intended, sorry Zoid). They shoot this little stream of water at your "enemy". It looks fun and nice, however I got freaking soaked. I hate being wet and I was drenched. So we played with our friends and then they went back to NY. Cheers Friends.

Then finally, last night we spoke with the missions team and a few other folks about what we are doing in our ministry. It was cool discussing what we do with people from our church.

Now we rest. We have dentist appointments today. Then more rest. Cheers.

Chris

In Tallahassee.

I made it. I was awake for 44 hours before my first night sleep. The wedding is today and it will be nice I think. It was raining this morning, but seems to be done for a while so hopefully it will be nice for the outdoor wedding today. Cheers.

Chris

I Think I Will Miss My Chair.

I left the team last night after our Homecoming show. The show and ministry went well and I think that the team will have a good impact in Middleburg this week. It was sad leaving them, I really like this team and look forward to the rest of our tour year together. Brandon, an American guy that works in the office, is going to take my place and do the ministry tonight and Thursday. I know he will do a great job.

I woke this morning, washed clothes, hung out the clothes and I am just waiting for them to dry so I can pack. Rone (roo-nay [roll that "R" ladies]), our dog/house watcher, is going to take me to the airport really early so I can be first in line and get the exit row seat. The exit row is my holy grail, I will fight dragons, climb mountains and sword fight business men for the exit row. Then I plan on sitting in the airport for 4 or 5 hours watching movies on my computer waiting for my flight. Not Bad.

So I am sitting in my wonderful chair in the bedroom blogging, drinking a cup of coffee waiting to leave. Its pretty lekker. Cheers.

Chris

Sad Chris.

Ray and I came home last night after the Rock Show last night. We were in Jo'burg, so it was only like a 45 min drive. Right now I am sitting in the chair typing and Ray is packing for her trip to the states. We will leave in about at hour for the trip to the airport. I am going to be sad and lonely for a few days, but I'm tough so no big deal. She lands in Tallahassee on Sunday morning. I will get there on Thursday of next week. I don't look forward to traveling alone, but it will be ok. We are flying Delta which is supposed to be the worst international airline in history. Drinks aren't free and the movies still play on a screen in the middle of the plane. Just makes the trip boring. I look forward to some summer temps and Chick-Fil-A. Cheers.

Chris

The Family.

Here's a current Family picture, the girls are getting big, they grow up so fast. Cheers.

Chris

Sport Afternoon.

On Monday's we have our Sport Afternoon on tour with the team. I like it to be some sort of team competition where some of the team members get too competitive and start fighting with other team members. We are christians and the sad thing is most people think christians are supposed to always be "nice", well sport afternoon is the place where we are allowed to be "normal". I like "normal".

This week we did an individual sport, Archery. We practiced in our contact person for the week's back yard for a while and then the competition began. We had several rounds to get down to the finals which was between myself and my lead guitar player (all band final, take that all you dancing nancies). Marnus ended up beating me, but I tried hard if that counts.

Then today me and my coordinator (my right hand man) when over to the guys house just to shoot some targets and talk about team members and stuff that drives us crazy and our host got out the compound bow and I got to shoot the cool stuff. It felt less Lord of the Rings and more Rambo, so thats cool.

The weeks going well, I am feeling really tired though. My brain needs a rest. Cheers.

Chris

Weather Update.

I blogged this morning about the cold weather in Jo'burg. When I wrote it was cold, but the promise of warmer temps through the day made it ok. Well, it got colder as the day went on and as I stated before there is no heat in the buildings. So we did a show tonight in a small hall with probably 100-150 people wrapped up in coats and hats (due to the freezing air [I am amazed anyone came at all]) while the band was nice and bundled on our little band scaff thing and the dancers froze in their t-shirts and other costuming.

My bass strings were like ice, but our rock was warm as the blood that flows through my beating heart, or whatever. Cheers.

Chris

Flipping Freezing.

Yesterday the temp was 1 low 12 high. Today it was -3 low and 12 high (Celsius). I know that doesn't sound too cold, but here it doesn't get this cold typically and there is no heat in the buildings, so I am freezing. I found a storage closet in the basement of the church where we are showing at this week thats a bit warmer. I hope you are warm. Cheers.

Chris

MOYO.

Tonight we did a team social at this super cool restaurant called MOYO. It's this super cool "aftican" themed place. I must admit that I haven't seen anyplace that looks like this in the "wild", but its still super cool.

It was also one of our girls birthday today, Jolindi. Happy 20th birthday!!!

It was also the official announcement of our newest couple on team. Lelo and Andri have been working through the 13thFLOOR system of dating and have had many talks with me about relationships and commitment and blah blah blah and tonight we got the chance to announce them as a couple. They are great together. I will get a picture of the happy couple soon.

Jo'burg is going well. I think is going to be a lekker week. Cheers.

Chris

4th Week.

We are in Roodeport this week, its a suburb of Johannesburg, and I think it is going to go well. The hall that we are showing in is small, but i think its going to be a great week. Our contact people are really nice and helpful which is a great start to the week.

Last week we were in Polokwane and the week was fantastic. There were almost 500 people at all the shows and a lot of people were touched by our shows. It was a great week.

Our host family this week is also cool, I just finished hanging out with them and Ray and I have our own room with our own en suite bathroom. Cool baby. There's also a nice sitting area in our room with a couch and chair. Its flippin nice.

Cheers homies, keep it pimped out on hiz fo' shiz.

Chris

Happy Birthday Me.

I turned 28 on the first of May. I can't believe I am 28. I know its not that old, but to me it sounds so old. I am also starting to wonder if I am looking old. I will watch a movie or TV show and if there is a 28 year old person I always think I look a lot younger than them, but maybe I don't.

I think this problem is compounded by the fact that I work with a team of young people where 75% are between 18 and 21. If you aren't good at math, 18 is a DECADE younger than me. When I started driving at 15 my piano player was 5. Thats nuts.

Oh well, thats part of growing up. Cheers.

Chris

Back Online.

I called customer service today and spoke with a nice young man that helped me get connected to the internet at last. Its nice to be human again. Cheers.

Chris

The Hills Have Eyes.

We had a movie night last night and on the recommendation of others we didn't see Spider Man 3, so we went and saw The Hills Have Eyes 2. Rachel hated it. Some people liked it some thought it was horrible. It was gross, I secretly loved it, don't tell Ray Ray. Cheers.

Chris

Happy Mothers Day.

Happy Mothers Day all you hot ladies. Sorry I forgot to write this the other day. I am a bad child/grandson/nephew. Cheers.

Chris

Tickets.

Ray got her ticket for our trip to America at the end of this month. We have been down in sponsorship several hundred dollars each month so we don't have the money now for my ticket. If you would like to help me come home to see family and my sister in laws wedding please email me. This is a issue that Ray and I need prayer for. We are struggling in our attitude toward our ministry right now. Not ministry as in our job (thats going well, we love our job), but why we are always just making it finacially and when we get ahead a little we loose support. It has happened for the past 6 years this way and I don't understand it. Please pray for our contentment and attitudes. Thanks.

Chris

No Internet.

I am going freaking nuts. Ray got a new cell phone and I can't get it to work with my computer to get on the internet so I can't check email or blog or do any mindless crap. Its so frustrating. All this stuff has happened and I can't share it will you like the racists or the satanic spot that we found. I know, big stuff. Hopefully I can get it working because I want to let you know what is going on. Cheers.

Chris

Nelspruit.

We are in Nelspruit this week, its a beautiful part of the country on the eastern side near Mozambique. For some reason the crowds are really small this week which is a bummer, but the shows are going well without any problems which is nice for the second week of tour. Hope you are all doing well. We will be going to Polokwane next week and then back to Jo'burg after that. Cheers.

Chris