Here is a video of Mikayla being entertained by my slight of hand magic tricks.
She figures out early on that moving my hand makes a difference, but it takes her a bit to figure out exactly what is going on.
…or I could title this post “Don’t be a prick.”
I have been doing some reminiscing lately. Last weekend was my 10 year high school reunion and I also visited with some old friends from college at a wedding. In both cases it was great to think back to the way things used to be.
I thoroughly enjoyed my high school years. Beth and I started dating, I had lots of good friends, an appropriate amount of freedom, and was involved in things I really enjoyed (racing mountain bikes, playing soccer and roller hockey, etc.).
It is easy to look back and recount all the good times. At the same time, I have to remember that high school was not an easy world to live in if you were on the fringe. I have several friends who look to their reunion with disdain. One person even said to me, “why would I want to go back 10 years later – I didn’t like those people a decade ago, why would like to be around them now?”
It really hit home for me when one gentleman from my high school class said to me, “I am surprised more people don’t still think of you as a prick.” That statement didn’t offend me because I knew he was right. While my life was pretty great, I am sure I made high school hell for others (especially as a Sophomore and Junior).
A lot can change in a decade. There are few things that I look back at from high school and can say I still significantly proud of (sure they were “The glory days”, but how much of it really matters?). On the other hand, I still have several regrets – especially when I think of the way I treated people. I know that in an attempt to make high school “the best of times” for me, I made it “the worst of times” for others.
Some people say if they had it all to do again they would do it all the same. Well… that isn’t me… I would change things. If I could tell High School Ben Kickert any piece of advice it would simply be “Don’t be a prick!”
With our move to Swaziland probably only 10 months away, Beth and I have been talking through how we should spend our remaining time stateside. Here is a list of 10 things I want to accomplish before we leave. If you can help me out with any of them, please give me a shout.
After posting a few quick thoughts on power and the nature of the Christian gospel, I found this quote from Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish Theologian. [Emphasis mine]
When preaching the gospel became a livelihood, even a lush livelihood, then the gospel became good news for the rich and for the mighty. For how else was the preacher to acquire and secure rank and dignity unless Christianity secured the best for all? Christianity thus ceased to be glad tidings for those who suffer, a message of hope that transfigures suffering into joy, but a guarantee for the enjoyment of life intensified and secured by the hope of eternity.
The gospel no longer benefits the poor essentially. In fact Christianity has now even become a downright injustice to those who suffer (although we are not always conscious of this and certainly unwilling to admit it.) Today the gospel is preached to the rich, the powerful, who have discovered it to be advantageous. We are right back again to the very state original Christianity wanted to oppose! The rich and powerful not only get to keep everything, but their success becomes the mark of their piety, the sign of their relationship to God. And this prompts the old atrocity again – namely, the idea that the unfortunate, the poor are to blame for their condition; that it is because they are poor, whereas the rich have not only pleasure but piety as well. This is supposed to be Christianity. Compare it with the New Testament, and you will see that it is as far from that as possible.
Even though this was written over 150 years ago, it rings all the more true today. The message of the gospel is hope for the weak, not comfort for the privileged; it is restoration of the broken, not security for the empowered.
The church who panders to the powerful and caters to the upper class is nothing but a whore: trading the sanctity of the Good News of the Kingdom of God for a false sense of affirmation and well-being.
Throughout Scripture there are some dominate themes regarding power:
The examples of this are endless:
The list goes on…
Despite this clear trajectory of power (re)distribution in the Kingdom, we still live in a day and time where the rich and the educated and the privileged lead the way.
What pains me the most is when scripture is used to justify and embolden the (oppressive) power structures – especially when it happens in the church.
When will we learn? It is time for educated, rich, white, western males to step down and learn from those on the fringe. I am convinced the gospel and Christianity can only truly makes sense when it includes and is led by those society has overlooked and disenfranchised.
My friend Terry posted a quick blog entry the other day on similar issues. You can read it here.
We have been back from Swaziland Africa for about a week. It feels like we are living between worlds as we look to transition from a comfortable life in the States to the unexpected. After two weeks on the ground researching options, Beth and I are absolutely confident we will be making the move in the next year (but we are still working out the specifics).
It is great to be back in Bowling Green and even better to be able to hold my daughter again. That being said, every time I snuggle with her I am hit with a wave of emotion. We are so lucky to have such a beautiful, well-behaved daughter; but at the same time, she is very lucky to have us. I don’t say that because I think we are exceptional parents, but because in our time our Swaziland we met so many kids who aren’t as fortunate.
In Swaziland, a country of about a million people, there are an estimated 100,000 orphans and over 15,000 child-headed homes. My mind cannot even comprehend that. Most of them lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS, a disease that currently infects up to 40% of the population. 40% – again, my mind can’t even comprehend that and we even saw it with our own eyes.
An entire generation has been laid to waste by a horrible disease; the current life expectancy lies around 30 years of age and the was just recognized as having the highest death rate in the world. For the most part grandparents (gogos) have stepped up to provide the care, but now many of those are dying of old age. Thinking about what the next decade will look like for the country is like looking into a blackhole (UN estimates the Swazis could be wiped out as a people group by 2050 if things don’t change).
The point of this blog is not to just give grim statistics, but to share a bit about what I am feeling (and if you know me, I am not a very emotional person and rarely share things like this).
Knowing the situation has made me realize my love for Mikayla all the more. Last night, before she went to bed, Beth and I gave her a group hug and she beamed up at us. It was so cute but it made me ache for those who will never experience the safe embrace of two parents. Every time she lays her head on my shoulder I have to fight back tears over those who cannot rest peacefully. Today she got her shots and I was overwhelmed with emotion at thinking how fortunate she was to not only have access to medical care, but also to have someone to comfort her when she hurt.
When Mikayla was first born, I felt many of these same things but as time has gone on, those feelings have faded – until now. What is worst is that I have no idea what to do. I don’t know what the answer is. In moving to Swaziland we can help some, but in the face of the current situation there, I still realize it is just a drop in the bucket.
Even though it hurts, I can’t say I desire the feelings of sadness to go away. I want to live life conscious of the way things are and hopefully in doing so find the strength and ability to be a part of the healing process.
[Homes in Bulembu, some of which have been renovated for Orphan Care]
We are about halfway through our “fact finding” trip to Swaziland and things are going exceptional. We really have had no problems to speak of. There have been a few surprises, but most of them have been pleasant (like realizing most of the places we are going are closer together than we expected). The coolest thing so far is our discovery of just how interconnected everything is:
The list goes on… and, we haven’t even gotten into the bulk of the meetings. For the most part, we made connections with each of these groups independently, but it is obvious there is a whole lot of coordination between all these people. It has allowed us to feel very connected even in a short period of time.
Now… just for fun…. here are a few pictures:
[Banking for the airport over South Africa]
[Sunrise over Bulembu]
[Eucalyptus trees line the road from Bulembu to Piggs Peak]
[My view this morning in Hawane]
[The sunset tonight overlooking Mbabane]
Hey folks, things are rolling down here in Southern Africa.
We spent two days in Bulembu and that was a great experience. I know of nowhere else where people are being so intentionally about truly holistic development. Their work encompasses infrastructure, enterprise, community care, social, political, etc. It also helps that the area is absolutely unbelievable. I kept being reminded of my days in northern Idaho. We will post pictures soon.
Today we left the most mountainous region of the country and headed down to the lower hills and the capital city of Mbabane. We visited two schools and an orphanage for abandoned babies. Every meeting so far has been encouraging, yet completely different. There are so many options and in some ways, we each could see how they could play out to be something amazing in the next few years. We are trying to stay focused though knowing that our primary task must be getting a feel for things here rather than looking for that one specific option, because while things are not as fast paced as in the west, things change very quickly.
We were also able to touch base with Peter, our friend that we met while he was teaching in the States. It was great to see a familiar face in an unfamiliar country. We then checked in to our lodging for the night and were a bit worried when the owner had us follow her out to the “apartment” and kept driving further and further away from the city. We finally ended up on the outskirts of town on a hill overlooking the city. The nightlights were incredible.
We then ended the day by revisiting the orphanage from early in the day as they were hosting a going away party for two of their volunteers and invited us to join them. We ate impala steaks and warthog roasted over the fire. The impala in particular was out of this world. Perhaps some of the best game I have ever eaten.
This evening we were able to video chat with Mikayla and Beth’s parents for a very short time. Our internet is pretty flaky, but it was great for the few minutes it worked. It has been hard being away from her – some times more than others.
Tomorrow we are visiting an AIDS clinic and a teen club for HIV-positive youth. Then we might do a bit of the touristy things and will end our day in Hwane. We are staying with a couple who used to work at Bulembu. In fact, they were the first people in Swaziland we ever connected with. It should be a great time. Sunday should be a bit more relaxed (and the next time we will probably have internet) and then Monday begins 3 crazy days packed with meetings.
I am getting more used to the driving, but it is starting to wear on it. Overall the Swazis are courteous drivers and rarely honk, but I have earned a few blows as I am trying to get used to things. Thank goodness for GPS. If I was trying to read street signs, we would all be in trouble.
We will try to do our best to keep you updated and to post pictures soon.
After nearly 2 years in the planning and 27 hours of traveling, we have arrived in Swaziland. Let me tell you: it is beautiful!!
[Technically just over the Swazi border in South Africa, but you get the picture]
Today’s 4.5 hour drive was much easier than yesterday’s short trip from Jo-burg to our hostel (thoughts on all our lodging accommodations will be shared when we return). Mostly highway and I seemed to catch on to the rules of the road pretty quickly. Early on I felt like I was in Western Kansas, then the terrain felt like South Dakota and then Eastern Oregon. When we finally made the transition from South African into Swaziland, I kept thinking I was driving trough north central Idaho where I spent my summers 5 years ago.
Here the locals are all bundled up in scarves and wool hats, but I sported short-sleeves enjoying the crisp air.
Crazy coincidence happened today. I would bet that of all the millions of people in Southern Africa, I could only actually identify and be able to start a conversation with 4-5 of them. When we stopped at a rest area in South Africa, I pulled in and happened to look up and see Jumbo Gerber, a gentleman who works with Adventures in Missions and with whom I have been trying to solidify a meeting during our trip. Totally crazy to be able to talk with him briefly and hopefully set something up. Very cool.
At about 3:00 we were able to cross the border into Swaziland and into Bulembu. It was kind of a surreal experience because I have been looking at ariel photos and snapshots for so long, it was weird to see things in real life. We are very excited about our time here. So far we have spent the evening enjoying the company of Jamie and Rose (Jamie is the Director of Operations and Rose is a manager working with Volunteers) as the graciously opened their home to us and prepared an amazing meal. I personally have appreciated the candor of our conversations as we all have been honest about the joys and tribulations of ministry/development as well our own strengths and weaknesses.
Tomorrow the whole day is dedicated to seeing what is going on in the community and meeting with a few of the key leaders in the operation. It should be good to put some faces with names (I have been helping with a few small grant projects over the last few months). We are also excited about enjoying the incredible mountain scenery before we descend into lower elevations where it hotter and flatter.
So far no real issues to speak of. We had to stop off at a branch location of the rental car company to pick up a letter of authorization, but that was pretty painless. We also had to pick up an adaptor for our power converter since the one we had did not fit. Here is our OSHA UN-approved electrical set up:
I am not sure our internet situation the next couple days so interaction may be sparse. If you need me (or Beth, who by the way is posting her updates here.) you can always shoot us an email and we will get it eventually. Looking forward to continuing to share this story as it unfolds.
After nearly 24 hours of travel, we have arrived in Africa. For the most part things went smoothly without incident, but we did have a few close calls.
Our flight from Nashville to DC was held on the tarmac for about 30 minutes for “weight and balance” issues. Basically were told we could not depart until 4 people voluntarily removed themselves from the flight. Eventually two people did so and that was enough to get us going. Sitting in the cramped cabin that extra time didn’t help my claustrophobia, but I managed to make it without having to resort to taking Xanax.
The flight from DC to Jo-burg via Dakar, Senegal was long, but uneventful. The crew was great, the food was decent, and even though 18 hours is a long time to sit on a plane, it wasn’t as difficult as I was expecting.
When we deboarded the airplane, we were quickly reminded that it is winter here in the southern hemisphere. It wasn’t freezing, but definitely pretty chilly for a short-sleeved shirt.
Customs and baggage claims were a breeze as was exchanging money and renting the car. It was easier to navigate the international section of Jo-burg airport than it was Dulles.
Once we picked up the car, the real fun began. In planning for this trip, I have not been nervous about the standard things. I am not worried about the plane crashing, or our luggage getting lost, or carjackers, or lions (or tigers and bears), or black mambas. But, I have fretted over learning to drive on the other side of the road.
I don’t know if it was self-fulfilling prophecy, or if it really is that big of a transition, but the 20 minutes from the airport to our lodging was by far the most stressful part of the trip so far: Every time I tried to use my turn signal I turned on the windshield wipers; Beth has to remind me every time I turned to not go straight into the path of incoming traffic; I am constantly hugging the left side of the road, and; it still freaks me out to see cars coming at me on the right.
It didn’t help that the highway we traveled on was under construction and had concrete rails on either side. Nor did it help my confidence to witness the car next to be get rear-ended as a semi tried to merge into my lane.
I am hoping the worst of jt is over (knock on wood) and am looking forward to driving on the more open country roads instead of the city.
Tomorrow (technically “today” since I am writing this at 3:00am due to jet lag keeping me awake) we will drive the 5-6 hours to Swaziland and enter in through the Bulembu border crossing. We have a brief tour of Bulembu then we are staying with the Director of Operations at his home. On Thursday is when the real fun begins with all of our meetings scheduled.
Can’t wait to get the traveling out of the way so we can get to the heart of our trip.
So far we have been lucky with internet, and hope to be able to post updates along the way, but there are no guarantees. Even if we can’t post, we will keep some notes so we can update you on the details of our trip as it progresses.
-bk