Visiting the Charismatics

Good-Bye, Liberal UCT. Hello, African Charismatics!

(EDITOR'S NOTE: It has come to my attention that I have horribly screwed up all the afrikaans names of places. It's fixed now- I think... hopefully.)

I am now staying with my good friends Pastor BR and his wife. (No real names, so i can say whatever I like and not worry about them finding it on the internet.) Mrs. R is still the nicest lady on earth (except you, Kathryn) quiet and friendly. Their 4 year old boy defines hyperactive. He runs laps around the house, doing flips over the furniture. He demands I play ball with him, and wakes me up from naps by throwing toy cars at my head. Yesterday he ate two huge bowls of rice, and promptly vomited the second one back up. Yummy!

Last time I saw the good pastor, he was running a mission and struggling to make ends meet. A nasty falling out with the mission director and 3 years of work later, and they have reached middle class.., nice house, 2 cars (one of which is currently running), TV, computer, and they live in Kryfontein, one of the safest areas in the county. If India reminded me that stuff is unnecessary, Kryfontein tells me it's still nice to have.

The pastor is still a fiery charismatic, just like 3 years ago, who loves to "debate", mostly Christianity. Already we have discussed moral relativism, Biblical interpretation (he thinks it's easy, I don't), hearing God's voice in our lives (ditto), salvation (he's a hard core conservative who believes some non Christians will go to heaven- imagine that!), media (he has several radio shows and loves movies, but worries about their ill effects) and the meaning of hell (I'm so sick of thinking about hell. Watch for my Biblical "research" on hell once I get it off my craptop.)

I watches some of the most atrocious Christian DVD making ever. (sample dialogue: "Half of all marriages end in divorce? That's 50%!") and listen to constantly looping worship music battle with the boy's cartoons for supremacy. I am editing a story about a man chosen by Satan to make Christian leaders fall, mostly by leading them into group sex. It's crazy and bizarre; we both belong to the same religion (the pastor would say: "religion is nothing, we are both new creations in Christ") but our world views are so different. For him it's good or evil, God or Satan, black and white (though not in a racial sense, he thinks racism is dumb), right and wrong. When I think about meaningful issues i mostly get confused.

The pastor is fiery but also cynical. "Everyone tries to use you, even Christians. You have to make sure you get your share." So he's going into business for himself (he no longer pastors a church.) He runs a couple of radio shows, and is becoming a consultant, helping people who want to set up ministries and radio programs. I can't decide if he is brilliant or insane. I am helping him write up his paper work, which seems like a catastrophe in the making. He is right on one thing: the South African colored community is long on need and short on initiative, so he has the market more or less to himself. I went with him to a few meetings, building contracts and so forth. Semi-interesting stuff.

Anyway, for those of you who believe in prayer (if you don't the pastor will be happy to correct you), I need to make several big decisions in the next few days:

1) Do I want to stay in Kryfontein, or in Strandfontein with the original "host family" whom I still haven't met for the next few months? Kryfontein is safer, more central, and closer to wrestling facilities. Strandfontein is closer to my "work" and possibly more exciting.

2) Should I rent a car? The pastor has offered to let me rent his if I pay registration and insurance. This would cut down on all kinds of hassle of the despised public transport kind, but increase worries of the I'm-in-the-car-theft-capital-of-the-world kind.

3) My meeting with the YMCA people is on Tuesday. I am considering it an acid test for them, considering their spotty record of communication so far. Show up Tuesday, with a wealth of information, options and answers, and I shall be yours. Blow me off or offer vague generalities, and i shall spend some of my time doing other things.