Remembering old friends

After four years of lost contact, I had brief, but refreshing, conversation with an old friend just before Thanksgiving. And so, I want to give thanks for friends that God has placed in my life during seasons of change.

Four years ago, I was in South Africa for six months and God gave me a few close friends during my still-hard-to-believe-it-was-real African experience. About every six months, I reconnect with one of those friends, Sam Adams (yup). We update eachother on our lives and encourage eachother in our respective ministries. Originally from Zimbabwe, where his parents worked with an NGO, Sam moved to Cape Town and was attending the University of Cape Town and helping to lead the college ministry at Jubilee, the church that I attended while in Cape Town. I remember lots of stimulating conversations about poverty, the Church and the work of God's Spirit in our world.

The previously mentioned friend, whom I reconnected with online the other day, was also from Zim. Tami Mugadza was a chatty guy and he seemed to know about everyone, which was fitting since he had political aspirations. Found out that he's living in Beijing right now and moving to South Korea for a year to teach English. Tami and I talked about racism and politics in Africa, about language and spirituality and I even heard bone chilling stories of demon possession from back in Zim. Tami also introduced me to some locally grown music: house music and kwaito, among others. You should check them out.

I also remember Luke. Luke Balemba (I think?) was an incredibly intelligent and friendly bloke. He came to South Africa from the DRC and in one year, he taught himself English, without any prior education in English. He owned a little convenience store down the street from my house and was a student at a technical school in Cape Town. If I remember correctly, one of his brothers was a pastor in Oregon.

Thank God for old friends and chances to rekindle those friendships.