South Africa Visit

South Africa. For most surfers J-Bay springs straight to mind and we were heading there in time. But getting back onto a plane my mind was on the fact that Gill was sitting next to me! (No offense to Aaron who was seated two rows in front of us.) It has been some 12 years since she had travelled on a visit with me, and this our first without children. It seemed like a long date with 2 meals, 3 movies and people waiting on us for the next 12 hours! After 22 hours door to door we finally arrived in Cape Town and down with the Oberholzer's in Noordhoek near our 'home' of Kommetjie, where we lived 3 months back in 1999. We caught up with many old friends, ran a fundraiser for CS Africa Regional Coordinator Roy Harley and did a bit of tourist stuff including a perfect day on Table Mountain. Some friends had passed on in the time since we'd lived there, like Kirk Cotrell - in glory, others had simply moved towns, some had moved countries. Tragically a 21-year-old surfer was taken by a Great White Shark the day we arrived. The CS organisers of the Longboard Classic held a couple days after the incident polled the parents about whether they wanted the event to go ahead and offered to refund any nervous competitors...the same beach was within sight. Great to see Christian Surfers on the beach there in Strand and the Son Surf School powering along as a mission business with Mik at the helm - a perfect CS blend.  

Mark Edwards drove us 8 hours up the coast to J-Bay, with a short surf at Victoria Bay along the way, and increased his speed to 160kph like a horse heading for home, even overtaking a couple of police cars. "They have more important things to worry about than a little speeding." We happily settled in with  Roy Harley and his wonder wife Sharon along with the duracell bunny boy Nathan and quiet, artistic Cailyn. After two days of board meetings, we didn't even get to do our preferred 'board' meeting as J-Bay was flat. The Second Session Op Shop was pumping 6' offshore in its new premises. Gotta love that South African entrepreneurism as local people get cheap clothes and the CS national office has its costs covered.   

The National Conference had a mixed bag of 85 surfers and skaters, white and coloured, young and old...just like heaven...well maybe the paddle-skis aren't in heaven....just joking Francois, they have a special place. Like Jesus said '...the last shall be first.' Gill spoke so well about connecting with God in authenticity even in our doubts and despair from Psalm 73 then again on how to be reconnected in failure from Psalm 51. How good is it that Jesus comes from the line of David via his adulturous murderous marriage to Bethsheba, such is the grace of God for those who would sincerely repent. The music rocked and a worship mosh pit (is that an oxymoron?) was braved by only the courageous. A training day followed with 40 receiving the 'Foundations Training' with Gill, Snoek and myself.

It was a clear flight home and again, I was treated to sitting next to Gill for another 12 hour date! Aaron stays on for another two months doing his work there...and scoring great Supertubes...

Africa is a wild perplexing continent. Such beauty, violence, gentleness and poverty. Surfing is for the affluent, but there also exists pockets of local kids all over the continent that Roy and the CS team are wanting to target. They host an Indian Ocean meeting for Reunion, Mauritius and Madagascar next month and a team is heading to Namibia this week.