Bible, Beer and a Tattoo
"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love" - E. Hemmingway
Touring with my band-family taught me many things about humanity, nature and once again fresh elements about myself.
Ek, Jy en Corne’ (the very infamous and up and coming band I sing in) (http://ekjycorne.wix.com/band) embarked on a tour from the West Coast to the South Coast (some might call it the East Coast) to serve some of the Holiday service teams across the coastline. We also wanted to promote the #Imagine experience happening next year the first weekend in April (http://online.imaginemovement.co.za/what-is-imagine/).
We met many new faces, saw beautiful new places and choreographed safe spaces. We set up at a new location each day travelling many kilometres to reach our destination daily. Together with the normal members of the band (Woelige Wynand, Dauntless Dewald, Crazy Cool Corne’ and Piet kyt) we teamed up with a crazy deep and profound band from Wellington called Klipkreet (Dr. Dre’ Jandre’ and Maxwell Chriswill). All in all we were six God fearing, Jesus loving and Holy Spirit filled guys travelling to serve others.
What enticed me the most of the group of blokes was that we were so raw and broken. Not one of the guys were ever ashamed to say that they are still a work in progress. Still broken. Still bleeding in some parts of their lives.
This wasn’t a group of perfect men of God knowing exactly where they are heading to. Nope. This was an inquisitive bunch of fallen trees trying to start a flame from within their Nevesh (deepest inside place, behind the ribs).
We mixed drinking beer (responsibly*) with reading the Bible, singing about broken places whilst promoting God’s Grace, made some dirty jokes together with talking about deep eschatological (topics concerning the end time) matters. We watched fireflies* on the beach whilst sipping on some “proviant”. We grew “liplapas” and helped band members remember that the kids in Ethiopia has no light bulbs. “Noem my sommer joune” and “Jy’t my oortuig” became beautiful phrases that we used to spice up conversations whilst sleeping outside on a beach and then inside a tent on the beach when it started raining. We called Chriswill Maxwell and even debated masturbation. One of the band members even got a unique tattoo.
We also saw an albino walrus collapse on a beach in Dwarskersbos.
If this blog would be posted in some rock star magazine it might even sound like one of those “sex drugs and rock and roll” band stories they always write about when talking about band tours. But there was one difference, or maybe a few, for example there was no sex nor drugs, nevertheless, we love Jesus and we also love what He loves.
What a trip.
The words I wrote above will never do justice to what I feel about these beautiful humans. They showed me that healing is possible time after time. They reminded me that our brokenness are the bridges to other human hearts.
Our identities should not be in what we do, other humans or how well we can perform but a part of it should be in how we love our self and the broken people around us.
Thank you Pieter, Jandre’, Chriswill, Corne’ and Dewald.