Brotherhood

Since I've been back at APU, I've experienced brotherhood in a way I haven't ever before. As one of the guys I'm spending time with has recently blogged,

Now that we’re 20ish years old, sleepovers are more out of necessity. Last night, Brad, Mackenzie, Mitch, and I slept in our friends living room because we don’t have a place to stay. But there were still just as many silence ending farts and giggles as when we were 10 years old.

 I've felt really close to these guys, just doing manly things with them all the time, and hanging out. I feel like this will be one of the things I will miss most about being in South Africa.

Now I will qualify the shit out of that statement.

I will miss being with these guys and sleeping on the floor in the living room with the two other guys going to South Africa with me, waking up to people going to classes at 8 in the morning, watching Lord of the Rings, and playing basketball. I will miss the friendships I've been building here, and the people I've been spending time with.
I will miss sleeping on the couch in my friend's apartment, and waking up to the smell of eggs, which have been prepared as a pre-church meal. I will miss making omelets for everyone before they wake up, and walking to Alberto's for a nice meal of California burritos with someone ordering 2 bean and cheese burritos, and someone ordering one California burrito and a plate of cheese enchiladas.
I will miss the familiarity of Azusa, but I will miss the people and the relationships even more. And now, as I get a taste of just the friendships for 10 days, no classes and no pressing issues, I realize how much I will miss these people.

With that being said, I can't possibly state with any sort of completion how excited I am for the new brotherhood I will experience in South Africa. A brotherhood unlike any other I have ever glimpsed. Friendships formed through poverty and neediness, through awesome experiences (bungee jumping and shark cage diving) and awesome experiences (helping AIDS orphans and feeding the hungry). Friendships where I share a level of understanding with these people that I can't explain to anyone else. Friendships that grow from living for 3 and a half months with just these 10 other guys to relate to. Not friendships to replace my old ones, not by a long shot. But new friendships. And friendships with people I'm already close to, like Logan (one of the first I met at APU and a pretty damn close friend since), Mitch (Sleeping on the floor next to him nightly), and Tyler (11 hour car ride anybody?), that are strengthened beyond anything we had before.
My relationships will be changed by these next 3 and a half months. And I can't wait to see how they pan out.