Deon – That’s cool because we want to relate to people on a personal level. It’s not about just being on stage. We’re just people.
Kim – I think it’s all about relationships … Relationships with other people, a relationship with Christ. God puts people in our path for a reason. You need to be able to cultivate those relationships to be able to get what God intended out of it.
Deon – It’s true. We all go through so much in life and there’s someone out there that has gone through the same kind of stuff. It’s kind of encouraging to know you’re not alone.
Kim – I learned that the hard way when my dad was murdered. I felt more alone than anyone on the planet for a while.
Gary – I can relate to that. My mom’s dad was murdered. When she started reaching out to other people, it started her on the recovery process. When you start reaching out to people who are going through something you’ve already survived, you come out of your own cycle of difficult stuff and see the other side.
Kim – There’s only so many problems that the devil can throw at you. You can’t close up and just swallow it. God gives you people to help you through and you can’t act like you’re too perfect or too strong to have ever faced any real problems.
Deon – Exactly. Holding that stuff inside is destructive. When you start sharing and releasing it, you start healing. We’re all human and we’re all sinners and we’ve all gone through some of the same stuff.
Kim – Whew! Such serious topics. Let’s move to something nice and easy. I’ve never met anyone from South Africa, so I have to ask; what has been the biggest culture shock for you food wise?
Deon – Your bread never goes stale. It’s amazing. At home, three or four days and the bread starts to go moldy. Maybe it’s the preservatives, but it’s amazing.
Gary – Mexican food! Obviously, Mexico is very far away from South Africa, so we’d never had Mexican food. That’s like a whole new world. (The band starts to sing the song “A Whole New World”)
Deon – The food is just totally different. I struggled to get into the food when we first came to this country. It just tasted so different. But I’m happy now.
Kim – What’s your favorite thing about the states?
Deon – Starbucks.
Darrell – The American people are just super hospitable and super friendly. I think that American’s have to be the nicest people in the world. And I’m not just saying that because you’re American. (And he looked so sincere!)
Deon – I like American because it’s so well set up and structured. Everything seems so organized and it just works. It’s been crazy.
Gary – It’s not that things don’t work in Africa. It’s just different. There’s such a market for everything. If you need anything, you can find it here. I can find shoelaces in ten different colors.
Deon – And it’s very affordable. In South Africa a lot of stuff is imported and the exchange rate isn’t that high. So things that we would have to work for for a month in South Africa, you can buy in a couple of days here.
Darrell – Money goes much farther. And people are so super interested in what you’re doing and what you’re about.
Deon – And you’ve got great politics. We got so interested in the elections, even though we couldn’t vote. It was just great watching the process.
