Reflections from the airplane...

I am sitting on the last leg of my flight home from Maseru, Lesotho.  In total, it will be about 41 hours of travel time.  I am ready to be off of this plane.  The movies are the same ones that I had on my trip east.  I have read a book and I slept over the entire continent of Africa.  I woke up as we were over Italy and I was so excited that I had just slept for 8 hours, sitting on an airplane.  What an ad for Benadryl!  3 hours more to go and I get to see Heather and the kids.  I miss them. 

As I have sat here for the last few hours, I have been able to reflect on these last three weeks.  I have learned a TON!  Here are some of the tidbits of wisdom that I have written down.

Start small while keeping high standards.

Teach things in a way that people can understand.

Africans learn different than Westerners.

Minimize wastage, and be on time.

Don’t plow!  It is destroying the soil and causing much erosion.

Keep God’s blanket on the soil, don’t get rid of it or burn it.

Just start farming, let relationships develop through that, sharing what makes it successful as you go.

The lighting storms in Lesotho are for real!  I love it. 

Let me expand on one other thing that I learned.  Making disciples is hard work, and is not immediate, it takes time, lots of time.  It also takes the Holy Spirit, lots of the Holy Spirit. 

As we ended our time together at Farming Quest, we had a big Briie, (South African BBQ) and had all of the staff together.  One of the staff was taking short video clips of some of us who were there as we shared our thoughts.  It was listening to a couple of the interviews and seeing the Holy Spirit work that makes me so excited.  Two men from Botswana were apart of Farming Quest.  They both came so that they can learn more about agriculture, and possibly get better yields as they train people back in their village, the idea of conservation agriculture.  As they stated, they didn’t really see how God and farming really went together, but they were willing to come and check it out.  These men are believers in Christ, but maybe came with a little bit of prejudice for the farming.  What they didn’t expect was three weeks of Bible study and farming. 

During the last three weeks I had numerous conversations with them regarding their lives, farms, faith, culture, etc.  I could see that the Holy Spirit was working in them, and tugging on their hearts.  They have such strong cultural beliefs that are holding them back.  Through intentional discipling by many on the team, the interviews that they had were so powerful.  They were so excited to go back to Botswana and teach Farming God’s way with an emphasis in the Biblical aspect of it.  The Holy Spirit is working in them and I can’t wait to see the work that these men will do when they return home. 

Seeing this played out this last week was really exciting for me, as well as others on the team.  It was also a good reminder for me that discipling people is a process.  It is not an immediate change but one that takes time, effort and prayer. 

On a side note.  I am flying over Minot, ND.  Hello Katie and Sean!  I am finally in US airspace. 

Back in time to the 1950's

Last week, just outside of the borders of Lesotho I took a drive back into the 1950’s.  It was almost surreal.  I realize that I was a child of the 70’s but I imagine that this is what it was like.  At least, from the stories that I have been told and those that lived through it.  What I found, I was not ready for. 

The town was small, no sidewalks, but curbs with dirt pathways lined the way around town.  There was a church that stood tall and proud in the middle of the 6 block commercial area.  It was the landmark that everything was next to.  The streets were a little crumbly, with some potholes here and there but it was paved.  However, leading in and out of the town were dirt roads. 

A small pickup truck drove by, with the back end almost dragging along as it had about 10 guys hanging out in the back of it, bumming a ride from who knows where.  We went to a grocery store.  The store was more of a warehouse.  It had a modest but limited selection of different foods.  It probably has the best selection for miles and miles around though.  The fruit stand had a clerk to weigh the food for you.  There were about 8 aisles, and it was easy for me to find somebody to help me.  I learned that is not true for everyone. 

All of my friends who were going through the training with me were there as well.  We were on our way to a little natural springs retreat and we were getting some food.  Two of them needed to go to the restroom.  Both of them went together, both girls, both about 24 years old.  The only difference was one of them was a white Canadian, while the other was black Basuto woman.  They found the restrooms in the back of the store and a white store worker pointed them to the different bathrooms.  One was for the staff and white people, and the other was for coloured people. 

They told us this story as we were driving away.  Neither of them knew quite what to do.  Neither of them had ever experienced this form of separation or racism before.  As they told me their story, my heart was angered.  I was shocked, disappointed, and had tears starting to well up in my eyes.  Mentally, I put my own daughters in their place.  I can’t believe that we humans can treat others with some much disrespect.

We need Jesus.  We need him to come and redeem His people.  We need his people to show His love to all that He has created.  I wonder what role the church across the street plays with the grocery store?  Are they doing what God has called us to?  Or are they just playing ignorant, idly standing by as the enemy reigns with his hatred and bigotry. 

I am so glad that for the most part, America has grown past this.  It is inexcusable.  It has always been inexcusable.  It will continue to be inexcusable.  It needs to stop. 

Sittin on the 5 yard line

We are lined up on our own 5 yard line.  We are both wide receivers and the play calls for us to run the same pattern.  A quick slant pattern to the inside for some guaranteed yards.  We line up, then I hear the quarterback (God) calling an audible.  His plan calls for me to go deep, and for you to continue running the slant pattern. You were on the other side of the field and you didn't hear this audible, and for you, the play remains the same.  I don't know how the play will work, we won't get the guaranteed yardage, it is risky.  But, he is the play caller.  We don't have the playbook, we just do what we are told.  If we waver, then the play will fail.

So, the ball gets snapped, I run straight for 5 yards, you go five and cut inside. I should be making a cut also inside but last minute the play was changed and I know that I have to go where the quarterback told me to go.  He is expecting me there.  There are BIG things at stake for this game.  People are at stake.

I keep going straight, past the 10 yard line and you look at me like I am crazy.  You think that I am supposed to slant inside and pick up 7 yards.

I keep going, past the 20.  You call out at me and tell me that I have the play wrong.  I look back at the quarterback and he nods for me to keep going.

I keep going, at the 30 I am still going straight.  You are telling me that I am messing it all up, that this play doesn't make sense.  The distance is growing and it is not going to work.  I look back, make sure to reconnect with the quarterback and he directs me to keep going.

When I get to the fifty, I know that this whole play is not making sense, but I don't have the game plan.  The quarterback is the only one with the game plan and he NEVER loses.  He will win!  The trophy already has his name on it.

I feel a tug on my shirt, you are trying to slow me down now.  You are telling me that I am crazy, and that I must have mis-understood the orders that I was given.  I look back and He tells me to keep going, deeper into enemy territory.

In the quarterbacks booming voice he tells me to run all the way to the end zone!  I think that is crazy!  I think that the play can't be made.  I have no choice though but to run to the end zone and pray that the 95 yard pass ends well.

You are angry that the plays changed, and that our plans did not coincide in the middle, where there was a guarantee.  I am here to remind you that we play for the same team.  We want our team to win.  We have to listen to the one who calls the shots though if we are going to win.  We both must run our plays.  You need to run your slant pattern, and I need to run my deep route.

I am still running towards the end zone expecting a hale mary.  The quarterback might decide not to throw it to me there, but might be using me as a decoy.  Or, he might make an incredible pass to me, showing off His skill.  I do know this, he won't Kaepernick it at the very end.  He is the Victor.  We will celebrate together with Him.  We need to keep our focus.

Medical scare

When we moved into our new home we already knew one of the neighbors.  She came to our old house to buy some of our furniture that we were selling on craigslist.  Her name is Jessica.  The encounter of buying our furniture in a sparse house led to a conversation of where we are moving.  Which led to a conversation of us moving just 5 doors down from hers.  Our kids have been able to go over there and play and vice versa.

Yesterday, we had a little bit of a medical scare.  Eyerusalem was out running around the neighborhood.  She is allowed to run around the large block by herself and she had already run a couple of laps.  Well, due to being dehydrated she started to have a weird feeling in her chest and then she passed out.  She fell from a standing position and hit her head on the concrete first.  The fire department was called, and she was taken off on a backboard in an ambulance to the ER.

She is doing well.  We were at the ER until late and they almost kept her overnight, but decided to make a follow up appointment instead.  The diagnosis was that she became dehydrated.

When she fell, she could have been in front of any of the 40 houses on our block, yet by God's grace she was right in front of the one and only neighbor we know.  In fact, Jessica was the only witness and saw her running and then saw her pass out.  She was the only to stop and help for the first few minutes, calling 911 and sending her kids running to our house to ask for help.  After all the commotion we have been able to meet a few more neighbors now but we are grateful that God provided for us in this way.

We do believe that we live in a spiritual world and as we prepare our family to move to Kenya we are in a spiritual battle.

God continues to provide.

A different story

Today.
I was supposed to write about how we have found renters.
I was supposed to write about how God worked in amazing ways to lead a family to our house.
I was supposed to write about how we were patient, God was faithful and He provided in amazing ways.

However, this story changed 15 minutes ago.  The renters who were SO excited to rent our house and we thought were going to fit SO well, just backed out.

Now, we have a different story.
This is the story of how difficult it is to wait, be patient and trust in God's perfect timing.  In the effort to be fully authentic, this is hard.   This was VERY hard news to hear.  We were so confident in how things had been working out and we could see God's hand in the process.

Almost a full week after showing our house to many potential people, the top two contenders fell through.  Hesitantly, we denied the two applicants that we had because we just didn't have any peace about it.  We felt like God was telling us to wait and be patient.  So, we waited.  The whole idea of being a landlord is incredibly stressful for me and not something that I am good at, so I took some time to sit and read God's word.  I read through many Psalms and finally ended when I hit the end of Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; 

be strong, and let your heart take courage; 

wait for the Lord.

And so we waited.
The next day, I get a call from a new family.  She had heard about our house from a friend of a friend.  A man named Tim, whom we don't know, who had reposted our ad.  (Thank you Tim by the way).  Then, as she is telling me the story about how she was looking on Craigslist that morning for a rental, ours was the first to pop up.  This is where I know that God was working.  Our craigslist ad had expired the day before and was over a week old by this point.  Our ad should not have even been there any more and if it had it should have been WAY down at the bottom.  Yet, it was the first one that popped up.  In talking with the family, we could see God working in so many different ways.

However, today we wait some more.

Here is today's story.

God is faithful.
God is still in control.
God is still leading us and He knows what our needs are for us to go to Kenya.
Being patient is hard.
Being patient is stressful.
Being patient is not something that I am good at.

Well, there you go.  That is today's different story.

This week I have been meditating on and memorizing Psalm 117.

Praise the Lord, all nations!

Extol him, all peoples!

2 For dgreat is his steadfast love toward us,

and ethe faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

bPraise the Lord

Packing and Moving

I can't believe that we are moving out our house tomorrow.

Yesterday, we spent all day separating items in our kitchen and packing them.  There is the garage sale pile (which is large), the take to Kenya pile (which is small), and the take to our new house pile (which is smaller than I thought it would be.)

Packing is hard.  When we bought our house 5 1/2 years ago, we imagined ourselves growing old in it.  We imagined ourselves sitting on nice chairs under the shade of our old willow tree, watching the animals graze, while eating a bounty of fresh fruit from the fruit trees that we have planted.  We never thought that in 5 years, we would be selling all of our furniture, most of our kids toys and almost everything in our kitchen, and moving out.

It is hard to part with some of the stuff.  We are leaving a "known" and moving into an "unknown."  We don't know what it will look like.  We aren't quite sure how a family of 8 living in a two bedroom house will be.  We have lots of lingering questions.  Traveling into an unknown is scary.

However, we aren't traveling into an unknown all alone.  We travel with the God who is our Father and loves us and cares for us.  He will never leave us and He has great plans for us.  So, we are taking a large step.  Though scary, we know that this is the way that He is leading us.  We have been down a road similar with our adoption 2 years ago and so we can have confidence that God will continue to provide.

As we have been getting rid of our stuff it has brought so much joy as well.  With everything that we sell, we feel a little bit more freedom, and are tied down a little less.

I never want to acquire all that we once had again.

We have friends coming over in the morning with their trucks and we as a family are excited about moving.  It is a new part of this journey.  We are amazed at the blessing that this new house is for us.  We can't believe that it is fully furnished.  This has allowed us to eliminate so many material items this year, instead of trying to do it next fall when we would rather be hanging out with friends and family before we head to Kenya.  We are also going to be MUCH closer to our church, our family, and our friends.

Tomorrow as we load up our few items into the bed of trucks, looking back on a house that we have enjoyed, I am sure that it will be with sadness, but with a joy and excitement of what lays ahead.

(By the way, we are still looking for renters for our house and would love your prayers as we try to find the right renters for our place.)

Here is the picture that we have mailed out as our prayer card/Christmas card.  If you are not on our mailing list and would like to be, let us know.  We would love to keep you up to date on our journey.  

..Adoption Seasons..

We are moving into a time of year where gloves, coats and beanies are once again brought out and dusted off.  The shorts and flip-flops are put away (mostly) and the leaves have mostly fallen to the ground by now.  Parts of the US are gearing up for or already has lots of snow.  (Not us, but we did get down to 18* yesterday.)  Just as the seasons change each year, the seasons of life constantly change.

I had never really thought about it, or really prepared for it, but post-adoption life has its own seasons as well.

And we are entering the dreary days of Winter.

We have had a bright Summer, full of playing, fun in the sun, smelling the roses.  The Fall has been a season of change for us.  Our lives our changing.  We are moving.  We are selling most of our stuff.  Our lives are hectic and crazy right now.  We look forward to the time of the new-ness that Spring brings with flowers blooming, and the once gloomy looking trees starting to bear green sprouts and leaves again.

The Fall season of change starts to bring some ugly days.  Those days start to run together more and more until you find yourself hunkering down for the rest of the Winter.

It was two years ago, last week, that we met our kids for the first time.  January and February were very stressful for them as well, as they were pulled from their temporary home they had become accustomed to and began to live with us.  It was during this time of year that their birth mother had passed away.  It was during this time of year that there is so much hurt and past history.  The hurt is still there, lingering, waiting for triggers, like a landline hidden in the dirt.  Sometimes, you don't know what you did to trigger it, but it is too late at that point.  The explosion has already started.

Sadly, we are starting to find more of the triggers.  We are once again starting to see the pain that is hidden underneath their beautiful smiles that are all other people see.

I am sure that the stress of moving and the fear of the unknown is a big part of this, but we are approaching certain dates that bring up an unconscious, underlying fear and sadness.

So for now, we are going to hunker down, and prepare for the darkness of the Winter that lays ahead.  Even in the gloominess of the Winter, God is revealing His glory in numerous ways.  He has been providing for us in amazing ways.  May He continue to shine light into our house and reveal himself.

Thank you for your prayers.