So many things...

As the year is quickly coming to a close, I begin to reflect... Besides, now that I am enjoying a reprieve from a very hectic term at school I have time to reflect!

Being homeless, but having a home

When we left Red Deer it was an unsettling and difficult experience for me to sell our home and most of our possessions, pack up a few 'invaluable' things into our little red barn and embark on a journey with only a suitcase in each hand.

Then here, in Africa, we just keep having to move! I'm not sure why but I do know that in each place we have been PLACED by God because each place has connected us with people that we would not possibly have connected with otherwise.

In our current house, it's just fun--most of the time--being closer to the centre of the city and much of the action going on. We are directly across from a large soccer pitch where many, many community events occur. Most of the time this is fun--as Benno's Roof of Africa entry would suggest. (Today it is a bit trying with booming bass non-stop!)

In our current house, it's more fun to enjoy four pets that are just delightful. Imagine us the 'no way will we have animals in the house people' with two cats in the house! God sure has a sense of lovely irony!

In our current house, I have all the comforts of North American lifestyle that I could possibly enjoy! Housesitting has it's great advantages and we are extremely grateful to Leslie and Danny (with MAF) for this opportunity. Leslie is 'household organization' queen, so it's just nice!

Outside of our current house we have a lovely huge yard, a grape arbor which is great to sit under and read a good book... We have swings! Goodness, it's fun to be a kid--a bit. We have a big garden space that Benno and BK are filling. We have flower beds...

Oh, the irony. A number of times I've stated that I didn't come all the way to Africa to live North America, but I sure don't mind this for a season--seven months. There's always sitting at the back of the psychological burner the whole issue of ethics and what is ethical, living in a country of huge poverty where so many people we know have so, so much less, so how do we deal with having so much more, especially when it is visibly so much more, but... well... this isn't ours, but living here is allowing us to use our resources differently so that we can provide opportunities for others... so...

Blessed by two young men

It's been just great having Raps and BK (former students) living with us since last May. They are low-maintenance--not very demanding--guys! Besides that, they just add a wonderful dimension to our lives. BK is a gentle and easy-going fellow who enjoys gardening and has blessed us with his talents. We now have a garden planted and have been harvesting some from the garden he helped plant at the other place. Raps is the mechanical guy and has just been working round the clock lately trying to getting the car that he built upgraded before he wraps things up here.

He's headed off to university in January and that is a BLESSING! I'm so thrilled. I encouraged him to apply for a scholarship from a local diamond mining company and he was successful--very! They are offering him a full scholarship for five years! He IS a pretty impressive guy and they were impressed with his application. I took him up to Pretoria a few weeks back and we got him into Residence, and that too is a wonderful 'miracle' story ;-) which I won't get into here since this is a Blog not a book.

For BK, his post-secondary path has been full of pot holes and barriers so we're not too sure how that will all come out. Just believing that God knows what He has in mind for this young man.

Both guys will be leaving us very very soon and I will miss them very much.

Benno's convinced that I will 'fill the gap'. We'll see... All part of the adventure...

More Scholarships?

We'll see. At school, thanks to the help of a few colleagues we have selected four candidates whose nomination packages we'll forward to UBC to see if we can get at least one more Basotho over to UBC to join our current alumni, Mamoruti. I'm just so thrilled to be even trying to give students here such opportunities. Post Secondary here is... Whew! I could tell you so many stories! Maybe one day I'll write the journey of one--Tsitso--who journeyed down to Cape Town to get admission into Stellenbosch. Now that was an EPIC journey. But, again, this is not a book! I'll save that story and maybe some day he'll help me write it for you. You'd be amazed at the persistence and tenacity of young folks here in their determination to have a better future. These are stories worth knowing. I'd love to have them written and published... Oh, THAT'S the book.

Later,

Wendy