Ah Lesotho

Ah Lesotho, where the street sweepers wear orange overalls, and brave the traffic whizzing by as they push their brooms, sweeping up the dirt and grit and garbage along the main streets of Maseru.

Ah Lesotho, where being a bricklayer includes knowing the in and outs of manning a bucket, or rather brick, brigade to move a load of bricks from a truck, or to an upper floor of a building, where the more skilled toss and catch two bricks at a time.

Ah Lesotho, where a little girl’s glamour is stepping into/onto a couple of mismatched pop cans which fold around and clamp onto her heels. Then, in mincing steps, she parades down the runway in her mind.

Ah Lesotho, where the rain is just another burden to bear on the way to work or church or other commitment. I often wonder what it is like, for few have an umbrella, to arrive at work or church or wherever, damp and cold. Yet they stoically carry on, dressed in their best, committed to getting where they are going despite the rain.

Ah Lesotho, where the parking hawkers (those that find you a parking space for a handout) double and triple park vehicles to increase their take. For the past number of months part of one two-lane street has been down to one lane, due to the triple parked cars. More recently drivers have had to brave oncoming traffic to skirt the now sometimes quadruple parked vehicles. (I often wonder how the guys parked next to the curb ever get out.)

Ah Lesotho, where there is always a vehicle or more on a street with a wheel off, maybe a flat, but more often a bearing or other front end failure being repaired.

Ah Lesotho, where taking my vehicle to the repair shop, lest I end up being one of those break downs on the street, has resulted in innumerable trips back and calls to the shop. “Are the parts in yet?” “Have they been ordered?” Three weeks after the initial visit, “Okay, yes, I can bring the car in?” Six hours later, “Ntate, no one in town had the parts, but maybe tomorrow.” My car sits in the shop, apart, overnight. The next day, still no parts, the old parts are put back on so I have the car for the weekend. The next week, “We have the parts.” The car is taken in. Six hours later, “Ntate, the number on the box indicated it was the right part but it does not fit. We will try to … .” I had to pay a deposit to start this process. Will I ever see my car fixed? Can I get my deposit back? It is now five weeks on. Things take time I guess.

Ah Lesotho, where despite their general reputation for surly customer service, I have met many friendly and helpful people in my recent business dealings. Even the folks where I am ostensibly getting my car repaired have been friendly and sympathetic, despite being frustratingly inefficient.

Ah Lesotho, where my troubles, put into perspective really are of little consequence. A recent news headline proclaims that one in four goes to bed hungry. Where the King in his address to the national university graduating class cautions the graduates about their limited job opportunities in an economy where unemployment exceeds forty percent.

Ah Lesotho, where yet the sounds of children’s laughter echoes up from yards and streets. Where young athletes train (running up a hill** - sometimes backwards - that this one time marathoner can barely make half way up) dreaming their dreams of stardom, where the rhythms of life carry on and the human spirit still strives to rise above the shackles and deprivation of want and need.

Ah Lesotho.

~ Benno ~

**(Few vehicles can make it to the top of that hill without downshifting - for many it means downshifting all the way to first gear.)

Mad Dog of Mohololi Street

We live on Mohololi St. (pronounced Moh-hoh-loh-dee). It is a reasonably quiet and safe neighborhood, though we have had intruders on a couple of occasions. After one such intrusion when our duplex neighbors had their car damaged we borrowed a dog to create at least the illusion of some security. Well the dog’s owner is our new neighbor so now the dog, Spodge, is back.

Spodge is a black lab. He is most dangerous when he sometimes slams into ones legs when you are playing with him. On the plus side he does bark when someone strange is at the gate, though once he gets to know someone he is pretty ambivalent about them coming or going.

The other day as I was driving up to the gate a number of boys from the neighborhood greeted me. “Can we play with the dog,” one asked? Great, I thought, just what I need, a guard dog who is the friend of everyone in the neighborhood. I hastily concocted a little lie, “Aah, but the dog might bite you.” (Spodge has not bitten anyone to my knowledge.) I parked the car and went back to close the gate. The boys were still there. They seemed undeterred by my comments about being bitten.

Likely they had seen Spodge laying around, sleeping in the sun, or playing with our Basotho friends, knocking little kids over with his wagging tail, or nonchalantly wandering around the neighborhood. At any rate, they were not buying my comments about Spodge biting them. They had a come back, “We will just get him to play with our soccer ball if we think he might bite.” So there I am fumbling over what to say to deflect that offer. “Aww ... , the dog might bite the ball and deflate it.” It was then that Spodge intervened.

Either he interpreted the pheromones I was giving off in my angst as me feeling threatened or he felt he had to live up to my suggestion that he was a ferocious guard dog. At any rate, this blaze of black ferocity comes charging up behind me, barking and woofing and growling. Right past me he blasts and kids go scattering like chickens before a fox; the soccer ball rolling to my feet, cast aside in the boys’ head long dash for safety.

When I returned the ball, there were no more questions about 'playing' with the dog. After closing the gate, I gave Spodge a good scratch and chuckled. The stories those boys would be telling their friends and family would do nicely in creating the myth of the “Mad Dog of Mohololi Street”.

~ Benno ~

Waiting and Other Things

Waiting. I find myself waiting often here in Lesotho. It is just part of life. Right now I am waiting. A meeting is scheduled, but no one is yet here and the meeting was set for twenty minutes back. The other day I sent someone a note, asking whether we should meet at a certain time on Saturday or set a time for Monday. No response. But then around the tentative meeting time a call. “I am waiting.” Her response to my cajoling about letting me know in advance was simply, “I thought I would let you know when I arrived, and then I would wait for you.” She thought nothing of having to wait, and really, in this case she was being thoughtful of this 'lehooa'; she didn’t wish to keep me waiting.

Or maybe folks here like meetings no better than anywhere. When it is going hiking with the same folks, they are right on time. I sure enjoyed a couple of recent hikes we took. Instead of heading for the mountain tops, we went down into the river valleys. It is spring and the air and days are still cool, but come the hot days of summer I will be looking forward to getting back to some of the falls and beautiful pools we found.

Reflections

Wendy had most everyone on the 'water slide'

and into this pool.

Climbing up a water fall.

In my last entry I mentioned wondering where and how God would lead in the days ahead. It looks like another move for us. Again, we have been asked to vacate our premises, to make room for someone else. I was telling Wendy that folks are not too interested in places until she gets her hands into them, adds her touch of charm and turns a bland, unkept space becomes a welcoming home. Then those who were ambivalent about the space decide they would like to have the space back. Our current home is actually a YWAM location. Their suggestion was they had no need for it back in late 2008, so we could stay in it, ostensibly for as long as we desired. However, folks from YWAM who have recently visited have commented on how nice it now looks. So now … now we will see where God has for us next. Wendy commented that it is God’s way of reminding her not to put down roots in a place, but rather, in the lives of others.

The sunsets we will miss when we have to move.

The Mustard Seed (Lesotho) Society (MSS) is now a registered entity in Lesotho. The process went reasonably smoothly everything considered. Today when the team again met, we developed a modest plan to have some small programs in place by December. The most important initial program will be simply to compile information on how to access school funding for girl orphans, and to assist them in the application process. We also want to offer opportunities for the girls to develop confidence and a sense of self worth, as well as teamwork skills. There is an organization here that offers one and two day such workshops so we will be looking to organize such an event in the New Year. So, though the Mustard Seed still feels a bit unstructured we are beginning to develop some programs. Hopefully in the next couple of months I will feel more comfortable, and less in that ‘in between place’, as we begin to provide concrete supports to girl orphans and young women here in Lesotho.

The Mustard Seed - Mark 4:30-32

But back to waiting. When folks finally all arrived today and we at last got started (only an hour late), I asked the group why it was that for hiking they were ready on time, but for meetings not so? Were the meetings that bad? They verbally said it was not the meetings, but the unreliability of the local transport system on weekends. There may be some truth to their excuse, as when hiking I tend to pick them up at their homes. Maybe I don’t’ need to go scrounging up a John Cleese video on meetings after all.

~ Benno ~

This pool was clear, but cold.

I'm looking forward to coming back on a hot day this summer.

Transitions - "In Between Places'

We are into our fourth week back in Lesotho. Our trip home to Canada is a fading, but still most pleasant memory. Now it is back to life in Lesotho.

Wendy was back into her work immediately. She is into her third week with students. Last week she came home saying how much she loves her work and her students. She knows it will get busy and hectic in the days ahead, but she has not let that dampen her enthusiasm for her students. The Poetry Club students are already in full swing and have held their first fundraiser and short performance. Wendy is hoping to take some of the club members to a poetry festival in South Africa later in the year. Her students are eager and getting an early start, both with fundraising and performing. I think Wendy’s poetry in her last blog entry was, in part, keeping up with her students.

My transition is a bigger adjustment. Not an adjustment to Lesotho from Canada, but an adjustment from working with an established NGO, to working with a fledgling organization. William Bridges, writing about transitions, talks about the ‘in between place', when you have let go of one trapeze but have not yet secured the next one; that in between place with just the ground (or safety net) below you. I think that is where I am right now. I have let go of the past but the future is not here yet, at least not in the structured way that I am most comfortable with.

I have tended to work best within a defined structure. Within that structure I could tinker and dream of what ‘could be’. Yet tinkering within a structure, moving from ‘what is’ to what ‘could be’, is another in between space, a space where I often felt apprehensive and uncertain; a place where I have relied on others to help me through. So I find myself in an in between place that does not play to my areas of confidence and I am missing my friends, colleagues, and supporters who in the past came alongside to help me through the in between spaces. To say I feel a bit tentative and uncertain, maybe a bit lost even, would be accurate. It sure would be nice to have some of my Bridges’ books on transition, but since I don’t I will have to remember the words of Kevin Burns, who suggests that when confronted with uncertainty, ‘trust the process’.

There are committed bo’me who are part of the project. I am not alone, and I need to relax, breathe more deeply, accept that for the moment I am in an in between place, and trust that with the support of others I will get though this transition to.

So, where is the project I am part of at? Upon our return to Lesotho, I found that the temporary ‘office’ we had hoped to use for our project was no longer available. Then, one of the students was over and asked to use my computer. I watched her with some amazement. This is a young woman who has only had access to my computer a few times each month for the last year or so. Yet, this day she sat down and with no assistance from me was searching the Internet; using it to find information she could use in a presentation she would make at her school. I was reminded how resourceful people can be when given opportunity, but also reminded of how limited are the resources that the schools here have. Access to the Internet offered this student a wealth of information that for most students was beyond their reach.

Another student was over on another day to photocopy course material for one of her courses. Schools often do not have enough handouts or books to go around and students often have to share or make do without. Because I had a copier this student could copy someone else’s handout and have her own information to work from. Yet our home is so out of their way, inaccessible for the students in our project. They must walk kilometers to our house, or spend precious financial resources on taxi fare. So without an office and seeing the students' needs, I began to dream. What a resource it would be, to have a centrally located, accessible office/classroom/study hall (with internet access) for the girls we are assisting to continue in school. So while I am still in this in between space, I am tinkering in a big way. With the support of our leadership team, I have started to search for a place to house The Mustard Seed (Lesotho) Society.

In a country where finding any place is primarily by word of mouth it will not be easy to find what we need, and I need to trust the process, or more specifically, trust God to lead us to the right place. My ‘dream’ is a place where we will have one room for an office; a second room as a study hall/classroom/meeting space where the girls would have computer and Internet access; and a third room to be set up as transitional shelter for girl orphans in temporary need of a safe place. This third room would also serve as storage for a lending/exchange program for baby clothes, blankets, etc, that we envision for single mothers. It is a dream that is way bigger than me, but really not that big for God.

So, if now and then you happen to wonder how I am doing back in Lesotho, maybe just add a little prayer for me as I traverse my transition period, and also that God would provide a location that is central, secure, and is accessible to things like water, electricity, and telephone.

Thanks,

~ Benno ~

P.S. We have registered our name, have submitted our constitution for approval, and are hoping that shortly The Mustard Seed (Lesotho) Society will be a registered legal entity in Lesotho.

Mark 4:30-32 .

Oh Canada!

Coming back to Canada

Feeling the kindness
the friendliness
the warm welcome
in their eyes

Coming back to Canada
seeing the most dramatic skies
seeing the rolling fields
seeing all the beauty
unfolding before our eyes

Coming back to Canada
reconnecting with friends so dear
special times spent reminiscing
all the years and space between us
just disappears

Coming back to Canada
wrapping myself in
each embrace
fills my spirit
with their love and grace

Coming back to Canada
reminds me of
everything I hold dear
people
peace,
freedom to be,
celebration of diversity,
kindness and hospitality
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our first stop was a quick trip up to see my mom in Dapp, AB

Mom and I (Mom's doing pretty well for 92!)

My mom (Margaret) looking pretty dubious about all that hair on JaredAh, now she's okay with this hairy grandson!My brother Ken's family. This was our first time to meet our new nephew-in-law, Philip, Mandy's husband (the really tall one!)Benno playing with the kids! Megan is giving Benno a ride on the quad.

~~~~~

Next stop was to visit with friends from way back in Barrhead, AB. This was a special time of getting reacquainted and caught up on people’s lives--people who are like family-- our friends from long ago in Barrhead, but when we get together the years just disappear...well, other than in how much the kids grow! Thanks so much for the wonderful time we could spend with you. God continue to bless you!

Friends

Isn’t it amazing
Isn’t it ironic
that we can be years away
miles apart
and still hold each other
in our hearts

Isn’t it awesome
Isn’t it wondrous
that there’s a bond
that ties us tighter
than time
and space

There’s this magical place
within our hearts
that holds us together
even when we are far
apart

The space inside us
knows no time constraints
no place restrictions
no limitations
to the strong connections
of the heart

We stayed with Gary and Judy on their farm, and Judy and I went quadding to check out the crops. Here’s Judy by one of their Canola crops.Gary and Benno “Talkin’ Farming”

~~~~~

Stop #3: Benno’s ‘Fath Family Reunion’ with his immediate family, to celebrate Rose and Gavin’s 25th. Anniversary--various pics
Rose, Deb, Linda, Benno, Dale, Ruth, and Mom in the center of it all!
The kitchen elves/real men DO do dishes! Jared and Glen
Benno and Jillian with their twins, Mac and Mac
It was so wonderful having Jillian with us for 10 weeks in Lesotho. We brought her back to Canada, but we surely will miss her!
Just good times to be together--our niece, Melissa and Linda
Melissa is doing much better than two years ago, after having surgery which relieved a lot of pressure on her brain, greatly reducing her seizures and other side-effects of the brain tumor. We just keep praying for God's grace on her and her mom, dad and brother.

Getting to meet my our first grandnephew on Benno's side was a bonus! He is SO cute and just such a sweet kiddo. (Steve, Jen and Jesse)

Celebrating my 50th. BD one year later!

~~~~~

Next we headed down to the Coast to visit folks there. The visits were wonderful, and the weather was gorgeous—HOT temperatures of 36-38C

We visited with my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew in Maple Ridge... Meg and Yuka

My brother, James and Megumi
I sure enjoyed getting to play with Meg and TowaTowa with kid-sized Basotho hat from Lesotho

Meg and Me swappin' sunglasses (her's were way cool!)

A Tribute to my Lovely Niece, Megumi
Thanks for reminding me that PLAY is a highly worth endeavor

Realizations come
unexpectedly
when we are placed in situations
unbidden
yet not unwelcomed
surprising
yet fortuitous

Joy comes
unexpectedly
when we are placed in situations
unbidden
that unravel us from
the everyday routine
from the mundane

When a little girl says,
‘Play with me’
unexpectedly
I discover joy
when placed in a situation
unbidden
yet not unwelcome
surprising myself
with the rediscovery
of joy
in play


When it was time to leave, Megumi just wanted me to stay and play and I chuckled and told her that soon enough she’d be all grown up and would not have any desire to spend time with an ‘old lady’. She insisted that she would, so I wrote up an agreement that we both signed. I kept half and she has the other half. It’s an agreement that even when she’s older she’ll still want to play with me.
I’ll hold her to it!

Seeing Mamoruti was a pleasure and a relief! My Basotho gal who got a scholarship to UBC IS surviving and thriving there!
We also got to spend time with my friendly giant son, Byron. He was down in Chilliwack doing some of his military training.


My sister, Maureen, Randy, Joe and Cody made us so welcome and we really enjoyed some relaxing times at their place and traveling to some recreational spots around and about Kamloops.

Me just chillin' in a lovely lake in the BC interior.

Staying with my sister, Laurie and bro-in-law, Bob always is just a pleasure—so relaxing at their cabin high on the banks of the Frazer River in BC. This was a great time to seeing our nieces and nephew and growing grandnieces and nephew too!

Hot tubin’ it in the summer? Why not! Just add some cold water and enjoy!

Great day at the DUNE at Farwell Canyon in BC…with Bob and Brooke
‘Grandnephews’ come in…hmmm…different forms it seems! Brooke’s baby, Kaos is much gentler than his name would suggest!


Benno and his aunt, Grace -- visit in Surrey
We managed to visit quite a few of Benno’s extended family and catch up on family news.
Dear friends, Tom and Monica, whom we’ve known since shortly after we were married—back to our Whitecourt days and the days of our small black angus cattle herd.


Our wonderful friends and partners in the journey from CrossRoads Church in Red Deer.

LEAVING THOSE I LOVE

How do I say thank you
and I love you
to those who mean so much more
than they will ever know

Leaving behind me here
So many who are so dear
Taking you with me in my heart
Wards off the fear

of leaving you
of knowing that I am far away

How do I leave
but how do I stay
when there is more need to go
and there is a voice calling
that I must obey.

Flying away
Flying to

Away we go
off to destinations
and destiny
we’ve been called to

Far from those
we love
Near to others
we love too

Feeling
torn in two
yet whole in knowing
that this going
is the right thing to do

God’s given us this time to go
So we will not stay…
Flying away
but closer to0


~Wendy~

Reflections from Canada 2

A question we were often asked when we were home in Canada was, "How did we now view Canada and things Canadian, having been away.?" This question prompted a lot of thoughts and reflection. The question was first posed in Barrhead, AB, and our next stop was Whitecourt.

Whitecourt was where we lived 30 years ago, when we were first married. Visiting there brought up thoughts and reflections on meaning and purpose. What were my dreams and aspirations back then? What became of those dreams and aspirations? Are they still important to me today? Or have they long ago been abandoned, or forgotten, or accomplished and then forgotten. Thoughts that began a process of reflection about the meaning and purpose of my few years, my brief flicker “under the sun”¹. Experiences and sights, as we traveled along, continued to prompt reflection about meaning and purpose.

For example, I came upon a marker commemorating Father Leon (Leo) Fouquet, an Oblate priest, who in 1861 founded a mission and a school for native children, a school that continued for 100 years. The ‘mission’ lent its name to a city, Mission City, just east of Vancouver on the Frazer River. But how many people remember Father Fouquet? He is buried in a vandalized cemetery where the cross above his grave marker has been broken away. What were his dreams and aspirations? What would he have thought of a city being named after him? Would he mind?

Or Silver Valley Stables? Once the home of Canadian champion horses, but now overgrown, decaying, championship ribbons hanging, forgotten, in an abandoned and cobwebbed tack room. What were the aspirations and dreams of those who lived and worked there? What transpired that the ribbons, which must have meant so much then, now hang abandoned and discarded?

Silver Valley Stables

Canadian Grand and Reserve Champion ribbons.

I walk past homes where people once lived and loved, yards that were carefully tended, someone’s ‘new’, maybe even dream, home a scant 50-60 years ago. Today they lie overgrown, neglected, on the edge of a new, ‘modern’ development - waiting to be demolished to make way for someone else’s dream.

Awaiting demolition, making way ...

... so someone else can live their dream ...

... in what someone referred to as a "McHouse".

And so, being in Canada invited me to consider my dreams, my desires, my treasures. What really counts? Few, if any, people remember Father Fouquet. But really, how many of us remember, or really care, who won the Stanley Cup, or Grey Cup, or Super Bowl even three years ago? Or which film received Best Picture at the Oscars? Or who won what Grammy Award? Or how many people came and went in our own neighborhood? When he died, there was an outpouring of information and tribute for Michael Jackson, but who of us really thought or cared about him in the weeks and months before he died. Did his fame and fortune truly enrich his life. What really counts? Solomon again comes to mind, he who described all human endeavors and achievements as merely “chasing after the wind”.²

To be remembered, ... that a life would mean something, to someone,

but seemingly not, ... now just a vandalized headstone.

A young woman we visited in Canada shared her heart’s desire for her life - to love others and live generously in this world. Simple, yet what a difference it could make in our world if more of us were to consider her desire, or more challengingly for me, if “I” were to more deeply consider such a desire.

At the moment I am feeling both a sense of dread and a sense of excitement. I have a number of books that I had started reading and they keep reminding me of the young woman’s desire. I am being challenged, especially about being more generous, not only with my worldly treasure - my money, but also in my attitudes and judgments of others. How come I can be so miserly when it comes to being gracious or understanding or forgiving or appreciative with another? So I live with a bit of apprehension and dread, waiting to understand what more God is asking of me. I argue, “Haven’t I given up enough?” “What more do you want of my earthly treasure and in my relationships with those about me?” “God, are you never satisfied?”** Yet there is also a sense of excitement; excitement which arises from my confidence in God that if I have the courage to love more and live more generously, I will know more of the joy and blessing and purpose and meaning that the last two years have given.

So, back to the original question, "What is my view of Canada?" Canada is a wonderful place, a place of beauty and opportunity. A land blessed and a people blessed, my home and the best place in the world according to Maclean’s magazine. Being away and then coming home has reminded me of all this. The challenge is to guard myself from being beguiled by all that Canada offers, and from forgetting that Canada is part of a bigger world; a bigger world where others are often so less blessed; a bigger world within which God is inviting me to find purpose through living more generously and more lovingly. I am apprehensive about letting go of yet more, more security, more predictability, more of Canada. But if this life is just chasing the wind anyways, what have I to loose if I find the courage to accept God's invitation.

~ Benno ~

¹ A little phrase borrowed from Solomon and first appearing in Ecclesiates 1:3.

² Another of Solomon’s phrases, first used in Ecclesiates 1:14.

** Shane Claiborne writes in the Irresistible Revolution, "It's not hell that makes me shudder but God, because I have no idea what in the world God's going to dare me to do next. ... I have no idea what's going to happen next. ... That's the Jesus I love. And that's the Jesus who scares me to death."

Reflections from Canada 1

We are back in Lesotho. I began this entry shortly after arriving back in Canada, but only now, after returning to Lesotho, am I finding time to work on it more.

An often asked question when we were home was how did we view Canada and things Canadian now, having been away. It is an interesting question. How do I see Canada and things Canadian now? If I see things differently, is it because of being in a different culture for two years, or because of various personal experiences over the last two years, or just that I am now two years older. One thing is certain though, I enjoyed my time back in Canada - both my experience of Canada and my reflections prompted by being back. So how do I view Canada today. I will answer in two parts. To start, a bit of a travelogue of our visit home to Canada.

Hey, Canada has big game, too, eh!!

We landed in Calgary during a week of rain, the first real rain of the spring/summer we were told, and Alberta was beautiful. I marveled at the open spaces, the urban forests, the cleanliness, the helpfulness of people. Even the many inconveniences of dealing with road construction and repairs only served to remind me of the incredible efficiency and commitment to maintaining things that we have in Canada. I come from a beautiful and efficiently run country that I had taken too much for granted.

Our travels have took us from Calgary to Red Deer, Barrhead, Whitecourt, through Jasper, Vernon B.C., then to Vancouver. On the way back we stopped in Kamloops and Williams Lake. My brother so kindly provided us his late model, like new, truck to drive and we put on over 7500 kms. Along those kilometers Wendy and I have passed fields of canola, driven mountain highways, hiked short trails, visited with family, tossed snow at each other, wandered about the grounds of UBC, swam in clear mountain streams to escape the heat, and enjoyed quiet moments with friends and family. We live in a truly beautiful and bounteous land and Canadians are thoughtful and helpful people.

Fields of Yellow

Okay, not exactly Canada ... Mt. Baker, Washington environs.

Each time I had banking or other business things to attend to, I marveled at the helpfulness of people. The first week back I had some business stuff to attend to. I gave myself a number of hours to complete the tasks, but wow, in an hour and a half I was done, and each person offered a smile and “Is there anything else I we can do for you?”

And the drivers. They must have sensed our tentativeness when we waited to cross the streets. It was not uncommon that a driver would stop their vehicle some distance back from the sidewalk, just to assure us that it was safe to cross, it seemed. Then, when I was driving everyone else obeyed the rules of the road, (other than speed). It was almost boring not having to regularly adapt to some other driver’s improvised road rules. A few times I also had to remind myself that this was not the place for me to practice some of the improvisations that I have come to think as normal. Oops … .

The 'Friendly Giant' and his mom.

My old alma mater. Mamoruti did not share my enthusiasm for the

Mathematics Bldg where I spent many hours.

Our friends and family were most gracious and genuinely interested in our work and lives in Lesotho. Visiting my former colleagues with the Alberta government was just one such highlight. Many of them regularly follow this blog and they were up to date with what I am doning and asked very specific questions. I was honored and encouraged by their informed and generous support for, as one of them put it, my “new GIRL POWER endeavor.” She even provided a website which highlights what many NGOs have learned; that investing in girls has a greater impact on the economic and social development of a struggling society than almost any other intervention.

Where we spent a few quiet and peaceful nights.

Chilcotin sand dunes. The dot, centre top, is me.

Relaxing.

Yes, being home reminded us both how incredibly blessed we are. We were surrounded by caring friends and family, kind customer service most everywhere, and by the beauty of our country. Wendy’s remarked often of the ephemeral, beauty of the ever changing skyscapes in Alberta. Thank-you family, friends, and strangers for a wonderful experience back in Canada.

Aww, family.

Alberta skies.

So how did I find Canada? Beautiful, clean, welcoming, and as a June 2009 Maclean's headline opines, "The best place on earth". I will add a second, more reflective, answer to 'How did I find Canada?' in my next entry.

~ Benno ~

P.S. It is a beautiful time of year back here in Lesotho. The air is crisp and warming, the peach trees are blossoming, and leaves are beginning to show. Yes, there is still the grit and the grim and the garbage, but this is home, and right where I belong at this time in my life. It is good to be back. ~ B