We have been gone for 9 months.
We spent the last 3 months in South Africa.
We have worked with tons of kids in schools, camps, and at home.
We have built relationships with the surrounding community.
I have (tried) to learn a bit of Afrikaans.
I have eaten TONS of doughnuts (It’s Pa’s fault).
We have found ourselves in another home. We have found ourselves with another family that I will call one of my own for as long as I live.
And now we have to leave.
The past 3 months have been an indescribable blessing. I have been blessed with an amazing family and amazing friends. I have found a sweet, welcoming community. I pursued God in ways that I haven’t before. I had been waiting to come to Africa for… around 20 years? When we first stepped foot in this country, I was overcome with joy. I knew that I was in a place that God had called me to for such a long time. When I got here, I knew that He had something good planned. I knew that He was going to end my Race in a way that was fully in Him. South Africa has been one of the best things to ever happen to me.
This house that I am in… it’s not just a house. It’s my home. It is where I am comfortable. It is a safe place. It is where love resides. The people that occupy it are some of the most incredible people that I have ever met. They love us like they have no other purpose. They serve endlessly. They shine God’s light wherever they go. They are not just our hosts. They are our family. They are the ones that we have laughed with, cried with, and served alongside of. I could not have asked for anything better for these past 3 months.
The team that I was blessed with these past 3 months was more than I could have ever asked for. We pushed ourselves to serve in the best ways we knew how. We loved each other well and our community well. We named ourselves Team Relentless Pursuit and I believe that we lived up to the name. I fell in love with these girls and I am so thankful for the way that they pursued Jesus these past 3 months. I couldn’t have asked for a better team my last 3 months on the Race.
These 3 months, I pursued what God said of me and who He says I am in Him. I read books and Bible studies and sought wisdom from those who know me best and who I know will speak truth into my life. I sought after a deeper relationship with God and reaped the benefits. I know who I am. I am cherished and loved and beautiful. I am made in the Creator’s image. I am forgiven and washed white. I am a daughter of the Most High King. I am pursued and worth His time. I am asked to give up my whole self in return for the greatest gift that man has ever received.
Cape Town. A bustling city that is in desperate need of truth and light. A melting pot of different people with many different things to offer. A place which has so much to offer to a person. A place with a rich history full of pain and strife. A place that is so beautiful, and simply screams the glory of the Creator.
South Africa. The place of my dreams. A country in the midst of unrest and uncertainty. A country that could is such a mixture of culture and art and beauty. A place that desperately needs the truth of the Gospel.
As I get ready to leave, I find myself aching. I don’t actually want to leave. I have made myself at home here. I feel loved and wanted and cherished here (not that I don’t at home in America). I have wanted to come here for so long and I made it and now I have to leave. I have to leave all these people that I am so so desperately in love with. I am going to miss so much. I am going to miss the beautiful mountains and the beautiful white beaches. I am going to miss the rootis and Ma’s home cooking. I am going to miss the crazy loud and fast cars that are literally everywhere. I am going to miss Long Street. I am going to miss my kiddos at Dennegeur. I am going to miss Strandfontein Baptist Church and the sweet youth there.
But most of all, I am going to miss my people. I am going to miss Ma and Pa. The two people that I know will always have my back. I even sometimes slip up and call them mom and dad. They took such good care of us. I felt like I was actually one of their kids. They worried about us when we were out. They held us while we cried. They loved us like their own children. I am going to miss the extended family: Godfrey and Cheslynn and their two beautiful daughters: Jade and Emily. Samantha and gorgeous little Xena. Megan and Shane and their two sons, Eli and Jodi (I am taking Jodi home with me by the way). Carlo. I am going to miss our church community. All of the people who so graciously welcomed us and loved us. I am going to miss my friends that I met through Youth: Zoe, Chelsea, Tarryn, and my sweet sweet friend Dimitri. I am going to miss our puppy Buster (Or Busta Rhymes as we affectionately call him).
Leaving is never easy, as I have found through these past 3 months. You grow close to people that you intentionally spend time with. You learn how to love deeply and forgive quickly. You have to learn how to say goodbye. It is hard. I still haven’t found an easy way to do it and it hurts every time. I called my mom the other night and she reminded me that even though we may say goodbye here, Christians never really have to say goodbye because we get to spend eternity together. Praise God for that.
So as I leave, it is going to be hard. My chest aches and I am having a hard time articulating how I am feeling. I find myself falling prey to my anxiety and I sometimes just want to curl inside of myself and mourn there. But I know that it is ok to be sad because it simply means that I have loved and been loved well. And oh how I have.
So thank you South Africa, and all of the amazing people that have loved me so so well. I am forever thankful for you and I am going to miss you every day of my life.
Until we meet again.
1 John 4:19: We love because He first loved us.
