New Blessings

It's been almost two months since my last post to this blog. It’s been 9 weeks since we returned from Mhlosheni brimming with pictures, tales, and memories.

A lot happened in those two months. Of course there’s been Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, but there’s also been a fair bit of worry, frustration, and perhaps even despair on my part. As I mentioned in the last post, in Africa I more or less succeeded in pushing my worries about my cratered career to the background of my mind. Or so I thought.

In these last two months I’ve had to redouble my energy and efforts, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to “take charge” of my situation and find my way. I’m not sure what good it did.

Many, many people prayed for me these last few months. People I see every day, and people who I haven’t seen in months. People I know well prayed for me, as did people I love and admire but don’t really know well at all.

Last week I got and accepted a fantastic job offer. An unbelievable company with an inspiring mission and a clear vision asked me to join them. This is a great fit, and I’m left asking, “How did I get so lucky?” It wasn’t my diligence or my interviewing aplomb or my resume. It was the relentless, heartfelt prayers of my friends. My "taking charge" of my situation had little to do with it.

To all of you –-- team Mlosheni, CRCCers, family, friends and co-workers --- thank you so much for your prayers on my behalf. They mean everything to me.

I sat down tonight and looked at a slideshow I’d recently compiled of faces from Africa. With the great worry stone removed from my chest and my immediate future a bit more reassuring I saw that I hadn’t pushed my concerns behind me as successfully as I’d thought I had. I found myself wishing I could have surrendered more of myself to that experience, and not kept niggling over the little thoughts that even then were asking, “What are you going to do now?” I wish I had been more fully present to each and every moment I was given there.

In my defense, I did as well as I could in a situation whose timing and conditions were far from ideal. But I wish I could do it over again. I wish I could see these faces with clearer eyes and a more open heart.

I miss the kids. I miss Lomkhosi and Bongingkosi and Andy and Ruth and Musa all the others. I miss the blazing sunsets and the great tilted slabs of rock and the lightning and the spiky acacias. I miss every breath I took there.



If you ever find yourself in a time and a place where God is uniquely and visibly at work, I pray that you’re able to surrender yourself to it fully and gladly. I pray that any fears and worries you may harbor will evaporate in the steady light of grace.

Watch the slide show and see the faces of Mhlosheni. Pray for our African friends and children.


To see the full album or download images, click here.