Lions and Rhinos and more…Oh My!!

As previously mentioned, my in-laws came to visit us recently.  I can’t begin to explain what an encouragement it was to all of us!  They came bearing gifts…3 HUGE boxes of American goodies!  After we opened them all, it looked like a Trader Joe’s exploded all over my living room!  Boxes of gluten free cereal, cookies, candies and most precious….chocolate chips, pepperoni, and corn tortillas!!!  It was like Christmas….BETTER than Christmas.  It is amazing how comforting food can be (amazing and scary…very scary)!  Not only that, but cards and photo albums from some of our dear friends and family.  It was like love…in a box!  Yes, I know my use of exclamation points may seem excessive in this paragraph….but PEPPERONI for Heaven’s sake.  

Now before I seem like a total crazy (food obsessed) person, I can honestly say that the BEST part of this whole thing was not the gifts, but the people who brought them.  Seeing family again after almost 8 months in a strange land was like salve to the soul.  They not only brought love in a box but the love of spending time, giving advice, listening to us and loving us unconditionally.  There is no bigger gift or treasure than to be KNOWN and loved.  

We spent hours talking, playing games and exploring this incredible land together.  We went to a Lion and Rhino park and saw things that blew our minds.  We literally sat in a “rhino jam” while 8 or more HUGE rhinos decided that the best path to their dinner was the road that people drive on.  We had rhinos within mere feet of our windows.  At one point, the car ahead of us decided that they would try to sneak past the meandering beasts.  The lead rhino didn’t think that was such a wonderful idea and proceeded to charge the car!  Needless to say, it was quickly decided (by the rhino) that the line of cars would need to just sit tight and be patient.  During that time that we slowly rolled down the road as part of the rhino migration, we saw sites that people only dream of.  It was an incredibly powerful reminder that we need to SLOW down or we will miss the miracles that surround us (the picture above is one I took with my phone).  We were also able to pet lion cubs and a full grown cheetah.  Kay, my mother-in-law carries “battle scars” from her encounter with the lion cubs!  

We took a trip to a town called Hartbeespoort.  Pronounced “Harta-Beea-Spoort”.  Someone graciously let us use their vacation cottage for the night.  The cottage was almost on the water of the large lake there.  The scenery was breathtaking.  We walked, talked, played and ate.  It was perfect.

There are so many other things that we did….South Africa is an adventure waiting to happen.  And my husbands parents SPOILED us rotten!  But the most precious time was spent just hanging out.  

When it came time for them to leave, we all mourned their loss.  My eldest daughter and I couldn’t hold back the tears.  One week was not long enough and it almost served as a reminder of just how far from “home” we are here.  But as I look back on this entire experience, I feel so grateful for the fact that we are so loved.  From coast to coast and across the sea, we are not alone in this battle.  We are strangers in a strange land.  Not for a job, not for a career boost, not for educational purposes…not even for the adventure.  We are here to help build the Kingdom of God.  We have given up much.  But we have been given SO much more than we could have imagined.  

Matthew 19:29New International Version (NIV)

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[a] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

What really matters...

Fall is in the air here in Johannesburg!  It’s getting COLD.  One of the many misconceptions about Africa is the weather.  Whenever I would think about Africa, I would think HOT.  We had a great summer.  In my opinion, the weather was wonderful.  Of course, the seasons are flip flopped here.  We arrived in October which was the Spring.  As a warm weather lover, I thought I hit the jackpot!  I left America in the Fall and arrived to Africa in the Spring.  Back to back Summer….AWESOME!  When we hit a little cold spell in December, I realised we were in for a rude awakening here as far as weather was concerned.  I grew up in places with very distinct seasons.  Summers were HOT and winters were COLD!!!  When we had a few cold days in December, I realised very quickly what the biggest difference would be here.  In America, in the Summer, you have air conditioning.  It’s almost unheard of to not have AC if you live in a place where summer weather gets over 85 degrees.  Even when I was growing up, I distinctly remember the smell and sound of the window air conditioners.  Even the “less fortunate” had a window unit!!  And EVERYONE had heaters!!  You couldn’t always pay for the kind of heat you had (propane, gas, electric…or even wood burning stoves), but every house had the ability to be heated.  And beyond that, those houses were insulated in various ways.  Here, there is no heat…no air/con…no insulation.  Yes, they don’t get 3 feet of snow in the winter, but with NO heat, your house is COLD!!!  When people find out I grew up in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado, they believe that I should somehow be “cold-weather” adapted.  I think if anything, it’s the reason I took off to California at my first opportunity!  The the thing is, in the Winter, we keep the heat on in the house.  The house stays warm, and we stay warm.  If you have to leave your house, you run out to the “pre-heated” car and run as quickly as possible into the next heated location.  All the while wearing 3 layers of clothing!  We have quickly realised that we did not bring enough “footie pyjamas”!!

Something that has warmed us (our hearts anyway…), is the upcoming visit of my husband’s parents from America.  They are going to come loaded down with American goodies that we have been missing.  Although the arrival of the goodies is VERY exciting, we are just so grateful to see our family again.  

We were so blessed over the previous 6 years to have lived down the street from family.  There is nothing like having someone else who loves your children in a way that only family can.  I think that it reinforces a child’s confidence and strengthens their sense of belonging.  My kids adored their Mèmè and Granddad!  In moving overseas, this was one of the biggest costs for us to count.

Next week, we will see them again for the first time in 8 months.  We have been counting down the days on our calendar.  

I have talked about many things that we took for granted in America.  By far, the things that we miss most is family.  Even though we still lived far from my family members (and didn’t always live close to my husband’s family), at worst, we were a 5 hour flight away from the furthest member.  

Not long after we moved to South Africa, I found out (a full day later) that my Dad had experienced a heart attack.  I can’t possibly convey the feeling of helplessness I had during that time.  I couldn't even make a phone call back home to find out whether or not he was okay.  Even in a time of incredible access to the World, I couldn’t even make a phone call.  Luckily, through broken email communication, I found out he was okay.  The reality of just how far we were from home never seemed so clear.

From weather to heart attack….what’s my point?  I have no idea.  I’m just rambling on about what I am currently feeling.  But if I could communicate one thing it would be…be grateful.  Wherever you are, whomever you are with, be grateful.

I’m grateful for where we are now.  There is no other place I would rather be right now.  But I wish I would have been more grateful where I was before, and before that.

That’s it.  Thank you for joining me on my ramble.  Keep warm…and grateful!