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.
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