Farewell Lambert's Bay

Written (9/9/12)

As I sit on my bed in Lambert's Bay and the reality of the fact that I have only 2 more days here has begun to sink in, finding words to describe my feelings is not easy. We attended our "closing ceremony" tonight at Reverend Phillips church, where our host families attend and were so kindly talked about and thanked for everything we did in Lambert's Bay and the impact we have had in the community. The entire time, I was in awe of our Creator for even allowing me to be part of this team. I truly don't believe I did anything in Lambert's Bay, but as we talk to more and more people and hear more and more stories about what we have done and the impact we have made, I cannot help but be more and more in awe of God and see His glory in everything we have been blessed to be a part of. As Hein wrapped up our time here in the service tonight from our side and just thanking the community for allowing us into their homes and lives, he used this verse from Philemon 7 and I love how perfectly it summarizes our time here. "For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you." we have seen such a change in the hearts of the people here and just the joy in which they do life. From our host families, to the care givers, to the kitchen staff, everyone has more joy and are encouraged to keep doing what they do for God's glory because of the love we showed them and the dignity we gave them when it comes to the things God has called them to or placed them in. We have heard that new friendships have formed within the host families and age old grudges have slowly been released for the good of the community and the unity of the group and church. The care givers have a new found passion and pride for what they do after Americans, including and an American sister of nursing came and spoke truth and encouraging words over what they do. Countless people stop Hein and Helene in the shop and ask if they can host an American next time, where as when we were in America for training, we weren't sure if we would have enough for 6 host families. Not only have changes happened on the colored side of the community, but on the white side as well. I can't count how many conversations I have had with a white person who is amazed to hear I'm living with the colored people. They ask all sorts of questions that honestly make me feel like I'm living through the period in the U. S. when blacks and whites didn't use the same toilets because the blacks were thought to carry different diseases. But 1 by 1, our conversations are beginning to change the ideas of the white people as well. While we were walking thru the community every morning, bright and early, wondering what good we were doing, we were doing tons more than we could ever imagine. Our goal was never to come here and change the entire place in 6 weeks and leave, but we have encouraged everyone we can and many people have seen the benefits of what we have done and the approach we have taken and are committed to not only continuing on the heart of our mission, but finding ways to create new movements and better the community in new ways. These people saw our love and our hearts and are motivated to do something now in their own community rather than trying to just "get out of this terrible place." Personally, I could not have imagined a better outcome for the first trip of EM to Lambert's Bay and for the first team of Americans to show the people of Lambert's Bay Jesus and hope in a whole new way. I hope to come back to Lambert's Bay in the not too distant future and I truly believe that things will be changed even more for the better.

From the very first day at the day care, my heart was given to this little boy. He came up to me when we were playing duck duck goose and promptly sat in my lap. He played with my ring and would not move. Every day we visited the day care, he would come running up to me and never let go. Every day as I tried to say goodbye, he refused to let go. His arms and legs would wrap tighter around my body and would not let go. On our last day with the kids, he tried with all his might to give me a kiss on the lips goodbye. I finally relented and let this adorable little man, who I had prayed over countless times, give me a big slobbery kiss on the lips. I had never seen him smile so big and he pretty much never stops smiling. After we left, Auntie Valerie, the coordinator of the day care, told Mark about how much my love on this particular little boy meant. What you can't see is that he has no teeth, not because they haven't come in, but because they have all rotted out of his mouth. He is extremely small for his age and always has a runny nose and mostly the same clothes on every day. But I didn't see those things and that kiss that I got from that little boy meant more than any words I could have ever heard. Saying goodbye to him left me with part of my heart missing, but the smile on his face and love in his heart was worth every tear and every second of pain I felt.

Written (9/11/12)
We had a dinner tonight to honor our host families and thank them and the community members that have been with us along the way in Lambert's Bay. As I stood with the rest of my team to one by one thank our host families, I was overcome by emotion. Yes, my host family and I struggled at times to feel connected, but the thought of not being able to say "Huya Mora" to Auntie Jess before she could say "Good Morning" or not coming home to Uncle Nevile sitting at the dining room table working and making the house safe, or not having Je-Nauvan run around the house all day and make silly faces at me (most of which, I taught him), or not having conversations with Lucy every night before I went to bed was one of the hardest realizations to come to. They took me in and I truly felt like part of the family and they truly felt like I was one of their own. I have never been in a host family type situation, but I will gladly do it again if it means being part of a family like the Kaumfers.