Thoughts on Home

The story is told of a Dutch soldier who was captured and made prisoner of war. He was far from his homeland and completely isolated from family and friends. He did not hear a word from home and felt very lonely and afraid. He didn't know if anyone at home was still alive or how his country was doing. He had a thousand questions and not a single answer. He soon felt that he had nothing left to live for and quickly fell into despair.

One day, he received an unexpected letter, crumpled and dirty because it had traveled so far and long to reach him. He opened up and read these words: " We are all waiting for you at home. Everything is fine. Don't worry. We will see you back at home and we all desire to see you."

This simple letter changed his life. The external circumstances of his life - his imprisonment and isolation - did not change. He continued his labour, endured the same difficult things, but he felt completely different on the inside. Someone was waiting for him. He still had a home.

At first, when I read this story, it made me think of friends and family back in California that I have left behind. Then I thought of those I loved who have died, and finally, I thought of Jesus Himself speaking these words to me - "We are all waiting for you at Home. Everything is fine. Don't worry."

There's something powerful about home. Even if you didn't come from a good home, just to know that there's someplace where you belong, where someone is waiting for you, where you are accepted and loved, makes all the difference in the world.

I pray that all of you have such a place, whether it's a literal home, an adopted home, or a figurative home. May you know how much you are loved by God and belong to Him. It might not change your circumstances, but it will change everything on the inside.

Need a Place to Stay for the World Cup?

Dan and I work for an organisation that develops and manages businesses to fund ministry in impoverished areas. The latest project is a 100-year-old guesthouse that will be open for the upcoming World Cup in June/July.

If you happen to be coming to South Africa, check us out. All the profits from the guesthouse will fund local ministries.

http://www.panganitours.co.uk

A Trip to the Veterinary School

Emma's been begging me to take her hamsters to the vet because they have - I'm guessing - hamster cholera or something similar. And only because she wants to become a veterinarian someday, I caved and made an appointment at Onderstepoort, which is close to our house and, incidentally, one of the best veterinary schools in the world.

We had to go to the "Exotic Animal Hospital" (since when did hamsters become exotic animals?). In the waiting room was a woman with a pygmy marmoset stuck in her hair (at least, that's what it looked like). She was a sweet grandma-type and said to me, half-apologetically, "He has strange seeds in his poo." So... why is he on your head? I willed myself not to laugh (I will not laugh, I will not laugh). I had to turn and look at the wall.

Then a woman came in with an iguana. She cuddled it, she caressed it, she kissed it on the lips. REPEATEDLY! It's okay to love your pets, but you don't need to loooove your pets, if you know what I mean. I stared at the wall even harder and bit my tongue.

When the parakeet was wheeled by with an oxygen mask, I had to excuse myself, go outside, and laugh hysterically. I'm all for saving animals, but honestly, let the poor bird die and be with its Maker! (do you think they have little defibrillator paddles for parakeets?)

When it was our turn, I - not Emma - had to tell the doctor that our hamsters have swollen bums and diarrhea. Do you know how humiliating that is (probably more for the hamsters, but that's beside the point). And guess who gets to force-feed them antibiotics every day?

On the other hand, I laughed all the way home, and that's worth something. ("Hey Dan, guess what I just saw...")

Someone's at the Door

Yesterday I heard a knock at my door. The top half of our door is frosted glass, so you can always tell if there's a person there or not, as well as see a vague outline of them. I looked up, but there was no one there, so I thought I must have imagined the knock.

A minute later there was another knock at my door. Again, I looked up, but no one was there. Puzzled, I went to the door and opened it anyway. And then I looked down. Here's what I saw: Our little neighbour from three doors down, roughly 18 months old, had ridden over and wanted to play. Isn't he cute?

Bathroom Advertising

When I was a kid there was always bathroom graffiti on the walls at the public school I attended, and it was rather entertaining. South Africa, on the other hand, boasts the cleanest bathrooms you will ever find worldwide.

You will, however, find advertisements in public bathrooms here in South Africa. They're in every stall, they're next to the hand dryers, they're even IN the sinks, and every single one of them advertises products for embarrassing issues ranging from Irritable Bowel Syndrome to period pain to constipation to diarrhea.

I have been frightened by talking ads in my stall (and it was a man's voice, no less!). I have laughed hysterically at the stickers in the sink in the shape of a giant, ahem, feminine product advertising superior absorbancy, and I have been entertained by the constipation medication ad inside the stall that said, "By the time I get out of here, my clothes will be out of fashion."

But WHY??? Are public bathrooms the only place women can address these issues?

I have learned that "Why?" is not a good question to ask when moving to a new country. Rather just enjoy the adventure. And if you ever come to South Africa, you will not only be impressed by the incredibly clean bathrooms, but highly entertained as well.

What I'm Learning

"After everything has been said and done, what we have to offer is our authentic selves in relationship to others. What matters most, what transforms, is the influence of a humble, vulnerable witness to the truth...

To be a witness means to offer your own faith experience and to make your doubts and hopes, failures and successes, loneliness and woundedness, available to others as a context in which they can struggle with their own humanness and quest for meaning. Instead, we often hide behind our many emotional, mental and spiritual masks. Who really wants to make their struggles available to others as a source of growth and understanding? Who wants to be reminded of their weaknesses and limitations, doubts and uncertainties? Who wants to confess that God cannot be understood, that human experience is not explainable, and that the great questions of life do not lead to answers but only to deeper questions?

When God enters into the centre of our lives to unmask our illusion of possessing final solutions and to disarm us with always deeper questions, we will not necessarily have an easier or simpler life, but certainly a life that is honest, courageous, and marked with the ongoing search for truth. Sometimes, in living the questions, answers are found." - Henri Nouwen, Spiritual Direction

My New Favourite Afrikaans Word

In American English it's called cotton candy.

In South African English it's candy floss.

In Afrikaans it's spookasem, which means "ghost breath."

I love how descriptive language can be.