I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. —Philippians 1:3-5

Today we say our final goodbyes, then head to the airport to fly out tonight to Switzerland via Qatar.

Together, an immense sense of joy and the kind of hurting sadness that wells tears in my eyes every time I say goodbye to someone have marked our final few days here. Right now, I am at a loss; I simply don’t have the right words to express what it’s been like to exchange goodbyes to our loved ones in the township. Suffice to say it has been very hard and deeply meaningful. Perhaps I’ll have more articulate words once I have had more of a chance to reflect, but for now, as the African sun has turned today’s rainy morning bright, I appreciate the sentiments of a dear friend of ours from home: “Travel safely and well—letting the tears fall like rain on the parched soil. Beauty will blossom because of this.”

Thank you for your prayers as we travel to Swiss L’Abri, where we look forward to taking some time to process this incredible year in Africa, and then on to Aix-en-Provence and Paris, France. Arrival in the U.S.: July 9.

And please note: our physically leaving South Africa by no means marks an end to Mamelodi Stories. There are many posts we have “in the queue” to share—stories, photos, reflections—and as Lord’s work continues here, we intend to share it. So please stay tuned!

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Filed under: General and Reflections by Rebecca on June 23rd, 2009. Tags: Aix-en-Provence, departure, France, joy, leaving Mamelodi, Paris, Qatar, sadness, south africa, Swiss L'Abri, Switzerland | 5 Comments

Given recent violence that has occurred in South Africa (if you haven’t heard much about this – this article gives a quick intro), many have asked us if we’re still going, if we feel like it’s safe, etc. While we were concerned at first and not sure why the violence was happening or how widespread it was, I think we quickly came to the conclusion that we are called and safety issues or not, we are going. We are trusting God to guide our steps and help us deal with the situations in which He places us. We’ll act with prudence and caution but continue forward as He leads us. If anything, these recent events give us a feeling that what we’re doing is a serious endeavor and makes us all the more eager to get going (in 51 days).  If you love Jesus, we covet your prayers—not that we’d be spared from hardship, but that we’d maintain faith no matter what the circumstance we find ourselves in and be of use to the people there.  I’d also ask for prayer that we would be able to take in and digest all the ins and outs of the various political and social issues in South Africa, and know how to be wise without taking sides.

Based on reading a few blogs from Americans living in Pretoria, there may be opportunities to serve the refugees of Zimbabwe and other neighboring countries that were the targets of the xenophobic attacks. Many of them have fled to their home countries, but many remain in refugee camps, afraid to leave. We’ll of course follow the lead of the Powerhouse Church, and I look forward to seeing how God uses the church in this situation.

If you’ve something to share on this, an interesting article or what, please share your comments.

Filed under: General by Nathan on June 14th, 2008. Tags: Mamelodi, prayer request, south africa, violence, xenophobia | 2 Comments