Remain True to the Mystery

If I was in the United States right now I would have the day off for Labor Day.  However, my day tomorrow will be anything but relaxing.  After months of preparation and hours of orientation I stand on the edge of a new adventure.  Tomorrow morning I will be heading to my placement site at Kwazamokuhle Center near Estcourt in the KwaZulu-Natal province.  I wish I knew what was in store for me but I definitely have more questions than answers right now.  I do know how I am getting there, however, which might be the most important part for now. 

My host is not able to come to Pietermaritzburg and pick me up so I will be travelling to Estcourt by kombi.  For those who don’t know, kombis are a staple of public transportation throughout much of the African continent.  They are basically taxi vans that pick you up on the side of the road and go from one place to another.  However, they don’t leave until they are full so you can sometimes be left waiting for quite a while.  Luckily for me I think I will be taking a bus that goes straight to Estcourt and I won’t have to change rides at some point.  Brian, my country coordinator, will be going to the stop with me to see me off which is a relief since I haven’t learned the proper hand signals yet to make sure I go the right way.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous for what is ahead.  Don’t get me wrong—I’m very excited but there is just so much unknown right now that I definitely have some fears.  Following a week of orientation I don’t know if I have any more answers but maybe more questions. It has been a great opportunity for us to bond as a group but it is also going to make it much harder to say goodbye to everyone as we head to our separate placement sites. We have had a mixture of both fun activities and educational activities that have helped us become acquainted with some of the things South Africa will offer.  As Pastor Brian says we are “disorienting” ourselves before this experience starts. 

This picture is at Bisley Nature Preserve near PMB.

This picture is from a hike we took on the outside of town. Some really great views!

I am ready and willing for what comes ahead and I hope that you will follow my journey and share in my struggles and triumphs, my sadness and joy.  There are sure to be a lot of exciting things happening so I will try to update when I can.  For now I leave you with a passage from the book “Through Painted Deserts” by Donald Miller.  I came across it again this week and it has helped to me to realize that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.

And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you about learning to love a woman or a man, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God. We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?

It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out.

I want to repeat one word for you:
Leave.

Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn't it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don't worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed.