Hi Family & Friends,
It's been nearly a month since I last posted... forgive me for my silence. Life's been... well, life. Unpredictable, full of ups and downs, several good-byes... including a good-bye to my home for the past 5 years.
One thing you learn quickly when you live over-seas is the transient nature of community that exists. Case in fact, when I first arrived in Lesotho, in April 2010, the number one question I received when meeting someone, aside from them asking my name was,
"How long will you be here?"
Seems innocent enough, right? But what people were really trying to gage was whether or not they would invest in a relationship with me. Whether because of transfers, end of contracts, furloughs or some other reason; Expats (people who reside in one country but are citizens of another country) come and go rather quickly here. MAF missionaries make up many of the "long-timers" in our Expat missionary community. In the past couple of weeks two families left our program not to return; the Peters and the Clarks. The Peters, originally from Canada, have moved north to a position in Kenya. They heard help was needed and though they will be very isolated, they stepped out in faith to move after raising their 5 children in Lesotho over the last 15 years. The Clarks, were only slightly behind them having been here 10 years with their three kids and serving in Mali before that. They are heading stateside for awhile, primarily due to educational needs for their boys. There is not a High School here in Lesotho that will prepare children for university admittance in the US, so many families find themselves forced to leave. I'm not a fan of good-byes and I already miss them all.
One of the strangest realizations of the past several weeks is that I'm now one of the "old-timers" in Lesotho. How strange is that? I've only been here 5 years and I feel as if I'm just starting to figure some things out, but the reality is... with most folks staying somewhere between 2-3 years or less, I'm a seasoned veteran of the Expat community. Since I'm an extrovert, love kiddos, love animals, love new things, new foods and exploring... I'm a bit of a Cruise Director. Barb (who I'll talk about below) even referred to me lovingly as Julie McCoy... I wonder how many of you will get that reference? One of the gifts I get to bring to the community is connectivity. I like connecting people, sharing vision, praying over this beautiful, albeit relatively unknown place we all call home. I fervently pray for those of us who are here to expand Jesus' kingdom in this little corner of southern Africa. It's a gift to know God has me here, in this season and for this reason - it's my spiritual gifting and purpose!
Because the Clarks were going, it opened up an opportunity for me to move into their home. It's beautiful! Barb Clark, who is a dear friend to me and the same age, is so artsy and she never sat still so there are cool mosaics on many of the outside walls, the kitchen cabinets are covered with coffee bags of the coffee they have enjoyed from all over the world, the garden has a path with cool stones she collected that "caught her eye" over the past decade - it's gorgeous. While I love art, creating it isn't my forte, so inheriting this place is very meaningful. There are memories of them everywhere! I share their love of coffee and on the cupboards are a few coffee bags from California, since they call Atascadero home. Don't you love how God goes over the top to say, "This is especially for you, just to remind you how much I love you." God has truly given me exceedingly, abundantly more than I could have asked for or even dreamed! This home will allow me to host gatherings, to exercise my connectivity gifting, to create a place for community - I'm so very excited!
Perhaps the most stunning part of the home, aside from having space to host people and a large garden where children can run and play, is the view... What a view! The sun sets just over my garden wall and the view is into South Africa, a horizon for miles dotted with an occasional butte here and there... it's like something out of a John Ford western. I hope to begin taking pictures and posting them for you, so that you'll be able to enjoy my home too. It's probably worth mentioning that I now have several bedrooms which can host friends, so you could come and see it for yourselves... hint hint!
More soon...Love from Lesotho!
Kimberly
