It is 3:45am here in Zambia and I am up in the living area of the farm house by myself. This last 2 weeks has been another incredible experience and I feel that Crystal and I and our family have been very blessed to share this as a family for a second time. Crystal and I have talked in recent days about Hands at Work and specifically Africa, and we both feel such a draw to Africa and to helping the most vulnerable widows and orphans on this continent. At the same time, while 2 years ago we came back struggling with living in North America with so much while the poverty in Africa is so great, I believe we are coming back this time with a different perspective.
A friend of ours challenged us in recent months to be able to hold different emotions and feelings at the same time. You can hold anger of a situation and love for the people involved in a situation in your 2 hands at the same time without minimizing either one. In the same way we can support, love, and encourage Hands at Work and Africa in particular while still living in North America; BOTH/AND. This may seem basic for a lot of people but it is something that Crystal and I have really had to work through.
So, will we come back to Africa? Lord willing I believe we will. It is the desire of our hearts and hopefully we can share the vision of Hands at Work with others along the way through things like this blog, through word of mouth and hopefully by bringing another team in a couple of years. But in the meantime, we will support from Canada with some of the resources that God has so richly blessed us with while looking for opportunities in our own backyard to support the less fortunate.
The next couple of days here in Zambia will be bittersweet. Today we will go to Maranatha for the last time. We will say 'see you later' to careworkers and children that we have come to know, love and appreciate over this past 2 weeks. There will be laughter, smiles, and then tears from everyone on our team. Each of us on our team of 12 have connected to the community and to individuals in the community. For me it will be saying goodbye to John, a young boy about 3 or 4 years old, Exudah, a young girl of 5 or 6, and Jack the 50 year old leader of the CBO.
John was my little buddy from about day 2. John had a permanent place on my hand for most of our time on Maranatha. I would hang with other children as well, but undoubtedly John would end up holding my hand and looking up with his great big smile time and again. Exudah was the little girl that latched onto me the first day in community. This is the little girl that had a burned finger when we arrived and was very sad, but whose whole complexion changed after I held her and prayed for her and touched her finger.
And then Jack. I haven't talked about Jack in this blog, I don't thing, but he is quite a guy. Jack was a Zambian premier league soccer player when he was younger. He and his twin brother were both very good and both were on the national team. In 1993, they were surprised to be left off of the roster for Zambia for the Africa Nations Cup (I believe it was that tournament but I may have the name wrong), but in hindsight being left off the roster allowed Jack to have the ministry and impact in Maranatha that he has today. The plane carrying the Zambian national team crashed on the way to the competition, killing all on board. Today Jack is married (30 years) and has 10 children, 4 grandchildren, and looks after a feeding point that feeds 100 vulnerable orphans at Maranatha.
In 2 days we will say goodbye to Zambia (for now) and we will say goodbye to Celine for a year. Celine is excited about the coming year and she is ready to start on her own, but dad will be choking back some tears on Saturday. It is hard for me to fathom that my little girl, only 19 years old (on Sunday) will be about 23 hours of plane travel away from us, but she is following a dream that God has placed on her heart and I can have confidence that while I am so far away, her Heavenly Father will be right beside her and leading her.
So with all that being said I hold happiness and sadness, smiles and tears, and confidence and fear, in my hands at the same time - bittersweet. And in all things God is Good, All the Time and All the Time, God is Good!
Frank
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