Home Alone for 3 Months - the Ugly and the Beautiful

Mapile getting on the shuttle to Joburg 

Today marks my 4th day since Mapile left. So far it's incredibly more difficult than I had imagined. 

I'm a flood of messy emotions, and my thoughts have gone down some of the wrong trails. I've been missing my family so much lately, and now that Mapile is gone the loneliness is even more intense. My mind has gone everywhere from I want to quit to I want to give up. It's not easy leaving your home land and marrying a foreigner... finding work, having a baby, so many real struggles of everyday life.  I'm just so tired of everything being different, taking forever, and now trying to manage it on my own feels like the straw that could break this camel's back.  Mostly I just want to give up and go home. But then again, where is home? 

I guess I am home, and at the same time I won't be home until I get to heaven.

I got to talk with my parents the other night, and they encouraged me so much - to seek the Lord, to make the most of this opportunity, and to NOT let my thoughts go down all the wrong trails. My dad reminded me of Phil 4:8 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." 

I feel like God has been encouraging to seek Him, and to put my hope in Him. Yesterday while Simo took her daily 30 min nap, I had a chance to read my Bible. I "just so happened" to open my 1 year Bible (which I've been reading for nearly 3 years now), and to one of my favorite passages:

Hebrews 11: 3-16, "All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

Yes, indeed I'm a foreigner here on earth, and I'm longing for my heavenly home. 

But you know, life is short, and we've got to make it count. So as much as I feel like quitting, I press on. As much as I want to go home, I am home, and I need to make the most of where God has planted me. 

I have a goal while Mapile is gone to invest in the friendships God has given me here. I'm very thankful for the community of friends that God has provided for me to walk through this season with me.  I want to be intentional about hanging out with old friends and investing in new friends. I don't want to mope around - I'd rather pull up my big girl socks and make the most of not having to cook as much food or wash as many clothes as usual. I want to be more intentional about seeking the Lord and meeting with Him, because He is all I need.

I'm also very excited for Mapile to study at ALICT (African Leadership Institute for Community Transformation). I believe this is an ideal training for the work God has placed on his heart - our hearts. While I'm sure he's having a good time, I'm also sure he'll have challenges and difficulties too. 

So here's to making the most of every day, to hoping in God, and pressing on. 

Hannah

We've been missing our walks with Daddy!

Family Pics taken in June

So thankful to have this little stinker with me to hang out with!

Simo loves carrying toys around the store! (She especially loves kid chairs)

Simo at work - they had a jumping castle for a few days and Simo love jumping.

Attending a soccer game with the Liberty church team just before Daddy left

"No, I didn't have any frosting!.."

Simo with Uncle Mathias - she loves him, and loves when he plays guitar. 

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:14

Lots to Be Thankful For

These days there is so much to be thankful for, and I want to focus on the many blessings we've had in the last 3 months since I've written an update :)

I’m so thankful for my mom and dad – they got to visit us here in Swaziland during the month of March. Dad taught an expository preaching course at the Bible College, and Mom hung out with me most of the time. It was really fun having mom come to work with me. That way she got to meet many of the people that I talk about, and she got to see how cool my job is.  We had a really full schedule while they were here, because we all kept up with our regular work schedules. It was just great being able to do life together. We have lots of treasured memories. It was also perfect timing for Mom and Dad to come at that time because March is when Simo started walking! Dad was really excited to help her walk, and by the end of their visit she was walking around a lot.

We’re thankful for our daughter, Simo, who will be 18 months on May 1^st!  She continues to be such a joy to us, and it’s so fun watching her grow up. She has lots of teeth now and eats almost anything. Now she’s walking everywhere and often trying to run too fast for her little body to keep up with. She loves helping with anything that involves water or bubbles. A few weeks ago she got a cough and cold, and seemed to also be miserable from teething. Thankfully after about a week she got back to normal.

Zodwa & Simo

We’re also continually thankful for Zodwa, the auntie that I pick up and take to work with me to watch Simo. Zodwa is a blessing and Simo loves being with her.

We’re thankful for our jobs too. Mapile has been busy this school year keeping up with his classes, running the library, doing accountability group, and all sorts of odds and ins for the college. We love living at the Bible College and hanging out with the students.

I’m also thankful for the work that continues for me out at Project Canaan. We currently have 188 children. Lately we have been getting lots of severely malnourished kids. I continue to learn a lot from our doctor who visits twice a month, and just from working with so many kids. I love the staff that I get to work with, so that’s also a big blessing.

We’re thankful for car repair shops – and the guys who helped us out at Mega Glass in Matsapha to order a new window after our back left passenger window shattered on the way home from work a few weeks ago. It proved harder than we thought to find a window to replace it.

This season hasn’t been full of change or big things in our life, but it’s been one of those steady seasons where we just keep pressing on.  I’ve had several times of homesickness and sometimes aching so much for the life I knew in Indiana, but I know it was God that led me here, and I'm thankful for the life he has given me here.

With that being said, I have a few more things I’m thankful for: Mapile – he’s a great dad, and a wonderful husband. He is kind and patient with me, and continually forgives and loves me.

Most importantly I’m thankful for the Lord – for His presence in my life, and His word that continually corrects, rebukes, and encourages me. I’m so thankful that Jesus died on the cross, so that we can experience freedom, peace, and forgiveness from sin.

I'm thankful for friends who bring goodies from America! 

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins, and heals all my diseases.”

– Psalm 103:1-3 NLT

Happy New Year from the Vilakatis!

It always feels like so much has happened since my last post... in December we got to take a trip to Kruger National Park with some dear friends of ours, Dorcas and Mathias Croft. This was Simo's second trip to Kruger, and this time she was interested in looking out the window and seeing animals. It was really refreshing to get out for a few days.

Having a picnic lunch after a refreshing swim in Kruger

For Christmas Day we went out to a place called Herefords, where we spent the day with some distant relatives. Mapile's mother and sister were there, along with many other relatives. The people we were visiting were actually the families of Mapile's grandmother's husband's other wives. You can imagine it's quite hard to keep track of who is who, but it was nice to meet more relatives and they appreciated our effort to take the time to visit. Simo loved it, because there were mangoes everywhere, and she loves mangoes. It was an incredibly hot day, so part way through the day she also got to take a bath to cool herself down. 

Goat for Christmas Dinner!

Some of our relatives at the Christmas party, in the top left corner you can see Mapile's mom and sister wearing white shirts. 

Simo wanted to keep playing in the water
when her friend got his turn..

Around Christmas time we also had the kids from Gogo's house come and stay with us for about a week. We had planned to have the three that usually stay with Gogo come for awhile, but when Mapile went to pick them up he found six kids at Gogo's house, so they all came up. They are all our relatives. It felt pretty overwhelming... but I think they had a good time, and it was a bit of a get-away for them. I always have mixed feelings - part of me loves having them, and I want them to know they are loved and safe, and the other part of me can't keep up with the cooking, cleaning, and work that comes with having them all here. 

The bigger boys playing soccer with Mapile... There was also a younger boy and older girl with us that aren't pictured

Mapile had a break from work at the college in December, and now in January he's been preparing for the students to come back. Mapile will be teaching 2 semester long courses (Research Writing and Basic Computer Skills), and he will be teaching a 3 week module course in March - Old

Testament Survey. It's exciting getting ready for students to come back, but it's also a lot of work!

Another thing Mapile has been kept busy with lately is trying to help out some different people with their school situations. Here in Swaziland families must come up with money to send their kids to school, and since January is when schools open, it's a very difficult time for many families. There are lots of people who we know that are going through difficult times. Mapile has been going up and down and out of his way to help different people out. In fact, as I write this he is trying to petition one of the schools to let a young man go back to school who failed last year. The headmaster said that he doesn't want that boy going back to school because he failed, but Mapile is persistent and committed to seeing that this boy doesn't just give up on school. Mapile's heart for people is really big and the way he believes in people is inspiring. He himself failed two different grades in school, but today he proudly has a degree, and hopes to get his masters soon... (Will give you more details when we have them,  right now we are still working things out)

Simo's a true Swazi, and she loves eating maize! (whether it's roasted or boiled)

I have continued working my regular hours at Project Canaan through the holidays (That is, going into work 3 days a week). We have 179 kids at Project Canaan now, so it's easy to stay busy out there. I was thankful for the distraction because the holidays are always a reminder of how far away I am from my family. I'm still trying to get over that homesick feeling, and lately I've particularly been struggling with feelings of loneliness. Thankfully I don't have too much time to dwell on these things between working, caring for the baby, and trying to keep a clean house (the cockroaches at our new house do not want to go away, despite the multiple times we have tried to exterminate them...oh, and I killed a big scorpion today). But overall, I take great hope in knowing Jesus, my counselor, comforter, and very best friend.

I've been enjoying working in our garden lately. Simo also likes it!

Speaking of Simo, she is almost 15 months old!! In the last few months shes gotten 4 teeth (FINALLY!), and now we've just seen 2 more little teeth springing up. Her new thing lately is free standing on her own. She hasn't taken any steps yet. She loves mangoes, and lately she's tried all kinds of new food. She eats meat, rice, beans, pb&j sandwiches, and just about anything that mom & dad are eating :). She loves to give people high-fives, and she loves playing with people when she's safe in the arms of mommy & daddy, but it's not her favorite to be picked up by someone she doesn't know well. She continues to be such a joy to us. Sometimes we just sit around and watch her... she's so busy these days, getting into everything..

"So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone - especially those in the Family of faith. "- Galatians 6:9-10