When the calendar month was flipped and June appeared on the wall, we eagerly anticipated the day which marked “Fly to Canada”. Even more, we looked forward to the empty space on the calendar following “Fly to Winnipeg”. That date was June 14th. But before we reached the day we were actually home, much needed to happen.
May ended in a flurry of activities:
homeschool retreat near Addis, back to Gesses, fixing water tanks so
that they could all be filled while we were away, finishing the
installation of a grinding mill for the Gumuz community, storing all
our personal supplies so our house could be available for an intern
to stay in, emptying the homeschool room so that rats and termites
wouldn't destroy any of our supplies, meetings, visiting, and setting
up the finances (pay envelopes, taxes, pf, pension, and kitty
supplies of cash to leave on hand).
Our last night in Gesses was actually
May 31st and Rolf and I worked until 3am finishing all the
remaining items on our list. We had several late nights leading up
to this last night and the primary reason for that is that we had so
many unplanned meetings, people at our door, and last visits to the
village that the only time we could do “our” work, was at night
after the kids were in bed.
So despite only 3 hours of sleep, my
husband was full of energy/adrenalin as we made our “getaway”.
We love Gesses but the lack of downtime was draining us of our energy
resources at a rapid speed and we needed to go “home” where
schedules and indoor climate control is normal and acceptable.
Our journey to Addis was grueling for
our kids and even as the lights of the big city appeared before us, I
wondered if we might not make it that night. By this time, I had a
pounding headache and was feeling waves of nausea hit me after one of
my children threw up again. We were utterly exhausted by the time we
pulled into the SIM guesthouse that evening (except for my husband
who cheerfully unloaded all our bags before we lay down for the
night).
It makes me think about our journey to
heaven. For some, the journey home is unexpected and nearly instant
but for many there is a lengthy time of discomfort or pain.
There are times on this journey when we
want to turn back, there are times when we just want the journey to
end, we don't care about the destination. But God places in the
hearts of his children, the desire to see his face and as the time
approaches, all the pain fades away and we desire only to seek His
face. And the final moment when Jesus takes his children whether in
one's lifetime or when he returns, we know the journey to heaven will
be joyful, instant and painfree.
And if we have the need to discuss our
woes on earth, it will be without pain because it has faded away. We
will see that the journey was necessary and possibly even beneficial
and our joy will be full.
Even now, the pain and discomfort we
felt during our intense weeks leading up to our departure, seem so
far away and no longer important. We are “home” though this too
is temporary.
“Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though inwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being
renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are
achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen
but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18
A day at the pool as we anticipated our journey back to Canada a few days later.
