How bitter sweet it is to be in Switzerland once again. A strange sentiment to begin a blog post I know so I’ll take a few steps back and mention the finale of my time in South Africa.
The final location that we travelled to was in the North East of the country near the town of White River. A ministry to build homes and not just houses. This location is the greatest importance to me, a place full of friendship, a place that I have been before. Last year our team got to help with the construction projects in the area. This year, I got to enjoy the fruits of relationship. I had the opportunity to pick up where I left off last year and wow, I tell you what WOW!
It was a blessing to hang out with the guys from the local church. To chat, and laugh, to dance and sing. I even got to learn from them a few phrases in saswati. Definitely a place that I would love to return to. Relationships, the key to impacting people, and truly, I tell you I was impacted.
In a place where the people have next to nothing by a ‘western’ standard, here is a group of young men who give their days to volunteering as construction workers to build a house for a family of orphaned boys, or to cook for children who don’t always have enough food. And on top of that, have a heart to take what they do have and give to those who have even less in neighboring nations like Mozambique.
When one leaves a place like that and returns to a nation of wealth like Switzerland, and you’re in for a little bit of that bitter sweet flavor I mentioned earlier. It’s not a reverse culture shock for me, not this time. I knew where I was going, and what awaited me there.
No, for me it’s different. It’s coming back to a place that I know and love, and yet do not have the same desire to be here that I used to. I have changed, I have grown, and now I am at a place where I don’t fit here any longer. I simply feel unsettled, as if things don’t fit.
But that’s okay, a new direction is a new adventure.
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