Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Longer Than This Road I Travel


April 8, 2011

Last day at my beloved African Enterprise!

Chapel was AMAZING. The worship hit me so hard.

Your love is deep
Your love is high
Your love is long
Your love is wide.

Your love is deeper than my view of grace
Higher than this worldly place
Longer than this road I travel
Wider than the gap you fill.”

God has been teaching me so much about love. I feel like love and grace are intertwined. When I think about grace, I just imagine diving into a huge pool and being covered by grace.

And I am currently on a long road. I never really realized how HUGE the world was before coming to South Africa. God is so big. And His love for me is so much greater, bigger, longer, wider…

Reg spoke! He talked about how goals should be called “life-arrangers.” We need to create goals about how we are going to implement the changes and lessons we’ve been learning. We need to arrange our lives in a way that IS different.       
My goal is to be like Joshua: “I, however, followed the Lord wholeheartedly.” (Joshua 14:8)
Living wholeheartedly for the Lord is a daily decision. To live wholeheartedly means to transform my worldview to be that of God’s. Something beautiful? That connects to the African ideal “Ubuntu,” which means       we are here to serve each other.  
God’s goals are impossible goals. We can’t reach them alone. And how do we know if we’re following God’s plan for our lives? Reg says you’ll be scared to death. HA! I was DEFINITELY scared to death to come here… So I’m feeling pretty positive that I’m on the right path currently. J

After chapel, musical theatre packing party with Debs! OH YEAH! We rocked out to Legally Blonde, Anastasia, and the Little Mermaid. It was definitely a party.
More and more, I’m realizing how much I miss theatre! My heart hurts for it!

Mall run after lunch. Morgan and I were excellent shopping buddies! We kind of rock.

When we got back, I played in a picture scavenger hunt across AE! It was so fun! Colton, Leslie, Annaliesa, and Wailana were on my team. On this hunt, I went into the reserve for the last time. It was so beautiful. That reserve may be one of my favorite places on earth.

We may have lost the game (RUDE!!!) But it was still awesome good times J

Then I took a quick shower before the farewell dinner. See, for some reason, everyone thought that the farewell dinner was a dress up occasion… and I missed it. How? I don’t know! But I did! So I showed up looking so silly with wet hair and my army green pants and giraffe shoes J

The farewell dinner was so lovely! The staff from everyone’s service sites was supposed to come. It was our way of saying thank you.

And unfortunately, everyone’s staff DID show up… except ours! It was so tragic! We sat there waiting for them, eyes glued to the door, hoping for their magical entrance. Alas… they never came L I just hope they were ok! I would WAY rather they forget than for something to have happened!

Tyler and I had so much fun. Best big brother in the world.
PS: I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!!! TYLER IS COMING ON THE EXTRA WEEK!!!!!! So officially, it’s going to be:
*Melinda
*Zachariah
*Tyler
*Me!

I am so excited. This is going to be excellent! We are still in the process of changing plane tickets… pray it’s as cheap as possible!!

In honor of the Ethembeni staff, I am going to include the poem that Zwe wrote in honor of the SA Ethembeni team:


A Gift

A heart that loves is a gift
A heart that cares is a gift
How can I thank that heart

You did not know me
But yet you have showed much love and care
You have opened your heart for me to stay
The memory you have created will never be replaced
How can I thank this heart,
A heart that loves is a gift
A heart that cares is a gift

You have come a long way with a treasured heart
Gold might be precious and bring wealth
But a heart that cares is a gift, a heart that loves is a gift
Never to be compared with gold

How can I repay you
Well the answer is I can't
But there is someone who sees that heart
A gifter of life, a man who connects the veins in our blood systems
With that heart you will touch many
A heart is a gift, a gift from God

You are that gift brought to us by God
You are precious
You have made a mark in God's Kingdom
All the best to your journey with God
Bless His people with that gift
You are a gift

-Zwelihlie E. Sokhel


The last night at AE… I sat by the waterfall for a bit and sang. I don’t know why, but there was something funny about sitting there atop the waterfall. It was like sitting there, I could see everything. I could see God’s plan in my fall… I could look back and remember all the times I spent in THAT spot. Studying, hanging out with friends, talking, silence, reading my Bible, praying, singing, reflecting… It looked beautiful. All of the trees, lit by the nearby chalets… Bittersweet bliss.

Goodnight moon, goodnight AE. I am grateful for all you provided for me. You have stolen a bit of my soul, and I hope that someday I can come back.

I can’t die without going in that game reserve again!!!

Goodnight world. Onto a new adventure.



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