Goodbyes

Goodbyes in the African culture are very important so we are taking time (a lot of time) to say goodbye. Mike Impofue (aka watermelon mike) was walking by and stopped to say hello. I had wanted to see him before we left so I could give him a gift. I went and dug up a Moringa tree that I had started from seed, put it in a pail and gave it to him and told him we were leaving. He was upset and what really surprised me was he teared up. He wants to know why we can not just move down the road so we can stay in the area. A lot of his motives are selfish. He is worried who is going to help fix his equipment when it breaks down, who is going to bring mealie meal out here to help feed people, if someone else comes are the going to be nice to him. Mike is in his mid-seventies, he is the first born from his father’s first wife (his father had 4 wives). Mike is the head of the family. He has 2 wives, attends the local Seventh Day Adventest church and he loves the lord. I know there are those who will have a problem with some of what I just wrote. Mike is a brother and I love him dearly and I am going to miss him, but I as I told him we will be together again some day so let us rejoice in that. I told him to plant the tree some where that when he is sitting at his home he can see it and he will remember me and my family.
We have been having many discussions with the kids, as you can imagine. What is probably going to be hard for many people in the states to understand is our children do not want to leave. They want to grow up in the bush of Africa. They absolutely love it here and so do we. That is what is so sad about all of this, but it has given us incredible opportunities to talk to them about when God does not make sense and that we do what our FATHER wants no matter what. We were called here for a purpose and now we have to get out of God’s way for what HE wants to do. Staying would hinder what HE needs to do. It is not that we could not do a lot of good, we could, but it is about obedience to the Father-not what good can “we” accomplish. It is just really hard for the oldest 2 to understand. They want to know why we can not stay or at least just move down the road and build another house so we can stay in the area, it is the same questions a lot of the locals are asking. There are some that I found out were planning on hiring me to help them with there field work prep and planting and now they are very disappointed. I would have really enjoyed that, going out and helping the locals with there farms and showing them hands-on some different ways of doing things but I probably would have enjoyed more having the opportunities to sit with them and have lunch at their homes and just spend time with them. We are now in a strange predicament of having to soothe the hurt feelings, ill will, and even anger towards the school. I just tell them that we must trust God and that He is in control even when we do not understand what is going on.