A couple of months ago, at our Close of Service Conference, we had a session about saying goodbye, transition, and the emotional rollercoaster that goes with that. The presenter talked about these stages- detachment, limbo, re-integration. She said that we should have reached a point in our service of beginning to detach from projects, and beginning to think forward- limbo. Don’t put off that stage or you will just be in denial. This is important. It would be pretty culturally taboo to leave without any fanfare. Still, I remember thinking, “this is way too soon.” I don’t want to be in denial. I am definitely looking forward to life back in America, seeing family again, and I was beginning to see closure on projects here. But, in another sense, it was very hard to start focusing on job applications, where we would live- all that seemed very theoretical. Instead, Owen and I asked a lot of you to pray that we would finish strong by remaining in the here and now, focusing on the people and relationships in front of us, and being thankful for life as it exists now. I think God answered that prayer. We have seen projects wrapped up and spent quality time with people that are incredibly important to us. We have been frustrated with the demands by some who don’t know us well, and have been blown away by the generosity of others who have welcomed us into their lives for two years. We are exhausted by the emotional and social energy expenditure that all of this takes, maybe a bit burned out by life and work here, but also incredibly thankful that this is where God led and these people were who he brought into our lives.
Did we accomplish what we intended to?
Our intentions were more about the how than the what,
believing that God’s will for us here was the same as in America “to be joyful
always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.” We failed. We
were not always joyful, but God’s grace covered that and filled in the gaps.
Owen had very simple intentions: “to successfully live and love in Botswana.”
We have a great community that really cannot be attributed to us. We made it
the two years. We tried hard to do more good than harm. We’re thankful.
Are we happy to be returning to America?
Yes! It is time. We have missed you all so much. Thank you
for staying in touch and encouraging us on some of the worst days and sharing
in our joy at all the hilarity. We have 2 new family members that we will get
to meet for the first time in the next month. Emily and Adalee, we’re comin’ for
ya homies!
What will we do next?
As we say in Bots, “eish, ga ke itse!” (We don’t know). We
fly into Minneapolis October 31st (after visiting the Scotland fam,
and having a little Iceland getaway). The Townsends have graciously offered to
host us, help us transition and get sorted there. Hopefully, we will buy a car
and cell phones and drive down to Kansas, where we will “etela” (go around
visiting your people) and spend the holidays. We have applied for a few jobs
(Owen more diligently than me), and have had a few interviews. Hopefully, we
will stay connected to Botswana, but settle in the states. I will be writing
remotely for a travel magazine based here. Please pray for the right
opportunities (in the same place) to develop, and please keep an eye out for
us! We are pretty open to anything and following God’s lead to wherever he
might send.
