one for the road…

So I have a few days left here in Jeffreys Bay, South
Africa.  The twenty of us (my team) are cleaning out the house we’ve
lived in and littered for the last eight months.  The walls are getting
bare and all of our things are disappearing into various bags and
donation piles.  Some of us are getting teary and saying sentimental
things like, “this is the last time we’ll ever eat popcorn in the
living room at 7:05pm,” some of us are in denial, some of us are
bursting at the seams to get our hands on a little Americana/Canadia
(though none of us are very excited about the two day plane ride) – but
regardless we’re all struggling through goodbyes and rubbing our eyes
at the fact that 9 months have gone by since we all met each other and
started this journey. 

At the end of the race I’m exhausted – physically, emotionally,
relationally, spiritually – pretty much on every level.  We’ve spent
the last few days in Cape Town resting, processing, debriefing, but i
didn’t get too far past just resting.  On the other hand I’m pretty
amazed at all that has happened over here and so grateful for the way
that God has walked with me and bent my heart and mind and spirit in
new ways.  But I am so ready to give all of the noise and busyness a
rest – and to just be still for a while.  I need it.

I’ll be shooting a letter out to all of you once I get home
summarizing all kinds of things and telling you where my life is headed
from here.  But I’ll give you a brief summary here:

Once I’m
home, I’ll be around for a month, visiting, resting, processing the
last nine months, playing outside, and hopefully recording some music.

On June 22, along with one of my teammates from the past year, I
will be leading a group of 4-5 high school students on a month long
trip to the Philippines with Adventures in Missions.  We will be coming
alongside a couple of newlywed missionaries on Cebu Island, probably
working a lot with kids, but my main responsibility will be discipling
the students on the trip and walking deeper with them into the
questions and motion that come with following Jesus.

Upon my return (July 30 or so) I’ll have another month to
recuperate and then I’m headed back here to Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
to work as a leader in the program I just finished.  I’ll be in
Jeffreys for the Fall, will probably be leading a team to another
location in the Spring, and it will all wrap up next May.

Its strange to write all of that out.  It isn’t exactly the way I
pictured life looking once this trip was over, but I have spent a lot
of time talking to God about all of it and these are the places he
keeps pointing at and pushing me towards.  I have no doubt that these
things are going to continue to teach me about how I really can’t do
much of anything without God and that I am going to be stretched far
beyond what I’m capable of at the moment, so please continue to pray
for me.  Pretty soon I’m going to be a African-American-Filipino,
culture-shocked out of my mind.  So pray that I can sort things out,
get some rest, and find an anchor in the Gospel and the Kingdom that
are not bound by culture… or anything for that matter.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to get home.  To see all of you,
to share meals with you in the wide world of American options, to trade
stories about what God has been up to – in my life and in yours, and in
the people around us.  My heart does some pretty serious acrobatics at
the thought of it all.  So leave a light on for me, maybe I’ll come
around.  I have a feeling my time at home is going to fly by (as all
time does), but hopefully I’ll be seeing you in one form or another.

There is so much more to say.  I’ll guess I’ll talk to you soon.

See if you can do something about those gas prices before I get home.