I am doing a new thing Isaiah 43:18

20/07/2019

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

New Beginnings

It's been three months already since I left all that was familiar to enter this beautiful foreign land. Although everything is new and different and often my heart aches for 'normal', I have felt deeply settled since the moment I arrived: like I'm home - and when the impossible makes sense, you know it's God.

Just getting to the point of the plane taking off was a rollercoaster of a journey and there have certainly been many twists and turns since. But it's called 'adventure' for a reason and God promised He wasn't 'sending me' but 'taking me' on this particular adventure of His. The assurance that 'All the time in everything He is always giving me everything I need to do all He ever asks me to' * is the truth I've come to realise over the past few weeks.

I'd love to give you a little glimpse of the story so far...

*'Thoughts to make your heart sing' by Sally Lloyd-Jones

New Friends

I have been welcomed with open arms (which give the best hugs) by everyone here on the village. I was so reluctant about moving into a shared house and living in close proximity with people who go to the same church, the same coffee shop, walk along the same path every day and share the same open spaces- especially after living by myself for 6 years, but I've had my eyes opened to what real community looks like and I love it (most of the time!)

I've been adopted into a big, beautiful, messy, noisy, joyful, wonderful family - people who really walk alongside you and those you can do life with. Brothers and sisters and children; lots of children.

I'm not an only child anymore.

A new place to lay my head

I had many questions and worries about where I would be living and how quickly I'd adapt to sharing a living space. But our 'daddy' God really knows everything that we need and desire and it's mind-blowing that He cares about every detail of our lives. Details like giving you the only room left in the house with a double bed because no one else wanted it and you really did! Finding a beautiful grey chest in your new bedroom that was discovered in an old shed a few days before you arrive. Receiving flowers you've never seen before (which are your new favourites) from a housemate you've never met who writes you a letter on your first day reassuring you and settling all the worries you had on the journey here.

He loves to give good gifts to His children and my new house has certainly been a place of great blessing and wonderful surprises.

A New Job

Amidst all the other fears, one of the few things I felt confident about when coming here was my ability to teach. I've been doing it for 13 years, I've got the qualification and I've had the training and experience- 'I can handle this' (cue lesson in humility).

And then, day one at school, looking up at me from an old wooden desk I see a pair of beautiful brown eyes and a smile to melt any heart...and then a question: 'When are you leaving?' Shocked. Stunned. Silenced. I very quickly realise this is different; this is difficult; this wasn't part of the training and I'm not going to be able to do this alone!

I have faced many challenges in the classroom and I've come up against opposition as the children have questioned and tested, resisted and rebelled, pushed and pulled. Due to the traumatic backgrounds many of these children have experienced there's a whole new qualification I need to gain here, new strategies I must learn and new trust I need to earn. This will take time, patience, perseverance and a whole lot of grace.

Whilst journeying through many of these battles, when I've often felt at the end of myself, God has reminded me that I have been called for such a time as this and there's not a single thing that will undo this promise. He has called me on my good days and on my bad days; when I feel like it and when I don't; if I think I'm qualified or not.

If I'm learning anything from this new 'teacher training' it's that when you're faced with the impossible it's an opportunity to see God move. When you can't see a way forward, 'lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths'. Proverbs 3: 5-6

His Grace is sufficient: I am walking in this truth every day.

New Joys

Despite the challenges there have been so many treasures along the way. When you encounter a breakthrough with a child the joy is beyond measure! It may be as small as a smile, a wave or a 'thank you', but it's gold and it's all worth it.

Being welcomed into a LIV family has been one of my greatest delights. LIV homes are built within a cluster of 8-10 houses. Each home has a house mother who looks after up to 8 children. These mums really are wonder women. They pour their lives into the children and serve wholeheartedly on the village. I have had the joy of getting to know one of these precious families over the past few weeks.

Some highlights have included spending 'family day' together; being served extremely generous portions of delicious food, crowding around my laptop for movie nights and giggling with the children as I attempt to speak Zulu.

It is a privilege and a pleasure to build relationship with this family and I see each day how God is expanding my capacity to love each of them and learn so much from them.

New Perspective

Living in South Africa has certainly opened my eyes to many new things and my heart has been broken and filled in equal measure. It's a constant learning curve as I adapt to a different culture and find a new rhythm.

Transition is never easy and as a good friend once told me, 'when a tree is uprooted, it makes a whole lot of mess before it's replanted!' Well, it's certainly been messy over the past few months but I am beginning to put roots down and see the beauty in this new season of growth.

One thing is for sure....