Some time has passed since the last post. I'll be jumping all over the place as I try to remember things that have happened over the last month!
Seeds of Hope welcomed another brand new baby into their care! The mom, a mere 13 years old, died in childbirth, leaving the child without someone to care for her. We’re so grateful for the hard-working women in Buseko who work around the clock to raise these children!
A team came out from Canada, and it was so nice to meet fellow Fraser Valley-ers! While they were here, we went for a Games Night at Mwaiseni, the house in town for college students. It was so great to spend the evening laughing and having fun!
We also had the privileged of watching the 2020 grads celebrate! Because of Covid, they hadn’t had their ceremony yet. The church was all prepared and decorated (Ricarda did such a great job heading it up!) and it was a wonderful, intimate celebration! My favorite part was the singing & blessing of the graduates! It's so interesting to see how different cultures have their ways of doing things!
A while back, Clement, a 12th grader at Grace, was talking to Austin about school back in Canada. Austin was telling him about gym class, and Clement took it upon himself to coach Austin, one-on-one. Even though he was in his final year – his exam year! – he took Austin out on Saturday mornings to work on basketball with Austin. His gentle-spirit, thoughtfulness and kindness will definitely be missed now that he has moved out!
Jon and his workers competed the orchard!!! This was a huge job, and a big relief to be done! They planted 72 trees in total – 36 avocado trees and 36 orange trees! Between the trees they planted grass, so the goats will be able to graze!
The grass is growing in nicely!
The bananas are comin' in nicely too!
Our work here has been both rewarding and challenging. There have been times of celebration – like the graduation, or the completion of a big project. There have been times of consolation – like comforting a hurting teenager, tending to a skinned knee, or being a listening ear. There have been times of pride – when an employee thinks outside the box, or when a child shares generously, or when they grasp a Math concept. There have been times of disappointment - where we have felt let down by a person or situation. There have been times of boredom. There have been times of great fun, playing volleyball, or basketball or Sequence or Scum. There have been times of laughter, but there have been times of tears, too. There have been beautiful times where we are asked selfless questions about our family and friends, and we feel so loved and cared about. The Bible says that, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” This was true back in Canada, and no less true for us out here.
God is at work here – there is no doubt about that. He is working within these walls of Seeds of Hope, but He’s also at work within my heart. God is growing my compassion. He’s growing my patience and understanding. He’s growing my trust in Him. He’s growing my grace. One of our kids commented, “I feel like I’ll be a different person when we go back to Canada.” I think that was such a beautiful & accurate description for how our time here is shaping us all!
Do you have any questions about our work out here? Is there anything you’d like me to expand on? More information you'd like about Seeds of Hope? I’d love to round up some questions and answer them on the next blog post. Email or message me anything you’re interested to find out about!
Thanks for reading!
Love, R