It was really good to be back together as a family. When I got off the Citibug mini bus on Tuesday 14th, I was met by an enthusiastic Rose, Andrew and Sam- it was so good to see them. We enjoyed catching up and sharing stories of our different days whilst we were apart.
After a day of rest at Mercy Air, we travelled back by car to Matlosane. This sounds easy when you say it quickly, but the journey took over 7½ hours and involved driving through Johannesburg in very heavy rain, and about and over an hour in a traffic jam, caused by what looked like a very serious accident.
As we got in to the car, it felt like we were setting out as a family on an adventure, a Road Trip with God. We don’t quite know what the coming days will involve. Will the food be something the boys can cope with? Will the language differences be a problem? Where will we be staying? These are all reasonable concerns, but we are able to say… “Lord, we place all these things into your hands.”
In the UK many of these things are not questions we engage with at the same level, because we are (on the whole) in control of what we do. In this visit, it feels like we are, in some small way, letting go of this order and control. We really don’t know what will happen, we have done planning and preparation, and we believe the Lord will take care of us – that we will be given our daily bread (literally and metaphorically). It feels like this process of having to let go of control, though hard, is probably healthy for all of us in the family. Maybe we will be different in our lives in the UK as a result.
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| Bishop Steve Diseko, with his wife Brenda, and children Letlotlo, Leruo and Gnata |
We were very glad to arrive safely at 7.30pm at Bishop Steve’s home as the last bit of light was fading. We were met by Bishop Steve’s wife Brenda and his children, Letlotlo (13), Leruo (9) and Gnata (8). It was interesting to be involved when two families from very different backgrounds met together… but it was lovely too. It seemed that the children were able to bridge the culture gap more easily than the adults and Andrew and Sam were soon at play with their new friends.
Bishop Steve and his wife Brenda could not have been more welcoming! We enjoyed a lovely meal and were glad of a comfortable bed (and a fan to keep us cool!) for the night.
We have today (Friday) to settle in to Matlosane as a family, whilst the rest of the family are at work and school. This evening we (the Westwoods) will be cooking the food… hopefully a Braii (BBQ) if we can ask for the right things at the butchers!
Saturday will bring a range of different roles/adventures for each of us… but that is tomorrow. And I am beginning to learn, a little bit more, to make the most of the day and the present moment. We are being given our daily bread…. Our job now, and when we return home, is to be thankful for what we have and to share it with those whose need is greater.
So glad you are en famille after the raod trip with God and now with +Steve and family and that Andrew and Sam began playing with their children. I do hope and pray this will continue and be a source of fun and belonging for them in what must be so disorienting a process. And I pray for you with that absence of control and am gratefl for your willingness to go where the currents and the wind blows the coracle.
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