Finding home here

Hello Friends!

I hope you guys had a great holiday weekend surrounded by your friends and family!
4th of July is one of my favorites.. which is why this weekend was a bit more difficult than usual.
Being in Africa is unreal, and I can't tell you how blessed I feel to be here. I also can't tell you how clearly I heard the call to come back to Africa.. BUT.. If I told you that answering and resting in that call was EASY, I'd be lying. This weekend was HARD.

I miss my family and friends so much. It was hard to be away this weekend because I could all but smell the fun everyone was having. I wanted American barbeque, fireworks, and to hear the laughter of my sweet little cousins.

However, on my African 4th of July, serious homesickness began to creep in. I was craving a night out with my friends, a laugh with my mom, or even just a hug from my mom. None of which was tangible. I was having a ROUGH time to say the least.
In these homesick moments, I have had to lean hard into the Lord, knowing that He is the very essence of "family" to me. He is my Father, my provider, my sustainer, and my comfort and rest.

As I mentioned in my previous email, there are 2 Zimbabwean Refugees staying with us. Over the past couple of days, I 've learned more of their story. They are a brother and sister pair who were found in the marketplace and were chased out of their country because they were siding with the Opposition Political Party. They left behind a mother, and 7 other siblings under the age of 20. They faced a brutal execution, but got out just in time. They came by bus to Johannesburg and spent 2 weeks in the bus station. Almost a year ago, our friend Whopi (who also currently lives with us and who we do our hospital visits with) was preaching in Zimbabwe and left the congregation her phone number (which she always does after speaking). Well, Eti (the girl refugee) was in that congregation (a coincidence, NO WAY!) and took down the number and kept it safe. After being in the bus station for 2 weeks here in Joburg, she remembered she had the number Whopi gave out a year ago. She used her last Rand and called Whopi, who just happened to be an hour away. Whopi went and got them, and they are now staying with us.. it has been SUCH a blessing. Last night, I was eating with Eti and her brother, and she told me how she missed home and her family, and how she doesn't even know if they are safe (they also followed the opposition party). SHe told me that she worries because her father died 2 years ago and her ill mother has to care for all the remaining children. My stomach dropped. I felt like the biggest jerk ever. THis girl knows more pain due to distance than I have ever felt, and God-willing, more than I will EVER feel. SHE IS HOMESICK. She doesn't even know where her family is, and told me she will probably never know. She has no phone, no internet to stay connected...Yet, everyday, she makes me coffee before I wake, and she smiles when they ask her to clean the barn. She is, to me, the very defintion of STRENGTH and poise.

Like I said, this experience has me face-to-face with HUMILITY.

Lord, thank you for opening my eyes to something other than myself. Father, You are my Home and may I always be comfortable with just you. Bless Eti' and my family, may they know you as their peace and safety until we see them again.


Thank you all for your prayers, I FEEL THEM.
Keep it up, and let me know how I can do the same for you.

Also, if you haven't heard of the opportunity to give, check out the post below titled "It's Lee Again..".. it is at the very bottom. WE NEED YOUR HELP! Email or leave comments here if you are interested!


LOVE YOU GUYS!
LEE

PS: this sounds lousy coming after the subject of this post.. but.. I DO have a phone here in South Africa and I would love to hear from you! I receive FREE incoming calls. The time diff. is 8 hours..as in...when it's 8:00 am in the States, it is 3:00pm here. Skype is really cheap (23 cents a minute and you pay up front, no charges on your phone bill.. go to skype.com for more info) and unless I'm in the midst of ministry, I'll answer :) MY number (with Country code) is 27-078-325-6335.