We've made it to the beginning!

After three planes, 4 cities, and 24 hours of travelling we finally arrived home in Jeffreys Bay. What a wonderful feeling to touch down in the place God has put in our hearts!!! 

Saying good-bye to all our family and friends in England was painful; but I find myself being thankful for the pain because it means that the love between us is real and has meant something significant to all of us. I thank God for technology – Email, Facebook, WhatsApp etc! We are so blessed to have the means for instant communication. I read a quote on Facebook the other day that said “Our small, stupid conversations mean more to me than you’ll ever know”… That is so true! I love sharing heart on a deep level because I have learnt and continue to learn the value of opening your life up to other people. But at times it is the small, seemingly stupid conversations that mean so much, they are the little details that help make up the living  of life together. They are the things that make the tapestry of relationship bright and colourful when they are shared with those you walk purposefully with.

The last few days have been busy, but full of teamwork and purpose. It is an extremely motivating thing when a group of people all passionate about and committed to the same cause come together under one roof. When you move together, talk together and dream together and create together there is an electricity and an excellence of work ethic that is generated because of single minded focus and because that human need it met; the need is met to give yourself to something bigger than the sum of your total parts.

In the last 86 hours we have shopped ‘til we dropped (literally!!!) painted, sanded, made beds, written cards, decorated, briefed, debriefed, hung pictures, driven to and from Port Elizabeth many a time… AND had lots of FUN doing it.

As Mr. Nothnagel put it last night “Congratulations team, we’ve made it to the beginning!’.

On Saturday afternoon we welcomed all the students of 2012 into their new homes and showed them the Victory Church and Victory Gap Year Campus. We have prayed for God to send us the right people, to make up the right family this year. As we have welcomed each precious person there is a sense of ‘each one is supposed to be here’. We love all of our students already and are so privileged and excited about building relationship with them and walking purposefully with them as God unfolds his plans for them – which we know are good.

I have such a sense of excited anticipation for this year. Words that are resonating with me for the year ahead are: Right order, deliberate and intentional living and FUN, inspiration and enlargement…

We have made it to the beginning of a new adventure; although we are based in the same place, this time seems to have very different flavour and boundary to it. The place of change is a challenging, but liberating one because it acts as a catalyst for the growth and newness of life in every facet of who we are.  

How do you feel about change? What are your words for the year? I would love to know…

Thanks for stopping by, K x