The contrast is always kind of baffling. I have to prepare myself for it in my head, on the plane, somewhere in the airspace above the developed nation I'm about to visit, or I just get a little overwhelmed when I take steps outside customs and I can suddenly do something crazy like actually use my credit card (not an option in Kigali, in case you visit). And then, there are all these stores....I can buy a toothbrush (in case I, um, happened to leave it behind - why do I always do that?) or a bag of chips or a magazine in English, or a KitKat. It's so....bizarre.
It was no less bizarre this time (and yes, I did in fact forget my toothbrush, yet again, and was grateful that they are easy to come by in Heathrow!). From London I headed north on the train to a place called Shropshire, where I was to rendez-vous with Bear and his recently evacuated colleagues. There was a serious security incident in the country he was working in, targeting his org and people in his org, so the board ordered everyone out. The whole group, including board members, had gathered for a debrief and planning-for-the-future retreat there in the UK.
It was an honor to meet all of Bear's colleagues -- families, singles, older, younger -- who had simply been seeking to serve the less fortunate in a way that would honor God and bring blessing to others. It wasn't an easy time for them, as many were making decisions about their futures in ways they had never foreseen when they had started their journey of service. But there was a definite sense of God's presence and it seemed that we could just feel that many were praying for the group. It was a total privilege for me to be there, and I'm thankful for the opportunity. And I guess it goes without saying to say that it was completely wonderful to see Bear, and what's more, in a relatively safer place than he's been for a while! It was so sweet to be with him there.
After the retreat, Bear and I spent a little time on vacation (I had the time set aside already at work, as I had been planning to visit Bear for a while....just not in the UK!). I confess I felt a little bit guilty for taking this vacation, but it was really good to do it....it was a good time to process things through a little, and just spend time together after a fairly stressful month.
We found inexpensive flights to France and spent some time in Normandy, a region featuring Calvados, brie, William-the-Conqueror chateaus, and Mt. St. Michel. It's also a countryside shadowed in memories of D-Day. (Incidentally, there is a really lovely new museum at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. If you're in the area. The stories of heroism and honor are beautifully told.) Here's the cemetery close to sunset, and a photo of the main monument from the direction of the new museum:
The nice thing about Normandy in November is that it is relatively inexpensive for a European vacation. If you're wondering, we somehow managed to bypass Paris (tres cher, even in November)! But Bear found out I am secretly waiting for him to kiss me under the Eiffel Tower so hopefully some day, maybe post-marriage, we can arrange that....
We shot through London again on our way back to our respective countries (Bear is going back to central Asia until the end of December, actually, just not to the same country) and Sunday morning we were able to attend a service at Westminster Abbey (which was lovely, if not a bit...drafty! I got really cold!). But besides that, it was really a beautiful place and the chaplain spoke about who rules our lives, or what rules our lives, and how the world might be different if Love Incarnate truly did rule our hearts. Before leaving London, we managed to eat fish and chips and a drink a pear cider (for you, Dad) at an appropriately monikered place near the London Tower called "Hung, Drawn, and Quartered." Mmm, British humor. I mean, humour.
I am back in Africa now for my final 3 weeks, and I have hit the ground with both feet running. Actually, I need to get going as my lunch break is over!! I need to email many of you and will try to do that today and tomorrow (thanks for your emails!). Also thanks for continued prayer for Bear and others from his org, as well as a specific prayer request from Bear for the in-country nationals who were left behind in the country that his team had to leave. May the work multiply now. Thank you!
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