Homesick Heartaches and South African Sand

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back to the blog Mr. Mick Westerman! (Applaud as you see fit.)

Ok, so its been awhile and my apologies for that, but no use crying over rancid 2 month old milk I always say. It has been a very busy, very eventful, and very good time here over the last few months since I've posted something real. 

Being in Vaalwater with Uncle Stu and Aunt Marilyn has been very nice and relaxing and I enjoy teaching the youth group on Saturday's, doing a small amount of volunteering at the Waterberg Welfare Society (WWS) an HIV/AIDS clinic started by people from the St. Johns Church that we attend, going to soup kitchen on Wednesdays, and hanging out with the older guys from Leseding throughout the week. I honestly never thought I would end up fitting in so well with such a completely different culture that the one in Leseding, but they have just accepted me like I were one of them. I've even been given a name: Thabo Gidli. Thabo means joy and Gidli means busy and nervous one. The latter name was given as more of a joke than anything but I hardly ever hear my Christian name called when I am with the youth or in the township. It has also been interesting how the longer I am here the less English they speak to me. I can't speak much Sotho still, but I've been amazed at how much I seem to be able to understand without actually understanding if you catch my drift. I will definitely miss this place and these people as much as any when the clock of my journey to South Africa strikes midnight.

Truth be told, I absolutely love this country. Not only is it so diverse in people and culture, but in wildlife and geographically as well. And for all the mess that has been going on here with governmental corruption and incompetence and the xenophobia the vast majority of South Africans make this place feel like it could be home one day. 

The entire Cook family has taken me in a treated me like I was just another member of the clan and none more so than the Wicks'. Obviously having been living up on the farm with Uncle Stu and Aunt Marilyn they have done more than I could have every asked for or expected, but their daughter Connie, her husband Billy, and their family (Jefferson, Jonathan, Morne, and Josh) have also been kind enough to take it upon themselves to make sure I see as much of SA as possible. I've been over to the farm that Jeff and Josh are building a game lodge on to see Cape Buffalo, go on giant rope swings into freezing rivers, and almost kill myself on a quad, I've been down to the coast at East London to play in the Indian Ocean (3 of 4 oceans for this guy now), see where they spent most of the boys childhoods, and almost kill myself by eating to much delicious food, and I've spent plenty of time in Joburg seeing the work that Connie and Billy are carrying on for Aletheia there and just enjoying the big city and the comfort of such an amazing family.

I also had the privilege of going to another men's retreat weekend at Cayara Men's Retreat. This one wasn't nearly as big as the Might Men's Conference, it only played host to about 250 men rather than 68,000, but it was still an amazing weekend of challenge and self-discovery. Cayara stand for "Come ye and rest awhile", how appropriate.

 I feel so blessed to have been able to make this trip and I thank each of you for you love and support in all the ways you have shown it to me. Please know that the Lord Jesus Christ is being served here and that His work is never finished, neither in our lives, nor in this world. Keep the faith brothers and sisters, and if you don't have it then find the faith my beloved friends and family. You are all in my prayers and with only a few weeks to go I look forward to seeing each of you. Oh, how I love the sand of Africa on my feet, but oh, how I long for the Wyoming wind on my face.

#7: Take the time to pray and reveal to God the deepest desires of your hearts and ask for them in accordance with His will. He knows us better than we know ourselves so we might as well not try and keep anything from Him. He is our ally, our best friend, our King, and our Creator, what a mighty God we serve!

Love.