The adventure comes to a close... for now...

I am back in Chicago for Christmas... it is freezing cold and a bit miserable- I definitely miss Lesotho! Well, I miss much more than just the weather there, and I am already in the process of planning a return trip (hopefully in March!!). I am considering trying to get a short term missions team to go with me and do a work project of some sort; otherwise I will go on my own again and finish up/follow up on some of the projects I started. So, let me know if you might be interested in joining me! I know that a few of you have already expressed interest in going, and I feel like this could be really, really good. If all goes well in March, there is also a chance that I might see if I could do a Peace Corps trip down there for 6 months or a year or something... Hey, a girl can dream. Anyhow, it is good to see all of my friends and family; I so appreciate all of your prayers, notes, and encouragement throughout my time in Lesotho. Here are some videos/photos of my trip- enjoy!

"Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God."

~Hebrews 6:7

A Greystone-ian adventure...

Here is what a perfect 48 hours in Greystones looks like:

Well I already told you about a fantastic night of surprises and a small session at the Beach House... I believe I left off with a cup of tea in the Barrington's kitchen. While having that cup of tea, Lukeo (one of my best mates from over here- he is dating a girl from America, so many of you have met him as he travels to Chicago quite frequently) rang me and we decided to get lunch and do some Christmas shopping in Greystones town. We had lunch at Caviston's and then spent a couple of hours wandering around the stones, enjoying the Christmas atmosphere and catching up on life as we know it. The rest of the afternoon was whiled away at the Barrington's, with several of my Irish favorites. (One thing that you should know about this house is that it is ALWAYS full of people- the Barrington's are by far the most hospitable people I know... and I love that I see 90% of the people that I want to see just by sitting in their kitchen for a day or two). Then Josh, Luke and I continued one of our favorite little traditions; we hit up Supervalu and concocted a random (but delicious) dinner. Add in game night with the Ellis (Jon and Lisa's) family, and then watching the 'X Factor' final with about 15 people in the Barrington living room, and we had the making of a perfect evening. We finished out the night back at Jon and Lisa's, goofing around, chatting, and playing more ridiculous games... Ah how I miss this place when I am away.

I went to church with the Ellis' this morning, and after Joshy and I went for Happy Pear hot chocolates... I am about to sit down to lunch with the Barrington fam, and this afternoon is Holly's (Caroline Barrington (now Lewis)'s daughter) first birthday party. Tonight will be spent in Dublin having Bewley's coffee and seeing all of the city lit up for Christmas. Perfection. If all goes according to plan, I will be back in America tomorrow night... Thank you all once again for your prayers, I look forward to seeing many of you when I get home!!

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him."

~Psalm 28:7

Another adventure in Eire...

So here I am, sitting in the Barrington's kitchen with a cup of tea- my second home. Ah, lads. As always, it is good to be back... and SJ and I managed to surprise everyone! Last night was loads of fun; we drove around and showed up on our friends' doorsteps. Ron Barrington probably had the best reaction- he answered the door and stood there without being able to say anything for a full 5 seconds and then gave the two of us a huge bear hug. Oh how I love this family. We also popped over the wall (the Barrington's live next door to where I lived with the Taylor students during my years here) to see Jon and Lisa at the 'Y'. As luck would have it, Rachel and Luke were over there aswell. We sat around chatting for ages, and it was wonderful to have the whole gang back together again... Well, almost the whole gang. We had to go into Joshy's work to surprise him, and he later joined us down at the Beach House (the local pub) for 'scoops' (a pint).

I should also mention, that while at the Beach House, I met yet another Irish maybe-celebrity. (It really is a small country and just about everyone is connected- Damien Rice and I have the same favorite coffee shop, NBD.) Apparently Ireland has their own version of "The Hills", called Fade Street, and I got to sit and have a pint with their very own Justin Bobby. No, seriously. He looks exactly like (well, perhaps he is more attractive) JB himself. He happens to have grown up with my friend Phil, which is how he came to be hanging out with all of us non-celebs last night. Apparently at one point he was dating one of the main girls while they were filming, so now it is my mission to track down that show online so I can watch it. On the bright side, Keith (which is his name, though I did have him answering to Justin by the end of the night- perhaps we will have a Justin Keith on Fade Street...), is not a total tool like his doppelganger. He was actually really chill, and it was cool to hear about how they make those 'reality' shows. So random.

I am so looking forward to spending today and tomorrow in one of my favorite places with some of my favorite people... I head home Monday (that is the plan, anyways), and then I will be looking into planning another trip to Lesotho! Please pray for my travels, and that I would have the space and energy to process my trip and pray about where God wants me to go now. I have a lot on my mind and in my heart, and I need to take some time to get sorted once I am home. I am still a bit gutted to have left Lesotho, so prayers that my heart would be at peace would also be much appreciated. Cheers.

"Consider the blameless, observe the upright. A future awaits those that seek peace."

~Psalm 37:37

An 'all that you can't leave behind' sort of adventure...

It is now my last hour in Lesotho, and I am finding it so hard to leave this wonderful place without knowing for sure if or when I will be back... This trip has been such a huge blessing, and I find that my heart aches at the thought of going. I just have to trust that if it is God's will for me to return, that He will open the right doors, and if it is not His will, then I will learn and grow from my all too short time here and keep this experience close to my heart until I meet my new found friends again in this life or the next...

As sad as I am to go, the blow is slightly softened because my next destination is not Chicago... I am surprising some of my favorite people in Ireland :o) I had a free flight home from Dublin, and it cost the same to fly from Chicago-Johannesburg-Dublin as it did to fly from Chicago-Johannesburg-Chicago... so SJ and I are headed to Dublin, and only a handful of people know that she is coming and no one (other than SJ's parents) know that I am arriving with her. Best surprise EVER. It has been immensely hard to keep this a secret, and I will not be able to post this until we have arrived and said our hello's... I at least have this little long weekend adventure to look forward to.

Yesterday was very tough; I had a hard time saying good-bye to all of the kids that I have gotten to know and love in such a short time. I also met with M'e Hlumpo one last time, and she cried as we said good-bye, which of course left me in bits. Not only did it darn near break my heart to say good-bye to the children, but it has been equally hard to say goodbye to the other missionaries here at the complex... They have been such a joy to live with, and they have been so open to sharing their ministries, and themselves, with me. Yet another huge blessing. I will miss them more than they know. I find that I do this often- go somewhere and fall so utterly in love with the people and places that it is nearly impossible to leave... but then I am still so invested in my life in Chicago, Ireland, and now Lesotho, that no matter where I end up I always end up missing a whole lot of people. At least I can take comfort that we will all be together when this world passes away. Until then, I will trust that God will help me to maintain the relationships that I have built here and continue to use them to grow and stretch me.

Please be praying for my travel in these next few days, and pray that I will have a peace about leaving here... Also that God will guide my steps and make it clear if and when I will return to Lesotho. God Bless, and thank you for your continued prayers.

"Why are you so downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will praise Him,

My Savior and my God."

~Psalm 42:5

Nothing like a good braai to round out a weekend of adventures...

Saturday night marked yet another water fight. You would think that we are all a bit old to spend our evenings throwing one another in the pool and dumping buckets of water over each others' heads, but alas, it happens every other day. On Saturday night, Justin declared war by throwing Sue in the pool as she was on her way out to dinner. Needless to say, I was soon to follow her into the water... Lame. This time I was unable to get Justin in (clearly, centrifugal force was not on my side). However, since he had declared war and all, I decided that all bets were off. So after he held me under the water, dumped 6 buckets of water over my head (hey buddy, I was already soaked when you threw me in the darn pool, I think I got your point. ugh.), I decided it was high time that I run and jump into Justin's bed with all of my soaking wet clothes on. Revenge got even sweeter when he tried to drag me out of his bed so I grabbed his duvet and launched myself into the pool. Justin may be stronger than I am, but I am scrappy in a fight ;o). Luckily SJ had locked herself (and therefore my duvet) in our room, so Justin had no means to retaliate. Sue:.5 Justin:1; Karin:2. Boom.

Sunday Funday: Yet another gorgeous day here in Lesotho. The girls were unable to meet for our second session, so SJ and I decided that she would just pick up the group after the holidays as things are a bit hectic here with all of the kids out of school until the end of January. The bulk of today was spent in and around the pool (I managed yet another sunburn... although now it's mostly tan, so I am beginning to blend in with the locals). It felt great to relax and spend time with our little family. We ended the night with a good braai, and even better conversation. Did I mention that I want to stay here forever? Well, at least another few months anyways.

This morning we headed to MeNeo's orphanage, where we did a cool foam craft that my mom sent over with me. The kids loved it (I must say, they are very easily pleased, bless their little hearts), and they also enjoyed using SJ and I as the requisite jungle gyms. I definitely want to stick a few of them into my suitcase to bring home... When we were finished there, I headed to the Link and spoke to their staff on trauma and counseling. It was my hardest assignment so far, because only one staff was a native English speaker, so the language barrier was a bit tough (they all spoke English, but it was difficult to understand them sometimes, and I know that they had trouble with my rate of speech aswell)... But overall, I think it went well. I will be sending them some resources from the YWCA as they are starting a Rape Prevention Program, and I also found out there is a 'Y' here in Lesotho, so I will be getting in touch with them also. After I spoke to the staff, Danger showed me around the grounds; it was cool to see all that they do here. I think it may be my new mission to get a short term team together to come over here; we could stay at the Link and do a work project there, and then run a Vacation Bible School for the MIS kids. Sounds like a plan to me! Anyhow, please keep praying for all of the kids here, and for the missionaries that I am living with. God is at work in this place, and I am loving and cherishing every second of my time here!

"The LORD your God is with you; He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing."

~Zephaniah 3:17

A farming adventure, a gunshot adventure, and a safari adventure...

Oh the exciting times of life in Lesotho! Sorry for the delay in updates, the internet has been out here the past few days, being even dodgier than usual. So Wednesday morning I headed out the farm with Justin at 5am, and I actually quite enjoyed myself. We spent the first part of the morning laying out pipe for the irrigation system; which, I might add, we spent a good hour fixing... and Justin nearly pushed me into the river, though he denies that fact to this day. And there I was just trying to help him. Oh well. Anyhow, once we started the watering process, I helped to weed some of the vegetables, and I learned that I am pretty rubbish with a hoe. Justin was an excellent teacher (I believe he has the patience of Job) and he took me around the farm, telling me all sorts of important information about the crops and introducing me to the Lesotho people that he spends his days teaching how to farm. It was a great way to change up my own daily routine, as well as giving me an opportunity to experience his ministry here in Lesotho firsthand.

On Wednesday night I experienced my first gunshot outside of our complex. I do not know why, but I have felt very safe here, although I have been learning that it can be quite a dangerous area (but don't worry mom, I am being very, very careful ;o)). I suppose that a lot of my sense of safety comes from the fact that we live on a gated complex with two guard dogs and 5 or 6 local men who work as security and live in two houses down by the entrance... But even so, I feel at peace here, and I do feel like God is watching out for us. Plus, there are the six brothers who live in the house closest to the gate, and I don't know that anyone in their right mind would mess with them. One of them is particularly formidable. So all that is to say that I feel very, blessed to have been kept very safe these past couple of weeks.

Naturally, after hearing a scuffle and a gunshot, we decided that it was time to decorate our common room for Christmas in Lesotho. We blared Christmas music, put up a tree, and hung tinsel from every available surface. I must say that I have never decorated a Christmas tree in shorts and flip flops before, with windows and doors wide open. A Christmas without cold or snow- what a novel concept! We had loads of fun with the decorating, and I am actually quite sad to not be able to celebrate with this new little multi-cultural family that I have found here.

Thursday was another day of kiddos and meetings for me. I met with M'e Hlompo, the woman in charge of the MIS orphanage over lunch, and we had a very good chat. I will meet with her at least once more before I go. I also met with the staff and volunteers, which went well. I really hope that I was able to help them in some way during my time here, because I know that they have all impacted me in these past weeks.

Yesterday I went on safari, no big deal... Ha. Just kidding- it was fabulous! They just let you drive through the safari park here (which meant that SJ and I may or may not have gotten out of the car on several occasions to try and get a closer look at the animals...) We saw white rhino, wildebeests, gazelles, pheasants, the biggest ostriches EVER, and a little family of giraffes. Yes, that's right- a momma giraffe and her baby walked right in front of our car and they even let us get out and get some great photos of them. We then found papa giraffe a little ways down the road. Unreal. (For those of you who don't know, giraffes are quite possibly my favorite zoo animal. Yesterday pretty much made my year.)

Today was another gorgeous day here in Lesotho. SJ headed to the preschool graduation, but I opted to stay behind and get some work done by the pool. Rough life, I know. But I did actually get some work done- this morning I completed a 10 page 'Quick Reference Handbook for Counseling and Art Therapy' as well as a six session curriculum for the teen girls group that SJ will be running when I am gone. Great success. So now I am off to make dinner and hang out with the others that live in our complex. Please keep praying for continued wisdom and peace as I prepare to speak to the staff at 'the Link' Monday afternoon (I cannot for the life of me understand why God keeps putting me in situations where I have to speak in front of people- I really don't like it, it stresses me out) and as I meet with M'e Hlompo again this week. God Jul. (You Swedes out there know what that means ;o))

"Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me."

~Psalm 23:4