Landing in a beautiful hard place
Have you ever ended up somewhere you had planned to get to, only to find yourself wondering just moments into arriving, what on earth am I doing here?
That was me as I stepped off the plane onto the dusty Refugee Camp airstrip on the 13th May 2016.
I wasn’t asking that question because I hadn’t planned for the trip.
I had been here before and prayed long and hard about returning.
For years our family had been learning about the plight of the Mountain people.
I had been making packing lists for months.
I was wondering what on earth I was doing in this place because this time I stepped off the plane with a baby strapped to my front.
The memories of first arriving in the camp are etched in my mind. There was more heat, dust and dirt than I had experienced before. Caring for a baby in that environment had a lot more challenges than I expected.
Despite our planning, the truth was, my husband and I really didn’t know what on earth we would be doing in the camp.
We had ideas of course.
We knew who we wanted to be to our refugee neighbours: a family living in community who stood with them in their suffering.
Our desire was to live out 1 Thessalonians 2:8, We loved you so much we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well
We are convicted that the measure to which we open our lives up in love to others, is the measure to which those around us will trust us and receive the message of Love that we bring.
Making home in a beautiful hard place
Our first few weeks and months in the Refugee Camp were spent building a home, establishing relationships, learning language, observing culture and simply surviving.
It was tougher for me than Joshua. I think the camp was his dirt from the beginning.
But I still hadn’t got this mothering thing down pat (and I still don’t). I felt the shock of the move like a plant being transplanted into unfamiliar and harsh soil.
And some of what I share in other posts is how God’s grace took me past that initial shock, into a place where my family could thrive.
Discovering His purposes in bringing us to a beautiful hard place
It is now, MANY months since we first stepped onto the camp dirt, I can say with joy that God brought into our hands good works prepared in advance for us to walk in.
Even though the details did not all come at once and they did not always made sense.
But as we stepped out in this faith journey God’s simple promise has been ‘I am with you’.
God brought into our lives people who became family to us.
He gave us contentment in our work and wove His purposes into even the mundane daily activites.
He challenged us to see His purposes within the messy and imperfect of each day.
We learnt that amidst the frequent interruptions there were opportunities to show His love.
We discovered that even within the daily inconveniences were opportunities to show His love.
Amidst daily messy moments He was teaching us to trust.
Finding joy in a beautiful hard place
We can now honestly say that life in the Refugee Camp, has been a privilege and a gift.
Not that it was easy. In fact, life in a refugee camp and the new season of motherhood has stretched me more than anything I have previously experienced.
Many daily challenges have frustrated me and made me long for home.
Fears of the unknown have attempted to derail my deep inner peace.
But God walked with me and my family through the hard parts and brought us to a place of fruitfulness and trust.
What on earth now?
We are now in Australia (Feb 2019), after the birth of our second child. I find myself asking God again the same question, what on earth am I doing here?
We are back in the area where I grew up, with familiar surroundings and relationships, but changed deeply within.
Due to situations out of our control we have been delayed in returning to the Refugee Camp as a family and so we are waiting.
Waiting for the ‘what next’ from the Lord and processing ‘what has been’ and giving thanks.
My friends, I am daily still asking questions and I don’t have all the answers.
But I am trying to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and not freak out when I find myself in places unfamiliar or in seasons unexpected.
I hope to encourage you to also fix your eyes on Jesus and set your heart on pilgrimage with Him.
As the psalmist of Psalm 84,
Blessed are those whose strength is in You,
Whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka (‘weeping’),
They make it a place of springs;
The autumn rains also cover it with pools.They go from strength to strength…
Grace and peace
Hope
This post was first drafted from my shipping container home in July 2017 and completed in Australia, February 2019.
Hallelujah in the Mountains 