July 2012… a launch, three houses and a buffalo

We launched ‘Heading Home’ in Sydney! It was a wonderful night – the rain came down, the band played and we raised $3,957.00 (through donations and book sales) – for INF – which was exactly the right amount for three houses and a buffalo. I have ALWAYS wanted to buy someone a buffalo… because the milk from a buffalo can provide a whole family (in Nepal) with food and schooling (see www.inf.org). But as well as that, I enjoyed seeing everyone and speaking about home – that place with the leaky tap and the smell of last night’s dinner, where we can feel comfortable and take off our shoes and belong and have a purpose… and that place that can exist in any country because wherever we are, we belong to Christ and look forward to the day when we’ll be with him forever.

Unbelievably sadly, three days after the launch, one of our dearest friends (who had shared all of our homes and stories) died of a brain tumour… and went home. I am still feeling numb and sad as I write this. And I’m hurting for his wife and daughters. It’s so hard to hold in tension the hope of where he is now with the pain of living here without him. But I cling on, somehow, to the knowledge that God sees more than I do, (and knows more than I do) and cares more than I do… and more than anything, wants to fill up his empty rooms, in the house He is so lovingly preparing for us.