It has really been an incredible visit at home for these
past 5 weeks. It really doesn’t feel
long enough. Time has flown by, but we
feel like we packed a lot into this short time.
It is very difficult to say goodbye again and leave behind friends and family
that we love. We wish we had more time
with all of you. This saying goodbye
never really gets easier. Being home was so special for us.
There is something I wanted to talk about with respect to us
leaving back to Africa. From
conversations we have had at home I get the feeling that some people feel that
it may be selfish that we are leaving friends and family behind to do what we
love. While it is true we are going to
do work that we love, I struggle to see what is selfish about it. We go on behalf of the children in Africa
with no voice. Kids that have been
through more than we can fathom and are in such desperate need. We go on behalf of the Care Workers (local African
volunteers) who look after these children and need our support. While it is true that we could do similar
work here at home, I think we can all admit that the level of need is not on
the same scale as what is happening in Africa.
This is where we feel called to be right now in our lives. We are sacrificing a lot to be in Africa. I don’t say all this as a kind of “look what
we are doing”… I say it because it breaks my heart to say goodbye to everyone
here and to leave with some people thinking that this is easy for us. We have missed a lot this year, like so many
friends and family members having babies. Being away was very tough. But the children we serve, we know them by
name and we cannot just walk away from them before we feel our time is
finished.
Your encouragement, prayers and financial support have been
such a blessing to us in our time in Africa.
We love you guys and are so grateful for everything. Thank you for your interest as well, we love
to share about what we are doing. As we now head back, we need to ask for your
continued support. We rely on you not only
for prayers and encouragement, but very much financially as well. So again, we are asking for help from you
guys. The money you send goes towards
basic living expenses and to the children that we personally help support. Any amount is very helpful to us and deeply
appreciated. You can click on secure
giving page, http://www.canadahelps.org/gp/14876 .
We feel very humbled to be surrounded by such special people
in Africa, and so blessed to be a part of this work. We believe in this work, because I have met
the children who have benefitted from it and I know their names. We also feel blessed to have such special
friends and family living in Canada, who give of themselves to help support us
as we serve. The support that you give,
goes so much farther than you think or know.
You are a blessing to us and the children in Africa.
Thank you guys, we love you.
Tyler and Alicia
