Marcel and Kelly Boers: August 2016

Wow. Where has the month gone? One month and a few days ago, I was dreaming of Canada, counting down the days until I hopped on a plane for my much anticipated “wedding trip”. And then, in a flash, it was done, and we’re home again … wondering, what on earth just happened?

There is so much to process, I think I may be processing it all for weeks yet. But let me share a few of my reflections about Canada and Angola.

So … arriving in Canada. First thoughts … “Wow. This is the most beautiful country in the world. No wonder people think we are crazy to leave Canada. Who would ever want to leave here?” Seriously though. Sometimes we forget how good we have it. In fact, it’s scary how much we take Canada for granted. It is the proverbial land of milk and honey. Smooth highways connecting incredible cities, quaint little towns, and pristine countryside. Grass so green it needs a whole other category of green to describe it (yes, even though it’s dry right now in Ontario … our Angolan grass is currently, well, dead). Trees! Public parks! Organized traffic systems! Stores that are in stock! Entire aisles devoted to barbequing and my personal favourite, barbeque sauce! Free samples! Starbucks! Playgrounds! Swimming pools! Every kind of food imaginable!

If the things I mentioned don’t amaze you, don’t feel bad. It’s just that here in Angola, well, they are hard to come by … and getting harder to come by. For example, one of the things I miss the most from Canada is public parks and playgrounds. Oh, and don’t get me started on splashpads—they’re God’s gift to parents. We have three parks here in Lubango … but they’re nothing like the ones in Canada. They can’t even be measured on the same scale. And you have to pay to get in. I truly miss the parks of London—seriously, did you ever notice there’s like a million little parks all around London? It’s great!

And on the same thought, can we just talk about grass and trees? When I arrived at my parents’ house, I jumped out of the car and just laid out in the grass. It was SO soft. You see, it’s dry season here, and it hasn’t rained in months. Furthermore, every plant in Angola is prickly to some extent. Some hurt more than others. Even the grass is a bit prickly. And most people don’t have a lot of grass, including our apartment. It’s mostly concrete or dirt. So Canada is like … it’s like … green heaven. Yes, GREEN HEAVEN.

And speaking of heaven, I actually think that if you took an average Angolan to Canada, they would think they were in heaven. That’s how amazing some things are in Canada compared to Angola.

But before you wonder if I even like Angola, let me share the greatest discovery I had when I was in Canada. What was this discovery? That my heart was at peace. I had the most reassuring peace in my heart and soul that right now, Angola is home. For all the amazing aspects of Canada, there was an overwhelming sense that Angola is where we are supposed to be right now. That we are learning so much in Angola.

For example, I know I would never have the appreciation of Canada that I had if we didn’t live in Angola. Furthermore, let me tell you how incredibly excited it makes me for heaven one day. Nothing on this earth, not even Canada, compares to heaven! And let me tell you, the poorest of the poor will have the greatest appreciation, the greatest joy in heaven! The trials of this life, the sacrifices of this life will be more than rewarded in heaven. Therefore, when I long for Canada, and feel the weight of living in Angola, far from family, far from luxury, heavy on my shoulders, I think about heaven, and how none of my present circumstances will compare to the joy, the peace, and the riches of heaven!

When all is said and done and processed about my trip back to Canada, one thing sticks out in my mind. The one thing that we miss most here in Angola is “our people”. Our families first and foremost, and then our friends. We have our Angolan family, and each day they become increasingly important and precious to us. I missed them, really, I truly missed them when I was in Canada. But by far the best part about being home was seeing our family and friends. It had it’s hard times—it’s not easy to see your son play shy around his grandparents, aunts, and uncles—and it had it’s stressful times—trying to be in two weddings and take care of a sick, confused, and grumpy child who doesn’t really understand that everyone just wants to love him—but at the end of the trip my heart was full. And arriving back in Angola has been full of “saudade”, that feeling of missing home.

Fortunately, home is no longer just in Canada. It’s here in Angola too, here amongst dusty pot-holed streets, here amongst close-knit missionary communities that love you like family, here amongst so much poverty mixed with so much hope. Angola and Canada are worlds apart, yet so close to my heart.