BrianJBecker.com

This morning there was no electricity at the office.  I worked on a document for about an hour until my laptop’s meager battery power went dead.  Then I spent the rest of the morning catching up on filing away paperwork.  It’s got to get done sometime.  And it’s a simple pleasure not unlike doing the dishes.  At first there’s a big pile and then with some mindless diligence, the pile shrinks as the uncomplicated task is completed.

I realize that a year ago this month was one of the craziest in my life.  I’d accepted the position with HOPE International and was cleaning out my apartment, rapidly selling most of my possessions and packing up some plastic boxes with the rest.  I was writing letters of resignation and looking for someone to buy my car.  Then there were all the thoughts of leaving a city that I love and so many people that I love.  I traveled to see family and to stash those plastic boxes away.  Then there were about four meals a day out with various friends and three or four going away parties.  What a crazy time.  Two blessed angels (Leigh and Matt) packed my bags for me as I was meeting with more people and sweeping through Target like a hurricane for last minute items.

I wouldn’t wish all of that on anyone in such a short time frame.  From this angle though, it was all worth it.  Congo is often pretty crazy, but I do love my job.  I get to work (in french no less) with a great staff and our objective: helping people with small business loans that promote strength in their own initiatives, their families, and their churches.  I am so thankful for this blessing.  In the last year I have learned more and experienced more than I could make up in a lifetime.  Much of this knowledge is troubling, but some is quite inspiring.  At times I feel that I have been pushed to the edge of hope, but never beyond what I can bear.

This year’s memories are rich and vivid.  I can remember boarding the Air France flight in Philadelphia and realizing that tidy drab terminal was my last American vista for a year.  I’ll pass through there again in less than a month on my home visit.  I don’t imagine the places I’m going will have changed much in 12 months.  I feel worlds of change inside of me.