Hiraeth

I recently learned a new word from my sister—Hiraeth—a Welsh word that describes a homesickness to which you cannot return. She describes that feeling for a place she once visited. I understand that feeling. As our life takes on yet another dramatic course change, I find myself in Hiraeth; nostalgic for the lives of the paths not taken. It is not regret for the path chosen, but a sense of finality that some paths will never be explored.

“When I was younger, I wanted to be a missionary,” a friend of mine confessed. You would have been a good one, I thought when she said this. I know her to be a thoughtful follower of Jesus. She is excited about what we are doing, and sees supporting us as a way of doing what she always wanted to do. It is a kind of hiraeth for the life she did not choose.

It reminds me of something Mark Twain once said “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” I know for Suzanne and I, Ghana helped us discover that second most important day…why we were born. Once we began to live our life toward that reason, we saw the world around us began to change to support it.

If Africa is to change, that change must come from within. Ashesi University is teaching students to see Africa’s problems as opportunities that they have the unique abilities to solve. You can help to better equip these students with education influenced by Gospel when you donate today. No gift is too large or too small.

 

Gratefully,

Steve & Suzanne Buchele

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