We left Johannesburg almost 3 hours later than planned. Packing the van and getting cash had proved much more difficult and time consuming than we had imagined. Finally we were on the road. Our research informed us that the drive to Johannesburg would take about 4 hours. If there were no other hiccups, we would be able to get to Mary’s home before dark.

Mary is our daughter of the heart. We were her host family when she came to Tacoma in 2009 with the Mennonite Service Committee. She walked into our home and immediately took root in our hearts. We have not seen her since she left Tacoma in August of 2010, but we have talked with her every month on the phone. I cannot wait to see her and to meet her husband, Paul and our grandson Sammy. Mary has asked to be the first and last person in Lesotho to see us. So we will spend our first night in her country in her home, then we will go to Mohales Hoek to spend a week at the orphanage. We will then return to Mary’s to spend a long weekend with her and Paul and Sammy, then we will drive to South Africa to go on safari and then back to Mary’s for our last 2 days. It is a lot of driving back and forth, but because of the inflexibility of her work schedule, it is the best way to get time with her.

Our drive was slower than expected, but uneventful until we reached Ficksburg. Ficksburg is about 20 minutes from the border of Lesotho. The sun was starting to set but we still had time to get there before dark. We had been warned not to drive or be out after dark. Our agreement with Mary was that we would call her when we got to Ficksburg and then she would go to meet us at the border. Her home is only 10 minutes from the border crossing, so this plan allowed for plenty of time. As agreed, I called her as soon as we reached Ficksburg. She was already at the border and had been there for 3 hours! She had been too excited to wait at home, so she went there right from work. There she was 4 months pregnant, in the cold winter air, waiting out side for us.

While I was talking with Mary, Niko took a wrong turn. We turned around and thought we got ourselves back on track, but we had not. We found ourselves on a long dark stretch of road in the middle of nowhere. By the time we realized we were on the wrong road if was just as far to go forward as it would be to go back. To make matters worse, we were almost on empty. I could not contain my frustration. My fear bubbled up and over. Poor Niko. He is driving this van that is stuffed to the gills, on the wrong side of the road in an unknown country, he has been robbed and his pride is still stinging from allowing such a thing to happen, and now he has taken the wrong road and his wife has lost her last shred of positive attitude.

We finally made it to a gas station, just minutes from the border. With the car filled we made it to the border, through customs and into the arms of our beautiful Mary. Tears flowed, laughter rang out and we rejoiced in this moment that we had dreamed of for 5 years. We were together again.