Almost 5 years ago our family decided to take a fork in the road. We relocated from our small suburban flat in Sandton, Johannesburg, to a farm plot in the peri-urban suburbs of Eikenhof (20km south of Joburg CBD). This was no small deal for us as we prepared to leave the comfort and familiarity of our northern suburbs life - close friends, secure job, happy home, etc - for the prospect of a more fulfilling and faith-fueled life. As part of communicating and planning our move, we drafted a 10 year vision for friends and family. We hoped to reassure them (and ourselves) of our well considered decision as we explored a less self-centered, safe and traditional way of life.
The 1st year of our adventure saw us literally fly by the seat of our pants. Everything was new, and nothing was predictable. Well almost nothing. God became the rock in our new world. We trusted Him for provision at almost every corner, as well as for our personal safety and for finding new friends / support systems, etc. We became so grateful for the family and friends who stood by us financially for the 1st year of transition. We were also so thankful for an old school friend (become pastor) who, with his local church community, made us feel welcome and at home right from the start. Fortunately we realized early on in this journey too, the need to document (blog) our story. That is to keep a record of how things unfolded, and for us to never forget the grace of God, and the kindness of people around us.
Fast forward 4 more years, and we have almost come full circle in our Walkerville adventure. We currently reside in the most beautiful and unique of settings - a 5 bedroom house, surrounded by friends, with a farm for a backyard, and a home that doubles up as both a school and office. Dannean is now an excellent homeschool teacher (and part time Zulu teacher) all the time remaining a brave and faithful wife and wonderful home executive. Sean's work has seen him pay the bills as small business mentor, and currently as contractor to a friend's business in Sandton. From a vision perspective, and if we track where we thought we should be 5 years into the journey, we're still surprisingly on the map!
In this regard, included here below is the Season 3: Years 4 - 5 slide from our original vision document ( http://walkervilleadventure.blogspot.com/p/the-vision.html). While the proposed inputs (related to working with displaced men) have been undertaken, the associated outputs (impact) have been less fruitful than initially hoped for.
- Our family is stable and settled... 🗹
- We have started 3 businesses, but all of them have closed... [x]
- We continue to partner with numerous organizations in different shapes and forms... which have been a great blessing to us at least 🗹
- The serving of displaced men (actually youth) through accommodation (boys home), has been a central focus of Sean's (mentorship and leadership) energies, but come with mixed success [x]
- Discipleship has become a core focus for Sean through the founding of Called2Conquer (although not directed at any specific group of displaced men) 🗹
Accordingly, at face value, all key inputs have been prioritized. Although not all have born the desired fruit, we believe that to write this off as a failure would be to ignore God's empowerment and timing for the vision. In this regard, and included here below, is the Season 4: Years 6 - 10 slide from the vision. Once again all proposed inputs have been undertaken in some shape or form. Interestingly enough, the pursuit of community transformation itself (the goal) has never burned stronger within Sean's heart - and has recently started taking on increasing shape and form in both our minds.
- Farming (vegetables) has been something Sean has attempted and up-skilled himself in the past few years... This was however with very small yields, but excellent lessons. [x]
- Schooling remains a great passion for both of us - that is through homeschool (Dannean) and broad-based education in general (Sean) - including a content, context, medium and model revolution. 🗹
- Transformed church, as God's physical presence on earth (in and through His people), continues to be a much discussed and experimented topic in our household. At present we have elected to do church in our home, while focusing on the discipleship of ourselves and others. 🗹
- Transformed community, which we are coming to understand through the gospel lens of the 3 R's - Reconciliation, Redistribution & Relocation - remains our least explored and experienced element. This however is to be expected, given that it remains a Year 10 outcome. [x]
To come back to the 3 R's of transformed community, and in particular the need for Relocation, for some time now we have considered the possibility of taking an extended road trip around South Africa. You might say it is something that has always been in our heads and hearts, but now, almost 5 years into our Walkerville adventure, is within our grasp (hands). This is with reference to the banner at the top which reads:
- 1 caravan, 1 country, 1 family, 1 faith, 1 year...
- How better to explore our great nation, and obtain a better, more realistic understanding of community development and transformation, then by seeing and experiencing it for ourselves, as a family?
- Many places, many people, many lessons, many memories, many challenges...
- The 1st community that needs to be transformed, is our community... starting with our family. How better to test the waters then by embarking on a year long journey of exposure, teaching and challenges around SA and her communities?
In conclusion, and included below, are some links to our story to date and our story to come, as well as links to some partner organizations that continue to play a key part in our journey. As before, we carry mixed emotions in leaving behind those we have come to love and hold in our hearts these past 5 years. Yet as we take hold of the vision and promises God has given us, we pray that our paths will cross again...
All praise and honour and glory to Jesus!
With love,
Sean, Dannean, Tristan, Connor & Izabella-Joy Krige
DISCLAIMER: This blog post, the first of many we hope, is written under the premise that we already have (in faith) everything we need to head out on our adventure. The truth is that in reality, we have no surplus money and therefore no caravan, and at this point we are unsure if we would even have the financial means to sustain ourselves for a year. There is still quite a process for us to follow practically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally but what we share here, is what is bubbling up in our hearts for the future of the Krige family.
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Current planning milestones:- Get caravan
- Finalize budget
- Draft travel route / calendar / schedule, etc.
- Home schooling requirements
- Work requirements
- Partnerships
- Pets
- Storage
- Admin
Links:
- http://walkervilleadventure.blogspot.com/ (old blog)
- https://mzansiadventure.blogspot.com/ (new blog)
- http://www.called2conquer.org/ (Sean's discipleship ministry)
- https://www.thecharactercompany.co.za/ (organization Sean volunteers with that mentors young boys without fathers)
- https://onthatile.org/ (a family organization who we love and one that rescues abandoned babies in Johannesburg)
