It’s been a dry season where words failed moods were dreary and faith exhaled, the glory of heaven had slipped my gaze forsaking gatherings of earthen praise… But in the meantime the Divine is near reminding me daily not to hold to fear!
despondency had crowded-out my view, future scenarios unpleasant news…
in the silence of unhinged thought deep inadequacies took their course. then reimagining the words to write I prayed quietly in soft moonlight, and grace-filled angels were every were, moving closer like liquid-air…
Recently we had Canadians staying at our Airbnb and the thing that impressed me the most about them was their true humanity. They sold up everything they had to travel the world, and not to stay in 5-star villas or luxury accommodations with an impressive view. On looking at their Facebook page I found out they had visited places like Jordon, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and Benin, joining in with the locals to experience the richness of the region and the people. They are world travellers wanting to experience different cultures, to try a variety of foods and experience local lifestyles, however humble. In a world where there is so much greed and opulence and people seeking their next fix through lavish lifestyles, luxury cruises, hoarding their wealth for what I don’t know, I was pleasantly surprised to find people from a wealthy, first world country sharing both their resources with us as well as their lives. They were interested in us and wanted to join in with what we were doing. After they left, I thought about it for a while and I realised that getting “down” to the level of humanity is far more enriching than any fancy hotel on the beach front, sipping cocktails and never getting to chat to the locals in the area. (And I say “down” reservedly, for obvious reasons) We have fallen on some bad luck in the last 3 years, trying to recover from the Pandemic. Our humble little Airbnb has only just kept us afloat and there have been times when I have felt extremely exhausted by our circumstances, to the point of giving up. It is people like our Canadian friends who make it worthwhile being an Airbnb host and in fact they have engendered some hope in me again. We opened our home to strangers six years ago, some travellers have been on a budget and are looking for reasonable accommodation, some just want to experience the brilliant culture of Afrique du Sud. We try to cater for our guests needs with what we have and we have made our Studio as comfortable and as private as possible. It’s a shared experience and we delight in visitors who enjoy their stay so much that they leave 5-star reviews. We have hosted many diverse people of all ages, religions, cultures from all over the world and many from our own nation, plus we have many returning guests. I have to say that some do stand out as our favourites. Airbnb started as a home-sharing concept for those who had limited funds both as hosts and guests, and although it has turned into an affluent operation, we still hold true to the concept of sharing. If you visit us, we don’t promise a magestic view or luxury accommodation, just a secluded garden where you can braai, a comfortable queen size bed in a large Studio and a few lovely little extras. We promise to be there for you when needed and to help you have the best experience our little town has to offer, to recommend eateries and places to visit and of course to play ball with our little dog Zeb all day. So whenever I feel like giving up, I will think of our Canadian friends and remember that we too were part of their amazing “Grande Adventure”.
AllysoAlly 