When the bus (finally) reached the top of the mountain in Swaziland, I immediately knew this was going to be a much quieter month than the last two I spent in South Africa. We arrived during the twilight hours, while the blue and purple light from the fleeting sun lit up the horizon just enough that we could see the mountain skyline. I couldn't truly get a grip or bearings on where I was, or the incredible view, until the next morning when I woke up and walked out of my cabin.
The pictures cannot give any justice, nor can your eyes truly vindicate, the beauty that is up here. El Shaddai is an orphanage in the remote mountains of this small but beautiful country (about the size of New Jersey). Because it is so rural, Internet is unheard of and cell phones hardly work. Also, there is a lot of down time, so the feeling of always needing to be doing something can be checked in at the border. Our contact, Christal (former World Racer), told us the first night we were here, "Just be ready and okay with slowwwwwwing dowwwwn."
At first, my initial reaction was, "Crap. This month is going to go by so slow," (and it has, by the way). But my team and I have decided to look at this a different way. This is a great opportunity to just relax, get quiet, and really listen to God and get in His word. When we aren't cleaning out and taking inventory of storage rooms and trailers, teaching pre-schoolers (Lord help me), playing with the kids, or preparing chapel and Sunday morning services, there really is a lot of down time.
Ok, I guess there is a lot of the Lord's work going on up here, but we certainly have much more free time than our 2 previous months. Free time. What's that? Yes, it can exist. And it's glorious.
"For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation."
"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him." -Psalm 62:1,5
A challenge for myself this month: LEARN WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A SILENT SOUL. I've learned a lot on this race, and one thing I can say about myself is that at times I just need to shut up. Shut up when I'm speaking around other people, shut up when I think too much, even shut up when I'm praying.
This place almost forces you to get quiet. It forces you to spend time in thought and prayer. I've shared in prior blogs that I tend to have my thinking motor on full blast most of the time. This place is therapy for that. The environment doesn't condone busying your thoughts. In fact, the mountains and wind almost command you into quieting your mind, into silencing your soul. I'm glad God brought me here, because in the midst of sharing the love of Christ and his Gospel, there is so much be heard.
