Where do I start!? This journey has been a lifetime in itself pressed down in a year’s time. What a privilege it has been from month to month to see, learn, embrace, and love in many different ways and bring God’s Kingdom here. A lot of the race has been inward transformation in deep parts of my life, from past, present, and yes even the future. I love how God is outside of time and is inside us at the same moment.
One of the main growths I have really stepped into is meeting people where they are, and going even further, to understand them. To put on their worldview of how they see and understand everything and to feel what they feel…the hurt, deception, betrayal, anger, confusion, and deep pain. I feel like that’s one of the heartbeats of discipleship, to enter in a person’s life entirely and walk with them through it all…just as Jesus does with us.
If you know me, then you know I love to go deep into relationships. I love to share, build, invest, and pour into one another. I’ve also learned that some people need to have fun first and see a relatable side of you before they want to invest into those deep places. I want you to meet a friend of mine called Phumlahe. Don’t worry about the pronunciation…cuz I still can’t get it, lol.
Last month in Swaziland we invested into places called “carepoints”. The care-point was a small hut where children walk for miles on end to get a single meal of rice and water from the well. Swaziland is a desolate country, with very little life. It is projected by 2050 that the country may become nonexistent because of the AIDS epidemic. Alright, back to my friend Phumlahe.
I met this boy at our care-point, he was quiet, reserved, and completely separated from us. I walked over and sat down right next to him. I asked for his name and he said nothing… then I introduced myself, the boy could care less. So, I just sat with him there in silence for a while listening to the small brisk of wind and looking out into the desert. I saw this piece of wood that was no bigger than a water bottle about 9 feet out and figured we could make a game out of it. (The thing in very poor countries is that the children have amazing imaginations and can literally make toys out of garbage. On the same side however, they have little hope and broken families…if any family at all.)
I told Phumlae that if we throw a small rock and hit the piece of wood we get a point. I love how Jesus restores our broken past and can make anything good out of it. With my past beer-pong skills I hit the piece of wood back to back. He was so impressed with my immaculate accuracy, it stirred his heart to join. With fierce precision he started to hit the wood and each time he did, we stopped and celebrated. After laughing for a long time, he turned to me and asked me my name.
I love how simple that moment was. Later that day, Phumlae came for a hug and I picked him up, then he held me…really clung to me and hid his face. I am not sure if he was crying but I felt in my heart that he never had a father’s embrace. There’s nothing in this world that compares to having our lives touched by the Father’s love.
