Here I sit halfway back on a bus in the middle of a 30 hour ride from Ezulwini Valley, Swaziland to Chimoio, Mozambique. My hair blows softly in the breeze from the open window as I watch the sun slowly setting over the grasslands, mountains, and scattered array of tiny tin shacks dotting the Mozambique countryside. In this nostalgic moment I can’t help but reflect on the past month I’ve spent in Swaziland.
I can speak with certainty when I say I am not the same person as the girl who entered Swaziland just one month ago. My life has been forever touched by the 53 other people of U Squad during all-squad ministry month. I’ve been moved by the orphans at El Shaddai children’s home. I am not the same, because I’ve been made new.
The first way the Lord renewed me: endurance. At the beginning of the month I signed up for road crew, one of the two month-long ministries at El Shaddai. Every Monday through Friday I spent 8am-12:30pm out on the road pick axing, shoveling, and hauling dirt with a wheel barrow to fix the rain-washed trenches in the roads.
I like manual labor. I have a “git ‘er done” mentality that allows me to push through and work until the job is completed. But even I got a little discouraged when I saw the amount of time it took 6-8 people with shovels to fill one trench on a mountain full of rain-worn roads.
We were on the side of a mountain for a week and a half filling a massive trench. It was over 100 feet long and about 3 feet deep, and we had filled nearly the entire thing. Needless to say, we were pretty proud of the progress we had made. My back was sore, but at least I had something to show for it.
Just as we were closing in on the end of the deep part of the trench, a hired grater came through and mowed over the road. Within 30 minutes the trench was completely filled and the road perfectly leveled. We watched wide-eyed as nearly two weeks worth of work become nearly irrelevant. It was all we could do to just stand there and say sarcastically, “Well, good work guys.”
It was in that very moment Jesus took the time to teach me a very valid lesson. The work of human hands is slow and tedious. Progress can be made, but it’s minimal. But the work of the Holy Spirit can move mountains. It can make crooked paths straight, it can fill 100 foot long trenches in minutes.
Another way God made me new: my desires. I want to be a bringer of the presence of the Spirit, no matter what part I play, even if that means going ahead of Him and doing the dirty work. Sometimes we will surge forward like a tidal wave fueled by the force of the spirit. Sometimes it will be slow-going like a river carving out a bed. Regardless, as long as the flow is living water I will let Him carry me wherever He would have me go.
This last month he had me spending time with Nokhanya, a 16-year-old girl who has been at El Shaddai since she was 9. El Shaddai is a children’s home. Many of the children are orphaned. Nokhanya’s father is still alive, but he drinks too much to care for her and her multiple siblings. El Shaddai teaches the children about God and the power of His love, and Nokhanya was one of the kids who held strongly to His promises.
We had so many conversations about her life, her likes, and her desires, but the conversations that struck me the most were the ones about her faith. At 16 she is already completely reliant on the Lord for her future. She told me her verse was Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” Little did she know that had been the promise I had relied on most to get me through the month.
God used Nokhanya in so many ways in my life. He taught me how to be a teacher, as we walked through chapters of the bible together. He taught me how to let loose, as gentle teasing was often the only way to get her to open up. He taught me how to appreciate beauty, as she loves to sing and dance. But most importantly, He taught me about love. As I heard her story unfold throughout the month my heart slowly broke for her. But instead of safeguarding all the pieces, I gave one of them away to her and let God fill the hole in my heart instead.
He has taught me so much during my month disconnected in Swaziland. More than I can even say. Please check out this recap video I made to help highlight some of the best moments. Nokhanya is the girl in the shot with me waving! Enjoy!
