This month, X squad is all together at El Sheddai Children’s Home in Swaziland. We are very literally on the top of a mountain (it takes 45 minutes to drive up it) in the middle of a range of mountains. The views are absolutely stunning and my soul rejoices everyday at the opportunity to sit and marvel at God’s creation.
We have been spending the mornings doing odd jobs around the orphanage like painting roofs, deep cleaning the houses, painting murals, building fences, digging trenches, organizing donation closets, helping with administrative tasks, and helping design a website. In the afternoons, we hang out with the kids when they get back from school and run the daily chapel service. Because there are so many Racers, we each have been paired with a child to work one-on-one with. It’s been beautiful to see how quickly relationships can be formed with these kids.
I am paired with a 7th grader who I will refer to as Nokukhanya (no-cone-ya), which means Light in Swati. Nokukhanya is one of the oldest girls at El Sheddai and is a natural leader here. She is incredibly smart and a diligent student. She has an amazing singing voice that brings me to tears on a regular basis, loves dancing, and is always smiling. She wants to be a dentist when she is older and loves the Lord. (More details about her in a later blog!)
A few of my squadmates and I decided that we wanted to do a bible study with the girls we were paired with. These girls are all middle school aged and have expressed a desire to learn more about God. During our first meeting, the girls were quiet and shy, not confident in voicing their thoughts or questions. We spent the time telling them our stories and how God changed our lives through His love. We ended in prayer and as we were about to get up, one of the girls said, “Wait – we forgot to sing!”
What happened next is was nothing less than incredible. As the girls began singing, the sun burst forth through the clouds that had been lingering all day and the atmosphere changed. As the seven voices harmonized perfectly together, filling the empty chapel with sweet and honest songs of praise, the Spirit descended and made His presence known in the room.
These girls were not merely singing to sing – they were worshipping their creator in one of the most intimate ways I’ve ever experienced. Moments before we were pulling at teeth to get them to talk openly about Jesus, asking questions that we hoped would prompt them to open up to us. All we got was shy giggles, light taunting in Swati (the language spoken here), and eyes glued to the floor. But when they sang, they changed. Life filled their dark eyes and their serious faces lightened.
To hear their harmonies reverberating off each other, worshipping our Father, brought me and my fellow racers to tears. Try not crying when seven orphans proclaim boldly that “There are no strangers, there are no outcasts, there are no orphans of God”. This beautiful truth was even more profound because it was taught through a group of supposed orphans, girls who supposedly have nothing, but actually have everything they need. They have a heavenly Father, who has been and will continue to provide for them, protecting, guiding, and loving them all the days of their lives. They have joy, hope, and faith.
Isn’t that all we need?
(It is my hope to get a video uploaded of the girls singing this song and get a couple more pictures up but access to strong wifi is hard to come by so stay posted!)
In order to stay out on the field, I am in need of $2,000 by December 1st! If you feel led to donate, click on the tab on the left! ANY amount is a blessing!
