So this Christmas month has been amazing! I have been with my squad in Swaziland at an orphanage with 65 kids and my team also went down the mountain to the high school part that had 14 kids there over the Christmas holidays. The experience has been like nothing I ever imagined. Hanging out and doing life with 9 high school girls and 4 high school boys, spending my birthday with them and then coming up the mountain and spending Christmas with all the little kids as well at my high school kids. Such a humbling experience, and mostly just to see how orphans live and what they really go through. The 14 kids that were with us down the mountain, were the only ones left after the rest (roughly 23 in total) had left to go spend Christmas with their families. So I mean as you can imagine, these kids were already disappointed that they don’t get to spend the holidays with their families and now they had a bunch of strangers coming to live with them. Needless to say when we got there I learnt very quickly how sheltered these kids really are. They virtually never get to leave the compound [ which consists of 3 houses, one boy, one girl and Margies’, the missionary there, and a study hall and a bit of land to play soccer on]. They only get to leave for school, and to go to church practice on Saturday and go to church on Sunday. So I mean when we got there they were on break from school so they weren’t allowed to leave the compound unless they got permission. Well I mean i would go stir crazy if that was me, so I told the girls the very first day, anytime they wanted to go into “town” or go down to the river I would be happy to walk with them. Well heck I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but ever afternoon unless it rained we walked to the river. And a few days when it was real hot outside we went swimming in the river [there were beware of crocodile and Hippo signs by the river], the girls didn’t really know how to swim so most of them didn’t want to so they would take our ipods and sit out and watch the rest of us swim. But the girls who did swim loved it and had a blast, we tried to teach them how to swim but I mean if you took them out deep where they couldn’t touch they would just panic and I don’t think they trusted us to not let them drown. So I mean we had a blast with them, also two of the boys down there started cooking with my team leader David [who is a chef], so they would help cook dinner every night and then they would get to eat it too. That was really cool the boys loved it specially the night we made crepes!
This month I really pooped the bed on reading my Bible everyday though. I have been doing so well on consistently reading my Bible everyday on the race and I guess I was just distracted this month. Living with the girls and spending so much time with them I guess that got pushed to the back burner. Now being back up the mountain I realize that, that wasn’t probably the best idea. I mean we tried to do devotions every morning with the girls in mine and Julies room but it was never consistent. I mean God is the reason I am here and even though I prayed a lot more than I normally do, I should still be in Gods word everyday. But I have been realizing this month that my race looks so much different than everyone else on my squad. My race is so that when I come back home I will be deeply rooted in God and His word, that I wont go back to my old life that I will continue to stay strong and follow Him. That is what I believe God is telling me about my race, so He is telling me to quit comparing my race to other around me [other people on my squad, on my team and even my brothers race]. So your continued prayers would be deeply appreciated! Thank you so much to everyone who has continued to support me, financially and spiritually!
