Dear dad,
This month in Swazi has been a rough one on my soul and feeling downcast but there’s still hope inside me so that’s cool. Man, Jesus is just so cool. I’m sitting on a huge tall rock right now overlooking the layers of mountains ahead of me. There’s a winding river to my far right and all I can say is, “Wow.” This small human being is in awe of the magnificence and beauty here.
I say Jesus is cool because he really was just an average guy here on earth. How could a man with the highest honor humble himself to that extent? My soul latches on the fact that he truly cares for me. I know this hope will never fail me. Joy, peace, and love come not with the absence of trials, but with the presence of God amidst those trials and I simply crave to be in His presence.
I want to share with you what happened two days ago—August 29. One of the girls on this squad, Brooke, wanted to take a day trip to a nature reserve here in Swaziland where a nice waterfall was located. Her birthday was Friday so she wanted this day, Saturday, to be her “rebirth” day. She decided to get baptized this month before moving forward on the Race. I immediately decided to sign up to go—what an honor it is to witness a fellow sister surrender her life to the Lord.
When we arrived at this lodge we were informed that to get to this fall we had to hike about an hour and a half just to get to it. We still went but, oh my word did we get lost. We hiked up and down massive mountains, sang songs, prayed against snakes and ticks, and looked out for any waterfall. I can’t explain to you how adventurous I felt. One cool moment was when this girl Hailey sang “Down to the River.” I had goosebumps just hearing the fitting lyrics she sang. The words, “Oh Lord show me the way” just got me. If this is what it feels like to walk all day with the Lord then, oh man, is it good. I get goosebumps reflecting about it now. I thought of you during this hike, Dad. I know you like harmonies and I know you love nature—because it exclaims God’s majesty so yeah, I thought I should tell you what I experienced. 
The best part of this whole 5 hour hike was when we finally arrived at the destination of her baptism. We actually crossed over a small creek twice while on our search for the amazing waterfall…which we never actually found. It wasn’t until we sat by this average creek for the third time to eat some snacks that we realized this is where Brooke should be baptized. A dull, ordinary creek that we had overlooked multiple times. Baptism is holy and incredible in itself, but all we need is water to be submerged in. This is who Jesus is though. He’s not in the destination, but the journey. He wasn’t a strikingly gorgeous king who came to earth, but an average human who was overlooked many times. Despite our determination, we never found the magnificent waterfall on our hike, but we experienced something far grander: the Holy Spirit’s power in a small body of water showing us what it means to remain humble while you bury your sins with Christ and are raised again…a new creation. Brooke’s tears and excited smile was the highlight of this whole month. To put the cherry on top—we hiked all the way back up the mountain where our car was and just when our legs felt like they could take no more we made it. The top. At sunset. Inhale… big exhale…. Woah. Holy crap, God is so gigantic but also so present and in this journey with us. He graciously gives us pleasures like this. Our God is an awesome God. I never want to take for granted the real life picture of a sun setting behind mountains after such a perfect day.
I miss you dad. I love you,
Jenny
