What’s up friends! After 70+ hours of travel and some classic world race mishaps, we finally arrived to Swaziland! (Swaziland is in Southern Africa bordering South Africa and Mozambique and has recently changed its name to The Kingdom of eSwatini) We’ve been here for a solid 6 days and already dove into ministry. I’ll go into what ministry looks like in a different blog so keep a lookout for that, but for now here some thoughts on what the first week of team leading has been like!
Stepping into this leadership role that a lot of spiritual leadership has been an adjustment, but in the best way possible. To be honest it’s felt completely natural. My team is great and I see how ordained it is that the Lord gave me them to lead. I see so much of myself and my story in each and every one of them and it’s been a pleasure to walk alongside of them as they jump into the first month of the race. While it’s strange to not constantly see my old teammates and squad mates around it’s exciting having 46 new faces that I get to know and love. This is a season the Lord has been preparing me for and it’s been powerful to see the fruit of this past year spill over into team leading.
After coming home from the race I knew I had just had a life changing experience but it was odd when everything felt the same. It’s been very eye opening being back on the race and seeing that my experience is so valuable. What seems weird and awkward to the new racers is what’s in my comfort zone. Need to teach 50 kids (who don’t speak English) a bible lesson that includes songs and skits and verses, got it! Go on a home visit and evangelize to the locals, of course I got this! It’s so crazy what my “normal” looks like now. Swazi church, even though it’s 3 hours long and a bunch of jumping and dancing, feels more natural than church back in the states.
That’s what I’m excited to pass on. The wisdom I’ve gained from my experiences and the comfortability that I have with missions, especially in places like Swaziland. I have seen my confidence and boldness in everything I do come out more and seeing my growth is very encouraging. This is also a season of being pushed into more of what the Lord is calling me into. More responsibility, more patience, more faith. I have faith that God is going to lead this team to crazy places that we could have never expected. He has already blown me away with this team and everything about eSwatini. I know he has even more in store and I’m excited to share more testimonies from ministry!
