As we crossed into the border of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, we passed a sign that read “Welcome to the Kingdom of Eswatini.” Reading that sign I couldn’t help but think of the Kingdom of God, which is Heaven. In that moment I was reminded of something that the Lord revealed to me when I first applied to go on The World Race. God told me that He doesn’t check resumes when we get to Heaven. When He told me this, it gave me reassurance that I could quit my full-time job to do His work. That contrary to what the College of Business preached to me, it was okay to have a gap in my resume. After crossing the border God gave me another new vision of people handing Him passports when they got to Heaven. An initial thought may be that instead of checking for stamps representing countries, that God would check for stamps representing good deeds. This is often what people believe Christianity to be. That as long as you are a good person, you can get into Heaven. That is not what God is looking for though. Instead of looking at stamps of good deeds, He will look for only one image. The image of our hearts. If we received stamps for completing good deeds and had an overflowing passport, it would be absolutely useless unless our hearts were truly aligned with God. If there is any selfish ambition behind our deeds though, it would be better off if we did not complete them. All we should be striving for is to have our hearts reflect selfless service and unconditional love, just like that of Jesus. We were already created to be God’s image so once we accept Christ into our hearts He will mold them to be even more like His. God grants us the ability and freewill to give ourselves an entrance stamp into Heaven. The only requirement is that we accept Jesus Christ as Lord.
As we settled into Eswatini we learned that we have the opportunity to be a reflection of God’s love alongside the local Adventures in Missions base. Our entire “squad” of 37 is serving in various roles such as agriculture, preschool, maintenance, and many more ministry positions. During our orientation with the organization we learned that Eswatini has the highest HIV/AIDS rate at 28%. As a result, the average life expectancy is only 49 years. We were also informed that 69% of citizens live in extreme poverty and the one workers supports an average of 13 other people. The missions base partners with another organization called Children’s Hope Chest to address these areas through educational, nutritional, and spiritual programs. This month I have the pleasure of working in the partner relations office on various administrative tasks. Our first week I was able to help manage their social media accounts with various pictures and stories that have been submitted. To see more updates, please follow their pages here:
https://www.facebook.com/AdventuresSwaziland/
https://www.instagram.com/adventures.swaziland/
Last Friday we had the opportunity to join the partner relations team in picking up new school uniforms and shoes for children in the community. In 2017 alone, they provided 336 uniforms and 965 shoes throughout the area. Each week the organization also provides 7800 meals for children, which is often the only meal they receive in a single day. It is a privilege to serve Adventures Swaziland and the local Swazis. The organization is truly changing the future of young children and they are absolutely devoted to doing so. It did not cross my mind that I might be working in an office setting again during this mission trip but I enjoy the environment and the people we work with. Everyday our office starts with group prayer and a daily devotional. A type of morning meeting far different from my experience in corporate America. It is something I always envisioned doing at my job but I was never sure if it was an acceptable environment. God prepared me for the opportunity when I was asked if I would like to lead our office with the devotional though. I was honored as I had the opportunity to pray for our team, especially since yesterday was Valentine’s Day. We praised God for His example of unconditional love and that He equips us to love others the same way. He led me through Isaiah 55:8-9 earlier that morning in my quiet time with Him and I was able to share those verses too. They say “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than you ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” This tied in perfectly to topic we were covering that day, titled “Take the High Road.” Often times we may want to stoop down to the level of someone who has hurt us, or act on our emotions, or react in a way that society says is okay. We were reminded that we should step out in example by taking the higher road, even when others do not, and even when it is a harder road. If we keep our eye aligned on Him and His road our hearts will reflect that and there will be no need to check our passport for stamps of good deeds. The rest will be history. A heart of God is far greater than any passport stamp one may receive. God is waiting to greet us at the gates of Heaven without having to send us through border control. We just have to believe.
