The past couple of days have been nothing short of incredible. I love Swaziland.
We traveled for four days to get here but it was some of the most fun I have ever had.
We left Atlanta and got on a bus for Washington D.C. From there, we boarded a flight
to Qatar and had a layover so we were able to explore a little bit before we got on our
last flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. We left from there on a bus and finally made it
to Nsoko, Swaziland on the fourteenth. Being here is exceeding my expectations.
Living in community is a newly discovered love of mine and I am excited that I get to
live in it for the next nine months and hopefully long after that. My squad mates and
teammates and I have shared so much laughter together since we have gotten here.
SO MUCH LAUGHTER! I have seen Jesus through the people around me. I can see
Him when they throw children into the air and catch them in time for their fits of
laughter. I can see Him when they do the dishes without being asked and make dinner
for fifty people all at once. I can see Him in my team times and when we are in worship
and when we are at ministry. Christ is so evident here.There has been a lot of fear
among my squad recently, though.
A lot of my squad mates have been experiencing terrible nightmares and have
felt and even seen so much darkness here. I haven’t had any of that. I haven’t been
scared. A couple of nights ago, I woke up around two in the morning and some of the
girls were awake and talking about some of the spiritual warfare going on around here,
but none of that had crossed my mind until that moment. I haven’t been sleeping much
lately. I typically wake up a little later than two in the morning, but that night I woke up
that early. I feel like Satan woke me up so that I would here that conversation and it
would shake me up a little bit. It did, but not for long. I didn’t really want to hear the
conversation because I didn’t want to get scared, so I went back to my bed and as
soon as I sat down on my sleeping pad, my sweet, sweet friend Jess woke up and
talked me out of my fear. So the conclusion I have come to is that Satan woke me up
to scare me, but God woke Jess up because he doesn’t let Satan win. Since my
conversation with Jess, I have been filled with this incredible confidence that God is in
control and that I am safe and can trust Him.
The next night we had worship as a squad. When I looked around that small,
dimly lit room, I could see angels standing around us, shoulder to shoulder; protecting
us. I couldn’t physically see them, obviously, but they were so incredibly real as if I was
seeing them with the eyes of my heart. I quickly drew a picture in my notebook about
what I was seeing as a reminder, should I need one. After singing a couple of songs,
our squad leader, Kristen, gave a message about what had been on her heart
concerning the fear throughout the squad. She read from Psalm 91. It says:
“Those who live in the shelter of the most high will find rest in the shelter
of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord. He alone is my refuge, my place
of safety. He is my God and I trust Him. For He will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with His feathers. He will
shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and your
protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in
the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in the darkness, nor disaster that
stalks mid-day. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten-thousand are
dying around you, these evils will not touch you. Just open your eyes and see
how the wicked are punished. If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the
Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your
home. For He will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.”
How cool is our God? I was so excited to tell Kristen that I could literally see these
angels that she was talking about that I ran over to tell her and she told me that that
was something the entire squad needed to hear, if I wanted to tell them. That was a
scary request for me, but I said yes and asked the Lord for the boldness to do it. I got
tell the entire squad about this great confidence I have in our God to keep us safe all of
the time, wherever we are, whatever we are going through. That night was so cool.
Also, we woke up the next morning to the realization that it had rained overnight (it’s
been a while for Swaziland). We have all been praying for rain. God is so good; so
considerate. Who else would send an army of angels for us?
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“All praises to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and
the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort
others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort that
God has given us.”
