Swaziland in a nutshell

Days just keep
flying by here in Swaziland!
Here’s the brief rundown of what we’ve been up to…

Over the last 3
weeks Kari and I have continued working in the office and have finally finished
reorganizing the entire orphan profiling system for Kriek and Children’s Hope
Chest here in Swaziland.
It’s been tedious and time consuming, but it’s such a great feeling to know
that it’s now all organized and consistent! It’s funny how the things that I
enjoy (details and organization) are considered a nightmare by others. I can’t
even count the number of times we’ve heard, “I can’t believe you guys actually
enjoy doing that. It really needs to be done, but I would go crazy doing it!”
Good thing the Body of Christ is made of many very different parts!

We had to go
back to South Africa June 30
to renew our Swaziland
visas. Our 2.5 hour drive to Nelspruit turned into 6 hrs after taking a wrong
turn and driving at least an hour in the wrong direction. We also got pulled
over for running a stop sign, and our driver got a $70 ticket. We did get our
visas though, despite Chris Telfer almost not being allowed to take his rental
car across the border, and Jon and

Talia getting caught trying to swap
passports at customs…somehow Jon managed to pass as Talia, but Talia didn’t
make it through as Jon. Hmmmm…

4^th
of July. It was a little sad spending “America Day” across the ocean, but at
least I was in good company. The Blacks invited all the Americans (and the 1
Canadian) over. We grilled out hamburgers (with real Heinz ketchup!), blew up a
few fireworks in the driveway, played with their adorable puppy, and had a
great time together. I consider any time spent with the Black family a
blessing! It was a little different from last year watching fireworks at
Disneyworld in Orlando,
but it was still special and very memorable. It doesn’t matter how old they
are, any boy will take any chance they get to play with fire and things that go
“BOOM.”

Lets see, what
else…I’ve been learning how to cook a little! For those of you who know me, you
know that this really is quite a monumental thing. Kari and I have been cooking
our own food, so I’ve been forced to learn and am now able to contribute a
little more than boiling water for ramen noodles. I’ve now become an expert
vegetable chopper, and I can make a killer salad! I still have a ways to go, but I’m very
excited to start cooking when I go home!

 

Kari and I did
get to go out to 2 different carepoints with Kriek last week. We played with
kids while the translators wrote down the details for each child and Kriek took
their pictures. It was a little hectic, but I’m really glad we got to see a
little bit of what the carepoints are like.

Last weekend AIM
staff Julie Anderson and Marcia Borg hosted a women’s retreat for all the women
who volunteer at the carepoints. We all had to move out of the house for the
weekend to make room for the 40+ ladies who were coming. Gary and Lisa Black
were beyond generous and allowed all 10 of us to house sit for the weekend
while they were in Durban, South Africa. Kari and I spent a
few hours helping with the retreat on Saturday, then we came home and took a
nap on the trampoline with Skulky. It was a perfect weekend.

God is
continuing the never ending process of chipping away at the ugly pieces of me
that need to die, and refining me into the woman He wants me to be. It’s hard
and painful but totally worth it. I feel like I’m finally growing up. I know I
will always be a Daughter of God, but I’m learning how to be a mature woman of
God as well, and not just a little girl. He’s also begun showing me little bits
and pieces of what the future’s going to look like for me, so that’s been
exciting too. Actually it’s been more like a process of elimination about what
I’m NOT going to be doing, but it’s encouraging just the same. I’m feeling like
I’m getting some direction. Hallelujah!

This week we’re
finishing up some work in the office, then on Monday my team is leaving Swaziland and heading to Cape Town, South Africa
for 4 days. We’ll be there until July 27, when we head back to Johannesburg
for a few days of debrief, before flying to Bangkok, Thailand
on Aug. 1. We’ve been in the same place now for 7 weeks, so it’s going to be a
little harder to get back into the routine of packing and moving every few days
again. Somehow I think either my pack has shrunk or all my stuff has expanded
in the last month! I don’t see how I’m possibly going to be able to fit it all,
much less carry it (and keep it under the airplane weight restrictions) but I’m
sure it’ll all work out…it always does!