Hey Everyone! This officially marks the half way point on the race!!
Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated! Turns out internet on the continent of Africa is actually very difficult to come by!
So last month, we didn’t end up going to Mozambique due to all of the civil unrest going on there; AIM decided it was too dangerous. So instead, we spent 2 months in South Africa!
For month 5, we were staying in our tents on the campus of Manna Christian Fellowship Church in White River. (I got to see the Grants, a family form my home church, 3 times!! It was so nice to get to visit with them and hear about the ministry God has placed their family in in South Africa!) The ministry that we got to do that month was basically helping out around the church in any way they needed us, blessing them with extra hands. We were able to weed their garden, help make props for their Christmas play, and my personal favorite was helping cook for, and feed the kids of their Children in Distress ministry, where kids in need from the outlying communities come to get fed everyday!
Now we are living in a little village outside of Manzini, Swaziland! Half of our squad, 22 people, are all staying in one house with no running water and a single outhouse to share…yikes! It makes things extra exciting though, and actually helps us relate better to the people we are trying to minister to by living as they do. I, personally, am loving it 😉
Our ministry here has been INCREDIBLE! Everyday we get to go to Hope House, which is a place where terminally ill patients have the opportunity to stay in their own home and receive medical care. I’ve gotten the chance to build relationships with some of the precious people there, and visit with them (some do not get company very often at all), play cards with them, share bible stories, and pray healing over them! We also got to put on a Christmas Play!!
Another type of ministry we’ve been involved in is working at Care Points. Adventures in Missions has a ton of different care points all over the country of Swaziland that cares for and feeds kids. This has been my favorite part! Every afternoon, we trek along the little path through the ravene and across a small footbridge to get to the care point where tons of little kiddos come running at us to hold our hands or be carried. These precious little ones bring me SO much joy; playing games with them in their language, chatting with the older girls, and holding little babies who often fall asleep on me! I also love helping the 3 women who work there cook the traditional pap for all the kids and serving it out. This particular care point has about 300-600 kids who come get a meal everyday!! My favorite part is when they all gather around to sing joyful praises to the Lord in Swati and say the Lord’s prayer before every meal. It’s o beautiful!
And last, but not least, another awesome way that we’ve been able to serve the people of Swazi, is by doing gardening work at the different AIM care points. Our friend, Lucky, comes to get us and we all hop into the back of his pick up and he drives along the dusty dirt roads to the remote care points. Lucky has a degree in agriculture, so once we arrive, he explains exactly what we will be doing that day, which is usually tilling the land with hoes, spreading fertilizer, and planting crops such as onions and beets. This is such an important job, because the gardens at the care points help feed all of the kids who go there for food everyday! It’s also a lot of fun when the kids come and help us, they know exactly what they are doing and always speed right past us!
So that’s the scoop! God’s been using us in some pretty awesome ways here in Africa, and at the same time transforming me SO much and teaching me SO much, and drawing my heart just SO much nearer to his!
Also: My FINAL FINANCIAL DEADLINE is swiftly approaching! I am still in need of about $3,000 more dollars by January 1st! After this, I will officially fully funded!! But if I do not make the deadline, I run the risk of being sent home! So please keep me in your prayers, I know God’s still got so much in store for the second half of this race!!
Thank you all so SOOOO much!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!! Praying you all have such a wonderful, blessing-filled Christmas!!
