For eight months I had been waiting for this moment. I looked out the window of our plane as the pilot announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen prepare for landing into Johannesburg.” And there she was stretched out below me…Oh how I missed that rich red dirt and tall yellow grass.
I was back…I was back in Africa.
When I chose my route for the Race, I had one sole criteria for picking a route…Southern Africa. I had already been to Eastern Africa, I had already fallen in love, already found a place in the world that just felt so right. But I knew I wanted to see more, more of this beautiful continent. And so I chose W Squad, the only route at the time going to Southern Africa. And I must admit, I wasn’t too excited about a majority of the countries on my route but I didn’t care, all I cared about were those last three months, those last three countries that I would spend months up until now dreaming about.
And one country out of all eleven stood out…Swaziland.
When researching the World Race, those late nights lying in my bed or in the middle of class, blog stalking and watching every video on the Race, I came across a promotional video. It was Seth Barnes, the founder of the Race, and he was talking about Swaziland. And he mentioned that they projected by 2025 the nation of Swaziland would cease to exist due to the fact that that over half of the population is HIV positive. He talked about how the country was full of orphans as AIDS has taken many parents. And in that moment I knew that I had to go to them, I knew that I had to go on the Race.
And now I am here, in Swaziland and I know that I am where I’m suppose to be.
I can’t put into words how much I love it here. How much my heart sings, how much I feel so close to my Creator. I can’t describe the sunrises and sunsets…or the starry nights. The beauty and joy of the people. Or the mountains that seem to blend so perfectly into the sky. I can’t describe the way my soul feels at peace, the way all my troubles and worries seem to float away. The way everything else just seems so insignificant when I’m sitting on that rock soaking up His Presence.
But most of all I can’t explain how much I have fallen in love with the children of El Shaddai, the orphanage I have been blessed to work at. I can’t quite capture the trials that these brave little angels have endured. I can’t quite put down into words how much they have inspired me…how much they move me. But I hope to do my best…because I believe that these little angels will change the world one day. I believe that their stories bring the light and hope of Jesus. I believe that they are the hope of this nation. A nation that I know my Jesus has big plans for, plans that defy any statistics.
I left my heart in Africa two years ago and I am so happy that I have come to get it back!
