Picture this. A 35 ft waterfall in the middle of Swaziland with a watering hole at the bottom. Rocky terrain all around, trees surrounding and engulfing it and African plants growing in such resiliency that it is hard to make out the sky. That is the scene we came across last Sunday as myself, two of my squadmates, and nine of the El Shaddai girls completed a day hike near the ministry site. All day I had been feeling a bit melancholy, missing home and dealing with a few issues that were taking me into my head and a bit out of touch with reality. As we came across the waterfall my reaction was nothing special. I think I said cool and sat down at the top of it, ready to turn around and head back as soon as anyone made the call. I thought the jump down looked interesting, but I was not in the mood for any dare devil stunts. But Jen (one of my squadmates) and Wendy (one of the girls) had a different plan. They immediately hiked down to the bottom through the brush and trees and jumped in.
I was slightly annoyed. We had already been at another smaller section of the river where there was a natural rock water slide and the girls had had plenty of fun. It was after 4 o'clock already and dinner was at six, not to mention it was cold!! As they swam at the bottom I shouted out to Jen, "How is it?" to which she replied, "Amazing! You have to get in! When are we gonna ever get another chance to do this?!?!" I contemplated this for a minute, and then it hit me. I was at a waterfall, in Africa, on the World Race, with nine orphan girls and two of my squadmates. I had a chance to make a memory! After a bit of deliberation, I decided to do it. I looked over the ledge and scoped it out. A bit of a fall, and additionally a jump out because of the way the clif was shaped. I asked the girls if they had ever seen anyone do it before and they said no, but I was still determined. The dare devil in me had awoken, and I had to do it. I had Jen scope out the water below, climbed down about 6 ft to the next highest ledge, and after a few failed count downs of my own the eight girls and my teammate above started shouting, "Three, two, one!"
Jump. As I came out of the water I was beaming. After that the day only got better as we hiked back, eating fruit off the trees and discussing the wonders of the day.
As I look back on this experience several things come to mind. One, I think back to my childhood and thank my parents for teaching me to be bold and daring and to take the leaps of faith in life that have ultimately landed me here. Two, I realize that this scenario sums up my whole experience in accepting this calling to do the Race. Three, it reminds me how when we step out in faith God is always faithful and sees us through. And four, I pray that those precious girls I got to spend three weeks with at El Shaddai saw a boldness in me that day that they will dare to exemplify and carry into their own lives.
God is amazing. He loves us so much and has so much for us if we can learn to be bold in taking those leaps of faith he is calling us to take.
Hebrews 11:1
What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
1 Peter 1:21
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And because God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently in God.
1 Peter 1:8
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy."
Jeremiah 29: 11-12
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.
**On a side note these verses were given to me by Wendy, the girl in the story who went down with Jen first to swim. She is 13 and wants to be a preacher when she grows up. I really connected with her and believe the Lord has big plans for her life. If you can be praying for her along with all of the kids at El Shaddai with me that would be great. As you can see she is very gifted. I felt led to write this blog and without telling her she handed me a letter as I left this morning. After a sweet message of love and thanks there was a list of verses with the words "Faith in God" along the top. I knew they were for this blog. What a gal. Nazeepo is her Si-swati name, which means "gift." Thank you Lord for your precious gift.
