Well, I’ve made it. This is the second leg of my Race. Swaziland, Africa. On my Facebook page you can see pictures of El Shaddai Children’s Home, our squad’s location for our first month in Swaziland. We are way up high on a mountain, in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. There are no cars passing by. There are no streetlights. There are no neighbors. Just to get wifi to post this blog I had to ride in a van for an hour and a half. All this makes for an awesome place to connect with God with very few distractions. I feel like I can hear Gods voice so clearly in the silence of the morning up here.
Anyways, here at El Shaddai there are about 50 orphaned boys and girls who have found their new home here.
Our squad’s most important job here is to build relationships with these kids, share love and hope, and teach them the gospel.
Every weekday morning our squad starts off the day by loving El Shaddai through service. From 9 to 12 we work on whatever physical labor projects need to be done. So far we have pulled weeds in the garden, harvested crops, leveled a piece of land so they can build a shed, painted part of a roof, added onto a playground, and decorated for Christmas. I love seeing visible change from the work we put in every morning!
The afternoon is our time to invest in the kids. El Shaddai has given each Racer one or two “buddies,” which are kids that we specifically invest in. I have two buddies: Mthokozisi, a 12-year-old boy, and Philane, a 13-year-old boy. (Another blog specifically on them is to come soon.)
My buddies love to play soccer, play cards (especially “speed”), and watch movies. I have had fun spending time with them almost every day too!
Every day at 5 out squad leads “chapel” for the kids. We play games, sing songs, do activities, and share a Bible story! After chapel, the rest of the night we have free time to spend alone with The Lord, have fun with squad mates, meet with our teams, or do whatever else we need.
Overall, I love this place. The overwhelming feeling I get from this place is peace. I am so blessed to be able to be alone with God in real silence. When the only sound is the rustling of the wind through the fields, the Father’s voice is so much clearer.
