I’ve really enjoyed my month here in Swaziland. Not only do I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot but it’s also been a month of crazy spiritual growth. I knew on our way to Swazi that this was going to be a big month (spiritually speaking). God spoke the word “renewal” to me for my squad; Renewal of our hearts and minds and a renewal of how we see and hear our God.
Let me tell you a little bit about each thing we’ve done this month in Swaziland.
Gardening: I really enjoyed weeding in the garden! Because there has been very little rainfall in the past 10 years families are not able to rely solely on the weather to help grow their crops and they are too poor to be able to afford any type of watering system. The Anchor center (our ministry site) was able to provide a drip irrigation system for the community garden. This was possible due to donation from a church back in the states that sponsors this site.
Home visits: I LOVE home visits. Almost all the home visits I have done have been to GoGo’s (grandmothers) Most of the population here consists of Gogo’s and children – most people in between have died from HIV/AIDS and the grandmothers are left to take care of the children. It’s actually insane how much the gogos do here but I’ll talk about that later. During our home visits we get to just chat, ask them about their lives, pray for them, and read them scripture (most of them love the Lord but don’t own a Bible). I remember one Gogo – we were barely able to introduce ourselves before her eyes lit up and she pointed to my bible, asking me to read to her. They all live in mud houses with straw or tin roofs. Some have cancer, others HIV/AIDS. One thing that’s blown my mind in these home visits is thinking that I’m going there to encourage them when actually the exact opposite happens. It’s funny that we think that just because they’re poor materially that they NEED us. But it’s so not true. The fact is WE are the poor ones. I’m talking in the spiritual sense. I seriously STILL don’t get it. They have absolutely nothing and their sick and yet they have SO MUCH JOY. They say things like “ I am so thankful – even in my sickness I am still joyful because I have Jesus – HE is good to me – Jesus takes care of me”
It’s ridiculously crazy to me but I guess that just goes to show that Jesus really is all that matters in life – He is the true sense of Joy.
Care points: The many purpose of care points are to feed children and teach them about Jesus. I went to a carepoint just the other day with Carrie and Beth Barron and had SO MUCH FUN! We played some games with the kids (don’t ask me which ones because I have no idea – I just go along with whatever they’re doing. Most times I do something wrong and they just end up laughing hysterically at me and take my hand to try and show me what I’m supposed to be doing) Then Carrie told them the story of David and Goliath while Beth and I acted it out. Beth is pretty short so I was Goliath! They kids absolutely died with laughter because acting like a sumo wrestler was the only way I could think of to look like a giant.
Harvesting: That is actually something I JUST did this morning! We harvested spinach, tomatoes, cabbage, and carrots. The land we harvested was donated by farmers. This food goes to the care points to help feed the children. The Gogos are usually the ones who do the harvesting (they also cook the food at the carepoints) Em and I went with two gogos and a 17 year old girl from the states named Michaela who is here on a 3 month internship. We road to the fields in the back of the truck. The view is seriously incredible. Mountains and green pastures surround us.
Digging: We are digging an 80-inch deep parameter that will soon be filled with concrete to provide the foundation for what will become a structure for the church we are worshiping with here in Swaziland.
Painting: We painted the church and the school house at one of the care points. Our scaffolding included an empty barrel on top of stacked bricks with wood planks layered out on top of the barrel. Don’t worry – we let the guys balance on that while we painted the lower section.
Even though we’ve been accomplishing a lot in our ministry this month I’m beginning to believe that this trip is more about what God is doing IN me rather than THROUGH me. I love how he’s used people from around the world to show me more about Him and His character. I’ve experienced parts of God that I’ve never taken time to get to know until now. Living in community has also helped me understand and grow into the person that God created me to be.
There are still 8-months left on the race and I cannot wait to see how much more God is going to do. Please continue to have us in your prayers because as long as we’re doing God’s work there will always be attacks from the enemy.
Also, please pray for safe travels! Next weak we’ll be travelling from where we are now (Nsoko) to Manzini. There, we will meet up with two other teams (Joe’s team and Krisi’s team). We will be tenting over night and then catching a bus to Joburg. From there we fly out to our next country and you won’t hear from me for a while!
My next financial deadline is March 1st. I will need to raise another 4,500. Once again I am completely blown away by the amount of support I’ve received from you. Please know that I am so thankful for your generosity and willingness to serve the Lord. Please pray that God would provide the funds for me to stay on the race!
Psalm 112:5-6
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.
Since you won’t here from me until the New Years…
Merry Christmas!!
Christmas is the time that God gave us His best so lets give Him ours!
Love,
Em
