Q:What do you love about Swazi and how has God showed up in that? Sophie R
A: I love the starry nights. For the first couple of weeks it was too hazy and the moon shone too bright to see them but they have been so vivid every night. I love to worship under them and just sit and be in awe of them. They remind me of God’s vast creation and how He made the entire universe in seven days and spent nine months on me. It is a constant reminder to praise Him, to be in awe, but also to know that I am His and that He created me. Such a cool reminder in a time like this.
Q:Going to ministry what do you look forward to?Sophie R
A:Seeing the kids. Every day when I step out of the van they come running up with giant smiles to hug us. It is such an amazing feeling to be that loved by a little human. They just want to be held and acknowledged and I am so happy to do that.
Q:What is one of your biggest fears in continuing the race for the next 8 months? Lillian
A:I am honestly afraid of complacency I guess. I don’t want to get to used to living in the bush of Africa. I want to live in the now and not allow myself to wish this special time away. I force myself getting into a routine here but I want to seek what makes me uncomfortable and consistently sprint towards God the entire time.
Q:What is something you want to get out of the world race? Lillian
A: I am really leaning into detecting God’s voice. Something I want to come home with is confidence of when I hear His voice and willingness to be obedient and let my whole life be interrupted in response to what He has spoken.
Q:What was something you didn’t expect?Julie
A: Honestly I didn’t expect the living conditions to be so nice. When I thought of living in Africa I thought bucket showers, porridge for every meal and sleeping in bug nets. Much to my surprise we have running water, healthy new meals every day, and bunk beds.
Q:What did one of the kids at your care point (the place where we go to be with the kids) teach you about life and Jesus? Madeline C
A: Her name is Lindewe. She is quiet and still but every time I am at the care point she just wants to be next to me, hug me and hold my hand. She has taught me so much about how I should approach my relationship with God. Sometimes, He just needs me to be with Him, to sit in His presence. I find that a lot of times I enter prayer or time with God frantically or expecting an immediate response. The Lord is teaching me through Lindewe that it is okay to be still.
Q:How would you describe the world race in one word for you? Jordan S
A: The word steady comes to mind. I say this because everything happens a lot slower than I expected. Part of me thought we would be witnessing crazy healing and salvations the minute we got off the plane. I am learning that the Race is more of a consistent growth in the Lord than an instant relationship. I am learning to bask in the steadiness and not feel disappointed when something doesn’t immediately pay of or display the fruit.
Q:How have your expectations merged with reality? Sarah W
A: Before I came on the race I tried not to expect too much but for the most part, I am not disappointed. Living with 50 other people really appeals to my extroverted personality and knowing that they all love Jesus in the dame way as me is so comforting. The people of Swaziland live up to all the expectations. I was told they are friendly and goofy and kind. I was not disappointed to meet them. They love to sing and dance, they even have a Swazi handshake and they are just about the kindest people ever. The country itself was a lot like I pictured, too. I heard it was green and mountainous so I pictured my home. It actually reminds me a lot of Steamboat if it had herds of goats, chickens and cows everywhere. I think I was expecting to feel more changed in my relationship with God but like I said before, I am learning that it is still life and the growth is going to be steady, not instant.
Q:What experience has been most impactful to you? Sarah J
A: Some people on my squad have witnessed healing and people coming to Christ since we’ve been here. Nothing radical like that has happened to me but I have been able to have some pretty cool conversations with people about God and that has been pretty cool. A teenager at our care point asked for a bible and they seem to enjoy talking about God and especially worshiping him. I think just seeing how they worship has been really impactful for me. It starts with one person singing, no instruments. And then everyone joins in, singing clapping, dancing. It is amazing. I got to help out with worship at church last Sunday. I was really glad to be a part of something so beautiful.
Q: What is the most heartbreaking thing you’ve seen since you left the country? Caleb
A: In the town we live in there is a grocery store called SaveMor. It is one of the only places for us to go on off days so last Saturday my friend Lillian and I rode the bus to SaveMor to get snacks. Across the parking lot we saw a man with one leg standing in the middle of the parking lot. Most people in Swaziland speak English so we decided to go up and ask him if we could pray for him. When we got to him he kept repeating something over and over in S’Swati (the language they speak here) We didn’t know what he was saying but we asked if he spoke English. He only responded with the word he had been saying. After a few minutes of trying to talk to him a Swazi lady came up to us and said he was asking for money. It just made me sad because I knew that prayer would help so much more than money could but he wasn’t interested so we walked away. Another heartbreaking thing was when we walked down to the playground one day and three kids were playing. One of them immediately started hitting us and throwing bricks at us and spitting at us. The two other kids said that he didn’t really have friends and that he had been touching them inappropriately. It made me so sad because I realized that he wouldn’t know all these ways to hurt people if he himself hadn’t experienced hurt in those ways.
