“You never see the hard days in a photo album … but those are the ones that get you from one happy snap shot to the next.” My hope and prayer is that through this blog I can convey how unexpectedly captivating Swaziland was.
… “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19
… This month I did “Manual Labor Ministry.” This is my team (left to right); Christian, Anna, myself, Greg and Dacey. This picture was taken after we spent three days filling a hole that was previously dug out by an excavator. The original intention of this hole was to be the underground “section” of a set of toilets. Unfortunately, the funding for the toilets never came through. After a goat fell in the hole and died the fear was that a child would fall in the hole and injure themselves or worse. Our job was to fill back in the hole by picking dirt in the surrounding area. If you look closely at the darkest section, that “was” the hole. You could fit a small SUV in there, without exaggeration. It took everything in us to fill this hole. Fun fact: we even survived a cyclone in the process. This was all within our first week of ministry. Over the days of “filling the hole” God made us a team and created a bond between us that is hard to put into words. Over the month we became family.
… Meet Owethu, this precious child jumped into my arms within 60 seconds of me walking into the Mkhombokati Carepoint and never left my side. Every time we worked at this carepoint she greeted me with the biggest childlike-bear-hug you can imagine. On this day she came and sat by me while she ate her lunch with a stick. After some time she decided to drop the stick and resort to her own ways (pictured above, isn’t she precious?!). As she ate by my side I told God that I simply wished to knew her name and how it broke my heart that I would probably never know this sweet-child’s name that was imprinting on my heart. Later that day Owethu was sitting on my lap playing when a woman walked up and said, “Her name is Owethu, and I am her mother, Ncobile. I stopped by the carepoint today and wanted to come say hello.” My heart jump with pure joy. This picture is my favorite picture taken this month!
“A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness…” Ecclesiastes 2:24-26
… These sweet children! My heart is so full when I get to do ministry with children. They bring so much life and light into a world that can be so dark! Children remind me of love, love reminds me of Jesus…
John said, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not over come it.”
When I look at the picture I see the gospel being lived out. I see the next generation of Swazis being equipped for his Kingdom and it is SO GOOD!
… Some days on the Race you just want to feel pretty, you want to feel normal, you want to feel like a real girl! On this day Rebecca and I accomplished all 3 of these things and then spent the day with our team in the city at an area called the Gables. We ate our weight in food at Mugg & Bean, saw a movie, ate popcorn and faced a standard African Thunderstorm. It was a great day!
… This is one of my most treasured possessions on the Race. My cousin, Mackenzie, made me this card prior to leaving the States. The front of the card said “Open When You Miss Home.” I have to admit I opened it 2 weeks into Mozambique, but I pulled it back out this month… A LOT. I miss my family, I miss my friends, I miss all of my “little” best friends & baby cuddles. I miss how at home, all I have to do is pick up my phone and type in my passcode to text my best friend who is only cities or states away. I have to admit, I am thriving on the Race – I absolutely LOVE the race – but the hardest part is not being able to communicate with anyone from back home. When I do, I don’t know where to start. This picture was taken on a day where, once again, the wifi wasn’t working. So, I pulled out this card and ordered a coffee. To my friends and family reading this you are so loved!
… Meet sweet-Eliana! If you read my blog about Ambassadors of Hope you have seen her before. This precious little Swazi-girl left a huge imprint on my heart. This is a picture of her after she jumped into my arms when I told it was the last time I would see her. Nothing beats the love off a child.
Love doesn’t know language barriers and I will be forever grateful for that!
… “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.” 1 John 5:2
… One day the 6 of us decided to sign up to run a 10K and Half Marathon in Swaziland. This picture was taken at 5:45 a.m. You can’t tell by our faces but in this moment I think just about each of us was regretting this decision.
… But we all finished! Africa is not flat and Swazis are great at running! In this moment I felt as if I could conquer the world! Running with Swazis was extremely empowering. I RAN A 10K IN SWAZILAND!!!!
… I also met some amazing women along the way! Ministry is life, remember? On this day I was reminded of that very fact. Not only was I given the opportunity to run a 10K IN AFRICA, the Lord gave me an opportunity to share the gospel with numerous people as a ran. God didn’t stop there… look what happened next…
… We rushed home from the run to make it to church on time, because we were leading worship at church on this Sunday.
… Bucket list moment: Sing in a worship band in Africa (CHECK). If my choir director at Mt. Olivet is reading this I will never live it down.
… Oh, and what about the time I got African Hair “twisted” in over a 5 and a half hour period of time. Yep, that happened too!!!
… Ministry is life, remember? The salon we went to was run by 3 sisters, who also happened to be Christians. We ate cookies, got our hair done, talked about Jesus, and shared belly-rolling laughter in the process. We didn’t bring Kingdom to Swaziland, it has been here all along! We simply cultivated relationships, loved on the Swazis and shared in community and discipleship!
… How about the day we were doing manual labor and a momma goat popped out a baby goat. YEP, that happened!
… Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
… “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6: 19-21
… “A happy heart makes the face cheerful.” Proverbs 15:13
… “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:11-12
… “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.” Psalm 103: 17
… This is a library at one of the carepoints PRIOR to us painting it.
… This is the library AFTER we painted it! Pretty, ain’t it????
… These are three of the children at the carepoint we were working at whose love for cuddling and physical touch matched mine. One of my favorite parts of ministry is when children come over, sit on your lap and love on you without borders.
… This is our team after painting the inside and outside of a library surrounded by kids at the carepoint. Toward the end of the month our team collected Swazi names from the Swazis we had grown closest to. After they gave us our name they would then go on to explain why they gave us that specific name. Swazi names, also known as surname praises, are very significant in the Swazi culture. They represent the family lineage throughout history and cause for the specific surname.
Dacey, in the orange shorts, was given “Bwaynde” meaning Winner. I was given “Nokuphila” meaning Mother of Life. Greg, holding the child grinning from ear to ear, was given “Njabulo” meaning The One Who Brings Happiness. Anna, on the right, was given “Phlile” meaning Long Life. Our Swazi names are a treasure to us, simply put – the icing on the cake of our time spent serving in Swaziland.
Life is Ministry! Ministry is life! Swaziland is beautiful! Month 3 here we come!
