I’ve been to a few countries and I’ve done a lot of things in the past few months. What I haven’t done is a good job of sharing the things that I’ve been doing while I’m away. To be honest, it’s a tedious task to document the ins and outs of ministry. It feels very surface level to me, but I do realize that I am gone for 11 months doing God’s work with some amazing organizations and ministries around the world. These ministries deserve to be highlighted and YOU, my generous, loving supporters, deserve to hear the updates. So, this is my “quick fix” blog to make up for all of the blogging that I haven’t done over the past few months. If you’d like to read about some of the deeper things that I’ve been experiencing and learning, you can find that in the blogs that I actually have written at www.kristinasmith.theworldrace.org.
Swaziland (May)
Finally, this month I’ve been at El Shaddai Orphanage in a mountainous village about an hour outside of Mbabane, the capital of Swazi. The beauty that I see in nature here on a daily basis goes beyond words. I feel like I wake up every morning in the middle of a dream or as a character in one of the most beautiful pictures ever known. From the colorful sun rises and sun sets, the wide, clear starlit nights, and the unending, perfectly placed hills and mountains that can be seen for miles and miles, God definitely was showing off His creativity, majesty, and splendor when He spoke this place into existence. The greatest thing about El Shaddai being placed here is the fact that the orphans who live here and who began their lives experiencing things that no child should EVER endure now get the chance to witness God’s goodness and beauty everyday. Not only through the love and care they receive, but also through the undeniable reminders of His existence seen in His nature every day.
The ministry here is very time consuming, but it is beautiful all the same. Below is an outline of what a typical day as an El Shaddai missionary looks like:
** 8 am – 1 pm: Extensive manual labor working on one or more of the many projects that El Shaddai has going on right now (gardening, cleaning and repairing chicken coops, installing roofs and windows to new school buildings being built, harvesting acres upon acres of corn, building “maize cage” to have a place to store all of the corn harvested, and assisting with vaccinating and castrating pigs are a few of the projects that we get to assist with). I’ve had my fair share of manual labor firsts this month, but my favorite has been using power tools! When I’m not doing manual labor, I’m working in the baby house – which is laborious in a totally different kind of way. In the baby house I get to play with, entertain, potty train, feed, and sing to 8 beautiful, sweet, and very active babies.
** 1 pm – 3 pm: Lunch Break. This is my time to get a few minutes of rest in, eat, and spend time with the team doing “team time” activities
** 3 pm – 5 pm: Tutor the primary school kids and help with homework or reading
** 5 pm – 5:45 pm: Chapel with the primary school kids. Chapel is time we get with the children to worship or teach a bible lesson.
** 6 pm – Dinner
** 7 pm – 8 pm: This time is open for special activities with the orphans, more team time, kitchen clean up, or spending time with the other staff members here.
There is Rachel, an Alumni World Racer who is now a full time missionary with El Shaddai; Katie, a peace corps volunteer; and Jochem, a missionary from South Africa who heads up all of the maintenance and manual projects.
By the time 8 pm rolls around I am exhausted. I’m almost 30 – and never before have I felt like such an old lady! I try to be in bed by 8:30, leaving enough time to either read, journal, listen to music, or reflect on my day before passing no later than 9:30.
And THAT my friends is a typical day at El Shaddai. This month has been VERY routine, which I typically hate, but I can think of very few other times when I’ve felt as close to God as I do now. The children here are beautiful and amazing, and loving on them is so fulfilling! “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” – James 1:27
Biggest Take Away: PARENTS VISION TRIP!!!! This month my mom and dad flew half way across the globe to spend a week doing ministry with me in Swaziland and getting a taste of World Race culture in the process. It was such an amazing gift to be able to share this experience with them and to be able to see, touch, talk to, hug, and love on them face-to-face after being gone for 9 months. I’m so thankful for their sacrifice and for God showing His divine love for me through them.
So there you have it. A big picture glimpse into my life and ministry for the last 4 months. With only 2 months before coming back home, I am filled with mixed emotions of excitement and uncertainty. I am praying to stay present as I complete the Race because I know God is not done moving yet and I know that Africa has awesome things in store for me. Next month I will be in Botswana and I appreciate your continued prayers and support.
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