If you would have asked me five months ago how I felt about working in an orphanage, I would have probably lit up with a huge smile and said something along the lines of “send me now!” It would be the ideal ministry for me because I love children and loving on children who don’t come from ideal circumstances. However, when we got to Swaziland and got on top of the mountain at El Shaddai, the harsh reality that this is indefinite for these children shook me to the core. You see, here in Swaziland the statistics aren’t in their favor. This country has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in all of Africa, and due to this rate- by 2050 it’s estimated that Swaziland will cease to exist. Because of this estimate, adoptions are closed due to the fact they fear losing the next generation. As of right now, the family outside of these gates doesn’t exist for them. The fairytale doesn’t glitter and gleam with a heart wrenching story of a precious adoption and the family that has been sitting, waiting and wishing. So with this- I wrestled for the first few days. I got angry, I got frustrated and I started asking why. God finally got ahold of me and said, “Maybe you should stop asking why and just start loving, I will not leave them as orphans”, talk about a slap right across the face. So that’s what I did. I started making one of the longest journeys thus far on this race. It was a whole 18 inches long. This journey was the one from my head to my heart. I started asking God to just give me the eyes that He has for this place and the love He has for these children instead of the love I want them to be shown in the future. Man, God has rocked my world and really worked on my heart in this process. He has given me a hope for this place and a love for these precious kiddos that I can’t explain. Their smiles are some of the brightest I have ever seen. Their willingness to bloom where they are planted is just something more precious than gold. They don’t look to far ahead, and are determined to grow from what’s behind. They have taught me so much about what it means to love well, live fully, and really be thankful for where you are- no matter what it looks like. These children are going to be the future of this country and they are going to shatter the statistics that are placed before them. They are going to soar and they are going to shine. God truly has anointed this place and He knows that statistics mean nothing in His divine plan. He is rising up a generation here that will shake the ground with the sound of revival.
I am so excited for all that is ahead for this place and for Swaziland. The time I have spent here has been more precious than I could ever put in words and I am so thankful God let me witness all that is going on here. It is a city on a hill, and quite possibly the closest I will get to Heaven, this side.
Please join me in praying for these children, their future, El Shaddai, and Swaziland.
He’s never failed- and He won’t start now.
