*Quick update: I only have 800 dollars left to fundraise!! That is incredible! The deadline for being fully funded has passed but my organization has graciously allowed me to stay on the field for now. I am currently taking an extra day off of ministry each week to work on fundraising, until I’m fully funded. This is so hard for me and I would rather spend that time doing ministry, but I know the Lord will provide! I ask that you consider donating to my trip to help me raise the last $800. Donations can be made through the orange “donate” button on this page. Thank you so much to all the people who have prayed for me, read my blogs, and donated to this trip! I love you and am so grateful for you!!
Now time for my blog….
Swaziland: Same Same, but Different
On January 26, 2015, I was celebrating my 21st birthday on a 15 hour flight to a little county in Africa that I never even knew existed. A few days prior I met the twenty other people I would be spending the next three months with. It was my first mission trip and before I even set foot in Nsoko, Swaziland I had practically lived the experience already through all the expectations I had about “being on a mission trip in Africa”.
It didn’t take long until I realized that I was the same person in Africa as I was the United States. I expected African soil to immediately change me, but that was not the reality I spent the next three months living in. I thought something was wrong with me because I wasn’t on a “spiritual high”. I was honestly finding it hard to connect with God and felt stuck. I was able to love on many children, share bible stories, and pour into projects at the base. I learned a lot and made some really sweet friends in the process, but it was a lot different than I thought it would be… I was different than I thought I would be.
Now I’m back, three years later in same little country, but in a different place. Instead of being surrounded by huts in Nsoko, I’m now in the city of Manzini, just a 2 hour drive from the place I once called home. To be honest, I was upset when I found out I would not be in Nsoko. I thought for sure God would open the right doors for my team and I to spend the month there. But, I guess He had other plans. As I wrestled with not being in Nsoko, I thought about how one of the reasons I wanted to go back was to be “the new me”. I’ve changed so much since then and for my own satisfaction I wanted to be that changed person in Nsoko this month. God said no. Instead, of allowing me to rewrite that chapter in my life, He gave me a blank page in the city of Manzini. He showed me the blanket of grace covering my time in Nsoko. Then, He showed me how He wanted to bring me to a new place because He has done something new in me!
The best part is, I was able to see ALL of the staff from Nsoko without even going there! It’s actually an incredible story. On my last Monday in Swaziland all of the AIM staff come together in Manzini for the morning meeting! I was able to see everyone but my hosts wife. Then, over a week later my team and I arrive in Jeffery’s Bay, South Africa (18 hours away from Swazi) to partner with a youth camp for the month. We were eating breakfast at our hosts house when he starting talking about a family from Swaziland that came in at midnight. He said we might know them. Turns out, it was my host from Nsoko, his wife, and kids!! I went to say hello and they couldn’t believe it! They have never been to Jeffrey’s Bay and they were only passing through! How cool is it that God orchestrated my reunion with everyone from Nsoko! He really does care about the little desires of our heart.
My team and I are getting settled with our new host United Christian Students Academy (UCSA) and we can’t wait to see how God moves this month. We will be busy helping our hosts run several camps for 7th graders and visiting schools. We are praying they have a life transforming experience with us! I’ll keep you updated!
