It has been so long since I’ve blogged, so much has happened! I’ll give you a brief overview of the last few weeks. Our team has moved from South Africa to eSwatini. We sadly said goodbye to our friends and hosts in SA. From there we embarked on a 18 hour journey across south Africa and into eSwatini. We left J bay at one o’clock at night on a 15 passenger van. Our journey was an eighteen hour trek across South Africa, our destination was a hostel close to eSwatini that we were going to debrief at. The world race always has a debrief time in between countries so you have time to process everything that went on in the last country and prepare for the next one. The days we got to spend there were full of reflection and relaxation. The hostel itself was very beautiful with little houses, lounge areas, and a pool that we enjoyed thoroughly.
The first day of debrief we went to Crouger National Park on a safari drive. We got to see so many animals, beautiful creatures that reminded me just how creative God is. After crouger park we had two and a half days of debrief. We had times of remembrance, worship nights, prayer sessions, and one on ones. It was absolutely amazing! Then as a way to end our short debrief we had a candlelight squad dinner. It was a special time for everyone 🙂
Then the next morning we packed everything back up and were back in the van for the last five hours of our trip. I had just laid down to sleep when we started down a bumpy dirt road, I sat up to see where we were and I absolutely couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a beautiful pool! I said surely this is not where we’re staying, but it was!
We were finally home. We found out that our squad was going to live in two different houses on the property and we got all of our stuff sorted out into each home.
From that day we have settled into our new ministries, new homes, and new kids to pore all of our love into. Our ministry is called care points, and essentially they are places in the community where kids know they can go to be safe, cared for and well fed. Our day consists first of an hour and a half drive to our care point, and then in the morning we play with a few of the smaller kids, and we also work in the garden, start the fire to cook over dinner and have bible studies. Some days we go on prayer walks through town or go on house visits to give some of the neediest families food. It is eye opening to see the houses these people live in, but even worse than that is the family conditions. I’m starting to figure out that these kids often have single parent homes or their grandma or someone else is raising kids that aren’t even their own. I realize we have the same problem in America as well but here in eSwatini it is so hard to get a job and even harder to make enough money to give basic needs like food and clothes to the kids. What makes me the saddest is to see the grandmas who have had the same struggles all their lives and to see their efforts to break the cycle of poverty and pain. They are strong women and thankfully most of them know Jesus and have their hope in Him, I know that God cares so deeply for these women and that He is creating beautiful mansions for them in heaven. I ask God what I can do for them, and for their kids. Praying hardly seems like enough. But I know that Jesus Christ is the only one who can turn the country around. So please join me in praying for eSwatini. Pray for provision and prosperity for these people, but even more than that please pray that they come to understand fully the gospel of Jesus Christ and that their hope would rest solely upon Him.
I’ll leave you with one last thing, I wrote a piece of poetry on the bus ride here that encapsulates all the emotions I was feeling perfectly. Here it is…
I sit in awe
Looking at beautiful scenery my eyes have never beheld
The trees
The mountains
The villages
Nostalgia Is the air I breathe
My ears bring me back to this moment as I hear the many conversations going on in my bus;
Voices are all familiar…
My team
My family
We travel to new lands together,
Unified under God.
Knowing our mission is the most important one that has ever been.
I’m just a girl,
Whose dreams have come true.
