Thoughts from South Africa...

We sometimes forget the blessing that it is for us to live in the country that we live in. The freedoms we have in the US, the rights we have, the protections we have. It is easy to block out what is happening across the rest of the world, either by choice or by lack of reported information, and live with a narrow worldview of what we see here in the US. When you go to another country, you can't help but be hit by the reality of what life is really like outside of our borders.

In the last week or so of my stay in Africa, there were two topics that arose that caused some serious thought for me:

1) There are estimates that anywhere from 20,000-100,000 people will be trafficked into South Africa for the World Cup next year. There is no saying who these people will be: man or woman, young or old. Many of them will have been tricked into their trade, having been told a lie about a job in another country or a chance to play soccer only to find that there is no opportunity and their survival depends on doing what they are told. Others will have been sold into the trade by their families for just the money to buy bread. On top of this, the nation of South Africa is considering legalizing prostitution. This will nicely benefit the country financially as the government will be able to tax the prostitution that occurs, but it will also encourage the human trafficking that is going to occur and make it harder for the police to make raids where there is human trafficking occurring.

It is hard to imagine that this is all even possible. There are so many men, women, boys, and girls all over the world who are modern day slaves, both in physical labor and in sexual trades. They have been taken advantage of because of their poverty, tricked or sold in the hopes of money, food, and something more. It is bad enough that this is happening behind the scenes, but for it to so openly happen at an international event like the World Cup is absolutely ridiculous and appalling. It makes me wonder what our world is coming to and what is next, it makes me seriously consider my support for the World Cup events next year, and it makes me pray.

2) Apartheid may be gone, but the separation of people in South Africa is not. I vaguely remember hearing about Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid when I was younger so I realize that the road to recovery has not been as long in South Africa as it has been in the US. I am also not going to be so naive as to say that we have fixed everything in the US: that there is no longer racism and that there is no separation of the races. However, I was shocked when my friend explained to me the set up of the town of 150,000 that she lives in in South Africa. She explained to me that there is the white area, the colored settlement, and the black settlement. There is a small colored settlement kind of in the middle of the white area, but that wasn't what it was meant for, it just became that. There is still a pretty full separation of the races, with everyone living in the same areas as before apartheid ended.

I had just assumed that since apartheid was over, the people would have mixed more and it would have looked more like the suburbs I grew up in. I never realized how hard it is to break off some of the lies that have been engrained in the minds of the people over generations. After talking with some of the people I know from South Africa, I found out that it is just this emerging generation that is really fully comfortable with the end of apartheid, not seeing the color of the skin but the character of the person. It is a long road to the end of racism, with many nations traveling down it at different levels. I was surprised when I heard of the state of the racial separation in South Africa, but it also gives me a sense of hope as I realize that we have come a long way in the United States and we are on the right path.

We have to be careful not to limit our worldview to what we see in our own country without opening our eyes to the big world that there is out there. There are things happening all over the world that make us think and pray; they involve the lives of people and they break our hearts. There is also hope out there, helping us see what can be as well as the steps our own nation has taken forward. There is so much love, heartache, hope, and hurting in the world that we can share in if we just open our eyes to see what is there.

The Past Couple of Weeks...A Blur

So I got to sleep in today, which was nice and made even nicer by the fact that I am currenlty in Worcester on the Western Cape in South Africa and the sun doesn't pop it's head over the mountains until almost 8:00am. What a lovely change from the 6am of Swaziland! Remarkably, it is now 5:45pm and the sun is still shining bright!!! I was beginning to forget that the sun could stay out past 5pm. What an amazing thing!

These past weeks have been a blur. It seems like everything has just gone in full speed now that I have no time left, so I just wanted to give you a bit of the highlights:

July 10-12 - Kruger National Park
The biggest game park in South Africa, and the most densely populated with animals in all of Africa, or so I am told. Chris, Allie, Alexis, and I embarked on an adventure to see the Big 5 (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and water buffalo) but in the end we only saw 3 of them (no visuals of cats sadly enough). We did enjoy the thrill of our lives flashing before our eyes during encounters with an elephant, baboon, hornbill, and hippo. Pictures will come when I can upload unlimited amounts!

July 17-18 - Last Youth Overnight at Potter's Wheel
It was our last youth overnight while I am here, and it was a sad to say goodbye. I was able to share during the message time and just encouraged the youth to analyze their relationship with God to see if they had one or they were living off their parents' faith, and if they have one to follow Him. After the message, we gave the kids some time to sit quietly and pray. It was really a great time as we, as leaders, were able to pray with some of the kids and they even prayed for each other! What a wonderful way to end our time together!

July 21 - Christmas in July at Hawane
Before I left, I wanted to make sure I had one last fun time with everybody at Hawane so I planned a Christmas in July movie night. The kids had the next day off of school, so it was a perfect night to get together and watch a fun movie. Between Sunday and Monday nights and all day Tuesday, I managed to bake over 550 cookies and three trays of peppermint bark...a Christmas sugar feast!!! Everyone got an array of sweets, some hot chocolate, and we settled in at Hawane CLC to watch my favorite Christmas movie ever: Elf! It was great to hear the kids and adults laugh and just enjoy one last night with my family here in Swaziland, all 90 or so people!!!!

So, that brings us to today and me in Worcester. Tomorrow we are off to Cape Town, a rugby game, Table mountain, the ocean, and Hillsong Cape Town. Should be a blast!!!

And it begins...

So I started crying at church Sunday night. I tried not to, but the tears just started rolling out. You see, Sunday morning I realized just how short my time here is...I actually only have one more Sunday at church (because of some weekend sight-seeing trips). That made you think of all the people you are going to miss when you leave, and there are a lot of people to miss here, which of course made me sad. I was okay though, I kept myself composed Sunday morning. Then Sunday night I was at Potter's Wheel in Mbabane and at the end of the service, the team that was ministering began singing a song about how we are brothers and sisters and we stand together...that broke me. I couldn't sing. All I could do was sit there as tears poured out over my cheeks and pray for the people that I was leaving, that we would stand together, and that they would move forward in God.

It is going to be hard to leave.

Sweet Soccer Goodness…and Jesus too!

Ahhh!!!! That is a sigh of sweet relief and rest. The past couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur at times here as we have been preparing for a big soccer tournament and outreach at Hawane CLC. I have a pretty strong background in event management, so organizing an outreach day shouldn’t be too overwhelming of a task…until you add in the twist of being in Africa!!! I know what to expect at events in the US, but what do you expect in Africa? In the end, other than a bit of a late start, there was nothing to worry about!

Last Saturday was a beautiful day here in Swaziland for reasons greater than the weather! There were too many people to count on the Hawane CLC property…kids mobbing the jumping castle, teenagers kicking the soccer ball around getting ready for their game, mom’s sitting around talking. The only measure we have of how many people came to the event was that we handed out 700 hot dogs. Yes, 700!! It was such a beautiful sight to behold: men, women, and children of the community all gathered together laughing, cheering, and having fun. I don’t care what anyone says, but one of the most beautiful things in the world is a smile and there were lots of those on Saturday.

Of course, the best part of the day happened just before lunch as a team from Northern Ireland ministered to the people in song and dance, sharing the Good News at the end. They gave an opportunity for people to come forward if they wanted to commit their lives to following Jesus Christ, and the angels rejoiced as over 100 people stood up and walked forward!! It was an overwhelming response of children and teenagers. What an extra blessing, though, to see adults come forward. It is not common for an adult to come forward to an altar call here in Swaziland, it takes great humility to break the cultural norm and step out, and we had multiple adults ranging in age from their 20’s to 65!!

Thank you for your prayers for this community, please continue to pray for God to break through the hearts and mindsets of the people. Pray for the people that came forward on Saturday, for those at Hawane CLC, and for those that attend other churches in the area, that they will be disciple in the ways of the Lord and walk in His light!

Together With Us

It is so cool the way God speaks to us and confirms things in our hearts. Last week I wrote about my inability to do all that I could dream here and the need for the people of Hawane CLC to go and reach their community. This week at church the pastor briefly mentioned Hebrews 11 and confirmed what I had written.

Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the faith chapter as it begins with a definition of faith and continues with descriptions of the faith of those that have come before. At the end, we are told that they didn’t receive what they had been promised, but God had something better:
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40)

Only together WITH US would they be made perfect!!! How amazing! Life is a story, not just of our own individual lives but all of our lives intertwined from the beginning of time. The great lives of faith that have gone before us are connected to us, because only together with us are they made perfect; and the same our lives are connected to those that come after us, because only together with them will we be made perfect!

As I am working here in southern Africa, I am honored to think that my meager work here is connected to the work of missionaries of the past such as David Livingstone. I am also greatly encouraged to know that even though I won’t see the things that God puts in my heart for this place, I will be made perfect through the work of those that come after me.

God has big plans for Swaziland, and He will use all that are willing to bring them about so that we can all fellowship in the joy of His Glory!!!

Cricket?

So I am currently checking to see who is still in the Cricket T20 World Cup. Yes, you read that right, I am checking in on cricket! Oh the craziness that pursues when you go to a foreign land! I watched my first cricket last Sunday night (England beat India) and actually enjoyed it. It is definitely more interesting than baseball, well at least the T20 is since it is a shorter faster game. No 3 day matches for me please, the last baseball game I went to that was 18 innings was more than enough of that for me, I couldn't imagine watching three full days. The T20 will be done in about the time of a football game though, and on Sunday it is the Championship. So here I am excited about cricket and the prospect of watching my first full game as the Championship.

Oh, and to celebrate we will be having a very inappropriate dinner of tacos and quesadillas! Do they even play cricket in Mexico?!?

Therefore Go

It is such a blessing to be here in Swaziland. I always love those moments in life when you look at where your life has come to and you have to ponder why God chose you to be so blessed and so fortunate. Any time I get to go to a new place, I feel like that. I have now been here for over a month and a half, and have partnered with some great ministries and met amazing men and women of God. During my time here, I have also seen so many areas that I would love to get involved with. There have been brief outlines of ministries that I would want to help start or serve, but then my time limit pops the thought bubble in my head. I only have 6 weeks left here, not enough time to get most of my projects done. I could very easily see myself plant down some roots in Swaziland and pour myself into this country and these people, but it is just not God’s calling for me at this time, and so I just dream.

Last Sunday morning’s church service at Hawane CLC was a bright light shining through the clouds of time that are limiting me. Pastor Augustine preached a wonderful message about going, challenging the congregation that they should go to their neighbors, families, and coworkers to share the Good News that they have received. At the end of the service, people came forward to make a commitment to God that they would go. I saw some of the teenagers from the homes at Hawane Farm go forward, and my eyes began to get wet. As I watched over 20 people walk forward, I had to worship God. He is so good. There, at the front of the church, where the men, women, and young adults that will follow through with not only my dreams for their country, but better yet their own. They will reach the people that I would never be able to reach, even if I remained here for the rest of my life.

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." If He calls us to go to another nation to make disciples, we must follow His lead and go. We will be blessed for it. However, we must remember that much of the time He is calling us to make disciples in our own nation, in our own city, on our own streets. For this, we will also be blessed. As these Swazis go forth to their neighbors and the community of Hawane, preaching the Good News and helping the sick, poor, widows, and orphans, He will be with them and they will become more like Him. So to, as you go forth to your neighbors and your city, Christ will go with you and you will become more like Him.

Moving Mountains and Mole Hills

(Sorry, this is last weeks blog. It was just a busy week and I did not get it up!)

Well, it is officially the first cold day for me here at Hawane. Everyone else has been saying it is cold and calling it winter since I’ve been here, but it is just starting to feel like October and I am enjoying a nice night with my sweatshirt. A cold wind is blowing outside, but inside it is peaceful, quiet, and not too cold thanks to the thick cement walls. Lord, please protect the people out in the community who are not as blessed, huddled in their mud and stick homes as the wind sneaks through the cracks. Keep them warm in Your arms and let them rest in You.

I have to say that this week has been a good week, thanks to the prayers of many. Last Tuesday night, I arrived home to hear that one of the boys on the farm, Mncobi, was sick. They were getting ready to take him to the hospital, which is never a good sign when you have a nurse living on site. The nurse said that it could be meningitis, and I was sure she was right as I heard the symptoms: sudden onset fever, headache, and body pain. The prayer chain at the church in town had already been activated, and I quickly called Ohio to ask for prayers from the US. As the car was about to leave, I let Mncobi know that he had people in Ohio praying for him. He didn’t look good, and the usual smile that lights his face was gone. I was worried, but the prayers of many were heard! We never did find out what was wrong with Mncobi, all the tests were inconclusive and as quickly as his sickness came, it also went. By the time they were seen at the hospital, his fever that was pushing close to 104 on the farm was registering closer to 100. In the morning, he was feeling much better (well enough, I am told, to eat a few pieces of toast and a big omelet). This weekend, he was riding around the farm on his bike, the big smile back on his face.

Thank you for your prayers, both for Mncobi and for the entire Hawane community. You may never have the chance to come visit these homes and walk these paths, but you have the power to change lives and futures from right there in Ohio through your prayers. We sometimes forget how powerful our prayers can be, I know I do. It is hard enough to believe for the things before our eyes let alone across the ocean, but know that God is listening and waiting to move as you utter even the simplest of prayers. Mncobi’s health and this ministry are testimony to that.

Jesus said that if we have faith as a mustard seed we can tell a mountain to move from here to there and it will (Matthew 17:20). As if that isn’t enough, He goes on to say that nothing will be impossible for us. We can change the world, one prayer at a time, moving mountains and mole hills, and drawing closer to God each step of the way. May we all seek to have a faith as the mustard seed and the boldness to speak to the mountain and tell it to move!

How can I come home?

I am sitting in the Mountain Inn in Mbabane just hanging out for the day enjoying some internet access. Last night was the youth overnight at Potter’s Wheel, so I got very little sleep but had fun. Today, I get to experience a very important cultural event here in southern Africa – the Bulls (South Africa) vs. the Chiefs (New Zealand) in a rugby championship. In the meantime, I decided to finally download my first month’s worth of photos from my memory card to my computer. As I am moving photos over, I keep catching glimpses of different children…smiling, laughing, making funny faces…and I find that my eyes are beginning to water. Each of the people I have met on my stay here thus far are so unique and they can light up a room in an instant with their smiles, hugs, and love. I still have two months left in Swaziland, but already my heart dreads having to leave and misses this place. I have to wonder, if this is how I feel now after only one month, how will I ever have the strength to come home?

This week I was reading in 2 Corinthians, and Paul’s words to the Corinthians rang so loudly in my heart. He said to them “you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together” (2 Corinthians 7:3). When I came to Swaziland, I really had only two desires: to be used by God however He could use me here, and to connect my heart with a people being devastated by HIV as I go forward to do HIV research. I am trying to be available to God, that the first may be true. The second one has already come to pass. A piece of this nation, these people, has been woven into my heart, and a piece of my heart will remain when I leave, so that as we both go forward we will be knit together, to live and to die.

Who has God knit into your heart? Who is He calling you to live with and die with? God has an amazing blessing for each of us to be a part of the joys and tribulations of others and they with us, so that together we can move forward in Him. It may not be a people in a far off nation or they could be right there in your home town; they could be the young or the old, of a certain ethnicity or a certain gender; you may see them daily or only hold them in your heart and your prayers. Whoever they are, your life will be richer for having them in it, and won’t be complete without them!

A Prayer

Lord, give me wisdom. Let me be Your light and Your love to the hurting and hopeless. May my smile, my handshake, my hug, my touch bring life and comfort. Bring Your Word, Your Truth, Your Wisdom, Your Love to the people of Hawane. In You they will not only have life, they will have it more abundantly. In You they will have hope and love. As they love You, they will learn to love the people around them, helping one another and working together. Show them what a blessing it is to give, and as they begin to give bless them abundantly. Renew their minds, through Your Spirit, that they may see the world through eyes that know victory and richness in You. May You be their God, and they Your people. Let them shout from the mountain tops “Jesus is Lord!” Thank You that You desire to know the people here more than I desire for them to know You. You hear their cries and their prayers, and Your ear turns towards them. You see them, You know them, and You love them. Christ, You died for them and You are worthy to receive the reward of Your sacrifice…their lives. Be glorified in me, in these people, and in this place!!

What do you do?

What do you do?

What do you do when you meet a grandmother who is taking care of 16 children?

What do you do if they have no garden, half their houses don’t have roofs, the water coming in the pipes from the mountain stops during the dry season, they can’t pay for school fees, and they don’t have the clothes they need?

What do you do when a woman says that demons attack her, giving her hallucinations of people she knows, so that her friends have to spend the day with her and help her care for her children?

What do you do when a mother asks for help with her oldest children because her current husband is not their father and he will not help provide for them as his own?

What do you do when the only thing a family has to eat is a corn meal porridge and leaves they pick out of the field?

What do you do when nobody has food, and none of them have the money to start a garden and put up fences?

What do you do when it is 40 degrees at night and you know that up on the mountain are children, parents, and grandparents sleeping in mud and stick homes without the clothes and blankets they need to keep warm?

What do you do when you know these are just the beginning of the problems, when you know that just up the road and around the corner are people who are abused, neglected, hurting, and dying?

What do you do?

My successes...

For those of you who really know me well, you know that I like to cook and bake. In fact, one of my favorite things to do is to cook or bake for other people. So when I was told before coming to Swaziland not to get my hopes up to high about doing either of these, I was pretty disappointed. I mean, how can I move somewhere new and not bake a cheesecake for people?

Today, I have one thing to say "Fear not!" Yes, that is right, I am mastering the skill of cooking and baking in Swaziland. To date my accomplishments include:

hummus
chicken shawarma
tortillas
tacos
honey ginger stir fry
pizza
chocolate chip cookies
brownies
peanut butter chocolate cheesecake

I have decided that even if I were living in a mud and stick home, I would probably work out some way of being able to bake and cook. I have even imagined my lovely mud oven!!!

Foxes and Birds

One of my main responsibilities here in Swaziland is to go into the community around Hawane CLC to meet the people and map out the land. I am so excited about the prospect of what this work can do to bring spiritual and physical hope to the people of Hawane. It is hard to help people when you do not know their needs, but as we go from homestead to homestead we will be able to see the specific needs of the people. We can meet their physical needs and help them focus on their spiritual needs and the One who can fulfill all their needs. What an honor that God chooses us to be a part of His work!!

One day, just over a week ago, we were visiting an old sick gogo. This gogo was too weak to get out of bed in order to come outside to visit with us, so we entered into her home. As I sat there, I looked around me at the inside of the simple mud and stick home. Through the door to my left, in the only other room in the home, was her grandson doing his school work in the kitchen. There was a wood burning stove that was warming the house and filling it with smoke, a sink with dirty dishes, and some small cabinets. In the room in which we were sitting, there were three beds, one for the gogo and one each for two of her grandsons that stayed in that home with her. In the corner were bags of clothes and blankets. There was one shelf unit, no dressers, no closet. The only window to the room was boarded up, and the walls, ceilings, and even mattresses were black from a previous fire. There was no electricity, no running water, no toilet. I couldn’t help but feel compassion for the gogo and her family; they were living a hard life.

As I looked around though, I could see the simple beauty in the home structure. I looked at the walls around me and the ceiling above me and thought “I could live in a mud and stick hut.” Throughout the past week, I have dwelt on that thought. I would want to have the kitchen in a separate structure like many Swazis do, and I would probably have to construct myself some sort of storage unit for the blankets and winter clothes. I have thought about having to fetch water and boil it to make sure it was clean, growing my own vegetable garden, having to kill and clean a chicken, digging a toilet, and how I would rig a bit of a shower for myself to feel clean. To be honest, the more I think about it, the more appealing it is to me. Not to say that it would be easy by any means and it would definitely have to be a calling from God, but I know that if He called me to it, I could do it.

Living in the US, we have access to almost anything we could want. Most of us have a source of income, running water, electricity, heat, either a fan or air conditioning, and enough food. We sometimes forget what a blessing the simple things that we take for granted are. Worst yet, sometimes we worry too much about the things that we “need” that we don’t have. Often these are the snares that keep us from following God with our everything.

Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Matthew 8:19-20) God may never ask you to move to Africa to live in a mud and stick hut, He may never even ask you to leave the US, but He is asking you to follow Him with everything in you, leaving all else behind. Don’t let the things of this world get in your way, keeping you from experiencing the great blessings that God has ready to pour out over you. This is my goal.

Fun and Games

So I have to admit that sometimes when you are on a missions trip you get to have a little bit of fun and play games. How can you not when you live in the same place as 46 kids?!? Here are some of my fun and games experiences:

- Hide and Seek Swazi style: You run and hide but they never really come to seek you because the point is for you to touch the base before the person that is it. So instead of you finding an amazing hiding spot you are just trying to outsmart the person who is it and is standing right in front of the base.

- Red Light Green Light: Yes, the kids of Hawane now know how to play this wonderful American game, even if some of them don't know what a stop light is!

- Phase 10: I brought a deck of Phase 10 cards and Uno cards with me to Swaziland and have thus far gotten to teach two of the homes how to play Phase 10. I will teach more tonight and tomorrow night.

- Julie knows Siswati words: At one of the homesteads there were 4 little kids, only one of which understood my English. So to play with them for a bit I just used my very basic Siswati - run, jump, sit, stand, and stop. We all had quite a fun time!

- Soccer: They love to play it here and the guys keep asking me if I play (I hurt my ankle before coming so have been trying to let it heal before getting too excited on the bumpy field). The guys play games against guys in the surrounding community on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and I am now the unofficial coach. They can all school me with their foot skills and speed, but I know the foundations of technique and tactics. Our first soccer lesson will be next Saturday.

- Phophanyane Falls: Jane (the nurse) and I did get away on Saturday for a bit of a hike at Phophanyane Falls. Unfortunately the water level was low so the falls were only have their normal size, but they were still nice. The hike up and down the mountain around the falls gave us both a great work out, though I think my lungs got the worst of it. I don't have too much trouble with the air up here, but when I start climbing up a mountain I suddenly realize how much less oxygen there is at this altitude compared to low lying Ohio.

Tomorrow we are having a Braai (barbeque) for the Swedish Team that has been here for 3 months and is going home. They are going to teach us a traditional Swedish game, so the fun will continue....

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day! Yesterday I was blessed to celebrate Mother’s Day at Hawane Farm. It was such a wonderful day as we honored the moms. The moms had come together last week to plan a celebration after church with a big meal and some games. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned and instead of eating at 1:00pm, we were all cooking until after 3:00pm. Nobody was fussed about the extra work and it was so fun to stand around a table with the moms pulling the cooked chicken off the bone. I also learned more SiSwati - ngelankile, which means “I am hungry”. When the food was ready, all of the families from Hawane Farm and Hawane CLC enjoyed the meal on the grass together. The moms were then honored as a child from each house told why they appreciate their mom and then gave them a rose. The best part of the day though was when the children gathered around their moms and prayed for them.

The moms here at Hawane are absolutely amazing and deserve all of the recognition that they got yesterday. They are taking care of precious children who need all of the love and caring they can get. The moms work hard and do not often get thanks Please remember to pray for the mothers of Hawane, that God would bless them with strength, wisdom, peace, and love.

Welcome to Swaziland!

Greetings from Swaziland! I have only been in the country for a week, and already I feel like home. The people here at Hawane Farm and Hawane CLC are absolutely beautiful and I have enjoyed starting to meet them all. As my first week ends, I think that my greatest accomplishment is that I can put a name to all but about 5 faces here. With so many children and names so different from what I am used to, this has actually been a task. Some of the younger children do not speak much English, so I have also learned some basic Siswati words that I can use while playing such as sit, stand, run, and stop. Hopefully my grasp of the language will increase as I continue to build relationships with the children and mothers, and as I begin to go out into the community to do outreach.



To answer some of the questions you may have about where I am in Swaziland:

Place - I am staying in the Hospice on Hawane Farm with the nurse here. It is a very nice place, though like all of the homes here there is no insulation so it will begin to get quite cold soon. I have my own room with a bed, table, nightstand, and wardrobe. When I step out my front door I can see the tunnels where they are growing vegetables and the mountains in the distance. It reminds me of being on a campground in Tennessee, just less trees.

Temperature - Honestly, I don't know what the temperature has been but during the day it has been absolutely perfect...not too warm, sun shinging and maybe a slight breeze. It gets colder at night but you don't need more than a long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt. If I had to guess, I would say it is in the 70's in the day and maybe the 50's or 60's at night. It is coming into winter here in the southern hemisphere so it will just get colder from here.

Food - There really isn't a "Swazi" food other than pap, which I haven't had yet. I have eaten the same food here that I would at home so no big change there.

All in all, I haven't had any culture shock nor have I felt like I have had to have much of a transition. I have just had a wonderful time playing with the children and beginning math lessons. Since the kids are on holiday from school, I am doing one hour math lessons during the day to help them practice and prepare for school to start again. It has been a lot of fun and I think the kids have enjoyed it too.

One thing that God has spoken to me while I have been here is through Moses birth in Exodus chapter 2. Moses had a great purpose for his life, and God protected him by bringing him into Pharaoh’s house to grow. God reminded me that the children here at Hawane each have a great purpose for their lives also, and He has brought them here to protect them and let them grow into the men and women of God He has planned. What a blessing it is to be a part of the destiny of each of these children!

The weight of a nation...

I have never felt so incapable of doing something as I did last Thursday night. While at a worship time at a friend's house, everyone gathered around and prayed for me and my trip to Swaziland. The sense I got during that time was one of utter humility before God knowing that whatever He wants to do in Swaziland and in me, I am not worthy or capable of doing it myself. As my new motto, "I can...", ran through my head, I felt the weight of a nation upon my shoulders. I want so badly to be able to communicate to the children, the widows, the people I meet that they can do whatever they dream of with God. God, give me the wisdom, the words, the heart, the patience, and Your love!

Two scriptures came to my mind during that prayer time:
'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. - Zecharia 4:6
Be strong and very courageous. - Joshua 1:7

To bring hope, to bring life, to bring love - to shine Christ.

PS 10 days until take off!

I CAN...

I CAN...that has become my motto for this time in my life. Almost a year and a half ago, I was sitting in a Sunday service at church watching a video about Swaziland and the new missions project that my church was going to start. While watching the pictures of orphans and widows roll by and hearing the statistics about the AIDS crisis in Swaziland (with the highest AIDS infection rate in the world at as much as 43%), I silently prayed "God, I can do something about this". I didn't really know at that moment what I would end up doing, the possibilities of what I could do were endless...pray, give money, travel to Swaziland, etc.

Today, I am two weeks away from flying to Swaziland for a 3 month missions trip and four months away from beginning graduate school to study molecular biology and biochemistry with the goal of working towards a cure/treatment for AIDS. I feel like I just strapped myself into a roller coaster and heard the first clicks of the cars moving forward...that moment when your stomach is turning with fear and excitement and you know that there is no turning back.

The other week, a friend of mine was introducing me to someone, sharing these plans of mine, and the response she got was "So I guess she's your slacker friend". She was being sarcastic, of course, but her comment kind of humbled me. I am not trying to be overambicious or a go-getter, I am just trying to follow the path that God has placed in front of me. When I say "I can", I know that what I really mean is "God can through me". God has invited me to get on a huge, fast, crazy roller coaster and I jumped on. My heart might start racing and my bottom might lift off the seat...shoot, the coaster might even get stuck upside down for a while...but I know that I can rest assured that I am safe, He is in control, and He will keep me on the track.

This is my journey...what's yours? As I have pondered the phrase "I can..." I have wanted to spread it and encourage others in it. What is God asking you to do? What roller coaster has he invited you on? Know that YOU CAN do whatever He asks of you and puts on your heart. Imagine what would happen if we each began to believe that we can do it, we can make a difference, and we can change the world...we would see it happen!

I hope you can join me these next few months while I travel half way around the globe and get my world turned completely upside down. Like with those first clicks of the roller coaster I am both excited and nervous, but the ride is always better when you get to take it with friends!