Week 27 In Two Pictures

"Traffic" on the way up to Esikhaleni;
our truckload of vegetables & kids on the way down from Esikhaleni;
distributing vegetables at Madabukeni;
my view from the back of the truck on the way back from getting materials at Matata.

Dadada watching intently as Smanga cut wood;
Nokwanda after she & I read the Bible on my phone like she always loves to;
Veli & Smanga working on our new cabinet for clothing donations;
Nombali & Mxolisi after graduation.

Week 26 In Two Pictures

The new cooking structure at Mahlabaneni;
Women carrying cinder blocks on their heads to a meeting;
The earth bag house - completely finished!
8 month pregnant Namcebo with her duties for the day - collecting water & caring for her niece.

Sphe relaxing at the team house;
the rock & chalk remnants of a game of checkers;
the BOUNTIFUL harvest (so that we barely had room to ride home);
Christina, Morgan & Michaela up close & personal with the lions.

Week 25 In A Few Pictures

Unloading the boxes of rice...
packaged by people in South Dakota;
kids eating outside of the new Mbuthu carepoint;
my view from the ride in the back of the truck to Matata.

Delivering the new water tank & installing it at Nguna right before the rains started;
the old water tank & the dirty water emptied out of it;
Tembelihle on her first truck ride;
the church at Esikhaleni.

The D-team & I at the conference in Johannesburg;
Umuhle & Bheki;
our FULL car heading back to Nsoko after a few days in Johannesburg.

My Heart Will Choose To Say...

It's been one of those weeks, where I think I have felt every emotion imaginable within seven days.  And as I reflect back on it, I can't help but think of the worship song we were singing just a week ago.

Blessed be Your name

 In the land that is plentiful 

Where Your streams of abundance flow

 Blessed be Your name

We were able to have a couple of days to go and worship, to be together as a team, to make memories, to laugh together, to see new sights...

Blessed be Your name 

When I'm found in the desert place 

Though I walk through the wilderness 

Blessed be Your name

...to take a break from the heaviness of daily life here where the poverty is relentless & the HIV rate is staggering.

Every blessing You pour out 

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in

Lord, still I will say

I was humbled to tears that night as I looked at my Swazi brothers & sisters singing this song...and they have been where the darkness closes in...burying fathers & sisters & brothers who have died from poverty or AIDS...raising children as single parents and being raised by single parents...not being able to finish school because there wasn't enough money...going to bed hungry at night.

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

As we worshiped, I remembered the truth that the ground is level at the foot of the cross - our pasts, presents & futures don't matter because in light of God's holiness, we are all sinners in need of a savior.  And for this night, we weren't Swazi or American, HIV + or -, single or married, parents or children, educated or uneducated, rich or poor, healthy or sick.  We were creation worshiping the Creator, the rescued ones worshiping the Rescuer.

Blessed be Your name 

When the sun's shining down on me

When the world's all as it should be

Blessed be Your name

 

On our way back to normal life, we stopped at the beach to play in the ocean, some for the first time.  It was better than watching kids on Christmas morning to see people playing in the waves for the first time.  It had only been 24 hours away, but we grew as a team, staying up late into the night, learning more about each other, sharing meals together, and worshiping together.

 

Blessed be your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be your name

And as we got back home, the reality of the brokenness of this world hit us head on...one of our teenage friends passed away from AIDS, our friend's wound from 1996 still isn't healed, babies are still needing surgery, people are still needing to go to the hospital, families are still without fathers, kids are still not in school because of a lack of money, parents are still without jobs, people are still worshiping other things besides God.

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

100

Not a year goes by that I don't think of my grandma on October 8th...today would be her 100th birthday, but it's already been 11 years since she passed away...and I still think of her so often...
....when I look at my hands sometimes I look twice because my fingernails look like hers.
...when I eat gingersnaps.
...when I think about having people over to experiment with a new recipe.
...when I drive through the sugar cane fields to harvest at the gardens here in Swaziland, I double check as I turn to cross the irrigation ditches because I remember the one time when my grandma turned to sharply & ended up with a tire stuck in the ditch. 
...when I have leftover popcorn sitting in a bowl on the kitchen counter. 
...when I see petunias.
...when I try to explain the internet or facebook to a Swazi who doesn't understand (Grandma asked for a couple of years where the internet was kept).
...when I see tiny gogos caring for their grandchildren with joy & tenderness.

  And it seems like the more time goes on, the more I miss her!  Maybe it's just because I've spent the last couple days around two different people named Clara, maybe it's because as I live out in the rural areas it brings back memories of our farm.  
But I know now that I am so thankful that this precious woman was my grandma and lived only across the pasture from me for most of my life!  I am thankful for all of the things she taught me & modeled for me; I am thankful for her consistency in my life at basketball games, piano recitals and more.
I am thankful for the legacy she has left us through raising my dad to be the amazing man he is & for her faithfulness & consistency every day of her life until the end.  Happy 100th Birthday, Grandma!

Today I Go To Worship...

...not to have a cultural experience.

...not to try to learn new words in the language.

...not to focus on the kids from the area.

...not to try to connect to friends.

...not to evaluate methods or traditions.

...not to analyze a preacher or style.

...not merely because I am called to...

...but because I can.

...I can because of what Christ has done for me on the cross, I can approach the throne of grace with confidence - for prayer and for worship.  I don't have to be afraid of being struck down by the just wrath of a holy God because my sinfulness is so far removed & offensive to His holiness.  I don't have to be afraid to say the name of the Lord or invent words to get around it.  But because I am covered by the blood of Jesus, I am free now to join the heavenly beings, all of creation, and the saints from all of history in worshiping at the feet of Jesus.

Week 24 In A Few Pictures

Carrying spinach from the garden the Swazi way (on your head);
outside the event center in Durban before Passion;
the ministry team from Nsoko.

Experiencing the ocean - some for the first time

The new cooking structure at Mahlabaneni;
progress on the church at Esikhaleni;
one of three community meetings about school fees on a HOT day;
Linda's mom taking another look before the trailer is closed to take his body to the mortuary.

It Started As A Whispered Prayer...

...on a couch on a wintery January night as I sat in the basement of a friend's house watching the Passion conference online.  Thousands of American college students had gathered in Atlanta to join the vision of Isaiah 26:8.  God has used the messages & worship music of these conferences over the last 10 years to help lay a foundation for who He is & what He is about...which in turn has shaped who I am & what I am about.  As they shared in the announcements before the session that time, they began to talk about the Passion World Tour.  The lightbulb went on in my head as they said South Africa...as I realized that I may be in Swaziland when the world tour would be going on.  I whispered a prayer that God would make a way for our ministry team to go to this conference, somewhat planning in my own mind how it could happen. 
  
But God had other plans and as you are reading this, we're heading to Passion!  The original donor that I approached to support this vision wasn't able to do it, but God brought connections to make it happen.

~ A young boy in Colorado is paying for the tickets for all of our ministry team to go together to the conference.
~ A couple in the South had donated money to our ministry to be used for a staff fellowship event or team builder, so part of that will go towards our transportation & food during the trip.
~ A friend's intern in Colorado is from South Africa & has connected us to be able to stay for free at his church!

Several of the ministry partners that will be going to the Passion conference.

So what would have been impossible for our Swazi ministry partners to attend on their own because of money is now possible & a gift from people all over that God knew would come together at this time!  Please be praying for our team as we drive down to worship & attend the conference & then drive back.  Pray that God would speak to each of our hearts about who He is & how glorious He is & what He's done for us to be freed from sin to worship Him.  Pray for us to bond as a team...to make memories together, to have deeper conversations, to get to know each other more.  Pray for our Swazi ministry partners to have extra energy to talk in English & listen in English & worship in English as it's their second language.  Pray for health, safety, logistics, and refreshment.  Praise God with us for this opportunity that He has provided!

"Your name and renown are the desire of our soul."

Isaiah 26:8