eSwatini – We are HERE!!

Well since my last check in we have made it safely to eSwatini! It was a heck of a few days. We started in Guatemala at 1:30 AM for our first flight and then laid over in Houston before heading to Newark, NJ. From Newark we had a 14 hour flight to Johannesburg South Africa. We took a quick rest at the base in South Africa and in the morning got on a bus that took us up to eSwatini where we will be staying for the next 6 weeks. We started our travel day on Wednesday evening at 9:00 PM and got to where we would be staying on Saturday at 2:00 PM. It was a long journey but God was with us the whole time. Flights were smooth and time flew by for me both on the plane and during our layovers. Although I wasn’t technically transported like some of my favorite biblical characters it did feel like we were brought around the globe in the blink of an eye. For that I am very grateful!

For the first few days here in eSwatini we have been getting acclimated with our surroundings and figuring out what life will be like for the next month and a half. We have met our wonderful contact from AIM and our ministry intern who is going to be our guide Sdumo while we are here. I am super excited for the time that we are going to get to spend with Sdumo, he is a stout believer in Christ who ensures that we are covered in prayer every where we go. When we start the day we begin with prayer. When we are driving somewhere for ministry we pray for safety and the Lord to be moving where we are going. When we arrive, you guessed it, prayer and thanking the Lord for safe travels and his protection over us. Already in just our first few days here Sdumo has been a great reminder that in everything we do we should first seek prayer and God’s guidance and protection over what we are doing.

Our ministry while we are here is going to be a once in a lifetime experience and I cannot wait for it! I love kids and spending time with them so what we have in store for the next few weeks will be a blast! All through out eSwatini AIM has established what they call “care points”. In essence a care point is like a free after school program for kids where they can meet and have a safe place to spend their time after they are done with school for the day. We will be teaming up with one of these care points to be loving on  and playing with the kiddos as they come to the base from school. At the care points they also provide a hot meal for the kids so we will be able to assist in serving that as well. During the day while the kids are still at school we will hopefully be able to do home visits with their parents/families and help around their homes however we can as well as pray for them and with them. It should end up being a great time to give back to the local communities and share some of the love with them that God has poured out on us.

During this time here in eSwatini I feel like the Spirit is calling me to develop my patience and be conscious of my actions. Internal emotions are not always sinful in themselves but how we outwardly express them is often times a place where I stumble and come up short of what God desires for me. He is continuing to refine me in this and it will be something that is developed continuously over time. It is my desire to always be in the will of God and I am grateful that He is giving me opportunities to grow this skill. I have heard it said that when we pray for personality trait from God he doesn’t change us automatically but rather he gives us opportunities to grow in the area we have prayed for growth. What better place to develop my patience than to be surrounded by little kids for the next few weeks? I don’t have any kids myself but I hear they are a great test of patience so it should be a fun challenge!

Love you all and I look forward to keeping you up to date with our ministry and how God continues to develop patience in me! Be blessed!