Last Day...

What an incredible trip this has been…  Completely different than any other trip, and perhaps my favorite one of all!  Something was different this time…  In the past, there have always been stories and experiences that broke my heart and I think it led me to a place where I felt more pity than kinship.  But  this trip has been special because it went to a whole new level…

We found joy in the midst of suffering…  Laughter in the middle of pain and struggles… Hope dropped into the center of despair…  It was clear that God used our team to bring a special message of hope to this community… 

Last days are always hard and I was surprised at the Pastor’s words as he opened our time of prayer and worship (with dancing!!)…  He said, “The day has come and the hour is coming of your departure.  I want to hide because I don’t want to experience that…  You have left footprints on our soil and you have left footprints on our heart.”

All we did was show up…  It’s amazing how God can use such a small offering.  We started the day with planting and I had the blessing of talking to M while she watered.  She said, “Are you coming back next year?”  “M…  I’m praying that I will be here…  you pray too.”  She said, “Well, if you come back but have to go to a different church, we would understand, but come to see us.”  I said, “M…  if I’m in Swaziland, I’m coming here, or I don’t want to come at all.”  Her eyes welled up and she said, “I can see that you love us…  I can feel it, all in my heart.”

I’m still amazed that somehow God can work that kind of a bond, in just a few days, in people who are so different…  But He can…  That’s how powerful His love is!

After we finished our work… we played…  we talked…  we just enjoyed each other’s company…  Zack and Nick, with another dad on our team, played soccer…  We sorted clothes that we had brought…  we made bracelets that another team member had brought…   

As it came time to leave, Pastor asked our team to come up front as they wanted to bless us…  we had no idea what was coming...  One by one, our names were called and a different member of the church came to dress us in a traditional swazi wrap…  It was the most special, honorable thing they could have done… This is a trip I will always treasure! 

I’m sure I’ll have much more to say, as I continue to process this trip, but in the am. we leave to go to the airport…  I can’t believe another year has come and gone, that once again I have to say goodbye…  But while I am sad, I go with heart full of smiles and laughter…  I can’t wait to come back!

A Beautiful Picture of The Church

Today was another great day…  6 years ago, on mom’s first trip to Swaziland, she spent 5 days working in a little village, Kabuta.  And on each trip since then, she has returned to visit a family, a really special family!  And wow…  what a blessing to take the boys there today also…  We had a great time with them!  

The highlight of the day was when we presented them with the trees that we had brought to them…  In the past, mom’s always taken fruit trees, but Heart For Africa has learned about a bush called the Moringa bush.  It’s an amazing food source.  But so few people know about it, mom was afraid they’d be disappointed that we didn’t bring more fruit trees.  But we were the ones in for a surprise…  As mom started to explain what she had brought…  Samuel, the dad, got very excited…  So did his son…  They knew all about the moringa bush and wanted some, but didn’t have a way to get any…  They couldn’t believe we had brought moringa bushes!  Who but God could have pulled that off!

But that’s really not what’s on my heart to write about tonight…  I just can’t stop thinking about the community we’ve been working in…  In the last year, they’ve more than doubled the garden that Heart For Africa started for them.  They’ve taken great care of the cook shelter our team built for them, it still looks like new…  And they still have all of the tools that we gave them last year.

They’ve also dug the foundation for a soup kitchen and a new church building (I stood in their current church building yesterday while it rained, and it was awful… there were about 3 benches where you could be sure to stay dry…) and they’ve built a chicken coop to produce their own eggs…

They don’t have the money to complete any of the big projects, but their thinking is that they’ll take the step of faith and prepare the foundation, trusting that God will provide in His time!  

They don’t just believe that nothing is impossible with God, they live it every day!

They are such a beautiful picture of the church… They love their members and they take care of them, but they also love their community and are taking the steps to be able to minister to a community that is hungry, sick and struggling.

I’m so sad that we just have one more day there…  I can’t believe that once again, this trip is coming to a close…  it’s just not long enough.  It was so hard to say good bye last year, I can’t even imagine what this year will be like… 

Amazing Grace!

Today was a really special day…  If you read yesterday’s post, you know I was really worried that we had hurt our relationship with the community.  I don’t know for certain why eating is so important, but I can make a few guesses…  First of all, it’s Biblical…  In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says if we open the door, He will come in and dine with us…  There’s the Last Supper…  The wedding feast of the Lamb…  Clearly sharing a meal together is important…  But also, in the Swazi culture, they have so little to share…  it truly is the widow’s mite…  And it still breaks my heart that we can’t sit and share a meal with them without risking our health.

I prayed this morning that God would go before us and give them understanding, grace and mercy in their hearts…  And He answered that far beyond what I dreamed or imagined…

When we got up this morning, it was raining…  I mean REALLY raining…  It’s winter here, so it’s the dry season and it hasn’t rained since the beginning of the year…  It just doesn’t rain in the winter and I had no idea what a blessing that rain would turn out to be…

When we arrived at the church, the Pastor came right out to greet us and then the gogos (grandmothers) were not far behind him…  They were warm and welcoming…  Beyond gracious…  And then the Pastor said, “God is blessing what you are doing here…  He has sent the rain.”  It’s as if God affirmed our work there by sending the rain to water the fruit trees, and that seemed to override conflict.

After that, we worshiped and danced together…  This time I was the first one to step out and I went right to M, the one I wrote about the other day, and we started to dance…  I’m learning how sweet it is to love another by stepping into their world…  (I just wish I could figure out the meal thing better…)  And just as I predicted the other day, that Pastor M would have Zack dancing with us, before the week was out, he did!  I can’t tell you what that was like to have my two sons with me, worshipping God in Africa!

Next we went out to the garden, and just like one community, we all pitched in, the Swazis and our team and we started preparing the garden for planting…  I can’t wait till I can post the pictures…  To see the church being one was an amazing blessing!

Because it was raining so hard, we didn’t get as long with them as we would have liked, but it was such a sweet day…  I am still amazed at how far we’ve come in our relationship with them since last year…  they seem to delight in teaching us how to do things and then jumping in and working with us…  the playful banter…  the laughter…  the sweet conversations…  the hugs…  I can hardly stand to think that we only have one more day with them…

Today as I walked outside the church, one of the young men followed me out to talk to me…  He asked me questions about America…  He talked to me about his dreams for his own life…  We talked about our faith…  I was shocked at how long he stood and talked to me…  But something hit me tonight… 

It’s easy to come here and lose sight of the individuals…  to forget that they really aren’t that different…  Yes, they have tremendous struggles and grief in their life…  the know poverty…  hunger…  discomfort in a way that most will never know…  And yet, they deal with so many of the things we deal with in the USA…  and they dream and they hope…  they long for someone to just step into their lives with them for a time and share it with them…

Today Pastor M told us what a difference we had made, just by showing up…  He said that when the people of the community see a white man coming to help, they see Jesus…  That blows my mind…  We didn’t do anything to fix their situation…  When we leave on Thursday, there will still only be 4 men in the community with a job…  there will still be starving, sick children and adults, orphans and AIDS…  it will still be a broken and hurting community…  and yet, according to the Pastor, they have hope because we showed up…

I don’t know why God chooses to use us but He does and for that privilege, I am eternally grateful…  it is a joy like no other!

 
Tomorrow, we’re off to Kubuta, the village mom worked in for 5 days on her first trip to Swaziland, and we get to spend the day with Enoch, our very special friend!  I can hardly stand to think that we just have 2 more days…  I wish I could grab hold of the hands of time and make it slow dow

Difficult Divide...

Today was hard…  Not because of anything terrible that we saw, but because of the difficulties of two cultures trying to find their way to loving each other…  It’s not the post I had hoped to have for today, it’s not the story that seemed to be unfolding all day…  

Well, I’ll just start at the beginning…  We arrived at the church with the medical team, they were holding clinic there today…  The plan for our team was to plant fruit trees and seedlings, but the Pastor asked us to wait until the people from his community could help us, because he wanted us to work side by side…

So we started playing with the children…  We had bubbles, beach balls, soccer balls and even a football…  At first the little ones were so shy around us, but bubbles will break the ice in any culture!  Before long, they were laughing and playing with us.

From there, I got to spend time with one of their mothers…  I’m not sure why we connected the way we did, but before long we were sharing real stories from our lives…  Throughout the day we talked about plans for the future…  We discussed the peace of Christ…  We even talked about the difference between real miracles and the ones we have a hard time believing…  She is a VERY wise young woman…

Later in the day, we got to carry water from the river…  We took huge containers down, filled them (partway) and then headed back to the church.  The Pastor told us that the people in the community didn’t believe we could really carry them all the way back…  So we put them on our heads and set out to prove them wrong…  We dodged 3 inch thorns that look like mini swords and watched for black mambas…  That was an experience!

We laughed…  we played…  we worked…  language barriers were leaped over…  Zack and Nick were amazing with the children and such hard workers…  I couldn’t have asked for a better day…

But then it happened…  the pastor informed me that the gogo’s were preparing a dinner for us.  In the Swazi culture, it’s the most generous thing they could do…  Food is scarce and yet they would share with us to show their love…  But the problem is that it would most likely make us sick, maybe very sick.  As time came for us to leave, I really hoped I had misunderstood because nothing else was said, but as we were packing up to go, they started bringing out heaping plates of food…

To make a long story short, we ended up not eating as we had to get back by a certain time, but I’m certain that we offended them…  In a way, I can’t but feeling like we rejected the widow’s mite…  I guess in a way, we did…  But how do you love each other across cultures and still protect those you’ve been given responsibility for?

First, we are told to be back by a certain time for our safety, they don’t want us traveling after dark…  But even more, how could I expose everyone on our team, my children include, to something that could make us very sick…  One of the parts of the dinner was salad, most likely washed in river water…  

I have no doubt that we’ve offended them and that breaks my heart…  Our relationship grew so much today and then it was like the angry lion took his paw and swiped us off the mountain top…  These are such beautiful, generous people who just wanted to love us by sharing all that they had with us… 

I pray that even now, God is working understanding and forgiveness in their hearts…  that He will go before us and smooth the way…  And that tomorrow we will find our way across the great cultural divide.

A Special Day!

Today we got to worship with the church we are serving… We always go to church on our trips, but it’s usually the whole big group in a city church. I’ve always wanted to go to church in a rural area and really see how church is done.


Let me tell you, the Swazis know how to worship… I’m Presbyterian (PCA) and we’re often jokingly referred to as the ‘frozen chosen’… Well, that’s not exactly true at my church in the US, but it is for me. I’ve just never been very demonstrative in worship, so I decided that today was going to be different. I was going cave diving out of my comfort zone and if they danced before the LORD, then I was going to dance with them… And dance I did! Even Nick got in on the action… I admit, I was pretty shocked when he scooted into the line behind me (Pastor M will have Zack dancing by the end of the week I’m sure, as long as he survives his schooling in soccer by the Swazi boys that Pastor M is setting him up for!!)!

I loved watching the kids watching us… I’m sure they thought we were hilarious, but they were so sweet, I can’t wait to play with them and spend some time with them over the next few days…

After church was over, Pastor had our team form a line and we did the Swazi handshake with every person and child that was there… My sweetest moment of the day came in that line… Last year there was a gogo (grandmother) that I just fell in love with… Elina… I was afraid she wouldn’t remember me, but when she got to where I was in line, she completely skipped the traditional handshake and pulled me into the greatest GIANT bear hug… That’s what God’s love can do… What else could connect two completely different people on the opposite side of the world who have only seen each other for 3 days out of a life time… I wish I could somehow find the words to describe that connection… But they would never do that moment justice!

When we left today, I said to Pastor M… “Last year I was so shy, I wouldn’t dance, but you’ve gone and broken me out of my shell… Could we dance and worship just once more before we leave?” He made my day… He said, “I tell you what… we’ll start every day, before you work, with a time of praise and worship!” Now that’s worth coming around the world for!!

Here’s what I learned today… if you’re going to be somewhere… then be ALL there! I’m sure someone has said that before… but it’s just so rewarding… it’s so free! I’m so tired of letting my inhibitions steal amazing moments of joy, like I experienced today! I want to drink in every moment… to squeeze every drop of life out of every experience… that’s what the abundant life is all about!

Tomorrow is our first planting day… but first we will worship (and dance!)… now that’s my kind of day!

Questions...

(Pictures are taking forever here...  so I guess they'll just have to wait till I get home...)

Today was quite a day… I’ve never had a trip start quite like this one! We literally haven’t stopped running since we got here… Today was Litsemba, which means ‘hope’ in Siswati. We had 3000+ children arrive on buses, as well as from the community around Project Canaan, and we spent about 4 hours worshiping with them and just loving on them!


The children here are something else… In the USA, you would pretty much expect chaos to reign with that many children in one location, but not here. The children are so orderly, well behaved and respectful, even when they’re in line to receive a meal and a gift. I was so impressed!

I was on the photography team for the event… I know, don’t throw me in that briar patch! It was a blast!!!

But the thing I want to write about is my conversations with a couple of the people from the church we worked with last year, and will be serving at during the week…

The first was the Pastor… He was so surprised that I came back and he said, “Ever since I heard you were coming back, I’ve been thinking, ‘What did God put in your heart to make you want to come back to our community?’” The only thing I knew to answer was, “HIS love!” How else do you explain the desire to go around the world, to a culture that is vastly different than your own and far less comfortable… I can tell you, it’s nothing good in me… So it must be God’s love!

My next conversation was with M… I met her last year and just loved her, she’s so beautiful! She just has this light and peace that shines out through her eyes… I got to just sit with her in good ol’ African dirt today and I loved just being with her… For the first time she opened up to me and we started to get to know each other on a deeper level, not just two strangers thrown together… I’m not going to share the heart of our conversation out of respect for her privacy, but she asked me a question that shocked me...

She asked, “Did you have a choice to go to another church this year?” ‘Yes, M… I did…’ She thought for a minute and then she said, “So why did you come back to our church?” In some ways, I guess her question wasn’t that much different than Pastor M’s…

But why is it so hard for them to understand that they’re loved? Is it because they’ve never experienced the love of God, through the body of Christ, caring for those in need before? I would guess that’s it in part… Last year, Pastor told me that we were the first group to ever come and help their community… But it also made me think how I’m not that much different than them… Sometimes I have the hardest time just receiving God’s love…

As I kept talking to M… it’s like she kept looking for some quality that made them ‘lovable…’ But isn’t that what we all do… we measure our ‘lovability’ by what think is valuable, or worthwhile, in us… We add the possibility of love for what we think is good, but take away what’s possible in love for what we see as the bad…

But that’s just not who God is… As I sat and talked to M, I reminded her (and myself) of what God told Israel in Deuteronomy 7… That He didn’t choose them because they were more than any other people, but simply because He loved them and was keeping His promise to their forefathers…

Here’s the thing, if God needed a reason to love us… well… that would be that… He is a great, holy and mighty God… We have nothing to offer Him… Our sin is offensive to Him… But while were still His enemy, God just made a choice to love us… No reason, no justification, nothing to earn… He just loves us… And I think that’s how God wants us to learn to love also… I have a long way to go… More often than not, I get it wrong… But I can’t begin to describe what joy it is to love someone, just because God put it in your heart to love them…