Weeks 3 and 4 of Swazi!!!

Hello everyone!

Nine weeks of World Race have already gone by! That’s crazy!! The Lord has continued to bring me deeper and deeper with Him and stretch me farther and farther as the weeks go by. I know I say that just about every blog, but it’s so very true.

A lot has gone by within these two weeks, and I need to update you all! I’m going to break it down week by week.

Week 10/19–10/25

Care Point

We started off the week at Care Point on Tuesday without our team leader, who was feeling sick that morning. My whole team was very nervous going without her and didn’t know what to expect at all.

It ended up being one of the sweetest days. With all of us being so nervous, it deepened our dependency on each other, and we were much more bold during our home visits that day. We ended up going to two home visits, and both really touched me.

First Home Visit

At the first one, we sat with a woman and her two youngest kids. She poured out her story to us. She told us that she lived with her four kids and her father. Within the past year, her father had had a stroke, leaving him in no condition to care for himself or work.

The woman has to care for not only her children but him as well and is not able to work because of this, though she is in desperate need of a job. She expressed her worries for all of her children growing up fatherless—worries for their hearts, minds, and how they will grow up.

I felt so much love and pity for this woman and her situation. She reminded me a lot of my own family and my mom, but without the hope my mom carries. I was able to tell her a bit of my and my mom’s story and how faithful and steadfast the Lord has been to us.

I encouraged her that because I’ve seen the Lord provide for my family, I have no doubt that the Lord will provide for her as well—provide a job flexible for her family so that she can continue to care for her kids and father, provide healing for her father, and be a Father to her children.

A girl on my squad read 1 Corinthians 13 to her as a reminder of how the Lord loves and how we are to love as well. We encouraged her to allow the Lord to pour His love into her and let it overflow over the rest of her family. Then we were all able to pray over her and her family.

Second Home Visit

We then visited another woman who had one of her kids with her as well. She expressed a lot of similar worries and struggles—being a single mother and jobless, wanting more for her kids but having no hope that anything could change.

I ended up reading her a Psalm (I’m blanking on which one) and was able to tell her what it means that the Lord is a shield over both her and her children. I encouraged her to have faith in the Lord, to believe that He is a God who sees and hears her cries.

Prayer Requests for Swazi Families

Be praying for the families of Swazi. They are filled with so much brokenness and despair. Pray that the Lord would reveal Himself to them, that they would see His face and turn to Him.

Pray over the words we speak to them—that they would pierce their hearts and open their eyes. In Mark, Jesus would often say when sharing parables, “Those who have ears, let them hear,” which implies that those who are able to hear must drop all pride to truly hear the Word with their hearts and accept it.

Pray that every Swazi with ears would hear the Word of God.

Sharing the Gospel at a School

On Wednesday that same week, three other girls on my team and I were presented with an incredible opportunity and invitation. We were invited to go into one of the primary schools and share the Gospel. God is so, so good!

A girl from my team beautifully laid out the Gospel to about 60 kids, describing God as a God who wants to be our best friend. She described the beauty in creation and God’s love in that, His love and how He desires to walk with us through it all—how we gave that up for sin, but God, being so, so kind, laid down the life of His Son for our sake.

It’s a miracle we were allowed into that school. Several Swazis who are part of AIM and work with Care Points have been praying for this door to be opened for a long time.

I am so thankful I was able to be a part of their dream and the Lord’s miracles—so thankful we were able to present the Gospel through words, actions, and love. Pray that doors like these would continue to be opened. They’re still working toward and praying that they’ll next be allowed into the high schools. Pray that that door is opened.

Evangelism in Manzini

That Friday, all of us girls drove down to Manzini to meet up with the boys and AIM staff to walk the streets and pray/evangelize.

The head of that AIM base split us all into different teams within three groups, mixing up World Racers and Swazi staff. We had one large prayer team of 20 set up signs in a park offering prayer to anyone who wanted it. Then we had a walking prayer group and a walking evangelism group. Each had five teams of six people—four Swazis, two Racers.

I was put in an evangelism group—not what I would’ve picked for myself, but hey, we pivot and trust God! The point isn’t what I want anyway; it’s for His kingdom, and praise God if it stretches me in the process.

I didn’t know exactly what I expected for that day, but it was unlike anything I could’ve imagined. I expected to hang toward the back and watch others go first, but that was simply not the case. And praise God it wasn’t.

As soon as we left the building, the first person we saw we walked up to. The lady leading the group looked right at me and said, “You will share the Gospel with them now and pray over them.”

I was instantly filled with panic but had zero time to dwell on it, so I jumped right in. It was so filling to be able to push all earthly feelings and fears aside and boldly walk in the Gospel—to do everything truly for the glory of God and for His kingdom, to walk in the light and shine for Him without a care.

Throughout those few hours, I spoke to about 15 people, which is incredible. My group ended up walking down to the local grocery store and table-hopping at the picnic tables surrounding it.

Most of the people we encountered expressed the same needs and prayer requests: a job, for their business to prosper, for their family, and their health. Everyone we met had at least heard the name of Jesus and had head knowledge, but very few actually knew Jesus for who He is—on a personal, relational level.

Prayer for AIM Staff

Pray over the AIM staff based in Swazi. The harvest here is plentiful, and they’re reaching people one by one.

They are faithfully and boldly doing the Lord’s work here, but pray for endurance—pray for renewed strength and for the Lord and others to pour into them so they can keep pouring out.

Also, pray for the hearts of the people they are encountering. Pray that people would be drawn to them and that their hearts would be changed and molded for Christ. Pray that the Lord would work in their lives, be a shield over them, and provide them with steady jobs and growing businesses.

But most of all, pray that their faith would become one of the heart and not only head knowledge.

Those who have ears, let them hear.

Weekend!

The next day—Saturday! Our whole squad got to go on a real adventure day. We went to a safari!!

It was so sweet to be able to spend some fun time with our squad. We saw so many animals so close! Tons of antelope and wildebeests, hippos, alligators (or crocodiles—who knows the difference), and then about five elephants and a few giraffes and hippos. It was so cool!!

We had such a sweet, restful Sabbath and ATL (Ask the Lord) day as well. Most of us did not attend church that Sunday and spent our time dwelling with the Lord on our own.

On Monday, we continued having sweet one-on-ones with the girls and poured into each other. We also had a time of worship together where we wrote letters to whoever the Lord laid on our hearts—it could’ve been our shepherd, AIM staff, girls on our squad, or our team leaders! It was such a sweet, filling time.

Week 10/26–11/1

Care Point

On Tuesday, our week really began, and we were back at Care Point!

We’ve grown so close to so many of these kids, and I love them so, so deeply. My heart has been aching for them, though. Though these kids possess a different kind of joy, there is still so much spiritual warfare, darkness, and violence within our Care Point, the surrounding community, and within the kids’ homes.

Almost all of these kids do not live in loving and Christ-filled homes and experience violence and abuse from parents, neighbors, and even siblings.

One day at Care Point, a little girl—probably four or five years old—arrived alone, looking very dazed and confused. A girl on my team went to check on her and discovered about a quarter-sized chunk of skin missing from her lip. She had more bruises and sore places on her body and possibly a concussion, considering the way she was acting—very tired, lost, and confused.

We tried to get her some help at the Care Point, but all the supplies we had were either expired or gone. We couldn’t do anything but hold her. Our shepherd was able to ask her what happened and get some answers. She told us that her older sister had beaten her.

It was so heartbreaking. I hate to share such detail, but I want it to be known that this is normal for these children. This is the reality they live in, and both receiving and giving abuse have become normalized in their lives.

Last week, a special needs boy about my age showed up with a huge knife, playing with it around the kids. One of the younger boys got hold of it and became very angry, swinging it at both him and me. I ended up having to step in between both boys—and the giant knife—to try and remove it.

On Thursday, our team returned from a house visit to screaming and crying at the Care Point. A fight had broken out between two young girls, a young boy, and the older special needs boy, involving metal poles. Thankfully, no one was majorly injured, but it was heartbreaking to return to and witness.

Language barriers are hard. We can carry a simple conversation, but when it comes to correcting behavior, we know very little. We have few ways of teaching these kids what it truly looks like to be gentle and loving except through our actions. Because violence is so normalized, they don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s not only correcting an action but a whole way of thinking.

These children don’t always grow up hearing the words “I love you” from their parents or anyone around them. And when they do, it’s often said insincerely—just words used to get something in return. They don’t grow up with the luxury of new clothes; instead, they wear the same few outfits, torn and full of holes. Their shoes are worn out, broken, or held together by whatever they can find.

They don’t always get three meals a day—most nights, they go to bed hungry. When they fall or get hurt, there’s no one to wipe their tears, hold them close, or help them heal. No one asks about their day at school or helps them with their homework. When they’ve had a bad day, it’s rare for someone to comfort them, remind them that they are loved, or simply give them a hug when they get home.

It’s no wonder violence continues to thrive where love is absent—how can they learn to give love when no one has ever shown it to them?

Prayer for the Children

Please pray over the children at our Care Point and all throughout Swazi. Pray over the violence and abuse rates—that they would go down and that love would overflow.

Pray that they would know what it means to be truly loved and known by the Father and that we would be able to pour out His love well. Pray that the Lord would teach us new ways to reach His children and teach them what it means to be gentle.

My biggest prayer for them is that they would know the Lord and see how valued and loved they are by Him. My heart is truly desperate for this.

Resting in the Lord

On Wednesday, I made the decision to stay home from Care Point and rest physically, mentally, and spiritually. I hadn’t been feeling my best and had tonsil stones (those of you close to me know that that is all too common for me).

Praise God they are gone now along with all symptoms and throat pain! Allowing ourselves to rest is so important, because if we are not resting in the Lord and receiving our portion from Him, how will we pour into others?

How will we be a well with water flowing out for others to drink if our well is dry?

And though I have been so clearly called to World Race and to be here—it’s hard. Serving in Swazi has looked similar to what I’m used to, but also very different. Different is great and growing, but it opened the door to many questions in my heart.

I’d been wrestling with questions like, “Why am I in Swazi? How do You want to use me here? What does my new role in the body look like?” I hadn’t felt as full and on fire the past few weeks and wanted to know why. I wanted to have that fire again.

I chose to spend most of that day wrestling with the Lord in prayer, in the Word, and just sitting at His feet and resting in who He is. Throughout the day, He was faithful to reveal sweet and gentle answers through people on my squad, through prayer, and through the Word.

It was such a fruitful and restful time, and I was able to return to ministry more on fire and ready to do His work.

Visa Vacay in St. Lucia

On Friday, we did not go to Care Point. Our visas expired, and we got to take a little “Visa Vacay”! We left Swazi early that morning to cross the border to St. Lucia, South Africa.

We’re staying in the cutest apartment—and there are couches! This is one of the first times I’ve sat on a couch since before World Race! Praise God!

I am so thankful to have a little weekend getaway to be able to debrief the past month and share stories of God’s goodness with the squad as a whole.

St. Lucia is beautiful! Fun fact: we have to be back in our apartment by 7 p.m. because hippos roam the streets at night. Crazy!

A local said they’re like the dogs of St. Lucia—always around—except they will eat you! There are also monkeys and warthogs that wander around here as well. A friend of mine got attacked by one yesterday—it knocked her smoothie right out of her hand!

Everyone says they want a pet monkey until they realize they’re all angry and only want your food. It’s crazy but so fun and gorgeous! I’m so thankful for our time here.

Lessons from the Lord

The Lord has taught me a lot over the past two weeks, and I’d love to share a little of that.

He’s been teaching me what it looks like to be gentle and lowly as He is and the beauty within that. Teaching me how to see others through His eyes and have genuine compassion and love for them—and how to show that.

Most of you know I can be a very sarcastic person, but He’s begun to soften my heart in that as well—teaching me to better discern when to say what and to prioritize truly uplifting others. There is such fruit when we speak true life to others as opposed to death—no matter how funny it might seem.

The Lord has also been building my boldness slowly, but in His timing. Boldness does not just come—it is learned, and it is truly a heart posture.

We cannot be truly bold unless we know the root of our boldness: our God. Knowing His Word and hiding it in our hearts, believing that He truly is a lamp unto our path and a shield over our lives. Believing that the Holy Spirit will speak through us and believing that He is so much bigger than us and anything we come by.

When we know the root of what our boldness is in, we are able to truly grow and flourish in it.

The Lord has also been teaching me what it really means to lay at His feet—to give Him all that I have and not always expect an answer right away but find my peace in knowing that He now holds all of my worries and cares.

He’s been teaching me to find my hope not in what He will do, but in who He is.

My hope is in the Gospel; my hope is that He has covered my sins and freely given me eternal life. My hope is not a miracle, but because I have hope in the One who is hope, I am able to hope for a miracle.

He’s redefined the way that I hope, and because of that, I cling so much tighter to Him and have so much more freedom from the things I carried so tightly.

He has taught me to live every moment like it’s my last. I have two weeks left in Swazi, and He’s asked me what I’m going to do with those.

Am I going to give it all that I have and pour it all out? Or will I cruise through and give only as much as I have to?

I want to be at the end of my race and be able to say that I gave all I had in Swazi—for His Kingdom, His children, and for His glory. That is my desire.

Prayer Requests

I sprinkled some throughout, so please pray for those! But also pray that my team would be filled more than we ever have before this weekend and that we would return to Swazi and flood it with His love.

Pray that His light would be seen and hearts would be changed. Pray that Swazi would join the family and become our brothers and sisters through Christ.

Pray that we would be pressed and pushed for His name’s sake—that He would lead us down paths of righteousness and cover us under His wings.

Pray that we would be bold for the Gospel.

Final Thoughts

I love you all! I know it was a long blog, but thank you for reading. Thank you for praying and partnering with me in growing His Kingdom and sharing the Gospel.

Your prayers and love mean more than you know.