Author: Adventures

Swazi Swag

We have settled in to our ministry here in Swaziland and begin working with El Shaddai orphanage. The team is incredible. Their openness to doing life here is exceptional. They embrace community living, and embrace the culture and all the “uncomfortable” that comes with living the life as a missionary. That’s no easy task, but as they will tell you even when it comes to shoveling pig poop all morning to use as fertilizer for a garden, they are all willing to get their hands dirty to stretch themselves and grow during this season of their lives. Our ministry is...

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Lower Still

It’s been about a week since I left home. It feels like its been much longer and much shorter at the same time. I am writing from the airport in Atlanta, where I am drinking my first coffee in a week and paid $6 for a bar of dark chocolate because withdrawal is real and Jesus is good. This week I participated in Passport Training Camp. Training Camp is designed to prepare each participant for everything he/she may face while on the field. We participated in teaching sessions, cultural briefings, and time with our teams and team leaders to help prepare us spiritually, mentally, and...

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Thembelihle

For the last 2 1/2 months we have been living in Nsoko, Swaziland. For most passerbys the only things that would stand out would be the giraffes and zebra at a game reserve called Nisela, which technically isn’t even in Nsoko. Nsoko is a town hidden by tall sugarcane. The town is know solely for this fact: “the sun is hotter there.”Behind the intense heat, the cool giraffes, and the fields of sugar cane, there is a 5 year old girl named Thembelihle. Sassy, fiery, dramatic, demanding, determined, and sneaky are just a few words that can define this diva of a girl. She is...

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That One Rolling Stones Song

(To preface, yes I write short blogs. I try to only say what needs to be said and nothing more.)   There is satisfaction in my breath as our team is about to close out our time here in Swaziland. The satisfaction has not come about because of a huge work project that has been completed; nor has it come from feeding starving children with my own hands as they look up to me with full mouths and say, “Thank you, Chris.” No, these things are not what bring me satisfaction. What has made this trip feel complete is seeing the growth within the team and learning more about God...

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At the Base of the Mountain

My ministry this morning was a home visit to a woman who lives at the bottom of the mountain; her name is Alexzina.  When we arrived we climbed under the fence to her house. We came with food and soap for her. Alexzina was burned by a fire 4 years ago. She is burned down to the bone. To cover the hole in her leg she wraps it. She walks with a limp, the pain evident of her face as she moves. I noticed that her leg was twice the size of the other one. I can’t imagine being burned to where you can see the bone and survive. She walks with a cane but she can walk! I talked with her...

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What if I Am Never Home?

As I begin my last month here, the word “home” has run across my mind more and more. And the question usually accompanying that word is, “Am I ready to go home to the States?” It’s not necessarily a question of, “Am I ready to return to my family or my job or my life?” I ask that question more because I am wondering if I have sufficiently and fully completed what I was meant to do here. But here’s the thing. It’s been two months. The first month I spent juggling multiple doubts, but they were hopeful doubts. Those doubts were the initial...

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