Adventures – Page 5

Choosing the Uncommon

March 18, 2015
Adventures
General Posts

On Sunday a group of us went to church with one of the missionary families that we work with. The church they go to is in English and the songs are similar to those back home. As much fun as it is to worship with the Swazis and to attend church with them, I love that there is the opportunity to also have church in a familiar setting. The pastor wasn’t there this past Sunday, so a member of the congregation did his best to share a message with us. He spoke mostly from Matthew 26, preaching on the woman anointing Jesus with the expensive perfume. When the disciples saw what the woman...

Unexplainable Joy

March 18, 2015
Adventures
General Posts

Thursdays are by far my favorite care point days because we go to Mahlabeneni. Over the river and past Matata, to Mahlabeneni we go (over the river and through the woods to Grandmothers house we go). As soon as we step out of the car, my team is greeted by many smiling children from that community. It makes us feel loved. One of the main reasons I love this care point so much is because of my sweet friend, Tema. My heart breaks for this handicapped young woman who I fear may never understand God’s unfailing love for her. She was fearfully and wonderfully created. God always seems to...

Flora’s Church

March 18, 2015
Adventures
General Posts

We were instructed to pray in the morning, but I didn’t want to pray blindly; I wanted to pray for specifics. My team decided to go on a prayer walk! I walked with one of my team leaders, Jessica. We walked first to the medical clinic and prayed for the people that work there. I felt like a crazy missionary, wearing a long skirt and carrying a bible around the bush of Africa. Haha, I’m sure I was quite a sight. After the clinic, we went into the village area, which was a bunch of wonderful little stone huts strewn across the red dirt. Wild umbrella trees were scattered along the...

Muddy Eyes

March 18, 2015
Adventures
General Posts

I sit on the church steps and pray for the preschoolers on break. They are counting from 1 to 20 (always forgetting the number 14), fighting over the swing, and chattering back and forth in si-Swati. Statistics say, 1 in 5 of these children have HIV. My God, be with these children. Give them long lives and give them joy for tomorrow. Allow them to grow up and be leaders of this community. Give them your love and grace, I pray. I trust that “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor...

Consumed In Brokenness

March 4, 2015
Adventures
General Posts

Darkness and beauty surround me. How can they intertwine? Yellow eyes and broad smiles. Empty stomachs and hearty laughter. Yes, there is a darkness here. It lurks and weighs on the shoulders of this land. It resides in the shadows of the sugarcane fields. It slithers alongside the mambas. It disturbs my slumber and waits for me to turn around. Do you not know? Have you not heard? I will never turn my eyes away from the Love I see. Your crafty claws are no match for the Craftsman. My friends, bring your torn hearts to the Healer and bask in the majesty. Yes, there is a...

When Tides of Longing Overwhelm Me

February 14, 2015
Adventures
Admissions Department

Every time change happens I leave something behind. That is how change works. You leave a place that made you comfortable, made you safe. You leave friends, familiar conversations, people you trust, people you play with, and people you love. You leave what you know which even, to some extent, includes leaving a part of yourself. When you leave a place, you leave a place that grew you, a place where influential conversations and memories happened that make your soul rich and satisfied. But they say the hardest part about moving away is not necessarily the leaving, it is the staying. When you...

Author: Adventures