I could be in India…

Moses
said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness
pass before you…” -Exodus 33:18-19.

I just wanted to write a blog to tell you about God’s glory
in bringing me back to Swaziland. He is so good to me to bring me back here for
this short while and Exodus 33 says that God’s glory is seen in His goodness.
God is so good. 

To be honest I never planned on or felt led in any way to
come back to Swaziland this year. The thought never crossed my mind. I had
pursued many different options but God always said no to what I looked into and
told me to wait. I really wanted to go to Asia. Finally the World Race
Trafficking trip came up last spring and through a lot of prayer I applied and
got accepted. It was a trip focused on trafficking victims in the slave and sex
trade in India, Thailand, Cambodia, and the US and was 4 months of travelling
between each place and partnering in ministry in each. Doesn’t that sound
amazing? I was excited, like very excited, but towards the end of June this
summer I found out that the trip had gotten cancelled due to various
circumstances and so I was back where I had started.

I prayed. A lot. I knew I was to go away for a while in
September; I had all the money I needed and had already told my work I was
leaving so now the question was what do I do. AIM said I could switch to any of
their trips but I didn’t want to do the full world race and nothing seemed
quite right. Honestly it was a little frustrating but I know God and I knew he
had a plan so I just kept praying a searching. There were other Reallife trips
to Asia but I just didn’t feel led to them anymore. For a while I really had no
idea at all what was going to happen, which was fine but time was starting to
run out. One day I decided to look one more time at all my options with AIM and
there was this trip listed for Swaziland.

I love Swaziland. It was here in 2009 that God really
changed me and called me. Something happened in me here that I can’t explain
except by saying that we serve an amazing God and when it came time to leave
all I could think about was when I was going to come back. Honestly, if I had
the option I probably wouldn’t have gone home and just stayed here in
Swaziland. It was top priority for me to come back as soon as possible but over
time although I didn’t lose my love for Swaziland I lost much of that drive
return quickly.

When I saw this trip listed God started to awaken the heart
in me that I use to have and again gave me that call for Swaziland. I switched
trips and now I am here.

There are times during the summer where the disappointment
would creep in and I would think of all the things I could be doing in the
fall, like I could be in India or Thailand but I will be in Swaziland. Every
once in a while even here I find myself thinking I could be in Thailand right
now…

I
could be in India right now working with women who have no idea that their
identity is not in the jobs they are forced to do but in Jesus Christ

BUT

I
am in Swaziland working with women who now know that their identity is in Jesus
Christ because God used my team to tell them.

————-

I
could be in Thailand right now in the red light district surrounded by tons of
broken people

BUT

I
am in Swaziland in rural Timbutini surrounded by many homesteads of broken
people who know that they Lord loves them because we got to tell them in church
on Sunday.

————

I
could be in Cambodia holding orphans because their mothers were killed in the
conflict of all that goes on with prostitution

BUT

I
am in Swaziland holding orphans because their mothers were killed by an AIDS
epidemic much bigger than themselves.

I could be in India, Thailand, or Cambodia right now BUT I
am not. I am in Swaziland and I wouldn’t change a thing.

I will go to Asia someday and when I am there I am sure I
will not want to be anywhere else but for now I am in Swaziland and I am so
thankful to God for messing up my plans and bringing me here. I LOVE this
country and can’t imagine spending this fall doing anything differently.

God is good.