Week number 5

This week went by so fast! I don't even know where to begin. I guess at the beginning of the week! So on Monday morning at 7am the five girls I came with left for home. It was a very sad goodbye but I jumped right into my day and didn't have much time to think about the fact that I no longer had a wonderful support system surrounding me. But I have found that I am still strongly supported by them and so many others! I am feeling very blessed to be here and know how many people are praying for me back home! I felt very welcomed into the other volunteer house. They have been great! So my week: it was very busy, as I said I jumped right into working with the social service office at Manzini Youth Care, which is one guy by the way. But I've really enjoyed it. It's a little different from the states but the general concepts and social work believes are very similar. I am working with the boys homes right now. Getting to know the boys and do monthly updates for them. I've been talking with the teachers as well about the boys. I am also taking some of the boys to therapy on Monday's and Friday's, which I really enjoy because I get to talk with them and with the counselor and get to know them better!
On another note: on tuesday, I took Tenele home to her mother and step-father. (I believe I shared some about Tenele in past blogs but to find out more go to Hosea's Heart website and find Mary-Kate's blog). To give a brief overview of the situation. Tenele is about 17 years old and was living with a boyfriend who didn't treat her well. She had a baby with him about 8 months ago, who by the way is adorable. So in a past blog, I talked about going with Mary-Kate to a home visit to Tenele's parents' house. From that we came to the conclusion that Tenele would return home. So on Tuesday, I had the privilege to take her home! It was beautiful thing to see how happy and joyful she was to be home and to see her mother's face light up when she saw her and her granddaughter. It made my day :)
Lastly, Friday I had a meeting with some of the people at MYC for the girl's home. We went to the home and went over what renovations need to be done. It was a very productive meeting and the home seems to have great potential! It looks like they will try to get it done in the next month or two! So I am praying that it will only take that long! In the Swaziland culture, things tend to take a lot longer then what they say it will. So prayers that the home will be a priority and get done but get done well, would be appreciated!
God is good! It has been a good week! It has been an adjustment being on my own and not traveling as a group, but as I said God is good and has give me things to do and people to connect with! I am very excited to see what God will continue to do here and in my life!

Week 4

So this past week was a good week! We hung out with the kids, went to some carepoints with an NFL player's wife (Chanita Foster wife of George Foster who was just traded to the Colts), we went on a safari, took a trip to South Africa to renew our visas to stay in Swaziland, and hung out as a team. It has been an eventful week and a very much go with the flow of things! I don't even know where to start to describe this week. It was the last week with all 6 of us here together. It was great and sad and all sorts of emotions. It will definitely be sad when those 5 wonderful women of God leave and I am still here! But God has great plans for this girls home and I am more then willing to be used by Him to do his work! So some about this week. Monday a few of us got to hang out with Chanita Foster and see the care points and school she has started over here. She is a great woman, very powerful and knows how to get things done! Then on Wednesday Mary-Kate and I went with Tenele (read Mary-Kate's blog for more information on Tenele...you can get to it by Hosea's hearts website) to her mother's home to see if she could possibly move home or had other relatives that she could move in with because where she is living now is not a good situation. Her mother and step father were very willing to have her come home so this tuesday I with the social service office will be taking Tenele home to her mother's home. Thursday we went on a Safari! It was a lot of fun we saw giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and some other really cool animals! Yesterday we had to go to South Africa and we hung out with some of the kids. It was a really good day just spending it with the team and the kids. God has really used this time with these girls to prepare me more for staying here for the year. They have been a huge blessing on this trip and I can't believe they are all heading home on Monday. Each one has had such a big impact on my life that I will never forget! I know God has huge things in store for them and I am excited to see where God takes them! I am sad to see them go but know God has great things in the states for them! I will be praying for them as they return to the states and integrate back into their normal lives!!!! And we will see where God takes me as I continue to live in Swaziland and work to get the girls home started!

Eish!!!! (WEEK 3)

Eish (ee-shh) is a Swazi expression for if something not great happens and you just react to it by saying eish. Sometimes it's used for example: some of the girls from the team and Tenele were playing a card game and Tenele would say eish when she was nervous about what the other person was going to lay down or if they were going to go out before her. I have picked up this expression, so if I were to stub my toe I would say eish. Well that expression explains my week! EISH!!!! Except for the first part of the week was really good we took 6 girls, some of them being prostitutes, out to lunch at KFC (the only American restaurant around). They were great girls and surprisingly shared a lot with us with just meeting most of us for the first time. To hear some of their hearts and their desire for help and to change was something I won't forget! I am glad I will be able to continue those relationships and be here for them when the rest return home. They will still have us supporting them even though not all of us will be here. It was also awesome to watch my teammates love on those girls! It just made my heart full to know how much love God has given them for the people of Swaziland it was a blessing! Tuesday we had a meeting with the head director at Manzini Youth Care, Father Larry, and Sister Judith about the girls home. It was amazing! God is sooo good and when he has something planned things just fall into place! In the meeting most of the talking in the beginning was Father Larry and sister Judith. They shared what they wanted in the home and how they thought it could be run and it lined up exactly with what we were thinking! It was God all the way! They are eager to get it started and wanting to start renovations as soon as possible, which is awesome because we have this joke within our team about American time vs. Swazi time. American time is fast past, on time, whereas Swazi time is slow, go with the flow and whenever I get there I get there! We are all exciting about what God will be doing here with the girl's home and know He has great plans! I know I am more then honored to be the one to stay for the year and help get it started!!!
So for the Eish part of my week....we went out to eat on Tuesday for lunch and did some souvenir shopping. Well I don't know if it was what I had for lunch or what but Tuesday night was not fun! Sorry in advance for the details but if you don't want to know you don't have to read the next few lines! ;) But I got really bad diarrhea and was vomiting! From Tuesday through Friday I can't even start to think how many times I went to the bathroom! It was a sickness I wouldn't wish on anyone, even my worst enemy! But God revealed a lot about myself through it and just the prayers from my team and my Swazi friends made me realized how blessed I am by these people and how much they have faith in Jehovah-rapha, the God who heals. Even though it was not fun to go through coming out of that sickness is so relieving! Friday I finally went to the clinic and received medication for everything! So by Friday evening I was feeling much much better! I still am gaining back my strength from not eating for 3 days but God is good and is truly Jehovah-rapha, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually! So my prayer is that You will know God as healer! That you would let Him touch your life and heal your wounds and scars, whether it may be a physical, spiritual, or an emotional scar/wound/sickness. So even though most of this week was an eish kind of week I know God used it to glorify him and teach me things that maybe I wouldn't have learned otherwise!

Week 2

This week was a rough week but God definitely did some awesome things this week too! Four out of the six of us girls got sick. Either with colds or stomach aches/issues. I've had a cold all week! And if you know me, I don't do well when I'm sick. All I want to do is curl up and sleep all day and just relax. Well, since I couldn't really do that, God definitely helped me through and I pushed through. It was for sure a growing week! But on a better note, we did some fun things this week! We went and saw the girl's home on Monday, which was exciting to see. It needs a lot of work but has great potential. We met with a girl that Mary-Kate and I had met on our first trip to Swaziland, Titi, about the girl's home and being a house mothr and maybe even helping out before the house was ready. She was so willing and so on board, we knew it was God at work. Wednesday one of my teammates and I went with the guy from MYC's social services to an orphanage and helped him with his monthly updates of the kids there. I got a little glimpse of what I will be doing for the year I'm here. It was super exciting. Thursday, we too the morning and were silent until lunch. It was time to spend with God, to listen to his voice. I reread some of my journal from the past year and a half. God has truly been faithful in answering my prayers. He has been preparing me for this trip even before I knew it! It was awesome to see how He had been working in my life. God really does have everything under control! We/I just need to trust in Him and He will take you/me where you're meant to be!

WEEK 1

Update from Swaziland: I got my bag back on Monday! Praise God for that! This has been a good week! We've hung out with kids, which I love! I played soccer with the boys some too! We talked with the organization, Manzini Youth Care, about the girls home which was super exciting. We're starting to get the ball rolling! Right now, MYC is going through a director change so we have to wait until this week to talk to the new director about more details. I'm finally starting to see what I'll be doing for the home and things are coming together. Which is awesome! I will have a lot of say and power in this project so my prayer is that God will guide me as I do His work! It's going to be a new experience a new territory but with God's guidance it'll go exactly how it's supposed to go! God has been teaching me to rely on Him this week and I just never realized how much I rely on others. It has been very eye opening to just see how God can work when you let Him in control and let Him lead!!!! Keep letting Him guide and you will do wonderful things!!!!!

In Swaziland (the beginning of it all)

So we arrived in Swaziland on Thursday. My one bag was lost when we arrived but thankfully I am picking it up today. It arrived a day after me in South Africa and had to be sent to Manzini Swaziland. I have had an array of emotions coming back. It's been so awesome to see some of the people I've met 4 years ago and to know they are still doing okay is amazing! On the other hand it has been overwhelming to think about the fact that I will be gone for a year. I have been really trying to immerse myself in the word of God and trust his promises that he has everything under control and I don't need to worry. As we've been in Swaziland for two days God has just already revealed himself to me so much. The verse that talks about the vine and needing to prune it's branches so that it can produce better fruit keeps coming to mind. I really think this is what the year will be like! A year of growing and God pruning my life and my ways! It's going to be hard and a struggle and I'm sure lonely at times but I know that I need to lean on God for my support and that His love is enough for me to get through anything! I am here with 5 others girls who are staying for a month. They have been such a blessing in my life already. They are encouraging and uplifting. They have such a passion for this mission and for God it amazes me! I know God is at work through it all and I am holding on to that truth! (because otherwise I wouldn't be able to do it!) I am excited to share with you all what God is doing! I will update my blog every week and share more about what God is doing! Let God be your guide!

Coming fast!

I have less then a month before I leave and things are coming together. I had a benefit concert May 19. I raised $500! Much more than I thought I would make! God continues to humble me with how faithful He has been and how much He has used those in my life to support me! I am truly blessed! My last day of work was May 25 and since then the fact that I am leaving for a year in a few weeks has been hitting me hard! It's a bittersweet time. But I have been working to enjoy each moment that I have with my family and friends! I am learning to enjoy each moment to the fullest! I appreciate what I have so much more because of it! God has been shaping this trip and my heart and though it is hard to leave what I know and love, I know this next year is going to be life changing and exactly what God has planned for my life! So as it gets closer to me leaving I invite you to pray with me for God to continue to prepare me and the group going with me, praying for the home to come together and the girls who will be in the home. It has been crazy how quick the time has gone but I just wanted to thank everyone who has supported and helped me through this time.

I think Winnie the Pooh said it perfectly:

"What day is it?" asked Pooh
"It's today." squeaked Piglet.
My favorite day." said Pooh.