Eswatini —> Nelspruit

Hey guys! We have completed our time in Eswatini and are now in Nelspruit. We left Eswatini this morning, and we will be in Nelspruit this week to debrief our first month overseas. Our debrief will end with an African safari on Friday at Kruger, so we are all looking forward to that! We will head to Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa on Saturday, and that is where we will be for the remainder of our time overseas.

Couple Ministry Stories from Last Week

We got to check out one of AIM’s ministries that we hadn’t seen yet. They have a home for children with special needs. There are 3 mothers that live there, along with 5 children whom they take care of. We got to meet the mothers and the children. They also needed lots of help around their property, so we got to help them with various projects like mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, tidying their school and sewing rooms, washing the windows, etc. The mothers and AIM’s long-term missionary for that ministry were so grateful that we were there. We were the first World Race team to help their ministry, so it was both special for them and special for us to be there.

During an ATL (Ask the Lord) day, I got to meet a young woman named Precious. The conversation my friends and I had with her was super life-giving. She opened up about how her life is a testimony to God’s goodness and faithfulness. She told us she is a single mother and relies on God to provide for her. We could just tell that she had a peace in her that only comes from Jesus. We were able to encourage her and pray over her, and as we were finishing up the conversation, she kept saying things like: “You guys are uplifting my spirit.” “I feel different now!” It has been really cool to connect with people who know Jesus already because we get to both encourage them and receive encouragement from them.

When I was walking over to her, the first thing she said to me was, “I like you! You have so much happiness.” This led into our conversation about Jesus. It was eye opening to me to see how simply walking with the joy we have in Jesus and loving people by taking interest in them opens up the door to bring Jesus into conversation. It also shows me that people are watching, and people notice when you’ve got something different to you. She was watching before I ever started conversation with her. May the way we live our lives make people ask questions for which the only answer is the Gospel, the person of Jesus.

Lots of Learning

One thing I’m learning throughout my time here is that living unhurried leads to loving well. When I’m not living in a rush, not living with an agenda, it allows me to be constantly attentive to the Holy Spirit. It allows me to align myself with the Father’s heart and see where He wants me to partner with Him to love those around me, both with the people of Eswatini and with my squad mates. It is still very much a growing process, but when I slow down, I’m so much more available to join in with God in what He is already doing around me.

I apologize for the late post this week. Wifi has been very scarce the past couple weeks. Moving forward, I’m not sure which day I will be posting, as we are switching locations. I always love hearing from you back home, so thank you for reaching out! 🙂 You all are awesome. I miss you guys, and I love you all.