On Wednesday I visited my very close friend at RFM (The Manzini hospital). I could not find him when I went to his bed. A nurse came up to me and said, "Follow me". We walked into the TB room and in the corner was my friend, low in spirit, ashamed of his condition.
I went up to him and greeted himwith a hug and a loving smile. Suddenly, he started to cry, he told me how ashamed he was that he wanted me to leave becuase he didn't want me looking at him anymore.
This was so surprising and heartbreaking, I told him that he is still as beatutiful and close to my heart than ever before; that there is no reason to be embarassed or ashamed; that i love him as much as ever before.
After he settled down his sister walked over to us. He asked me if I could leave the room because she had to change his clothes and bedpan for him. I asked him why he didn't ask me to help him. His response was that he didn't want me to see the bad parts of him, but only the good.
I felt sadened a little because I love this man so much, no matter what his poor conditions look like, I will love him all the same.
Is this how we are as God's children? When we are full of crap will we ask for His help or will we hide from His loving help. Do we ever realize how unconditional His infinate love is for us? How long will it take for us to be able to bring our whole selves (crap and all) to God, to say "here I am do with me what you want"? All God wants is to just be able to hold us, full of our tears and crap, and to just say "my precious child, I love you so much". And that is all it is, our Friend just loving on us as much as He did when He created us.
It is a journey to grow with our Friend, our Father, and to accept the help He is offering to us.
The other day I went to the mens ward and started ministering to this one man,
just building a friendship, then something happened. I literally saw a
new form of love, a new tangible presence of what love is, of how to
love, it was cool. It is nothing like I can even explain properly it
was a new insight, awakening, of a piece of God's heart. Seeing this
man change in front of my eyes, seeing in his eyes lost and despair
turning into hope and compassion, what a sight, what an experience!
Truly I cannot even explain in words, it was a new teaching a new
lesson that I, we, need to learn. It brought many answers, but, more
questions. Is this all Love is? How much Love do I have? How much am I
lacking? Does anyone else see Love like I see it? Have I even been
Loving properly? Have I even been Loving? What is Love?
This man has truly bonded with me, when I come in I see a change in his
spirit. He greets me as he says, "Hello my closest friend, I have
missed you this week (even if it is only a few days since I saw him
last) I have never stopped thinking about you, have you forgotten me?"
In response I say, "No, Babe (Siswati for father, it is a form of
respect) I have not stopped thinking about you, I missed you very very
much and I am happy to be with you right now." I love this man so much,
although He is being affected by AIDS our conversation (with or without
words) are not affected, the love that we each feel from each other is
so over whelming and strong that most of the time we don't even say
anything, we just laugh and smile and tell each other how much we love
each other.
Sometimes I think about it, a lot of what we do is just tell each other
how much we love each other, his family and other people in the
hospital laugh at us because of it. But, I think about it, What would
Jesus do in that moment? Jesus was (and is) all about Love, I mean "God
is Love" (1 John 4:8). So isn't that all we need, Love. Such a small
word with so many meanings and so necessary. Although it may sound
weird to the people in the hospital that I keep telling a man how much
I love him, I think to myself, this is all this man needs to hear, and
isn't that what we all need to hear? To think that God is always
sitting by our bed side (as I am sitting by my friend's) just telling
us how much He loves us (whether we are hearing it or not), waiting to
have that conversation with no words but just laughing and smiling with
us. I believe when Jesus came to earth He didn't come here to just
preach messages, but to love. What did Jesus do when He was with His disciples just sitting, I believed, He loved them (that tangible
presence of Love I was describing earlier). But, this is were we come
in, when are we going to respond, accept the conversation and just look
back at our Daddy, our Friend, and tell Him how much we love Him. It is a two way conversation, Love, the ultimate form of communication.
Not a poor Swazi woman but a precious daughter in the Kingdom of God.
As I think about this title the more it rings true in my heart. Not that we as Americans are holy, powerful, or greater than others, but that is what we all think.
I was saying goodbye today to a little girl and her sister that I have been ministering to in the hospital and I brought in my camera to get a photo of them and with them. When I was taking one of the pictures the woman turned to me and said, "You are going to publish this and it will be titled 'poor swazi woman'". I was so taken away by this comment! But there was something about it that strung so true in my heart.
We are always the ones saying that we need to go and help this country or change this government because it is not like ours. But who are we to say that we are better than others and to put ourselves upon a pedestal to the rest of the world. We need to come to the realization that we are equal. We have the same God, came from the same place, and we all need each other sometimes. Don't put yourself up on a pedestal today because someone might need you to just be there for them, to be equal not higher.
Being in Swaziland is quite an experience, truly like nothing before. I have seen and encountered more 'eye-opening' events than ever expected. We have been working at a hospital that looks like it is a hole in the wall, gone to gumpsites where the smell is so wretched that you can smell it a half mile away, and even got our backpacks stolen (no need to worry, nothing valuable was taken)! All I can say about this trip is heartbreaking!
The other night we were watching a movie called "Without the King," about the King of Swaziland. It shows many heartwrenching images of families having to eat their pets intestines and drink the mud from the hole where it rained, because they are so poor. Then, it shows the king in his room of gold eating a luxury dinner and riding in his Mercedes Benz.
At first this infuriated me, to think that a king that says he loves his country so much does very little to help those truly in need. Then I heard words of wisdom speaking 'aren't we all like the king?' I didn't understand right away, but it became clear! We are all kings and queens of Swaziland, we see the pain happening in this dark and broken country yet we do nothing or little to help. Who are we to judge and to tell someone else how to reign a country? All we can do is intercede, love, and go! Lately, the Lord has been pushing me to just GO...Go and help...Go in His name, and He will be there.
Living here in Swaziland is so beautiful, but most importantly the people here bring such joy to my heart. Seeing some of them with hardly anything, but still loving you with all they have. It just shows how much I struggle with trusting the Lord, even though He has promised to protect us through everything.
I pray that your heart may break like mine has for this world; for Swaziland, Kenya, India, and even America!
It's been a busy few days for the team as they've been introduced to the Swazi culture...
On Friday, we headed to a local animal park for some team time, minor language classes, and cultural training. It started to pour with rain half way through the day, so the girls sheltered under a lappa (a gazebo with a thatched roof) while Kevin and Matt cooked the meat on a braai (barbeque). Although most of the animals chose to shelter from the rain, we were able to have some great time as a team!!! The team has been together for a week during training camp, but Matt and I only just met them in-country. Already the team is welcoming us in as part of the family!!!
The sun came out in full force on Sunday as we headed to a traditional Swazi church. It's incredible watching the Swazi people sing and dance. This church truly loves to worship the Lord and were excited for us to join them. They have requested that next week we come with a song to sing, which should be interesting!!! We have dancers and actors on our team, but seem to be missing the singers...haha...I'm sure the Swazi's will love it no matter how on-key we are!!!
Thank you for your prayers as the team was travelling. Keep praying that they will allow the Lord to truly use them as they minister in the hospitals, prisons and to the orphans.
We just heard from Matt Best in Swaziland and wanted to let everyone know that after a long journey the team made it to Swaziland. They are tired and yet excited about what the Lord has in store for them.
Pray that they would recover quickly as they adjust to their new environment. Pray also that they would quickly build relationships with their leaders (Matt & Naomi) and the swazi's.
Most of you have questions concerning your trip, and I'd like to be as informative as possible!
Q. Will you have electricity in Swaziland?
A. Yes, your housing will have electricity!
Q. Mailing Address?
A. Swaziland Address: Adventures In Missions Attn: your name
PO Box 5526 Mbabane
Swaziland, Africa
It costs money to RECEIVE packages from the USA, no matter what the person paid to send it.
The best way to receive care packages is for the people in the USA to send things in padded envelopes. Care packages sent in boxes however can be very costly to pick up, depending on the size, weight, and contents of the package. Letters and post cards cost nothing to receive, thus these are best! Packages typically take 1-2 weeks to get to Swaziland from the Unites States Postal Service...****However, once they arrive to Swaziland they need to be cleared by customs...This can take anywhere from a week, to a month, to more than 2 months...or even "never arrive." Just so everyone knows. We've had a package sent in February, however it only arrived in December of that year. Set expectations low, and hope for the best :)
Q. Money?
A. We do not reccomend bringing more then. ~$50 extra spending cash. We do suggest you bring a ATM card to withdraw money.
Q. Mosquito Nets?
A. They are not required to have but if you wish to bring them that is your choice, there are lots of mosquitoes. For some of the time you will be in bunks, so hanging nets won't always work, wrap-around ones are better. It is hot and the mosquito nets do make it hotter.
Q. Can family and friends go to the team blog page?
A. YES! You will be posting updates while you are out on the field. We highly suggest family and friends subscribe to this blog so they can be part of your ministry while your gone!
You might be sleeping outside here at training camp. You need to come prepared for cold weather here as well.
Your final paperwork is past due! This was expected to be in the office. If your Account Page does not show that all is in; you need to get that done today, NO EXCEPTIONS!
You need to mail ALL the documents to:
Adventures In Missions
Admissions Department
6000 Wellspring Trl
Gainesville, GA 30506
Your support account should also reflect the deadline. If you have less than [60%/100%] in your account, you should have talked with us about extra requirements for you. If you have any questions, please call us immediately.
We are two weeks away from training camp and I know there are still some questions about ministry supplies and luggage. We are not going to provide a list of ministry supplies this year as we are getting very stocked up with supplies in Swaziland. If there are any supplies or activities that you want to do or can think of doing with the children in Swaziland then you are more than welcome to pack those along with the rest of your stuff!
As far as luggage for the trip, you should pack one large suitcase that can fit most of your belongings. You are welcome to pack a second bag as well but you will be responsible for the cost of that second bag.
If there are a few people who are able to bring an empty duffle bag with them to training camp that would be very helpful as we have some supplies that we will need to get over to Swaziland.
We look forward to seeing all of you in just a couple weeks!!
This is your flight information. Be sure to pass this on to your parentsso they will be informed! If you have questions about luggage (what type and how much it can weigh), please contact your airline, because each airline is different in their policies. If you have questions about what to pack, refer to your handbook.
Atlanta to London
Delta DL10 1.27.09 10:50PM 1.28.09 12:15PM
London to JoBurg
SA SA235 1.28.09 6:00PM 1.29.09 7:25PM JoBurg to Manzini
SA SA8008 1.29.09 4:20PM 1.29.09 5:25PM
Manzini to JoBurg SA SA8017 4.20.09 3:30PM 4.20.09 4:35PM JoBurg to London SA SA234 4.20.09 7:50PM 4.21.09 6:25PM London to Atlanta Delta DL9 4.21.09 1:50PM 4.21.09 6:30PM
