Where to even start! I haven’t been able to really write and post blogs since being in Swazi so it’s been a hot minute. Life has been so good and so so sweet! It’s crazy that our time here is already wrapping up and in just a couple weeks we’ll be in Indonesia! I’ll do my best to keep this from being super long but there’s a lot to say so bear with me. I’ll start off by telling you what ministry has looked like here.
The main ministry in Swazi is what we call care points. AIM (Adventures In Missions) has several different care points all throughout the country and at each of these care points they provide a meal for the local children and some of the local moms. For a lot of these kids this is the only meal they get each day. Our job at the care points has honestly just been to play with and love on them! Most of the kids parents are so busy with work that these kids basically raise themselves. By going to the care points we’re able to show them just a glimpse of God’s love for them and to encourage them! This has honestly been one of my favorite ministries on the race! These kids have next to nothing yet they walk with such pure joy and laughter. I’ve learned so much from them about the true joy of the Lord and walking in thankfulness! I’ve been blessed to make so many sweet little friends and it broke my heart to say goodbye to them!
Another part of ministry has been doing house visits which is something I’ve really learned to love! We go to care points Tuesday through Friday and on Tuesday and Thursdays we’d go do a couple house visits while the kids were in school. During the mornings while we waited for kids and weren’t doing house visits my team and I would do a Bible study and just have some sweet time to talk and encourage one another. I’ve loved all of our ministry here but I think something that made it so special is the team that I had with me. While we’re in Swazi our whole squad is together again and instead of being in our normal teams for ministry we’ve been mixed up and split into three teams. At first I was sad I didn’t have my full team with me but I realized that this was such a beautiful opportunity to get to know other people on my squad better. I honestly wouldn’t trade my ministry team for anything. I absolutely loved all our conversations and getting to know them so much better. I could say so much more about our ministry and care point, I could go on and on for hours about how much I love it but for the sake of time I’ll move on.
While there are a lot of things I’ve learned in Swazi and so much I could say I think one of the main things I’ve learned here is how simple but sweet life is. To be honest a big reason I felt called to the race was because I felt the Lord calling me to more simplicity. I was tired of how complicated and busy life can be and I wanted to see life stripped down to the absolute basics. Now, when I pictured the race and simplicity I pictured what life here in Swazi is like. I pictured sleeping in a tent, walking miles down a dirt road to visit someone, losing power and barely having running water. I pictured getting to sit with the Lord in pure quiet and stillness, a life free of the distractions from any sort of technology. The time we’ve had in Swazi and the simplicity of it is something my heart has been longing for and something the Lord has been so good to fulfill! I’ve learned so much of what it is to truly sit in the moment, in the silliness, in the sweetness of everyday life with Jesus and community! I’ve learned what true joy and blessings look like!
Another big thing I’ve learned in Swazi is how equip I am in the Lord, how many big things I have to say, and how many answered prayers I’ve been walking in without even realizing it. Now there’s a lot that goes into these lessons and what I’ve learned so I’ll try to keep this short. To sum it all up I’ve realized since being on the race that there were a lot of things I didn’t believe or really think I could do before. I’ve always looked to other people to start and lead things because I don’t see myself as a leader. However, the truth is that the Lord has equip me just as much as anyone else to lead things. He’s given me my own story and testimony. He’s brought me my own revelations and blessed me with specific thoughts and wisdom. He’s shown me bits of His heart and laid certain burdens and desires on mine. He’s given me things to say and to lead in and so many opportunities to walk that out. Again I could say so much more on this but to help out a bit I’ll give you an example of how I’ve seen the Lord shift my heart and mind toward leadership. A couple weeks ago my team decided to go through the book of Revelations and study it in depth. For some reason (the Lords doing) my team decided that one of the other girls and I should co lead it. Now this probably doesn’t sound like that much but Emilee before the race would have never thought she could lead an in depth Bible Study on any book let alone Revelations. For years I’ve asked the Lord to teach me how to have deep thoughts, I’ve asked for wisdom and understanding and without realizing it I’ve seen Him answer it. He’s given me a voice and thoughts that I never thought I had before and He’s teaching me how to walk those out and how to walk out being a leader. He’s equip me for everything that He asks of me, I don’t have to wait form someone else because He can do it through me just as well as them.
Before I end I wanted to share a little update about what’s next. For the next week my squad and I are at debrief and then headed to something called Awakening for a couple days. Awakening is basically a cross over between three squads and a time for us to have lots of messages and worship before our final country. Following Awakening my squad will be headed off to our final country. Now there has been a bit of a change of my squad. My team and two other teams will still be traveling to Indonesia and doing ministry there until May but the other two teams on my squad are headed to Malaysia. I am sad to see our squad split especially for our last country but I’m so excited for Indonesia! A couple prayer requests would be:
- Safe travels as we head to awakening and then to our final countries
- For open and expectant hearts, I know the Lords gonna do a lot in Indonesia
- For Indonesia to be a fertile and open country as it is a Muslim country
- For peace and such clear direction from the Lord in everything we do
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for praying! I know there’s a lot in here so if you wanna chat about any of it or have any questions leave a comment or reach out to me and I’ll try to respond! Below are some pictures from my time here!
Love,
Emilee
What a sweet time of the Lord continuing to grow and shape you more and more into the image of His Son. It’s so cool to read your updates! Glad you’re safe and we’ll continue to pray for your team as you get ready for Awakening. I pray it gives you a new energy, excitement, and expectancy as you head to Indonesia to continue being His hands and feet.