Swaziland has shattered our expectations

 We have had a slow start but things have finally started to pick up and all the things that we thought were going to happen haven’t. God is showing us that our expectations of what this trip should look like aren’t what they should be. Our team has been frustrated for the most part the past week because the ministries that we thought we were going to be doing were all falling through but God is good and yesterday was our first official full day of ministry. Last week the team was really questioning as a whole the reason that they were here and wondering why God was putting them in a position of waiting and uncertainty and the truth is that we still don’t know why but we have all put of faith and trust in him and have started to understand God of a deeper level. It’s a very amazing and refreshing thing; to see God working in ways that shatter our expectations.

Like we’ve said in earlier blogs though our team knows how to do one thing and that’s love. From the different care points that we have gone too so far the team just knows how to and wants to love some kids and it’s a very amazing and humbling thing to see as leaders. Each one of the students have really grown in Christ and we’ve seen amazing things happen and we pray that these things will continue to happen. Girls being able to not care about what other people think and talk openly about their past and know that the team is here to love and support them the whole time.

We would love to take some time and tell you a little something about each student.

Ryan has become a human jungle gym for the kids and it seems his energy and free spirit have caused a lot of the kids to be drawn to him and hang all over him. The kids call him Rambo.

Mary-Kate has really found her place at Goo-Goos school and feels a calling to work and teach with the kids there. She has really found her niche. She also is a very caring and thoughtful person and has written notes of encouragement to the entire team.

Blayne has a great way of being honest and level headed in everything she does and has brought a lot of great ideas to the team as to how we should do things. Her leadership skills are apparent and well.

Staci is obviously quiet but she’s bold and not afraid and has been a real comfort for some girls on the team. She also was playing soccer with the boys and holding her own. She isn’t afraid to speak but only speaks when she thinks it necessary. A gift that many people don’t have.

Kate isn’t afraid to be who she is on this team. Full of energy and fun but still mature and very social, she can go up and have a conversation with anyone and frequently does and the Swazis are blessed by it.

Daniel brings great things to this team. His ability to lead worship is amazing and he can be serious and then be able to joke and have fun. These two things are a great combination that this team needs.

Rachel S., yesterday, was leading a whole team of kids in a game of hopscotch and some sort of weird tag game. She was bold. The team really saw God in her ability to relate to the middle school aged kids. It was a blessing to see.

Dawn is someone who thinks and reasons through things and during team time is a great listener. Her ability to be a servant and lead without getting glory is a true testament of her faith is Jesus.

Christina has made some great breakthroughs in her understanding of who God is and the team was in awe of her willingness to be vulnerable. She too like Staci has some pretty great soccer moves and all the boys are pretty shocked when she hits the field.

Lauren is a very willing person. Yesterday we went to the hospital in a small team and she sat with one woman the whole time and held her very sick child. She wanted to find out a way to bring her a magazine or something to do to help her pass the time. She told her if she could she would come sit with her everyday.

Kelsey is hungry for the word of God and it’s awesome. She has been asking some really awesome questions and really seeking us out as leaders to ask us what we think about things. Having someone hungry to learn is always a blessing on a team and Kelsey’s laughter and spirit and a joy.

Jessie is honest and we love it. Her laugh and joy make the whole team laugh and then we all can’t stop. Sometimes we don’t even know why she’s laughing but we all laugh just the same because she’s so infectious.

Haley. What can you say about Haley but a super servant and someone who takes after Christ’s heart. The stories that Haley tells me personally bring tears to my eyes in the way that she loves other people. Haley isn’t afraid to get dirty…literally. What a true picture of Jesus.

Hanna is someone that you want to be around. She has an ability to make someone laugh and she also has a great ability to be real and honest even when she knows that it might not be taken well by the team. She’s also a great worship leader and has a beautiful voice.

Katy is always making sure that everyone is okay. She really has a great heart for the kids here in Swazi. She’s deeply concerned about things that aren’t of herself which show her ability to not be selfish.

Steph has an awesome ability to explain things to people in a way that helps them understand it when it’s confusing to them. Steph is also very caring and cares about the overall spirit of this team.

Rachel F. just last night after a long team time rose her hand and said “guys I just want to make sure that before we sign a team covenant that we are all in on it and committed to doing what it says.” It was a very mature thing to say especially after an hour and a half of talking about the team covenant.

Amber cares about people and has a huge heart for the kids at the care points. Amber has never been in a bad mood and always has a good thing to say to or about anyone. She has a great ability to relate to people and does a great job of checking on the more quiet people on the team to make sure they are all right.

Jesse, Tana, and Page