Our joy is from the Lord. There are so many ways that the Lord provides joy! I have seen it over and over again here in Eswatini. When it is pouring raining and we are all dancing and playing volleyball in the mud and the rain! When we all scream and play silly games inside on the rainy day! When we play soccer! Joy is seen in the laughter, kindness, and the welcoming hearts of the people we encounter in Eswatini. I have been loving seeing the joy in the people here! This week I started reading the book of Acts. In Chapter 3 Peter and John healed a man who was crippled since birth. Once he was healed, he began “walking, and leaping, and praising God” (verse 8). This man was filled with so much joy! Once healed this man didn’t immediately say anything about how he was healed or his amazement but he went straight to praising God. This passage also made me realize that our bodies are not ours, they are Gods and we should use them to reflect Him. To walk where he wants us to walk. To speak about who He is and what He has done. To dance and praise His greatness. His breath is in our lungs so we should use that breath to praise Him and tell everyone about how incredible He is! God is purposeful and powerful. We should praise him in the good, in the bad, and in the unknown, because He has a plan. I loved seeing everyone’s joy this week!
This week ministry included childrens ministry, sports ministry, and house visits. We went to new care points this week!! It was so sweet! We went to a house and talked to a family for a while on Tuesday. We talked to the family and asked her how we could pray for them and the gogo asked us to pray for her business that it can continue to grow. We then asked her what her business was, so she brought out what she makes. She makes mats that you roll out for people to sit on or lay on when you have visitors at your house. The family brought out the wooden piece that is used to construct the mat. They started teaching us how to make one! It takes her 3-4 days to make one mat! It’s a lot of hard work! It was also cool seeing that she can make them using scraps of plastic from trash bags. We went back to this house multiple times throughout the rest of the week. We ended up buying a mat from that family to support them! On Wednesday when we went back to visit that house, a man named Zola came by and visited with us. Zola is a man who is blind but loves to use music as an outlet for his struggles. He connects with people through songs as well. A big theme from his songs was about his history from emotional abuse. Another house visit we went on this week we encountered a lady who struggled with mental health. I was able to relate to her and I let her know she was not alone, that I previously really struggled a lot with anxiety but that the Lord freed me from that and flooded me with peace. I hope and pray she will find that same peace in trusting the Lord and that she also gets a community where she can talk about what is going on in her life. I really connected with a lot of the kiddos this week at the new care point. It was hard having to leave them since we are leaving for Jeffery’s Bay in South Africa this upcoming week.
At the care point that we went to this week, we played a lot of volleyball with the primary school kids. It was so fun and refreshing. It allowed opportunities to connect with kids, teach them english, and be joyful together! It was a way to connect with this community through something as simple as playing volleyball with them.
I have loved our time in Eswatini! It has been such a gift. I know that the Lord’s hand was in all of it! I hope and pray that the people here get to know Him on a deeper and more intimate level. It will be sad leaving because we have been connecting and building relationships with the people here at the different care points, with the people at the leadership school, with our amazing hosts, and with the partners who work with AIM (Adventures in Missions) here in Eswatini! I am thankful for Eswatini, the people here, and what the Lord has been doing here!
