SWAZILAND: 1/21-4/21/08 (RL College) - Making Disciples: Reaching Our World

Homestead Tour Video

Sun, 3 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A little look at where we lived for three months!!!

PICTURES!!!

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hey all so I finally took the time to put some pics of
our trip up since internet was so slow in country. Enjoy! They are located in the Swazi Photos tab to the left but here are just a couple...

our team...

Pictures hardly touch our experiences but I thought you might enjoy looking at them. : )

Lyrics of my heart!

Mon, 5 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I have been home for two weeks now and what a whirlwind! Life in America is so different and although I am embracing running water and two ply T.P. I am missing my team and the relationships I built there. I continue to learn of God's love for me and His plan. Trusting Him is a daily decision.

I just thought I would share lyrics to a song that met me where I am at... The words are powerful and bring me to tears everytime...

Never Again
Through the grieving of the broken
Hold them in Your hands
And You listen to their prayers

You hear th crying of the orphans
You hold them in You hands
And You listen to their prayers

Wake up God
Move Yourself
Wicked men have crushed You children
We pray
We wait
How long until You say...
Never again
Never again

You see the bruise on the victims
You hold them in Your hands
And You listen to their prayers

You are King forever and ever
You Kingdom come on down
Let justice roll like water, like water
The wickedness will drown.

(Enter the Worship Circle 4th circle)

One Last Time

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Lucky for me (and possibly some of you) I am still a contributer on the blog and felt like putting up an update now that we're all home. I'm guessing that none of my teammates will write another blog because they became so much of a chore while we were in Swaziland. Regardless, I wanted to just share a bit about some things I never touched on before and talk about being back.
The last Saturday that we were there, something happened that I really feel the need to share. At the Mbabane hospital, there was a 13 month old girl named Fezeka that I had prayed over and prayed with the previous week. When we went for our last visit and I saw her, she was doing worse. It wasn't until I held her though that I knew that she was truly dying. I really felt as though she may not make it through the day, and through the tears of her mother and words of the nurse, my belief seemed to be affirmed. I knew that the only way she would survive was for God to heal her, so I asked members of my team to pray over her in addition to my prayers...the more the better. I've continued to think about Fezeka daily, especially because I don't know how she is doing, but I am hoping for an update from one of the FYMs soon. Please lift her and her mother up in prayer.
In general, my heart remains in Swaziland. When I think of little Andile & Lindo at Mangweneni, Nobuhle & Sipuiso at the abandoned babies home, or think of Ntenje at Behkelonge, or even Fisokuhle and his mom at the Manzini hospital, my heart aches to see them again. I even think about the babies I met at the hospitals and wonder how they are doing now, especially Nathan and Fezeka. Often I tell people that I would hop on a plane tomorrow if God told me I could, but I know that there are some things that God wants to take me through before I return. Africa is fully in my blood now and I can't wait for the chance to go back.
On another note, I miss my teammates dearly. I knew I would miss them a lot, but I didn't think it would be this much. Sometimes I wake up in the morning, expecting to roll over and see all the other girls rustling in their beds, and I am disappointed to find myself alone in my room. I remember how we all craved alone time, but aside from the time I need with God, I'm getting sick of being alone. Even through my struggles and how difficult I could be for others to be around, my team loved me, served me, spoke truth over me, and prayed for me. I will be eternally grateful for what they did and will miss being surrounded by that kind of presence. For all of the parents of my teammates that may read this, I want to tell you something: your child is amazing! God has been faithful in helping you to raise him or her up to be a man/woman of God. And, as I'm sure you've noticed by now, the LORD has been growing and changing your child in amazing ways, I pray that you can embrace that, though I know that I don't need to tell you how to be a good parent.
I don't know how to close this post, other than by leaving it open. As I'm sure is the case with the rest of my team, there is still so much to process, so many questions left answers, so much heart ache to deal with. There is no happy, tied together conclusion here because there isn't one in my life, and I'm okay with that being the case for a while.
Thanks to everyone who lifted our team up in prayer, supported us, and encouraged us...it has been appreciated more than words could say.
God Bless,
Leah Rose

The End is Here

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Sanibonani from Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland!

It's our last weekend in country and the team is starting to say their good-byes. I thought I'd post a rundown of what this coming week looks like so you'll know how to pray for us!!!

Today they have to say farewell to their relationships in the hospital and the abandoned babies' home in the city.

Tonight is our last fellowship with the fyms at the teamhouse in Manzini. We will be leading worship and are very excited for this time together.

Tomorrow, we say good-bye to our churches and our community. We will be responsible for leading the worship at Pastor Walter's church. Frankie is preaching.

Monday is the last off day for the team. It will be split between saying good-bye to our friends in Bekelonge and communication/craft market for the team.

On Tuesday, we will say good-bye to those at the Manzini Hospital and Mangwaneni. It will be our last day of ministry, for we will pack up that night and head off to South Africa early Wednesday morning.

Wednesday-Saturday, we will be in SA in debrief. The evening of the 19th, the team boards the plane for America. They will arrive on Sunday the 20th, spend a night at a hotel in Atlanta, then fly home to you on the 21st.

It won't be long now! We will see you soon and we love you! Have a great week!

12 Days

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So it's time to blog! This is our last blog and I'd like to start out by apologizing. I'm sorry I've only blogged like hmm three times or so. I don't know what my problem is! I just don't do good writing under pressure. If It was optional- which I guess I've made it seem optional with my lack of blogging -but anyway if it was optional who knows maybe I would have written one every chance I got! Most likely no. haha. So I'm sure everybody is going to blog about excitement about going home or sadness about leaving, because we are all feeling such a crazy swirl of emotions. God, oh I love Him, He has done an incredible work in our lives. Thank you so much all of you amazing people that supported me on coming on this trip I know God will bless you for it. Please continue to pray for us during this last week of ministry. Pray that God will continue to blow our minds with his love and amazing power. Pray that God will give us Peace that passes understanding as we have to leave these wonderful people that we've formed relationships with.

My mom wrote in one of my cards that she gave to me before the trip "I'm certain that you're probably trying to figure out how you're going to get a few kids packed in your suitcase for the flight homeLet not your heart be troubled". She was right! There is one little boy that I want to bring home so badly. I'm not the only one Linda and I figured out that even if we did find some way to bring him back to the States we would fight over who got to keep him! It's going to be so hard to leave these kids behind. It's comforting to know that they are completely in God's hands and his are a much safer place than mine.

All I know to say is thank you, a thousand times thank you. This has been the best experience of my life. Sometimes I still think to myself is this my life? Am I really here in Swaziland with these beautiful people? This is amazing! God is awesome I know its only because of him that I've been allowed to come here. I love you! Meagan Elizabeth Varner

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3

Freedom

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

When I look into the sweet faces of the little girls at the slums this verse takes on a whole new meaning. God created all of us to live in complete freedom. Aside from assuring us eternity, living in freedom on this earth is one of the main purposes why he came. How in the world do you tell a five year old little girl to "Stand firm, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery"? On Tuesday we went to about 35 of these precious girls that we have had relationships now for almost 3 months. We taught them what God says about sexual abuse. If you could only see them, they are just little girls! Tricia, Allie and Kyleigh all spoke to them about how they are precious princesses of God. They told them to cling onto God when they are afraid. We told them that God will be faithful to provide for them what they need, and that they don't need to sell themselves to earn money. We told them that in Christ we have freedom from shame. We taught them to say this phrase, and in our group these little ones screamed it at the top of their lungs: "I will not fear for my God is with me!". Pray that these girls are empowered by the Holy Spirit in that phrase. Pray that God's power would rest on these girls and that dangerous men would stay clear away from them because of it. During the teaching, my team scattered themselves throughout, and looking across I saw solemn attentive faces, and other heads buried between knees and into my other team members laps.

I believe that some enemy territory was taken back that day. We made bracelets with them, hugged their faces, and they started to run around and play like little girls. As insignificant as it may seem, it was huge. In this community, 10 year olds are forced to be mothers for their younger siblings, they don't normally play like this. After the teaching and the craft was done the whole place erupted in excited play. It was freedom.

I know the girls left that day, and were confronted with the same problems that always confront them, but God has shone his hope to them already. God has officially stepped into these little girls lives like a mighty man. All I know to do now is pray.

Prayer requests:

The violence against these girls is hatred and demonic. Pray that God would brake the enemies hold on them, and bring healing and restoration.
We are going to the slums again today to teach the kids about the armor of God. Pray that this lesson will be powerful and effective against the schemes of the enemy in their lives.
We only have 5 more days left doing ministry in Swaziland. We will be saying bye to a lot of people we love. Pray that God would continue to prepare us to go home.

Let God be God

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As my time in Africa is nearing its end, the sorrow of parting ways is beginning to creep in. I feel as if the theme of my trip has been God teaching my prideful heart how to trust Him. As soon as I feel that I have fully comprehended a lesson He is teaching me about trusting Him, He reveals to me yet another area where He is bidding for my full reliance on Him. In the time I have remaining to write this I cannot even begin to go into detail about all the areas God has taught me to trust during this trip. He has taught me to trust with money, my future, my heart, and other people's hearts. He has taught me to trust His timing and where He chooses to place people on the globe. Now He is teaching me to trust Him in the lives of those I have built relationships with when I am no longer here. I will trust Him with the lady at the hospital I visit every Tuesday and Thursday that she will not be overcome by loneliness but fully rely on God as her comfort because He can take far better care of her soul then I can even begin to imagine. I will trust Him with the sweet children I will miss holding at the slums because He is their father in heaven and He definitely has a better vantage point to keep an eye on them. I will trust Him with Sahkile, though I won't be able to see Him and know he is alright I know that my God reigns over his life. I will trust God with these children of His and not worry about them for that is not what He has called me to. I will lift them up in prayer and then let God be God.

My Baby Love!

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So it is no shocker to you all that as I come here I have fallen in love with the little babies.

I wrote before about a baby named Benjamin who I love! He had gotten discharged but I saw him again in the outpatient clinic. He is not doing well and has continued to lose weight since going home but his mother denies his malnutrition and will not readmit him. The American doctor asked if I wanted to start taking care of him. It took everything in me to not say "of course I will". Realistically, I cannot take care of him, but God can a harsh reality as they talked of his closeness to death. I have been waking up every night around 2 or 3 and my heart is heavy for him. I spend anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour praying for this beautiful boy. I haven't seen him again but God has clearly been asking me to intercede for him. Feel free to join me : )

I also have some new babies in my life here. JAt the Mbabane hospital we go to each Saturday I have been loving on a set of twins for three weeks now. They are almost 3 months and weighs about 5 lbs each. They are so sick and their mother in the in the woman's ward and the doctor's do not expect her to live much longer. My time has been spent with the babies and pouring into Pumzile. Pumzile takes care of the babies and now the mother as well. She works at an orphanage in Mbabane. She has an amazing heart and radiates love in her actions and words. Each week I go to see them Pumzile will tell me of how close the babies came to death that week. They just cannot seem to gain the weight for their body to function. As I sat in the hospital holding the precious little girl I couldn't help but have tears stream down my face as I ached for her realizing the reality of her mom being HIV positive so she has a high possibility to be sick with it. And just the closeness of death each day here is so common. AhhMy heart is being stretched in so many directions, it hurts for the people here.

" Lord, You reign in every situation. You are so good. I trust in Your perfect plan even when I don't understand it. Give me wisdom in how to pray and serve and love the people I come in contact with. Bring Your healing power over these babies. Claim them as Yours that they may grow to be women and men of You. Let them be lights in this country that seems so dark. Bring peace to my heart. Amen."

** Some of us on the team are memorizing Romans 12. It is only 21 verses. Try to challenge yourself this week to even memorize one. : ) Or pray through the verses for us and our team.

Numbers

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Numbers

It has been 78 days, 15 hours and 7 minutes since I flew out of Kansas. In 11 days, 10 hours and 45 minutes I will arrive back there. We have 6 days left of ministry, that's less than 17 hours of ministry total. Our debriefing will last 4 days, and traveling will take up one more full day. I have at least 3 children that I will cry saying goodbye to, and dozens more that I will miss daily. There are also 4 members of our host family that we have to leave and 1 church family for me to say farewell to. I have 2 leaders and 12 teammates that have become like family to me and in only 12 days we will be scattered across the U.S. once again (with 1-3 still in Africa).

While I have been here I have heard of 2 adults joining the family of God, along with an unknown number of children. I know of more healings done by the LORD than I could count, though 0 were instant, right before my eyes. I know of at least 3 people that experienced demonic possession, and 1 who experienced it 3 separate times. I have seen and done VBS with nearly 200 children on a weekly basis, 2 times a week for 75 of them. I have visited 2 hospitals weekly and seen countless sick and dying. I even lost 1 10 month old baby boy to what I believe was AIDS.

I'm sharing all these numbers now because I know people will be curious and ask "How many _____?" when I return home. Truth be told, these numbers don't really mean much to me. I don't care how many kids I played with, I care who those children are. I don't care how many people came to accept Christ as their personal Savior, I care that God was truly at work and glorified while I was here. Whether two people came to the LORD or two hundred, God rejoices either way, and so will I. He has not sent me here for nothing, He has not sent my team here for nothing, so whether we see the fruits of our labor or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we were willing vessels of His will, that He was at work, and that He was glorified...that's all.

The names below are people that need prayer here in Swaziland. It is by no means complete or comprehensive, for it grows daily, but it's a start. Please pick some of the names and pray for them as if you intimately know them, not that they are just another name. Thank you!

Leah Rose

Tuulile Lukuele Fisokuhle Dlamini Nonhlanhla Dlamini Sinethemba Ma'vuso Khomsile Silundza Nelly Mbetse Zama Mbetse Sandile Mbetse

Banele Mbetse Mayibongwe Mbetse Thandiswa Mbetse Dumolwakue Nyanda

Zanele Ngwenya Nathan Noblie Dlamini Nobuhle

Antile Lindo Lindewe Nosipho (adult)

Ben Sandiso Juliet Meisha

Nosipho (baby) Cynthia Musa Pastor Walter

Lelo Noctula Colile Gogo Shongwe

Prepared to Flow

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As I right my last blog, I think of the journey the Lord has taken me on throughout the trip. I reminisce and take in the relationships I have formed, the smiling faces of the children, and the people we have lost (most recently, Precious, read Amanda's blog). It is funny; I came on this trip to bring hope to these people, to tell them of the love of Christ. As I sit and reflect, I realize that through my interactions with the very people I came to "evangelize to" the Lord has taught me far more than I have taught them. Whether it be through seeing the beauty and purity of the faith of a child, what it means to truly care about your neighbor and live in community, the strength in the mothers who sit days and weeks by their children waiting for them to get better, or in the smiles and instant acceptance of children who have been robbed of their purity and childhood, the Lord has used them to teach me and bring me closer to Him.

I remember the person I was before this tripmaterialistic, wrapped up in the world's idea of beauty, seeking comfort in my possessions, consumed with money and its pursuit. Basically, I was completely entangled in this world. I now see who I have become and see how the Lord has totally broken me. Recently, I was holding the hand of a dear elderly patient in the hospital, she squeezed my hand and I looked down at her. I hesitate to say she smiled up at me, because smile does not do this action justice. She smiled with every essence of her being. As I instantly returned her smile, I could not help but feel the exchange of love moving between us. This love could only be of the Spirit. At that moment, as my soul overflowed with Christ inside of me, I was able to think back to that person I used to be and the things I desired. Everything I could think of paled to the intimacy of Christ, and the precious relationships he has created.

I now think of the person I am today. At training camp, my world was turned upside down when I realized that a relationship with Christ was about loving Him with all your being and knowing He loves you. I realized that I had been failing miserably at controlling my life, and that the Lord wanted me to hand him over the reins. Since training camp and throughout my time in Swaziland, the Lord has been asking me the same question, "Will you follow me?" My first answer had been "Yes! I love you! You have turned my world upside down you are so good!" I answered this way because I had gotten a taste of the first fruits of the spirit and wanted more. At this point in time I knew that being a follower of Christ meant having the mind of Christ. I desired to be rid of my sinful nature (i.e., pride, selfishness, annoyance), was this good enough to follow Him?

The second time the Lord asked me, "Will you follow me?", again I said, "Yes!". By the second time the Lord had taught me about surrendering my feelings over to Him. I realized I myself could not just all of a sudden get rid of my sinful nature, this is something I needed to constantly lay before Him and daily surrender my sins. However, I still did not get an answer. I knew there was something else missing. But what was it?

Knowing my thick skull, before the Lord asked me for the third time, He led me through Acts. I became completely captivated by Paul. First of all, based on outside appearances, he was the most unqualified man to go and spread the news of Christ, given his habit of persecuting Christians. Nonetheless, the Lord favored Him and turned his heart around. Second, I loved hearing about how after Paul would enter a town, just to be cast out and rebuked, he would merely shake the dust off his feet and then be filled with joy because he was doing the work of the Lord. After reading Acts, I found the Lord constantly bringing me back to this book. "Why this one?", I would ask. "Yeah, Paul is absolutely amazing he went through so much, I wish I had his courage and strength. But what does that have to do with me?"

It is with those last few words, "What does that have to do with me?" that the Lord truly turned my world upside down and rebuilt me. He hit me with Luke 9:23, "if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." It is with this beautiful question by Jesus that I have learned what it means to suffer for Christ. With this verse the Lord revealed to me that following Him, means I am following in Christ's footsteps. It means that my journey will not be easy, that I will have to deny myself. I may not get the perfect life I wantedthe husband, kids, house, car. Further, like Paul, who I am just as unqualified as, I will suffer hardships and persecution. Who am I to say the Lord will not give me the same courage to fight for Him?

So about 3 weeks ago he asked me again, "Will you follow me?". I thought about this question more deeply and cautiously this time. I knew what it meant to follow Him, that there would be great suffering and sacrifice. However, I also had come to know the end of the race is far sweeter than the track leading towards it. So this time, I confidently answered, "Just tell me where to go, make your voice known to me and I will go!". You can imagine my surprise, when for the first two weeks I heard nothing but silence. You might also imagine my worry with the end of the trip coming quickly, and I still have no idea what I am going to do this summer or if I will return to school in the fall.

This weekend, the Lord decided to answer me. In several different instances and occasions, people have revealed to me that the Lord is about to move in my life, in some way, shape, or form. This was the answer I had been waiting for, the Lord had spoken to me and had said, "Ok! You're finally ready, we are about to begin!" However, instead of excitement, I felt fear. I had been praying for his direction the whole trip, and now when I finally get an answer, I worry about what exactly I had just signed up for.

This Tuesday we had the privilege of having a teaching by Gary and Lisa Black, missionaries here in Swaziland. Lisa spoke on when Christ calls you to do something, and whether or not you are obedient to Him. I realized that the fear I had in the Lord was a result of my lack of faith. I doubted his ability to carry out his plans, which is wrong because when the Lord our God promises something he will carry it through to completion. Second, I feared what he would ask of me. I forgot that whatever He called me to do he would empower me to do it because I am in His will.

At this point in time, as I type my last blog, I may say I do not know where the Lord is leading me. However, I do know that He has promised me He has his eyes fully fixated on me and that he is strategically moving me somewhere right now. Despite all the vagueness I am fully at peace and excited. I am just flowingwaiting and trusting on Him to lead me, and knowing that when it is time He will not only provide but enable me to carry out His plans.

The King is Enthralled by Your Beauty

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:11

These past two weeks have been full of events, and I couldn't pick just one thing to talk about so I am going to touch on a few things that have impacted me most. The craziest thing to me is that our last day of ministry is on Tuesday, April 15^th. Our time here has been amazing and I have learned a lot from the Swazis. They don't need more Americans coming here to give them the "answers", they need Christ followers to live among them and serve alongside them. We don't have the answer; we are the answer. If we are believers, we are God's chosen people, created in HIS image! We don't have to search for God's will for our lives; we are God's will. I have learned what it means to truly follow God, live in Kingdom perspective, love God's people, and serve them, laying all selfishness aside. This is something that is stirring in my heart and I can't wait to share more when I get back home.

In the previous weeks I have written about a patient named Elvina who was recently sent home from the hospital because she was healed. On Tuesday, Elvina's granddaughter was there visiting another one of my patients named Beauty. I asked her how she knew Beauty and she said she met her there at the hospital. She couldn't get them out of her mind so she had to come visit. That really blessed me to hear that! She said Elvina is doing great and recovering well! Praise the Lord!

On Tuesday Thandi, (Beauty's daughter) told me her mother is getting worse every day. She said her meningitis is better, but now her heart is swelling. They wanted to transfer her to the Mbabane hospital to do a cat-scan, but they are full and will not take any more patients. They only do cat-scans in the Mbabane hospital. She hasn't been eating for about a week so they finally hooked her up to an IV. All she does is lay there and she also refuses to take any of her medication. I'm afraid she's giving up and Thandi is very discouraged. Please pray for this family and healing for Beauty!

As some of you already know my 18-year-old friend, Precious, passed away on April 3^rd. I walked in the women's ward on April 1^st to find her mother (Lydia) crying in the breezeway. Allie and I gathered around her to pray over her but we had no idea what had happened at that point. After we prayed and she gained composure, she told us that Precious was still alive but suffering really badly. Lydia needed to go outside for some fresh air, so we (Allie, Tricia, Cynthia, and I) went to Precious' bed. The curtains were all around her bed because the nurses were cleaning up her bedsores. She had huge sores all over her body because the nurses never changed her linens, and the sores had never been bandaged. It was awful to see but even worse to hear. She was screaming at the top of her lungs the entire time they were touching her because she was in so much pain. While this was taking place we were standing on the other side of the curtain, praying continuously. Once the nurses finished I talked to one of them. She told me most people with meningitis don't ever heal from it but there is a small chance she will get better. I also found out that she has syphilis, which are signs of the 3^rd and 4^th stages of HIV. The conversation with the nurse was not helpful at all, and it made me understand the frustration that families go through because of the nurses' lack of information and care.

When we came back on Thursday, April 3^rd,Allie and I were walking from the market outside in to the lobby in the front of the hospital. We had bought fruit to give to Precious and Lydia, and also some other women in the ward. As soon as we walked in we saw Lydia and her sister about to walk out. As soon as she saw me she started crying so I just held her in my arms and tried to comfort her. I was told that Precious passed away on Tuesday evening, not long after we had been there. It broke my heart but I had an unexplainable strength that was only from the Lord. The other girls were all crying with her and I was able to stay strong for Lydia. I just held her in my arms and prayed over her. I tried to encourage her but also grieve with her at the same time. She needed money for the kombi ride home so we paid for that and gave her the fruit we bought at the market for her. We told her to contact us if she needed anything because we wanted to help in any way we could. She was so grateful and thanked us for praying for her and her family. She's one of the strongest women I've ever met.

As soon as she left the hospital I lost it. It was my turn to hurt for her. I really felt the spirit of the Lord in that lobby. His presence was running through my body and he allowed me to rest in Him. I knew other women were expecting me to visit them so I surrendered this to the Lord and he gave me the strength to press on. On my way to the women's ward I ran in to another patient that I visit named Lorraine. She was about to pack up her things and go home! She had been discharged, paid her bill, and was about to pack and had the biggest smile on her face. She's an amazing woman of faith and gave all the credit to the Lord. It was so encouraging to see. I helped her fold her blankets and clothes, packed her bags, and prayed over her one last time. She helped me move past the death of Precious. I know God is working in the lives of these women! They bless my life so much.

Lydia ended up contacting us to let us know that the funeral will be this Sunday, April 13^th. She cannot afford the funeral and asked if there was any way we could help her out. Her husband is unable to work because he is sick, she has 8 other children at home, and now Lydia has tonsillitis. Allie, Tricia, and I have been praying about helping her financially and the Lord has provided! Allie and I called our families on Monday to ask them to pray about contributing to this situation as well. Our families are also taking part and contributing to this incredible family. Between all of us we are able to pay for the funeral, and give a little extra to help her provide for her family. Today Lydia is going to meet us at the hospital so we can give her this gift. The three of us will be attending the funeral on Sunday at 5am. Be praying for this family and that the Lord will comfort them. I'm praying that we can be an encouragement for them in this difficult time.

Thanks for reading this long blog. God is moving so mightily I could go on another 5 pages but I wont. Thanks for all your prayers. Here is how you can be praying specifically for us:

Praise the Lord! God provided money to cover Precious' funeral expenses.

Pray for comfort for Lydia and her family. Pray that they will seek the Lord in this time and grow closer to him.

Pray for spiritual and physical healing for Beauty and that she wont give up on life.

Pray for the beautiful, little girls at the slums. We talked to them this week about purity and not prostituting anymore. Pray for our last 2 times at the slums to be fruitful and that God will speak through us to reach at least one child.

Pray for my friends Dena and Lorraine. They were both healed and sent home from the hospital, but now need jobs.

Pray that God will continue to blow me away with His mighty work our last week here, and that He will continue showing me more of HHis character.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess. 5:16-18

"The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:11

Treeline

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The first week time that we went to the slums, I met a spunky girl named Daniella. She was always running around, jumping on you, and smiling. She is one of the most loving children that I have ever met and constantly wants to be loved on and held. After spending a couple of weeks with her, I was informed that she was one of the girls who went to the treeline. The treeline is about 50 feet long, in between 2 trees, where men will sitdrinking and playing cardsin wait of girls to come and sell themselves out of desperation. When I first found this out, I had so much anger at the situation. I wanted to be able to save her. But I had to remind myself that I was here to love these children. I wasn't the one who could solve all of their problems, but I was the one who could radiate Jesus' love out to them.

Last week, while we were at the slums doing a VBS, God really placed it on my heart to speak to all of the girls about the treeline. I was very excited about talking to them because of my passion for them to break free of that lifestyle and pain. However, Satan kept placing a huge doubt in my head. Who was I to go in there and tell these girls to remain pure, even if it meant not eating dinner for a night? How could I tell them to choose to honor their bodies even when they may be beaten for it? How could I go in there and speak to them about this when I had never been in that desperate of a situation before? But God would not take it off of my heart. I knew that no matter the doubts I felt, God needed to speak to these girls and I needed to be a willing vessel in allowing him to do it through me.

We began to plan the VBS as a group and a few of us girls really felt passionate about it. As Tuesday, the day of the VBS, approached, I still wasn't really sure what exactly to say to the girls. I knew that anything that was coming from my own self wasn't of importance or true help to these girls, I wanted to be able to lay down all of my own words and just speak the Lord's. It was extremely hard for me to be okay with not planning, and to trust that God would give me his words to speak. At the hospital, before the slums, I really began to feel discouraged. Satan was just really attacking me to the point where I didn't even want to be serving in the hospital at all that day. I went and asked Allie to pray over me and immediately was released of the doubt and discouragement.

As we did the VBS on Tuesday, I could really feel God's presence throughout our entire group. Tricia started out by sharing her testimony of sexual abuse so that the girls could see that we understood and could relate to their pain. Allie shared Psalm 23 with them and told the girls that whenever they were feeling threatened or helpless to cry out, "I will fear no evil, for you (God) are with me!" I spoke to the girls about God creating each and every girl beautifully and that he had a great purpose and plan for their life that didn't involve them being harmed. We had the girls make bracelets out of three strands of yarn braided together: a pink strand representing their beauty in Christ, a white strand representing the purity that God desires for them, and a green strand representing the hope* that we have in Christ.

Although the girls didn't share any details with us after the VBS, you could see a sense of freedom in some of their eyes. Many of the girls who are usually quiet or more reserved were running around with huge smiles on their faces. Continue to pray for each of these girls. Pray that God will protect them every single night. Pray that he will provide for them so that they will never reach the point of desperation that leads them to the treeline. Please pray that God will fill us with an overwhelming amount of emotional strength to say goodbye, knowing that we will never see most of the kids again. Please pray that as a group, we will fully trust God, knowing that he will take care of them.

*May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Lift Us Up in Prayer

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Entering our last week of ministry we have some prayer requests

Squatter Camp-

This week we have a special set of VBSs planned. On Tuesday we will be splitting the girls and boys. The boys will be going over being warriors for Christ. Teaching of how to stand firm and confident in Him. The girls we are talking about purity and touching on some of the huge sexual abuse issues present in their lives. We want to affirm in them the beauty God sees in them. Please be praying that God will be working in their hearts. Restoring them. Giving us the words we say to minister to them fully.

Thursday we are having our last VBS and teaching them about the armor of God. We want to leave them with the feeling that they are empowered in Him and even though we are not here anymore they have the tools needed to fight away darkness in His Name.

Baby Benjamin-

I have written before about precious little Benjamin. He was discharged last week. I saw him again on April 1^st. His mom brought him to the outpatient clinic to have a check up. He was so frail and is not doing well. He had lost weight since discharged and after talking with an American doctor she explained his is in severe malnutrition. He needs to be readmitted and put on a special milk to replenish his body. His mother refused to admit him and I have not been able to see him since. Please pray for his health to be restored. Pray that I will see him readmitted this week. Pray for his family as they are plagued with sickness as well. Pray for His light to shine into this situation and this family's lives.

Pumzile-

At the Mbabane hospital I have been visiting a family for almost a month now. God completely connected me with them in weird ways. It was one of those times you look back and go, "Wow it must have been God." The short of it is there are twin babies about 3 months old at the hospital. They break my heart. They are so malnutritioned. At 3 months they are right around 2.5kg each. Their father is completely checked out and their mother is in the women's ward very sick with TB and HIV. She continues to decline. I have had the privilege to pour into and minister to Pumzile- an orphanage worker who has taken on the care of the babies and now the mother as well. She has an amazing heart! Please pray for Healing over this family. Pray that they are reunited together. Pray that if needed the funds will come in for the babies to stay at the orphanage. Pray that through everything that the people effected by this situation will be confident in His good and perfect plan.

Our team-

As we enter this last ministry week we are so full of emotions. We are torn as we begin to think or plan for home and as we say goodbye and wrap up our time here. Pray that we are filled with His peace as we leave behind those we have built relationships with. Pray that we finish strong and with excellence. Pray for unity as it is easy to turn our thoughts to ourselves these last weeks. Pray for energy and endurance, as we are feeling worn and tired from the trip. Pray above all else that God be glorified in our actions.

Treasure-

One of the translators here had to go into emergency appendectomy surgery this last week. She is staying at the clinic here and the bills are quite extensive($2000 USD for the surgery and her stay). Please pray that God provides for this situation with restored health and financially covering. If you would like contribute to her bills and bless our sister in Christ here in Swaziland please contact at Katyhowry@yahoo.comor cassiemorgen@gmail.com.

High School-

This last week we finally got to get in to the high school and speak. We performed a drime and spoke truth into their lives. We go back again this week. Pray that God works in the relationships we built. Let Him guide our words to fill them with truth and empower them to shine in this nation for Him. Danielle is speaking so pray for her to be filled with the Spirit as she speaks His Word into their lives.

Just a quick Update

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hi, Family and Friends!!!

This is Kristen Torres-Toro, one of the Real Life leaders. The team is enjoying their last non-communication off day, but desperately wanted to contact y'all with prayer requests as we head into this last week of ministry. The blog posted below was compiled by several of the girls and it lists everything from individual stories to what we are planning for ministry this week. Please be in prayer for all of these things and for whatever else God lays on your hearts! Thank you for taking the time to read these updates and carry these needs to our Lord! We love you and are praying for you!!!

Beauty

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Since I have been in Swaziland I have seen so many different situations and outcomes in the ministry at the Manzini hospital. My friends Elvina and Dena were healed recently and sent home; Praise God! Dena showed up at the hospital on Tuesday to visit us because she knew we would be there visiting other patients. How cool is that?!?! It was so great seeing her there, healthy and happy. She asked us that we pray she finds a job now. She has no way of making money yet so pray that it will happen soon.

I have made a new relationship in the past 2 weeks with a lady named Beauty. She has 2 daughters, Colile and Thandi, and 1 son named Mcolise. Beauty's husband passed away a few years ago and Mcolise is the only one who works in the family. Beauty is suffering of Meningitis and has progressively gotten worse. My first encounter with her she was crying and lying on the floor. I ran over to her bed to help her get back in bed and calm her down. She got confused, fell off her bed and was really scared. It was really sad because none of the nurses were helping her back up. Allie and I prayed with her for a while and that is the day we met her daughters.

The past 3 times I've visited the hospital Thandi has been there. She spends each night sleeping on the nasty, concrete floor next to her mother's bed. Last week I was able to talk to Thandi for a while about the Lord and what he means to her in her own life. I'm not sure if she is a Christian because every Swazi will always say "yes" to everything you ask. She's opening up to me a lot more now. On Tuesday she came up to me with a huge smile on her face and gave me a big hug. It was encouraging to see her so happy to see me. I walked over to visit her mom but she is much worse than last week. She is no longer eating, talking, walking and will not take her pills. Basically, all she does is sleep in her bed and they don't even have an IV hooked up to her. The doctors aren't doing anything for her. I can't even explain how bad healthcare is here. The doctors have been avoiding the family and they never give them any answers.

Wednesday, the doctor was finally going to take a look at her so today I will find out more of what's going on. I know it's frustrating to the family. Can you imagine not hearing from any doctors for almost a week? I talked with one nurse about the situation and she told me most patients that come in don't get over Meningitis. She will probably continue to get worse and then die. At the Manzini hospital 8 out of every 10 patients that are admitted, die there! I know there is hope in this hospital though because God is the ultimate Healer. I'm going to continue to pray for healing for Beauty and I'm asking you to do the same. Pray that the nurses and doctors will be honest and give information to the families. At the beginning of this week my prayer was that I would feel God's emotions for his people as he feels them. Also, that I would be so close to him that I could feel his heartbeat, and the burdens for his people. On Tuesday I have never been so broken about the patients there. God really did give me a glimpse of how he hurts when we hurt, rejoice when we rejoice, etc. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I'm praying that I will be able to minister to Thandi as I continue going to visit her mother. Please pray for Beauty's healing and salvation, the family, and particularly Thandi as I continue to minister to her.

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means; I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:12-13

New Opportunities

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

God is giving me a couple of speaking opportunities this week. As excited as I am to see God move through them, I'm not used to preaching in front of groups of people. I've done teachings in smaller settings, but the Lord is obviously stretching me this week.

I could use some prayer.

This week we finally made it to the high school on time Wednesday morning. We had been having a lot of difficulties getting there in previous weeks. It was kind of frustrating, but that fact that we were there on time was a huge answer to prayer. Thank you, to everyone who prayed for that! Praise God! We finally got into the door. We as a team have now begun many relationships with Swazi teenagers that I hope will prove to be very fruitful when it comes to presenting truth about their God and their generation. As a team we've become really passionate about seeing them rise up as a generation out of the patterns that destroy their lives and their hope. We want to see them taste God and everything he has for them. We want to see this nation change, but it will not be us that changes this nation by any means. It will be God moving through the young people of Swaziland.

Pray for this high school. There are around 450 lively teenagers there.

Pray that they find their hope and their dependence in God.

Pray that through God's strength they could obey God and surrender the things that keep them far from him.

Pray for protection against attacks from the enemy over them.

Pray that God would fill their hearts with a zealous passion to see his kingdom come and his will be done.

Pray that God would show them purpose, dreams and visions as they start to seek him.

Thank you so much for joining me in this. I expect that the Lord will do great things.

"Dare You to Move"

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

For the past couple of weeks our team has tried to begin a ministry at one of the local high schools but our plans never seemed to work out. When we planned to speak on Wednesday mornings our driver ended up being late, when we went to play sports they were either testing or had early release, and because we weren't showing up on time we were losing the trust of the students and the faculty.

Our team as a whole really struggled with the unfortunate circumstances, but we optimistically pressed on and planned for another Wednesday morning, whether it worked out or not. For over a week some of our team devoted their free time to practicing a very powerful drime to Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move" that we had planned to present to the kids along with a message to step up and make a difference as the new generation. Nobody really knew for sure if we would even make it on time since we never had before but we did our best to simply leave it in God's hands and pray that His will would be done.

Today was the day we had been preparing so hard for and God blessed us by providing our transportation half an hour early, much to our surprise. When we got to the high school our team performed the drime and Dan delivered the message to the kids who seemed blown away by everything that was going on. We left for a few hours to do another ministry and came back during their sports time where we were able to split up and hang out with them on a more personal level.

I talked with about 5 girls, all my age, for about an hour and a half and by the end of my time with them I felt like God had moved mountains even through our very causal conversations. I developed such an awesome relationship with them so quickly and they were so excited to learn about me and my beliefs and what I was doing here and we even talked briefly about AIDS and what they could do to stop it. It was a short and general conversation but I know God can work miracles through it and I am so excited to go back and continue to build relationships with them and show them the amazing things God can do in their lives and in the lives of others through them.

Ruth

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Again we headed to the Manzini hospital as I enter the children's ward I was so excited to hear that baby Benjamin had been discharged**. It was kind of bittersweet because I had been spending most all my time with him so now I prayed for His direction in how to minister that day. My mind went to a woman I had prayed with only a couple times who had TB in the woman's ward. As I headed to the woman's ward I prayed that God would give me guidance in what to talk about/do.

She beamed as she saw me. I sat and chatted learning she had at least a month left in the hospital. Her English was good but she was weak and I knew my questions were becoming too much. I asked if she liked stories. She quickly and with a smile said "yebo!"

I read the book of Ruth to her. She was intent to listen and watched as I spoke each word. The whole time I was wondering if she understood any of it. As I finished she smiled and simply spoke, " It is a story of faith and how God provides." Wow, she hit it right on. This opened a whole new door where I was able to explore God's provision and plan. She even brought up that it isn't always how we plan. Naomi did not plan for her husband and sons to die yet He was glorified and provided for her. She did nto plan to be in the hospital and wanted to be home with her kids yet she was here and she said she know there has to be a reason.

I closed my visit and prayed for her.

"Lord, you know this woman's heart Let her know You. Use this door that has been opened. Guide my words and actions as I continue to visit. Comfort her as she is away from family. Let her know your Love and praise Your Name. Amen. "

** I saw Ben on April 1, 2008 and he is not doing well. The doctor said he is malnourished and his mother refuses to admit him. Please pray for her to change her mind and for him to be able to keep the nutrients he needs.

Pray

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Although this seems unbelievable, as of today we have less than two weeks left in Swaziland. At this point we are the most comfortable in our ministries, have built the strongest relationships and our desire is to leave our new friends with a message of hope that will last the rest of their lives. Please be in prayer for these things until we arrive home.

If you are reading this as soon as it is being posted right now we are at the squatter camp following up with children about the message of salvation that we presented to them on Tuesday. Please pray that the children that prayed the prayer of salvation will not be attacked by the devil with his lies and that the children who haven't prayed will be revealed the truth of Jesus' sacrifice.

Please pray for the lady I visit in the hospital, Gamedze, she has drug resistant TB and is in a lot of a pain. Praise God for His great mercy and grace in choosing her to become His child just a week ago. Pray that He will continue to comfort her and give her that inexpressible joy while she suffers physically here on earth.

Praise God we finally were able to minister at the high school and build good relationships there. Pray that the message God spoke through us there will continue to convict hearts and that He will pour through us next Wednesday morning being as it is our last chance to speak there.

Please pray that God will give our team strength as we leave and that we will remain fully focused in ministry but that He also be preparing our hearts for home.

Blessed

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As the trip is winding down, I am realizing what a blessing it is to be here and to minister here. God has grown me in so many ways and I am beginning to see how He has used me in other people's lives. It is an indescribable feeling to know that God is using me during this time in the lives of the people of Swaziland.

At the Manzini hospital, I used to visit a woman named Dena. I watched the Lord transform her life and heal her body. The first time I saw her, she was really skinny and she looked like death itself as she lay in her own vomit in the hospital bed. It was a terrible sight. She broke my heart as she reached out to me and asked me to pray for her. So I went to her and prayed for quite a while. Then the next time I saw her, she was looking a little better and she asked me to help her sit up in bed so she could attempt to eat her dinner. So I helped her sit up and eat. Again she asked me to pray for her at least five different times. It was so awesome to see her faith and to see her reach out for a touch from God. Progressively she got better and better. Eventually she got strong enough to be discharged. It was a bittersweet thing because I knew I would most likely never see her again. We had become so close, and it almost felt as if I was losing a dear friend. But it was okay because I was so glad to know that God had healed her body and enriched her spirit. That was all about three weeks ago, and last week, I got to see Dena again! She came to the hospital, just to see me because she knew I would be there. That was such a blessing! She talked with me for a while and she asked me to read her some Scripture. She also wanted me to pray for her because she has no job and no home right now. So I prayed and read to her from Ecclesiastes 3 and Philippians and Hebrews. It was just such a blessing to see her and be able to continue ministry with her. I fully expect God to continue to provide for her.

The relationships I am making here just continue to get richer and deeper. I am daily reminded that this is not a surface level ministry. This is life, and I am making real friends. God is using me to help and encourage my new friends. I am coming alongside of them and being Jesus' hands and feet in their lives. It's so cool to see that God really is using me to make a difference here.

Tricia Laskowski

(Nomcebo Lukhele)

Trusting in His Perfect Plan

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

On Thursday, we went to the Manzini hospital. I had bought Senanile some Easter candy and made her a sign but when I got there found out that she had been discharged. (Praise the Lord!!) The Easter candy that I bought for her had 8 big chocolate eggs in it, so I decided that I would hand them out to a few kids. I had two eggs left and went into the room across to hand them out. There were two ladies, a mage (mom) who was not much older than me, and a gogo (grandma) who was probably in her 50's. They were trying to feed an 8 month old baby boy, who was lying with his mouth open gasping as he attempted to eat. The mom's face lit up when I brought the egg and she put it in front of the little boy's face, smiling. I really felt God telling me to stay and pray with this family, not just give them an egg like I had with the others. I started to pray for the child to get better, but then felt God leading me to pray most importantly for the situation to bring them to a more intimate relationship with Him. I gave the mom a hug and then left the room only to hear Meagan cry out a few minutes later, "something is happening, I think a baby just died." I immediately saw that something was going on with the ladies and baby boy that I had just prayed for. I walked over and saw the mom look at her child and then place the sheet over his entire body. The gogo started wailing and I embraced the mom who then started to wail in my arms. The nurse came and wheeled the child out of the room and I walked with the mom. She began to collect all of the blankets that had been drying outside and once again collapsed in my arms to wail.

I sat there, with tears streaming down my face, asking God, "why?" I couldn't imagine what this mom must be experiencing at the moment seeing as I was devastated and had only known the child for minutes. I continued to talk to, pray over, and hold the two ladies for the next hour. The gogo told us that this was the second death in their family in the past month. The other family member that died was still in the morgue because they couldn't afford to transfer her and they didn't have enough money for a funeral. The baby had been sick since Christmas and they had been taking him from clinic to clinic for care but he was just too sick. Even though the family had been through so much, they were still full of so much hope. They were not bitter at all, but saw both the baby's death and my presence as an answer to prayer.

My heart is so broken for this family. It is in these situations when I truly have to dwell on the verse, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." It's so hard for me to praise him and worship himsaying how great he is and how wonderful his plans arewhen I see the hurt, pain, and grieving that took place that day. I'm also realizing though, that the moment I start to question God, I need to worship him most and be reminded of his holiness and glory. It's not about me understanding; it's about Him being the perfect ruler and him reigning in EVERY situation. I am really praying to always find confidence, peace, and hope in Psalm 18: 30: "as for God, his way is perfect."

Even though the day was incredibly rough emotionally, it was amazing to see how God was able to use me. I know that I was where he wanted me and it was awesome to see how he arranged the day to have me right where he needed me. I was actually able to meet up with the mom, dad, and grandma the next day to help them out with the funeral and pray with them. The mom is only 16 and not yet married to the dad. The grandma requested that we pray for the numerous demonic attacks that had been taking place against their family lately. Please pray that God will continue to comfort the family. Pray that they too will continue to remain hopeful and confident in God's plan regardless of the deaths and sickness in their family.

Passion with Focus

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

There is an unbridled passion in my life that screams to run after something great. There have been many things in my life that I have run after that I should not. There have been many things that I have allowed to distract me from the only thing worthy of my praise. I have come to realize that the Lord is a very jealous God and He wants to be the focus of my life and the passion of my heart. He wants to transform my life with His love if only I would allow Him to become my everything. If only I would give up all control and trust Him with my life. If only I would surrender my life in full to Him.

Until this trip, I have not understood how to focus my passions. I always knew I was passionate, but instead of being passionate for Christ alone, I just let myself be passionate about everything around me. It seems so simple in hinds-sight, but I never fully understood until now the joy, peace and contentment of allowing the Lord of everything to consume every part of my life. Running after Him with all my heart, soul and mind has brought me such happiness and purpose. I have found what my heart has longed for. I have found that the Lord is the perfect solution for the longing of my heart. He shows me new things every day and I long for His glorious presence more than anything. I am always left wanting more; more of His power, more of His love, more of His glory to be revealed to me. Nothing else matters in this life. I am in a race to seek the face of God, and I am bringing as many people with me as I can. I am running after Him with all my might and I want the world to know my Lord.

I guess this was the point all along. God has created my heart to run after Him. He has created me to be passionate about Him so that I can not only live abundantly, but also so that I can preach to the nations about the greatness of the Lord. The Lord has focused my passion on Himself, and it is the best thing that has ever happened to me. This world holds nothing for me. All that matters is seeking the face of the Lord, and showing others that they too can have the most amazing relationship of their lifetime.

-Tricia Laskowski-

(Nomcebo Lukhele)

He has my Hand

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

God's ways never cease to amaze me. Nearly every saturday we go to the capital city Mbanbane for ministry. We visit the hospital there and then an abandoned babies home. Last saturday our team got the chance to meet and talk with Michael Pratt, the man who started this ministry. Turns out that all the way across the globe God showed me just how connected all His children are. Michael's wife Robin is a nurse and used to run the abandoned babies ward at the hospital we visit in Mbanbane. God really started challenging them to provide a home for these children and now they have twenty children who live permanently at the home they have provided for them. The children they take in are not up for adoption they have created a permanent home and family stability for them to grow up in. It is so traumatic for children to come to home and bond with other children and the ladies that take care of them and then have to leave.

As I talked to Michael Pratt about his ministry I soon found out that he too was from Alaska. Being as Alaska is such a small state population wise he was able to give me a lot of connections to people in Anchorage. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and am moving to Anchorage, Alaska (a six hour drive south of Fairbanks) this fall for nursing school. I literally do not know a single person in Anchorage and have recently felt quite intimidated by the whole process. God spoke so clearly through this situation that He has all His children in His hands. This man was able to in a way introduce me to his home church in Anchorage, which may become my new church family for the next two years. Also, he gave me the information of a man who lives in Anchorage who used to be the Chief Medical Officer of the hospital in Manzini that we visit twice a week. He said that this man would get a huge kick out of talking to me about Swaziland and would possibly be the man to talk to about coming back here as a missionary nurse. This is just an exciting story of how God is working out situations in my life and is just holding my hand and guiding my steps.

Psalms 139

A Child's Faith

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A few weeks back, I was brokenhearted by the lack of "childhood" that a lot of the kids are able to experience here. I was discouraged and could not understand why God's plan for a child's life could include TB, rape, AIDS, or a parentless life. Last week though, I realized how rich of a faith that some of the children truly have. Yes, they have to experience many difficult things, but through them, God reveals himself to them in a powerful way. I have continued to visit the 12 year old girl with TB, Senanile, at the hospital. The past few times I have been blown away at her hope and joy. On Friday, I went in there and was making her a sign with her name and a Bible verse on it. She whipped out her Bible and looked up the verse with me. I saw her underlined Bible and was so excited to see that she spent time reading it. After I had finished her sign, I looked over and saw that she had made me one, including her own Bible verse for me. One of the FYM girls came in and told me that she had been the one to give Senanile the Bible. She said that she had felt God telling her that Senanile needed it. She also told me that the other day she had walked in to find Senanile praying over the other babies in her room. At age 12, orphaned and sick with TB, she wasn't sitting and feeling sorry for herself. She loved the other babies in her room and she was using her time to pray over them and to spread God's love to them. At such a young age, she realized the power of prayer. She realized that God was the ultimate healer and she truly believed in his supremacy.

From seeing her faith and hope, I sat there and wondered who I thought I was to doubt God's plan. I will always be heartbroken by the tragedies that have occurred in some of the children's lives here, but God has shown me that he uses these terrible circumstances to develop the most real and pure faith. I learned from a 12 year old that I need to just trust completely in God's way and in his power. Senanile could have easily felt lonely and angry at the fact that she had lost her parents and was sitting in a hospital in pain. However, she was filled with joy, hope, and faith in God. Through this precious girl, God has shown me what it means to have the faith of a child. Please continue to pray for Senanile. An American doctor has started to work in the hospital and has provided Senanile with amazing treatment. She is progressing a ton and the doctor said that the TB should be healed. However, she is still experiencing back and neck pain, and a lot of times has a high fever. Pray that she will always have the faith that she does now and that she would rise up to impact Swaziland and spread God's love to her people.

"Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the people." Psalm 77:13-14

The Song on my Heart

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"The fullness of your grace is here with me. The richness of your grace is all I see. The brightness of your glory has arrived. In your presence God I'm completely satisfied. For you I'll sing I'll dance rejoice in this divine romance lift my heart and my hands to show my Love, to show my Love." (parts of Phil Wickams' "Divine Romance")

This song has really been on my heart and I just wanted to share the words.

So, how is everyone? I've been doing pretty decent. God has been teaching me so much about Love. He is renewing my mind on how I look at certain things and He's showing me all my flawed thinking which surprisingly doesn't make me feel bad instead I'm loving it. The things He's showing me about Him make me want to run after Him even faster!

Recently he brought something incredible to mind. Ya see, I'm kind of on a fast from romantic relationships even close friendships with guys. Obviously these three months I am here, but more importantly, the three months after I get back. God told me that it's time for us to have some alone time. He had really put it on my heart that I don't need to look for anyone ever. The guy He has planned for me is totally going to pursue me there isn't much I need to worry about. Which I LOVE :) (Thanks GOD!) But, I'm rambling let me get to the point. The other day when I was thinking about being pursued by that guy God spoke to me about it. He told me that as much as I desire to be pursued by a man of God, He has always been in deep pursuit for me a billiongazillion times that! No matter how bad my hair looks, how much make up I do or don't have on, God still wants me so much. On a deeper, more serious note, no matter how filthy I am in my sin He is still chasing after me wanting me to be close to Him. There has been so many times when I've been out of God's will and not living right and He has saved me from myself. He throws me out of bad situations into good ones and I see that as Him coming to my rescue even when I don't call to Him. He is so awesome. My Love for Him has gotten so much stronger because I see now how much He truly first loved me, and how badly He wants our relationship to continue to grow deeper. I have never felt more loved and wanted in my life. I'm so glad God has brought me into a deep a romance with Him!

I love you all! Keep praying for me and my team and everyone we come in contact with!

Thank you soooo much for your love and support!

Meagan E. Varner

Community

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Week ten of our trip and the reality of living with 14 other people has set in. All the little habits of people are out. As frustrations or annoyances grew I went to God searching. How do I love the people who rub me wrong, who are just plain difficult at times? As I sat in a field near a waterhole last week I decided to listen to a podcast from my church at home. I had 17 different sermons on my ipod but only one would work and it was no coincidence that it was on authentic community. It hit me in the chest as he challenged the congregation to change their view on community. He explored the difference between finding worldly community that is centered on affinity or lifestyle commonness and the community we are called to as Christians. We are called to love and be in community and our commonness is solely Him. We as a body should have diversity and learn to embrace that.

I finished the podcast feeling so convicted about how I love my team. But God was not finished with me yet. I woke up the next morning to read in 31 Days of Praise* and it was based on praising Him for the seemingly difficult people in our lives. Then asking for His wisdom and guidance as we learn to love and accept them as He does.

" I'm so glad that You are also within me, working to make me more like Jesus-- more patient, more gentle, more loving-- through the very things I dislike."

Wow, what a challenge. He was not going to let this community idea get away from me. He continues to challenge the way I respond and react. He is morphing my mindset to be fully focused on love. It is so hard and challenging at times and He has to remind me all the time of His love for each person.

Please be praying as we have less than a month left. Pray we finish strong. Pray we stay united as a team and that any issues will be handled with wisdom and love from Him. Pray that we strengthen together to make lasting friendships as we serve together.

*Day 20 of 31 Days of Praise by Ruth and Warren Myers

Benjamin

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Colile

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12) -- Before this trip, that verse had always been one that I had read and then kind of skimmed over. I had never fully grasped its meaning. However, in the past months, I have learned what exactly "the powers of this dark world," and the "spiritual forces of evil" really mean. When we moved onto our homestead, there was a girl around 20 who was always sitting around. She had this blank stare in her eyes whenever you saw her and she would rarely return a smile. The second night that we were here, we were called into her house to pray for her. She was staring blankly and would not respond to anything. Our entire team prayed over her for over 2 hours. We worshiped God and cried out to him that he would cast out the demon that was inside her. I was a scared because it was something that I had never seen or experienced, but it was also a time where I vocally cried out to God more passionately than I ever had before. After about 2 hours of praising God and praying over the girl, she started to vomit and slowly started to interact with us. We moved her to bed and prayed over her sleep. That night we found out that her name was Colele, and her parents had been murdered in October by her younger brother and that she had been the one to find them. From that moment, she kept having these "spells." For the next couple of weeks, she really started to do more work around the homestead and would actually return both eye contact and smiles.

One day, after living here a few weeks, I offered her some of my pop. She kept chugging cup after cup so that she could get it refilled. I began to see that she really wanted to interact with us and decided to ask her if I could paint her nails, to which she responded with a lit up face, "yes." From that moment on, she was addicted. If there was a tiny crack or chip, she would come running, "Cutex, Cutex" (which is what Swazi's call nail polish). We began to establish an awesome relationship, which may actually revolve around her getting "sweeties" (suckers) and "cutex" but it works for me. I have had some of the most incredible moments with her. Last week, we decided to roast some marshmallows over the fire. She immediate asked for "sweeties" and so we offered her a marshmallow. She started to laugh when she saw us "roasting" it and laughed even harder trying to eat it off of the stick. It was so awesome to see the transformation that God has done in her. At the beginning she glared at me, never returning my smile, and now she was laughing and spending time with me.

Up until last Friday, everything was going great! I asked her to come to a church service on Friday night and she happily agreed. During the service, the guy speaking asked if anyone needed prayer. Colele walked up there and I started to feel really excited until she told the guy she just needed prayer for her "flu." When she sat back down though, I began to pray intensely for her. I prayed that God would cast any demon that tried to enter her body away. I prayed that Satan would not reign at all in the memories of the tragedy that happened with her parents. I prayed that she would seek and find God. We walked home that night and everything was great. A couple of hours later though, we heard screams coming from GoGo's house and went out to find Colele laying on the ground. For the most part, the attack was over. A few girls from our team, as well as two godly guys from church, and our leaders began to pray over Colele. One of the guys from church, Musa, explained that the demonic attacks had been going on since the deaths. We prayed over Colele, that God would break the spells, and free Colele from Satan's attacks.

Things were back to normal the next day. On Wednesday, she went to a doctor for her mental condition. When she got back, she would barely look at me. She would not laugh with me and even smacked my hand when I tried to touch her. I fear that the doctor she went to could have been a witchdoctor but I am not sure. I do know that Satan was working in the situation to prevent her from allowing me to love her. Allie and I prayed for the situation for about an hour, that God would break whatever was happening. For the past few days, I have been trying to keep on loving her and things have gotten better. Today we shared my iPod together and she even smiled at me.

I have learned so much about how "real" Satan is. He's not just a character in the Bible. He is out there, "prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is trying to do whatever he can to prevent Colele from receiving the love of Christ through me. At times, I begin to feel scared thinking about the attacks that have taken place and that might take place in the future. I start to worry about how he is going to attack me to discourage me. But I have to remember to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Eph 6:10-20). I know that God is just as powerful now as he was when he used Paul to cast the demon out of the slave girl (Acts 16). I also know that if I truly learn to "put on the full armor of God," I can stand against the devil's schemes.

Even though it is less common to see demonic attacks as frequently in America, Satan is still just as real. Whether he is placing lies in your head, creating dissention in your life, or discouraging you, he is prowling around, ready to devour. I am not telling you this to create fear within you. I am telling you this so that you can take advantage of all God has provided for us. God will empower us to fight off anything that Satan will throw at us. Remember daily to dress yourself with God's armor."Be alert and always keep on praying" (Eph 6:18). Please continue to pray for the situation with Colele. Pray that I too will remember to dress myself daily in the "armor of God" and that Satan will have no power at all in Colele's life. Pray that Colele will "submit to God" and "resist the devil" so that "he will flee from her" (James 4:7).

Benjamin, take 2

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As I walked into the Manzini hospital, I eagerly awaited seeing Benjamin's tiny little face. Just a month ago I walked in to find a weary mother and the smallest two month old I had ever seen. She spoke no English but through the other mothers around her I learned his name was Anton but she wanted him to have an English name. I named him Benjamin. I was not able to communicate so I began to sing. I sang Jesus' name over and over. Ben had not slept in two days and as I sang he was soon fast asleep in my arms. His mother went out in the courtyard to sleep. My ministry had begun. This started a pattern, for the next visits I came in and sang him to sleep and then she would go rest. I would sing with the other mothers and enjoyed chatting. Ben was always my focus. He was only 2.3 kilograms when I met him. He could not keep any nourishment in him and I prayed fervently his body to heal.

Now after a month he is finally gaining weight. Today he weighed 3 kilograms and is even smiling at me. My relationship with his mother has amazed me. We still cannot communicate much but this morning instead of me starting the singing she said "sing akeko" and we then sang together. I felt so connected with her and after I prayed at the end of our visiting time she kept saying thank you and gave me a big hug. What a blessing to love on this family.

Please be praying for Ben and his family. He is 3.0kg today and needs to be 3.8kg before he can go home from the hospital. His dad is very sick and his mother is so fearful after having already lost two children.

"Father, heal this beautiful baby boy. Let him get the nourishment he needs for his body to be healthy again. Grow him up to be a man of You. Let him be a light to his family. Cover him with Your comfort and love! Amen."