My time in Africa

As I was reading through my prior blog posts, I realized that I have never really explained what we did while we were over in Swaziland. Well, it's time to fix that. =)

A normal day (Monday-Friday):
Our weekdays looked very similar to each other because we were on a pretty set routine. I would get up at 6:00am (or earlier) every morning to get ready before most of the house was up. At 6:20am, I would go to Gretchen and Lauren's and Alicia and Sarah's room to wake them up. I know that they just loved hearing my voice every morning! It was a 15 minute warning for devos which were at 6:35am. As the trip went on, I was greeting with grunts and moans and even a "NO!" once by the lovely Gretchen. Our group was not the cheeriest morning crew...at least until they had coffee! =) As I mentioned, devos were at 6:35am and a different person did them every morning. It was on something that was on their heart or that they felt led to share. These were some of my favorite moments on the trip, I have to say. I love hearing what God is doing in other people's lives, especially when you're being stretched and grown by Him.

After devos, everyone would finish getting ready for breakfast and for work that happened directly after the breakfast. Breakfast was at 7am in the lodge. We would take the 2 minute walk from Hyde Park 3 (our house) to the lodge and were greeted by the ever-smiling faces of Phumi and Mzwah (and sometimes Sivi). The lodge staff became some of our dearest friends while we were there. Mzwandile (his nickname was Mzwah because at first we couldn't say his full name) and Sivikelo (same story as Mzwah) were 21 and 20, so our closeness in age became a quick bond that grew over our month there. There's more I'll write about these two, because they deserve a post of their own!  Breakfast was absolutely wonderful. Hot breakfast, eggs any way you wanted them and "bacon" aka ham, was amazing. The cooks there were incredible at what they do and I don't know if I've ever had that good of food for that long (sorry, Mom! =)). If we didn't want eggs, there was a variety of cereals, oatmeals, pancakes, muffins, and fruits that you could eat as well. Now, I never used to eat breakfast. I just didn't have the appetite in the morning. But while I was there, I couldn't get enough food in the morning. And as the trip progressed, we started bringing extra muffins or pieces of fruit to work so that we could have a mid-morning snack!

After breakfast, we would usually have a few minutes to relax and wait until 8am, when we had to be at our work sites or were picked up to be driven to our work sites. Alicia, Ashleigh, Lauren, Gretchen, Donna, Chelsea, and I took about a 5 minute walk down the road to the house we were painting. I already wrote about our beloved Swazi overseer, Temba. He was such a sweet, sweet man. If you haven't read that post, you should! The group of us girls were there every day from 8-12 painting away. We finished all of the inside and most of the outside (picture below). We had a paint mix-up the second to last day so they had to finish the final touches after we left. The other group which was Sam, Joe, Sarah, Matt, and Derek (bless Sarah's heart for being the only girl!) were picked up and driven to the primary school to build a new play structure (picture below).

We did this all morning, every day of the week. It was fun, but there definitely were struggles that went along with it. In the end though, a house was almost ready to furnish and the children had a brand new, amazing playground to play on! I thanked God everyday for giving us hands to do the work that we did.

This brings us to about 12pm. At noon we would head back to the house to shower or change out of our work clothes. Lunch was shortly after and once we finished eating, we had a little bit of free time. Free time could be anything from hanging out in front of the lodge sunbathing (picture on the right, below) to laying out on the front lawn reading (picture on the left, below) or taking a nap. It was time to be with each other as well as time to be alone.




After taking some much needed relaxing time, we would head off to our particular houses for the rest of the afternoon. I don't know if I explained this earlier, but each of us had our own "orphan house". The house had 8 children and their Auntie. We were placed in houses randomly and some of us were paired in houses. Alicia and I had our wonderful house of amazing kids and an even more incredible Auntie. I already wrote one blog post about them (you should read it!). My family is pictured below. I miss them so much! They were each unique and showed me a different part of God's love and of love in general. Some were a little more reserved, but others, like my boy Timmy, would jump into my arms with much abandon. It was refreshing to see them love so completely and so unconditionally. They long for that

affection and attention. Singing with them is a memory I will never forget. The joy that shined out of their most beautiful smiles was one that I long to have. It was so pure and genuine. At the houses, we would play soccer with them, help with laundry, help with homework (I've never said my ABC's so many times!), or simply just sat and talked with them. I miss the ability to just sit and have a conversation with someone without a looming deadline or assignment. It was so incredibly refreshing! I can honestly say that my life has never been simpler than when I was in Bulembu. We got up when they told us to, did the work they had for us, and played with kids for hours. It was perfect! Definitely my idea of simplicity.
We would leave our houses about 5 and have a little downtime for dinner. Some of us would go back to the house or head to the lodge to have a cup of hot cocoa with Mzwa and Sivi, our dear friends who worked in the lodge. Some of the best conversations happened during these times. We would then have dinner which was amazing pretty much every night! The most obscure thing we ate was oxen tail. It was still on the spine...now don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but it was very different to have it attached to the spine. Every meal was amazing and so fresh!
After dinner, we would head back to the house and either journal, talk, or go to bed. We would go to bed so early! Some nights people would be up until 10, but most nights the majority of the house was asleep by 8:30 or so. I've never been on a better sleep schedule than when I was in Bulembu. I wish I could go to bed at 8:30 now!


This was an idea of a normal weekday in Bulembu. This became our routine for better or worse. I wanted to share this because many people have asked about what we did whiel we were there. I hope that this answers questions and piques interests. This Tuesday is our reporting chapel where we get to give a glimpse of what we experienced in a place we came to call home. I'm excited to share about an experience that changed my life and hope that many more get to go to this amazing little town at some point in their lives!

"Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
 Continue to be my light, Lord. Shine Your light bright here and all across Your world.

Humbled.

This is a young man we met in Bulembu,Swaziland. His story is amazing and God is working in His life. Listen to his story then look at your own lives. If you're not humbled, then you're not looking inward hard enough.

God, protect Andrew tonight and every night. Guide his path and make Your way known to Him. I pray this not only for Andrew, but for all of your precious children in Bulembu. <3

Create in me a clean heart, O God

I was reading through the journal that I kept in Swaziland today and came across a devotion that I did in one of our morning meetings. It was about Psalm 51:10 which says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Something that I was really convicted of in Swazi was the fact that we tend to use God as an ATM card with no limit. We do this because we read Psalm 37:4 which says, "Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart." I've heard the phrase, "Don't worry. God promises to give you the desires of your heart," so many times and I know that God does give us the desires of our heart when we delight in Him. But what does it mean to delight in the Lord? I don't have the answer to that one. But what I do know is that we need to have a clean heart before God. David called out to God asking Him to give him a clean heart and a right, or steadfast, spirit. My breakthrough this summer was realizing that before God can give you the desires of your heart, your heart must be clean before Him. God knows our hearts. He knows them better than we know them ourselves, but He still calls us to seek after Him with our whole hearts. ("But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul." - Deuteronomy 4:29) ALL of our heart and ALL of our soul means that we've put Him above all else including our desires. We give it all to follow Him and like the perfect Father He is, He rewards us.

God, create in me a clean heart and a right spirit. Help me to follow You with my whole heart. I put my trust and my desires in You and You alone. <3

9/11

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the horrible disaster we call 9/11. I know that every time I see those numbers together, my heart jumps a little with sadness. It seems like so long ago and yet it was only 10 years ago. I was 11. I didn't understand. MSNBC re-aired the newscast from the day in 2001 and as I watched it, I was 11 again. The same feelings were there, but there was greater understanding. When I was 11, I watched the picture of the towers burning. Today, I listened to what the newscasters said. It was a strange mix of sadness and anger because I now know how many people lost their lives that day and it was an incredible tragedy. One of the greatest of our time. I mourn for the families who lost their dear ones and pray that God keeps them in His arms for the rest of their days as He's done the last 10 years. One thing that kept ringing in my mind was that God has not abandoned us. In the midst of this great tragedy, He was still present. He promised to never leave us and He never will.

As you've probably noticed, everything ties back to Swazi for me. It is the same with this situation. I remember being in Swazi without internet or a computer or a phone or tv. It was incredibly freeing and amazing, but we had no idea what was going on back in the states. There was a bad storm and tornado in MA when I was gone and I had no idea that it had happened. I had a nightmare one night that my mom had been killed. Because I couldn't deny that it wasn't true, a part of me believed it for a few days and I struggled in a major way. I was afraid to fully believe it, but once a seed is planted it is hard to uproot. Surprise, surprise, for those few days I couldn't journal or fully engage in my time with God. I realized that I was letting a dream affect me and I decided to not let it anymore. I sought after God with a new intensity and I felt the most overwhelming peace. My mom was fine, God told me. I'd been telling myself the same thing for days, but it wasn't working. The minute God's peace spread over me, I didn't worry anymore because I knew that He was there. Watching over me in Swaziland, and watching over my family in the states. It was a test of learning to not trust only myself but to trust God above all else. It's a process and I'm learning. Thankfully, God is patient because He loves me oh so much. =)

Happy birthday to me...tomorrow ;)

On the eve of my 21st birthday, I find myself unable to do homework. Not surprising because this is an exciting time, but it's for a different reason than the normal excitement that birthdays bring. I find myself thinking of Bulembu and each of the children that reside there. I wonder how many of them have had their birthdays this week and if any of them share a birthday with me. For birthdays in Bulembu, the children are given a doughnut as their present. It would be very hard to find an 8 year old child in the US that would be happy with one doughnut as their present. But these children - these amazing children - are overjoyed at the fact that someone is celebrating them. Some of these children come in without knowing their birthdays. Some of them have to be estimated because there is no record. Either way, birthdays are not the focus of their lives...the family is. Birthdays are more than presents and cakes and party hats. Birthdays are the celebration of someone's life. In Bulembu it's the celebration of someone's life along with the celebration of life in general. These children have hopes and futures and that is definitely something to celebrate more than once a year.

So as I look on to the next stage of my life, I am thankful for my life and where God has led me and where He will lead me in the future. I am overjoyed at the fact that I had the opportunity to fly 8,000 miles to encounter some of the most amazing people I will ever meet in my life. And as I turn the infamous 21 tomorrow, I say a happy birthday to my family and friends who reside in Bulembu. I celebrate your lives daily because my life was impacted by yours and I am forever grateful. <3

random thoughts...

I had an entire blog post ready to put up, but I realized it could all be communicated in a few short sentences:

-I've realized that Swaziland was the single most growing experience in my life and that a lot of the growing up was done when I got back.
-I'm still completely in love with it and long to go back. It helps that I have about 120 pictures up on my wall so I wake up and go to sleep to those memories every night.
-I'm so thankful for Gordon and the things I've learned here. This is a special place and God brought me here for many reasons - some of which I'm starting to see.
-I'm a senior. I'll be in the real world sooner than I think and I'm ready. Gordon and God have prepared me for the next step in my life.
-I have the most amazing friends. They are why I've become who I am. They've each shaped me in different ways and have shown me some of the different ways that Christ can work through people.
-God is incredible. He is constantly surprising me and showing me new sides of Him. He is pursuing me and I'm loving every second of it!


These are my random thoughts of the night. There will be more to come this weekend.

Jeremiah 29:11

One for the moms

I'm officially moved into my new apartment on campus at Gordon! It was a really fun and thought-provoking move. I moved onto campus for the last time. I'm a Senior. What does the rest of my life hold for me? One thing that I could not stop thinking about was how thankful I am for such a wonderful mother. Sure, we have our disagreements, but we are so similar that we usually seem to know what each other is thinking before she says it. I'm thankful for my mom especially since I got back from Bulembu and this is why:

I remember our first Sunday in Bulembu as clearly as if it were yesterday. Walking in to the large one-room structure with a half-built brick wall. They were creating a more sturdy and lasting structure and that was their church. I remember looking at the stage and singing songs, all while being aware of the 300+ orphans sitting behind our team. We hadn't met our families yet, so we sat separate from the kids and Aunties. I'm listening to the children sing songs in siSwati with gusto like I've never heard before. I close my eyes and soak in every sound my ears will hear. I open my eyes and fixate them on the cross behind the worship band. I thank God silently for this amazing opportunity and for these kids. Chelsea and I had volunteered to help with the kid's Sunday School that first week, so we left before the offering to lead the kids over to another building. As we walk out of the building, kids are running by. Some glance our way, but most know they need to get to children's church. All of the sudden, I feel this little hand inside mine. I look down and there is this little girl walking beside me with her hand in mine. She gazes up at me and smiles all while singing the song, Somlandela (I'll post the words to it below). It gave me chills to hear this precious child singing a song about following God wherever He may lead. Another thought struck me as we were walking. The thought that these kids are orphans. I think that word scared me. What does it mean to truly be an orphan? Some may have families outside of Bulembu, some may not. Some may have miraculous stories of being rescued, and some may be in Bulembu for the chance at a better life. Either way, these kids were here without their parents. Some had siblings in Bulembu which was such a blessing! As I contemplated what it meant to truly be an orphan, I was struck by another thought. These kids may be orphans in the technical sense, but they aren't orphans in God's eyes. They have the most amazing Father looking down on them and showering them with the greatest love. They are loved by the Aunties and a family is truly created in the houses. The night we stayed for dinner, some of the older kids and I got to talking about families and after I talked about my family, they shared some of their own personal lives and stories of their families. Timmy came and sat on my lap and I turned to him and asked him if he had any family. He looks at me with a look of genuine confusion and says, "Uh yeah, you know all of them." He meant the family that was in the room with us. Those kids became his family. The Aunties and Timmy's friends became his family. That completely changed the way I thought about family. There are blood relatives which are so great! There are close friends who know you almost as well as relatives. The list goes on and on. Either way, there's more than one way to define a family. When I left Bulembu, I left with 2 more families: my team and my Swazi family.

You may be wondering what this has to do with my own mother. Well, as you know, in the houses there are Aunties. I couldn't help but think that my mom would love being an Auntie in one of the houses.They pour themselves so selflessly into those kids and do so willingingly. Sure, there are some conflicts, but they handle them with grace and look to Christ for guidance. My mother has done that my entire life, but most notably the last few weeks. I worked a little bit this summer to make some money, but for most of it I was catching up on dentist and doctor appointments. They were much needed and this was the first time in years I'd taken the time to do them. When I found out I had to have my wisdom teeth out, I knew it had to be at least 2 weeks before the insanity of Orientation began so I scheduled an appointment and got all 4 of them out! (They were all impacted and had extra roots!) It was really painful after my surgery and I was out of it for a few days because of it. Through all of it, my mom was so patient and caring and selfless and it meant so much to me. As a college student, I sometimes think that I can do everything myself and that I can take care of myself always. That's just not true. By nature, we have a need for other people. Whether that is a parent, friend, or significant other. Isolation leads to madness. So thank you mom, for refreshing the fact that I need people and that I need you. <3

Auntie Freda-i miss you terribly, but i know that you're being the most amazing mother to those kids who so desperately need you. <3