Where do I begin???

Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged. I have been trying to hook up to this Parazz thing so I can show you all 540 pictures from my trip, but I can't figure out how to do it, so I will just have to tell you about it and upload the pictures later.

It has been the most incredible two weeks of my life and I don't know where to start the story. We left Monday July 24th (8girls, 3guys) for Manzini Swaziland. 37 hours, 6 flights, 7 meals, and 4 movies later we arrived a the one terminal Manzini airport. We slid through customs (thankfully since we had tons of gifts- not claimed) and into the arms of our loving family at Children's Cup. Charles, Kristen and Patrick greeted us and brought us to Emafini, our new home for the Swaziland trip.

We spend the first few three days (26th-28th) painting the Zakhele Carpoint to prepare it for school in September. It was really great to do something that would make a lasting impression and Rob did an amazing job designing a mural for the classroom.

The night of the 28th we had a youth event filled with dramas and worship and teachings. It was incredible. 40 youth accepted salvation and several more came down for prayer. It was a major victory for the kingdom.

On the 29th we had a "fall fest" at the Ngwane Park Carepoint and kids came to see puppet shows, jump on the bouncing castle, get their faces painted, make balloon animals, color and just be kids. I loved seeing the kids faces filled with joy and happiness. Oh I just wanted to hug every single one of them.

That night we went to the Makheya Safari Park. Rumor was that we would be roughing it but that was quite false. If you are looking for a romantic getaway, consider this: four course meal, safari ride and hike, bonfire, native dancing, starlit sky (with bonus- visible milky way), breakfast in bed, and simply the best service. I liked it so much I nearly married our safari driver- if only it had rained while we were there (ask a team member for more details on that one).

On July 31st we went to the Fonteyn Carepoint and began painting and fixing that up for school in September. I just love doing stuff like that because it is so behind the scenes and yet so necessary. That night we went to dinner at the Rodgers and I got to play a crazy game of ping pong and jump on a trampoline with the coolest kids in Swaziland! We had some more random guitar worship together which I always love and then got some rest.

On the 1st we went to Mozambique and stayed there overnight. Also, an amazing experience. We stayed at this nun’s missionary hostel/cottage/cabin/getaway. It was one of those places that has great potential but just needs the extreme makeover. However, I was pretty pumped because I got to sleep in a bay window with misquito netting and it poured so the rain on the window was just delightful. When I awoke to the netting and in the window I felt like Rapunzel, or some kind of princess (I don’t think everyone had that kind of royal experience but that’s imagination for you). After waking up as a princess, enjoying the end of an outstanding rainstorm, and being treated to a wonderful homemade breakfast, I knew this day would be different. I think that it was one of my (14) favorite days on the trip. That morning, due to a traffic delay, we got a chance to play this cool game called Empire- so fun. Then we somehow all busted out in random worship to Donny McClurkin out in the streets of Maputo, Mozambique (even the garbage man stopped to get his praise on)! From there, we saw the Indian Ocean and went shopping on the streets. With limited time, we visited the Terry Melancon Chapel and prayed over it with all the children. That was… WOW! From there, Mashalayla (sorry for the misspelling), our Mozambique go to guy, took us to an African church service. I absolutely loved it- reminded me of Acts church: just a bunch of people get together around 3ish and dance and sing and worship our Savior, Jesus. I hope we can integrate the random praise and worship into the US church culture, there is just nothing like it!

We returned to the windiest night in Swaziland’s history. We had a candlelight dinner and went to bed without electricity. When we awoke on the 3rd, winds were still going strong and we discovered that it had done much damage during our sleep. Trees were down everywhere, roofs were torn off, and homes were destroyed. It was the “hurricane Katrina” of Swaziland. We spend the day repairing roofs, removing trees from the middle of the roads, and checking on community members. What a divine appointment that God had us there for such a time as this!

That night we got to hang out with the Rodgers and have dinner all together. It was such fun to be there with the team and just pray and fellowship together!

The 4th was our last day so the team took us shopping in Swaziland and then we went to the children’s ward in the hospital. How overwhelming and wonderful! We sang to and loved on all the kids and their families. From there we all went to lunch together and most of the team went to finish painting while a few of us went to dig a poop hole. Not joking. A 2 meter high, 1 meter wide, poop hole. I thought I was close to reaching China by tunnel when we finished. It was really great to get my hands dirty, literally. That night we went to Kristen and Charles’ for dinner and games.

Seriously, Thank you just doesn’t even suffice for the gratitude I feel for all of your support financially and prayerfully. It was such an honor to represent the body of Christ half way across the world to orphaned and vulnerable children. I am not worthy of that privilege and yet so blessed for the opportunity! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You impacted the Kingdom in a great way through your giving!

If you are looking for more ways to help, please consider helping Children’s Cup. The missionaries over there are rockstars, no legends, for Christ and they need some dedicated groupies! Also, if you haven’t heard about the 40 days of prayer, please take some time to check that out and email Dan to sign onto the prayer team.

Thanks again for all of your love and support. And thank you for all of your prayers. They work wonders!