First – so sorry I have not been able to post (or even write) over the past few days. Usually I’m able to write a bit – to help process the day – even if I’m not able to post it. But this past week has been a whirlwind of activity and prayer. Every moment I’ve had a part from the group has been so focused on prayer and listening for God’s whispers to my heart --- that I have not set aside time to write about it.
Mornings have begun at 5:15AM with group prayer and devotion at 5:45. It’s been so sweet to sit in the early morning dark with others seeking God. Devotions spoken, scripture read, songs of worship lifted up, and prayers uttered ---- all combined to begin our day in a powerful way. Out of the group of 340 --- about 30 of us would meet each morning. It’s hard to describe the feeling of being in a place, a situation, where you know God has called you to be – and yet you KNOW you have no control or power over the outcome of the day’s events. But you can feel the words “in my weakness, He is strong” pulsing through your veins. God’s Word is life and light to me.
The work has been non-stop through out the day, with sleep coming after midnight every night. (And for those who know me well – you know I’m diligent with my 8-9 hours of sleep each night. But that is not the case here.)
We have seen miracles – truly, not exaggerated occurances, but real miracles happen. God has heard our prayers and yours --- and has responded with a mighty YES. ☺
At the 30 churches where we have worked – we had expected (according to Pastors estimates) anywhere from 15 – 100 children. Everyday there were 50 – 400 children at the churches. Our teams were blessed and overwhelmed with the numbers. We were able to see the “fields are ripe unto harvest” – saw it with our eyes. We had to pray and cry and release our plans to God --- since we didn’t have enough food, we didn’t have enough Bible school supplies, we didn’t have enough team members, ---- but ----- we DID HAVE GOD. He called them there, He had a plan, we just needed to readjust our minds. So the lead teachers and I prayed constantly for God’s enabling of them to shift and adjust the beautiful curriculum they were using to accommodate hundreds of children. And He did. The outcome looked much different than what they had planned ---- but we pray it looked exactly as God had planned. (Thank you Kristi and Jodi for writing the curriculum – I could feel you here with us --- and your stories and activities are now in the hearts, minds, and souls of these beautiful children.) As vans of volunteers left the churches on the final day – they could hear the children singing “Jesus loves me, Jesus chose me, Jesus is my hope”. Many tears…
We did not have the budget nor the ability to bring food to this great number of children each day – it was overwhelming. There are SO many hurting children and people here. So we all prayed – longing for a “loaves and fishes” story. The WMU at a sweet church near my home and where my parents are members, Coal Mountain Baptist Church, had blessed me with funds to be used as God guided. I had used a portion of their gift to purchase Bible School supplies for the children and churches, another portion to purchase supplies to be used in Kenya, and another portion to pay for additional oral surgery for a young man named Peter here in Swaziland --- that’s another blog post soon to come (a sweet story that must be told). But I was prayerfully holding on to the last $200, waiting for that “nudge” from God. And the nudge came on Wednesday. We used the last $200 to purchase 100 big bags of oranges to take out to each church to give the children. The van pulled out Thursday morning bulging with eager, tired volunteers, loads of warm clothes they had brought with them to give to the children, and a gazillion oranges to share. ☺
The children could feel “the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” as they received new clothes, food in their stomachs, and a feast in their heart with the final day of curriculum shared in adapted ways that would accommodate the magnitude of numbers the team served.
And so God provided --- according to HIS PLANS. We surrendered our plans and embraced His ---- as we realized we could not – but He could. We were unprepared for the numbers – He was fully prepared. We were ill equipped for their needs – He was what they needed. May they remember Jesus loves them, Jesus chose them, and Jesus is their hope ---- long after we are gone – for the rest of their days.
Many, many, many accepted Christ as their Savior. The numbers were too large to count --- truly. But God has their names written down. Praise God!
No comments:
Post a Comment