"Be alert servents of the master, cheerfully expectant.
Don't quit in hard times;
PRAY all the harder.
Help needs Christians;
be INVENTIVE in hospitality" ~Romans 12:12 {MSG}
Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you feel so overwhelmed that you just have to step back and take everything in? That is essentially how my day started Saturday February 23rd. We spent all day the previous day going door to door inviting people to the open house at RVC-Swazi, I woke up Saturday morning excited and nervous at the same time. Would anyone show up? Will we have enough food? What am I going to as part of the medical team? Lots of questions and lots of worries. Joshua 1:9 was a verse that I had journaled about that morning and it really hit home.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go"
And he sure showed favor on us that day!!!
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| Good Morning ~ Glory fog from our window |
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| The line of people waiting to see Dr. John when we arrived |
When we woke up we were given our first gift, Glory Fog! Mage (SiSwati for Mother) Karen told us that Glory Fog meant we would be in good favor, it was so pretty this photograph doesn't do it justice. The fog starts in the valley and then rises as the sun gets higher in the sky. It was breathtaking to eat breakfast with this as our view. After our breakfast (usually omelets and yogurt, AMAZING) we headed to the RVC-Swazi campus. When we got there there was already a line of people waiting for Dr. John. John Holte is one of the members of our team who just so happens to be an ophthalmologist who got a bunch of glasses donated for the community of Swaziland. On our community walks Friday we made sure to tell the older members of the community that there would be an eye doctor with glasses, I guess they heard us!!! You can read an amazing blog post from John's wife Nancy about how God multiplied time for John that day if you follow this
LINK to Nancy's Blog
{I also want to mention that throughout this post there are some photo credits due to Scott Marshall, Mark Bojovic and Nancy Holte. I spent a lot of the day inside, so a lot of the photos come from these three!!}
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| Pastor Darin welcoming everyone to RVC |
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| The people of the community listing to Pastor Darin and Mduduzi |
So there were a lot of things going on at the open house, here is a list to the best of my recollection!!!
~Eye Clinic with Dr. John
~Medical Clinic {Blood pressure checks, de-worming pills} Nurse Jessie and myself
~Volley Ball
~Soccer
~Jumping Castle
~Games for kids
I hope you enjoy the following Photos!!
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| Nancy putting eye drops in the eyes of those waiting |
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| Dr John at work |
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| Adjusting glasses on one of our first patients |
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| Pastor Darin with all of the glasses |
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| Such a blessing to see that smile |
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| Checking blood pressures, after I was done Portia (GLA intern) and I would pray for each person. It was such a blessing to pray over people and to receive their extreme gratitude. |
All the kids that came for the open house!
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| 1 of the jumping castles and the GLA interns |
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| Lizwi and some of the interns leading games for the kids |
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| Just a few kids came out for the fun.... |
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| Look at all the people we fed!! |
Volleyball and Soccer
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| The crowds watching the soccer and volleyball tournaments |
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| The winning team with the Goat they won and our youth pastor Lizwi in the middle |
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| The kiddos greeting team 2 as they arrived |
Another really exciting thing that happened Saturday was that the RVC Team 2 arrived!!! We were finally all together and ONE big team of 30 people!!! It was so nice to have our entire team together with 100% of our luggage and no drama. The kids had double the people to play with and we were thankful to have to help from them.
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| Tara jumping in and getting her hair braided |
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| Rachel and I taking time for some self portraits |
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| Iliea with the sweetheart we met at the market Friday |
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After all the fun and games it was time to get working on preparing the church for the launch on Sunday. We had lots of food to prepare and a church to clean. The red clay ground, while its' gorgeous it sure get EVERYWHERE!!! After any even that happens at RVC the GLA interns get the fun task of sweeping and mopping the entire church. Ellie and I thought we'd give them a hand!!!
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| Rachel grating ginger |
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| Nelly, Jen and Taylor ripping apart raw chicken |
It was so amazing watching everything the Lord did that day. The people he brought to us, the people who received food and glasses, the ministering we were able to do. God is so good!!! Stay tuned for future posts!!
LOVE, HUGS and GOD's BLESSINGS! ~Gretch
I'm
going to start with a picture of my journal from the 24th, it was such
an amazing day it is so hard to try and sum it all up in words. "The
Lord did amazing things in Swaziland today... We launched the 8th campus
on a third continent, all by the GRACE of God." Everything on this day
was right, everything that happened on February 24thh, 2013 in Swaziland
Africa was a gift from God, thanking us for our obedience. This was
the purpose of this trip, this was what our mission was, LAUNCH the
church. Go forth and do God's work, his word was a light for our path,
he sent us to Swaziland. God appointed Pastor Mduduzi to lead this
church, HIS church, just as he appointed Pastor Rob to lead River
Valley. Everything fell into place on that day, everything because of
his GRACE. 
Another
amazing thing - RVC Music in Swaziland!!! One of my favorite parts of
the launch of RVC-Swazi was experiencing worship music that I would hear
at home in MN, in AFRICA!!! The worship that morning was something I
will never forget. Lulu (worship leader) and her team were absolutely
spectacular. So many hands were raised to the Lord as we worshiped, it
brought tears to my eyes and joy to my soul knowing that I was a part of
something that was made possible by His GRACE and His LOVE. We also
worshiped in SiSwati, the bush language in Swaziland. While I could
hardly pronounce the words, the sound was sweeter than anything I had
ever heard. It was a sound of people from all over the world,
worshiping the SAME God, the ONLY God. It didn't matter it what color
we were, what language we spoke or what life circumstances we were
facing; we were worshiping together as children of God. 
Pastor
Rob preached an amazing sermon about the vision for RVC-Swazi and what a
"Life Giving Church" is. Pastor Mduduzi spoke about being fathers to
the fatherless and how Swaziland needs leaders who will show the way to
the the Lord. The leaders and elders of RVC as well as community
dignitaries prayed for Mduduzi and his wife Memory.
Everyone left with full bellies and hearts filled with the word of God. The building was blessed by the community members and Mduduzi and RVC were given their blessings. 
Everyone left with full bellies and hearts filled with the word of God. The building was blessed by the community members and Mduduzi and RVC were given their blessings. 
