Swazi {The End}

I have kind of been procrastinating on this post {Obviously...  it's been almost 3 months since my trip to Africa...}. But to be honest, this is kind of a hard post to write. Writing this last post means that the trip is really over, that I have come back to my real life in MN of being a nurse and a wife, and most importantly a changed Christian. My trip to Africa was amazing. There are not enough words to describe hoe God changed my life in those short 10 days. You wouldn't understand it anyways, unless you have experienced it yourself. Unless you have felt the pain of God tugging at your heart, the glory of feeling HIS presence in EVERYTHING you  did for 10 days in a row.  Knowing that God sent you somewhere to change lives, and feeling that the only life that was changed was your own... How do you articulate that!? You can't, so I'm not even going to try! I had almost forgot that I didn't finish this post until a friend came to MN to visit ans said she was so sorry I never met my sponsor child. I was like what do you mean Sorry!!! I met her and she was AMAZING!!! It dawned on me that I never blogged about that day, so how would she have known?? So let me finish my last two days in Swaziland and then I'll give you a few closing thoughts....

Tuesday morning after our sunrise safari and breakfast, we headed back on our bus back to GLA.  We were set to meet with the interns and staff and then meet our sponsor kiddos that afternoon. I'm not gonna lie, I was crabby. Emily and I didn't sleep well in our safari hut and I was tired and cranky.  I took a nap on the bus ride home and that seemed to help me refresh a bit. Once we arrived at GLA, I was again in awe of God beauty. It was a HOT day in Swaziland and the landscape was picturesque.

We were seated in the main room at GLA alternating seats between RVC team members and GLA interns. Mark and Kay lead off with some introductions and some prayers and then we went into a tie of testimonies. It was amazing to hear the testimonies of those from RVC as well as those from the interns. After the testimonies we went into a time of worship. To be honest I wasn't thrilled about this part. Mark had said something to the effect of sing whatever is on your heart, if you feel God put a song on your heart sing it. I honestly thought we would be sitting there all day with no one saying a peep because we had no real planned music or instruments. {Insert laugh of God...} Boy was I wrong, not even 5 seconds after Mark finished a scripture did one of the interns break out in a beautiful song. I could tell from that instant that this was going to be magical.  The room filled with the sound of angels and the Holy Spirit was ever so present.  As much as I LOVE the worship at RVC in MN, nothing with EVER compare to the worship that occurred in that room that morning. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about that morning even to this day 3 months later. God is so good.  He placed the perfect songs on our tongues and sent his messengers to do divine things. We went into a song about healing and instantly the feeling in the room changed. Amazing things were transpiring and we were witnessing miracles. I watched as one of my closest friends on the trip was prayed over in tongues and healed right before our eyes. It was something I will never forget, and thank God for opening my eyes to his amazing abilities!! So after all of my makeup was washed away with tears of joy and overall fulfillment of the Holy Spirit, it was time to meet our sponsor kiddos!
I was super nervous and excited at the same time...
All of the kids filed off a bus and gathers on the front lawn waiting to meet their sponsors. As they called Nompelo's name and then my names my heart was so happy. I had a huge smile on my face and could tell she was equally as happy but also really shy!! We picked a spot on the lawn {remember it was the hottest day of our trip and I forgot sunscreen bc I was so excited.... = Super great sunburn/totally worth it} One of the best parts of the day was watching her devour KFC!! That was the big surprise for them was getting KFC chicken. It gave me such a different outlook on what I had and how fourtonate I was, something I take for granted like fast food was a delicacy to this little girl.  I had brought a backpack of goodies from the states and she carefully took out each item and held it like it was gold. My favorite part of the day was reading her the story of Noah's Arc fromt eh bible I brought her. She was amazed at the colored pages and pictures in front of her. As I read it in English and listened to the translation in Siswati tears filled my eyes because I know that this is probably the first bible this girl has ever owned and maybe even seen.  Knowing that she will be able to read this long after I go home made me so thankful to God for choosing me to bless this sweet girl.  We played with bubbles and played with my camera, took lots of funny pictures and shared many laughs.  Her laugh was infectious and made me so happy, but also made me long for more time with her. As we said our goodbyes, there were lots of hugs and smiles.  I told her I prayed for her every day and asked her what she needed prayer for.  Her answer- pray for my mom, pray that she gets a job and is happy again. My heart officially broke for about the thousandth time... So we prayed together before she boarded her bus and waved from the window as she drove away.

Best Day Ever...

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day~

 

 

 

 

Here is the video we made for Chad... isn't she precious!?!

Well it was an amazing day probably the best day of the whole trip! And then there were goodbyes... and those were pretty terrible... 

I had an amazing time in Swaziland, it is a trip that I will never forget. I have been forever changed by this trip, I have made amazing friends and amazing memories.  I never realized how important Godly friends were to have until I made some truly amazing friends in Swaziland. I thank God every day for the experience he provided for me and the divine interacions he put in my path. He does amazing things and I can't wait for the day I am back in this beautiful country!