Wedding at Hawane CLC

On Saturday April 21st we had the privilege of celebrating the wedding of the assistant pastor of Hawane CLC Church. It was a joyful ceremony filled with lots of dancing, singing, and celebrating for this lovely couple who are uniting themselves in the Lord.

Groom dancing down the aisle to meet his bride (Swazi tradition)

The wedding at Hawane CLC Church April 21st

Beautiful decor in Hawane CLC Church

The bride & groom (Sipho & Thobile) with Joy & I

Teaching Kids at Orphan Care Centre

The kids at the care center are on a school break and I wanted to take this opportunity to share God's love with them through using teaching and creative projects to discuss real life issues they are facing such as grief & loss and anger management. We had an amazing time learning about the process of grief, common feelings and experiences related to loss, their own personal experiences, etc. The younger kids made pictures of good memories they have of people close to them who have died. The kids then shared their pictures with the group and it was powerful to see some of them for the first time publicly sharing about their mother or father who has passed away. I was so proud of them all. For the grief & loss groups with the teenage boys and teenage girls, they created collages of either their experience with loss or good memories they have of a loved one who has passed away. Everyone did an awesome job and I believe God was bringing them healing from their losses through this forum.

Working on collages "My Experience With Grief & Loss" with the teenage girls

Teenage boys, with their grief & loss collages, me, and a volunteer Jess

one boy working on his picture of his mother & father who have passed away

one girl drawing her father who has passed away

group of the younger kids working on their pictures in the grief & loss class

The teenage girls with their collages, Jen a volunteer, and I

one boy sharing his picture with the group

The kids were so proud of their drawings!

Working with the youth and adults here in Swaziland blesses me tremendously. It's a privilege to be God's hands and feet to orphans, widows, and those in need. Truly, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Swaziland is such a beautiful country. I often find myself driving from point A to point B and a sense of awe overwhelms me as I take in the landscape, God's very design. God really is the Master Artist, isn't He? I mean He created the sky, the land, the mountains... with so much care and skill. He is the Creator. He is the Designer. No one could ever be more creative.

I love the outdoors and I stand amazed at the beauty of God's creation. I can see His love on display through what He has made.

Sunrise over Hawane (where I live)

Regular part of my drive to the church
(don't worry I didnt' take this pic while driving!:)

Hawane scenery

Hawane farm, the orphan care center where I'm based

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20) The beauty of creation is meant to point all of us to God - for us to know Him personally and to be in relationship with Him. The only way we can come to this God is through Jesus Christ. This amazing God who created all of this has also sent His only Son Jesus into the world to die in our place. What I mean is - Jesus' death on the cross was payment for everything we have done wrong, our sins. Before Jesus we were separated from God as the things we have done wrong separate us from God. They put distance between us and Him. There was no way for us to draw close to God. When we put our trust in God and acknowledge that Jesus' death on the cross was payment for our sins- the mistakes we have made against God- then we are forgiven by God and can enjoy the relationship with Him we were always meant to have with Him. He is so good. His beautiful creation points to this fact. He's calling out to the world through His creation as He shines forth His power, love, care and majesty. Will we choose to draw near to God today?

Recent visit to the prisons
I went with a team of people from my home church in Swaziland, Potter's Wheel Church, to visit 3 prisons. We planned to visit the women's prison, the men's prison and the juvenile facility. We got to visit both the men's and the juvenile's facilities but the women's prison was not accepting visitors that day. (We plan to go back within the next 30 days to try again. I love ministering to the women so I'm looking forward to this:)

We got to share the gospel with all of the residents in the juvenile and adult male's facilities. About 65 people gave their hearts to God, accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They chose to trust God with their lives, begin a relationship with Him, and pursue His purposes for their lives. It's a joy for me to see people experiencing the hope that only God can bring.

The team (2 Swazis, a Zambian, a Finn & me, an American :)

My dear friend Joy, the Zambian, preaching
the message to the youth

The youth raising their hands to begin a personal
relationship with Jesus

The youth praying

The team at the youth facility
(The inmates do receive schooling here, though
they are sentenced & must remain here 24 hrs/day)

Pictures could not be taken in the adult male's facility. We had a great time there with the group of men gathered underneath the trees outside on a hot, sunny day. They listened to the message attentively and many responded by coming forward for prayer. We passed out Gideon Bibles at both prisons.


" '...I was in prison and you came to visit me.' ... The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. ' " (Mathew 25: 36,40)

For the past month I had the privilege of having a dear friend, Heidi, from my home church in the USA come to serve here in Swaziland. It was a blessing to have her here and to see God using her as she interacted with the kids at the orphan care center, worked on important projects at the church, and formed relationships with the Swazi people wherever she went. She was a personal encouragement to me. It was nice to have a familiar friend around during what's ended up being a season of transition for me.

Heidi & I her last day in Swaziland

Teenage Girls & volunteers at the orphans care center
praying for Heidi as she prepared to fly back to the USA

At the orphan care center the teenage girls were invited to a special beauty night where they had the opportunity to get their nails painted, enjoy a foot spa, get a face mask, and make creative thank you cards to God for making them beautiful. The theme of the night was that we are each beautiful to God and Ephesians 2:10 was the focal Scripture "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance for us to walk in." Many of them come from abused backgrounds so it was awesome to see the healing that has taken place in their lives, how their self-image is changing for the better and their love for God.

Another long-term missionary friend & I encouraging the girls
as they made cards to God

Time for face masks!

Nails getting painted.
Each one is so beautiful, created in the image
of God!

God is amazing in the way He loves and cares about each one of His children. It's a privilege to remind people of God's love every day as He opens doors for me to do so. As we receive God's love and abide in His love, we bear much fruit for Him. We truly can do nothing without Him.

Did you know that no matter what you may have done, when you put your hope in Jesus Christ, God sees YOU as beautiful?

A team from my home church, CLC in Dayton Ohio, came to Swaziland to do a soccer camp in Lavumisa. I joined them for the week long camp and what a blessing it was. The camp used soccer (a sport the Swazis love) to bring them together as a vehicle to share the gospel message that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but would have everlasting life (John 3:16). 530 kids registered for the camp throughout the week and 225 kids accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior!!! Praise God for His goodness and love towards His people!

CLC Lavumisa (new church building on the left)

Kids gathering for the soccer camp

Some of the community kids & I

A precious girl, a participant of the camp,
who pitched in to help clean up everyday

2 amazing ladies (right side is pastor sabelo's wife)
who cooked lunch for hundreds of the children every day
(over a hot fire in temperatures above 100 degrees F)
I said they were amazing, right?

How we all felt at the end of the day :)

Visiting a local homestead, the team shared God's Word to
encourage them and we prayed for this family

Kids at church at Lavumisa CLC Sunday after the camp
It was crowded and that's good!

Last night with the team at Hawane Farm

I'm continuing to meet with each one of the children to give them the opportunity to share their life stories and testimonies. It's amazing to hear of what so many of them have been through and even more amazing to hear how their lives were changed when they came to know that the God of the universe loves them. Many of them as children have gone through periods of time with little or no food and their families did not have the money to send them to school. Almost all of them have already endured the loss of multiple family members, including one or both parents. I've been so touched and humbled as the kids have opened up and shared their stories with me. Many tears have been shed and, equally, many smiles have been displayed as they come to realize all over again what God has brought them through. Each child expresses gratitude and joy regarding being under the care of the ministry now. They are in a safe place they say and people show love to them, including their house parents. They report that they get enough food to eat everyday and they have the privilege of getting an education.

Myself with 2 of the kids
(both have cerebral palsy, people with disabilities in
Swaziland are often neglected/ignored but these 2 are
receiving love, attention & hope here in the ministry)

Continuing to collect life stories w/ the kids :)

Last Friday I got to serve as a leader at the Potter's Wheel (my home church here) all-night youth retreat. Staying awake all night didn't come quite as easy as it did when I was a teenager.... Does this mean I'm getting old? :) It was a fun time with about 25 teenagers. The theme of the event was Breaking Down Barriers - Who You Are In Christ. The students each got to participate in times of worship, teaching, prayer, discussion groups, and of course food and fellowship.

Kids playing games w/ 1 of the youth leaders

The encouragement corner - each teenager had a paper
with his/her name on it that others wrote encouraging
messages on. In the morning they received their page to take home.

Ok, so I got way outside my comfort zone & helped lead worship

This is the "And God Says" board that all of us (youth & leaders)
could write on to share what God was showing them during the
event - some awesome, encouraging messages came forth

And here we are the morning after - youth & leaders
minus a few who escaped before I got the photo :)

The house parents (those who take care of the orphans under the care of the ministry) had an end-of-the-year party to celebrate another year of service to the ministry. The party was a surprise for them and I was blessed to have a part in it by helping prepare their surprise meal (lasanga w/ a chocolate dessert) and preparing individualized messages for their cards. (Cards were creatively made by a dear women's Bible study group at CLC Fairfield in Dayton, Ohio). The parents LOVED the food and the cards. They shared that they were so blessed.

Some of the parents enjoying their meal
(including the one in the middle, an auntie who is expecting :)

The father to the halfway boy's house
He said he was enjoying his meal

Here's the group! We are really blessed to work alongside
this great group of house parents. Their love for God & the kids
inspires me.