Photo by Wil Sauder
So for those of you just catching up with me, I thought you might want to hear the story of how my trip to Swaziland came about. It goes back to a day when I met up with Rev. Mary. She was going to pray for a team from her church that was going to Swaziland and invited me to go with her.
She had scheduled a time for us to go to the church when the sanctuary would be empty. When we arrived at New Hope, I had little expectation that the day would bring about something for me personally--other than a lesson--I always learn something when I'm with Rev. Mary. My focus was just on serving her and praying for the people going to Africa.
God had other things in mind.
When I walked into the sanctuary, a very tangible sense of the presence of God came over me. I had one of those "knowings". God showed me this was going to be our new church home. Matt had told me a few months earlier that he believed we were going to know this year where we were to worship, and at the time I sensed that was a "Word" from the Lord. Funny, isn't it, how even when you believe it to be true and of God when you hear it, it can still surprise you when it actually happens?
Throughout the time she was praying before the Lord at the altar for the team, I was walking the room and the Lord was very present and showed me some things about the church, about the community, about our place there. I told some of the people from New Hope later, "It sort of feels like an arranged marriage." I think the Lord knew I needed to know from Him we were going to a safe place. I have found it to be everything He told me it would be for our family.
So I was just beginning to settle in one Sunday when Pastor Vern got up and mentioned that he could not go to Swaziland and that they were considering whether or not to send someone in his place. The Lord impressed on me that I was to go. Seriously??? I hadn't even met the Pastor! I was doing this little argument in my head with God, "So you want me to say hello my name is Becky and I think I'm supposed to go to Swaziland in your place? That's gonna go over real well."
But that's pretty much what happened.
Matt and I introduced ourselves after the service and I mentioned to him my interest. We decided to set up a time when Matt and I and the Pastor and his wife could have dinner together. We were able to share about our journey over the last couple years and hear about theirs. It was a very good conversation, but the topic of Swaziland never came up. I wondered if I had heard wrong, or maybe if it was for another time, but a few weeks later, another team member couldn't go because of eye surgery. Again the Lord prompted me to bring it up to the Pastor. This time we felt the Spirit of God leading us together. Another woman I was excited to get to know was asked to join the team as well. That was two weeks before departure. Just enough time to get our (5!) shots.
Amazingly, God brought in all of my support in that time. I prayed for the Lord to prompt 12 people to send $100.00. Aside from two larger gifts that I am SO Grateful for, every gift was from a family member or friend in the amount of $100.00, except for two in the amount of $50.00. That of course was just a double blessed $100.00. The other cool thing was that from the day I sent out my letter for prayer and support, every day I received an e-mail or a letter with word of financial support and spiritual encouragement. God just kept confirming to me that He was bringing everything together so I could go. I was able to purchase some equipment I needed and cover the cost of my shots. The greatest blessing was care and support of those who encouraged me to minister. I am so grateful to them and to the Lord for the opportunity.
The other great blessing in all of this was the team I joined. I so appreciated each one of them and their giftedness. Deb has such a tender heart, and I loved our conversations in the evenings. Greg and I are oil and water when it comes to how we approach life--and it was great because when we put our strengths together we were able to come up with really rich results. I really respect him as a Pastor. Ken was a great pal and is going to do great things for Swaziland. He gave me one of the best compliments ever. He told me I was like "an old pair of shoes" to the team. Wil has a great mind for understanding the complexities of the situation over there, and his easygoing personality and dry sense of humor kept us smiling even through some of the tough times. And Luke--what a blessing to see him with the kids. I was going over some of the photos of the clothes distribution yesterday. A lot of 14 year old boys would have been embarrassed or grossed out by the ordeal--most of the kids didn't have undergarments and their clothes were filthy--but he helped them with so much grace. AND he told me he's gonna make his safari pants his cool pants. (Mine are more cool since they climbed Mt. Katahdin and went on an African safari...but he's got time.)
Anyways, that's the story of how my Swaziland trip came about. I still have a lot more to share about my experiences there, so stay tuned. For those of you wondering about Bgrace, jot me an e-mail. It's up but you need a password. I'm not sure if I'll post on it again until I'm back from Seattle and then Iowa (but the minute I say that I'll change my mind), so there's no rush ;-).
Thank you to all who prayed, who continue to pray for me, and for all of you who contributed financially--even though it was a sacrifice. If you are interested in seeing the team's presentation, visit New Hope Church in Harrisburg on Sunday Nov.14th.
As soon as we put up our Swazi blog I'll make sure to put a link up so you can see it.
Blessings to you all,
B
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