This past week I have made some of the best memories that I have made all year long. It has been incredibly busy but I have enjoyed each and every moment of it. It will be hard to keep this post short as so much has happened!
Some of the highlights:
Last Saturday we were asked to plan an event for 160 kids from ages 2-13 from 9:00am until 2:00pm. Naturally, we were overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do with 160 who didn’t even speak our language! It turned out to be great though. We split into 10 different groups and ran 10 stations and had some of the older kids on the farm and some TCMI students help us out with our groups and translating. They all did a fantastic job!

This past Monday was really special. I was given a generous amount of money from close family friends of mine and was told to do what I wanted with it with the people on the farm. I had a lot of time to think about it. I started thinking about planning another talent show and have a BBQ with them, or to throw a youth party, we were also about to use the money to take the youth out to a Swaziland national soccer game but the plan fell through. We didn’t end up using the money on the kids but on the house parents. These house parents are incredible. They have sacrificed their time, money, and their lives to look after orphan kids in their country. They work so hard and never complain. And every team that comes in puts events on for the kids.. so we decided, it was time to bless the house parents who go highly unnoticed. We took them out to a nice restaurant for lunch and dessert and they LOVED it! Most of the house parents had never even been to a sit-down restaurant before and didn’t know how to order off a menu. They were all so incredibly grateful for the outing and have been talking about how wonderful it was all week. It is such a God thing that those other plans fell through.. I think the Lord wanted the house parents to be treated, to get off the farm and have a break from all of their hard work. Thank you so much to my friends who provided the finances for this event, it is SO much appreciated!!

Tuesday and Wednesday morning we had what we called a “Soaking Service” at my church at Potter’s Wheel. Basically a number of people from the church gathered together to worship God, listen to a to pastor’s give a word and bow down before the Lord in prayer. What was so neat was that it was a totally spirit lead event.. there wasn’t a specific schedule, we just cried out to God and waited to see what he would do. And God showed up. It was an extremely refreshing time for me personally and it reminded me of the Love of the Father and how I need to trust in Him with all of my heart. I have been also continually reminded of the importance of prayer. The book that we are reading this month is called “You See Bones, I see an Army” by Floyd McClung (amazing book that I recommend to everyone.) There was a portion in the book that really stuck me, that I want to share.
“A young man in Bible school offered to help a well-known preacher years ago when he was ministering on the streets of New York City. The man of God asked him how much time he spent in prayer. The young student estimated about 20 minutes per day. The preacher told him ‘go back for a month and pray for 2 hours a day, every day for 30 days. When you’ve done that, come back. Come back and I might consider turning you loose on the streets where there is murder, rape, violence and danger. If I sent you out now on 20 minutes per day I’d be sending a soldier into battle without any weapons, and you would get killed.”

Friday morning we had a gogo and mukhulu (grandma and grandpa) party. We had ten of them come. When they got there in the morning we and breakfast and did prayer and worship with them. After that we played games with them and gave them foot spas. It was such a neat experience. The gogo’s loved getting their feet massaged and their toenails painted. The game that we played with them required them to answer questions about themselves. One of the questions was “what is your favourite childhood memory?” One of the gogo’s said that she didn’t have any good childhood memories, all she could remember was beatings. But she said “but today is my best memory because today I feel like a child!” Amazing. At the end of the party we handed out gifts of clothes, food, matches, soap, candles, basic necessities. They were so excited!! They kept saying “thank you for Christmas!” And they all said that they hope that they stay alive until next year so they can come back for the party again. Haha. What amazing people who we can learn so much from!
Saturday morning we had an orphan party – six kids from the community came. We played games with them, ate with them, did face painting and crafts. It was a lot of fun but hearing their stories was really hard. One of the little boys is seven years old (but looks like he is no older than five.) We were told that every night his mom gets drunk so he is left to care for his one month old sibling all by himself. He doesn’t go to school all that much because he has a baby to care for who his mom has neglected. He has a grandpa but he is never there. He sleeps under a table. Two of the other girls are both HIV positive and although their grandmothers take good care of them and they are loved, their grandmothers are in a position where they have a choice – to buy food or ARV’s. They choose to buy ARV’s which leaves them with nothing to eat. When I saw them open up their gifts I had tears in my eyes seeing the smiles on their faces and the joy in their eyes. Their stories break my heart. I think I need to spend some extra time praying for the community of Hawane and for the country of Swaziland.
Friday evening we had a final youth event at the girls house – a party with a bonfire and a freakin’ amazing dance party! We taught the kids how to make s’mores. They loved it. But most of them were to impatient to roast the marshmallows so they at them plain or else completely BLACK! Haha. And the highlight of the evening was the dancing, in our living room and kitchen! Man, those kids can dance! At the end of the evening we all made goodbye speeches to the kids. I had to keep mine short because I was nearing tears. And some of the kids also made speeches to us. One of the boys said “when you guys leave we will be left with wounded hearts because you guys are our family now.” I love those kids with all of my heart. And the reality of saying goodbye is becoming more real every day. Coming to do missions for a year is really beneficial in the way that you can really invest in people’s lives and build strong relationships but it also makes it harder on us and on the kids…

We leave for Durban on Tuesday for 3 days of debrief and then we are going to come back to the farm for a week and then it is goodbye Swaziland. Only a week and a half left in this country that has become my temporary home. I am excited about coming home but goodbyes are never easy..

September was a month of major transition; good changes, new revelations, warm weather, lots of combi breakdowns and tons of Braai’s!
Now to write about our combi.. it has given us a huge amount of grief this month. Three Tuesdays in a row it broke down and we weren’t able to do our regular Tuesday schedule. The first Tuesday we broke down a few miles away from the church so we ended up waiting around at the church for 4 and a half hours while the guys tried to fix the problem. The second Tuesday we were about to leave for the hospital and the combi wouldn’t even start so we were stuck on the farm. And the third Tuesday we ran out of gas and were stranded in the middle of know where for over an hour while we tried to get the situation worked out. Now these are all just minor break downs compared to what we experienced this past week. We wanted to visit Bulembu last Sunday (take a day trip out to visit some friends) but some of us had to get our passports stamped so we went to Bulembu via South Africa. So, when we were about 20 minutes away from the border (which is in Bulembu) to enter back into Swaziland the combi broke down. So, we were stranded on this mountain in South Africa going up to Bulembu, and it was 3:30pm (the border closed at 4:00pm.) Praise the Lord a friend of ours, Andrew who lives in Bulembu (and happens to be Canadian) drove by 5 minutes after we broke down and was able to take Molly, Annie and Allan and Annie’s 1 year old Judah with him and across the border (those Canadians, so friendly The rest of us were stuck on this mountain, watching Clever try and fix it and thinking that this could really be the scene of a horror movie. We had just passed a sign with a big paw print on it (apparently there were leopards and lions around the area because some had escaped a game park nearby.) We were talking about who would be the first to go.. haha. How could your imagination not run wild in this situation? So, for about 3 hours we were trying to get our combi going. Finally, Clever was able to get it going and we drove back into Barberton (small South African town at the bottom of the mountain) because we could not get into Bulembu as the border was closed. So, now we have Molly, Annie and Judah in Swaziland, Katie, Clever, Aaron, James, Allan and I in South Africa, and a combi that is in rough condition. We were committed to working at the Luke Commission the next day but we knew that was not going to happen. We ended up staying the night in Barberton at a place called the “Just Chill Inn” – nice name. They only had 2 rooms left, one with 2 single beds and one with 4 single beds. Just what we needed, the Lord is good! Because we were highly unprepared for this overnight stay, we had no toothbrushes, deodorant, extra clothes or anything else you may need in a situation like this one. (Katie, Molly and I were all wearing the dresses that we wore to church that day..) If I knew we were going to be stranded for 24 hours, I would not have chosen to wear a dress. The next day we tried driving up the mountain again. We made it half way and.. another break down. So… we drove back down to Barberton. We must have broken down at least 3 more times on that Monday. Finally, someone came in from Nelspruit and gave us the part we needed to fix the combi. Clever put it in and we were on our way to Bulembu! (By the way – if it weren’t for Clever’s mechanic skills, we would be spending a lot more money on all of these things. Praise the Lord for the gift of mechanics that man has.) At the border we met up with friends of ours whose car just broke down.. what are the chances? So, we helped them out. When we found them broken down near the border it was 3:30pm.. and it took us about 30 minutes to get it all sorted. We ended up crossing the border which closed at 4:00pm at 3:58pm. Praise the Lord, we made it. It was quite the unexpected adventure! That is for sure!! So, the combi is in working condition now but clearly, it is not very reliable! Allan and Annie are in the process of trying to buy a new vehicle for Africa Revolution. Transportation is a huge deal in ministry and this program cannot run without a reliable vehicle. They are praying for funds to come for a new vehicle so, if you feel at all like this is a cause you would like to donate money to, we would all appreciate it greatly!! ( http://www.africarevolution.org/ar-projects/ )
God continues to teach me a lot about his character and I have learned a lot about who I am in Christ and my passions this past month. During our times of discipleship Allan and Annie are helping us get prepared for what comes next and how we can serve our communities back at home and where God can best use us and our passions. It has been great and I am excited about everything that He has revealed to me.
In other news, my brother proposed to his girlfriend a couple of weeks ago (as I am sure a lot of you already know!) I am very excited about this and cannot wait to return home to help them plan their wedding.
So, as things are winding down here at the farm, I am beginning to have mixed feelings. I am extremely excited to return home but I cannot imagine how hard it will be to say goodbye to my family here. I would love it if you would continue to pray that God would prepare my heart for going home and open doors for me as I start a new season of life in 2012. Thank you all!

As I wrote in my last blog, it is now high time to start preparing for the future and thinking about what I should be doing in the year of 2012. Since Allan and Annie arrived at the beginning of September they have been encouraging us to think about our passions and how we can use them to serve the Lord in the best way that we can. It is amazing how a year of living in community, doing ministry, and being stretched and challenged in many different ways teaches you so much about yourself and who you are in Christ.

Something I have realized about myself is how much I love mentoring youth and seeing them grown in their faith. We had a youth retreat at the end of August with about 100 different youth from different areas of Swaziland. The youth along with about 20 youth leaders all stayed at the Hawane Resort for the weekend. During our times of worship, the Holy Spirit was with us, breaking down walls and mending hurt and broken hearts. We had been speaking to the kids on the gifts of the spirit and how to encourage and uplift the body of Christ through them. Throughout the weekend we as leaders prayed over them and spoke into their lives. But on the Sunday morning, we had those who wanted prayer raise their hands and then we got the youth themselves to minister to one another. It was so incredible; seeing everyone in the room on their faces before the Lord; seeing 15 year olds weeping and crying out to God. Seeing them lay hands on one another praying and calling out to God on behalf of their friends. A lot of the leaders just sat back and watched … praising God for what He was doing, what He is doing in lives of these kids. I have a lot to learn from them.

As the year is coming to a close I am getting really excited for the next season of life. The year of 2011 has been incredible and thinking about saying goodbye to my family here in Swaziland makes me extremely sad. Even though it will be extremely hard, I know that God called me here for a time and He has something new and exciting waiting for me in the New Year even though all of the details are not clear to me yet. Psalm 32:8 says “The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you!” The year before I came to Swaziland I applied to do missions with other organizations but God shut all of those doors and he clearly lead me to Africa Revolution. He worked out all of the details, and knew what was best for me. Going home is a scary thing but when I look at how God has continually weaved things together in my past I have no reason to worry. I am excited about all of the things I have learned and excited to live them out in the next season of my life, whatever that next season may be.

Our time with our parents has come to an end; they left on July 25th. Our time with them has just flown by but it has been very good. We picked them up on July 5th in Jo’burg and Katie and I were waiting for them with a huge Swazi flag in hand. It was so strange welcoming them to Africa! We rented a huge combie for our time together so the first thing we did was try to find our hotel which was supposed to be just 13 km’s from the airport! Dave was at the wheel driving on the left side of the road for the first time in his life and unfortunately it took us about 2 hours to find our hotel. It was quite an adventure getting lost in Jo’burg at night, going down streets that did not look safe for a bunch of Canadian tourists to be driving on and laughing at Katie’s dad Dave who turned on the windshield wipers instead of the signals at almost every turn. But the Lord’s favor was upon us as always and we finally found our beautiful hotel. In Johannesburg we had a relaxing time. We played games, went to a lion park where we got to hold and pet baby lions, and feed giraffes, and went to Pretoria on our way home where Katie and I met up with a couple of our friends from Mamelodi.

After our South African adventure we came back to Swaziland! Our week on the farm was also really good. Our families got the opportunity to experience a lot of the ministry that we take part in from week to week. We did a hospital visit, went to the Luke Commission one day, did prison ministry, worked at a care point up in the community and more. My favorite part of the week was when my parents joined me at my house families place on Monday evening. We got there at about 5:00pm and the boys in my house had made a welcome sign for them, it was so cute. And my house mother made the biggest meal EVER! She went out of her way to cook an amazing meal for us. The week before, the boys and I practiced some Si-Swati songs and we sang them for my parents. It was one big party! Along with the ministry, we also got to do some touristy things with them which was also nice.

We finished off with a wonderful holiday in St Lucia, South Africa. We spent a couple of days on the beach which was amazing as Katie and I have not felt the warm sun in a few months! The beach was beautiful! We did a safari, went on a hippo and crocodile tour, played games, ate a lot of good food, slept in, and relaxed. It was so wonderful! St Lucia was such a neat little place; I would recommend it to anyone taking a holiday on the East side of South Africa.

So, though our time with our families flew by, it was a real blessing to have them here, to catch up, and hang out and for them to see our lives out here in Africa. I thank the Lord for giving them the opportunity to come such a far way to see me.. I am so blessed.

Besides having the Doiron’s and Froese’s on this side of the world, other things have been going on for me personally! God is still teaching me a lot! Lately I have just been blown away by how GOOD He is. As I lay on the beach and took in the sun at St Lucia I listened to some sermons by Matthew Chandler on the book of Ecclesiastes. (Pretty depressing book of the Bible, haha.. but I have really been getting a lot from these sermons.) The sermons are reminding me that Jesus is the only reason we are living here on earth. I live to serve the Lord, the King of the universe. And it’s so cool to be a part of God’s family. As a Christian, I can see things through the eyes of Jesus. So, even when the going gets tough, the JOY of the Lord is my strength. As Christians, we can enjoy life when it is going good, and when we have struggles. There are so many more revelations that I received this past week, but that is just one of many.

On a change of subject, Katie, Clever, James and I have been realizing that our internship is slowly coming to an end. Ok, so we have another four months left but if time keeps going as fast as it is then I can say that my internship is almost over. Haha. Because of that, it is causing me to think about what comes next. I still have absolutely no idea where God is calling me to in January. Of course I have ideas running through my mind but it is all still one big question mark. The cool thing is that I am not at all worried about it. I look at my life since I graduated from high school in 2007 and I just see how God has brought every single thing together in His timing. He has provided, and He always shows me what is coming next in my life when the time is right. Like it says in Matt 6:34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Even though I am totally at peace with my future and that God has it under control, I am still praying a lot about it. Trusting that God will show me which path to take when the time is right. So, if any of you reading my blog think to pray for me, this is something you could be praying for. That I would continue to focus on the ministry that I am currently involved in (that I would NOT dwell on the future!) But that God would reveal His plan for my life to me for the year of 2012. I would appreciate your prayers so much! And if you feel like God is giving you a word for me, please shoot me an email about it! Thank you all so much once again for how you take interest in my life and for all of your prayers. I cannot express how much it means to me!

This past month I feel like God has been revealing Himself to me in SO many ways, I am growing so much in my relationship with the Lord and it is awesome.

I thank the Lord for bringing me here to Hawane, for blessing me with the opportunity to be a part of Africa Revolution 2011.  I am truly falling in LOVE with the kids on the farm and all of the people here.  They are my family.  It is crazy because I fell like only last month did I really start feeling like I knew everyone here on the farm and really felt like I could say “this is my family.”  I am starting to see the benefits of doing missions for one year instead of 2-3 months.  It took me 5 months to feel at home here, and now I still have another 5 months to press into these people and speak into their lives.

We have definitely had a great time in June and have made a lot of memories.  This past weekend we had Christmas (on June 25^th.)  The reason for this is because at home for many of the volunteers, Christmas = cold!  And since it is FREEZING here in Swaziland, we all think that it feels like Christmas, so we decorated our house with stockings, Christmas trees, and Christmas lights, had Christmas cookies and hot chocolate.  I bet not many people can say they have hosted a Christmas party in June.

We also held a talent show for the youth on June 25^th.  It went really well and it was so neat to see all of the kids step out and show off their amazing talents.

We are also really enjoying the company of the new volunteers.  It is always so much fun having people come and go.  God has truly blessed us with so many wonderful friends already, it is awesome.

In 2 DAYS Katie’s parents and sister and my parents will be arriving in South Africa where Katie and I will be waiting for them at the Jo’burg airport!  We are so excited to see them and to have them here with us for just under three weeks.   We will do ministry with them but also do some touristy things and take a short holiday.  It will be really neat having them meet all of the people that we always tell them about over the phone and for them to see the ministry that we do here.  It will also be great to take a holiday just to be refreshed, (definitely needed sometimes.)

So, things continue to go really well out here on this side of the world.  Every day brings something new and exciting which definitely makes living life really interesting!!  The one thing that I continue to be reminded of and that I want to encourage all of you in is again in Proverbs 3 – “Seek the Lord in all you do and HE will direct your paths.” Amen.

Time is still moving at an incredible pace.  Where has May gone?  It’s a mystery to me.

This month is a month of shut doors and new beginnings.  Change is always hard for me when I just hear about it … when I know that it is coming; but when it the time of change arrives, I almost always feel at peace about things and it’s never as hard as I think that it will be.

Jason and Cara told us about a month ago that they would be returning to the States this month to try and get the proper help and care for Cara as she has been battling with her health for many years and they won’t be returning until 2012 (after our internship has come to a close.)  When they first told me the news, I was a wreck!  I couldn’t stop crying and I wasn’t sure how I would cope with their departure.  But, when we said our goodbye’s to them in South Africa this past week, I was totally at peace.  Of course we will miss them but God knows what He is doing in this, He has not forgotten about us.  John and Jude (a wonderful couple on the farm) will be taking Jason and Cara’s place as our leaders and our whole team looks forward to what they have to offer for us!

As I wrote in my last blog post, we also said goodbye to our three Swedish friends at the beginning of May and just last week we said our goodbyes to our good friend Kirsty from Scotland.  But, with all of the goodbyes we are welcoming 3 girls from America coming at different times in the next two weeks who will be moving into our house with Katie, Kylee and I.

At the beginning of May Katie and I were really struggling, asking God why all of this was happening, asking a lot of questions, unsure of the next step with our leaders leaving and even struggling with the ministry we have been involved with on the farm.  One day during this time, Katie and I were fasting and praying and God gave Katie the verses in Isaiah 43: 18-19 “But forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I’m going to do for I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” I am still really holding onto those verses and trusting that God will take care of us and that through this change, good will come of it.  Who am I to question God?  He knows what He is doing and that excites me!

This past week the team went to Pretoria with Jason and Cara and the guys to spend time with them and do ministry in Mamelodi (a township outside of Pretoria.)  Allan had taken us there in January so we were able to see some of the people we were introduced to at the beginning of the year, and we met many more people as well!  Wonder and Clever lived in Mamelodi for a couple of years before coming to Swaziland so it was great for them to see so many people who are like family to them.  I was not particularly excited about going, but it was one of the best weeks that I have had since arriving in Africa.  We spent time visiting people in their homes, visiting many gogo’s (grandmas), many of Clever’s friends, we attended Youth group at the powerhouse church (where Clever and Wonder attended) and lead youth group for them.  It is hilarious – Katie put it well when she said that Clever is to Mamelodi what Brad Pitt is to America.  We would just be driving down the street when people would see him and they would start screaming and nearly crying with excitement at the sight of him.  Every time we would knock at someone’s door and they saw Clever standing on their doorstep, they nearly fainted from shock and then nearly knocked him over in a massive hug.  Clever is a celebrity in this township.  Haha. It was very obvious that he played a big part in the people’s lives there and that they loved and respected him greatly.

We also had a really good time hanging out with Clever’s friends.  Going out to McDonald’s for ice-cream! (something I don’t even really enjoy doing in Canada but for some reason when it’s a restaurant that connects to home, it becomes far more exciting. )  We had many dinners together, ate African burgers (which don’t even qualify as burgers – it consists of french fries, a hotdog, and a fried egg. Haha) sounds super healthy… but for only 6 rand, you can’t go wrong! We had a picnic, checked out a huge mall in Pretoria, chatted together, sang together (one time we went out into a parking lot and sang a worship song in Si-Swati, our way of evangelising to people people were loving it though and at one point we even had a small crowd that gathered around us. No big deal. Haha.)

We also learned to always carry money with you in case your car runs out of gas… Wonder, Clever and James learned that the hard way as Katie and I were the ones with the money and on their way to pick us up, they ran out of gas so the gas jockey’s held Wonder hostage for about an hour until we could get back to the gas station and pay them. Lol.  And we learned to always carry your passports with you as the South African police may just pull you over and take you into their police car because you have no way of proving your identity.  Clever’s friends Joel and Nicky got put in the back of a police car for 45 minutes while they waited for Clever, Wonder, James and Noah to retrieve their passports and prove to the police that these guys really were who they claimed to be.  Crazy. Haha.

It was a wonderful week and we are already greatly missing our new friends and hoping that God blesses us with the chance to see them all again sometime during the year.

So, after that refreshing week in South Africa, its back to farm life, submitting under a new leadership, getting a whole new schedule, and meeting a lot more people who we will get to know and love.  If you would have asked me how I felt about all of this a few weeks ago, I would have told you that I never wanted these things to come to pass… if you would ask me now, I would tell you that I am so excited.  God has a plan and a purpose and I am pumped to see what He has up His sleeve.

So, for all of you readers, I will keep you updated on the way that God is moving here in our lives as the time passes.  Just keep praying for us for God to work and move in our lives in a mighty way.  Oh and birthday wishes to my beautiful sister Katie who is 20 TODAY!! If you are reading this blog and are also friends with Katie, do me a favour and send her an encouraging word and a big happy birthday, she deserves it!!   Blessings!!

In the past month much has happened and I don’t know how to fit all of the funny stories, things I have been learning and revelations from the Lord in one short blog post.
Our Africa Revolution team along with the three Swedish volunteers who we have been spending a lot of our time with were blessed this past week with a three day holiday in South Africa. The purpose of the trip was to have a real African experience in Kruger National Park. But along with our amazing time seeing elephants, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, crocodiles, and many more amazing animals, we also made many other memories in our short time away from the farm.

Some of our unforgettable memories:
1. Slowly driving along the road at Kruger when Julia freaks out in the back seat. Finally we see what she is seeing… a huge elephant only a few metres away from our vehicle! For some reason Clever stopped driving and was so afraid and panicked he couldn’t get the Kombi into gear. Our lives flashed before our eyes!
2. Getting dressed up and going out for dinner as a team. We had delicious food and had many good laughs.
3. Trying to find something fun and inexpensive to do in downtown Whiteriver (a small town in South Africa where we went out for dinner.) We walked around for a little bit and ended up finding some shopping carts. Everyone knows what happens in this situation.. somebody gets in the cart, and somebody pushes the cart. After much fun in the carts, Wonder and I decided to race Lina and Julia. As we were about to start, Wonder notices a security guard coming so he tells me to get out but he didn’t tell Lina and Julia about the guard so he lets them go and whispers to me “check this.” Thanks to Wonder, they got in trouble but we all had a good laugh about it when the security guard left. We’re so mature.
4. On our last morning in South Africa we wanted to check out one of the World Cup stadiums in Nelspruit. We drove there but got told we couldn’t enter the gate without a pass, so we happily took pictures of the outside of the stadium. As we were taking pictures, the manager drives up and invites us in! No big deal. So, we got to hang out in the stadium, on the soccer field, unsupervised! What an amazing experience.

The Lord’s favour was definitely upon us on this trip. We made so many memories and God truly used this time to unify our team.
This past week at the farm, the temperatures have dropped about 15 degrees. That is how it feels anyways… we don’t get the weather channel here at the farm but going from shorts and t-shirts to jeans, socks, mittens, sweaters, jackets and scarves makes me think it must be at least a 15 degree drop. It’s really hard to believe that I am in Africa.
God is also continually speaking to me and giving me new revelations of Him every week. Its so hard to know which revelation, which learning experience to share on my blog as so much happens from week to week. I should be blogging every day. This past week though, I have been reflecting on James 4:8 – “Come close to God and God will come close to you.” How many of us want God to come close to us?? So, what does He tell us to do? Draw close to Him!! I have so many stories of how God has spoken to my heart or how he has shown up and done amazing things in my life. And, when I think back to these times, nearly all of those moments have been when I am truly seeking Him out.
Something else I have been learning is the importance of not letting ourselves become lukewarm. This past month we have been reading the book “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan and I learned a lot from the book (its a good read, I recommend it to you all!) And last night at cell group, we also watched a sermon by Francis Chan called “Lukewarm and Loving it.” (you can search it on YouTube, its really powerful.) Not only is this sermon extremely powerful, but it is very convicting. Are we lukewarm? The Bible says in Matthew 7:13-14 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult and only a few ever find it.” Are we a part of that few? What comforts in our lives are causing us to become lukewarm? These are questions we MUST consider. When we look at the ALMIGHTY GOD, CREATOR of the universe and then we look at our “stuff” our car, our house… how can we think for a second that we may want to choose this “stuff” over the Creator? I need to really ponder these questions and pray that God will speak to me about these things and about how I can truly be ON FIRE for Him.
So many questions.., so much to think about. As I continue to ponder and learn much each day, please keep me and the team in your prayers! We are dealing with so much and your prayers will go a long way! Thanks again for reading!

Time is going by so incredibly fast here on the farm; it’s already nearly half way through March.  In some ways it feels like I left Canada years ago but in other ways it feels like I just got here and then I remember that it has been over 2 months!  Though two short months have flown by, already so much has happened and God has really been stretching and challenging me nearly every day.

Since I last updated, so much has happened.  We are involved in many different kinds of ministries here on the farm as well as in different areas around Swaziland.  We are planting gardens in the communities for gogo’s (grandma’s), helping build houses in the communities, doing physical work on the farm, doing clinic’s in the communities, spending one evening a week hanging out with and eating dinner with one of the families on the farm, doing hospital ministry and much more.  We have also been helping lead youth rallies and have ministered in a local church in the community.  In our ministries with the youth and local Swazi people we really feel like God wants to speak to them by showing them that He is healer and that He can heal them inwardly. Our team has been performing a powerful drama which shows how Jesus will redeem us, forgive us and help us carry our burdens.  Every time we speak to people about healing and open the floor up for prayer, nearly everyone comes up to the front desperate for Jesus.  We are excited to continue to reach out to Swazi people and show them that God is healer, no matter how deep their pain is.

The hospital ministry has really taught me a lot and stretched me spiritually and emotionally in many ways.  A couple of weeks ago Katie, Clever, Emmanuel and I prayed for every single woman on one of the women’s wards.  There were probably 30+ women and some waiting for beds because the ward was full.  Two days later Clever went back to the hospital and found only 5 women remaining – the rest had been admitted!  The nurses said they had never seen anything like it. God is good!!  It is really hard seeing sick people bound up in a hospital week after week though.  Last week we prayed for a beautiful 14 year old girl (who looked eight years old) with heart troubles.  Her parents had died so she walked to the hospital by herself.  She had no money, no clothes, no soap, nothing.  What do you do in a situation like this one?  And I am hearing story after story like this.  The other day a young boy was walking close to the farm with no shoes on.  When someone started talking to him about where he lived, where his mom and dad were hid his face and cried.  Two people on the farm took him home and found that his parents had died, he had a little two year old brother who was on a chain and no one was looking after him.  What do you do?  Sometimes it’s easy to forget the hurt and brokenness that is all over Swaziland while living on the farm.  But there are people all around us, little orphaned children, parents who are alcoholics and beat their children, widows with no money to buy food, people dying alone of AIDS.  What do we do?  I have been a little bit overwhelmed by all the stories that I have been hearing.  With so many problems, what can I do?  I think that God has been really speaking to me that I cannot save Swaziland, but a good place to start it to PRAY for this nation, pray for these people and ask God to redeem them, to heal their wounds.  Though prayer sometimes feels like I am not taking the proper action, I think that it is the best thing that I can do for the moment.

God is a real God who loves his people whose heart breaks when he sees the brokenness in this country and in this world.  I can’t even imagine.  My heart breaks when I hear one story of an orphaned child… God not only sees that child but EVERY orphan, EVERY widow, EVERY broken heart, EVERY abused child.  How does He handle this?  My prayer for myself is that I continue to press into God that I can grow so close to Him that my heart becomes like His.  That I can love his children and that my heart BREAKS when I hear these stories and that I will cry out to Him on behalf of His people.  I have been challenged to spend alone time with God.  We have cell group weekly, discipleship time as a team, devotions as a farm each morning, but where am I at?  I need to remember to keep myself in check.  I need to press into God, however that may look.  I need to begin to give up comforts of the flesh so I can better seek the face of Jesus.

This is all heavy stuff but I am excited to be here in Swaziland learning so much and trying to figure out the heart of my FATHER and to become more like Him each day.

Continue praying for us as we serve in Swaziland.  This is a spiritual battle and your prayers do amazing things for us!  Thanks for reading and taking interest in my journey in Africa, it means so much to me!

Tomorrow is exactly one month since I left the Winnipeg airport and waved goodbye to my family. That day was a hard day for me. I remember thinking as I was sitting on the plane at 6:30am in Winnipeg waiting to take off  …“I can still get off.. I can still change my mind and go back to my family.” But, I didn’t run, I faced the unknown and for that I am grateful. Leaving home and family and the familiar is never easy but I know that God has blessed me because I chose to trust in Him and leave those things. The Lord has come with me to Swaziland and is holding my hand and showing me that this is where He wants me.

The Lord has already taught me so much since arriving in Swaziland. Living here is like a breath of fresh air. Sometimes living in North America and trying to serve Jesus is very challenging and seeing people with a real passion for the Lord seems rare. Here at the farm in Hawane, I am surrounded by people who are putting Jesus first before everything else, people who trust in God to provide for all of their needs, who worship Jesus with an incredible passion. It is really challenging me in my faith and allowing me to question my identity in Christ and what it looks like to live as Jesus did. I came here prepared to serve others; love the broken hearted and to make a difference. I am still prepared to do that but I am realizing that God is working in MY heart more than I would have guessed and I have only been here for three weeks. It excites me to think about everything else that the Lord has to teach me, the new revelations that He will give me.

One of the biggest revelations that God has given me since being here is that I am to create a testimony with my life. About two weeks ago I was struggling all week .. thinking of home and missing the things of the past. I was missing the days where things weren’t challenging, where life was good and comfortable. Then in church that week, a lady went to the front and gave a word that God had put on her heart. She said that she saw a playground and that God is saying its time to get off of that playground and stop looking back to our childhood… to the comfortable and easy days but that we need to step onto a platform and create a testimony. God really spoke to my heart that day. I need to embrace where I am today and live for Jesus while realizing that it is going to be a challenge but that through the challenges I will be creating in me a powerful testimony. God did not call us as Christians to live a life of comfort but to step out of our comfort zones and serve Him, no matter what kind of challenges we are faced with.

That is only one of the many things that I am learning. I am also seeing the value in living in community. Our leaders Jason and Cara and their boys along with our team of 5 is growing so close to each other. God has really been knitting our hearts together and giving us a deep love for each other. For one of the first times in my life I really feel like I know what it looks like to be the church in Acts. My team, my family is my church. In Acts 2:44-47 it says –

“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

I realize that we still have a long way to go to get to this point but we are putting into practice many of these things and I see so much fruit coming from this.

The highlight of my time in Swaziland thus far has probably been the leadership training that we put on last week for a group of 20 students that came from a secular high school in Swaziland. We lead sessions on leadership, had small groups with them, played heaps of team building games and just had fun hanging out with the kids for 2 and a half days. On the second day, Jason lead a session and had the kids get into pairs and share their deepest fear after he told his own personal story of what he fears the most. It was a simple question but from there kids started to cry and weep, the Spirit was really moving in their lives and amazing things happened that afternoon. Every single student surrendered their life to Jesus. What we realized when we were debriefing as a team after the kids had left was that we didn’t once preach at them. We simply loved them and gently spoke of God when it felt right and we ended up with 20 teenagers joining God’s family. God is good.

There is so much more that I could say about the beginning of this journey of mine in Swaziland, I wish that I could write about everything. Every day is a challenge; trying to learn about the African culture and realize that getting the job done and being on time isn’t as important here (its about being relational), trying to figure out the people on my team and how to bless them and not step on toes, trying to balance alone time, time with God and time with the people I love, etc. Though each day brings its challenges, each day is such a blessing as I am learning so much. God is so faithful and I am so grateful that He has chosen ME to come and serve Him in Hawane, Swaziland; who would have thought? Thanks for taking the time to read this blog, I will surely update again in the near future.
If you want to follow a more detailed story of my journey you can also follow on www.amydoiron.wordpress.com

Blessings from the Hawane farm!!