Well, the time has come.... These past four days my family and I have spent our time together in St. Lucia, SA debriefing. We had our final days of ministry last week, its still weird to think about. Since Cherish was through I spent the better part of my week helping out with a woman's retreat that Children's Cup put on. All of the ladies that work at the care points around Manzini- Mbabane came out for three days of praising God. We were able to hand out a pair of Nike's to all of the bo makes (moms) and bo gogos (grandmas) that were there. The husbands came and also got a pair of Nike's and a meal. We had a "store" where they went through and got to pick out 20 items, all free of charge. Jill, Alene, Sarah K, and I got to do games with them on Wednesday afternoon. This is defiantly one of my favorite memories from this trip .... We played musical chairs and did the limo with them. You'd be surprised how crazy bo gogos get trying to get a chair when the music turns off. It was amazing seeing these ladies who look like they can barely walk push the younger girls off of chairs.
Friday, our family ministry day was spent painting our friend Julie's house. I really enjoyed getting to paint and being able to bless one of our friends while spending time with my family. It was a great way to finish out the year.... Which isn't quite over yet..... When we get back from debrief, tomorrow, we'll have four days before we leave for home. I'll have to go to the care point where I've become close to an11 year old girl, named Ianda and say good-bye. We'll also have to say good-bye to the people like Phumlie, Swazie, amd Gugu- the ones that we've become the closest to over the past 4 months.
And then still, on the 15th we'll have to say good-bye and part ways with this family of ours. Thinking about that day makes me cry... We've already started planning out when we're going to visit each other. This is going to be the hardest good-bye I've ever had to do. Please keep us in your prayers as we head back home to North America. Our plane flies out on the 13th and we land around 6:30 AM on the 14th in DC. I personally will be flying in to DFW at 11:30 AM on the 15th. ( We have a one day debrief with all of the FYM teams in Georgia on the 14th.) So this is it, my last blog before I get back to the states...
I'd like to thank you all again for all of your love, prayers, and support. God has truly blessed me through all of you. I know that with out all of your prayers I never would have made it through this semester as I did. Christ worked amazingly in my life and has changed me forever. I thank all of you for continually lifting my family (team) and I up these past couple months. After all we've been through God has shown Himself faithful and just. We truly serve an awesome God. Let us never forget the death and resurrection, the blood that was shed for each one of us. Let us never take Him for granted again. The Lord has given us so much, we have so much to be thankful for, take a moment now and look at your life. Thank Him for everything you see, because I guarantee its 100 times more than what over half the world outside of North America has and truly look at your life and the world around you with open eyes.
Oikogeneia is the Greek word for family, it means, "household unit of related people, possibly extending to a clan or tribe." (Definition from the Tyndale Life Application Study Bible.) The bible tells us that families are something we have to cherish. They play a crucial part in our spiritual and emotional growth and maturity. God has blessed with an amazing family, who I have had the joy of loving for the past 3 months. Christ has changed me an immense amount through these seven-teen people . I'd like to tell you a little about this amazing family (tribe) of mine.
I wasn't going to write about each of the 17 of my family members, because I thought it would be a bit too much for you to read, but I ended up doing so. We'll go through the picture that I've placed at the bottom. (We're gonna go left to right with this.) On the far left is Ryan, Ryan has become like a little brother to me. He's an awesome man of God, and has become very over protective of us girls. (Any guy looking to date one us should be warned, he's tough!) Tyler, well, he's one of the coolest people ever (he's from Oregon!). He's passionate about everything he gets involved with, and has a growing love and passion for Christ that is evident daily. Next is Blair, he's the grandpa of the group, and not just because he's the eldest of the students. Blair has knowledge and wisdom that is unmistakably a gift from God. On the other side of the picture is Davie, if you wanna laugh or hear a good story, call this guy. His joy abounds constantly, and that smile rarely leaves his face. He has the faith of a child and shows the love that Jesus commands us to, to everyone he comes in contact with. The man with the glasses is Matt, our male leader and head of the house hold. I have learned more from his quirky ways of teaching than I have from most pastors. He has the Jesus glow like no other. He's also the absolute funniest person I have ever met. Ever.
Alyssa (left in the blue tank top) is one of my ministry partners and role models. She has constantly kept an awesome, Christ like attitude throughout the semester and all of the problems associated with our ministry. She challenges me daily in my walk with Christ. Sarah K (also from Oregon) is one of the most tenderhearted people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. She has a way of making everyone feel loved, and reflects Christ in all she does. Isabel (one of our leaders) is next, this Texas born and raised beauty brings spice to our life. She's always smiling and laughing, her laugh is contagious. She loves unconditionally always, no matter what (Jesus shine!!). Next to Isabel is Mary. Mary is one of my favorite people, ever. She, like Isabel has an amazing, contagious laugh. Her joy fills the house and her insight fills my mind. Mary has a way of making everyone look at things a little differently. Sarah T-- oh my, this girl is crazy! Crazy about Jesus! She brings joy to my life all day long. When I was scared in the eye of the storm of spiritual attacks she let me sleep in her bed and comforted me. ( Made me feel like a child running to her mommy to check for monsters under the bed.) Layne Carson, she is my confidant. This girl has been my bunk mate and one of my best friends this entire trip. She's the one I can tell a problem to and she'll laugh, tell me she loves me, and speak truth in to my life. God has truly blessed me with this Christ centered friendship that will last a lifetime.
My discipler, Melissa, starts off the next row. She came in to this group when we got to Swazi this semester and has fit in perfectly. She always has a hug and encouragement for all of us. She is a joy in my life and also has that Jesus glow. (oh-- and I should add that she is hilarious and is always up to no good, in a good way.) Gail, well, Gail is one of those friends.... She's constantly (even when she doesn't know it) encouraging and challenging me. She's one of those who, when she speaks, everyone in the room listens. Her insight and love for Christ and His people have changed lives, especially mine. Jillian is next, this little thing has more energy and spunk that most children. Which is probably why she is as amazing with kids as she is. She never seizes to amaze me with her wisdom and insight. I'm next, and let me tell you, this group of people around me.... THEY ROCK!!! (I'm doing really well, and can't wait to tell ya'll in person how God has changed me through them.) Sweet Caroline (final of our four leaders), she's got this passion for people that can only come from God. Her love for all of us astounds me, and her laugh screams Jesus shine! Alene is my other ministry partner and close friend. She's amazing with the girls that we teach at Cherish, always eager to teach and dig deep. She's an excellent roll model for young girls. (And it doesn't hurt that she loves baking and we love eating. ) Loretta is last but certainly not least. This girl is the Gogo (grandma) of the group (not because of age, but because of maturity) . She keeps us all in check, especially when we goof off ( bouncing coins off the tile and accidentally hitting Sarah T in the face). She clearly loves Christ with all her heart and shows that to everyone, always.
This is the most amazing, random, beautiful, crazy, just straight weird group of people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Our family is a little dysfunctional but I wouldn't have it any other way. Coming in to this, if you would have told me my life would be wrecked beyond belief, changed drastically, and thrown back together beautifully-- I never would have believed you. During worship and communion on Sunday night I realized how much I truly love this family of mine, and how hard its going to be to leave them in just a few short weeks. Davie's friend once told him that there are people who come into your life and leave. And there are people who come in to your life and leave an impression. Melissa likes to call this process "foot prints on your heart". These insane people left foot prints on my heart that will never be washed away.
A lot has happened in the past week and a half since my last blog.... First of all, the king-- we weren't able to meet him, since he was at one of the other palaces the day we were hoping to meet him. We were able to go in and meet the young men in one of the regiments, and the elder men in the kings regiment. We spent a couple of hours talking and learning a bit about their culture. It was really interesting, and cool being able to meet the man that the king goes to when something needs to be done. Now that we have met those men we have more of an in to be able to actually meet with and talk to the king. Please keep praying that we'll get that chance to meet him.
This past week we had our spring break, which was a nice time to relax, unwind, and spend some good God time. The first couple days I finished Francis Chan's book- Crazy Love. I honestly took a week break from reading, and don't really remember the first 7 chapters. But, the end of this book hit me really hard. This book challenged me to take a closer look at my relationship with God. One question he asks and talks about is: Are you really obsessed with Jesus? I realized, after reading and praying, that I am not nearly as obsessed with Him as I should be. I'm in love with Him, but not obsessed. I'm still searching God on how that looks in my life.
I was also challenged in my mind set, I've realized that I HAVE to live life with a heavenly mind-set.
"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Philippians 3:20
If I'm living for Him and not showing His love to everyone I encounter then I'm not living like I should. I desire to be one of those He talks about in Revelation 3:4-5. One of the people from my generation who are an example worth following. These two things are helping to shape me into a new creation, and I'm so excited to see how God uses what I've learned this past week to His glory.
A lot of other things happened this week, some great and some pretty terrible. I'd like to ask you all to pray against spiritual attacks in Swaziland. This country that we're in is the biggest of the African countries on witch craft. People come from all over Africa to receive "powers" from the devil. As we all know, Christ has dominion over all of this. My team has been attacked pretty heavily in the past couple of days, and spiritual warfare has gone from just talk to constant prayers. This country is being weighed down and we believe that its time for a change. This is a huge change that we've been given to make, and the devil is doing all he can to keep it from happening. Please, if you're going to pray for anything for us here in Swaziland, pray for this; safety, faith, strength, and for the Lord to stomp the devil out of this beautiful country. As I sit here in my room writing this, I shake with a love for Christ and a passion for this country to be won over completely.
I love you all and pray that God will show Himself to you today. God bless!!
Oh my!! I can't believe that its already March! Time is flying by faster than I expected, where did it go?? Since my last blog God has continued to rock my socks off, seriously, lets just take a moment to thank Him for all He's done. "Lord, I just want to start off by thanking you for everything that you're doing here in Swaziland and back home in America. Thank you for all the girls who got saved last week at Cherish. Thank you for continually working through us, for opening the hearts of the young ladies that we're working with. Father, I thank you for all of my friends and family back home, for using them in my life on a daily basis. I lift them up and ask that you'd bless them greatly. I thank you for bringing in all of the support that AIM needs me to raise. Lord I ask that you'd bring in a bit more, so that Mom and Dad can be reimbursed for all the money they so graciously gave to my expenses while I've been here. Father, I pray that you'd be blessed by us today, that we would praise you in all we do. Amen."
The Lord is working here, in Swaziland, in amazing ways! Some of my friends go to Hope House a couple times a week and my friend Tyler goes especially to visit Margaret. Since the first day we visited and God performed His miracle of making her walk again, He has continually strengthened her legs. Tyler tells me that now she's able to walk around the Hope House property. Praise God for His everlasting healing powers.
About a month ago we took a visit to the hospital in Mbabane where I met a 2 year old, Bongiwae who had hydrocephalus, and her mother. They needed 10,000 Rand for her to be taken to South Africa and get operated on. Most of this money had to be given by the government because 69% of all Swazis are below the datum line. Of that 69%, 37% of the population is in extreme poverty. The government here isn't very big on helping out those in need. So to be honest, the situation looked a little hopeless. A couple of us prayed over her, that God would bring in the money so that the beautiful little girl in our arms would be able to survive. I left sad, asking God to take care of her. We went back to the hospital just a couple of weeks ago and Bongiwae was gone. A lady that was still there said that she had been taken to South Africa, had the surgery, and was now back home getting better. SERIOUSLY!! PRAISE THE LORD!!
He is continuing to rock my world daily, weather it be small things like a hug from one of my beautiful sisters, or revealing His grace through our Cherish lesson. Our Lord and Savior is truly inspiring me, more and more, day by day I desire His heart. Please pray for my team, that we would continue to grow closer to Him as a whole. Some of us are going to Mozambique the first week-end in April with our church, to a conference at the mother church. Please pray for safety, health, and that God would shine His light through us to those of the church we're going to visit. Please also keep my health in your prayers, I've been healthy so far, and have started taking my vitamins, but have a terrible immune system...
OH!! And tomorrow (Thursday, March 12) my ministry partners and I will be meeting the king!! Today at school we met a man named Mufuso, who owns 5 schools around Swaziland. He is in the kings regiment, and is friends with him. After talking for a bit we asked if we could meet the king and he said yes!! Please pray for us, that God will give us the words to speak to king Mafutsu, for boldness, and an open heart for the king. This is something that we've been praying for, so we're very excited that God has finally opened this door.
Thank you all again so much for all of your love, prayers, and support!! Praise the Lord for bringing in all the money that I need to pay to AIM!!! I love you all and pray that you will be blessed.
Kuthula na nathando sihlobo sami. (Peace and love relative of mine.)
On February 4th we finally were able to go to our first schools with Cherish!! The first school that we went to, Victorious, the girls were very quiet and didn't seam to want to respond. I told a little about my past, so that they would understand that Cherish is a safe place. A couple of them talked after that, but they still weren't wanting to talk much. My teaching partner, Swazi, talked to them in Siswati and made them laugh. (She's good at making the girls feel comfortable.) We go to Victorious at 8 o'clock in the morning, so I think some of them might not quite be awake when we get there.
At 2 o'clock that same afternoon we went to Moyani. The girls at Moyani were very open and excited to talk and get to know us better. They asked questions, and laughed a lot. I did the majority of the talking at this school, and they seamed to respond very well. Such a blessing, since Victorious didn't go as well as hoped.
On February 10th, we went to a school called Phumelele, the sister school to Victorious. At Phumelele the girls seamed excited to start the program, and were worried that not everyone would get the chance to go through Cherish. Our (Swazi and my) girls were very talkative, and excited to hear about what we'll be going over for the next eight weeks. One question, just for an example, was; Is it a sin to have a boyfriend? Swazi went to the girl next to her and touched her shoulder, "Its not a sin to have a boyfriend. But when it goes from this to touchy, touchy-- kissy, kissing-- touch some more.... Ect. It goes too far and that is a sin." They giggled, and the point was clear. Talking about sex before marriage the girls looked at their friends, giggling. Most of them are not abstaining, but being in a culture that's literally being wiped off the planet by AIDs, I'm not surprised.
So far we have five schools, and should be starting a sixth one on March 2nd. Our girls are starting to step up and want to take a school on Fridays. Fridays are our family ministry days, so Alyssa, Alene, and I cannot work on Cherish those days. The opportunity for the three of us to start stepping back, and the other girls to start stepping up has arisen, finally. I'm excited seeing Swazie and Phumilile step up and take ownership of this program.God is truly working in these girls and I'm already starting to see a change.
I'm very excited to see all of these girls grow in Christ and realize their worth in Him. They are all such sweet sprits, and I can see that God is just waiting for them to lay their lives down for Him. He will use them in such a mighty way. I pray that all of these beautiful girls will leave this program following after Christ and His will for their lives.
Some things that you can pray for are; Swazi, Gugu, and Phumilile-- that they would put all of their faith in Christ and trust Him that everything will work out. For guidance for them as they figure out how to step up to their full capacity, and truly allow the Spirit to move. Also, there are a few small problems that we're working through at the moment. For all of the girls that we're working with-- that they would take this seriously, for open hearts, and pure actions. That this program would truly touch their lives and create change. For Alene, Alyssa, and myself-- that we would know when to step up, speak out, and back down. That God would give us the words to speak to our teaching partners/ disciplees as we start doing our one-on-one bible studies.
Thank you for all of your prayers, it means more than you know, and I wouldn't be able to be here serving our Lord and Savior without them. God bless you!!
WOW!! The past week has been amazing!! I went in to the week thinking that I'd check out this program called Cherish, and then go to the hospital and care point for the rest of the semester. But God had different plans...Let me tell you a little about Cherish. This is an 8 week program similar to Beat the Drum, but longer, more intense, and designed for girls. There are 3-4 schools involved, and each school has about 30 students that participate. A day per school, in their classrooms from 2-4, Monday- thursday afternoons. Cherish focuses on Purity and our worth in Christ. It's a safe place for young high school girls to come together and talk about pressing issues, such as; sex, STD's, and AIDS. It is a Christ centered place of girls encouraging girls. This program is designed to raise up strong female leaders in the community.
Okay, so now that you know a little about Cherish, this is the program I'll be working at throughout this semester. After the 8 weeks, we'll take some of the students from each school and do a leadership class/ program. I'm not exactly sure what that entails quite yet, but will fill you in when I find out. It will end in local girls teaching local girls the Cherish program next term. That first day, when I thought I was just visiting, I met three of the most wonderful girls, Swazie (24), Gugu (18), and Phumlile (22), who are the Swaziland natives that are running Cherish. AIM employs them as the leaders, which is great because right now its almost impossible to find a job in this beautiful country.
This past week my teammates; Alene (19), Alyssa (23) and myself (24) have gone to the AIM office everyday and met with the girls. This semester we each have to disciple a local girl, and God placed us perfectly at Cherish. The six of us will be doing a bible study over the ladies of the bible, every Monday and Wednesday morning. This will be an awesome opportunity for each of us to disciple the girls and create lasting friendships. These girls are all so much fun to be around, they're very loving and accepting, and have the "Jesus shine". I'm so excited to see how God works in and through us these coming weeks.
I'd like to ask that you keep the six of us in your prayers, that God would truly be the center of our ministry. We're uniting in an awesome way that only God could orchestrate. Pray that that unity only gets stronger, and that Christ would stay at the center. Also for open, softened hearts of the girls that we'll be working with for the coming months.
Thank you all for your prayers, I think of you (all of you) often. Back home at Calvary Chapel Fort Worth in the missions meetings there's a saying that often goes around. I don't quite remember our wording, but its something like this. "Some are meant to go out and love in other places, some are meant to stay behind as prayer support, but both, after Christ, are the most important for a missions trip to be successful." I maybe the one over here, experiencing Swaziland and its amazing people, but without your prayers and support I wouldn't be able to be here to spread the gospel. So thank you for being one of the most important parts of my ministry,
I pray that God will richly bless you for all you have helped do in Swaziland.
One evening my friend Alene and I decided that we wanted to treat some friends by making cookies for them. It was raining out, and we needed chocolate, so we grabbed our leader Matt, and headed to Spar (the local supermarket). Expecting only to pick up some groceries and be back home quickly. We drove up in our kombi and as we were running in heard a man's voice say, "Adventures in Missions". Shocked we stopped and walked back to a little old man standing outside of the store. With wonder in our eyes we told him we were with AIM, and he lit up. This little man introduced himself as Yule. Yule had been at Hope House about four years ago. An AIM team had come and visited him on a regular basis, and had apparently had a huge impact on his life. He told us that he had lost his wife about 3 years ago and had three boys at home that he needed to feed. Yule is on ARV, an AIDS treatment, and said that he hadn't eaten all day, and the meds were tearing up his stomach. He was outside of the store begging for food to feed his kids, and hoping to get enough to feed himself. After talking for a while we offered to buy him some food, whatever he needed. He said a few stables; milk, cereal, and eggs... He wouldn't come in with us, so we were able to get the extras (cheese, a hot dinner, juice, candy, rice, flour) for him also. It was getting late and dark and was still lightly raining, so we offered to take him home, turns out he doesn't live far from our home. On the way Yule explained that he had worked with Jumbo, the head of AIM Swaziland, a couple years ago around Christmas time. He rattled off about 15-20 names of people who had come to Swaziland with AIM in the past 4 years. He informed us that he knew we were with AIM because we had the "Jesus glow". It was explained to us as a shine that only Jesus can provide, and that AIMers are the ones he recognizes with it. So when he saw our "Jesus glow" he knew that the love of Christ was there and we were sent to help him. When we got to his road (which our kombi couldn't make it down) Matt asked if we could pray for him. Of course he said yes, and after amen came a huge smile and a his sweet grandpa voice saying, " now that's the best food of all". AMEN!! This guy had it right!! We asked if we could help him to his house, but because we're white and it's a dangerous area he refused to allow us to help. He almost cried when he saw the food, and reminded us that God will always provide. I saw the Jesus shine in Yule that night, and truly believe that I encountered Christ on that rainy night in Manzini. I trust that I'll see Mkhulu [ Mm- Koo- Loo] ( grandpa) Yule again, and if I don't on this earth, I will in heaven. Its crazy how I thought we were just going to get chocolate that night. And even crazier thinking that we were going to bless Yule, because he blessed the three of us more than I could have ever fathomed.
One afternoon we went to the Hope House, a place for terminally ill patients. My teammates Mel, Alyssa, and I went to talk to a lady, but she didn't know any English at all. We stayed for about a half hour, prayed over her, and left. As we were walking, we saw someone at the clothes washing sinks. So we went over to meet her, and she introduced herself as Naomi. We talked with her for a couple minutes and then she took us to Margaret, one of the ladies she was taking care of. Margaret was amazing!! She was so sweet and full of Christ's light and love. She hadn't walked in weeks because her "illness" was so bad that she couldn't stand. After talking and laughing for a while we asked if we could pray for her. She smiled this beautiful smile and said yes. When we finished praying over her, we asked if she'd like to try standing up. She wasn't too sure... she had faith, but I think it was hard for her to truly believe that she'd be able to stand. She agreed, a little reluctantly, and so we started. She sat up and we helped her swing her legs over the edge of the bed. Still a little scared she grabbed on to our arms, as God lifted her to her feet. We literally barely helped her stand.... She had a huge smile on her face, it was the first time in weeks that she had felt the ground on her feet. We asked if she'd like to step, since she was already standing. So she did. She took two steps forward, and then back again when she started getting tired. This was the first miracle I've ever seen, and it was amazing!! God has been surprising me almost daily since we've been here. And still, as I sit her, is marveling me over all He's done in this short time period that we've been here for. I can't wait to see the mountains that He moves through my team these coming months. Its gonna be amazing!!
We're
here!! Finally in Swaziland, as of January 7th. The first couple days we hung
out, and adjusted to the time change, and checked out the town. We're living
just outside of Manzini, in a home that AIM owns.This
past week we started checking out ministry sites, and I fell in love with the
kids at the first care point we went to. Its a Childrens Cup care point, and is
about a fifteen minute walk from our house. We spent a couple
days there, loving on the kids and doing a small bible lesson on Wednesday and
Friday. I'm hoping to work there this semester, as well as at the hospital.
Swaziland is absolutely amazing, and the country is just as beautiful as the people are. I'm excited to get started with ministry this coming week, and see how God uses my small team in this broken city. Please continue praying for my team, as this is quite the dangerous place. God is keeping us safe, and healthy for the most part so far. I'll write when I can, but internet access is very slow, and our blog pages are hard to access here.
Here is my mailing address, for those of who whom would like to write.
Julie Anderson
Care of Jessica Gourley
PO Box 5526
Mbabane, Swaziland
AFRICA (<< Must be in all capital letters.)
If you have skype feel free to call, if you feel led (or bored and want to talk)
I just wanted to thank all of you for your love, prayers, and support.These past three months wouldn't have been possible without all of you allowing Christ to use you. He has blessed me through you and your prayers in a huge way.I'm excited to see as many of you as possible and share more of what God has done.I love you all and am so excited to share the next five months of my life with you.You're in my thoughts and prayers as we head in to the wonderful Christmas season.Remember the reason for the season, its not about money, or the little things that we want but don't need.Its about the birth of Jesus, the savior that would soon after die for your sins.The amazing people that I came in contact with in Africa are very poor, but some of the happiest people I've ever met.Only Jesus can bring that joy.So, God bless you and your families during this wonderful season.
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