First "Support for Swaziland" Night

I'm still on that mountaintop right now, after last night's event. We invited everyone we knew via this blog, facebook, and email, to join us to hear about Swaziland - what we learned while visiting, how God is working, and what we can do to help. We were hopeful folks would want to hear about our trip and the way we have been challenged since our experiences there. But, asking folks to come out on a Sunday evening is risky. We knew that. We just had prayed and that was the best and only date in the near future that would work.

Folks showed up! Over 70, plus a whole passel of children. It was such an exciting thing, to watch loved ones walk through the door. I squealed and hugged so many people from all periods of my life....Alli and I were very touched and feel very loved.

Sunday morning we were both super nervous and uneasy. We felt unprepared and incapable of truly communicating how important the topic was, and the weight of that responsibility was a burden. I had numerous very tearful moments. Thankfully James was able to talk sense into me, and friends loved on and encouraged us both, reminding us that God would equip and direct us. And, thankfully, He did and we were able to let Him strengthen us. Worship that morning in church was powerful and precious, as always. We sang this:

Water You turned into wine
Open the eyes of the blind
There's no one like You
None like You
Into the darkness You shine
Out of the ashes we rise
There's no one like You
None like You

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God, You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God...
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsty.com/chris-tomlin-our-god-is-greater-lyrics.html]
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?

I cried more, realizing my own weakness, His great goodness and felt so silly, worrying over talking about something I think is important. If the children in Swaziland matter to me, how much more do they matter to Him? Then, I got home and checked Facebook. Guess what Alli had created and posted?

 

And with it, do you know what she wrote? 

"<3 Our God is greater. <3" 

Tell me God isn't aware of our fears and struggles, and doesn't work in beautiful ways sometimes, to just smack us in the head and say, "I KNOW. I get it. It's ok. Just relax...." Go ahead, and I'll call you a liar. :-) While I was singing and crying through this song in church, Alli was at home, posting this and typing the same words. God was reminding us and working on us both, and wow. He sure is awesome that way. 

Anyway, last night was so great because we did not want it to be about us. We wanted to share our passion for Swaziland and the beautiful, painful lessons we learned (and obviously are still learning) about trust and God's faithfulness. We just wanted to be useful vessels and do it in a clear, effective way, without sounding overly dramatic with some pretty hard material and facts. 

Thankfully, our sweet audience gave us wonderful reviews and apparently God did use us to explain the beauty and pain in the country of Swaziland. We had very exciting news to share also, and that got some folks FIRED UP!!

So, the news is not a shock to any of you who guessed what our prayer was as soon as we got home from our trip, but until we sought more counsel and support, we could not proceed. However, now we are ready to announce:

We are partnering with Children's Hope Chest to become a Connect Community with the Lesibovu care point in Swaziland.

What does this mean?

What will we do?

Can you be involved?

Great questions! Stay tuned, but you can check out the link above and pray in the meantime. Thank you for caring and loving us. Please pray for Lesibovu and that we are able to be used to impact lives there in long-term, practical, cycle-breaking, future-changing ways.

Support for Swaziland Night

Dear friends and family,

THANK YOU to all of you who have been so supportive these past few months. Through your financial gifts, items you sent to the children we visited, or words of encouragement and prayer, you blessed Alli and me as we traveled to Swaziland, Africa. Our trip was an amazing time of stretching, and our eyes were opened to how God is working in a lovely country, despite so many differences and hardships compared to our own world. It truly was a life-changing experience.

We would love to invite you to come hear about our trip, and what God is doing in Swaziland, plus some ways you can potentially be involved in the great ministry happening - here or there! We are going to have an evening devoted to stories, photos, video clips, and questions and answers next Sunday, August 26 at 6:00 pm, at The Church at Shelby Crossings. Childcare is provided and this is a casual event, with our taking turns sharing perspective stories and highlights from the time we spent there, and what we are still learning today, as a result of our trip.

Who should come?
We would love for you to come if:
- you have a heart for orphans
- an interest in missions
- a desire to help the ministry in Swaziland
- or if you just love us and want to hear how God used you in our lives as we went to Africa!

It is sure to be a night of laughs, maybe some tears, and hopefully, a time that will help demonstrate the light of Jesus despite dark times many in our world face every day.

We will also have more Timbali crafts like a number of you have purchased already, as well as other African art for sale, and all funds raised will go back to the ministry in Swaziland. There is a rumor we may even give a doorprize or two away! We would love to fellowship with you, and hug your neck for being a special part of our lives.

Please let us know if you have any questions. Hope to see you soon!  Alli and Jennifer