As I sit here trying to figure out how to write an update of
life over the past 2 months, I find myself having a hard time knowing just
where to begin.
Yesterday was Mapile and my one year wedding anniversary.
The time has just flown by, and it’s so fun to look back and see the many ways
that the Lord has provided for us during this first year of marriage.
When I moved to Swaziland in June 2015 to prepare for our
wedding, I didn’t know where we would live when we were married, where I would
work, or how we would make ends meet... and I certainly didn’t know that by our
one year wedding anniversary I would be pregnant at 29 weeks with our baby
girl! I also didn’t know that I’d already have my Swazi citizenship, or that
I’d be 2 months into my 2nd job in Swaziland… learning so much about
pediatrics and being the nurse for 131 kids!
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| Yes, that's me swearing in and officially becoming a Swazi Citizen |
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| I could write a separate blog to tell you of the whole citizenship process... but for now I'll spare you the details! |
God is so faithful. It’s good to stop every now and then and
look back to see the many ways that He has blessed us.
Yes, I did say that I am already 29 weeks pregnant, and we did
find out that we are having a girl. We are so excited. She’s been a good baby
so far. She’s so fun because she loves to kick, and sometimes I think she must
be doing aerobics because of how much she moves. I am suspecting she’ll be a
little athlete. We have been thinking about her name, and so far we’ve decided
that we’d like to give her one Siswati name, and also one English name, but
that’s about as far as we’ve come in the name stage. She is due on October 29,
and that day seems to be coming quicker and quicker!
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| 29 weeks |
Mapile has been busy with life at the Bible College. School
opened back up in July, and he taught a New Testament Survey class for the
first time. He’s also been in charge of the library and the chapel services on
campus. The college is also going through a time of transition, where he is picking
up some new responsibilities as well. Some of those new things include leading
times of prayer and fasting, organizing music lessons, and challenging the students
to memorize scripture.. Needless to say, things at the college have been
keeping Mapile quite busy.
I am about 2 ½ months into my new job working for Heart for
Africa at Project Canaan. I am continually learning so much, and I’m so
thankful for this new work/ministry opportunity. I often feel overwhelmed and
unqualified for the job, but God continues to help me. I am so humbled to be
working at this children’s home and taking care of the kids. The set up is
really good because I also have the support of a pediatrician who comes out
every other week. It helps me not feel too stressed or overwhelmed, because the
pediatrician is excellent and it’s a relief to be able to refer anything out of
my scope of practice to her (which at this point is a LOT of things!).
Since I started working there we have had over 10 kids join
the home. I had the privilege last week of going on one of the pick up trips to
get a child. Swaziland’s Social Welfare department notifies our director when
there is a need for a baby to be in a safe place, and once it is approved then
we are able to pick up the child. As I heard the story of this little girl,
which was somewhat complicated and confusing, I kept thinking about how God is
El Roi, the God who sees, and He sees all that happens here on earth. He knows all the details
and who was involved, and He sees their hearts. The name of the Baby Home at
Project Canaan is El Roi, which is such a fitting name because there are so
many things that we do not know about the background of our kids, but El Roi
doesn’t miss a thing, and He knows every detail.
“The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.” – Psalm 33:13-15 NLT
Here's a few other pics from life the past 2 months.
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| My last day of work at Mkhiwa - the nurses bought me a cake and had a small farewell for me. This is Beke and Simo, two of my good friends from Mkhiwa. |
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| Our garden - we have had lots of spinach and lettuce that we've been able to eat lots of and give away. |
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| Our cousins and our niece came to visit us again a few weeks back. This photo is taken outside Gogo's house, where they stay. |
