I write to you with a full heart from
Swaziland! Though there are many emotions, I can tell you that since I have
been here I have experienced so much peace and joy!
I have been staying with the Langa family,
who are dear friends of my family. They knew my grandparents well when they
lived in Oklahoma many years ago. I have a cozy place to stay in their
downstairs bedroom. They have welcomed me with open arms and I really enjoy
staying with them and their family. There are always people in the house
between friends and relatives.
The days go by so fast. Usually I take a
small kombi (bus) from the Langa’s house over to the Bible College – where
Mapile lives. The Bible College has a small apartment building, where Mapile and
I will stay once we get married. They gave us keys to the apartment, so we have
been able to start getting things ready. Lately I have been spending a lot of
time painting in the apartment. We were able to buy a stove and a fridge, and
it’s really exciting to see our little home start to develop.
Just so you can see for yourself, this is
what the place looks like (We will be in the upper left apartment as you are looking at the first photo):
We had some friends of Mapile’s come to
visit at the Bible College for almost two weeks. They are from the States, and
Mapile knew them from when he worked for a mission organization back in his
hometown in Swaziland. It was such a blessing to have them here. They had
rented a car that helped us go into town and buy stuff for the apartment, and
we were able to do some fun stuff together. We went for a hike in one of the
game parks here over one of the weekends.
It’s less than four weeks until the
wedding, and there is a lot going on. One thing keeping us busy lately is all
the immigration paperwork and marriage paperwork. We spend a decent amount of
time going in and out of government offices for that type of business.
Well, I guess that's all for now. Please keep us in your prayers as you think of us! It's a hectic and very exciting time for us.
"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."- Isaiah 25:1
