Well today, June 1, 2020, marks 6 years of living in ESwatini! But man does it feel like a lifetime of being here! I continue to learn so many wonderful things about this country, culture and building relationships! It has been so sad to not be able to see our staff on Mondays, but we are still connecting via Whats App doing a staff wide Bible Study! (Thank you Lord for technology right?!) First, we went through Colossians and now we are on Philippians. It has been so cool to be a part of a smaller group of staff members that we don’t get to work with on a daily basis and dive deeper with them into the Word and pray for each other!
One thing that I am trying to do this year is asking the Lord to show me more people to build more relationship/more community with. I feel like the Lord has been trying to tell me to do this for a while now, but I have been running the other way! Yes we have wonderful relationships with our staff that we work with, but I want to reach beyond that and build relationships with people living in “our community”. As an organization, we have a shepherd and care point coordinator that work in each of our communities that we are part of. So here in Manzini, this is my community…it may look different than being in the rural areas, but it is still a community. Before all of this crazy Covid-19 stuff came around, we would go places as a family of 3. I would take Jonathan into the grocery with me, Bongani would take him to the store with him, he was always at the office with us, etc. We were building relationships within “our community” and I didn’t even realize it! Fast forward to now…I go out to the grocery store once a week for food and every week one of the ladies at the grocery store will ask me about Jonathan! Even if we don’t realize it, we are being that light of Christ to people around us. In Colossians 4, verse 5, it says, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”
So let me ask you this – Are you making the most of every opportunity? Are you building relationships in “your community”?
I pray that the Lord continues to show me more people to love on and to make the most of every opportunity that He gives me!
QUICK FAMILY UPDATE:
- We are still on lockdown – for now until 19 June! We will see if it is extended or lifted. (How many things can you do with a one year old stuck in a house/yard for this long?!)
- All of our teams through July have been cancelled…so looks like there will be more time to build relationships!!
Know that we pray for you and love you all! Thank you all for doing the same for us!
Bongani, Morgan & Jonathan
