Swazi Trip Update

A quick Swazi update from Toya and her team….

Spending time with the children has been priceless. We have gone to a few care points here where we feed the children daily and did a program for women called beauty for Ashes. It’s based on Isaiah 61. These women have been raped, abused mentaly and physically, beaten, kicked out of their homes and forsaken by their families. We spent time with them sharing our testimonies and and allowing them to share theirs. Afterward we read some scripture worshipped together and then our team washed their feet. It was so powerful. The Holy Spirit came into the place where we were in a way that I had never experienced. God is so awesome.

While I was trying to run the program kind of behind the scenes, God told me to get up and speak. (you know how I love speaking in public) Anyway – I read some scripture and God just took contol. I can’t even tell you all that I said. What He said to me is that I have to become a better student of the word. I read my Bible but  I have to study it like I study other things. I was created for this. I am a connector of people. I was walking around the room laying hands on people and praying for them. I could literally feel the pain coming from the women. At the same time I could feel the strength of the Lord infusing them.

We had a time of worship and then we took the ladies outside for our team to wash their feet and pray over them. I asked the Swazi ladies to sing as we washed their feet and prayed. Once again the Spirit  of the Lord swept through all of us. As we moved from woman to woman, the Swazi ladies sang and danced and praised the Lord. Most of my team was in tears. God is so good.

It was wonderful to me to see black and white women ministering together. We couldn’t  even speak the language but as we allowed God to move, He said what we couldn’t. All differences were put aside so that we could honor God. It was so moving.  What great glimpse of future ministry.

I am so honored that He chose me to serve Him in this way. It is such a blessing to be able to reach people all over the world. God has been doing a work in the women who came as  well. I don’t have time to tell everything now. Even if I did have the time, I don’t have words to express all that God is doing.

I praise Him for what He has done and look forward to the next thing.

The women on the team have been broken. Each day it’s a litte different. On Wednesday, they realized that this wasn’t a vacation. All of the touristy stuff went out the window as we delved into ministry. Visiting people’s homes that are made of mud and sticks pushed some women over the edge. Most of the day I kept being told this is too much. How much more of this will we see? How do you call this a home? Why doesn’t someone do something? We had to be reminded that we are the people who are supposed  to be doing something. God chose us to come and see it first hand. We need to bring it back to others so that more can come and others can give. We all have our roles and God is beginning to make it clear what some of our indvidual roles are.

I have watched these women as God has taken them to various states of brokenness and listened to their conversations change. We have declared that this is the beginning of changing a generation. We are not sure how God will use all of us but we have been given a lot of responsibility and we will be catalysts for change in Africa, the U.S. and wherever God takes us.

Keep our team covered in prayer. We need it. Each day I give all that I have in me and let God fill me up again. I am physically exhausted but ready and willing to keep going. As long as God can fill me up I’m willing give it all out again.