Bible Club Retreat and Where I've Been

So to continue the last post. The bible club leaders' retreat was powerful experience. Some of the lighter moments were where we almost lost Lindiwe to the river and the transformation of Nathie to a mountain man. Lets just say we had an fun hike to the river and got slightly lost on the way back. It was fun though and the scenery was breathtaking.

So we were dealing with how to reach out to a hurting, often abused orphaned child. One of the exercises that Mary(the one leading the sessions) had us do was to go back to our own childhood memories and feelings. The next morning we were having a time of prayer where we were asking God to heal our hurts and pains. The bible club leaders need to be healed, restored and feel God's love before they can minister to the needs of the children. Well during that time of prayer we had 5 ladies step up and ask for prayer about past hurts they were harboring inside. We asked God to take their burdens and give them peace. Then the majority of them began to forgive the perpetrator. What a powerful thing forgiveness is...it literally set hearts free for the first time in years. Tears were flowing, God was moving and a real turning point happened in these ladies lives.

Thinking about it leaves me looking more and more to God. I don't even want to think about the percentage of girls that are or have been abused in Swaziland. How scary, how hurtful, how utterly destructive is sexual abuse. Recently we've been connected with some Christian counselling centers and a orphanage that can take children who are being abused. Please pray that this partnership works out and we are able to help those children who are still...yes this very minute....being abused. This thing is so much bigger than me.

On another note, during the holidays I got to see my friend Tarryn in South Africa. It was a good time with her, her family and her friends. She lives in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. So I got a trip to the beach and just time away which was nice. Much love to all of you who help me to be here and who continue to pray for me.

Hey, I'm back...been on the road and offline for awhile now. I'm back with thoughts, experiences and pictures of Swaziland. Last week we had a retreat for our bible club leaders and our teachers. It was a time where we learned child development skills, how to spot abused children and how to help kids deal with grief and loss. It was a great time away where we grew closer together, we grew closer to God and we started to make a plan for 2006. Here are some pics, I'll fill you in on more details later.