Cannot comprehend that it is already MAY! The 19th of this month will be the SIX MONTH MARK since landing back in the States. what. not real.
The other day, I was thinking back to our time in Swaziland, and wondered what was going through my head amidst the change of teams and continent. I promise this isn't me living in the past (or is it?); just want to share a more intimate view of what was going on. Didn't do a lot of editing (though it was necessary for you to understand my half-sleepy sentences), but added some blurbs to help you understand the story better. Enjoy!
Friday, May 6, 2011-Swaziland; Hope Rises-- 8:06 pm
We made it! We're in Africa! I didn't write too much about debrief, but it was just what I needed to get me ready for this new, slightly scary continent. I learned (and more Importantly, understood) so much more about the Holy Spirit & got refocused on why we're really here. I kinda lost sight of the fact that we're here only on the Lord's strength, and was refreshed by the rememberance that I don't have to do this on my own power. I had some sweet conversations with people in transit--- with Kerri, Emily, Suzi, Steve, KK, and multiple others. All in all, I got my battery recharged, and was reminded that everything really is in the Lord's hands. There was a a lot of shawarma [like a gyro] eating, ice cream, really great peanut butter [wow, peanut butter was journaled about?? I forgot how important this was...ha], and lots of my muesli combo that I created in Romania [if i remember correctly, this was yogurt + muesli + honey + any fruit that was handy]. I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I have a belly now, but I know it will go away soon... Lord please help me with this whole gaining weight/being insecure situation. It's starting to hinder my ability to be selfless and I keep losing my focus because I'm in a pity party for myself. Help me, Father! [it's gone now, PTL! Have lost 15 pounds since returning home :)] Travel has been pretty crazy-- we left Bucharest (the hostel) at 10am on the 4th, boarded the plane at 7:00pm, arrived at Doha at 11:30pm, boarded our next flight at 6:45am, and arrived at the Joburg airport at about 2:30--but don't worry, we didn't get to the hostel until 6pm![ugh. I remember this being a particularly awful four hours of waiting. I was grumps mcgee]. I enjoyed all the movies i got to see-- "The Fighter", "The Next 3 Days", "The Kings Speech", "True Grit" and I watched 3 episodes of "The Middle". [you would journal about movies, too--don't judge] I only slept when we were in the airport, and only ate the plane meals (except for our little hot pocket lunch that didn't fill me up). It was hard the last half of travel because everyone scattered a lot and wasn't communicating well.Got to the hostel at dark, had a bit of a meeting, then headed out with the squad to find something to eat-- ate a spicy wrap @ the mall and met a nicely dressed man from Nigeria, stopped at the convenience store on the way home, showered, and had a team meeting. Slept a few hours, said bye, and slept off & on until we got to Swazi. We went though the whole passport process, then I hunkered down for some prayer journaling-- which was fitting because I forgot about the prayer side of "praying and fasting"-- this was my best fast yet! wish i could have made it all day, but i felt weird refusing food from people who are just meeting you. We got here around 3:30, set up shop, chatted aobut things, picked up some stuff at the store, ate dinner of chicken, veg & rice, had team time where Steve told his story, chilled outside with the stars and had a good chat with KK. We're all in bed before 8:00! Absolutely ridiculous. So far, I am loving this place! The weather is more my comfort, the sun is out, people are friendly, and our contact is SO passionate about what she's doing here. Her name is Corine and she reminds me so much of Theresa [our contact in India] --headstrong, knows what she wants and on fire for the Lord. I'm not totally sure of what we'll be doing specifically ,but i know that whatever we do will be beneficial and glorifying to the Kingdom. I'm so excited!!
So thankful that I'm a detailed journaler so I'll be able to look back and remember random things like what movies I watched on the way to Africa. haha.
May 2011--love those Swazi kids!!
I really do love looking back at these hard, uncertain times and watching how the Lord brought me through it and taught me so much during it. Even though it's trivial and very "surface", gaining weight on the Race was a big trial for me. I had little control on what/how much/when I was eating, plus we were on a tight budget. There came a point when I just had to surrender my body--ugly stretch marks, carb-baby belly, clothes-too-tight and all-- to the Lord. He knew I would have to lean on Him and trust Him, even though I was kicking and screaming throughout the process :) Silly April. Little did you know, it would all be gone soon.
Even remembering how scared I was of Africa is completely laughable now. I had all these awful ideas of being stranded in the middle of nowhere, with our stuff stolen and no way to communicate with the outside world. Plus lions. And angry hippos.
Nope, we were just fine! And those three months contained some of my favorite people and memories along the journey-- I would go back to Africa in a heartbeat!
Hope you enjoyed that glimpse back. Happy May, everyone!
The other day, I was thinking back to our time in Swaziland, and wondered what was going through my head amidst the change of teams and continent. I promise this isn't me living in the past (or is it?); just want to share a more intimate view of what was going on. Didn't do a lot of editing (though it was necessary for you to understand my half-sleepy sentences), but added some blurbs to help you understand the story better. Enjoy!
Friday, May 6, 2011-Swaziland; Hope Rises-- 8:06 pm
We made it! We're in Africa! I didn't write too much about debrief, but it was just what I needed to get me ready for this new, slightly scary continent. I learned (and more Importantly, understood) so much more about the Holy Spirit & got refocused on why we're really here. I kinda lost sight of the fact that we're here only on the Lord's strength, and was refreshed by the rememberance that I don't have to do this on my own power. I had some sweet conversations with people in transit--- with Kerri, Emily, Suzi, Steve, KK, and multiple others. All in all, I got my battery recharged, and was reminded that everything really is in the Lord's hands. There was a a lot of shawarma [like a gyro] eating, ice cream, really great peanut butter [wow, peanut butter was journaled about?? I forgot how important this was...ha], and lots of my muesli combo that I created in Romania [if i remember correctly, this was yogurt + muesli + honey + any fruit that was handy]. I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I have a belly now, but I know it will go away soon... Lord please help me with this whole gaining weight/being insecure situation. It's starting to hinder my ability to be selfless and I keep losing my focus because I'm in a pity party for myself. Help me, Father! [it's gone now, PTL! Have lost 15 pounds since returning home :)] Travel has been pretty crazy-- we left Bucharest (the hostel) at 10am on the 4th, boarded the plane at 7:00pm, arrived at Doha at 11:30pm, boarded our next flight at 6:45am, and arrived at the Joburg airport at about 2:30--but don't worry, we didn't get to the hostel until 6pm![ugh. I remember this being a particularly awful four hours of waiting. I was grumps mcgee]. I enjoyed all the movies i got to see-- "The Fighter", "The Next 3 Days", "The Kings Speech", "True Grit" and I watched 3 episodes of "The Middle". [you would journal about movies, too--don't judge] I only slept when we were in the airport, and only ate the plane meals (except for our little hot pocket lunch that didn't fill me up). It was hard the last half of travel because everyone scattered a lot and wasn't communicating well.Got to the hostel at dark, had a bit of a meeting, then headed out with the squad to find something to eat-- ate a spicy wrap @ the mall and met a nicely dressed man from Nigeria, stopped at the convenience store on the way home, showered, and had a team meeting. Slept a few hours, said bye, and slept off & on until we got to Swazi. We went though the whole passport process, then I hunkered down for some prayer journaling-- which was fitting because I forgot about the prayer side of "praying and fasting"-- this was my best fast yet! wish i could have made it all day, but i felt weird refusing food from people who are just meeting you. We got here around 3:30, set up shop, chatted aobut things, picked up some stuff at the store, ate dinner of chicken, veg & rice, had team time where Steve told his story, chilled outside with the stars and had a good chat with KK. We're all in bed before 8:00! Absolutely ridiculous. So far, I am loving this place! The weather is more my comfort, the sun is out, people are friendly, and our contact is SO passionate about what she's doing here. Her name is Corine and she reminds me so much of Theresa [our contact in India] --headstrong, knows what she wants and on fire for the Lord. I'm not totally sure of what we'll be doing specifically ,but i know that whatever we do will be beneficial and glorifying to the Kingdom. I'm so excited!!
So thankful that I'm a detailed journaler so I'll be able to look back and remember random things like what movies I watched on the way to Africa. haha.
I really do love looking back at these hard, uncertain times and watching how the Lord brought me through it and taught me so much during it. Even though it's trivial and very "surface", gaining weight on the Race was a big trial for me. I had little control on what/how much/when I was eating, plus we were on a tight budget. There came a point when I just had to surrender my body--ugly stretch marks, carb-baby belly, clothes-too-tight and all-- to the Lord. He knew I would have to lean on Him and trust Him, even though I was kicking and screaming throughout the process :) Silly April. Little did you know, it would all be gone soon.
Even remembering how scared I was of Africa is completely laughable now. I had all these awful ideas of being stranded in the middle of nowhere, with our stuff stolen and no way to communicate with the outside world. Plus lions. And angry hippos.
Nope, we were just fine! And those three months contained some of my favorite people and memories along the journey-- I would go back to Africa in a heartbeat!
Hope you enjoyed that glimpse back. Happy May, everyone!
May 2012- back to my normal size & adventuring with the Vances in Dallas
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