Esther

I recently just finished reading the book of Esther. It's such a beautiful reflection of how God created the different roles of men and women. There has been much debate over the relevance of the book, because in the entire book God is never directly mentioned. Because of the debate, scholars referred back to the original Hebrew text, and they found that the author purposely spelled out Y A W E H in acrostic style. Yaweh means God. How genius! Even though God is not directly mentioned in the new versions of the Bible in Esther, God was in fact very evident throughout in the Old versions in the book of Esther. ANYWAY! I wanted to write about the book of Esther because the theme "Woman of God" has been really present in my life throughout the past year.

In youth group we did an entire iDate series, briefly touching base on the role of women in society. In highschool, when I thought of "woman of God" I assumed, God fearing, joyous, powerful, free spirited. Being here at Iowa I am in a ministry called Salt Company. We have discussed the roles of women more than once. Its truly a fascinating and fixating topic! How does God want us to act, speak, etc? One of the words that Drew (the pastor at Salt Company) used when referring to women, was our role to submit. To submit to our husbands. This really strung a chord for me. Not a particularly good chord. When I think of submit I think of silent, timid, undermined, slave, weak. On Dictionary.com, the word is defined as "to give over or yield to the power or authority of another". The Dictionary definition kind of verifies my way of thinking of the word. Unfortunately. I wish it shed a better light upon the word. I honestly don't have a hard time over the word because I am a women's activist. I have a hard time over the word, because Eve was made specifically because God knew that a man couldn't live without a woman in his life. Genesis 2:18, "Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him." Then God proceeds to form all kinds of different animals, and finally decided that none of them complimented Adam quite yet. Eventually He made the woMAN, from Adam's very own rib, and declared that the two are forever united into one. The woman is the man's perfect helper! I love the word helper. It causes no confusion, or condemnation between gender roles. Woman, we are called the help! Not to be silent, timid, undermined, slave, or weak!

Esther is a book of the bible in the Old Testament. Let me break down the story into an easy understanding. :) Once upon a time there lived a great and powerful King in the land of Persia. His name was King Xerxes. King Xerxes had a wife, known as Queen Vashti. The Queen disrespected the King, and the King simply made a decree with his fellow nobles. The decree stated that Vashti the Queen was no longer allowed to enter into the presence of King Xerxes, and that all males should be the rulers of their household. Now that King Xerxes does not have a Queen, his nobles decide to bring many beautiful women from across the land for him to choose from! Immediately Xerxes knew that there was something extrodinary about Esther. Esther then becomes the new Queen of Persia. Esther has an uncle. Her uncle's name is Mordecai. HERES THE TWIST: Esther and her family, including Mordecai are Jews. During this time, the Jews were particularly in exile. Mordecai knew of the great potential danger Esther could be in, and because of this, he walked by the palace each and every day to hear how his niece Esther was doing. One of the days that Mordecai was on his daily walk, he overheard a plot to kill the King, lead by an awful man named Haman. When Mordecai heard of this, he wrote it down. One night when Xerxes had trouble sleeping, he read through all the recent records and learned of the plot of people wanting to kill him. Mordecai was faithful to the King, regardless of his secret exile! Mordecai was rewarded, at the same time that Haman was planning on killing Mordecai! Because Haman despised Mordecai, he issued a decree of the massacre of all Jews. Esther held a banquet with Haman and King Xerxes and told the King of Haman's evil deeds. She also spoke up about the proposal of saving her people (the Jews). Long story short, Haman was impaled (killed on a pole), Queen Esther kept her role as Queen, the King trusted Esther, and all the Jews were saved regardless of the turmoil!

Soooo what?! Well. Esther is one BOLD WOMAN. She literally risked her entire life for the sake of her people! She knew she had more of a chance of death than she did saving her people. And she chose to rather propose death upon herself versus a mass of people. Now THATS true love. Compassion. Bravery. Wisdom. Strategy. She was a powerful woman. What I love, is that regardless of the stigma of men ruling over all of the households, and "should say whatever he pleases" from Esther 1:22, she still spoke out, and look at the outcome! I also love how it was clearly a joint effort with her uncle Mordecai and her. A man and a woman were collaborative, in order to "get the job done."

So I am not going on a power trip declaring women are capable of ruling the world. I believe as a partnership, and submitting to each other out of respect, honor, and love, THAT relationship will most definitely glorify the Kingdom. And that as men and women, our roles are different. When we both accept our roles and learn to love them, a men will naturally rise above and assume his position in leading YOU. Ladies, if you are naturally a leader, don't marry a timid man who you can easily walk all over. Marry a man who you can LEARN from, who can pour into you, and who you can teach and encourage. In Genesis when God says you are UNITED, that doesn't involve a position of one ruling over another. It involves a paired effort, of two people running hard after God's heart, and coming together to show the world how BEAUTIFUL our Creator is.

The Search

Every time we press that "search" button, whether it be,

SEX
LOVE
PORN
INTIMACY
JOKES
WEDDINGS
ENGAGEMENTS
BABY NAMES
PLACES TO LIVE

The list could go on.  Every time you hit "search" is when the void begins to widen.  I have found myself in this position too many times to keep track of.  I have felt, unfulfilled, not content, unsettled, lonely, uncomfortable, or just bored.  These emotions are when your heart can be the most vulnerable, in other words, when the devil seeks out the PERFECT moment to attack.  He WANTS and DESIRES for our hearts to feel these things.  When your gaurd is down and you are simply just searching for answers and ways to fulfill your time, he sees this as an opportunity.  A way to make you feel guilty.  Burdened.  Depressed.  Ugly.  Alone.  Idiotic.  Stupid.  He may even try to tell you that you have just gone too far.  Too far from God's grace.  You are an abuser.  Have taken advantage of God.  Have fallen astray too many times.  Have asked for help too many times. 

LIES
LIES
LIES

These are all LIES that the devil cant WAIT to place in your mind!  He can't hardly wait to jump on the opportunity, and to bring you DOWN!

Truth is, you are HUMAN.  You WILL mess up.  Time and time again.  You will feel filthy, worthless, hopeless, and just too distant.

So your probably saying.. ummmm yes!  I have, or do feel like this, your point issss...????

Our Creator is beautiful.  He's majestic.  Flawless.  Endless.  Time can't even compare.  He is LOVE, he is eternal, he is all fulfilling, he is almighty, he is powerful, he is perfect, he is all knowing, he is the Great I AM, he is EVERTHING!  Thankfully we have a King whose love is wide and deep that we can never swim too far from the shore, or too close to the bottom.  In these times of darkness, just call out to the Savior, and He is eager to shower you in his pure grace. 

Feeling empty sucks.  I know.  I really do.  I have been there way too many times before.  Throughout my struggle,  God has changed it to my journey with Him.  Everytime I stumble, it is just another milestone to add to my testimony.  And a new way to relate and connect with someone else.  God doesn't care where you have been or what you have done, he UNDERSTANDS!  He sent His son SOLELY so He could understand MORE and to help us truely WITNESS a real human living a holy life to live by! 

Our sin is disgusting!  But people, let it be exposed!  When you start confessing and having people hold you accountable, I promise it gets easier.  Living this life on earth is WAY too difficult to get through by yourself.  I dont care who you are, you can't get through it on your own.  You need community, people to feel joy with, people to cry with, people to encourage and people to encourage YOU.  Even though people can tear other people apart, we can make eachother stronger. 

college

Its November 6, 2012 at 1:06 AM... can you believe it?  I have no idea how it is already November.  I can believe in fact that its already passed 1.  Since I've been at the University of Iowa I have yet to make it in bed before 1 AM.  If I ever did it would truly be a miracle!!  But honestly, I like it.  I feel like at the late night hours is when God truly reveals himself to me, and when I have to intentionally focus on worshipping our Creator. 

College... ahhh. I dont know where to start.  Truthfully, it has been a struggle.  I know for a fact that at the moment, Iowa is where God has placed me, for one specific reason.  Which is to glorify Him and to make his name known.  Mostly just to shower people with love and to abolish misconceptions of Christianity.  As the number 2 party school...its crazy.  And I love it.  I love the city.  The people.  The other Christians that have already impacted my life.  My accountability partner.  My roomate.  But most of all, Ive loved the opportunity to disciple girls.  I love talking about Africa.  I love opening up about my sin, and exposing my heart.  Revealing the darkest chambers of my life just to bring others closer to Christ, and closer to discovering their own testamony.  Its been such a spiritual battle here.  One minute I feel completely at peace and excited that I am here.  The next moment Im broken down, confused, not motivated, and constantly searching because I dont know my next step.  And I know that its ignorant of me because I shouldnt have to know my next step when its all part of God's ultimate plan. 

Since I've been here, God has been revealing more of my life call.  Which is creating part of the battle over my head and all the havoc.  None of the majors here entirely interest me... quite frankly... nothing really interests me other than Jesus.  And thats part of the problem.  ANYTHING I do my first thought is, "Lindsay, if the world ends in 2 minutes, you'd be wasting your time by writing that paper or reading that play for your theatre class that was written in the 1800s when you could be spending your time worshipping Jesus and socializing with others to share his sweet love and community."  GAHH! This is my thought all the time!  Then I think...oh hey... simple solution...enroll into a bible college and get a ministry degree... then Im like NO, you need that 4 year degree... and if you go into ministry... you need a husband to even do it with because you dont want to do it by yourself... but then i think...what if I will always be single?!  and where and when will I meet my soulmate if he even exists?!  Then that leads me to my biggest conflict of all.... I've never come across a denomination of a church where im like... "Wow, I entirely believe in their doctrine and I could see myself pursuing a degree amongst this faith base..."  You see, Ive grown up around too many denominations and experienced too many denominations that I see the politics behind it all, and the RIDICULOUSNESS of denominations.  Jesus came to ABOLISH religion and the concept of Pharisees, and here we are picking and choosing certain verses we want and dont want and want to emphasize on and dont want to emphasize on, when really... we are missing the big picture people!!!  Seriously!!!  Christianity really is this... Jesus came to save.  THE END!  Love on that. Read the bible, interpret it, spread the good news, have accountability partners, thrive in the holy spirit and be filled with JOY!!! Of course our nation NEEDS churches to survive.  Church can be a place where we can grow and accept the meat and potatoes of our lives through anointed messages.  I just wish we had more soley CHRISTIAN churches with no strings attached. 

Basically I need prayers.  Prayers for focus, for direction, and for LISTENING and to stop thinking so much about where I need to be, where I need to go, and what I need to do. 
I've come to realize that I really can't do it on my own.  Im only human.  Without Jesus, none of us would be anywhere.  We wouldnt be able to get anywhere.  We would be stagnant in an endless cycle of suckiness.  Call out to the Savior.  Reach out your hand.  Keep reaching until you feel an embrace.  He is THERE. Ready to feel your stretched out desperate finger tips. 

The Good-bye.

So, as you all can see.  I blogged last night.  But after this morning reading through my teammates Kirsten and Christina's blog, my heart feels so stirred up.  And it made me realize that I never blogged about the "good-bye."  To be completely honest, I feel like I've almost been deliberately avoiding talking about it.  With so many people asking "How was Africa?" or saying "Tell me about Africa."  The whole concept of me actually being in Africa has become really blurred for me.  Emotionally, all of this has really taken a toll on my heart.  I want to go back so incredibly bad.  Words wont serve justice to describing how badly I want to go back.  I want to go back and embrace the family our team left behind. 

Daisy, the 10 year old girl from the carepoint that I bonded with so well, disappeared the last weekend we had in Swaziland.  We looked and asked around for her the last Saturday and Sunday we had left.  Unfortunately, I never got to have one last final good-bye.   I never got to tell her face to face how much she means to me and how much she has impacted me.  I never got to embrace her with all that I am, and tell her to be strong. 

Ayanda...where do I begin.  I cant even describe how much I miss her.  I miss staying up late in bed with her and listening to her giggle and tell me more about her life.  The morning we left, she crawled into bed with me at about 5:30 AM.  I was so out of it, but  in the midst of waking up,  I managed to realize and say "Ayanda, this is the last time we get to cuddle..."  Ayanda being so positive, said, "No, we will cuddle again next year."  After all the drama with our shuttle bus driver to the airport, we literally only had TWO MINUTES to say our final good byes to Ayanda and Johannes.  There was SO MUCH I wanted to say to Ayanda, that in the midst of all my sobbing, I couldnt make out the words.  While hugging Ayanda, I said, "I love you, and Im going to miss you."  Once again, with Ayanda staying strong, but on the verge of tears, said, "No, we can talk on the phone when Mary Kate calls."  Always so positive.  Courageous.  Optimistic.  Beautiful. 

I could write about so many other of the amazing Swaziland people.  But bottom line is, I want to go back.  I dont know when God will lead me there, but I just know deep down that I have to go back. 

Since I've been back, unfortunately I havent really had the time to just relish amongst God's beauty and soak in the fact that Im not in Africa anymore.  It's alot harder that I originally thought it would be.  And alot more difficult to entirely take in, and process all that I've seen, and experienced. 

Fortunately, I know that God has a plan.  I know that I can rest in that fact, and really just be still and remain in His peace.  Prayers are needed that I can commit and find the right campus ministry for me here at the University of Iowa.  And pray that I can come up with more ways to spread the word about Hosea's Heart! 

God bless you all, go out and make this day COUNT! 

Read Psalm 23.  :)

Lindiwe

On American soil.

Hello all!  On July 31st at approximately 7:00 PM, we landed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Leaving Swaziland was by far one of the hardest things Ive ever had to deal with.  It definitely makes my "top 5 hardest crys of my life" list.  Ever since I've left, Ive wanted to go back.  I want to be thrown back into the sea of chocolate faces.  I want to be the minority.  I want to hear "Sabona!" or "Umulungu!"  I miss the accents.  The crazy driving.  The dirt.  The smell. The warm embraces of the all the stick thin arms.  I miss the feeling of getting my hair aggressively braided.  I miss how filthy I would feel after a long day of being out and about.   I miss wearing no makeup, and not showering often.  I miss wearing long skirts.  I miss recieving precious little notes from children.  I miss being called "teacha!" and "magay!"  I miss the sound of the constant dog barking.   I miss African church, and the free spirit of dancing.  I miss the warm smiles, and appreciative attitudes.  I miss the selfless and unconditional loving personalities.  I miss the evident faithfulness to Christ they all had.  I miss the acceptance and the poverty.  I miss the smell of maize meal.  I miss having rice and veggies almost EVERY night.   I miss being charged at from African children.  I miss eating at KFC with the prostitute girls.  I miss telling a broken girl... I love you.  I miss Swaziland.  Most of all, I miss the people, more than anything. 

Honestly...I've been struggling.  College has been a struggle.  I have been struggling with my identity, my place in life, and just trying to fit in.  I miss hearing Ayanda's laugh.  Her note still kills me... "I wish I had more time to tell you more of my story."  or Londi's comment when I was packing... "Please dont forget about us."  uhh.  How can I not let remarks such as these puncture and wound my heart forever. 

To sum everything up... I am going back to Swaziland.  One way...or another.  I dont know when...or how.  But, I just know deep down that God will guide me there once again. 

Thanks again for everyones unconditional support, love, donations, and prayers. 

Prayers are still needed as I continue to embark on my journey here in college. 

With all my love,

Lindiwe

Eish!

Eish... one of the many expressions I am going to miss :(  Cant quite wrap my head around the fact that I've been here in Swaziland for already 31 days and I leave in 2.  So incredibly bittersweet.  I am going to miss the simplicity.  The slow walking.  The abundance of walking.  The mountains.  The sunsets.  The palm trees.  The kids at the care point.  The smell.  The rice and beans.  The girls that struggle with prostitution.  The sleep overs with our Swazi friends.  Our night acoustic guitar worship sets.  The random cows.  The awful destructive driving.  Hearing... "Umulungo!" (which means white person).  Being called beautiful by some random dude even when I'm not wearing any makeup and haven't showered in 4 days.  The sounds of the nocturnal wild dogs every night while in the bed.  Being so dirty from a long day, that I am a shade darker from all the multicolored dirt I am covered in.  Wearing skirts, and nonmatching t-shirts every single day.  Seeing the beauty amongst all the poverty.  Witnessing true love and reliance upon God among the beautiful Swazi people.  Riding in the back of a pick up.  Not wearing a seat belt because they simply just dont have them here.  No texting.  Talking in a funny British/Swazi accent everyone has here.  Being proposed to EVERY where you go.  Eish... the list could go on.  A part of my heart will without a doubt be left here in Swaziland. 

The last time I blogged was on Tuesday, and I ended up getting an awful case of the flu on Wednesday and Thursday.  I was at the carepoint on Tuesday afternoon and I'm pretty sure I picked up the illness from there.  One of the girls that I've wrote about previously, Daisy, told me she had a stomach ache and wasnt feeling well on Tuesday, but she is SO cute and I love her so much that I didn't really think twice about keeping my distance.  I unfortunately have to say good bye to her today, and Im without a doubt going to cry. Eish.  Its going to be so hard.  I WANT TO TAKE HER HOME. I am going to miss the warmth and comfort of her frail body and her sweet compassion and giving heart :(  On Thursday the rest of the crew went on the Safari, and they had a great time!! I was really really bummed that I couldn't go, but I know it wont be my last opportunity for an African safari.  So much life left ahead :) Friday we went to South Africa for another VISA so we aren't fined, and we visited another beautiful orphanage.  We also had a sleepover with the crew last night and I got to share a bed with the beautiful Ayanda :)  I love her so much.  It was SUCH a blessing to stay up for a while listening to her many stories.  The way we live is SO different.  She is so incredibly hardworking.  Next time I feel lazy I think all I have to do is think of her and it will be enough to motivate me! 

Thank you all so much for your unbelievable support and prayers.  I could feel your love and prayers all the way over here in Swaziland.  I cant tell you how much I appreciate all the comments and responses I've gotten from blogging, and just knowing that someone cares!  I will be blogging when I get back about more experiences and my transition and such.  Once again THANK YOU!!!!!


With SO SO SO SO MUCH love,

Lindsay :)

P.S. Prayers are needed for the travels!  And for my motion sickness ;-/  I hope to not throw up in London again ;-/ I will be arriving in the States on Tuesday night :)

So. Many. Miracles.

Hello everyone!  I am really sorry for the worry that I may have caused anyone by not getting on the internet this past Saturday!  I ended up spending the day with Chanita Foster whose husband plays NFL football for the Indianapolis Colts!  5 years ago she was called to Swaziland by God and now has a nonprofit organization called Beyond The Game.  She has started many schools and carepoints around the country!  The day was SUCH a blessing and I had the opportunity to travel more to the rural parts of Swaziland.  The specific place we were at was literally the stereo type of what you think of when you think of Africa.  There was monkies on the side of the road, mud huts with grass rooves, and it was so HOT!  Many of the kids have never seen a white person, and there were kids appearing from 2 miles down the road because there is no cars or electricity in this specific area.  It was like I stepped into a time portal.  I discovered that all of the Swaziland used to be like this 10 years ago until Taiwan decided to donate a certain amount of money for updates, and from there cities have developed everywhere.  But there are still many parts of Swaziland that have not yet been reached.  I was really grateful to meet Chanita, and I think God specifically set this up.  I say this because before this past Saturday I was literally thinking "I dont want to go back to my old life.  How can I honestly live in America and impact lives when I've seen and witnessed so much poverty?"  Then I meet Chanita.  She obviously lives in America, and has an abundance of money.  But God has blessed her with this nonprofit organization and she travels to Africa for one week every month.  Her time in the States is dedicated to fundraising and building support, as well as raising a family of 6 kids and 2 horses.  Wow.  This has really inspired me. 

Normally I blog about each specific day, but I feel like SO MUCH has happened that I would be here for hours!  So I am just going to go through all the key points and touch base on all of those.  And especially all the miracles God has performed.  :)

1.  I had a wild impaca (I dont know how to spell this) nuzzle me, lick my hand and try to eat my hair.

2.  Ive been proposed to with 17 cows and 3 dogs.

3.  Last Tuesday I think it was?  Our team felt called by God to go into the Squatter Camp, find prostitutes, and have lunch with them.  When this idea was revealed by God we all thought it was really crazy.  But through the grace of God and by trusting him...we did JUST that.  We went in, found SIX prostitutes, bought them lunch.  I found out that these lovely woman...are all around my age.  One that I spent the most time with, Sonto, is 18, 5 months pregnant, lives in the Squatter camp, is abused physically by her boyfriend, and  is still a prostitute.  Nokwanda- 16 years old, no father, lives in the Squatter camp, dropped out of school, and is still a prostitute.  The stories could unfortunately go on.  While out with the girls, Nokwanda randomly turned to me and asked, "Lindiwe, do you drink?"  I responded, "No, do you?"  She kind of hesitated, and said "Yes.  But only on Friday and Saturday nights because I have to..."  This response will also be like a dagger to my heart.  Ever since we went out, we have not been able to find her since.  We got her in an interview and she admitted she needed help.  Notando (who also is 18 and has a child) also openly admitted she needed help.  After taking them out once, we took them out again 2 days later, and then afterwards brought them into our home to spend more quality time.  They are just like us.  Young women, who love to dance and laugh.  They give themselves to men just so they can get by in life, and purchase all the necessities.  Something as simple as soap, they go and prostitute themselves for.  Normally for E20 a man, which is just under 5 American dollars. Disgusting.  I HATE that these men have made them feel so worthless, and they feel so trapped.  When they left our house they said "Can you come find us for church in the morning?"  Um... YES!!! So on Sunday (which was just two days ago) we headed over to the Squatter Camp to find them, and we did.  Although they refused to get in the Kombi with us. It was just Sonto and Notando who came up, and you could tell they REALLY wanted to, but something was holding them back.  Kirsten and I were literally BEGGING them to get IN the kombi...but it got to the point where the large van was moving backwards and Kirsten and I had to jump in at last minute to catch the ride ourselves.  We walked over a mile for these girls on Sunday morning to get them for church, and they were refusing to come with.  I was beyond frusturated.  As we pulled away I just looked out the window and immediately started praying, "Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you place some sense of guilt in their hearts and some how GET them to church." .................
4. During the service I turned around and looked out the tent to see...Tenele, Sonto, and Notando...WALKING UP THE HILL!  Our God is SO GOOD! That walk is LONG.  We offered a ride for these girls, and God answered the prayers and made them show up!!
5.  The Pastors words, "Well, I prepared a messege last Monday, but  I feel the Spirit is leading me in a different direction." ....The entire service consisted of a messege about not selling your bodies off, self worth, "an abusive boyfriend isnt one that loves you", beauty, etc.  It was SO blunt and I think if the pastor knew that there was prostitutes in the church he wouldnt have been so blunt, but its EXACTLY what the girls needed to hear.
6.  At the end of the service he had an alter call.  The call was if you wanted to recieve the POWER to resist the devil, and all the evil desires of this world.  WHAT!?!?!  I was shaking at this point in complete shock of all the revalance.  God REALLY wanted those girls to be there and it wasnt any accident they showed up.  I began praying so hard and rapidly, "God please please please do what ever you can to GET THEM UP FRONT!"  And my eyes opened to the sound of a scream I will never forget.  It was a scream filled with agonizing pain, along with a sense of relief. 
7.  Notando, Sonto, and Tenele were ALL up front.  The scream came from Notando who was on the floor, shaking, screaming and crying.  There were people literally holding her down because her body was heaving so powerfully... It didnt take me long to realize that I was literally witnessing an evil spirit being cast out of Notando's body.  I know this sound completely CREEPY, fake and unreal.  But it HAPPENED.  Tears started inevitably streaming down my face in complete joy and praise to our Almighty God.  Never thought in a million years that I would be witnessing such a divine miracle.  It's made me realize that our society takes a prayers so lightly and doesnt completely understand the power of prayer.  When you pray a prayer, and are serious about a result, God means business.  Even re-writing this gives me the chills, and I feel totally filled with disbelief. 
God loves ALL. These women are so beautiful.  It's going to be SO hard leaving in 6 days, feeling unsure if people will keep them accountable.  Prayers are NEEDED for these women!!!
8.  ANOTHER MIRACLE.  So do you remember when I wrote about how when I was at the Hope House for the first time and when I layed hands on that one man to pray I felt really overwhelmed and I began to cry?  Well....After the prayer he was confident he would be walking in a week. Guess what...HES WALKING!!! He will be leaving the Hope House soon :) 

9.  We also had a meeting last week with some people who live here, and they are really excited about the girls home and REALLY want it to get up and moving.  Our God is so good. :)  We are now just in the process of verifying a contracter for renovations because the home is in A LOT of immediate need.  MONEY IS NEEDED for the home to be done.  Our goal is to have girls in the home within a year! 

10.  We had a sleep over last week with some of the girls and they NEVER get to take baths and showers so they were having SO much fun and were shreeking with glee the entire time they were in the bathroom!  Makes me grateful for every single shower I get to recieve.  We are so incredibly blessed. 

A lot more has happened, but I tried my best to convey most of the miracles!  Prayers are still greatly needed!  Especially that God will use our team as vessels and coworkers this last week we have in Swaziland that we can accomplish what we havent yet! 

With MUCH love,

Lindsay :)