The past few weeks have been rough here in Swaziland. There have been various break in attempts and thefts at our house and also to a few of our students. We have "lost" two very precious and dear family members due to medical reasons. They are both back in America receiving fine medical care. And another close friend of ours on one of the teams in South Africa is now rejoicing in heaven! I am not writing in attempts to give glory to the "bad" things that have been going on, rather I am writing to give all the glory and praise to God who is in control of all things. There have been times where it would have been so easy to give up, to throw up my hands and walk away from all of this. And of course thoughts like, "If I were back home then it wouldn't be so bad," or "Is it really worth being here just to go through so much pain?" But my God has been there through it all. He has been my continued source of strength and wisdom during times of confusion and hurt. He has quieted my constantly in motion mind, has brought healing to the still wounded places in my heart and has revealed Himself to me in ways I never fathomed.

Every Sunday evening we get together as a family and spend some time in corporate worship. Last night we focused on the death and resurrection, and remembering all that the Lord has done for us. The awesome thing about last night was the way He has revealed His love to each one of us through each one of us. Only God could have orchestrated bringing together a group of 18 complete strangers and creating a unique bond less than a year of meeting each other. There is true community happening all around me. I have seen how effective the Body can be when we are in Christ. We can always come and do "good things," but unless we are centered in Him that is all we are doing, "good things." Nothing will really change.

Every moment I spend with my team is another opportunity that God reveals a small part of His character to me. I LOVE my team, my family. They bless me more than they will ever know. They have taught me and challenged me. They love me for who I am, for the moments when I laugh during prayer or run around the house with glow sticks at 2 in the morning. They love me for buying them food to eat. They love me because they are each a living example of Christ and He IS LOVE.

I'm usually not a lyric writing person, but this is a great portrayal of what things have been like recently.

Keep singing-Mercy Me

Another rainy day

I can't recall having sunshine on my face

and all I feel is pain

and all I wanna do is walk out of this place

But when I am stuck and I cant move when I don't know what I should do when I wonder if I'll ever make it through

I gotta keep singing

I gotta keep praising your name

You're the one that is keeping my heart beating

I gotta keep singing

I gotta keep praising your name

That's the only way that I find healing

Can I climb up in your lap

I don't wanna leave

Jesus sing over me

I gotta keep singing

Can i climb up in your lap

I don't wanna leave

Jesus sing over me

You're everything I need

And I gotta keep singing