June 2 (day 11)

Thursday

Sitting at Piggs Peak right now, locked inside the gate we drove through to get to Prayer Rock. We drove up here to visit the first Nazarene church in Swaziland and the wagon that Harmon Schmelzenbach rode up in all those years ago. The prayer rock is this massive rock overlooking this absolutely incredible view of the countryside. It's beautiful. But this was the rock that Schmelzenbach would sit on and pray and this was where God told him that he needed to build a church here. So we came and visited this rock and now we're locked inside. Ha.
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We just off-roaded up a hill and through someone's barbwired fenced garden to find a way out of here. I thought we we're going to just roll down the hill and die. But we made it out!
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Suprise of the day. Instead of digging a ditch, we ended up going to Hlane wildlife reserve for the afternoon. It was really fun! We got to see giraffes, elephants, rhinos, wart hogs, zebras, and whatever else. My convey even got charged by an elephant, which was awesome! And Gina, there were so many sweet looking birds!

The only thing, though, is that technically yesterday was our last day of work :( It makes the reality that this trip is going to end much more real. That makes me sad. I'm not ready to leave everyone or to leave Swaziland!

On the ride back Holly and I were talking about the gaps in society between Swaziland and America. We somehow got to talking about how much we lower our expectations when we come to places like this and then raise them sky high when we go home. It's crazy how we can be so laid back about a flat tire here, but so ticked about the same thing back home. It's such a hazard zone that I want to steer clear of. Christians, especially, should have the attitude of Christ at ALL times, wherever they are. I really just want to be able to appreciate everything the same.
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Had a really good devo tonight about compassion and how we can take what we're compassionate about back to the US to share. Katie, Zach, and I were talking together and one of the main things we brought up was that a passion would so consume you that your whole being would change. It would change your thoughts, attitudes, actions...Things in your life would be different, maybe simpler, and people would probably notice these changes and ask you about them. When people see compassion that runs so deep, they're so much more likely to want to share in that same compassion. It rubs off onto them and onto others. Your actions really can go a long way and make a huge difference.

Brent also brought up a really good point. People automatically view a missionary as someone who goes overseas to impoverished or dangerous places to speak God's Word and start churches and what not. But a missionary is just someone with a mission. An ordinary, average person with a calling from God. I think that's awesome and so incredibly true. To go along with compassion...We can use the things we are passionate about, no matter how different from others, to make a difference for Christ. We all have a part to play in God's kingdom and we're all important components to His will. Just something awesome to think about...