Hello! I am Teresa, one of the leaders with Doyle and Tonya and up until now I would say that unfortunatly I have been pretty silent to this blog page. Now that I am back in the states I’d love to share a little of my heart with you. The past month with this team has been truly amazing. It has been nothing that I expected and everything that I could have ever wanted or needed. As I sit here writing this I am currently in a well air conditioned hotel, getting ready for leader debrief, on a double bed at about 5:30pm. It’s crazy how things can seemingly change in an instant. I can’t believe I am home.
It is now 11:30pm in Swaziland. I think about Doyle and Tonya settling in back at the house with the kids. The ambassador team had their first day of ministry today, and probably met the kids! I hope they saw my little girl SheShay(that’s how it sounds, not how it’s spelled!) I hope she got a lot of loving and that she serenaded them with her songs and giggles! Oh my heart is heavy for these kids today. What did they do and how are they? I am grateful though that they have a team to come in and love on them!
So here I am back in the states. Touched down around 7am and back into the hustle and bustle we were. It’s funny because for most of the trip we would dream up and imagine what being home would be like. What would be our first meal? Who would we see first? Would we just want to talk about all our experiences right away or maybe just cry because we miss those kids and our team? Well, in my first 10 hours I have had McDonalds for my first meal. (not as good as I was counting on but YAY for sweet tea!) I have talked with my parents and best friends and really find that I can’t even begin to put into words all that I feel or have experienced and already, I miss the people I met like crazy!
I find that I may have dreamt about home in Swazi all the time but here, I will dream about Swazi. It seems that maybe home is a bit more of a loser term now because part of my heart will be in Swazi forever and I really do think, at the risk of sounding cheesy, that home is where the heart is. So, to my team, keep swazi alive in your hearts and minds and bring the news of what is going there to those around you. Keep the news of Swazi alive, share your stories. pictures, videos, tears and laughs! Let people know what God did and is doing and remember your home in Swazi with your team and with the people there.
Love you guys!
I miss it like crazy Teresa. Home doesnt feel like it used to. I miss Swazi
It is strange being home, it definately feels like a different culture. Teresa, I’m so sorry I didn’t get a chance to say bye to you yesterday. I hope you got my voicemail. I hope debrief has gone well for you~