I just want to say, thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. I have really appreciated your daily little notes that some of you sent me! I wish you all were here to experience the Swazi culture and the amazing people.

   Swaziland is nothing like I imagined. We are
staying in the most populated city called Manzine. There are lots of city
lights, so I have unfortunately not been able to see massive amounts of stars.
I was able to see a pretty sweet sunset right outside my room on the balcony.
We are staying in a nice house with clean running water and bunk-beds and
electricity. Manzini is fairly modernized, paved roads, grocery stores, electronic
stores, car dealerships, etc/. On the way to Swaziland we ate breakfast at
McDonalds. There food is better here than in America. We spent our first
Saturday exploring the city, trying to adjust to the world around us. We have
been attending a local church the past two Sundays. They are very welcoming and
genuinely loved having us there to worship with them. The service is bi-lingual
so we are able to understand, which makes the experience that much better!

 This past week we have visited a few different Care Points, where the
children come to get there one meal for the day. We spend a lot of the
afternoon playing with them and loving on them. It is a lot of fun. The kids
are full of energy and hope. They absolutely love love love stickers! A few of
them like to put the stickers on their earlobes as earrings. It's SO cute. A few days ago Kelsey, Erin and I were able to teach a lesson on Nehemiah to the little ones. It was a lot of fun! 

 I expected to be SO broken and not able to function, instead I'm finding it really easy to love on these kids and see them the way Jesus sees them. They are just as normal as any child I've played with in America. They all just want love and attention. The majority of them have very little, and I have seen and held some children who don't even have panties on. It is really easy for me to see past the material side and just share the love of Jesus with them. 

 My first day at the Care Point, I definitely saw Jesus the first day we went out to the care
point. I know very little Siswati (which is the language they speak) but I do
know how to say Jesus loves you. The first day all I kept saying to each child
I hugged and held was ,"Jesus loves you". I told each child I came in contact that phrase. Most of them just looked at me with big bright eyes.  The care point is fenced
in, and I noticed this one little girl in particular, before she even walked into
the care point. She was wearing a bright yellow skirt. When she reached the gate, I walked over to her and
knelt down to her level and said, "Jay-soo Ooo aaa Goo tanza (that's how
it sounds when you say it in Siswati). She gave me the biggest smile and the
loudest laugh. It was at the moment that I saw Jesus! It was amazing. The next
day I worked at the same Care Point and the little girl remembered me. I was
able to get a little video of her amazing laugh and her singing "Jesus is
so Wonderful".

   This past weekend Angela, Anna, Kelsey and I went and helped with a womens retreat. AIM has a ministry with a group of about 90 women that make purses. The retreat was a chance for them to take a break from their lives and just be able to relax. The women were so cute. They were like little school girls during the games. It was so refreshing to hear so much laughter. Also, the culture here is to sing sing sing. The women sung and danced around a lot, a few times, we were pulled into the dance lines as well. It was a nice break from the large group of our team and a really good chance to get to know a few of the girls on my team better.

  God is showing me a lot, but I feel like it's still a time of input. I have not been able to comprehend the mass amounts of information He's loading me with. I'm expecting to have it all sink in and hit me hard once I get back. It's amazing that when I'm with the children nothing else matters in the world. I love that joy!

 I am also amazed that the same sky I see at night is the exact same sky everyone else sees no matter what country! That just blows my mind the vastness of God! I am very open to God and am learning to become more aware of His voice. 

 I appreciate your prayers, they are carrying me through. It is your prayers that have allowed me to be this far from home and barely notice that I'm halfway around the world!

 

Ashley.. I'm praying for you!! Please send me your e-mail so I can e-mail you next Saturday.

 

I miss you all! It's crazy  not talking to you guys each day! 

 

I pray for you guys as I go to bed. I'm 7-8 hours ahead of you!

 

Love you All!

 

~Autumn

 

leave me comments, so I can hear from you when I check this next weeK!!