I have been in
Africa for 3 weeks now!  Time really
flies by at some moments and other times it drags on.  I have been learning so much about myself and God while being
here.  I have made some close
girlfriends that I can go to about things, but this experience has so far
taught me to truly rely on God for comfort and whatever I need.  I feel so disconnected from the US at times,
and other times I am so thankful that I am. 
I have been learning what it truly means to rest in God and to go to Him
with everything. 

This is a song we have been singing that
has become a prayer to me throughout the last week, knowing that God will
protect my family and that He is all that I need.  Coming to His throne and trusting Him to be my strength, my
guidance, my hope as He takes my heart and holds it in His hands daily.

To all who are
thirsty, to all who are weak

Come to the
fountain, dip your heart in the stream of life

May the pain and
the sorrow be washed away

In the waves of
His mercy as deep cries out to deep

We sing "come
Lord Jesus come"

Many of the things I see here and
experience here are things that continually break my heart no matter how many
stories I hear of it.  In Swaziland
there was a little girl named Samantha who lived in the squatter camp who would
sell herself daily at the "treeline". 
The treeline is beside the dump where men stand waiting for girls to
come sell themselves in exchange for a little food. 

            I
ask myself many times "why" I have come here, why God allows this to happen,
and how can I make things better.  Time
and time again I know that He is the only thing that can make pain better and
can redeem and restore any circumstance. 
Continually I have to ask Jesus to come and help me minister to their
hurt and their pain because I know I cannot do it on my own strength. 

            I
hope that God is also breaking your heart with the things that break His
because this is the only way that we can stand for a change for these kids and
their families.  Jesus came to give us
life abundantly and I know that all the pain and sorrow can be washed away by
the blood and healing that Jesus brings.