Unforgettable Memories

 “As a prisoner
for the Lord, then, I urge you to LIVE a life worthyof
the calling you have received. Be
completely humble  and
gentle;
be patient, bearing
with one another in LOVE. Make every effort to keep the unity
of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
There is ONE
body and ONE
Spirit-just as you were called to ONE
hope when you were called- ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE
baptism, ONE
God and Father of all, who is over all
and through all and in
all.”

Ephesians
4:1-6

This past week I was granted the
most amazing opportunity I could have been for my trip to Africa. God made it possible that our leaders gave us
a week off (spring break) to do whatever we wanted to do. Four of my teammates and I decided to go back
to South Africa where we lived last year so that we could be reunited with the
rest of our teammates and revisit our past ministries. Through Christ, I had made some really great
relationships with families and children in the township of St. Francis Bay. I was eager to be able to see them again and
see how Jesus has been working in their lives in my absence. The hardest thing to convince the people we
build relationships with over the months is that just because we leave, doesn’t
mean that Jesus leaves with us. By going
back, I was granted the opportunity to see God being their stronghold and
holding them up even when I was not there. 

            The very
first person I went to see was my dear friend Mandy. She is the mother of two and has a wonderful,
loving husband. I still remember the
very first day I met her. My ministry
team and I had met her babysitter and her children, but she worked until 4, so
we had yet been able to meet her. One
day, I noticed that she was sitting inside nursing her baby and thought that
since we were occupying her yard with children and ourselves, that we should at
least introduce ourselves and say hi. She was so beautiful, sitting there with Zadia (her now 15 month baby)
smiling at me and inquiring about my mission to Africa. After brief conversation, I told her that I
really liked her necklace and that it looked so gorgeous on her. (I thought I was being a blessing by giving
her a compliment, however, I had yet to be informed that in Africa
when you tell someone you like something, it is code for telling them you want
it.) So long conversation short, Mandy
gave me her necklace. Oh, I felt so
guilty, taking something so beautiful from someone who clearly had less than I
did. But she felt so blessed to be able
to give something to me…by accepting her gift I was allowing her to bless
me. Well, for our next encounter, I made
sure to go out into town and pick out another necklace of equal beauty to
replace the one she had given me. She
gracious accepted the gift and I saw her wear it several times throughout the
rest of the semester. The weeks went on,
and I only sought to go to Mandy’s and continue this amazing bond that I had
with her. Every time I left the township
I wondered what her and her family was doing. I eventually got to meet her husband, and he asked such great questions
about Christ and the guidelines of the old vs. new covenant. They are so in love with each other, and even
more in love with Christ and raising their family to follow in his
footsteps. Every time we would visit, I
was filled with so much joy and happiness. Mandy and Johnny (her husband) had their first child, Jade, before they
were married. So they hadn’t begun their
relationship in Christ, but Christ has redeemed them from their past and they
walk in the glorious light of his forgiveness and grace. I saw her and her family at least once a
week, if not more, throughout the whole semester. When I moved to Swaziland I missed her
companionship so much. She is such a
precious, kind, generous woman…so when I had the opportunity to see her again,
I seized it.    Last week I saw her three
times and every time it was harder and harder to drive away knowing that it
would be the last for a very long time. But I know that God has their family in the palm of his hands and he
will protect them and provide them with everything they could ever need. We exchanged email addresses and Johnny was
talking about getting internet at their house just so that they could skype me. Oh what a blessing it is to feel that you
could be loved so much by someone. There
are few occasions in my life when I have felt so wanted and loved, they don’t
knock on my door everyday. I left on the
last day, knowing that I would see Mandy, Johnny, Jade, and Zadia one day
again, but until then I had peace knowing that they are safe from any real
danger!

            The other
blessing I had was revisiting the after school program I was involved in
earlier in the semester. I showed up one
day when the younger kids were in session and so many of them remembered my name! I walked in and immediately started hearing
“Alyssa” “Alyssa” and little children running up to me as fast as their little
feet would carry them, jumping into my arms. WOW! Definite tear moment…most of
these kids barely speak any English, but that doesn’t matter because no matter
what language they speak, they understood the love of Christ. For no other reason did I show up every
single day last semester to spend time with these children. I praised God so much for being able to use
me to love these children for the time he allotted. They were so precious…the children I got
really close to just started playing with me as if no time had passed. I am not sure if they really knew all the
details of my journey, but they did know that I came back for them. There is no greater joy than seeing the fruit
from hard labor and faith in Christ. When I was in the ministry, there were days that I wondered if anyone
even cared that we showed up. However,
after this encounter, I am one hundred percent sure that every minute counted
with these children. I could barely move
I had so many kids around me at one point. It was such a beautiful experience…

            There were
also several others whom I had built relationships with over the time I was in St. Francis
Bay, but none as strong as the ones I
just listed. The rest of the trip I
spent time in Jeffry’s Bay and Port
Elizabeth with my other teammates. For those of you who don’t know, the team of
40 I was with last year got broken up into three smaller teams: Swaziland, Port
Elizabeth (SA), and Jeffry’s Bay (SA). I
hadn’t realized how much I had missed all of them. I missed the bond I had with the girls who
shared the same cabin as I did. I missed
the other close relationships with other friends. I missed so much about last year, I hadn’t
even realized until I had the opportunity to go back. It’s funny in life how we grow weary trying
to always reach the goal set before us, but when we take that moment to look
back on where we have come from, we are often surprised at how far we have
already come. 

            I just want
to challenge everyone to not take today for granted. As this trip is coming to an end, all I can
think about is the future: where will I work this summer, how will I pay the
bills, what am I going to do to further the kingdom, and the list just keeps
going. I have to stop and remind myself
that God has me here, in Swaziland,
on this particular day to accomplish something. What I am asking you to do is take some time today to find out what that
something is…and do it!!

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not now what a day may bring
forth”