Can Chickens Fly from Swazi to the US?

Ellie and I leave for the U.S. in just 10 days and we’re running in a million different directions, as you will see reflected in the eclectic content of this blog post! 

 

CAN A CHICKEN FLY FROM SWAZILAND TO THE USA?

 

Last Thursday, during my meeting out with the women who are part of the craft co-op, I sat down on the floor beside my friend Ruby, to chat with her as she sewed the buttons on her bags. I told her that we were leaving for the States soon, and that I was excited to see my family. Ruby is the woman who calls herself my “Swazi Mother” and she met my parents when they were here in April. She asked how long the journey was to my parent’s house. I told her that by the time you included that driving on both ends of the trip it would be about 3 days. The Ruby looked up from her sewing with a smile on her face and said, “Do you think I could send a chicken with you for your parents?” AH!!!! Isn’t that the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard?! I’ve been wondering how Ellie is going to do on the over 24 hrs of flight time…maybe a chicken would help keep her entertained for a while? J 

 

After our Bible Study time we were sharing prayer requests. I asked the women to pray for the shipment of bags that was going to be arriving in the US very soon. After lots of research and frustration, I was finally able to get about 500 bags on a plane to the US, but I was wondering about their arrival in the US, going through customs, etc. I asked the ladies to specifically pray that US customs wouldn’t charge a lot of duty on the bags. Right after we finished praying, my cell phone rang and it was the shipping agent calling to tell me that the bags had arrived safely and that customs didn’t charge ANY duty. The ladies clapped and cheered when they heard how God had answered the prayers they had just prayed minutes before! 

 

MISSIONARY WOMEN’S RETREAT

 

Please pray for myself and 30 other missionary ladies from Swaziland as we go on a retreat together this coming weekend (Oct 5-7). I’ve been heading up the planning of it, but many of the women in the Wed morning Bible study I attend are involved in making it happen, so it’s been a very enjoyable group effort. I’m so blessed by the friendships God has provided for me here! It’s a pretty diverse group attending, with women from about 6 different countries and 8 different organizations. We’ll be using a retreat kit put out by Beth Moore called “Loving Well.” Please pray that it would be a great weekend of relaxation, and renewal, and that we would be challenged to love God and others more!

 

 

Here’s our Bibles Study group out to dinner last week.

 

OUR NEW RED COUCH

 

At the start of 2007 I shared with a few friends that it was one of my hopes for the new year to own a comfortable piece of furniture. Not the most spiritual or noble goal, I know, but I was growing really weary of our cheap pink floral foam furniture! I’d been trying to save up some money, and had a picture in my head of the exact couch I wanted…a red one just like my missionary friend’s, the Young’s, had (I confess, I had couch jealousy).  However, as the months passed by, there were always other expenses and needs that seemed way more important than a comfy piece of furniture, and I resigned myself to sitting on those pink flowers forever! Then in August my friends the Young’s announced that they were having to return to live in the U.S. and told me I could buy their couch for a price that was less than half of what I would have had to pay for it new from South Africa. Our “new” red couch arrived a couple weeks ago and Ellie and I love it. While it may seem like a goofy thing to waste blog space on, for me it’s a really great example of God’s personal care and provision for us and that sometimes He just wants to bless us with exactly what we want, in his own special way. I’d happily give our new red couch back if our friends Charles and Kristen Young could stay in Swaziland!!! 

 

That’s all the news for now. Ellie and I arrive in Minneapolis Oct 10. Our schedule is fairly busy with support raising, sharing at churches, etc until Thanksgiving, and then after that we’ll get to rest and enjoy time with our family during the holiday season. We’re really hoping to increase our support while in the US, so please let us know of any churches or individuals that may want to learn more about what we’re doing in Swaziland.