Swazi Team Trip 2013: Day 1

We left for our team trip after church on August 4. We were prayed for at the end of our worship service and received lots of hugs and words of encouragement from our faith family. Everyone grabbed quick lunches, and then we said goodbye to our family we were leaving behind. Having done this last year, I didn't envy those who had to hug children and spouses. We had dropped our little boys off already with my parents, which made things much less emotional. We were so grateful for the borrowed van that held us all and our many suitcases and bins as we drove to the Atlanta airport. We made it through security simply (well, Marilyn and Ronda were checked a bit more extensively) and had a short wait until we boarded that evening around 9:00. Though we all planned to try to rest on the flight and make the most of the dark atmosphere, sleep was elusive for most except in short segments. It's so hard to get comfortable sitting up, and ten hours was a long time to sit awkwardly. Thankfully the flight was smooth, food was decent, and we woke to breakfast and the sight of Great Britain below us. Super exciting!

The beginning

In November we launched our commitment to the Lesibovu CarePoint. That meant that as a community (not just local, but anyone, anywhere can be part of our connection to this CarePoint) we were committing to a 5-7 year relationship with the people of Lesibovu. That agreement means we will visit annually, invest relationally and financially into the area, to enable them to be more self-sufficient at the end of that time, while also sharing that God's love for us all was the factor that bound us together.

For months prior to our trip, most of the team was able to participate in a great book study ("Follow Me: A Call to Die" by David Platt). This book was such a challenging study and many evenings we were left a bit speechless after watching the videos that went along with it. To hear that evangelizing by praying "the sinner's prayer" with people to accept Christ and "invite him into (your) heart" wasn't necessarily right was hard to take. We realized that really, we should be witnessing through our lives and sharing that accepting Christ means asking Him to change us and enable us to be willing to give everything up for Him, even (especially) our lives. We also have to be willing to apply that to our current, pretty comfortable, Christian lives and it has been eye-opening and life-changing. Denying ourselves and our pursuit of temporary pleasure/wealth/comfort to find fulfillment only in Jesus - That isn't the definition of being a Christian that most of us grew up with. It rocked many of us to the core, I think. Our study of the Word and discussion time shaped our view of the upcoming trip and enabled us to see it as not just a cool short-term ministry opportunity, but a time to really give, to share without regret or hesitation, and to apply it to our lives here in middle-class, comfy America. We also are grateful to take advantage of more local opportunities to serve and witness and share our lives. This was not just about Africa. It was about changing our thinking and way of life in every area.
 I think that I speak for everyone when I say I don't think we are the same people as we were before the study. I think of what we learned and the teaching we heard, and know that many conversations in our home have stemmed from that  book. How we live now that we truly see the Truth that this life is not our own is something we are still working on.

We also met regularly to pray, plan, and grow closer as a team. That time was so valuable as we learned more about each other, our gifts and struggles, and the way God was working in each life to prepare us for traveling to serve others. I am so thankful for the dedication of each person who committed not to just go out of the country for 10 days, but to daily seek God's will for his/her life, and how Swaziland factored into that.

Having never led a team on a trip, and since most of us hadn't even been on any missions trip, the experience was very much a learning process. I am so grateful that we had patient team members, experienced missionaries in Ken and Marilyn, and that God blessed us with cooperative spirits through it all.

The journey

So many times over the past year I have used this word. I think it's perfect to describe much of life. For now I'm focusing on the process of preparing to go on the trip with this team and a huge faith-stretching time as we worked toward buying our airline tickets.

journey

This word can mean "a trip, traveling from one place to another" - sure. While that is what we did, and it was a LONG journey in that way, it was also "a passage from one stage to another."

From the time that Alli and I returned over a year ago, through the Sponsorship launch in May, the planning of the trip activities, the fundraising, the prayer time, the Bible study, the many meetings to discuss details of airline fares and packing lists, the emails and prayer requests and conversations with hundreds of people who wanted to know why in the world we were going to Africa, God took us on a journey like only He could.

Last year I typed up a simple bookmark with prayer reminders on it for our first trip to Swaziland. One request was that we would experience what God had for us, and for people to please not pray for everything to go smoothly, because truly that is not how faith is stretched or grown. There were moments I doubted that request, but knew it was the right thing. Trying to be courageous :-), I repeated that sentiment this time around. Some family members may have regretted that, but I really felt strongly that we were to surrender our plans, and ask God to lead us through what would build us into stronger believers.

Guess what? Everything didn't go smoothly.
Sometimes things just didn't even GO.

We became weary and stressed and pretty discouraged some days. The neat thing was that through that, our team of 9 really bonded and shared the emotions we were facing individually, so we weren't alone. I saw Marilyn quickly lead us into prayer on so many occasions, whenever we mentioned a burden. I heard others open their hearts and ask for wisdom and felt the compassion and tenderness in the room from the team. After Ken realized his job was going to prevent him from going on the trip, we mourned together. We were sad to not have his presence, but we also hurt for Marilyn knowing how she'd wanted to experience Swaziland with him. Then she offered to stay home with him, and give the money she'd raised toward our family's trip and help keep our little boys for us. Such selflessness and love!! We didn't feel it was time to give up yet, though we were getting closer and closer to the time to depart and knew that seats were filling up and we needed an answer or clear direction. When we were pretty sure God was not going to provide for my family of 4 to go, I was told to continue trusting and that the team would wait on us to have the money for our tickets, even when the majority was ready to purchase them already.

Through those trials, the testing of our faith did produce patience (James 1:3). It showed us His plan was much better. One huge example was those airline tickets. LaShea, Marilyn, and James frequently checked tickets prices with different airlines for months. Marilyn called several travel agents to try to find the best price for our dates of travel. We got the same basic quote over and over for months. The price was approximately $800 more per ticket than Alli and I paid last year. That was painful and very hard for our family to raise since we were buying four tickets. As fundraisers closed and we were blessed with proceeds and donations from others, we let ourselves get a little hopeful. Then the money stopped coming in, we had saved and earned all we could by doing extra jobs. We were almost to the 'one month till departure' point. It was clearly time to buy tickets, as far as we could tell, but our family just didn't have the money and we as a team needed to purchase them all together.

Then, on July 5, Marilyn was given the contact info of another agency to try. God was all over it.

She called and was given a flight for nearly $600 per person less than the other estimates. 

We also would receive allowance for three bags each, which would save us potential extra baggage fees. Then, we found out we'd have brief layovers in London each way, so could even explore an additional country most of us had never seen. 

We were so amazed! If we had bought tickets when we felt it made sense from a human perspective, we would have left two of my family members at home. We also would have spent over $4,000 more than was needed as a group!!

To say that we were flabbergasted and astonished is putting it mildly. We cannot explain the fares' cost. We couldn't even find the same price online anywhere on the British Airways site. All we know is that we had a large need and God filled it. "Exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or imagine" - that is what God did BEFORE we ever left Alabama.Ya'll just wait to see what else He did!

And we're back!

We have been home from our trip for over a week now. I am working on posting summaries of our time there, as well as encouraging other team members to post their thoughts as they process their experience. Hopefully we will have many instances of God's amazing power and provision to share with you that will encourage you wherever you are in your spiritual walk. I know that my own faith was strengthened through numerous ways He showed His plan to be better than ours, over the months leading up to the trip and even the whole time there. If we had ever doubted who should go on the trip, or how He would guide us in our planning, He confirmed repeatedly how we were to work and serve, which was a beautiful thing to see.

A quote I just read this week really summed up the emotions I know Alli and I felt after last year's trip, and that I suspect several team members this year do as well.
“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” ~ Miriam Adeney
When folks ask if we are glad to be home, it is hard to answer. Of course, I am so thankful to be home with the rest of my family, and in the comfortable routine of my life here. However, I find myself wondering which children came to the CarePoint today, who was more reserved and needed extra hugs, if the weather was mild enough for those without shoes, and if the little ones made it safely who walk alone to and from Lesibovu every day. Those children were not just fun kids to visit. They're part of us now. We feel connected in a precious way that can hardly be described.

quite the view from our first stop in country

 We are still very grateful for all of you who gave your time and resources through fundraisers and events, to support us and encourage us when at times, just the sheer thought of buying plane tickets was fear-inducing. I cannot wait to tell you what God did and the way He led us through some valleys of uncertainty and discouragement, to a mountaintop (literally) of rejoicing. I am teary right now, just reflecting on it all. So stay tuned for stories and testimonies from our team, and enjoy a few photos of lovely Swaziland.

The mountains...

gorgeous impala

church near Mbabane, the capital

our last day

Lesibovu Team 2013

If you'd like to know our team better, here are several biographies they've written. Please pray as we depart today for our first leg of the flight!

When Jennifer and Alli shared with the church last year when they returned from Swaziland I immediately felt a bond with them.  Their tears and love for the people were so genuine and even when they could hardly speak a word I totally got it.  We have been to Africa twice and love, love, love the people so I wanted to run up right them and give them both a big hug and just let the tears flow.

Then when they announced that they were going again this year we signed up.  I love Jennifer's passion for these people and for making sure each child gets a sponsor.  I love her husband's passion to go and embrace the culture and the children.  I love the idea of holding the child we sponsor and to be a part of a team who is going to just love on these kids.  Each person on the team have big hearts for children.  They each love the Lord and love others and I am so honored to be a part of this team.  I am so excited to learn from the wonderful people of Swaziland and the missionaries.  I am excited to learn from Jumbo and see the farm.  I am excited to hold babies at the hospital.  I am most excited to see God at work. Marilyn Moore

I’m just your average, broken, messed up momma with issues who experiences God’s unfailing love and mercy every day. I want others to experience the same thing. One of my favorite songs is “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath. The chorus says:   Give me your eyes for just one second
                         Give me your eyes so I can see
                         Everything that I keep missing
                         Give me your love for humanity
                         Give me your arms for the broken hearted
                         Ones that are far beyond my reach.
                         Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
                         Give me your eyes so I can see.

I prayed this over and over again. People say, “Be careful what you pray for because you just might get it!” Well, I got it. The Lord has been opening my eyes and teaching me to see what He sees.

I remember Jennifer and Alli going to Swaziland and I thought they were crazy! After hearing them share about the people at the Lesibovu Carepoint and seeing their sweet faces, I prayed so many times for them and God placed this community on my heart…and in a week I leave for Swaziland! LaShea Wood



My name is Marlena Cantrell from Maylene, Alabama. In letting go of what I thought my life should be and giving it all to Jesus, I have seen Him work in my life in ways I never imagined this past year. Resting in my Creator's sovereign hands and learning more and more about trust in Him, I know that I do not know all the answers, but I know the One who does. I am so thankful for this opportunity and I can't wait to see what all the Lord does for the sake of His Name and glory! 



Hey! I'm 13 years old and I've lived in Helena, AL my whole life. I'm kind of a bookworm and I'm as geeky as it gets. Also, I really like music, drawing, and hedgehogs. I accepted Jesus as my Savior and was baptized when I was seven years old and began to feel like I was being called to Africa not long after that. I was so excited when I heard that some of my mom's friends (who are two of my favorite people ever) Mrs. Alli and Mrs. Jennifer were going to Swaziland last year. I was even more excited when I heard that Mrs. Jennifer would be taking a team in August! I really wanted to go and I kinda bugged my parents about it until they finally said they'd think about it. My mom prayed about it and felt she was being called, too. Yeah! Woohoo! We wanted to be involved even more, so we sponsored two kids from the Lesibovu Carepoint, which is where we will be going. I'm so excited to meet them and the other kids and see how my life will be changed. Alyson Chandler

My name is Ronda Chandler.  I was raised in Georgia and Texas, but now home is in Helena, Alabama.  I've been married to Jere for 17 years and we have two children, Drew (9) and Alyson (13). I've felt for a while now that God was leading me to be a part of something different, out of my comfort zone, and He has been teaching me that I need to slow down and rely on Him more.  A few months ago we learned about a trip to the Lesibovu Carepoint.  My daughter, who is also a part of this trip, really wanted to go to Swaziland and be a part of this.  I really didn't. I didn't think that sending my young teen daughter without me or her dad was a good option.  So I prayed and had others praying with me for God to change my heart about this or give me a peace about whether we should go or not. It was amazing how clear His answer was to me. "Go and trust Me" was what I heard. I've always had a heart for working with children and have prayed for and supported many friends and family who have gone on foreign mission trips. We are all called to live out the message of the gospel wherever we are but now I know that God wants me to go and be a part of the work He is already doing with the Swazi people. I can't wait to see what He teaches me through this and how He wants to use me in the lives of the people we meet.