Eswatini Update!!

Hello friends!

I made it back on the field around 3 weeks ago! I am in a small country called Eswatini (or Swaziland) within South Africa. It is SO beautiful here! The people here are so kind and welcoming. It has been a gift to be back with my squad again. The Lord continues to display his love towards me through my community here. Changing locations has not taken away the grief or reality of my mom passing, but the people I have here have come around me so well in supporting me as I walk through this.

The Lord has given me an immense amount of joy through the ministry that we do here! Adventures in Missions has 34 different care points in Eswatini. A care point is an after school feeding program for children ranging from ages 3-15. HIV/aids is a large problem in this country, so many children that come to the care points have dealt with losing a parent. Many young children have to take care of their younger siblings and take on many responsibilities that young children should not have to take on. It has been so sweet to get to spend time with these kids. Although we cannot communicate well with one another, I feel a deep connection with these kids. The kids here love so easy and just love being in our presence. It both brings me joy to love and be loved by them and also breaks my heart to know that they most likely are not getting cared for well at home. I don’t have many words to say about ministry except that it fills me up. I am so grateful to be back on the mission field doing this specific ministry. I know that it was not by accident that the Lord brought me here to love on kids who have also lost a parent. I desire that the Lord would use the things that I have gone through to minister to others, and caring for these kids is a beautiful opportunity to do that. It’s a beautiful reminder that my pain is not in vain and that the Lord has purpose in everything that happens in life. We serve such an intentional God!

I have been struggling to make decisions for my future. I find myself worrying often about the next right thing to do. The Lord continues to remind me that He is the One who holds me and my family so close. I am not the one who can fix or change anything. It is a humbling reminder, but also so comforting. If the pressure was on me to change things, then life would be a lot more complicated and difficult. While I know all of these truths, it is difficult to believe that God is actually going to hold to His promises of being in control and working all things for the good of us who love Him. All of this to say, please be praying for me! Pray that the Lord would bring me clarity and peace of mind concerning future plans and leaving my family in His hands. Pray that I would keep my eyes fixed on Him in the midst of the chaos in my mind that tends to overwhelm me.

I am so thankful to be here! I find my heart overwhelming with gratitude daily of the goodness of God. I see His goodness through the people around me, the beauty of His creation, the joy in the children we serve, and the laughter that I have been able to have in the midst of many sorrows. I am so excited for this next month we have here in Eswatini, and expectant that the Lord is going to continue to do good and beautiful things in and through me and my squad! Please also be praying that we would earnestly seek unity amongst the body of Christ and for sacrificial love to reign in our squad. Thank you all for your many prayers so far! I pray for you all often and hope that you are encouraged by the work that the Lord is doing around you today.

God bless!

Ryann