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jordobrowno
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Name: jordan
Gender: Female
Interests: spending time with friends and family, causing mischief, seeking Truth, playing soccer, drinking tea I didn't have to make, laughing so hard my stomach hurts, eating food I didn't have to cook, snowboarding, and relaxing on the Sunday before a holiday Monday.
Expertise: TBA...
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
10/11/2005
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| Last summer I spent some time in rural Ontario visiting family and friends. Whenever we drove anywhere while I was there, we were sure to pass at least several corn fields. Every time we drove past a corn field, I was struck by the same picture in my mind. I would look out at these vast fields as we went speeding by and they would seem so chaotic... stalks of corn just kind of haphazardly strewn about. Then we would go up a tiny rise in the road and I would look over and catch a fleeting glimpse of perfectly ordered rows where I had once seen only confusion. It made me reflect on my life, where I am often confused and feel like I lack a discernible direction. Then, every once in a while, I'll go over a tiny rise and God will give me a glimpse of what He sees all the time... perfectly ordered rows.
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| We spent the first week of our trip in Modjadjiskloof and Tzaneen in the Limpopo province of South Africa. We worked with the principal of the King's Court School there. He set up presentations for us in villages and schools as well as a visit to a home for orphaned and vulnerable children (and AIDS orphanage) called Ofcolaco. We then departed for Swaziland where we spent a week in a town called Bulembu. It's an old asbestos mining town that is privately owned by an organization called Bulembu Ministries. They are committed to creating a self-sustaining economy and have set up lumber, water bottling, and honey projects. So far, they've created 400 jobs, which they figure will feed about 4000 people. The statistics on HIV/AIDS in Swaziland are mind-boggling. The population has remained stagnant for the last 10 years. the HIV/ AIDS rate is 43%. 50% of the population is below the age of 15 because the older people are dying because of old age and the middle generation is dying from HIV/ AIDS. 15% of kids are considered to be orphaned or vulnerable and the government wants to pretend those kids don't exist. Many of them are being sexually abused by sex predators who know that they have no one to protect them. Bulembu ministries has 200 homes set aside to create children's homes for those kids. So far they have 6 up and running and one more scheduled to begin this week. They are trying to hit the AIDS problem at it's root, which is a social and spiritual issue. They are creating homes that have a house mom and an aunt (who comes in when the mom has some time off) and up to 8 kids. They are attempting to instill biblical family values into these family units. Swaziland is a polygamist society and the sexual immorality that is rampant is a huge contributer to the spread of HIV/ AIDS. We were able to do several presentations in one of the churches in the town. We also went to a government run school in a town called Malanga and helped clean the school for the Easter holiday. We were also privileged to work on a homestead of one of the church members in Malanga to level his yard for them to build rabbit hutches. The purpose of the project is to raise rabbits for protein for the community. We were also able to spend some time playing with the kids in the children's homes and they soundly whipped us in a Canada vs. Swaziland soccer game. :) It was quite the experience to be involved in both of these places, and I feel that a piece of my heart has been set aside for that area of the world! | | |
| "As we contemplate the glory of the cross, then, we must see that not only is our deepest need of salvation met, but that it has been done in such a way as to bring the most glory to God Himself. It is at the cross where God's Law and God's grace are both most brilliantly displayed, where His justice and His mercy are both glorified. But it is also at the cross where we are most humbled. It is at the cross where we admit to God and to ourselves that there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn or merit our salvation. As someone has said so well, 'We bring nothing to our salvation except our sin that made it necessary.'
When we are gripped by these truths in the very core of our being, then we will begin to gaze with amazement at the unsearchable riches of Christ. Then we will gladly say with Paul, 'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Galatians 6:14, KJV)"
~ Jerry Bridges The Gospel for Real Life | | |
| I'm going back to Africa!
(this time to South Africa and Swaziland)
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| if home is where the heart is
then i don't know where home is
for pieces of my heart
are scattered all across this land.
i've entrusted them to people
and left them in some places
and prayed they'd be kept safe
in the Father's loving hand.
i won't say my heart is broken
for the parts are still connected
my heart just keeps expanding
as it spreads to those i love.
though it is sometimes painful
joy comes when i remember
that the pieces of my heart
are guarded by the Lord above.
and as His timing guides them
the pieces come together
each to rest contented
no longer left to roam.
when every one is gathered
and brought within His presence
we'll all be reunited
and i'll be truly home. | | |
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