Musings from Graceland

TWAS THE DAY BEFORE AFRICA...

...and all through the house, not a creature was resting, not even a spouse!

Yep, that would be my husband's spouse....me!

And okay, so that is NOT a picture of me sleeping (or not sleeping), but it is an adorable Africa baby who IS able to sleep and I just had to use that precious picture.

And like that baby, my children are able to sleep.

But for me, the excitement and busy-brainness has set in full force and I've reached that point where I can hardly go to sleep at night and can hardly stay asleep in the morning due to anticipation.

I'm like a kid the day before Christmas.

It is hectic and wild and a little nerve wracking but so, so, wonderful to know that this time tomorrow we will have started our journey back to Swaziland.

This will probably be my last, long post before we leave in the wee hours of Saturday morning. I wanted to take this time to give some thanks and ask for prayers. So many of you out there have blessed us during this season of preparation. You've prayed for us, donated money and ministry supplies, sent encouraging notes and messages, rejoiced along with us, and even cried with us, too.

And now it is here...

...time to pack up and give the kids our goodbye kisses along with lots of lists and easy-to-prepare food for Grandmommy as she cares for them.

...time to ask you to check in on my mom and kids every now and again to see if they need anything if you're local.

...time to ask you to keep on praying.

As I've shared before, the purpose of our Swaziland trip this time is two-fold.

The first is to spend time ministering to the children and community of the Bheveni Carepoint while also blessing and encouraging the staff that serves them so faithfully.

The second is to seek God's will about the future of our family and if that future includes a life spent in Swaziland, Africa, serving the "least and the lost" in whatever shape that may take.

So as we prepare to leave, I ask that you pray specifically today for these areas:

*Clarity of mind as we take care of all the last minute things that need to be taken care of.

*Creativity and organization in packing up all the donated supplies. A supernatural shrink-machine wouldn't be a bad thing at this point!

*PEACE that will override the jitters and concerns as they arise.

*Strength for my mom as she takes over running the household and also patience and motivation for the older siblings who will be doing a lot while we are gone.

*Complete healing of my sinus allergies/congestion issue. I have badly scarred ear drums and often have extreme pain during landings. I do not need to have congestion compounding the problem nor do I want to arrive in Africa sick.

*Meetings! Pray that we'll meet the people we need to meet and hear the things we need to hear so we can minister to others in their need and also hear God speaking about our future. Also, I am hoping to see many of my friends from when I lived in Swaziland in the 1980's. Pray that God will bring us together.

*And lastly, but definitely not leastly, pray for our team leader and her family. While out doing last minute errands in preparation for our trip, Danielle received word that her dad had passed away. This was very, very unexpected and, as you can imagine, is especially hard for Danielle this close to our departure time. It is an area that needs HUGE prayer covering. Please pray for her and her family to have the abundant, overwhelming peace of Jesus that passes all understanding and please pray for our team as we will be striving to minister to Danielle and Mike during this challenging time.

Danielle's husband Mike has organized a prayer schedule for the next couple of weeks. I will have those specific prayer requests posted for each day here at my blog. They are posts I am scheduling now. I don't know how soon I'll be able to get online again once I leave, but as soon as possible, I'll get some news posted from Africa.

Again, thanks for all of your love and support and as the Swazis say....

Sala kahle! (Stay well!)

Elysa Thandeka lom khulu


P.S. Here are is a list of blogs for my Bheveni teammates:


Erica Z http://www.intheblinkofmyeyes.blogspot.com/


Danielle B http://moms4change.net/

Mike B http://www.mebrower.com/

Kelly L http://righteousbuzz.blogspot.com/