Musings from Graceland

THE ROAD WILL BE ROUGH

Three years ago, I had just returned from traveling to Swaziland with Children's HopeChest. It was the first time I had been back to Africa since I left Swaziland in 1990. Going back had broken my heart for what the Swazi people were facing with drought, extreme poverty, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and a quickly growing orphan population. I came back and cried every day for a year. Literally, a day did not go by that I didn't shed tears because my heart had been ripped open by what I had seen and heard there.

I wanted desperately to be back in Swaziland fighting against death and bringing the love and light of Jesus to those I loved so deeply.

Many days I despaired. I didn't know if I would ever get the chance to even visit again. My heart was aching to not just visit again, but to move there. To live there for the rest of my life, loving on God's beloved "least and lost" in that beautiful mountain kingdom.

Over time and after much prayer, God opened the way for my husband to travel to Swaziland with me and he, too, fell in love with the people of Swaziland and heard the call of God on his life to go and serve there.

The road has been rough at times. I'll confess that my faith has not always been big enough. But God is faithful. He has put the desire for the Swazi nation in my heart and now He is calling us to a life that will fulfill that desire. He is calling us to sell our home, say goodbye to America, take our children, and settle in a new land ... a land wracked with death and disease and often despair, but a land that is also so beautiful and so full of amazing people and precious children. He is calling us to go and serve and love and live alongside them.

We don't know all the details of how everything will work out. We don't know which missionary agency we will go with. We don't know where we will live. We don't know who will buy this house. We don't know a lot of things.


But God knows.

And God, who put the call on our lives, will be faithful to lead and provide for us through this journey.

This morning, my sweet friend Stacy introduced me to a song and said that when she heard it, she thought of me and my family.

The song is WOYAYA by Osibisa. "Woyaya" is translated "we are going".

Yes, indeed we are going. And all the muddy holes and rough rutts and even washed out places in the road will be worth it. I can honestly tell you that serving the Lord in Africa as a missionary is not a sacrifice to me. It is an unbelievable and amazing gift. I am so thankful that God has me going.

We are going
Heaven knows where we are going
We will know we're there
We will get there
Heaven knows how we will get there
We know we will
It will be hard we know
And the road will be muddy and rough
But we'll get there
Heaven knows how we will get there
We know we will
We are going
Heaven knows where we are going
We will know we're there

And guess what? He'll get you to where He is calling you to go, too.