Let me not forget Khumalo or Boi Boi or Nicolo or Gift.
They are not faces in a picture. They are not mouths to feed. They are no one’s burden.
They are my brothers and my sisters and children of God. They are lives created by Him with futures that He has already planned. Their names are written on His hands just like yours and mine.
They feel sadness, loneliness, grief and confusion just like any of us. They hope for a better future. They ache for love. They stretch out their arms ready to accept it. Let me not forget these precious arms outstretched for His love; May I be the one to run to them and offer His embrace.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
All4Jesus Video
I thank Jesus for filling my heart with such an overwhelming love for His children in Swaziland. I love my brothers and sisters there just as if we'd grown up under the same roof, yet they are thousands of miles away. My heart aches that I cannot be with them, and I long for the day He takes me back there, but the peace He gives me goes so much deeper than that heartache and longing.
Take a minute to watch this video, and I think you'll see why I love it so much.
Take a minute to watch this video, and I think you'll see why I love it so much.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Home
My trip to Swaziland may be over, but God's plan for me there certainly is not.
I've been home for nearly a week now, but my thoughts are still consumed by everything I experienced in Swaziland. It's a beautiful country with amazing people, but their suffering is immense. I watched two year olds walk home on muddy paths through the mountains. I met families who had lost a child just since our group was there in the spring. I handed out food staples (beans, rice, sugar) to women and children and watched them react as though it were Christmas morning. I said goodbye to and walked away from a little girl at the orphanage, Khumalo, as tears streamed down her face and mine. These experiences are forever imprinted on my heart and mind.
Despite their hardships, experienced many moments of joy with the people of Swaziland. I broke the language barrier by laughing with a woman trying to teach me to mud a hut, when she could not speak a word of English and I could not understand SiSwati. I joked around with my new friend Khumalo as I called her by her new nickname, Tina, and she called me by mine, Patty. I praised God in a different language amongst my brothers in sisters of Swaziland on Sunday morning. I experienced the peace of feeling at home in a country I've never been to halfway around the world.
So now, any walls I had built up to block out God's calling for my life are broken down. I'm ready to forego anything He's given me to this point for the peace of mind of following His will completely and following Him wherever he leads me. For now I wait for Him to open a door and lead me to the purpose He has for me.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped me follow God's will to go to Swaziland through prayer and financial support. I am so grateful that God has placed each of you in my life.
Here are a few photos from my trip...
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tiiiimmmeee Drrraaagggsss Onnnnnnnnn......
I'm still over two months out from my trip and the time seems to be dragging on. I don't know exactly what I'm expecting or why I'm so ready to go, I just know that Swaziland is where I want to be. I'm sure the 10 days I am there will go by so fast. I wonder if I'll be sitting here on my couch wishing I was there as soon as I'm back? Or maybe I'll be really grateful to be back at home. Hmmm... I guess we'll see!
Since I last posted, my friend Gloria has been to Swaziland and back. I've gotten to know Gloria and another family at my church because we are all connected to Swaziland, originally totally separately, but in the past few months we've shared stories and the fire God's put in us for his people there. Literally, none of us had ever met as of a few months ago. Seems to me like God's got a plan for our the people of our church and Swaziland. I don't think he grows something in the hearts of several different people and then unites them for no reason. I'm curious to see what's in store... another reason I'm so excited for October to get here!
As many pictures as I've seen from Gloria and others, I feel like I've already been there! It's a strange thing. I've never felt like there was a home away from home that I have not even been to yet (except heaven, of course), but I feel a true sense of connection to Swaziland. I often think of the kids there as my brothers and sisters, not in some metaphoric philosophizing kind of way, but with a true connection in my heart that aches for them and smiles for them and wants all for them that I want for my own little brother. God really has changed me through these people I have not even met yet. To well up with tears just thinking about the people of Swaziland is not something that would've ever happened this time last year. I'm glad He's broken me down like this. It's scary and vulnerable, but good.
Trying to remember: Colossians 1:10-11
Since I last posted, my friend Gloria has been to Swaziland and back. I've gotten to know Gloria and another family at my church because we are all connected to Swaziland, originally totally separately, but in the past few months we've shared stories and the fire God's put in us for his people there. Literally, none of us had ever met as of a few months ago. Seems to me like God's got a plan for our the people of our church and Swaziland. I don't think he grows something in the hearts of several different people and then unites them for no reason. I'm curious to see what's in store... another reason I'm so excited for October to get here!
As many pictures as I've seen from Gloria and others, I feel like I've already been there! It's a strange thing. I've never felt like there was a home away from home that I have not even been to yet (except heaven, of course), but I feel a true sense of connection to Swaziland. I often think of the kids there as my brothers and sisters, not in some metaphoric philosophizing kind of way, but with a true connection in my heart that aches for them and smiles for them and wants all for them that I want for my own little brother. God really has changed me through these people I have not even met yet. To well up with tears just thinking about the people of Swaziland is not something that would've ever happened this time last year. I'm glad He's broken me down like this. It's scary and vulnerable, but good.
Trying to remember: Colossians 1:10-11
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Praying for Your Support
When I committed to God that I would serve him in Swaziland, I was determined to pay my own way. To serve Him all by myself. To not burden anyone else with my trip and the financial need it brings. And not to rely on anyone else. But then I was reminded that this trip is not just about me. It’s about God working through me. And it is about trusting Him. How can I trust Him to provide the means to accomplish His works when I don’t let Him? So now I give up control of the financial portion of this trip and humbly ask for your support in finding my way to Swaziland.
I ask you to pray and consider whether God is calling you to help the people of Swaziland through financial giving. With the desperate conditions in Swaziland, you may think that your donation seems insignificant, but when you give as much as you can, God could not be happier. (Mark 12:41-44) Any amount, big or small, will be helpful and will be used to serve God’s children in Swaziland.
However, be careful not to ignore His call to give a larger donation if that’s what He has put on your heart. There are times when, beyond our understanding, God asks us to give more than we want to or more than we even think we can. Maybe you’ve been setting aside money for something special, to save for the future, or maybe you’ve got just enough to pay the bills this month. I challenge you to respond to God’s call if He places it on your heart. He will multiply your gift to better the lives of others, and will bless your life.
Whether you give a smaller donation as a gesture or you answer God’s call to give a larger donation, please give from your heart, not out of any obligation to me or because you feel guilty. (2 Corinthians 9:7) Your donation is between you and God.
Know that your financial support will be used wisely and effectively as I travel with All4Jesus to Swaziland. If you’d like to learn more about All4Jesus before making your donation, I encourage you to check out their website at http://www.all4jesusfoundation.org/. We will be serving Jesus and his children in Swaziland October 21st through 31st and would be honored to be the hands that distribute the much needed love, hope, and necessities that your donations will supply.
Donations can be made online at http://all4jesusfoundation.org/missiontripdonations.aspx or mailed to:
All4Jesus
Attn: Mission Trip
4490 Ambassador Way
Cumming GA 30040
Please note my name in the memo area of the check or on Paypal, so that your donation can be applied to my balance.
Thank you so much for considering supporting my mission trip to Swaziland. I promise to be a faithful servant to God with your donation. If have any questions or would like to learn more about my trip, feel free to email me at margomckoy@gmail.com.
I ask you to pray and consider whether God is calling you to help the people of Swaziland through financial giving. With the desperate conditions in Swaziland, you may think that your donation seems insignificant, but when you give as much as you can, God could not be happier. (Mark 12:41-44) Any amount, big or small, will be helpful and will be used to serve God’s children in Swaziland.
However, be careful not to ignore His call to give a larger donation if that’s what He has put on your heart. There are times when, beyond our understanding, God asks us to give more than we want to or more than we even think we can. Maybe you’ve been setting aside money for something special, to save for the future, or maybe you’ve got just enough to pay the bills this month. I challenge you to respond to God’s call if He places it on your heart. He will multiply your gift to better the lives of others, and will bless your life.
Whether you give a smaller donation as a gesture or you answer God’s call to give a larger donation, please give from your heart, not out of any obligation to me or because you feel guilty. (2 Corinthians 9:7) Your donation is between you and God.
Know that your financial support will be used wisely and effectively as I travel with All4Jesus to Swaziland. If you’d like to learn more about All4Jesus before making your donation, I encourage you to check out their website at http://www.all4jesusfoundation.org/. We will be serving Jesus and his children in Swaziland October 21st through 31st and would be honored to be the hands that distribute the much needed love, hope, and necessities that your donations will supply.
Donations can be made online at http://all4jesusfoundation.org/missiontripdonations.aspx or mailed to:
All4Jesus
Attn: Mission Trip
4490 Ambassador Way
Cumming GA 30040
Please note my name in the memo area of the check or on Paypal, so that your donation can be applied to my balance.
Thank you so much for considering supporting my mission trip to Swaziland. I promise to be a faithful servant to God with your donation. If have any questions or would like to learn more about my trip, feel free to email me at margomckoy@gmail.com.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Swaziland Map
For anyone who's wondering where Swaziland is, here you go! It's the tiny little country bordered by South Africa and Mozambique.
The El Shaddhai Komati Orphanage (I'll be serving there and in the surrounding communities) is located in the northern part of the country along the Komati River:
Saturday, June 13, 2009
And He Said "Go"
From the moment God opened my eyes to Swaziland, I never hesitated to say yes to His call to go there. I've never feared for my health or safety. I know that if God wants me there, He will provide the means for me to get there and bring me back safely. I also know that He will close doors if for some reason He doesn't want me to go. But for now, I go!
After my parents realized that I was serious about my trip to Swaziland, they encouraged me to pray and make sure it was actually God calling me there and not just an idea I had stuck in my head. They reminded me that while responding to God's call is good, He also wants us to use wisdom. I assured them that it was God calling me to Swaziland, but our conversation lingered in my head that evening.
That night, God spoke VERY clearly to me.
At the time (and even now), I really loved the song "Revalation Song". The word "worthy" was really standing out to me from the song, so I was looking up verses that had "worthy" in them. While this song and God's worthiness were the focus of my quiet time that night, God still wanted to emphasize His call for me to go to Swaziland and put to rest any concerns that had been brought up earlier that day. In my search for verses that spoke on worthiness, He gave me these words from Matthew 10:
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
This passage blew me away! It hardly even mentioned the word "worthy", but God clearly led me to it for a reason. "Love and honor your parents", He told me, "but not more than Me. If you want to be worthy of Me, you take up your cross and follow Me. And yes, Margo, you could lose your life (or maybe just forego the life you have at home), but remember it's for Me. Serve the little ones."
I've never had Jesus speak to me so clearly and with such a specific purpose through His word. What a blessing for him to reaffirm me in this way. My answer to Him, of course: I will go!
After my parents realized that I was serious about my trip to Swaziland, they encouraged me to pray and make sure it was actually God calling me there and not just an idea I had stuck in my head. They reminded me that while responding to God's call is good, He also wants us to use wisdom. I assured them that it was God calling me to Swaziland, but our conversation lingered in my head that evening.
That night, God spoke VERY clearly to me.
At the time (and even now), I really loved the song "Revalation Song". The word "worthy" was really standing out to me from the song, so I was looking up verses that had "worthy" in them. While this song and God's worthiness were the focus of my quiet time that night, God still wanted to emphasize His call for me to go to Swaziland and put to rest any concerns that had been brought up earlier that day. In my search for verses that spoke on worthiness, He gave me these words from Matthew 10:
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
This passage blew me away! It hardly even mentioned the word "worthy", but God clearly led me to it for a reason. "Love and honor your parents", He told me, "but not more than Me. If you want to be worthy of Me, you take up your cross and follow Me. And yes, Margo, you could lose your life (or maybe just forego the life you have at home), but remember it's for Me. Serve the little ones."
I've never had Jesus speak to me so clearly and with such a specific purpose through His word. What a blessing for him to reaffirm me in this way. My answer to Him, of course: I will go!
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