One More Week in the "Kingdom"

Wow, I can’t believe I’ve been serving in Swaziland for three months already. I can’t begin to describe how truly incredible this experience has been. The first month was a time of alteration in my thoughts and way of life. The second month was a time of understanding these changes and relying on God rather than myself. The third month was a time of realization beyond what I would have ever imagined. God called me to Swaziland to not only teach but to also be a student of His word.

In January I was so excited to be serving in a foreign country and being able to share the love of Jesus with everyone I met. It was also a time of change in my life. I was able to fully grasp what scripture says about putting off the new man. In particular 2 Corn. 5:17- “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” What that means in my life is the old way of thinking has to go and this was not an easy process. We can’t expect for change to happen instantly. Yes, we can accept Christ and feel completely different by that decision alone. However, there are things that we’ve worked and built on when we weren’t walking in Christ. And these thing we have to rid our bodies off. John 15:2 says that every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. God will take away these things but you have to be willing to change your mindset and start viewing yourself the way God sees you. At this time I was sooo high on life because God gave me my joy back. I stopped listening to Satan’s lies and started to live a God-fashioned life.

In February that excitement slowly melted away and I started to look back on my past and wonder why I made some of the decisions I made. I couldn’t understand how God could use someone like me. When we look back on our past we question are very thought process that made us decide to make some of the not so good decisions that effected our lives and the way we view ourselves today. Being reminded of these things I also started doubting myself and wondering if I was even making a difference by being here. That’s when God reminded me of 2 Corn.8 when God says “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” I took this verse and ran with it! Knowing that the times I’m weak God will spring me back up and I’ll be stronger than before. I started to understand why I went through all these, what seem now, silly bad experiences prior to Swaziland. I also started seeing why God called me to Swaziland. In a past entry I explained that one of the keys is saying yes to every opportunity you see without placing your own fears at the forefront.

WHOA…March has been incredible!!! I kicked off this month with the very awesome Daniel fast. I’ll be honest; the first couple of days were terrible because I couldn’t stick to it. The next couple of days, I realized that I was fasting for the wrong reason. Then after that my body started to physically feel bad. Through all this month was a time of learning and realizing how amazing God truly is. Pastor Augustine of Hawane CLC always uses crazy stories to express a powerful meaning. Perhaps this story will explain my experience. There was this man who had worked really hard all his life. He had a huge house, a wife and beautiful kids. As time went on his children grew and his career became number one in his life. But he continued to work really hard and eventually things turned for the worst in his marriage. This still didn’t stop him for working hard. One day he woke up and found a list he had made from when he was a teenager. The list included all he planned on accomplishing in his life. He soon realized that he hadn’t came close to reaching even 1/6 of his goal. Some mysterious motivation fell upon him and he decided to try to reach the easiest goal on the list. Well, he failed with one try. He found himself old and rich. He thought surely there is no way I can do all these things in my old age. So he set out to find the fountain of youth. He knew that if he drank this water he’d be able to accomplish all the things on the list. Well, he searched high and low, too all the valleys and mountains of the world until he found it. When he drank the water, nothing happened and in that moment he realized that it wasn’t about the end but about the journey through it.

Sometimes when we are searching or waiting for things such as answered pray request we have to realize that when it doesn’t happen instantly it’s because of God’s perfect timing. And trust me God’s timing is sooo much better than ours. Maybe instead of focusing on the none answered prayer we should try focusing on the journey through it and try to see what God is trying to teach us. This is of course easier said than done. My journey this past three month has be packed with excitement, joy, and of course my favorite…fulfillment! I know that I will return to Swaziland soon but I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me in Ohio!!!

Written by Waheedah Pugh

Waheedah will return to Dayton on Thursday, April 1, 2010. We look foward to having her back "home" and hearing even more about her experiences in Swaziland.