Still

Today we spent the day enjoying Kruger again….but this time with AMAZING cats. We witnessed both leopards and cheetahs, as well as an incredible encounter with lions. Lions are fairly lazy creatures; they enjoy sunbathing and resting. But this time, two females lions felt invigorated and walked within 10 FEET of our vans, crossing the road. The photos are literally unbelievable, and our hearts were thumping so hard! It was so amazing to witness! We also reflected again today. Sat in the stillness watching giraffes munching, impalas silently herding, and zebra swing their tails to and fro. Another beautiful day in Africa.

Stillness can be unsettling. When the world becomes too quiet, our heartbeats quicken, our senses heighten, and we’re put on guard to watch and wait for anyone or anything that is coming towards us. We’re alert. In many ways, our stillness in Kruger has been unsettling. The spirit of the Lord is unsettling us, causing our senses to heighten, our heartbeats to quicken. He’s asking us to pay attention. To stay alert. The Lord is speaking and we’re being put on alert to hear what he is saying.
In many ways we don’t like what we’re hearing: come home. It’s time. We’re ready for you here. As we hear God calling us back to America, we consider how life might look different there now. How our eyes, so attuned to the Gospel here, might stay attuned to that same Gospel back home. What conversations might need to happen in the wake of our changed hearts, what life changes might need to happen as God has convicted us here, how our paths are changing direction based on the Lord’s call. We’re in our Africa bubble and we’d like to stay here. It’s simple here. It’s quiet here. The Lord is close here. But He’s calling us home.

We’re not quite ready, but we’re close. As someone our team said, “by the time we get there, we’ll be ready.” Our time in this land is coming to a close, and we’re leaving changed people — Different than who we came. Changed by the faces, the love, the experiences, and the people. Changed by the voice of God speaking to us each in unique and new ways. Changed by those Swazi voices lifting up in unison, singing, “There’s no one, there’s no one, like Jesus.” We’ve changed and the Lord has changed us into a little bit more of who he wants us to be.

 

So, friends and family, we’re asking, begging, please be patient with us as we settle back into our home. We miss you — we want to tell each of you the experiences we’ve had, the encounters with the almighty that we’ve seen firsthand, and of the glorious, glorious ways that God is working in Swaziland and in us. We want to share. We pray you’ll be willing to listen. We pray you’ll be patient as we try to explain with mere words how God has changed us. We pray you’ll be still with us as we come home. Sit in the stillness with us — the Lord is speaking.

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