If you’re reading this blog, this means that we are home. Maybe not all of us quite yet, but pretty close. We’ve landed at RDU, and we’re heading back to our respective cities, towns, and neighborhoods, exhausted and spent but joyful. We’re so ready for well-earned rest, and to begin sharing with all of you the amazing stories and experiences we’ve shared over this trip. We hope you’re ready!
This morning, as we were reflecting on our time in Swaziland and our return home, we couldn’t help but think of how in many ways our team reflects the early church. There’s a biblical term called the “diaspora”, or the spreading of the tribes of Israel. This event actually occurs twice in the Bible, once in the Old Testament when God scatters the 12 tribes of Israel across the land during the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires. But it also happens after the resurrection of Jesus. The early church scatters across the globe to the farthest reaches of the known world (the Roman Empire) to declare the glory of God found in Jesus at the resurrection. Without this diaspora, we would not have the gospel in Europe, the Americas, or Asia. We wouldn’t know Jesus at all.
In the same way, our team has just scattered. Yes, on a much smaller scale, but we’ve all gone back to our respective cities scattered across the state of North Carolina, our own activities and circles of influence. We have a unique opportunity, a special platform in the wake of our return — to share. To share the good news of Jesus with people we may not have ever spoken to about Christ before. To share of the work God is doing in Swaziland, and how it is bringing Him all the glory. We have opportunities awaiting us here, and we’re ready to dive deep.
We hope you will join us in this continued journey. We want to see the Gospel dive deep in our own neighborhoods, our own cities, our own circles of influence. We hope you’ll join us in sharing the work God is doing in Swaziland, in your own heart, and in your own situations. For those of you who have prayed deeply, followed along with our journey through this blog and social media, we thank you for your support and your love as we’ve experienced Swaziland. We hope we have encouraged you, reminded you, and shared with you the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that you have been impacted by our own experiences as we have. We pray you won’t forget our brothers and sisters in Swaziland who beseech you to continue to pray for them, to give them hope, and visit them as often as possible. We thank you for you loving us, supporting us, and going to Swaziland with us.
Silani Kahle (Stay Well),
Your July 2018 Swaziland Team
