Swaziland was a people and place God put on our hearts several years ago and made real to us several weeks ago. After being there a little less than 8 days there is a feeling of being home-sick. God placed this burden on our hearts and gave it a face and a name. I kept a journal for some of the time we were gone and was tying to find out how I would chronicle our time there but I think that I can better chronicle our time there by describing the people we came across.
The first people in part of this journey are the people who provided support to us spiritually and financially, we thank these people for all of their support and encouragement and want you to know we feel you were all a part of this journey.
As a part of this journey we also had a team ,we had four members for the entire time and eight members for part of the time. Thankfully the group worked well together and had willing and flexible attitudes. I believe God placed us together combining our different gifts and spirits.
I noted that in our group we had four members which originally consisted of six members being led by Dave and Jean Ohlerking, Dave Ohlerking being the founder and director of Children's Cup. As we all arrived in Jo-burg, South Africa we were greeted by the missionaries Jerry and Karen Holte, and we then gathered together for dinner, little did we all know that this would be Dave Ohlerking's last meal.
Thus begins a description of the first person in this journey,Dave Ohlerking, a man of God who carried a spirit of strength and peace that is present in his family. Mr. Ohlerking died on our first night in Johannesburg. He had a heart attack at approximately 3 a.m. When we were told about the news it did not seem real, we had only just met this man the day prior and anticipated getting to know him better throughout the missions trip and now we were met with this surprising and sad news. What I can say that I learned and I think Mr. Ohlerking wanted to try to pass on to the world is to reach out and care for others, especially those forgotten and neglected. So I thank Mr. Ohlerking for following God's call on his life and for allowing his heart to see the needs of others and do something about it through serving God.
Dave's wife Jean was in the lobby area that morning and carried herself with a serene and calm presence in the midst of her great loss. She carried on and did the devotional that morning and challenged us to feel our life with God's spirit and use His guidance to carry us through our life.
So in the midst of this sureal time of loss and change, God's spirit presented peace to the situation and His spirit could be seen in the eyes of Ms. Jean. So in the beginning of this journey I felt both challenged, at ease, and confused. Confused at this loss, challenged to live my life to serve God daily, and at ease that God has control and carries a love and peace that passes all understanding.
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