From Rachel in Swaziland

Thursday's agenda consisted solely of home visits. Some of us already missed being at schools with the children; and I love meeting and praying with the teachers, who are doing some of God's most important work and in who His spirit is so apparent in how they've been chosen and equipped.

Visiting homes has been so different each time, and I thank God for making this team so flexible and for being with me and the rest to give us the right words and prompts to action appropriate for each scenario.

The first person we visited was a mother of seven total children. The youngest were twins she had given birth to about a year and a half ago. Since their birth, she has been unable to sit up, walk, and have full use of her hands, which makes it impossible to properly care for her babies herself or do housework. Her husband had sent her along with the twins to live back at her mother's homestead.

It was her nephew's wife, Nomsa, a schoolteacher and teacher at the local Good News clubs, who made us aware of her situation and took us to their home. I had some time to share with the woman and some of her family members the story of Mary and Martha from the book of Luke, and how it might illustrate God's heart for what is really important for eternity and to Him- our own hearts in loving and obedient relationship with Him.

The next person we visited was an elderly woman who was experiencing circulation problems along with her diabetes that was making it very difficult for her to feel, move around, and sleep well. This woman was a retired schoolteacher and a believer in Christ who had opened her home for one of the Good News clubs that Nomsa teaches to use. It was so amazing to see her passion and giftings for raising up the next generation to know Christ. We prayed over her, and then she asked us to also pray for the children and that the local church looking to find a more accessible location for its members would be able to find and purchase property.

It is in individual homes where I really see God wanting to break strongholds and claim spiritual ground as his own. I can't think of anything more wonderful than how He involves His people in banishing spiritual darkness and oppression and using pain, evil, and generally bad situations for good and glory.