...an appetite for God

Psalm 127:1 "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain"

A friend sent me this verse today and I loved it! It was and is such a reminder that the Lord is "building" the house in Swaziland and we have been laboring....NOT in vain

because this is HIS house! This is HIS land! These are HIS children!!! And He is so faithful!

Today has been a great day! It started with about 9 or 10

of us heading over to the containers to unload a few things. For those of you just joining....a quick little note! Heart for Africa has gathered 20,000 blankets (10,000 from Taiwan),

20,000 beanie hats (crotched by

hands from like 20 countries and 38 of the US states) - side not...my mom got a group of ladies together to do it in the N Ga Mtns AND....I had friends from Estonia to gather

University students to do it.....that is joining hands together for His name sake, and 20,000 Siswati bibles for all the children who will join us for Listemba 2010 on July 23. So today.....we had to

"rearrange" the containers that were shipped over here to find a sculpture that was prepared in memory/honor of Norman Borlauch. I spoke of him on a previous blog. Check out these photos!

Much of the day brought work, and lots of it. We (Ian, Anita, Shirley, Paula and myself) met for an hour to push through details. We had to figure out how to bag almost 8000 oranges, where are the bibles going to get stored, will the combies/buses make over the roads, will Her Royal Highness sign a letter we need signed. Quick...run to the supply store, then we need copies of this and that.

So crazy but not near as crazy as the traffic. It is awful! And I'm not talking cars. We're talking that around 1 PM Swaziland time....the internet feed (which comes from South Africa) goes down. We don't have internet for FOUR hours. All Anita and I can really do is laugh at this point. I mean...for crying out loud! I think we drive

Shirley nuts.....shhhhh, she giggles with us though. Here she is acting "serious" with Ian in the HFA office.

Anita and I decided we wanted to get out for lunch. We ran to the Pic and Pay (grocery store) and then to KFC for lunch! Good ole fried chicken. We pushed through all kinds of details....since our computers were no good. I stopped for an afternoon snack! yep.....it is either Wildebeast or Eland jerky! I know....gross!

Then Janine, Ian and Chloe came home from Canaan! So much to share, so much fun! Anita was preparing dinner, Ian and Shirley were chatting, I was working and Chloe was texting on her iTouch. It felt like a real home. Speaking of home....what a

great night for Skype. I took a conference call at 7 PM with a guy from Atlanta, people

from Nashville, Florida and California. I was on the call (dialed into a 1800# on SKYPE) for 54 minutes and it cost me $1.28. Isn't that CRAZY!

I got to chat with my girlfriend, Natalie, and see her.....also...my sweet Buddy - Zion called with his mom Jan! Look at how clear this was! He just giggled the whole time looking at the computer screen! I then called my Mom and Dad! YAY...I heard their voices and my heart melted! It was a music to my ears. Aunt Reba and Uncle Emmett were already at the house for the reunion! My Aunt Reba is hilarious.....she is so prissy and cute! I can see her right now saying "Don't I look good for 73....." She is a mess!

We finished up chatting with our family, friends, and work in order to have dinner. Here you see Anita teaching Janine what a carrot is and how to cook with it. Those

Canadians...they eat funny food! I'm kidding...they were "acting" like they weren't posing and this is what I go out of them. FUNNY!

Besides feeding our bodies...the Lord poured His nourishment into our souls with an amazing, humbling reminder of His provision. "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat." Matthew 5:6. He did that.....just that...prepared His banquet table and provided an amazing meal for us. We got a letter from Her Royal Highness....I told you about it yesterday and in this blog earlier! Well....she signed it! Can you believe it.....in a DAY! Unheard of.....so amazing!

HUGE meetings tomorrow.....at 2:30 AM EST - Georgia time and 8:30 AM my time....please set a quick alarm and pray for 5 minutes in the night. There is an important meeting happening and we're praying for FAVOR!

I'm so so so thankful for your prayers, for you Skype messages, for your cards (thank you Sus and my high school girls), and just your partnership! I was worshipping today and asking God to heal my spirit. I had a heavy heart.....and I really loved confessing this reminder to Him in worship (thank you Christy Nockels, A Mighty Fortress):

"Our God is a consuming fire, a burning Holy flame of glory and freedom. Our God is the only the righteous judge, ruling over us with kindness and wisdom. And we will keep our eyes on You.......We will keep our eyes on You.......A mighty Fortress is our God! A sacred refuge is your Name. Your Kingdom is unshakable. With you forever we will reign......

Our God is jealous for His own. Who can comprehend His love and His mercy. Our God is exaulted on His thrown high above the heavens..forever He is worthy. And we will keep our eyes on You.......We will keep our eyes on You.......A mighty Fortress is our God! A sacred refuge is your Name. Your Kingdom is unshakable. With you forever we will reign....."

I'll leave you with that song.......and I sleep! We will reign with you forever Jesus! You are a Mighty Fortress and I will keep my eyes on you....

For His Renown......from Africa with love,

Masi