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Whenever I have a mind blank, or can't think of something to write, the result is usually: jfjfjfjfjfjfjfjfjfjfjfjf. It is normally deleted (and sometimes repeated), but I thought it would be an appropriate title since I can't think of a creative way to say, "What has happened during the last two-and-a-half weeks that I forgot/was too busy/was too lazy to tell you about, but since a number of things have happened since then I'm not going to bore you with the minute (this is supposed to be the word that is pronounced "My newt" but I can't think of a different way of spelling "minute") details of each of our activities, so here is one of the last couple week's events (and maybe a few thoughts on some others):"

(note to self: just think of a title next time. Doing it this way is much more complicated)

Monday night started off as an interesting cross cultural simulation courtesy of Darryl Hostetter, our speaker that afternoon and a former missionary to Swaziland. We met in "the upper room," a room set aside for prayer and special events, in the setting of a church meeting in Swaziland. Participants were put in situations that they might (or might not) be in during outreach, such as being asked to give a short devotional on the spot.

The evening progressed from a time of sharing, to a time of worship and offering, to a time of praying for people. It was the prayer time that really made the evening memorable. The center of the room was opened up for anyone who wanted prayer. In the end, only a hand full of people were prayed for, but what a powerful time it was. I'm not sure how much I can really say, for confidientiality (wow, that's an awesome word) reasons, but some of those who were prayed for have been dealing with/working through some really, really deep stuff. I can't say how impactful it was for them; I'm not them. But I have a pretty good guess: incredibly impactful. For one participant, it was realizing that people believe in him and support him. This may seem simple or trivial, but for this individual, I think it was huge.

-Ben