the harvest is plenty
At the end of 2024 as I (Laura) was thinking about this year, the Lord gave me the word “Harvest.” I immediately decided what this meant for me and my life and expectantly entered 2025 convinced of what God was going to do. I continued to pray in faith for those areas where I believed God was going to bring the harvest. I had the evidence that I presented to him of how I had faithfully planted the seeds, watered, pulled the weeds, and toiled for many years. At one point, while I was on a walk, I was experiencing a particularly challenging week around my expectant harvest. I reminded God that he gave me that word and that He was not fulfilling it. He gently spoke to my heart with this phrase, “Harvesting is hard work.” Ouch! That was painful to hear. I felt like I had already done the hard work. I felt like I should be able to now joyfully reap the benefits. As I thought about that, I saw the truth in those words. Just because the fields are ripe with harvest doesn’t mean that the harvest does not involve more work. The actual act of gathering and processing the harvest is very hard work. So, I just kept pushing through the hard, waiting once again for the Lord to fulfill what I heard from Him for this year.
You may be thinking, “What does all of this have to do with Eswatini?” You see, this was the year that we had presented the opportunity to our kids to take our first family trip to Eswatini with the intent of taking Isaiah and Laila back for the first time. We hoped it would be both a family mission’s trip, but also a meaningful moment for us to experience together while supporting what this visit would mean for Isaiah and Laila. When we proposed the trip to the fam, they were all available. That alone felt like a miracle. Orchestrating the schedules of 10 different people is not easy. Over the last few years, the times that we could all be together were few and far between. The only catch was that Isaiah was not ready to go. After prayer and conversations, he gave us his blessing to go without him, expressing that he needed more time. It was unsettling to leave him behind, but we wanted to honor his journey, and he did not want us to delay going. He wasn’t sure when he would be ready.
Fast forward to July 4, the day we left for the trip. After months of preparations and planning, it was finally time to go. I could hardly believe that it was real. On our first day of ministry, we hosted a gathering of leaders, some of whom we have know for 18 years. Each of these men and women have shown tremendous leadership over the years in their areas of gifting and have started their own ministries. We are passionate about encouraging and empowering those who have demonstrated leadership. This group of people holds a very special place in our hearts. They have known our family and met our kids over the years. Many of them watched as we completed our adoption. Some have even stayed in our home. This moment of having our family together with them in the same room felt very sacred. We experienced a time of true “koinonia”- a deep sense of fellowship, sharing, and communion. As we went around the room, sharing about our lives, we felt the presence of God and saw the beautiful demonstration of spiritual gifts displayed. Sam shared a devotional using his gift of preaching. We went around the room sharing our blessings and challenges. I saw my kids lead with vulnerability in a way that unlocked that part of all of us. At times, Musa would break out in prayer over different people who shared. Then, Tamara and Londiwe would break out in songs of worship to praise the Lord for something He has done or cry out for something we are asking Him for. Xolani spoke words of encouragement over Rick and I and prayed over our family. Everyone shared deeply from their hearts in ways that you can’t do in just any environment. In the moments, the Lord very clearly spoke to my heart, “Here is your Harvest!” It immediately brought tears to my eyes. I wasn’t expecting it, but it made so much sense.
This day was only the first day of ministry. It set the stage for all that the Lord wanted to do through each member of our family throughout the week. Repeatedly our kids stepped up and led in powerful ways. They each jumped in wherever needed in each situation. They prayed, shared Scripture, played with kids, shared hugs and encouraging words, gave the ministry of presence. I have never been prouder. It felt like such abundance that I could never have imagined. To top it all off, we watched Laila enter some very challenging situation with such grace and maturity. She truly lived out of her name, Laila Nomathemba “Hope in the Darkness.” She was a bringer of hope everywhere she went.
As we enter 2026, we will be in our 20th year of ministry through Beyond Survival in Eswatini. We are more passionate than we have ever been about the opportunities before us to create opportunities for others to thrive. This ministry has never just been about our family. It is the collective effort of so many who have traveled with us and supported the work financially over the years. The best is yet to come, and we invite you to partner with us in making 2026 our best year yet.
As 2025 comes to a close, would you consider including Beyond Survival in your year-end giving? We can’t wait to see the harvest that is yet to come. Give here for Giving Tuesday.