Day 49: Blessings Abound

My custom-made African outfit is finished! It took about a month for the Ghanaian dressmaker to finish it. It costs 250 Rand for the blazer and 200 for the skirt, so 450 Rand or E450 (E stands for Emalangeni - Swazi currency), or nearly 45 US dollars

Took a picture of this so that I can get some other ideas of outfits to make

Highlight of my day

I checked my email today and discovered that I was awarded the highly competitive National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship! This is truly a blessing and God deserves all the glory! As I mentioned in my Instagram post: "I'm humbled by this recent award because this is truly for God's glory and not my own. As I reflect on all the trials and havoc I went through last year, I realized just how far I've made it! Through faith, God turns every bad situation into good. This is His will for every believer. God truly works together for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). God revealed his grace and love for me in so many ways and not just through these academic accolades. God gifted me with resilience and a heart to serve the HIV community, which is reflected through this scholarship. I've grown into a stronger woman of God with a better sense of purpose, worth, and identity in Christ. Truly overwhelmed by this overflow of blessings. Excited to be working for the NIH next year to further pursue my passion in HIV research."

 Today, I also decided to do outreach with Lighthouse Chapel International Church. Francis picked me up and took me to the church where we met to evangelize. I haven't evangelized in about three years! It was a good experience evangelizing and sharing the gospel to Swazis. It encourages me to renew my faith and share my testimony and faith with others. I talked to Mama Teresa about my outreach experience the last week of July which helped me realize that I have been evangelizing and didn't even know it! The simple sharing of my faith on this blog is a form of evangelism. The many people I've shared my testimonies could lead others to Christ. I just have to remember that by sharing my faith, I act as a vessel to lead people to Christ, although it is ultimately God who saves them and the personal relationship that every individual decided to have with God. God's gift is for everyone who chooses to receive it! It's not by any works that saves us, but by the grave of God, we have salvation (Ephesians 2:9). Although I didn't do any soul winning, I'm glad I had at least was able to share God's goodness to the few people I did reach out to. Exercising my faith is an important part of my faith and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to do that while in Swaziland and live out God's plan for my life. Francis has been really encouraging in my spiritual walk and I'm glad I met him! He's a great young man who loves the Lord and uplifts me whenever he can.