Good News and Bad News

Well well well. I’m here in Swaziland. It’s been a long journey to get here but as we settle into our routine I’m getting really excited about all the ministries we are going to be involved in. Before I give a full update I needed to get some dirty work out of the way. There is good news and bad news.

The bad news first . . .

I had to cut my dreads off. I’ll explain. The pastor for Teen Challenge Ministries on Hawane farm sent me an email a few weeks ago asking if I would consider cutting my dreads off. He explained that here in Swaziland dreadlocks are always associated with criminals, drug users, and all those other people your parent’s tell you not to associate with. We will be working in the many rural communities and I didn’t want it to become an issue or offend any of the Swazi people. So. . . As I said in the last post, God has been asking me to follow Him and each step has been more difficult than the last but I’m trusting him. I must admit I’m really sad about it but I can’t ask God to change my heart if I’m not willing to change the thing on the outside.

So that’s what it looked like after I cut it.

The good news is . . . my head isn’t shaped like a peanut.

Talk to you all soon,

Dwayne

 

 

This is Happening

Today started with grunting and sweating as me and my dad tried to pack 100 lbs of my personal affects into 89 lbs of suitcase. At around 12:30 am we finally willed the suitcase shut and the final zipper rounded the bulging corner. We got about 4 hours of sleep before departing for Orlando International airport at around 5 am.

I decided to pay the $5 for internet on the airplane because I realized I hadn’t check in with my parents since I said our goodbye’s at the Southwest departure gate. After turning off my phone I feel so out of touch and it is a feeling I will have to get used to.

Anyways, I just wanted to give a quick status update. The plan is to spend this weekend doing orientation with the other interns in Lansing, MI. The interns include Jess and Elizabeth Martin, a fantastic couple from Raleigh, and Olivia Wenger from Ohio, who I have not met but am really excited to get to know and share God’s work with. We will cross the pond Monday. We will leave from Detroit and head to Atlanta. From Atlanta we will take the 15 hours flight straight to Johannesburg.

It feels really good to be on the road after months of preparation. It is nice to start living this adventure. I’m not much of a planner so getting out of the planning stage is a huge relief for me. It’s also a sobering feeling to feel the parachute of my former life close. I already feel God asking more and more of me as I get further and further from home. I’m excited and ready to let God lead this adventure.

Dinner Conversation

I decided to take a break from writing thank you notes to acknowledge a significant day. Lately it seems like the days are just slipping away – a nightmare for a procrastinator like me. I was hoping to enjoy my last few weeks with send off parties and quality hang out time, but each day will be consumed by some “responsible and productive” task on my to-do list. So as busyness consumes my time, I find myself frustrated that the world doesn’t stop to acknowledge a significant day.

Yesterday would have been my brother’s 30th birthday. He died May 15th, 2011 in the wee hours of the morning in a car accident. It’s tough to think he will not be celebrating any more birthdays and even more difficult to acknowledge that he won’t be around to celebrate any more significant days in the future. But I didn’t want to post anything depressing, I thought it would be fitting to celebrate his birthday with a story. This is one of my favorite memories with Corey. Here goes . . .

My family moved to Sumter, South Carolina my freshman year of high school. Corey was two years older, so he was beginning his junior year, the meaty part of most people’s high school career. Sumter was a small town and, at this point, most high schoolers had been going to school with the same people for many years and cliques were well established. We were instant outsiders, no problem. We were military kids, we would adapt. So, for the better part of a year,Corey and I hung out together exclusively. We made a few class friends, but nothing serious enough to merit a sleepover or staying out past curfew.

One fall day, Corey and I could not get it together before school. We were late getting up. We rushed in and out of the shower. Dragged on some clothes, threw our bags over our shoulders and dragged the recycling bin to the curb . . . just in time to see the school bus fly by. Dang it! Now what? Most people find a friend to call or call a taxi and make their way to school. Not us. I promise it took all of 30 seconds for us to go from, “How are we going to get to school?” to “Is there bacon? We should make some breakfast.” Now, fully committed to breakfast and a day at home, Corey and I began what would be a long morning of video games and relaxing.

Around 12:45, Corey heard a car pull up in the drive way. It was Mom. We panicked. Chaos. We ran around quickly hiding all the evidence of our truancy. Finally, we ran to the back of the house and met in the hall, both trying to figure out what to do next. Without words we both disappeared to our rooms to fend for ourselves. I darted around my room for a couple seconds finally deciding to hide in the bottom of my closet under a mound of blankets that I’m sure Mom asked me to put away many times. As I settled into my (pretty bad) hiding spot, I felt the wall move as Corey slumped into the bottom of his closet which shared a wall with mine, both of us now frozen back-to-back under a mound of blankets.

It was hot. I was sitting on several pairs of shoes, and my leg was starting to cramp up, but I did not move. We both could hear Mom walking up and down the hall, so we settled into our personal closet hells. I’m not sure how long we stayed there. I know I wasn’t planning on moving until I was sure she was gone. Most people’s lunch breaks are an hour long, so subtract 10 minutes for travel time, so we had a eternity to sit and think about what we were doing.

Anyway, to wrap this story up quickly, we crawled out of hiding (sweating) and laughed briefly about the situation. We tried to go back to our leisurely activities, but the day was stained. We just piddled around the house until Mom got home.

She found out almost immediately. We settled down to have dinner when the phone rang. Most days, when the phone rings at dinner we just ignore it, but for some reason Corey answered it. It was one of his TWO class friends. What are the chances!? The other voice proceed to ask about his day and why he wasn’t at school. My mom overheard Matt asking where Corey had been all day and soon after Corey hung up, the interrogation began. We didn’t put up much of a fight. We had no contingency plan or alibi. Mom showed little mercy and we deserved every bit of punishment we got.

But looking back, all I can do is smile.

Details

I’m not much of a detail person. I’m pretty satisfied with general plans. When the gang is planning to go out or travel anywhere I hear “we will leave in the evening and head west” and i’m good to go. That sounds fantastic. I don’t ask about whose car we will take, where we are going or an exact departure time. I figure those things will work themselves out. (I guess that is the true romantic in me that says the life always ends with Cary Grant kissing some beautiful young lady. – I never ask “Do they live in his place or hers?” “Do they get joint bank accounts” “Does she change her name or hyphenate?”) Life is complicated and details are important.

So I say all of that is as preface to my apologize. I don’t give many details because i think people are like me and are ok with generalizations and vague plans. I apologize for leaving out those important details.

For all you detail people out there – this is for you.

1. Dates:
- My last day of work January 20th: I let the team know of my plans early in December. They are been really supportive and a true blessing. I was terrified they were going to give me the boot early but now i’m currently training my replacement and i’ll get projects, if necessary, to finish out my time.
- Leave North Carolina January 24th: I will be driving my car, Linus, down to florida to rest for a year while i’m away. My dad will take great care of him. I figured that was better than selling him since most people would give some insulting price for his unique charm. (He’s worth more to me than anyone responsible person would pay)
- Orientation February 2nd: I’ll fly from Orlando to Lansing, MI to start orientation with the rest of the AR team.
- Country Departure Feb 6th: The AR Vision Team will head across the ocean for a 6000 mile journey to South Africa to start our year long adventure.

2. Fundraising:
- Goal: $17,460
- Raise-to-Date: $12,400.
- Balance to Raise: $5,060

There are 16 individuals pledging to make monthly donations and I have had 7 people making one time contributions. As stated above I still have $5,060 to raise to make budget for the year. If you would like to contribute you can still make a contribution online at www.africarevolution.org or mail your check to
Africa revolution
P.O. Box 27218
Lansing, MI 48909

If you are unable to make monthly pledge or a one time donation you can still donate a book from the Africa Revolution Amazon.com reading list. If you chose to contribute by donating a book, you can mail the book to
Dwayne Nalty
10090 SE 68th Court
Belleview, FL 34420

That’s my parents’ place.

3. Personal Details
- Packing: Well I have started packing up my stuff. I have already donated a bunch of clothes from my closet. I have decided it’s a good time to clean up my wardrobe. I plan on only taking 3 bags. (A large suitcase, a hiking pack, and my backpack.) If it doesn’t fit in one of those bags it won’t be making the trip. I think that will help filter out excesses. Unfortunately that means, the 3 down pillow I sleep with and my coin collection will have to stay – We make sacrifices. The plan is to start selling stuff out of the room just to save myself from having to store it or transport it down to my parents place. So packing is in the very early stages.
- Apartment: I’m currently looking for someone to continue my lease with my awesome roommates. So if you know anyone in the Chapel Hill area looking for a place to live let me know.
- Phone: My phone will be shut off as of Feb. 1. Just keep that in mind.

Alright – That is a rundown of how things are looking right now. Please comment or email me if you have any questions. Thanks again for all your support and encouragement.

I’m really looking forward to the next 11 months. I find myself becoming more and more terrified as each day passes but I know God has an amazing plan for me and the AR team in Africa. I look forward to serving Him and the Hawane community.

Dwayne

November 6th – Info Session!!

Before I jump into the information about the info sessions, I first must apologize for the lack of activity this last month. I got so excited about the blog and keeping you guys up to date, but then reality hit. Writers block, time management, a couple seasons of Parenthood…you get the point. So I promise this month will be better.

Ok – Exciting news! This Sunday, November 6th, I will be hosting a couple of information sessions here in the Durham/Chapel Hill area for all those interested in learning more about me, Africa Revolution, or what Swaziland 2012 will look like. So if you are in the area, come on by.

Sunday Brunch – November 6th
Time: 10 am (Remember that is the “fall back” standard time due to the time change)
Place: 3 Bartram Drive, Chapel Hill NC

Sunday Evening – November 6th
Time: 4 pm
Place: 11 Calaveras Court, Durham NC

For those of you not in the Chapel Hill area, I’ll be making a recording of the info session and will post some of the recorded stuff here. Look out for that next week.

Before I go, I just wanted to let everyone know I’m scheduled to depart from the United States on February 1, 2012 to begin my journey to Swaziland.

Send me an email if you want me to write about anything in particular here. Hope to see many of you at one of the informational sessions this Sunday. Thanks for your support.

Dwayne
dwayne.nalty@gmail.com

Ordinary People

As news of this huge endeavor trickles out to different circles in life I am always asked the same questions: “How do your parents feel about this?”, “Are you going to quit your job?”, and “Where is Swaziland?”. Those questions are relatively easy to answer, but the most common question I’m asked is “What made you decide to do this program?” The truth is, I feel like I haven’t really had a great answer to this question. I usually stumble through some answer about always wanting to do missions but never having the opportunity, seeing the world, and working with kids, but I don’t know if I really took the time to answer that question for myself. So over the last few weeks, I have been wrestling with the questions and I think I have come up with an answer.

I remember going to Summit Church in Raleigh late last year and the sermon was delivered by a young pastor that was leaving Summit to start a church plant in the Denver suburbs. With all their earthly possessions packed in their station wagon, he and his wife were leaving church that evening and starting their week long cross country trip with their dog. I remember thinking how amazing it must be to be so confident in God’s provisional power that they would be willing to chuck it all and start over. But just as I was mentally pinning on his rockstar badge for commitment, he said something that was both inspiring and mind blowing for me. He said, [my wife and I are no spiritual giants, we are ordinary people fully committed to God and we are following Him to the best of our ability.] For so long I have been waiting for this special moment when spiritual maturity would hit me – when I had the passion of Jonathan Edwards or the intellect of Francis Schaeffer. I looked forward to the day when making big decisions for God would become easy. Well, I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy but I felt like there was going to be a definitive moment when I knew I was ready to start living the committed life. That never happened.

I wish I could attribute the decision to travel 8,300 miles to do mission work to a lucid dream (which would make this blog post exponentially more interesting) or a near death experience or a long conversation with a trusted advisor, but it was nothing like that. It was God slowly warming my heart until one day I thought about it … and I was ready. After really evaluating myself I discovered that my big objection was “ordinary people like me don’t do things like that – only spiritual giants do that.” (I like the phrase “spiritual giants”) The feeling of being ill-equipped is still a real concern,but there are few times in my life where I have felt this confident about anything. I find myself running through my checkered past of sins, lies and failures and think “why would God even put a dream like this in a person like me?” The truth is I don’t know. I’m praying for forgiveness for all my past sins and wisdom and for guidance to turn this trip into something that is glorifying to God. I hope this experience will benefit both me and the people I come in contact with. I wish I could say that I’m equipped as a Godly man and spiritual hero but I’m not. The reality is I’m committed to being used and hoping that God shows me what that actually looks like.

So this blog post is really my confession that I’m just an ordinary person. I’m asking you to support me emotionally and spiritually on this trip. As the days fly by on the calendar, the panic of “Dwayne, are you really prepared to do this?” really starts to set in. Pray for me. I look forward to sharing this journey with you guys.

Dwayne

Off to Swaziland

For those of you that have not heard from me personally, I will be moving to Swaziland in Southern Africa in a January 2012 to spend a year volunteering as a “Vision Year” intern with Africa Revolution. Big news!! I know.

Africa Revolution is a small nonprofit that serves God’s Church in Africa. It’s a dynamite little organization that looks to impact communities and the Kingdom of a God by building caring relationships and using local people to grow grassroots ministries to nurture the community. To find out more about this ministry, visit www.africarevolution.org.

The Africa Revolution “Vision Year” program is designed to serve various communities, including Hawane, Swaziland, that are suffering under the effects of the AIDS crisis and the complicating effects of poverty. Hawane is a small community located just out side Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland. This area has vast needs connected with orphan care, widows, the sick and the hungry, – sharing the incredible love of God in word and deed can have a huge impact on the community. I will be part of a small team of people who will be based in Hawane. We will live in intentional community together and share daily devotional times and meals as a group and each person will serve the community, through the local church, as the Lord leads.

Our ministry goal is to partner with the locals to develop sustainable programs that will benefit the community for years to come. So we are not looking to find quick fixes or impose our solutions but listen and be a tool of change and grace for Hawane. This approach opens many opportunities to serve, including teaching skills development classes, spending time/praying with those suffering from AIDS and other illnesses, tutoring in the local schools, and loving on the orphans the town is focused on caring for.

At this point, I am excited about this project but I’m also overwhelmed by the scale and impact this will have on my life. I am very grateful and humbled for the opportunity to be a part of God’s work in Africa. I’m also eager to extend to you the opportunity to come alongside me, joining in the amazing work that God is doing. There are a few ways you can do this:

First, in order to spend a year as a volunteer in Swaziland, without a paying job, I will need financial support. If you are interested in giving financially you can do that by donating via Paypal on the left side of the screen or you can email me your address and I will send you an info packet/pledge card (and a fridge magnet and handwritten thank you note. Yeah!! )

Second, I ask that you join this adventure by subscribing to this blog and encouraging me here or at the Africa Revolution site (www.ARBlog.org), which will feature many different stories and photos about those we are serving as well as my own experiences there.

Thank you in advance for your prayers, support and generosity. I look forward to serving the Lord and building His kingdom with you.

Dwayne Nalty
Dwayne.nalty@gmail.com