Manual labor and dude bonding time.
James 1:27 (NIV) “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
This past month in Swaziland was exactly what I needed. Manual labor and dude bonding time. We were working at an orphanage atop the mountains in El Shaddai, 90 minutes from the nearest town. The previous month in Cape Town I had some difficulties because I felt like we were not doing enough real tangible work. We helped at an orphanage and did street ministry by walking through the slums and praying for people, but I felt torn because I wanted to do so much more. In Swaziland, I got exactly that…
Keeping fit
During the days I would wake up and run a few miles with members if the squad. It was such a nice change since I really had room to run and exercise as much as I wanted. It just helps start my day off so much better. I feel so much at peace waking up, running, having a cup of joe on a rock overlooking the mountains and river valley, and spending time with God before starting my day. In the afternoons after our work crew, we would also do a 30 minute workout of push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, and other calisthenics (when I wasn’t completely exhausted after working in a garden or digging trenches for 4 hours).
Daily work
At 8am we would go do much needed manual labor which kept the place running smoothly. We dug water lines with pick axe and shovels so that other parts of the property could have plenty of fresh mountain water. We also dug up all of the weeds in the cornfields and hoed up new ground for a garden. We drew plant beds, purchased seeds, and planted crops such as onions, tomatoes, cabbage, wheat, corn, lettuce, herbs, cucumbers, beets, pineapple, watermelon, and many others which will help provide a healthy and sustainable form of nutrition to supplement the kids’ diets. We also took care of pigs, goats, geese, and chickens which will provide some meat for the kids. Some people cleaned the pig pens on a daily basis. Talk about doing God’s work! We also purchased cheap throw-away lumber in town and I drew up plans for and constructed chicken coops which will allow the chickens to lay eggs and hopefully breed more so the kids can have a much needed protein supplement to their diet. Additionally, we bought $170 worth of new tools so that future teams can continue to serve in the fields to support the staff and kids. We also built soccer goals for the kids out of spare lumber and bought a couple new soccer balls. We also laid brick walkways in front of the chapel and other buildings so that they didn’t get all muddy and full of puddles when it rained. We also ran a small hospital clinic on the property where we would treat burns and lacerations for local villagers. All in all, we shoveled, axed, wheelbarrowed, hoed, and raked our way to exhaustion pretty much every day. I know that God speaks to people in different ways and that every kind of ministry has its purpose but doing this kind of work really made me feel good about what we were accomplishing for the month. I think it was a His way of throwing me a bone so to speak before tossing me back into the more spiritual stuff that I really need to grow in.
Mid afternoon naps
Yes, this gets its own section. After working all day and eating lunch, I generally managed to get a good solid 2 hour hibernation in before meeting up with the kids at 3pm to help them with homework. It was so nice and made me wonder if Americans wouldn’t accomplish more in the average workday if we implemented more of a siesta or 6-hour day plan. Food for thought I suppose but I know it definitely kept me happy and recharged.
Buddies!
Probably the coolest part of the month is that we were each assigned one of the orphans as our personal buddy to work with, do homework with, and mentor. I lucked out by getting one if the most warm-hearted human beings I have ever met. Although a bit of a hard case at first, we really bonded greatly over the month. My buddy’s name was Mesalani, although he went by “Peter Pan” since he was the oldest and the leader of the “lost boys”. Mesalani had a really rough childhood growing up and was the victim of severe abuse as well as watching his sister brutally raped by a member of his extended family. Mesalani is 15 years old and is only in sixth grade. His sister “Wendy” also lives at the orphanage and is one of the brightest and sweetest girls you could ever meet. I believe she is 17 years old and in 7th grade.
Our first day together, Mesa decided to test me a bit. He came up and punched me in the arm as hard as he could. I smiled and let him have another swing. Then, I spun him around and drilled him with one of my own into his shoulder. I didn’t punch him my hardest but definitely enough to let him know he didn’t get to play Alpha Dog with me and that he was going to have to play nice and do his homework.
Mesa was not a stellar student but he would do well if he was given some direction and incentive. So, instead of studying in the hot and stuffy kitchen, we studied outside in the grass each day. I did my best to teach him more effective ways of solving his homework problems. Afterwards, we would go for a walk or kick the soccer ball or chat for a while if he finished early. I also tried to pry his life goals out of him. The common response being “don’t know” up until I formed a bond with him. Mesa is the type of guy who would make an excellent shepherd. That’s sort of the norm and is about what I envisioned for him. As it turns out, he wants to be a police officer because they “protect people and help them when bad things happen”. I’m not sure what strings can be pulled to try and make that happen, but I’m certain that it falls well within the realm of possibility if it’s in God’s plan. And if anyone has an in with the king or a swazi police chief, give me a shout 😉
Bonding time
One day at the beginning of our second week Mesa didn’t have any homework. So, I decided it would be a great time to break the ice a bit. I went into my pack and dug out a really sharp pocket knife, a lighter, and my iPhone. I figured we’d have a dude day by sharpening sticks, starting a camp fire, and playing video games. He LOVED it. Here’s a kid who is almost 16 and rarely has a chance to do any male bonding. There is no male role model and little male presence there for any of the kids. They desperately need that love and attention and chance to prove they are men. So, we had a great afternoon. That night, he came down to our area and asked for me. He pulled out a flashlight and a bug frog asked if I wanted to go hunt frogs with him. Aha! I was in! I don’t mean just in for the adventure. I mean I was in to his heart. I had earned my place. Over the course of the rest of the month he would come and get me and we would play games and herd goats and sharpen sticks and talk and even build cars out of chicken wire together. I’m going to have to write a whole ‘nother blog about my adventures with Mesa. But needless to say, it was great.
Adventures with God
“So if you’ve read this far, you’ve probably said to yourself “well that’s great and all but there is not a single thing about God or the Bible or spirituality or anything of the sort in this entire blog. You may as well be on a Peace Corps trip or something!”
Well, cool it bucko and take a quick awkward moment to apologize to your computer screen for jumping the gun (just kidding). You see, I believe that God speaks to our hearts. And I also believe that if the Bible has one major underlying theme it’s to learn to love. And do you know how kids spell “L-O-V-E”? They spell it like this: “QUALITY TIME”. Now I will admit that if you are looking for a deeply spiritual person who understands God and Jesus and the Bible, then you are on the wrong blog page. Admittedly, I don’t hardly understand any of those things. But I do understand this: God created each of us for a purpose. He knows our own hearts more intimately than we ever will. And while I still have a seemingly endless number of questions about how the Trinity works and why the Bible seems to contradict itself so much (to me) and what God looks like and who really gets into heaven, I do know this for certain: that regardless of how logical I am in my brain, God is doing incredible things in my heart. He is there alive and well and he always has been and always will be. And although I may not fall on my face and worship and sing and dance, I am finally representing God in my life in exactly the way the he always has intended me to. If that’s not testimony, I don’t know what is.
What’s next:
This blog is long and I’m sorry I don’t post more often. Please know that I am putting my heart and soul into every single day of ministry and that will always come first. I am currently at about $11000 raised and I will update the funding bar soon. I cannot say thank you enough for your continued prayers and support and I pray that you will continue to do so. We arrive in Qatar in about 3 hours and have a 22 hour layover before arriving in Hyderabad, India. My team will supposedly be somewhere very remote doing church planting and worship ministry. I will update you as soon as I get a chance. I hope to write another blog or two tomorrow but I am absolutely exhausted. I hope you enjoyed this and will share it with your church or someone who this made you think of. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers and support.
God bless,
Dave
