- As a good Swazi missionary, you must always be prepared for the unexpected. The electricity may be out more than it will be on. It may just take you over 12 hours to get a single load of laundry done, and you may have to bake cookies by candlelight…imagine!
- When waiting in the embassy in Swaziland and they say the wait will be 4 minutes, what they mean is four hours. You should have a backup plan to entertain yourself such as playing games on your ipod. You will most likely be an expert by the time you’re done.
- As a female missionary in Swaziland, do not be surprised if you are walking down the street with a member of the opposite sex and the Swazi men yell out, “Hey man, your wife look GOOD!” Do not be overly flattered. They say this to everyone J
- If you are hiking a mountain and walking on the edge of the cliff, take warning when the person in front of you says ‘watch that step’. You should heed their advice or you will find yourself rolling down the side of a mountain toward the river. The only thing that will break your fall is a thorny thicket!
- Be prepared to see many interesting insects in Swaziland…you may see spiders large enough to carry you on their backs, stick bugs large enough to be mistaken for small trees, or beetles big enough to pick up your sandal and throw it back at you if you try to squash them!
- If you do happen to find internet somewhere in Swaziland, don’t get too excited. It will most likely take approximately 20 minutes to load a single web page.
- You must always keep a spare bottle of water ready at night when camping t in case the local cats decide to attack your tent at 3 am. If you throw water at them they will let you sleep for at least 10 more minutes before coming back for vengeance. Don’t be surprised either if they steal your food right out of your tent when you leave…even if it’s all the way zipped up!
- When working on a Swazi farm, you will have to toughen up to harvest corn (which are filled with thousands of BUGS!) and you might want to turn your head away when its hog killing time because all they use is a hammer and a saw (use your imagination). You will also want to watch your step because you may just end up stepping in a fresh pile of manure!
- When brushing your teeth in the dark, be sure to grab the correct bottle or you may just end up brushing with face lotion instead of toothpaste…yuck!
- When camping out in Swaziland you may just wake up to a zebra outside your tent, warthogs in the distance grazing and dozens of monkeys hanging from the trees around you. Get used to it…this is your new life, as bizarre as it may seem!.
To look at the Kingdom of Swaziland you would think that it is a piece of heaven on earth. The gorgeous mountains, sunsets, and waterfalls make you feel like you just stepped into paradise. The country is beautiful and so are the people & culture but it is also a place of great spiritual darkness. Many Swazi people love God and it was prophesied for years that Swaziland would be the gateway for revival in all of Africa. But because of this the nation has seen great spiritual attack from the enemy. Witchcraft is prevalent and at least 80% of Swazi people contact a spiritual medium called an Inyanga who relies on spirit possession. The witch doctors tell the people that if they have HIV and have sex with a virgin they will be cured. AIDS has spread so rapidly that there is already an entire generation missing and it is projected that by the year 2050 Swaziland will cease to exist. Abuse and incest is rampant…by age 12 approximately 70% of the girls have been raped by an uncle, brother, or father. In general women and children are not seen as people, but simply possessions. This way of life is the same mindset that breeds genocide and in much of Africa and breaks God’s heart. In many cases it seems like the situation is hopeless and indeed in man’s strength it is. There is not enough foreign aid or nonprofit organizations that could really turn this nation around but I believe through the power of Christ all things are possible!
