It is our final month in Africa. This month we are in Nsoko, Swaziland. It’s particularly special because it is all squad month. All 35 of us live in one house!
When we arrived in Nsoko we were greeted by a married couple with 4 small children who God called to serve here.
We had orientation which has become the norm at the beginning of the moth now since being on the race for seven months now.
During orientation they explained to us how life here in rural Africa is much slower than in the states. We’ve already experienced this now in month three on the African continent.
We heard all about the culture, the norms, their heart, story, and their love for Swaziland.
One of the big things we discussed was prayer!
You can imagine my excitement.
When we began this month in Swaziland
At the start of a new month there is always an uncertainty about ministry. We are presented with a general set up sheet attempting to describe what we will be doing for the month, but we never really know until we get there.
This month is our third month in Africa and our last African country, Swaziland.
The experience so far has been to expect the unexpected as with the rest of the race.
During the usual orientation we learned about the Anchor Center, a carepoint sponsored by AIM.
We learned that we would be going to care points two days out of the week and then staying at the Anchor Center the other days and helping with the preschool, primary school, admin, and general work that needed to be done.
There are three different care points that are visited Monday thru Thursday.
Going to a care point means that you are walking at least three miles one way past fields of sugar cane that are dead because Nsoko is in a drought during what should be the rainy season. This drought is the worst in over 100 years.
Once you arrive at the care point you may be greeted by 15 children whose clothes are tattered and torn or you may not see any children for hours.
If you do have children at the care point they will most likely want to sit with you, sing, dance, or play with your strange hair.
Maybe you play soccer with them with the ball that is made out of plastic bread bags.
Or maybe you prayer walk around the grounds because the Holy Spirit speaks so loudly to you that something must be done and prayer is what is needed.
That may be your entire day. And that is ministry! God’s ministry.
Maybe it is a day you stay at the Anchor center and you go to the preschool.
The class is supposed to start at 8 A.M. but you really don’t start teaching until 9:30am
The children have already walked the three mile journey one way you took the day before.
They start off early so they can get to school on time. Some arrive as early as 6 A.M.
But the teacher arrives at 9 because in Africa it’s acceptable to be over an hour late.
While you were waiting on her you went over to play with the kids, read to them, prayed over them, and tried to communicate even though they speak little to no English and you do not speak Saswati.
When the teacher gets there the children sing songs for an hour to show off what they know and then take a break for another hour.
While you are there you try to interact with them, to teach them something valuable they can keep with them after you leave.
An hour and a half with preschoolers and that is your ministry day.
Perhaps you go to the Primary school and are asked to teach sixth grade.
You read over the material and plan your lesson quickly.
You teach while children are being rowdy and pray for the Lord’s patience and that at least one of them is learning something.
Then you are asked to form a quiz based on the material you taught.
You give fill in the blank and multiple choice questions and then you grade them on the 10 questions.
Half the class passes while the other half fails.
And when you record their grades in the grade book you see many of them haven’t passed any of the tests they’ve been given, not just yours.
Your heart breaks for the education system.
All you can do is pray.
And that is your ministry. Teaching, giving quizzes, and praying.
Ministry this month has looked different every day. From care points to preschool, primary school, and building a driveway from broken bricks.
Every day is different.
Every day is a new opportunity to bring Kingdom to Nsoko. To Swaziland.
Every day you have the chance to pray for the people here.
To pray for rain.
To pray for education.
To pray for the King and the leaders of this nation.
To pray for the students who are behind.
To pray for those who cannot attend school because they have no money.
Every day is a new chance, a new opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these people.
Every day is an opportunity to view ministry though God’s lens.
Have you asked God for His lens?
