Our second month of ministry was ALL SQUAD MONTH. After we debriefed month one in Durban, South Africa, our entire squad traveled to Nsoko, Swaziland (pronounced N-So-go) It was about a 5 hour bus ride. We stayed at the Anchor Center, which is part of the AIM base in Swaziland.
So what did this look like? Well there was about 60 people living in the same place. Most of us stayed outside and camped out in our tents. For the most part I found this to be quite enjoyable, except for the one night that the world biggest spider got into my tent…. Thank goodness for team mates willing to kill it for me!
Although we were all together, each team had separate ministries.
Most teams had a care point that they traveled to each day. A care point is where children can go for the day. They are given a meal, have a safe place to play, and a Shepherd that comes a few times a week to teach them about the Bible. The little kids can come in the morning and stay most of the day. The school age kids will come once they are finished with school for the day. The teams that would travel to the care points would help the Gogos cook meals, play with kids, and help the Shepherd with the Bible study.
My team had a little bit different ministry. We partnered with Leo and his organization, Swazi Vision. Leo is originally from the Netherlands. He and his family moved to South Africa around 20 years ago and then to Swaziland about 3 years ago.
Once or twice a week we would travel to a town called Siteki, this was about an hours drive from where we were staying in Nsoko. We would go to a care point/ preschool that Swazi Vision supports. On our way there, we would stop and load up wood that is used to cook the kids meals, stop at a chicken farm- the owners donate chickens, and stop to pick up several boxes of donated eggs. We would take all this to the school and unload it. We would then play and sing with the pre-school kids until noon.
We also helped to move some furniture from a home in Siteki to a home in Nsoko.
Swazi vision recently moved into a new building. The rest of our time there we helped to clean it up, paint, and set up the guest rooms. I got to put my cursive writing skills to good work and painted Bible verses on walls in both a bedroom and the prayer room. We also helped Leo with some office work, updating his website and power points.
Our entire squad had the opportunity to take part in sports ministry while we stayed in Nsoko. During our first week there, we received two days of training. On two different Saturdays, we invited the area kids to play in a soccer tournament. We were able to provided them lunch, cheered them on, and shared the gospel. The kids had a great time, and were so fun to watch.
We were able to do a few fun things as well. Almost the entire squad went on Safari! We saw many different animals including, rhinos, hippos, elephants, bats, a variety of birds, and most importantly a LION. Needless to say it was a lot of fun. We all made several trips to a place called Nissela. We enjoyed several meals here, and consumed many milk shakes. We were also able to purchase an hour or two of internet access.
Overall we really enjoyed the month together and made many new friends.
Please keep Swaziland in your prayers as they have been in a drought for over a year. We were so thankful that it rained two or three times while we were there, but the drought is severe and more rain is needed. We found out that a few weeks after we left, Nsoko was hit by a very bad storm. A lot of damage was done to area homes. Please be in prayers as the community begins to repair the damage done by this storm.
Crossing into South Africa on our way to debrief in Durban.
All Squad month!! all 60 of us.
We spent the month putting our tents to good use.
Our care point in Siteki. Photo credit goes to my team mate Hector.
The verse I painted on the wall of Swazi Vision’s prayer room.
The other verse I painted in one of the bedrooms at Swazi Vision.
Braham and I hanging out with some of the kids at the soccer tournament. Photo credit goes to Caitlin Buzbee.
On Safari! We got pretty close to the Rhinos.
and we saw a LION!
We also saw giraffes on several occasions as we drove down the road.
