Greetings from Swaziland!
For those who care, a thorough and whimsical glimpse into life here in Swazi. I’m having a blast! Living conditions require some ingenuity, but there is much to be thankful for. There are two bedrooms for all 20 of us girls (three teams are here–Awaken, Radiance, and Leo). I have a mattress and my own bedding. We have bathrooms and showers, but water is a scarce commodity here, so the water isn’t always running. We have electricity but no AC and only two small fans. Fortunately, God has been so good to us and has blessed us with unseasonably cold weather.
Last month my team weeded an onion patch pretty much all month, so we chortled with mild disbelief when we discovered that weeding was on our list of ministries this month, but it really isn’t that bad. The ministry we work with has ten care points where kids play and are fed. We live at the main care site, so there are kids around all day, particularly because school is out for Christmas break. Three days a week we visit care centers to play with the kids and teach a Bible lesson. We also conduct house visits, particularly to Gogos (Sawanzani for Grandma). We bring food, check on medical needs, and spend time with the Gogos and families.
We do all kinds of things for our other ministries. Today, Lena and I added safety rails to a playground. We literally had no instructions, no guidance, and limited tools, but we made it happen. That’s what comes from being on an all-girl team for 6 months. You stop hollering for help every time a problem arises and learn to take care of it yourself. Aline demonstrated that the other day when our van got a flat tire during a home visit. The spare tire was in a very strange place–in a metal cage underneath the car. It was not intuitive how to get the tire free, and there was no instruction manual for the van, but she figured it out and changed the tire with absolute confidence, despite having never changed a tire before and learning how to 10 years ago! Or there was the time I removed a bat from our bedroom (it was stunned on the floor; I trapped it under a bowl, slid a paper under, and took it outside).
Needless to say, it has been an exciting month–and it has only been 7 days! Lol. Today honestly was an incredible day, even though at the outset I didn’t think it would be. My first job was organizing a donated clothing closet–not my usual idea of a good time, but I did it with Lena and Nicole, both people I’ve been wanting to spend more one-on-one time with, and we had a good time. And when Lena and I fixed up the playground, I felt so empowered by our ingenuity and grit. Plus, some 10-year-old boys joined us, and it was so sweet to see them helping. We let them nail the boards in while we sawed (picture rusty, pre-used nails; 1 baby hammer; 1 hammer with the fork end broken; 1 old handsaw; and a screwdriver to remove hazardous screws that were sticking out). They would also hammer our bent nails straight and remove hazardous nails and screws from the wood. If that doesn’t sound like quintessential Africa, the other day I chased two children and a chicken around an enclosed garden in an attempt to herd them out.
Speaking of gardens, gardening is much easier this month. The soil is much softer, so we can get the roots out without using shovels. Plus, this place is like Camelot–it rains every night without fail, moistening the ground for us, and then it stays cool and cloudy all day to protect us from the African sun. We are clearing an enormous plot to expand the garden, and we also get to harvest produce. It is an incredible feeling harvesting a cabbage head or an ear of corn, knowing that food will go to fill a belly that otherwise would’ve gone to bed hungry.
We found out this morning (Friday) that Mandela died last night. Last night, we were watching the movie Invictus (a movie largely about Mandela). I don’t remember what I was doing when Michael Jackson died. I don’t remember what I was doing when Whitney Houston died. But I will always remember that I was watching Invictus in Swaziland when Nelson Mandela died. He was a great man. I hope to read his autobiography soon.
And in case you want to pray for Swazi, here are some top needs:
Discipleship in the church – the Bible was not printed in the Swazi language until about 20 years ago, so the Swazi church is very young spiritually. A lot of sensationalism and prosperity teachings slip in easily. There are two main cults called the Jericho cult and the Zionist cult that lead many astray.
The missing generation – the Swazi population is mainly old people and young children. The generation of adults who should be here have either died of AIDS or left the country in search of work and never came back or sent money home.
Whole and healthy families – Because of the missing generation, most children are not raised by their parents. And if they are, their father is almost always absent. Pray for families with a father, mother, and children. Pray for the men and fathers of Swaziland to step up in providing, leading, and being there for their families.
Sexual sin – Most children are born out of wedlock. Polygamy is the norm.
Poverty/Unemployment – 60% unemployment (I think)
The AIDS crisis
A spirit of lethargy and learned helplessness
I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into my life here and find the prayer points for Swazi helpful. I personally am doing really well. Doing well with my team, the Lord, life. I’m learning to be more intentional with my prayers because I’m discovering that they don’t just go into some giant prayer pot in the sky where they vaguely affect events down here. My prayers get literally answered, and quickly, so it’s time for me to pray for more things and get specific with my prayers. God has really been challenging my faith and discipline in this area. He challenges me with verses like:
John 14:12-14 – I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
John 15:7 – If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
John 15:15-16 – I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
John 16:22-24 – So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Or Mark 9:14-29. Jesus scolds the disciples for their lack of faith, and says that anything is possible for those who have faith and that the demon could’ve been driven out by prayer.
Obviously you’re still left with explaining the problem of unanswered prayer, but how bad would it be if things went undone in the Kingdom because we were too discouraged by unanswered prayers to ask for everything in prayer?
Speaking of answered prayers–Thanksgiving! I was nervous that Thanksgiving away from home would be a little rough, and possibly sub-par, but honestly, it was incredible! My teammate Lena was in charge of the pies because she is a down-home southern girl, and the pecan was hands down my favorite this time. It had fewer pecans and more buttery sugary goodness. . yum!!!
The rest of the dinner was very traditional–turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, rolls, green bean casserole. It was delicious, and basically my whole team helped cook it, which was a really fun memory to make together. We have two head chefs for when the whole squad eats together, but Awaken quickly got a reputation for being boss (aka awesome) in the kitchen, so we cooked more meals than the other teams did. The head chefs also trusted us enough to leave us alone in the kitchen. So many good kitchen memories. We always had music playing, and I never stopped dancing. (That has been another cool thing about the Race recently. People see in me such freedom–freedom to be me and not worry about what anyone else thinks. Freedom to sing and dance wherever, whenever. And that my freedom inspires others to feel and be free themselves. People also see me as a leader–that people follow my lead. And they say that I bring the party wherever I go–something I do at home on a regular basis, but wasn’t doing on the Race for a while. The cool thing about receiving this feedback is that other people see me as stronger in those areas than I see myself. They are all areas that I want to be strong in, and I guess since I have such high goals of attaining, all I see are my failures, not my success. So when others point out my success, I’m genuinely surprised. That’s part of why feedback has been such a good thing for me on the Race. Most of the time, my teammates are pointing out strengths in me that I didn’t know I had, and once they point them out, I am more intentional about walking in those strengths. And constructive feedback is usually along those lines, too–they see a seed of something good in me and encourage me to grow it. It’s not them pointing out my mistakes.)
Our Christmas plans are still up in air, but I’m sure it will be wonderful, wherever we are. So a very merry Christmas to you and yours, and may your hearts be filled with love, joy, and peace always.
Until next time,
Katie
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