Month eight was spent in Manzini, Swaziland. I lived in a mud hut in a village called Timbutini, about forty five minutes from the closest city. Two all girls team shared the mud hut – a total of thirteen women. Despite the small living quarters, we had a ton of fun fellowshipping together late into the night! We had a water spout that was our ‘sink’ and an open air outhouse that faced the street. We took bucket showers in a small tin room. It was common to see a huge herd of cows or meandering chickens all over our compound. This month we celebrated Easter a little differently than usual. We watched our ministry contact slaughter a goat in celebration of our risen Lord. They only kill them on special holidays so we felt very privileged to get to see such a sight.
This month I served at a hospice center and a hospital in Manzini. I visited patients in the Hope House hospice center and in the children’s ward in the hospital. We had a twenty minute walk to the public bus stop that would take us forty-five minutes into town for ministry. We enjoyed the beautiful rolling hills of Swaziland on our way in and out of the city everyday.
Our ministry was to build relationships with the patients. We would pray for them, read them Scripture, and just chat and have fun with them. The hospice center was also used as a recovery place for people. It was common for people to leave the hospice center after receiving treatment and improving enough to be able to live at home. One of the patients was named Nomthandazo. She is nineteen years old and was in hospice for HIV treatment. We became fast friends. We painted her nails and talked about school, family, and faith. Another patient was named Silhe. He is twenty-one years old and lives with HIV, thus having a very weak immune system. A severe case of meningitis left him blind and in a wheel chair. There was also a little boy there named Myabongwie. He is seven years old and had seizures his whole life which gave him with some brain damage affecting his motor skills. He had burns on his legs from falling into a fire from a recent seizure. Despite his condition, he was so joyful, always smiling, and loved dancing!
My experience at the hospice center and hospital taught me the importance of simple gestures. It was obvious how much it meant to the patients to have visitors and someone to talk with everyday. Many of the patients only see their family once a week at most because they work far away. I had a great time getting to know them, listening to their stories, and enjoying fellowship with them.
Parent Vision Trip
The last week of Swaziland was the Parent Vision Trip. Parents are invited to come out and serve for five days with their racer. My Parent Vision Trip did not turn out how I expected it to be. One of the things the race has taught me is to be adaptable to any situation, trust God, and go with the flow. We have no control where we are assigned to be in a country, the ministry, the food we eat, our access to wifi, who is on our team, how we travel, etc. I was not expecting to apply this lesson I have been learning the entire race over PVT.
Two hours before my parents were suppose to arrive to Swaziland I was told my mom had a bad fall upon her arrival to Johannesburg, South Africa two days ago. She injured her face and had facial surgery the previous day. After hectically arranging travel plans I left to go to Johannesburg to be with my parents for the remainder of PVT. When I arrived we booked a last minute trip to Cape Town for a couple of days.
My parents and I had a great time exploring South Africa together! It was a once in a lifetime trip for both of us and I am so thankful I got to spend quality time with them. Even though PVT did not go how I planned it to be, God turned an unfortunate situation into a amazing week. My mom is doing great now and is healing well!
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” – Romans 8:28
