Africa has been rough, especially Swaziland. There are some harsh spirits here in Swaziland that have been here a long time. Fear and hopeless are the heaviness. HIV has become a norm for these people, as it’s not only become accepted, but part of the culture, I’m constantly exhausted, and statistically, every other child I pick up will die from AIDS, which is something I try not to think about when playing with them, but it’s hard to get out of your mind the destitute state of this land. Still, I’ve been able to enjoy my time with the kids and women in Nsoko.
I spent every morning last week with a woman named Nozizwe (No-zeeze-way). She’s 27 and has three children. The doctors aren’t really sure what she has, but she’s been sick for eight months. She was in the hospital all of June and July only to come back and find her husband had sent her kids to live with his sister permanently. They live in separate huts, and he doesn’t give her the time of day. Her face is swollen and her body covered with sores, and her gums are swollen over her lips. Rachel and I got to visit with her, show her pictures of our family, read to her, and show her the best version of Jesus’ love we know how. Pastor Gift has a vision to show people Jesus’ love through us. To change people’s mindsets of the white people. When they see us they see money (Nozizwe even said that). Pastor Gift wants them to see Jesus’ love when they see us. “For you to come and sit on mat with them is like, wow. They have never seem that before,” Pastor Gift explained to us. For them to know that we are not doing this to be righteous or get praise, but to show them Jesus. I have to admit it was a little awkward at first. We didn’t know what to say, and she had a hard time talking because of her mouth, but the more time we spent with her, the easier it became. The last day we even took her to the clinic and got her medicine. It was a humbling experience being with her. You can also read Darci’s blog on her friend Maswane.
This week and next week we’re working at the Care Points around Nsoko, teaching the children and playing games with them. This has been one of my favorite things we’ve done in Africa. I love these kids! They’re precious and they cling to us. You can tell they don’t get lot of attention at home, for those kids that even have parents.We’re also leading a Women’s group and a group for the teenagers. The women really enjoy being around us and sharing with us, and we enjoy hanging out with them.
One week left in Swaziland! We leave next Thursday for debrief in Joburg and then a week later fly out to Romania…our final continent. CRAZINESS!
