Brandon, Christie and I went to hang out at a squatter village the other day. I was hesitant to go because I had a lot of things I needed to get done, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. We pretty much just hung out with kids the whole time. They climbed trees and we helped them pick these purple berries. We played with the little babies and Christie even got some tiny braids. The kids here are pretty amazing. They’ll reach up and take your hand at any point, and I love it. They have the biggest eyes and the cutest cheeks. All in all, I’m very glad I went to the village. I smiled and laughed so much, and just got to hang out with some pretty cool kids for the afternoon.
I went to visit the Manzini hospital yesterday and met a young woman named Zanele. For whatever reason, I was drawn to her as soon as we entered the room. I sat and talked with her for over forty-five minutes. We talked small talk at first. I asked her about her family—no husband, but an eight-month old boy…and I asked other various questions. After a while I asked her if she was familiar with God and Jesus, and she said she was. Then she asked if I was traveling around preaching. I paused for a second to think. “Well, I’m not a preacher,” I said, “but I am talking about Him. I like to tell people how He has changed my life and how much He loves me, but I am not very good at preaching.” She smiled when I said that, and I didn’t press the subject any further at that point. Throughout the conversation, though, I kept feeling like God wanted me to share with her that she was beautiful, loved, and worthy. 
I said that to her and asked if she had people telling her that when she grew up. She explained to me that her parents died when she was eight (she is now twenty-seven), and her older brother basically raised her. I expressed to her how important it is for women to hear those truths, and she accepted those words with tears in her eyes. When I asked her what she believed about God and Jesus she said that she believes God loves her and Jesus died for her sins. We talked more about Christ, and I continued to speak truth into her. I really felt like God laid it on my heart to tell her those things because she didn’t have people around her encouraging or supporting her.
Please look in my photo gallery to see more photos of the squatter village.
