Here are two separate journal entries I wrote last month. The first entry is from a day at ministry and the second is from an off day.
9/20/18
I am sitting on a wooden bench inside my carepoint, listening to the high schoolers sing for their choir practice. I could listen forever. The kids have been teaching me a lot of Siswati words and it’s so fun to attempt to talk with them. The older guys all crowd around someone with a tablet or any sort of device and listen to music. They enjoy listening to everything from Chance the Rapper to jazz to some sort of African dance music. I love how excited they get over their music. My team got to pick up trash around the carepoint and all the kids would try to help us and race around picking up trash to put in our bags. We threw them in the burn pile after finishing. They burn trash here so if you ever see a fire around town it’s probably just trash day at that house! Afterwards I helped Mthobisi, one of our shepherds, with sorting out paperwork for the children’s schools. I got to serve the beans alongside the gogos, one of my favorite parts of the day. I hear the Lord in the way they speak their language, so beautifully. The choir guys are all goofing around and dancing along as they sing in their circle. The girls sway in time so calmly. They make a perfect harmony as they sing to Jesus.
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9/22/18
I am sitting in a black plastic chair in the middle of Nsoko, Swaziland. The dirt is brick red and covered in cracks, just waiting for rain. The plants are green and the thorns are huge. Looking up I am faced towards a mountain range, covered at the top with fog. I can hear birds chirping, children laughing and my friend editing a video beside me. The wind is calm now, but if you were here a few days ago I promise you would feel like you were in a tornado. Today I see God in the plentiful green bushes and in the truck drivers that honked as they passed by our bus stop on the road. I find joy today in dancing, laughing, and living in the moment. It is our first day off since we started ministry. It feels good to rest and venture outside a bit. I find home in the little things today, like listening to music that brings me back home, or eating a couple bites of Swaziland pizza that doesn’t taste like dad’s homemade pizza at all…
It’s only been a week here, feels like a month. I never want to leave this place. I’m falling in love with the little things in each day. At least five times a day I look at where my feet are planted and I’m absolutely mindblown!! The Lord is investing in me so much here through His word, His sons and daughters. God’s faithfulness is easy to find in testimonies of His children. I am excited to find faithfulness in the faithless as I meet more people around town.
