When Erin asked me to write a blog for her about the parent vision trip, I thought I would think about it for a few days and then it would just come to me. Well, one month later, I can truly say that putting my thoughts and feelings to paper (per say) isn’t my strength. So, here goes…
I will admit that I was disappointed that our PVT would be in Africa. There has never been a time in my life when Africa was on my bucket list, not even for mission work. Our first night, after some pretty exhausting flights, was in Johannesburg, South Africa. I was rather shocked that I slept like a baby, which isn’t the norm for me, and that none of my food sensitivies bothered me at all. These blessings were so nice to experience for a (change) throughout our trip.
The next day we flew to Swaziland, now officially named Eswatini. The view of the country from the plane took my breath away. It was lush, green, and absolutely beautiful. On the ground, I was so surprised by how clean this little country was too, whether in the city or in obviously economically depressed neighborhoods It became clear that these people take pride in cleanliness, not only in the lack of trash laying around, but also in the way they dressed.
As great as all that was, the people were the real experience that we had to look forward to. We went to Care Points, where our kids are ministering on an almost daily basis. These Care Points are a place for children to gather after school to play games, learn about God, and to eat a meal. There are several Care Points all over the country that feed over 7,000 children after school each day. Many of the children would bring Tupperware type containers so they could take their leftovers home. What a blessing to see that the Care Point leaders, called a shepherds, and the cooks were from the community being served. It was a blessing to see what Erin has been doing for these 3 months in Eswatini.
The trip was so full of new experiences and activities, that it would take a very long post to go through all of it. We had worship with our kids every night, planted fruit trees on a piece of land being developed by the ministry to serve the local community, got to go on a safari, and we even got to spend time with Erin eating brick oven pizza and going to the movies. It was truly a trip to remember for us, but even more, this trip cemented Eswatini and even South Africa in our hearts forever. I can truly say that I hope we get to go back some day.
