I’ve been living here in the middle of nowhere, Swaziland for almost the past ten weeks and only two weeks remain. The slow and quiet way of life here at the base is soothing to my disturbed soul. (Disturbed [in a bitter sweet way] at the thought of leaving.) I’m so content with the peaceful monotony of life here. There’s not much to do here and days are pretty repetitive. But I’m so blessed to be here. So here’s a day (and then a week) in my life here in Swaziland.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
7:30 – I wake up.
7:30-10:30 – Most ministries start at around 11 (as have mine the past two weeks) For these few hours there are almost completely no words uttered. It is silent. People make breakfast, have quiet times, read, write, and workout. For me I normally go straight to my seat (either a log or a cinder block) outside with the sun at my back, pleasantly warming my back as the chill morning slowly turns to hot. Here at my seat I spend my time with the Lord, reading the Word, writing, listening to worship, and praying. Normally around 9:20, I make breakfast (always either eggs or oatmeal), eat, and read for the rest of the morning.
10:30-11 – It takes about 15 minutes to get ready for ministry (making my lunch [always a pb&j with hopefully an apple and a carrot] filling up my water bottle, etc. and then another 15 minutes to walk to ministry. I love walking around Swaziland; it’s such a beautiful country. (Most teams have farther care points and have to take the van.)
11-3 – Ministry hours depend on what care point your at. The last two weeks I’ve been with team Ecclesia with Noah. What goes on at each care point differs in details but is generally the same. At care points kids are always offered a meal. At some care points the Shepherd puts on a Scriptural teaching and sometimes there are school related classes. But for the most parts what we as racers do at the different care points is play and love on the kids. This looks like playing tag, shoulder rides, spins, trying to stop and prevent fights between kids, teaching games, holding conversation (many of the older kids know English very well), holding babies, comforting crying children (often it is very hard to know why they are crying [possibly a fight, hurt while playing, emotionally tired, etc.]), and occasionally teaching. The Shepherd will also take us to do “house visits.” This means visiting homes in the nearby community and talking with, encouraging, praying for, and sometimes giving shoes to the people that live there.
3-4 – Once I get back from ministry I normally workout and/or read.
4-5 – This is what we like to call “The Golden Hour” because the sun is starting to set and gives everything a yellow gold bright tinge. I always try to do something outside at this point of day, whether it’s reading, playing a game, or just sitting in silence and prayer marveling at God’s glory.
5:15 – It’s heading towards winter here in Swazi so the sun is setting sooner and sooner. It sets around this time nowadays. I always try to be outside if there is nothing else going on to marvel at the colors and clouds (if there are any) on the horizon.
5:30-6:30 – Around this time is when we normally have dinner. Around half the time we have Swazi food which normally consists of pop (the grain/rice substitute; not soda), squash, possibly turnips, and either Swazi beef or chicken (which is always cooked on the bone with lots of fat to dig through). The other half of the time we have American food which is always great! Swazi food is the first food on the Race that I haven’t much enjoyed.
6:30-7:30 – Normally soon after dinner my team has team time. It doesn’t normally last an hour and sometimes it lasts longer. This can look like a lot of different things. It can be playing a game, reading Harry Potter, debriefing our day/week, bringing up feedback for the team, watching a movie, worshiping together, star gazing, etc. Whatever it is I really enjoy the specially dedicated time we spend together as a team (especially since we don’t have ministry together Wednesdays – Fridays). These guys have become brothers to me and I am going to miss them so dearly in a few weeks once we said goodbye. I’m soaking in every minute I can with them. Those minutes are full of laughter, joy, and probably quoting a movie with Joe.
7:30-12 – For the rest of the night I normally read, play games, simply talk with different people or star gaze. I’m in bed anytime from 10:30 – midnight.
A WEEK IN THE LIFE
Days tend to look pretty similar except for the difference in ministry throughout the week.
Sunday – We have Swazi church from eleven to one or two most days (it’s hard to predict how long Swazi church will go). This is considered ministry, for us to support and encourage the local church simply by being there. Swazi church is pretty indescribably different than American. The worship is like nothing I’d experienced in other countries. There are dances (though their more like a dance or walk) and motions encouraged. The Swazis all have such beautiful voices but sadly that is masked behind the blaring microphones and music that has a very synthesized beat. The worship is all in Swazi for the most part. Their joy in worship is inspiring. There is normally a time for members to share a testimony and also an opportunity for an individual to sing. This is oftentimes without a microphone or music and is very beautiful. The preacher is passionate and very loud. (Our ears definitely are ringing for most of the service.) There is a translator for the preaching but the preacher and translator often switch back and forth between who speaks in what language. That, on top of accents makes it somewhat hard to follow.
Monday – David (our base elder) has an optional writing “class” every week. We have focused on poetry and I have loved doing that each week. He’s gives certain criteria (number of lines and syllables, rhymes, alliterations, internal rhymes, topics, etc.) and then puts a time limit on us to work. We then share and encourage each other in our work. His main goal in putting the class on was so that we’d learn that our writing whatever form it might be can be worship.
Around 3 my team heads to Leo and Jill’s (a missionary couple living a few minutes away) for our weekly sleepover. That afternoon and evening consists of goofying off and enjoying the bros, watching a movie as a team, posting a blog, checking out books from his extensive library, and calling home. Definitely a privilege to go there each week.
Tuesday – Around 9 we meet with Leo to discuss whatever spiritual or life thoughts questions or concerns we may have. Getting to tap into his wisdom is a joy. At noon half of us go to the prison to love on, pray over, and share God’s Word with the people there. It’s always such a pleasure to do that. (See my previous blog TITLED ) The prison doesn’t allow us all to go at once so we switch off each week. Those that don’t go work on making power points out of leadership books. This is for Leo, who goes on many leadership conferences around southern Africa. We normally head back to the base around 3.
Wednesday – Friday – We go to care points these days.
Saturday – This is adventure day. But there’s not much adventuring to do in Swazi so normally it’s much more of a Sabbath. It’s a quiet and peaceful day of rest.
FIND THE LORD
Though life is monotonous here I still enjoy it. There’s not a ton to do but that also means there aren’t many distractions. The Lord has been teaching me much as I seek him in the quiet and am inspired by lives of men and women whom I’m reading about. I’m reminded in this season of repetition and stillness that the Lord has a reason for every season. He wants to reveal something to you about Himself in every season. So seek Him. Make the time, find the time, get rid of distractions and spend time with your Father. He loves you and wants to bless you. Whatever the season: peace, boredom, business, sorrow, suffering, joy, etc. the Lord has you there for a reason and you aren’t going to get this season back. So live in the present.
Love y’all.
