1st – Happy Black History Month! Of course, living outside of the USA with limited WiFi, I almost completely forgot. It’s weird to be here in Swaziland and think about Black History. Here, I am in the majority and most people think I’m Swazi and start talking to me in Siswati. This has been a blessing because starting conversations about Jesus has been easier for me than my time in Asia because they think I’m Swazi.

2nd – Thank you for all of the birthday wishes! 33 was a great year of stepping out in faith and starting this crazy adventure with Jesus. Please pray that this new year I will continue following His lead and not “lean to my own understanding.” 

Now on to the day in the life blog!

5:00 am Wake up to the roosters, dogs, and cows making noise and squadmates making coffee

5:05 decide if I want to sleep more or if i want to get up

5:15 bathroom, then grab coffee, my journal and Bible

5:20 go outside to find a spot where I can sit, pray, and read

5:25 quiet time with the Lord

6:45 head back inside, say good morning at least 25 times, grab some fruit and oatmeal for breakfast 

7:00 wash my dishes, make my peanut butter & jelly sandwich lunch

7:10 get dressed, get ready for the day

7:45 walk out the door and up the hill to the main road to catch a khumbi to town

8:00 get on khumbi 

8:45 arrive at Adventures in Missions Swaziland offices

9:00 AIM staff meeting begins with prayer, praise and worship, then a speaker, then announcements for the week

10:30 staff meeting pauses to dismiss us World Racers, we are dismissed for market ministry 

10:35 market ministry – we split up into our teams, then walk around town praying with people and sharing the good news of Jesus with people

12:00pm continue evangelism while finding a spot to eat lunch

1:00 stop for lunch and then sit at a place that has WiFi so we can post our blogs and check email

3:00 head to bus rink to catch a khumbi back to our homestead 

4:00 arrive back at homestead, change into more comfortable clothes

4:30 hand wash my clothes and hang them up to dry

5:30 sit around waiting for whoever’s making dinner that day to tell everyone it’s ready

6:00 eat dinner with the team, give and receive feedback, hang out

8:00 read, listen to a podcast, clean and/or organize, etc.

10:00 bed time!

This is roughly what my Mondays were like this month in Swaziland.

Tuesday through Friday we went go to our assigned ministries. My ministry, along with 2 other squadmates, was Timbali Crafts. We did inventory and organized the products, helped inspect finished products, and overall went to several care points to meet the Timbali women. It was a great experience!

The photos I posted on Instagram were from the care points, either of the Timbali women or of the kids which I met. See the photos at Instagram.com/sharonruns.

In courageous faith and for His glory alone,

Sharon