Sabona! (This is how you say hello in eSwatinit) I’m just gonna spill everything that’s been on my heart for the past few weeks here.
We made it to Swaziland after a lovely 74 hour travel day. It took 2 planes, 6 buses, 3 trains and a whole lot of patience to get here, but we finally made it!! Yayyy!
This is Africa.
This was something our host David told my squad when we first arrived to the base. After half the squad (24) got stuck on the side of South Africa when the trailer tire fell off. We ended up waiting 6 hours for the other bus to come pick us up. (it was actually a great time. It’s not every day you can say you took the best nap on the grass of South Africa, after 40 hours of travel before that and only like 8 hours of sleep.) T.I.A. is just a phrase to live by while living here in Africa.
Sometimes the water stops running (it’s really fun when your in the middle of showering:D ), often times the power goes out for an unknown amount of time, sometimes the weather is 100 degrees and the next day its 57 degrees and you don’t have any warm cloths because why would Africa be COLD??, and sometimes the wind is so strong you think the tin roof might come down while your sleeping. And the best part is when it’s so windy the dirt gets in your eyes and your blind for a couple minutes.
These are just some of the fun things you get to learn about while living in Africa.
Everyday might look different at ministry. We get to our spot at 10am and we sometimes pull weeds in the garden or we play with the kids that are at the care point, waiting for food to be served. (Most kids speak a little bit of English, some better than others, but even for the kids who don’t speak it at all, it’s so cool to try and communicate with them. Just by using hand motions and pointing they understand what you’re trying to say.) Sometimes we teach lessons to the high schoolers. Sometimes we just hold kids for a few hours because all they want is to be held and loved on. Sometimes we sing with the kids and theres a whole lot of playing on the playground and fun games. One time this week my team was in charge of cooking the food for all the kids at the care point! That was one of my favorite things we’ve done so far.
The kids we love on are all ages. Theres one girl in particular who I have become very close with. Her name is Sine. Pronounced “sin-nay”. When she told me her name I got the biggest smile across my face because her name sounded so similar to mine. She is 12 years old but her birthday is September 30th (two days!) She speaks English very well, and her favorite color is pink, just like mine:) Sine has the most beautiful singing voice, she is so talented. Sine is so sweet and kind and her smile is as bright as the sun.
These beautiful kids are loving and silly and so so joyful. They are filled with joy at the sight of your face. They are happy for any attention you give them. They love to play with your hair and they are so sweet and patient when you ask what their name is for the 5th time because you can’t remember how to say it.
The first day we walked to our ministry, three of the kids came running toward us with open arms and giggling smiles. I got down on my knees and this little girl jumped into my arms, I had never seen her in my life but she was just so happy and excited to be able to be held and have someone tall enough (yeah, first and last time I will ever be considered tall, haha) to help her on the monkey bars. This is everyday what I get to experience and I love every second of it.
I’ve only been here a few weeks and I’m falling in love with Swaziland. The Lord shows me new things everyday. Sometimes it’s challenging things, sometimes it’s just Him showing off His paintings in the sky. I’m not sure of everything HE has in store but I’m so excited to be able to continue to share what He’s doing here.
I wanted to thank everyone for the love and support and prayers, please continue to 🙂
xoxo
syd
