It took 4 full days of travel to get to this little area that would be considered the Bush of Africa. I am currently living in Nsoko, Swaziland and it is like nothing I had ever seen before. As I was driving through South Africa for the first time I realized just how far away from home I really was. It was clear to see that the rich live side by side with the poor. On one side of the street you may see the big and fancy houses and on the other side poor shacks and hungry children. While driving you would pass miles and miles of crowded hills, thousands of bare feet children, and more goats and cows then I can count. Even more heartbreaking was the people who you would find walking aimlessly into the wilderness they looked hot, they looked exhausted, they looked purposeless. Yes, this was most definitely not my home.
Upon arriving in Nsoko I was given a debrief on the do’s and dont’s of the new world I was now living in. From that point on out of respect for the people I would not look them in the eyes. I would always shake with my right hand because using your left hand for anything is completely disrespectful. Walking into any room I would greet my elders first (I would call them my father, auntie, or GoGo for respect) and for my close friends I would soon learn the swazi handshake as a greeting. I would be wearing different clothing always in modesty, I would be sitting different, always with my legs out. Yes, this most definitely was not my home.
Our compound, my new home, is enclosed with a small community right outside. The compound consits of 2 large cement buildings where we eat and sleep. There is no electricity and Wi-Fi is something I dream about. There is no privacy it’s one of the hardest things I am learning to live without. The showers are very cold and dark and salty but I am so so happy to have running water. I get a bunk bed in a room that I share with about 25 other girls. Yes, this was most definitely not my home.
My ministry is working with people ages 1-30. The children beg to be held and some days I will do nothing else but hold several children in my lap. However these children are sick. Cysts will cover their hands, with open wounds marrying their flesh, often I see a lot of burn marks and deformed legs. It has been an absolute miracle already that I have not gotten sick yet. The children love to try and teach us their language and their dances but laugh hysterically when we can not do what they do. The teenagers beg us to teach them about America and how they can get their one way ticket to the USA. It has humbled me immensely to know that I will be in Swaziland for only 3 months while they will most likely stay there for their whole lives just dreaming about the life I was given. Yes, this most definitely was not my home.
“Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.” 1Peter 2:11
It was true… I was a foreigner here in Nsoko, Swaziland. But I should be a foreigner my whole life even when I am in America. Because this world is not my home. As my squad mentor told me, our entire lives we should feel like foreigners because we are abstaining from the culture of this world. I do not want to conform to this world. I want to always hate what is wrong and evil and strive for righteousness. I don’t want to live like the rest of the world. So no matter where I live or where I go I should always be a foreigner and be transformed by the renewing of my mind so that I can bring the kingdom.
