The African sun was relentless. It was mid November, the beginning of summer, and the sunburn and sweat that coated my skin was proof of that. I had no desire to sit in the sweltering heat for another moment so after gathering my teammates we took off down the highway to the tiny store just a 10 minute walk from us. Once we made it to the “blocks for Sale” store we searched for Stony`s (a ginger soda) and lemon toppers (A sort of lemon cracker), and with goodies in hand we began to take the secret trail back to the compound. We looked around us and admired the views of the red dirt mountains, the rocky shambled swazi homes, the heard of cows walking to our left, and the thick dust that was covering our brown and tanned feet. We just proclaimed how thankful we were for the life we were living and the chance of getting to see and experience such an unreal part of Africa and the world. Within moments of saying this my team mate, Iggs who was walking in front of me, her face lit up as she turned around to us and proclaimed “The sugar cane truck is here…. let’s go!” With that we took off on a dead run towards the huge semitruck that was looming in front of us. We ran across the highway just in time to see a bunch of teenage Swazi boys jumping from the still moving truck with handfuls of sugarcane. Our faces were flush from the run and the boys eyes were alight with the thrill of the chasing and grabbing of the sugarcane. We quickly became friends with these boys and feasted on sugarcane. We bit into the sugarcane stock with our teeth, and the dirt from the unwashed treat was wiped across our faces and our hands, we then spit any of the hard unsweet unwanted pieces back down to the earth. We proceeded to walk the highway with these boys hearing about their lives and what they were doing, to which they always responded with “nothing”…. But we didn’t believe them. We knew the truth, these boys were more alive and more on fire for living then any human beings we had ever met before. More alive then even the people who had everything. We ended up spending the whole afternoon with them building relationships, talking about our different cultures, genuinely laughing, genuinely caring about what the other had to say, genuinely living. For the rest of my time in Swaziland I often spent my time down by the soccer fields meeting, playing games with, and talking with the swazi boys. They were the soul of the culture. The heartbeat of Swaziland.
As I am leaving Swaziland, I reflect on the last 3 months and remind myslef all that the lord has taught me. The biggest lesson the Lord taught me here in the kingdom of Eswatini is that absolutely nothing is about me. Francis Chan wrote a book called ‘Crazy Love’ and in the first few chapters he speaks of this, “The point of your life is to point to him (Christ). Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because the whole thing is his. It is his world. It is his gift.” God has given me an in incredible gift… The gift of life. The gift of getting to be in Swaziland experiencing this culture and the love and friendship of these boys. It then hits me how fleeting my life is. I have been living in Swaziland for 3 months and the time flew by, just imagine how quickly my life goes by, it is but a breath of existence. What will I do with my time? I have been called to love God and others with my whole heart. But I also get the choice to live my life as selfless as possible. I get the choice to give everything, everything I have to love the people of Swaziland, to love the boys who steal sugar cane. I have been given much to give much. Then all of sudden life floods through my veins and I am meaningful. My life has purpose. To become selfless….To give everything I have for your kingdoms cause.
“Friends, we need to stop living selfish lives, forgetful of our God. Our lives here are short, often unexpectedly so, and we can all stand to be reminded of it from time to time… to help us remember that in the movie of life, nothing matters except our King and God. Don’t let yourself forget. Soak it in and keep remembering that it is true. He is everything.” -Francis Chan
