Y E B O!!
Month 7 of my race was spent working at an AIM (Adventures in Missions) base in the small city of Manzini, Swaziland.
Things are looking a lot different this month! We just had our first team changes after being with the same team for the last 6 months. I am now continuing on with my race with an entirely new group of people.
This past month, team “Unleavened” shared a house with two other teams from our squad. There were 21 of us living in one house with four small bedrooms, one small kitchen, and two bathrooms—one of which being shared by 15 girls—you can imagine it could get pretty chaotic. But despite the chaos, some of my favorite memories from this past month were the still, quiet mornings I’d spend sitting out on the front porch in prayer, looking out at the rolling hills as the sun rose above them; the friendships that were deepened through conversations had while swaying back and forth in hammocks or sprawled out on the grass under the African stars; worship nights and bold healing prayers, and endless amounts of instant coffee.
Care points are a huge part of what AIM does here in Swaziland, so most days were spent helping out at the care points in whatever ways were needed. I was in the manual labor group this month, which mostly involved doing things like painting playgrounds and shipping containers at the care points, cleaning out an old restaurant that’s being renovated into a community center, and helping to build a green house for the community garden.
Towards the end of the month, we had our Parent Vision Trip (PVT), where several of our parents (including mine!) got to come out and spent five days doing ministry with us at the care points. It was so special getting to see my parents interact with the kids at the care points, join us for worship nights, and pray with the families we brought monthly portions of food to. It was an incredible experience and an opportunity for them to get a small glimpse into what life can look like for us on the World Race.
Here are some of my favorite photos from our PVT!
One of the days at PVT we were asked to help facilitate a “Fun Day” at one of the care points. The kids had an absolute blast dancing, playing parachute games, climbing on the play ground, and bouncing in a bounce house for likely the first time in their lives. I’ll never forget the looks of pure excitement on their faces and the shrieks of joy as they bounced up and down!
My dad set up a coloring station for the kids. They loved it!
Lunch time! Each child was fed a full meal of chicken and pap (a corn meal dish that looks a lot like mashed potatoes).
At another one of the care points we were asked to do an activity with the kids. We put together a skit to teach them the story of Zacchaeus and taught them a song to go with it!
A huge part of care point ministry is simply playing with the kids, being silly and making them laugh, letting them feel seen and loved!
At the end of the day, they’re all sent home with full bellies and full HEARTS!!!
We even got to take our parents on a Safari for a fun adventure day!
I can’t thank these two enough for flying half way across the world for me. I love you both so much! (Photo by Sam Mann)
