1. Team changes lead to growth
As you all know, I just changed teams. I was excited to get to know new people on our squad, but I didn’t realize how hard it would be to leave my old team behind. I had grown to know so much about the members on my old team, and they knew me as well. Changing teams meant starting that process all over. Sharing stories again, learning people’s habits again, and explaining how I function again. Not to mention, we had to figure out how to bring all our old team dynamics together to form our new team dynamic. It was hard work! I wasn’t sure at first if I wanted to go through this process all over again, but I knew I had to. It meant that each day we had to choose to fight for each other and for our team. It’s a process that we are still working on today, and will continue to work on tomorrow. Even though it’s hard, I’m thankful. My old team had become pretty comfortable, and comfort can breed contentment and laziness. Changing teams has brought me out of my comfort zone and pushed me more than I’ve been pushed in a long time, so I’m thankful for that.
2. Be thankful
I figured I’ll pick up where my last point left off! Swaziland was a hard Month for me. When I was realizing all these new changes I wasn’t thinking about it in a positive light. Instead of thinking about the new opportunities we had as a team, I was just thinking about what I missed about my old team. That made for a pretty hard month. During that time I came across 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Reading that verse was a wake up call for me. I was sitting there sulking, and I forgot to give thanks for all the good things going on. No wonder it was such a hard month! Once I started rejoicing and praising God my mentality improved significantly. I realized that I had so much to be thankful for!
3. Building a greenhouse is quite a task
Part of my ministry this month included building a greenhouse for the community garden. Our point person for the project didn’t have any measuring tools, so we resorted to using our bodies to measure. We used my squad mate Joe’s height and stride to determine how to lay out the poles…needless to say, it wasn’t the most exact. We spent a lot of time digging holes and placing giant black tubes in the ground, and near the end we found out that we had made it a little too big. Not good! As soon as we started problem solving we realized that the company hadn’t shipped us all the correct pieces, so we had to take a break in order for them to buy the necessary pieces. It was an interesting project to say the least! Although it was frustrating, it wasn’t wasted time. Every day we went out there we got to serve and love on the employees and locals in the area, which is time well spent!
4. You can fit a lot of people in one house
We had a total of about 25 people living in our house, which had 2 small bathrooms and 1 small kitchen. It made living together pretty interesting! Every night we were cooking for a large number of people, had music playing, and we all hung out in the back yard. It always felt like a party! It was pretty fun having so many of us hanging out all the time, but it also took a tole on my introverted self. I had to learn to take time by myself even when there was a lot going on. Overall, I absolutely loved it because I got to know people on the squad that I wouldn’t have ever spent time with.
5. Soccer games are like a big party
When we got to Swazi we learned that tickets to soccer games were only about $5, so of course we had to go! The game we wanted to see was the Swaziland team vs. Congo Republic. We didn’t get to the game until just after half time, and the score was already 2-2. We thought we had missed most of the action! The stadium was so packed that we had to squeeze onto the stair aisles as our seats. Not long after, Swazi scored 2 more goals to clinch the win! I thought we celebrated sports in America, but I was blown away by the fans. People were running onto the field, taking their shirts off, and climbing the stadium rafters. It was crazy!
6. PVT was amazing
The World Race has a week long program called Parent Vision Trip where our parents have the chance to come out onto the field and see what we have been doing for the past 7 months, and my parents decided to come! It was the most surreal thing seeing my parents here in AFRICA after having such a huge time difference for so long. We were able to talk without the usual many dropped Facebook calls and wifi failures. What’s a blessing! Having my parents (a piece of home) meet my friends on the race was like having 2 worlds collide. I also really enjoyed meeting other racer’s parents and seeing the similarities. Our parents got the opportunity to take the things they’ve been hearing about from their kids and put it into action for themselves. I am so thankful that my parents flew out to Swaziland to see me and experience what my life has been like. I know it’ll make a difference for when I go home and have to try to explain everything I’ve been through for the last year.
7. AIM base in Swaziland
My host this month was actually AIM! They have a base and office out here in Africa that partners with Children’s Hope Chest. It was very cool to see the program that I committed to working with back in America in full ministry mode on the other side of the world. AIM has a heart for Swazi and the orphans here, and I’m lucky to have been a part of it!
8. Jesus is alive!
I got to celebrate the most meaningful Christian holiday here in Africa! We created our own little Good Friday service in our living room and attended a church that hasn’t even officially opened yet. It’s amazing to say that my community here on the race is the living and moving church, and I really experienced that this Easter. Oh, and we also got creative with an Easter egg hunt around our house!
9. Elephants are dangerous
While we were at PVT we got the opportunity to go on a safari! It was a much smaller area than the last safari I went on, so I had no idea what to expect. Our driver was a pretty funny guy, and we quickly learned that he liked to take risks! We came across this elephant just eating from a bush, so we stopped and watched it for a while. I guess the elephant was tired of us being there and it started to just stare at us. Just as one of the parents was asking if elephants are dangerous, our driver quickly turned on the car and took off…because the elephant was chasing us!! So to answer the question: yes, elephants ARE dangerous. It was one of the funniest moment for me on the race!
10. We all need childlike faith
One of the many ministries I did this month was going to care points to teach, play with children, or paint playgrounds (usually all 3). A care point is a place that children will come either for school or after school to get the care they need. Often times these children are orphans or don’t have the proper supervision at home. The meals they eat at care points are likely their only meal for the day. Even though these kids have a tough life at home, they are still just like all kids. Joyful, goofy, playful, trusting, and needing love! Playing with these kids reminded me of how much the Father loves them, and how much He loves me too. Please keep all the orphans in Swaziland in your prayers! Pray for blessings, hope, safety, that they keep their childlike innocence, and that they grow up to be strong leaders in their faith and country.
11. Every day is an adventure if you say “yes!”
There’s not really a lot to do in Swaziland, but on our off day we decided to go check out a “cultural village.” It was an area where they had preserved old huts that the Swazi tribes used to live in. We had the chance to learn all about the culture of Swaziland and see a native Swazi dance. We found out that there was a quick hike to a waterfall, so of course we had to go! The body of water was fenced off and the waterfall was in the distance, but my lovely friend Rachel decided that we should go for a swim anyways. We crossed the fence and jumped in for a quick swim before going on with the day. I’ve learned that it’s the little things throughout the days that really make life exciting!
