I can’t tell you how many times I was asked which country I was most excited for. The answer, hands down, was Swaziland. To be completely honest, I’m not sure why, other than that I believe God laid this country on my heart. From the day I chose my World Race route, Swazi stuck out to me.
Swaziland not only met but exceeded my expectations. I walked into month two of my race prepared for the challenges we faced month one all over again, but was surprised by a very different experience and ministry. I was thankful for so many things, first and foremost, the beautiful country of Swaziland that I hope to return to someday.
Here you will find a list of some of the things I was thankful for:
1. My Bed – After a month of tenting, I have never been more thankful for a bed. I lived on the bottom bunk, which reminded me of my freshman year of college when I had the bottom bunk and we called it my cave. It was like being reunited with my cave!
2. Murray Camp Preschool – Tuesdays through Fridays, I was an assistant teacher at Murray Camp Preschool. During our lunch break, one of my sqaudmates who was teaching in the classroom next to mine said, “I can’t believe we’re teaching at a school in Africa.” It was surreal. For part of the day, Teacher Phindile would have me take the lead. The kids and I would go over colors, shapes, the alphabet, vowels, pledges, seasons, the parts of the body, and how to care for your body. In the afternoons, we would do worksheets or practice writing letters, numbers, or our names. Before their bathroom break each child would have to tell Teacher Phindile or I their name, age, if they were a boy or girl, who their teacher was, and what school they go to. I can still hear their little voices listing off these facts! It’s hard for me to imagine a ministry I would enjoy more than this one.
3. Lwethu – Every day at school we had story time. Phindile told the best stories and I would sit with the kids while she told them. Every day during story time, without fail, a little boy named Lwethu would make sure our chairs were next to each other. He would hold our chairs together so no one could separate them. There was not one story time the entire month he didn’t make sure I sat by him.
4. Monday’s – Every Monday we had ATL (Ask the Lord), where we asked God what he had for us/wanted us to do. My favorite part was that Katie and I ended up meeting a waitress named Nancy and we would visit her every Monday and multiple times throughout the week. We spent hours and hours in the cafe where she worked. Katie and I had many meaningful conversations and we got to be an encouragement to our new friend.
5. The Swazi People – I’ve been on the race for three months and month two in Swaziland was the month I made the most connections and friends so far. The locals are ready to be friends. They’re ready to talk and spend time together and I loved every minute of that. No one was just someone I worked with, or just someone waiting my table, or just a person I ran into often. This includes the kids at Murray Camp Preschool who were so precious and brought me more joy than I know what to do with.
6. Valentine’s Day – Valentine’s Day fell over our time in Swaziland and thankfully I was with the Queen of Valentine’s Day, Tabitha Turner, who made everyone living in our house red velvet pancakes and a valentine.
7. Kinder Eggs – Kinder eggs became somewhat of a tradition for us in Swazi. Basically, it’s egg-shaped and one side has Nutella-like candy and the other has a prize. Can’t lie, I was thankful for these after hardly any sweets month one.
8. The George – My squadmates and I spent a good bit of our off time at The George Hotel, where we would get wifi and pizza. Even when the wifi was down, we liked to hang out there in the big comfy chairs.
9. Missionary Friends – A recently married couple had moved from the United States less than a year ago to be missionaries in Swaziland and we got to connect with them! They had us over to their house twice, once for a game night and again for a movie night. Spending time with them was very life-giving.
10. Singing at Church – The church we attended on Sunday’s asked us to lead worship one week, so my squadmates and I got to lead worship together! I was reminded of how much joy singing brings me.
11. Blessed to Be a Blessing – I felt so incredibly blessed in Swaziland and the reason that matters is because I was blessed to be a blessing. We got to take the teachers we worked with out to eat and they told us missionaries come all the time, but this was the first time they were asked to spend time together outside of ministry. We bought lunch for a 22-year-old who said it was the first time anyone had ever taken him out and bought him lunch. I got to bless the children at the preschool with school supplies and candy and they exclaimed, “It’s Christmas!!” These are just a few examples of the ways we got to bless the people we came in contact with. Forming these relationships and blessing people has been one of my absolute favorite parts of the race so far.
I’m curious to see if Swaziland is still my favorite at the end of the race. Without a doubt, it will always have a special place in my heart.
