A lot has happened since I left for Swaziland a month ago. It’ll be hard to put it into words. First off, I left for Africa on September 9th after our 3 day launch. We took 3 trains, buses, 2 plains, some walking, and then 1 final bus ride to get to Swaziland. Which took 4 days. Then we arrived and had a few days to rest before starting ministry. Our ministry has been helping out at these things called care-points. The care points are located within communities of homesteads throughout Swaziland. Each team on our squad has been placed at a care point where we have the privilege of loving on kids, playing with them, singing, dancing, and teaching them lessons. The kids also receive a meal at the care points, which is often times the one meal they get in a day.
We are living in Nsoko, Swaziland and there’s not a whole lot going on there. There is one gas station for about an hour and a half walking distance. You can take Swazi public transportation called a Kombi to get there, but a lot of times you’ll end up waiting longer for that than it would take to walk. And sometimes they don’t come at all! So really there is not much to do where we are living. It is a place of stillness and peace. It is beautiful and sometimes hard. The stillness invites growth in a place where distractions are limited. We sit with the Lord and with each other and by ourselves. We have ministry Tuesday-Friday, but we have a lot of free time! Which is great for rest, and hard for someone like me who prefers a little more excitement in life. All in all though, the Lord has shown me excitement in the simplicity of a relationship with him. That’s worth some boring days.
Playing with kids all day is personally my ideal ministry. It has proven to be super exhausting, though. But the lord allows me to be weak so that he may make his strength known. The kids welcome us with open arms. They are the most joyful kids I’ve ever known. God uses their smiles as fuel for us when we are weary. The Swazi culture in general is celebratory and beautiful. They are so friendly and welcoming. They speak Siswati and those who are educated speak a decent amount of English. But somehow God always seems to break communication barriers.
All in all, it’s weird… I LIVE in Swaziland! And some days it’s so hard and home feels so far away. Some days I long for home. But God has been teaching me what home actual means. He’s been teaching me that ultimately he is my home. He’s taught me so much about himself and we’ve walked through a lot of hard things together. He’s given me a team to support and encourage me. He’s given me beauty and joy in all the little things as he slows me down. So many good things have happened, so many sweet moments. I’ve learned and I’ve struggled. And that vaguely sums it up:)
