I’ve never been good at saying good-bye. Even coming on the World Race saying my good-byes to people, my career and my life wasn’t hard. I was ready to move on with my life; I was ready for something more.
If someone had told me a month ago that leaving Swaziland would be hard, I would have thought that they were crazy. How could tent living with roosters crowing every morning starting at 2 am for every hour until 8 am, cows and bulls making strange noises all night long, the cold night air, clothes filled with the smell of smoke that just won’t come out and tick bite fever be hard to leave? There was no doubt in my mind I would be ready to go.
However, over the last month I’ve fallen in love with this country. I’ve met the nicest people I’ve ever met here. Our contacts are awesome. I can’t speak highly enough of them! The children and the go-gos have my heart. When I see certain teachers, go-gos or children at the care points after not seeing them for a couple of days I’m truly excited. I’ve come to know these people and their stories. Some of their stories will break your heart, like Tandy the 12 year old girl with HIV and no parents or the little girl whose mother gave her a black eye (there’s no father, by the way) and one week went 4 days without food and became so weak it actually scared me. Or the Mozambique refugee who has 7 brothers and sisters and even though both of his parents are still with him, he is considered poorer than most because his family brought nothing with them when they came to Swaziland. Or the go-gos that have seen the poverty and lack of care for these kids and have prayed and desperately wanted someone to help, to show them that they haven’t been forgotten.
Some people have asked me if I would ever come back here and my answer is yes. I would come back here. And I’d get tick bite fever all over again and I’d wake up every morning with a sore throat again just to be with these people…because these people are worth it. Actually their worth much more!
I hope other places aren’t this hard to leave or I’m going to be in a big mess. For the last six years I’ve felt a calling to work with children in Africa and I can tell you that the time I’ve spent here has been some of my favorite moments over the past few years. It’s amazing what happens to you and your heart when you walk into God’s calling for your life.
