Yesterday Travis and I left the girls and the second ministry site we’ve visited this month. We started the month with Sweet Aroma and The Sheilas at Hope Rises Africa. The founder, Corinne, runs four preschools there. The teams are sleeping in their tents on what is usually a cornfield (it’s winter here now, so there’s no corn planted). They are showering outdoors and truly roughing it for the Lord this month.
(Sunset behind preschool)
Corinne is a wonderful, spirit-led woman who has a true heart for the Swazi people. After a little orientation session, she told us that one of the main reasons that she felt called to open these preschools is to get the children out of the homes. Sexual abuse is very common in Swaziland. The problem is that the people don’t see it as sexual abuse. It is not uncommon for a fully-grown man to approach a young girl fetching water or firewood and tell her to have sex with him. It’s not frowned upon and it’s not illegal.
Corinne gets frustrated even talking about the topic at all (who wouldn’t?!!?). It’s very sad that children are having their innocence stolen from them at such a young age. I couldn’t help but think, “Preschoolers? Really, preschoolers?”. It’s sick. It’s a problem. No one really knows what to do about it. Swaziland is the only “true monarchy” left. There’s a king and he’s the boss. He makes all the decisions and what he says, goes. Needless to say, these two teams have a lot of love to pour out on these kids this month.
(This little guy needs a belt!)
The second team we visited is Daughters of Zion. It’s an all-girls team that is working in the clinic and hosting sports in the afternoon. They are staying on-site at the youth camp where they conduct the sports clinics. Their site is a little less rough. They have huts with roofs where they can set up their sleeping pads and their showers are a little more permanent.
Corinne from Hope Rises had warned all of us that there isn’t much discretion in Swaziland. Since most families live in single-room homes, children see adults having sex and adults and siblings changing clothes. Nudity is pretty much a non-issue here. I still wasn’t quite ready for what happened when we arrived at the clinic.
Y’all know that I’m horrible at conversations. I don’t like talking to strangers. It’s awkward and uncomfortable. Anyway, I was walking around the clinic with a couple of the girls and there was a small ward with six beds. Only one bed was occupied. It was a man in his early 40’s. The girls told me I could probably handle him on my own. Boy, were they wrong….
I introduced myself and asked why he was in the hospital. He told me that he was having a problem with his privates and so they tried to circumcise him but that he wouldn’t stop bleeding. Then he showed me. It was a little more than I probably needed to see. But I did get the point. I prayed that his operation would go well and peaced out of there.
I sure was thankful that the girls didn’t come in with me. It was a good reminder that even if I may be uncomfortable about praying for someone that has something physically wrong with them, God still loves them just as much as me or the next guy.
We’re in Mbabane now working on setup for South Africa. The girls will be meeting us today and then we’ll be off to El Shaddai Children’s Home tomorrow. We have three teams there (including mine!) and we hear there’s a great view!
