Day 1 Month 8: SWAZILAND
We are not in Kansas anymore.
At this point on the race, life has gotten comfortable. It doesn’t matter that we mostly live in Third World countries or sometimes don’t even have a house, our life still feels luxurious. Even the act of traveling to a new country each month has gotten routine. We know what to expect; so we just do it. We hop in a van, bus, or (if were lucky) plane and just wait however many days until we arrive at our new home. We know better than to ask when we’ll get there (because between bus breakdowns, border crossing closing hours, and general delays, the Lord is the only one who truly knows), just tell us where we are supposed to sit for the ride. Once we get to our home, we unpack to the best of our abilities, check out the amenities, or lack there of, and wait to meet with our contact to see what our month might actually look like. Up until this point, the country we are in doesn’t much matter. It’s just another day in another foreign place. Sad but true. What’s worse, we are not briefed on any of the countries we travel to so we go into each month pretty much blind. We can hope and pray that our host gives us an orientation on the area so our hearts can begin to connect to something, but sometimes we don’t get that lucky.
This month however…we got lucky! And I mean that in every sense. Not only did we get the blessing of getting briefed on the country we are fortunate enough to be living in for one whole month BUT we also got the privilege of having our hearts break for that country.
Swaziland, a country smaller than the state of New Jersey, has its fair share of problems. Swaziland is the AIDS capital of the world. It is estimated that 1 out of every 2 people in Swaziland has HIV/AIDS and if anything, that estimation is low. This means that many families are left with only one, or sometimes no parents, to raise their children. What’s worse, even with this many afflictions, many misconceptions still exist about HIV/AIDS. It is a generally accepted belief that you can contract the disease by simply drinking out of the same cup of someone who has HIV/AIDS. For this reason, most people are ostracized from their families and villages as soon as they are diagnosed. The country has tried to combat these high statistics with preventive measures, but even those are only marginally successful. Their main idea for AIDS prevention is circumcising men, which as my nurse friends have recently learned, prevents the contraction of AIDS by 60%. However, this only makes a dent in the overall problem because the issue is cultural.
The main cause of HIV/AIDS in this country is promiscuous sexual practices. Culturally, a man in Swaziland is allowed to have as many wives as he can provide for (yes I am talking about polygamy). The current King has 14 wives while the King before him had 70 (the last monarchy in Africa). Where this cultural practice went dangerous (I will leave all other opinions aside for now) was when men started having sexual relations with sexual partners other than their wives, such as girlfriends or lovers. This is not considered polygamy, but instead termed Multiple Concurrent Partnerships [MCP]; nonetheless, it is one of the major reasons for the widespread rates of HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. A man who has more than one partner is given a special name, inganwa. Inganwa is a celebrated term, denoting masculinity and respect. Thus, Swazi men take pride in the high number of sexual partners they have because it is engrained in their culture as a badge of honor.
Additionally, sexual practices have changed dramatically since the increase in, and somewhat unreasonable, cost of marriage. Husbands are expected to pay a bride price to the mother of the bride, usually about 15 cows. Then additional cows are expected for big earmarks such as the first year anniversary and the birth of any children. The cost of a cow is about the same as in America, $500 per cow; however, people here generally earn only $1.25 a day (side note: many people can barely afford one meal a day because of their low income; as a result, feeding centers make up a huge part of the social effort in this country…and as you will hear later, will be a big part of our ministry this month). As you can imagine, most people can’t afford to give up 15 cows as it would take them a lifetime to get them back. So as a result, fewer people are able to get married and thus more people are forced to just sleep around (this is another reason why polygamy reflects higher status, because if you have multiple wives it also means you have lots of wealth).
Now if either you or I had the time, I could tell you about the subpar hospitals and how when you are admitted, you basically have to take care of yourself or have a family member stay to take care of you. Simple conveniences like blankets, meals, and general medical supplies are often not guaranteed. Hospitals are not stocked (because they can’t afford to be) with even basic supplies, so a lot of burden is put on the family. To put simply: if you want it, then you are expected to bring it yourself.
I could also tell you about how the country has virtually no industry (agriculture and tourism…that’s about it), which has trapped them in a cycle of poverty. I could tell you a lot, but I feel it’d all result in the same outcome. Heartbreak.
The last country my heart broke for on this race was Haiti. And that was month 2! Now I don’t mean that to say that other countries haven’t had their problems, especially from a spiritual standpoint, trust me, they have. But I am talking basic needs not being met like those videos of malnourished Third World African children with protruding bellies. The commercials you can’t help but weep after because you can’t imagine a life that broken…and there it is right in front of your eyes.
I felt it in my heart before I even arrived that this month was going to be about breaking for things that break God’s heart. I know God is breaking for the oppression and depression of his children in Swaziland and I am so honored to witness it. This might sound strange, but THIS is the race I signed up for. These are the hard things I wanted to see when I traveled the world because I knew this is where I’d meet Jesus. Matthew 9:12-13 Thank you Lord for giving me such a humbling opportunity. Surely, I am blessed.
Swaziland: beautifully broken and wonderfully made!
Now for the nitty gritty on our house…
This month we are living with two other teams, Team Agape and Dream Team (basically the most epic house ever)! Our house is bigger than any house I’ve stayed at yet, enough for each team to have their own room, and even has the luxuries of hot showers, flushing toilets (that even allow toilet paper), and get this, a FIREPLACE! Now you might be asking yourself, why in the world would you of all people want a fireplace? You’ve been living in the Sahara dessert for 7 months. Well, it turns out fall has officially arrived on the race. I’d say it’s no colder than mid-seventies here, but to us it might as well be below freezing. We are all bundled up for the great snow of ’98 because our bodies have completely forgotten how to function in temperatures below eighty-five degrees (I mean it, I have actually gotten sick for the first time on the race and guess what I got, a cold). So let’s just say our fireplace will get lots of use while we are around.
That’s all I’ve got for now…until next time, LOVE YOU LOTS!
We are not in Kansas anymore.
At this point on the race, life has gotten comfortable. It doesn’t matter that we mostly live in Third World countries or sometimes don’t even have a house, our life still feels luxurious. Even the act of traveling to a new country each month has gotten routine. We know what to expect; so we just do it. We hop in a van, bus, or (if were lucky) plane and just wait however many days until we arrive at our new home. We know better than to ask when we’ll get there (because between bus breakdowns, border crossing closing hours, and general delays, the Lord is the only one who truly knows), just tell us where we are supposed to sit for the ride. Once we get to our home, we unpack to the best of our abilities, check out the amenities, or lack there of, and wait to meet with our contact to see what our month might actually look like. Up until this point, the country we are in doesn’t much matter. It’s just another day in another foreign place. Sad but true. What’s worse, we are not briefed on any of the countries we travel to so we go into each month pretty much blind. We can hope and pray that our host gives us an orientation on the area so our hearts can begin to connect to something, but sometimes we don’t get that lucky.
This month however…we got lucky! And I mean that in every sense. Not only did we get the blessing of getting briefed on the country we are fortunate enough to be living in for one whole month BUT we also got the privilege of having our hearts break for that country.
Swaziland, a country smaller than the state of New Jersey, has its fair share of problems. Swaziland is the AIDS capital of the world. It is estimated that 1 out of every 2 people in Swaziland has HIV/AIDS and if anything, that estimation is low. This means that many families are left with only one, or sometimes no parents, to raise their children. What’s worse, even with this many afflictions, many misconceptions still exist about HIV/AIDS. It is a generally accepted belief that you can contract the disease by simply drinking out of the same cup of someone who has HIV/AIDS. For this reason, most people are ostracized from their families and villages as soon as they are diagnosed. The country has tried to combat these high statistics with preventive measures, but even those are only marginally successful. Their main idea for AIDS prevention is circumcising men, which as my nurse friends have recently learned, prevents the contraction of AIDS by 60%. However, this only makes a dent in the overall problem because the issue is cultural.
The main cause of HIV/AIDS in this country is promiscuous sexual practices. Culturally, a man in Swaziland is allowed to have as many wives as he can provide for (yes I am talking about polygamy). The current King has 14 wives while the King before him had 70 (the last monarchy in Africa). Where this cultural practice went dangerous (I will leave all other opinions aside for now) was when men started having sexual relations with sexual partners other than their wives, such as girlfriends or lovers. This is not considered polygamy, but instead termed Multiple Concurrent Partnerships [MCP]; nonetheless, it is one of the major reasons for the widespread rates of HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. A man who has more than one partner is given a special name, inganwa. Inganwa is a celebrated term, denoting masculinity and respect. Thus, Swazi men take pride in the high number of sexual partners they have because it is engrained in their culture as a badge of honor.
Additionally, sexual practices have changed dramatically since the increase in, and somewhat unreasonable, cost of marriage. Husbands are expected to pay a bride price to the mother of the bride, usually about 15 cows. Then additional cows are expected for big earmarks such as the first year anniversary and the birth of any children. The cost of a cow is about the same as in America, $500 per cow; however, people here generally earn only $1.25 a day (side note: many people can barely afford one meal a day because of their low income; as a result, feeding centers make up a huge part of the social effort in this country…and as you will hear later, will be a big part of our ministry this month). As you can imagine, most people can’t afford to give up 15 cows as it would take them a lifetime to get them back. So as a result, fewer people are able to get married and thus more people are forced to just sleep around (this is another reason why polygamy reflects higher status, because if you have multiple wives it also means you have lots of wealth).
Now if either you or I had the time, I could tell you about the subpar hospitals and how when you are admitted, you basically have to take care of yourself or have a family member stay to take care of you. Simple conveniences like blankets, meals, and general medical supplies are often not guaranteed. Hospitals are not stocked (because they can’t afford to be) with even basic supplies, so a lot of burden is put on the family. To put simply: if you want it, then you are expected to bring it yourself.
I could also tell you about how the country has virtually no industry (agriculture and tourism…that’s about it), which has trapped them in a cycle of poverty. I could tell you a lot, but I feel it’d all result in the same outcome. Heartbreak.
The last country my heart broke for on this race was Haiti. And that was month 2! Now I don’t mean that to say that other countries haven’t had their problems, especially from a spiritual standpoint, trust me, they have. But I am talking basic needs not being met like those videos of malnourished Third World African children with protruding bellies. The commercials you can’t help but weep after because you can’t imagine a life that broken…and there it is right in front of your eyes.
I felt it in my heart before I even arrived that this month was going to be about breaking for things that break God’s heart. I know God is breaking for the oppression and depression of his children in Swaziland and I am so honored to witness it. This might sound strange, but THIS is the race I signed up for. These are the hard things I wanted to see when I traveled the world because I knew this is where I’d meet Jesus. Matthew 9:12-13 Thank you Lord for giving me such a humbling opportunity. Surely, I am blessed.
Swaziland: beautifully broken and wonderfully made!
Now for the nitty gritty on our house…
This month we are living with two other teams, Team Agape and Dream Team (basically the most epic house ever)! Our house is bigger than any house I’ve stayed at yet, enough for each team to have their own room, and even has the luxuries of hot showers, flushing toilets (that even allow toilet paper), and get this, a FIREPLACE! Now you might be asking yourself, why in the world would you of all people want a fireplace? You’ve been living in the Sahara dessert for 7 months. Well, it turns out fall has officially arrived on the race. I’d say it’s no colder than mid-seventies here, but to us it might as well be below freezing. We are all bundled up for the great snow of ’98 because our bodies have completely forgotten how to function in temperatures below eighty-five degrees (I mean it, I have actually gotten sick for the first time on the race and guess what I got, a cold). So let’s just say our fireplace will get lots of use while we are around.
That’s all I’ve got for now…until next time, LOVE YOU LOTS!
