I only have 3 weeks here before going to Romania, crazy how time flies. I absolutely love where i am at right now. Swaziland is very small and it was the easiest border to cross. Most of the peoples income comes from growing marijuana I can smell it in the air from nearby fields. It is not legal to grow or possess it here and it is a risk of long term prison time to do so, but its been passed through generations here and its the only way the locals know how to make money. The orphanage and school I am serving at is working towards educating and teaching trades to the children so they can brake this cycle of illegal income. Swaziland has a negative growth rate as a nation due to AIDS, 62% of children born here die by age 2 and 74% of the population is HIV positive. Part of these statistics are due to the fact that piligamy is legal and a man can have up to 8 wives, and the king here has 15. Women and children are treated as possessions and it is common for a man to trade his daughters for livestock, a young girl here is worth about 12 cows.
Accomidations are the best I've had for some time, there are hot showers, a gas stove and a washing machine, and I get a bed to myself!
When we arrived it was rainy and cold, colder than anywhere else by far, i slept with 3 blankets put on my 1 long sleeved shirt, leg warmers, and socks. My team made fun of my leg warmers until we arrived here, now I think their jealous! I am a little worried about my wardrobe for Europe because I only have sandals and 1 long sleeved shirt, no jeans boots or sweaters, but I hear there are great thrift stores in Romania so Ill get what I need when I get there. The weather is perfect now during the day, like early fall, and cool at night. We have a fire pit and have built a fire and hung out under the stars.
I am doing mostly physical labor and I may get to paint a mural this month, that has been one of the things i really wanted to do. I am also with two other teams and have 3 musicians with me this month and get to play my ukelele with them, I am still learning but I can keep up with simple songs. I am so blessed to be on this journey!
I still need $4000.00 to continue on please pray about helping me out! Thanks all!
