Hello! Since I last wrote to y’all, we left Zambia, spent a day in South Africa, arrived at our ministry site in eSwatini (Swaziland), completed our first two weeks of ministry of all women’s month, and celebrated Galentines Day! Here is a bit about life lately…
Route change
Originally, K-squad was supposed to spend February in Zimbabwe; however, we had a last-minute route change due to extensive amounts of unrest. Now, the men are doing “manistry” month in Lesotho, and the women are living in eSwatini. Fun fact: the official name of Swaziland is now eSwatini. For a while, the country held both names, but on the king’s 50th birthday last year, he made the change official.
Also, on the way from Zambia to eSwatini, we had a day in South Africa! We went to the Apartheid Museum (I could talk about this for hours), spent a few hours in a mall, drank real coffee (difficult find in the villages where we usually stay in Africa), and spent time in the sweet, peaceful oasis of the woman who hosted us for a couple nights.
Host
We live at an AIM (Adventures in Missions) base this month, about 20 minutes from South Africa in dorm-style housing, surrounded by fields and mountains. We have a prayer garden on our property that is filled with tiny wildflowers. I’ve seen seven scorpions so far. There are cutie little goats wandering around the property. I have sweet encouragements from home taped above my bed. The clouds drift over the mountains every morning during quiet time. I love our temporary home.
Our hosts are David and Jenna, a married couple who met during their World Race several years ago. They are such a blessing to our squad, inviting us over for wifi, blankets, and real coffee; allowing us to love on their two little ones; and sharing wisdom and insight that they have gained from completing the race and living as international missionaries.
Galentines
Eeeeeee, yay yay yay for Galentines Day! We had so much fun showering our secret galentines with love in the days leading up to our sweet celebration! During our party, we had dinner, a gift exchange, popcorn, iced coffee, cookies, tons of laughter, and so, so much love.
Ministry
Each team (three teams of six or seven) is assigned to a care point this month. The care points are where kids walk each weekday to play and receive food. Each care point has a shepherd – a young adult who was once a care point kid and was chosen to receive leadership training to disciple the current care point kids. Our role at the care points is to love the kids who show up, distribute food, and disciple the shepherds who disciple the kiddos.
Our ministry is not very difficult. Sure, the days are hot. Some of the kids are rowdy and few of them speak English, but mostly we play and hug and dance and laugh. I get to teach our shepherd Spanish this month, and that is fun. There are lulls during the day, so we get plenty of rest.
Our ministry is fairly easy, but the realities we witness are not.
eSwatini is said to have a missing generation because it is so heavily plagued with HIV/AIDS that over 70% of children are orphans.
It is a country heavy with witchcraft, resulting in 2,000+ child abductions per year because witch doctors request body parts for their potions.
We see kids eating rocks, and when we ask them why, their answer is that they are hungry.
When we asked the pre-school teacher why she does not like a man we saw, she casually told us he tried to rape her last week. (side-note: we were perfectly safe and no member of our team was – or felt – threatened when we saw him….this is not to say her words were not true but to calm the anxious hearts of loved ones who read this blog)
Polygamy is common here, which is typically displayed when one man with many wives and many children live on a single homestead. The result is often one or two of the wives caring for 20+ sons and daughters as the husband and other wives die.
Kids show up covered in wounds – physical, mental, emotional, medical – as seen in their unclean scraped knees, attachment disorder symptoms, signs of PTSD, and ringworm scabs.
We are surrounded by the trees that produce the same kinds of thorns that were used to make Jesus’ crown.
We see harsh realities. We ask each other what we can do to ensure that our contribution here is helpful. We ask the Lord to help us bring Kingdom to a place that seems so desolate. We pray over our care points, drawing a line of protection with the blood of Jesus, as we ride in the van each morning.
And as we hug the kids who run up to us, smile at the ones who are too afraid to enter the playground, and fill the returning, unwashed bowls with the same rice and beans every afternoon, our Father – the one who never leaves, never abuses, never fails to provide, and never stops showering us with his perfect, powerful love – assures us that he cares. That he sees the kids and the shepherds and the women and the homesteads. He reminds us to look around at all the green – the trees, grasses, and flowers – overflowing in a country that has been rescued from a four-year drought. He tells us that he cares for the wildflowers, the birds, and all the broken hearts…including ours.
Praises and prayer requests
God is sovereign and powerful and personal and caring
A month of sisterhood – of laughter, accountability, discomfort, play, and growth
Hospitality all around the world
Protection over our hearts and our care points
That our squad would be lice-free (we’re going on four months having lice, yiiiiiikes)
Long distance is painful, y’all – God is using distance in so many incredible ways, but wowza
Travel mercies as we head to Asia at the end of the month!
