Africa!
We have only been here for half a week but there is so much exciting news, so here’s a quick update about our life in Swazi.
Last week our squad arrived at the base in Nsoko, Swaziland. The base is still under construction, but it is already starting to feel like a home after just a couple of days. The base is just 2 cement structures, 5 bedrooms and a kitchen/dining area. We are lucky to have hot water, bunk beds, chairs, and electricity. All of which are new additions to the base within the past couple of months. It is barebones and surrounded by a landscape with almost no buildings, but our squad makes anywhere into a home and I am so excited to live a life of simplicity for the last 3 months of the race.
The drive from the Johannesburg airport to the base was beautiful. African landscape is vast and colorful and it blew me away. Everything feels really open and you can see the stars better than anywhere that I can remember being. We live by game reserves, and our squad leaders got to see a giraffe there the other day. We thought that it might be colder here than it was in Thailand because it was so far in the southern hemisphere and moving into winter here, but it’s Africa so it is still hot as blazes. A little discomfort never hurt anyone.
We have not started our ministry yet, but the summary of my team’s ministry for the next 3 months is incredibly exciting. Our team has 2 carepoints that we will alternate going to every other week. A carepoint is a place where children get dropped off by their parents and hangout for the day. Our job is to work with the people in charge of each care point to entertain, teach, or just love on the kids. Our teams other ministry is prison ministry one day a week. I don’t know exactly what this will look like, but we know that we are going to work with a missionary couple that is living here. The missionary living here works long-term to build connections and pour into people from the prison. I am particularly excited for this ministry and am praying that we get to see good fruits as a result of it.
Overall I really love Swaziland already. There’s crazy bugs, and not a lot of convenience, and dirt gets on everything, but I am so grateful to be here. I am so thrilled for our ministry opportunities and opportunities for growth and chances to enjoy the beauty of Africa. Lots to be excited about and lots to be grateful for.
