HELLO FROM AFRICA EVERYONE!
I am safe and sound here in Nsoko, Swaziland. I arrived here on September 15. It took a total of four days to travel here; 28 hours of layovers, 22 hours of flights, 8 hours of driving, and a night spent in South Africa. Let me tell you, travel days are looonngg. Because I haven’t been able to communicate much with you all and probably won’t anytime soon due to the lack of wifi, this blog post is going to fill you in on what my life has been like here in the Kingdom of ESwatini.
WHERE I’M STAYING
Living in Nsoko isn’t that bad. I’m living in a very rural area so there are cows, goats, and chickens EVERYWHERE. When I say everywhere, I mean someone has to shoo a goat off the property at least once or twice a week. I am staying on an AIM base that is currently in the process of being built, so I’m living in the middle of a construction zone. The base is pretty big, there are three large rooms full of bunk beds, a common room/kitchen, bathrooms, a prayer garden in construction, an area for tents/hammocks, and porches. Every room has a bathroom with three flushing toilets and three working, cold showers; when the water tank is full. Flushing toilets and working showers were not a blessing we were all expecting here. The only thing that is a struggle is living without electricity. I can live without wifi, but I have found myself going to bed at 7pm most nights because it gets dark so early. Our wonderful hosts told us that we might get electricity sometimes in the next two weeks to 5 months; we are hopeful. The place I am staying is beautiful. I am surrounded by the most unreal mountains. Knowing that God made this part of the world and I had no idea is incredible. God is so amazing.
MINISTRY
My ministry for the next three months is serving at one of AIM’S 40 care points here in Nsoko. Care points are places where kids in that community come to get a meal, learn about Jesus, and get discipled. A person given the title of “shepard” oversee the care point that they run. My shepard’s name is Bonewei. She is the sweetest and most joyous woman I have ever met. She is loving towards the kids and a heart of gold. She has been such an example of Christ. My ministry is an hour walk which makes getting up and going a little hard on very hot days, but my team has been blessed a few times by people who have offered to drive us on occasion. Walking to ministry is not something I was expecting, but some of the kids who come to the carepoint have to walk the hour or more to get there, sometimes without shoes. I have gotten the opportunity to hold many kids, play games, tell people about Jesus, pray for people, make food with the Go Go (the women who cook the meals) and learn Sswati. It’s a very hard language to learn. Because I will be here for three months, I have had the chance to build relationships with some of the kids here and teenagers.
FOOD
I HAVE BEEN FED SO INCREDIBLY WELL. I am not starving here in Africa to say the least. Every morning, I get to opportunity to make breakfast for the 50 other people I am living with. We have had boiled eggs and oatmeal every morning. For lunch we have two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I’m trying to cut down to one. For dinner we always have something new and delicious. One of the teams here makes dinner alongside with two Swazi women who make us traditional Swazi meals. I think the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning is dinner. Peanut butter is still a staple to my diet here so no worries, I still have a jar in arms reach. To give you a very clear picture of how I have?will be(en) eating,, enjoy the calculations I did on the amount of food I will have consumed by the time I leave Africa; 27 boxes of oatmeal, 18 loaves of bread, 2 1/2 cartoons of eggs (60 in each so 150 eggs), 4 cans of jelly, and 4 tubs of peanut butter (but with the amount I have been eating probably more). This all applies if I have my 4 slices of bread a day, 2 eggs and cup of oatmeal everyday; don’t worry, I haven’t.
COMMUNITY
Ok. Community. The past month and the next 9 months I will be living in constant community. It’s easier than I thought and harder than I ever could have imagined. Sounds like an oxymoron, but that’s the easiest way to explain it. Every where you turn there is someone there. You are NEVER alone. Never. There are 51 different personalities, 51 different opinions, 51 different stories. God put all here on this trip with each other for reason which is crazy cool. We all come from different corners of the USA, but all have the same common goal; tell people about Jesus. Inside of my squad I am on a team with five other girls. This has been the hardest and most challenging part of the trip. To be honest our team is a hot mess. We all have very different personalities, backgrounds and opinions. It’s a growing process for all of us and we are all learning. But I can see already how God is shaping and forming us. I know He will do great things in each of these girl’s lives.
MISC.
Things to do – There is not much to do here. The only two places we can visit is a gas station market/store called SaveMor where we can get groceries, soap and the small supplies. The other place we can go to is a restaurant call Niesela. They have wifi you can pay 30 rand an hour for (if it works), decent food that’s not peanut butter and jelly, and a small store to buy souvenirs. In some ways it’s been a saving grace just to have a milkshake. We have started to build relationships with some on waitresses, it’s amazing to see how ministry flow into every aspect of your life here.
Church – African church is the most wonderful thing. Every Sunday my squad and I walk to church down the road and spend three hours singing, dancing, and holding kids. When the pastor speaks it can be hard to understand him. There is someone to translate, but it’s not always clear. I truly think the American church has a thing or two to learn from the African church.
WHAT GOD HAS BEEN TACHING ME
A lot. God has been teaching me a lot. He has been showing me what it’s like to live life on ministry. He has been teaching me that I have trust issues. He has been teaching me how to st in silence and listen to Him. He has been teaching me to love those who hard hard to love despite circumstances. He is growing and shaping me to be more like Him. It hurts. It’s hard. It’s very much needed.
For now, this is all I have to share. If you have any questions about life here send me a message, I would love, love, love to share more when I get wifi! Like I said, I probably will not have good wifi for the next 3 months (or more), so if you don’t hear from me, that’s probably a good thing. I hope all is well back home in America.
Enjoy Autumn for me!
Jordan Louise
