Well, Swaziland was almost exactly how I expected it to be. I expected to be full of children, spiritual warfare, and humbling facts and lessons. Last month we were in Nsoko, Swaziland, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere but surrounded by breathtaking views. My team stayed with two other teams in a house that just had a kitchen, a common area, and the guys and girls bedrooms so needless to say there was unifying between us all whether we wanted it or not. Luckily we are all open to unity. We did, however, do ministry with just our teams. Throughout the month we did a variety of different things for ministry. We did things like: help with preschool, dig a trench, home visits, visit care points daily, and on occasion help with Christmas parties at the care points. The care points are places where these amazing women, called Gogos, dedicate their time to cook a meal of rice and beans for a village of kids everyday, Monday through Friday, and then the full time missionaries (and us for this past month) will do a Bible lesson. Our ministry hosts confirmed what I suspected to be truth, that the meals that the Gogos cooked for the kids would be their only meal for the day. And if there wasn’t enough for everybody then they just didn’t all get to eat. Some of the kids would walk multiple miles one way just to get there to find out they don’t even get to eat. It is very rare they don’t have enough for everybody, but it still happens and it’s just extremely humbling. One day, we weren’t able to go to a care point because it was raining really hard. I guess I didn’t explain that the care points pretty much consist of a shack for the Gogos to cook in and on occasion there was a small church or another shack there. Our hosts explained to us that when it rains too hard the kids don’t even get to go. So these kids who rely on this one meal for their food for the day have to hope it doesn’t rain that day either. It breaks my heart just thinking about it. All the beautiful children we encountered at these care points in pain because of not being able to eat waking up and seeing it raining and knowing that means another day without food. There are many other eye opening stories we were told about what kids will do to get food, but all those stories would just tug on your heart strings and that’s about it. To actually see these kids and their desire for basic needs is what really gives you the picture of how tragic it really is.
Despite all the lack of, well, everything, the people of Swaziland are so incredibly happy and welcoming. Their culture is so laid back and relaxed, they all will wave at you with a smile and are more than happy to just have a conversation with you.
Another gem of this country was our ministry hosts. They were two families from America, the Malloy’s and the Spragg’s, who were actually transitioning into moving to Swaziland to be full time missionaries and replace an amazing woman named Erica who’s getting ready to head back to America for a few years after a 5 year stay in Swaziland. They all really took us in as family. They let us play with their kids, use there showers (that had hot water!!), and even ha us over for a typical thanksgiving dinner. They are two amazing families who I urge you to keep in your prayers for their time in transition to Nsoko, and for Erica’s transition out.
My time in Swaziland was absolutely unforgettable. It was one of the countries I was looking forward to the most to visit and it left a lifelong impression on my heart. I grew in knowledge of the suffering there and ways to help it, I grew closer with my new team, and I really grew in my prayer life. So thank you to the Malloy’s, the Spragg’s, Erica and her husband, the discipleship team, and all the people we encountered that month. You stay classy Swaziland.
