I left Swaziland exactly six weeks ago, and it feels like a long time. And while in Myanmar, being sick and having less to do due to the student’s winter break, I had a lot of time to think about it. Since Swaziland had been the first country on the world race I had nothing to compare it to, I thought I knew what I liked about it and what I didn’t. But I appreciate it so much more now. It’s almost like how I feel after doing IB in high school- lots of days I was exhausted and lots of times I didn’t know what to do. But during the last half of both ministry in Swaziland and IB (senior year) I just came to love what I was doing and enjoy things that before maybe wouldn’t have been enjoyable to me. And now I miss it a lot.
For example one of my absolute favorite memories from Swaziland was the preschool graduation the day before we left, and this is even after it caused arguments and a very late packing/cleaning night (I only say this to give you full perspective on how much I loved it). Being Africa, it started 2 hours late and went for three hours in a hot little building. But it was also full of very talented dancing, singing, and costume changes from 6 year olds I’d played with every morning for 3 months. The half of the team that went was seated at a table of honor and I just remember being thanked by several parents for caring for their kids and it made everything feel so special. I just can’t describe how proud I was to see those twenty little kids receive their awards and diplomas in front of what felt like the whole village. And at the end Mfanutini, our shepherd, made sure we got chicken and pop back at our base (since we were forced to leave by our leaders before the food was served).
If I had sat through the ceremony barely knowing the culture, the shepherd, preschoolers and their siblings I know I would have wanted to leave before even the 2 hour wait was over. But at that point it was really one of the most special events I’d been to and I was full of pride for the Swazi babies. And then I thought about other things I loved about Swaziland or miss now. The biggest of course are my favorite kids, Mfanutini, Dolly, and Sinele. I just think about the way Mfanutini would say “Is it?” in his accent whenever we told him something. Or Dolly calling me daughter and having me taste things before dinner to see if I thought they were seasoned good. And I especially miss little Batzo offering me some of her rice at the care point so generously even though she might not get more food. And I miss the way Owethu would squeal when she saw me and my friends walk up to her ‘aunts’ house.
Overall I’m just very grateful for my time there and there’s a lot of people I love there. So the moral of the story- you should pray for all the kids in Swaziland, and thank you a million if you helped me get there, and I think God did a pretty good job of making it so special for all of us.
