-Swaziland-December-Month6-
My month spent in Swaziland was an absolutely beautiful month. My entire squad worked together on the top of a mountain at the orphanage El Shadai. It was a month away from the hustle and bustle of a city, away from the distractions of the Internet, and a month focused on loving the children we lived with and working hard to make a positive impact on the orphanage.
We had the opportunity over the month to take part in projects such as cleaning up school classrooms, building a base for a water tank, mucking the duck pond, chopping wood to be burned to cook over, clearing the grounds of debris, digging a trench to prevent flooding in the chapel, and putting on a night of relaxation and pampering for the Aunties (the women at the orphanage who care for all the children day in and out).
I also got to experience one of the most magical Christmases, enjoying fun family Christmas traditions throughout the month with my squad mates and getting to watch the faces of almost a hundred orphans light up as they opened more gifts than they had ever received. We got to watch girls proudly stroll around their new dolls in their strollers and boys run around laughing as they shot each other with their new dart guns. We got to watch all the kids strut around and blush as we complimented them on their cool new outfits. We got to come together as a squad on Christmas Eve to put on a church service almost just like one we would have attended at home. We got to be the support for one another when we were homesick and missed our families over this holiday season.
We got to pour into a specific child for an entire month, watching them open up to us, quickly realizing they would be impacting us far greater than we could impact them. We got to set off fireworks and see the faces of amazement as we rang in the New Year. We got to stare out at some of the most vibrant sunsets feeling God’s love and peace wash over that mountaintop. And we had to say some of the hardest goodbyes, trusting that God would continue to provide people in their lives who will love them as well if not hopefully even better than we were able to.
It was a wonderful month I will never forget!
