Travel Days #6 (6/5/12 – 6/6/12) – Mozambique to Swaziland
We have arrived in Swaziland! We had a much shorter distance to travel this time, but as I’ve come to expect on this trip . . . things didn’t go exactly as expected. Traveling with my team from Xai Xai to Maputo to meet up with other squadmates went smoothly and as scheduled, but the next day was a little more interesting. The keyword for this travel experience would be WAITING, because we did a lot of that, but attitudes stayed positive and people were flexible so it just added to the adventure of the journey. I really do love travel days with this group of people and in the end we saw that the “3rd times a charm.” As usual, I have included an outline below to give you a glimpse into the experience.
Tuesday, 6/5/12
4:20am – Wake-up
5:04am – Take packs out to the road
5:25am – Truck arrives & packs are loaded & we walk down the hill to the Leiman’s house
5:44am – Depart from Xai Xai – Truck (Jason, Bean, & packs) & Mr. Leiman’s (missionary friend of our contacts) vehicle (the other 5 members of our team)
9:29am – Arrive @ “Beacon of Hope” mission house & meet up with most of our squad (minus Team Monarch because they traveled straight from Zimbabwe to Swaziland)**Spend the day and night here with our squad.
Wednesday, 6/6/12 **NOTE: “shoppa” is the local term for a transport van/bus
7:00am – Wake-up and pack up sleeping bag
7:30am – Breakfast
7:46am – Packs are piled outside for loading (expecting shoppa between 8am & 9am)
***WAITING***
10:10am – Shoppa arrives & packs are loaded
10:29am – Pile into the shoppa (24 seat vehicle – 28 ppl + 28 big packs + 28 daypacks)
10:49am – 1st attempt to depart the “Beacon of Hope” property **Shoppa stalls twice while still in the driveway on property and smoke is coming from the vehicle. It is determined that our ability to cram ourselves into small spaces does not address the issue of how much weight the engine of the vehicle can handle . . . thus this vehicle can’t transport us.
11:06am – Everyone gets off of the shoppa to await a decision
***WAITING***
12:54pm – Everyone piles back onto the original shoppa **Plan was for this shoppa to take us a short distance (about 30 minutes) to meet another shoppa with the ability to take us the full distance.
12:59pm – 2nd attempt to depart “Beacon of Hope” property **Actually make it through the gate and start down the road!
1:03pm – Shoppa stops a few blocks down the road **It is determined that this shoppa CAN’T take us even the short distance to the other shoppa so we need a new plan.
1:11pm – Shoppa reverses and pulls back onto the “Beacon of Hope” property & we unload the packs and find a spot in the grass to wait for another shoppa to arrive
1:44pm – We obtain some bread & PB & Jelly to make some lunch – YUM!
***WAITING***
4:26pm – New shoppa arrives & packs are loaded
4:50pm – We are served a quick rice & tomato dinner (time is important b/c the border will close at 8pm)
4:58pm – Everyone piles into the new shoppa (basically the same size as the previous one but with a larger engine so space is still tight)
5:05pm – 3rd attempt to depart “Beacon of Hope” property
***WE MADE IT 
5:16pm – Stop for Gas – Really? Already?
5:18pm – Back on the road
6:54pm – Arrive @ Mozambique exit border & go inside & get stamped to leave
7:18pm – Walk across the border
7:21pm – Get in line @ Swaziland entrance border & obtain passport stamps to enter
8:05pm – Drive across the border into Swaziland – Whew! Just made it! Border closes at 8pm, so there was yelling but we made it through!
10:04pm – Arrive @ gas station meeting point and call contact to meet us
10:26pm – contact arrives & we follow him
10:30pm – Arrive at the house in Manzini, Swaziland where the girls will live this month & meet up with Team Monarch **Greetings and then find a bunk & get some sleep!
***This month, all of the girls from our squad are living together in Manzini, Swaziland. We are partnering with AIM missionaries who are living and serving in this area and will be serving in a variety of ways here. Our individual roles are still being determined so I will provide more information in a later blog. Please continue to pray for me and for my entire squad as we strive to meet the needs of the area we are placed and to show God’s love to the people that we are coming into contact with on a daily basis.
