RRRRRRROOOOAAAAAAHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!That’s
the sound that I wake up from several times a night, and hear all
throughout the day. That’s what I get for staying in a tent 50 yards
away from two LIONS!!!! Yes that’s right…LIONS! My team and I are
staying at a game reserve in Nsoko, and it’s amazing!! Not only are we
finally using our tents after five months, but we are sleeping next to
lions, and wake up to several ostrich’s in our camp site every morning.
There have also been snakes, giraffes, alligators, a hyena, a rooster,
very strange bugs, and huge spiders that we’ve come to grow accustom to
while being here. It’s amazing to say that this is my life for the next
several weeks.
Other
than seeing God’s amazing creation in a different way than I ever have
before; we are also doing ministry around Nsoko. Every morning my team
and I split up and go to six different care points. These care points
have children with no parents, come from poor families that can’t
afford for them to go to school, and children that aren’t old enough to
go to grade school. The Make’s (pronounced mage)
and Gogo’s (mothers and grandmothers) apply to be able to receive food
to feed the children and their families at the care points, and the
children are able to receive schooling for free. The care point I go to
has about 20 children ranging from ages 1-7. They are so hungry to
learn, and they are getting as far as they can with the level of
education that the teacher has to offer. The make’s and Gogo’s help out as much as they can.
The
third day Emily and I were there, one of the mothers of a little boy at
the care point invited us to her house for lunch. She says to me,
“Please come. This is my gift to you.” This is a 32 year old woman,
with five children and no husband. She has little to nothing, and she
is inviting two American girls that she just met over to have lunch. We
walked about 5 minutes from the care point and came upon this cement
house. She welcomed us in with a huge smile. We sat down on her couch
and the food was sat out in front of us, and she poured us some juice.
She served us an African food called pop. It’s the taste of rice with
the consistency of dry, crumbled cous cous, and topped with beef. It
was my first traditional African meal. It was a very humbling
experience being served food from a woman that barely has food to feed
her family.
I
fall in love with these children over and over every day. They are
amazing, beautiful children. I wake up every morning with the
excitement to see them each morning. Please continue to keep me and my
team in your prayers. We have see God in the most amazing ways here,
and He has allowed us to be a huge part in reaching out to His children
here in Swaziland, Africa. Everyday is a new day full of blessings.
