If you had talked with me when I was in South Africa you would have heard me marvel at the beauty of the place. The rocks and shore there are surprising and out of place. In Swaziland, however, the same rugged landscape stretches in all directions. Still, I prefer these bald, bright green hills, marred by dashes of chunky eternal stone.
They remind me of the LOTR and subsequently valor, unexpected journeys and faithful perseverance. (Mom is right, I’ll probably attempt to talk you into visiting each place I go :).
El Shaddai sits atop a treacherously scaled “mountain” (treacherous for a motor car) with a view on top (at The Rock) identical to the shooting-star castle ditty at the start of Disney films (minus the castle). It’s legit. And if you’re like me and your nose turns to a cooked lobster color and your hands blister even with SPF 60 up there, you’ll probably find shelter outside of your oven-like tin-roofed lodging and hide out on rocks on the opposite side of the hill from the fairy-tale view. Even on that side of the mountain, the scene is nothing to complain about.
I spent some of my favorite times there last month. Alone with God, throaty liquid birds (bright yellow, living in hanging gourd-like houses high up in the trees), clapping trees (it could get windy), cows on all the hills, clouds racing above the hills, lizards heating on rocks, and unrelenting flies.
The hills held together some of my favorite moments in Swaziland. Early morning quiet time on the rocks before others were up. Jogging the winding hills with Dave, Katie D., Kristen, and Alys in the mornings. Sitting and soaking up God’s beauty. Filling up with thanks and praise. Worship, prayer, sketching and paining on The Rock, hiking across the hills, and enjoying my squad of 48 everywhere around the orphanage (with the backdrop of rolling green) – each blessed opportunities to praise God.
That’s not how every moment felt, though. At times I wondered why God was working as He was. But that is for the next blog.
P.S. I love you guys!
