Plane after plane and bus after bus, we made it to South Africa, where we took a lunch break in a touristy town. Then, we hopped right back on where we made our way to the Kingdom of eSwatini (the King’s name change from “Swaziland”). I soaked up as much of that bus ride through South Africa as I could, looking out the window to see extensive land with those thin trunk trees with the flat long top, because despite common misunderstanding, eSwatini is its own little beautiful country that isn’t a part of South Africa, but is surrounded by South Africa.
We pull up to our house, our three rooms and a kitchen with a gas stove, leaky sink and a big room connected. At that moment, nothing was sinking in my brain after 4 days of straight traveling, and this place was just an empty space I was ready to fall asleep in. The next day it was a loud kitchen for singing while washing dishes, a big living room for laughs and conversation, and was the perfect distance from city glare to see the mass of stars.
I’ve been here for a week, and only been in ministry for 4 days (which I am already so in love with and will blog about, but definitely after I have been doing it for more than… 4 days), but it feels like I have been here a lot longer. Not in good or bad way, but time here is definitely stretched. In just the first few days before ministry, we had a lot of time to spend with God, ourselves and each other. I’d go to the hammocks intending to rest for a while, and end up in conversation that ranged from deep topics and understanding the Bible, and two seconds later be laughing about anything that has no importance except for the fact it makes us laugh. I’ve spent a good amount of time in the word or journaling, watching the perfectly round and neon sun set over the mountains behind us, sipping instant coffee in the morning towards the mountains in front of us. On our front fence, hand washed laundry hangs, high enough to keep the goats from minimizing our already small wardrobe. Chickens and goats roam here like squirrels do in the states, and on the sides of the streets roam cows and donkeys.
We are at the end of the dry, cooler season in eSwatini, so the brush consists mostly of thorny bushes and trees, as well as long grass and red dirt, but there is still so much beauty. Spring is approaching here, and when we drive out a bit further we see people’s home gardens, vibrant pink flowered trees, long stretches of green land with thriving sugar cane, and silhouettes of the mountains layering deep blue colors in the background. Riding the Kumbis (bus/van transportation) windows down is one way to enjoy the beauty, and sitting next to a local on the Kumbi is another. The people here are so beautiful. With laughter and kindness they help us out with our Siswati, and they don’t grow impatient when we ask them to repeat their name 4 times to make sure we say it right. When talking about their home here, they describe it to be peaceful regardless of any poverty or any common flaws a town is bound to have. The peace here is so evident through the people and their culture, as they welcome us into their homes and engage with us in lighthearted market conversation. There is a peace through the sound of the big winds that I am so thankful for on a long walk admiring the views and appreciating the fact that I am where I am.
Inside the house, 47 people living together isn’t the cleanest when things like dirt, bugs, and the lack of trash disposal in the country are very real. On a cleaning day, my teammate, Anni, and I were cleaning our bathroom and brushing sewage out of the side door onto the dirt outside. Not my favorite, but tolerable. There was a cute little black goat that came trotting along outside our bathroom door and he starting EATING OUR TOILET SEWAGE. Not so tolerable. I found myself screaming at this goat, out of love, and banging the mop on the metal bars trying to scare it away so that it, you know, would not keep eating our sewage?????? Dumb goat wouldn’t budge, but that comes as no surprise considering its brain fed by things like that. Then I hear what I thought was just another goat, but it was just my other teammate, Joy, running to chase this goat away to save its poor, sad, sewage eating self from any further damage.
That’s all I have for a week in the Kingdom of eSwatini… home sweet home.
