As you may have noticed, we have not had internet this month so I apologize for the lack of blogs. But I wanted to give everyone an update on life in Swaziland thus far:
Day 1: Our supposed 3 hour travel day from Mozambique to Swaziland turns into 11 hours so we arrive to our compound at 1130PM. We’ve just missed a huge storm so the electricity is out and there is a huge puddle in the middle of the main room. But we get BEDS! We also have 3 toilets and 4 showers for 7 people to use as soon as the water comes back on. This is luxury compared to the last 2 months. We are thrilled to be here.
Day 4: We get to do some manual labor again! Part of our job this month is to prepare a large piece of land for a garden. With hoes, shovels, and pitch forks in hand we start to work the soil and uproot grass, plants, trees and all kinds of weird bugs. It feels great to be in the dirt again. It’s hard to imagine lots of snow back home and I often forget it is February as we work in the hot hot African sun.
Day 5: Kursti is back with us! She got malaria in Mozambique and had to spend some time in South African getting tested before she could meet up with us. She is still rebuilding her strength, but she looks better everyday and our team is whole again. It is also Jenna’s 25th birthday! So we plan a water balloon attack after the long hot day and it is successful. She is surprised, soaked and happy by the end of it and we are all reminded of how lucky we are to have her on this team.
Today we also got to visit a widow and bring her food. The phrase “God provides” has taken on a whole new meaning. This woman literally has nothing but her little hut. She has no source of income and no way of getting food or supplies. And so, the Care Points have taken her under their wing and now regularly bring her food. Me and Jenna got to go and see her receive oil, maize meal, rice, beans and sugar. She was so grateful to God first and then to us. This was a great thing to witness.
Day 7: The afternoons have begun with Care Point ministry. Care Points provide food, discipleship and school for children all over the community. We live at one of the 10 care points that our main contact, Eric, oversees. Three days a week, we split into 2 groups and go to the other care points to do programs. After the kids have eaten, we sing with them, perform a skit and then present the gospel. Therefore, every sponsored care point receives this discipleship once a week, along with 2 meals every day. The other cool part is that we get to go with 2 Swazi staff members who have been doing this long before we arrived and will continue to do this long after we leave. This is an incredible, established ministry that is making a great difference in Swaziland. We are thrilled to be a part of it.
Day 10: Another storm hits and we lose power and water again. So we have dinner with candles and we do team time in the dark. But somehow, it makes us more vulnerable and more real with each other and our team unity is growing stronger by the day.
Day 13: Still no power, but we have water. We have decided to keep having dinner and team time by candlelight and we really don’t mind having no power and no internet. One night after sharing our challenges and celebrations for the week, we head outside to stargaze. The stars are BEAUTIFUL and there are millions we can see since we are in the middle of nowhere. We all laid on top of the playground and in silence just watched the stars together. God is using his creation and hi environment to make this team a family and it’s a beautiful thing.
Day 15: Brings me to today. We have found a sweet restaurant with internet and are enjoying time away from the compound together. Our new friend Ben from Canada has a car and has graciously driven us here; otherwise it would have been a nice 3 hour walk. Ben is here with AIM for 3 months and is looking to come back even longer term after that. He has been doing ministry alongside us and even lets us come to his house to use his oven since we don’t have one!
So there you have it: life in Swaziland as of late. We have two weeks left before Africa is finished, month 8 is done and we leave continent number 3. Thailand is next and before we start ministry we will have a debrief time of worship, encouragement and fellowship with the squad. Thanks you again and again for going on this journey with me! (again, I hope to get some photos
