As we crossed the border in to Swaziland, we were all at once struck by the landscape… Rolling hills chased us along the highway and were sprinkled with little houses, livestock, and aloe plants… Although we were in Africa, it made me think, this must be what it is like in the Alps! So hilly…! We noticed the change in elevation the first few days as we planted corn kernels in a garden. Every time we stood up after placing a seed in the ground, we’d be caught seeing stars and begin to black out! A few times, I had to sit back down for fear of actually passing out and falling over! This was a new place!
Our first few days were hot, muggy, and took me back to my days of inspiration in Macedonia when I wrote the song “Ice.” In these hot climates, all you ever long for is ice and a cold glass of water! However, the dry heat didn’t last long…. The country was desperate for rain, so we joined with the locals in praying that God would send it… And, soon the thunder, lightning, and rains came!
We partnered for the month with the AIM base in Manzini. Our work consisted mostly of painting the Carepoints. AIM runs 33 Carepoints (with more planned to open) throughout Swaziland. At each Carepoint, they feed kids twice a day, conduct preschool classes, run after school Bible lessons and a sports ministry, and specialize in discipling and mentoring the youth so they can grow up to be a positive force in their community. It was very inspiring!
During our first week, we taught some bible lessons and planted corn kernels and beet seedlings as previously mentioned in one of the Carepoint gardens. While we were there, a chameleon crossed our paths! He was quite friendly and put up with our shenanigans of detaining him from the task he was on! It was very exciting to encounter him and that he was so patient and friendly with us!
In our second week, we spent a day continuing to dig a latrine started some months prior by an earlier WR team. It was tedious work as the ground consisted mostly of a lot of rock rather than dirt. But, in our day there, we were able to add another couple feet to it’s depth. We took a breather in the afternoon to play with the kids. They were just as eager to have our attention as we were to give it.
As our month was wrapping up, our sole task was painting the exterior and interior of several Carepoint buildings. Their previous colors had been several shades of blues. The community seemed to like the previous blue shades. The AIM staff noticed houses popping up all over the place in the same blue shades. So, their plan was to choose some colors so ugly that no one would want to paint their houses with them! So, they chose black and lime green. So far it hasn’t caught on… Although, I think they’d be pretty popular in Seahawks country! 😉 And besides, I think they actually look pretty sharp!
Our time in Swaziland was mostly full of manual labor, but quite often the little kids and youth would come and offer their assistance. It was precious to have them by our side! On our off days, we’d often visit one of the local hotels to get some wifi when the power was on. dani and I made friends with one of the waiters. On our last day there, he asked for our contact info so we could stay in touch. It was always special to make these kind of connections!
By the end of the Race, one of my favorite things had become vlogging about the interesting trees and plants we came across (I have 5 or 6 vlogs about various shrubbery in Southern Africa!). So, the above tree was one that caught my attention… I heard the Siswati name – though I’m not sure how to spell it in English…! It fascinated me because it was like a cactus, but also like a regular tree. I was told it has white sap and if you were to get it in your eyes, you could go blind! So anyhow… It was pretty neat! 😉
Swaziland was a month learning patience… waiting… the end of the Race was in our grasp, but there was still much work to be done… It was a difficult month for that reason, but it was a great lesson to walk through. Even in the waiting there is something for us to do and learn… Each day is a new day that God has created, with purpose and intentionality…
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
– Ephesians 2:10 –
