Update: THANK YOU to those of you that have donated money to send the kids to school for another year. I wish we had more time to have more donations, but we leave in two days! Weird. But it means SO much! Second, preaching went really well. I spoke on how God is good during suffering. One of my teammates told me she started crying and felt like my Moms prayers had been answered, that I would know God was good even though He let her die. Whoa.
Blogging about your spiritual journey on the World Race is always a little weird. Sometimes it feels almost Pharasaical and self-righteous. Like, `Ooh, look at me and all the sacrifices Im making and all the good that Im doing.` So, please know my heart. I share with you not for recognition, but because I asked you to partner with me. YOU are a part of changing the lives of widows and orphans, and YOU are a part of God changing my life as well. That said, here is something about next month in Swaziland that I absolutely do not want to do, but God has challenged me to do.
Swaziland
We find out the details for next month (location, ministry, etc.) ONE HOUR before we get on the bus to go. That leaves no time to change my mind about this decision. Im making this commitment before I know what to expect. (Side note, we drove through Swazi last month, and Ill just say, its going to be another you know youre on the world race when kind month.)
On the Worl Race, we have one big backpack (the hiking kind) and one smaller school-sized daypack. Normally, to be honest, theyre both stuffed. I mean, we did pack for an entire year.
But for the month of Swaziland, I will only be living off whatever I can fit in my small daypack. Im not getting rid of all my other stuff, I just wont be using it. Im learning that we can live off a lot less than we think.
So typically, what fits in a daypack?
Bible
Journal
Ipod
Pens
Raincoat
Wallet
Passport
Toiletries
Extra outfit
Computer
Camera
and…thats about it!
(The only exception is that IF we are camping again, I WILL use my tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. God has asked me to abandon, but He hasnt asked me to be ineffectiev in ministry because of backpain and sleeplessness.)
Why?
The Kingdom of Swaziland is LITERALLY dying. 40% of the population has HIV, which is the highest percentage in the world. It is estimated that if nothing is done to combat hunger and AIDS in Swazi, the entire country will die out by 2050.
Here is part of an article on the desperation in Swaziland…
Too poor to afford food, the patients have resorted to eating dung to fill their stomachs before they can take life-saving Anti Retroviral (ARV) drugs.
ARV drugs don’t work on an empty stomach, so patients mix the dung with water to help them digest it.
Aid workers are shocked to see how people have been forced to live, said
Siyabonga Sithole, from the Swaziland Network of People Living with HIV and Aids.
“HIV patients are told their drugs will not work unless they have something in their stomachs �” but many people are suffering an economic crisis, which means they are unable to buy food,â€� he told the Swazi Observer newspaper.
“I first saw two months ago residents drying dung and mixing it with water to eat before they take their pills. I was told three or four people were doing this but since then the number has grown. This is very disturbing and it’s an indication of how bad the situation has become,�
Eating cow manure is most common in the eastern Lubombo region, which has suffered a long stretch without rain, and where up to half of the population is HIV positive.
Hundreds of people are protesting in the southern African country, claiming that poor management by sub-Saharan Africa’s sole absolute monarch has caused a shortage of essential medical supplies and a failing economy.
Swaziland is one of the world’s HIV capitals �” a quarter of adults among its 1.2million people are HIV positive. The virus has killed many workers and farmers and has created thousands of orphans. Many have been given antiretroviral drugs �” but these could soon run out as the economy collapses. Aids groups have already warned that the country faces a shortage of anti-retroviral drugs.
About 70 per cent of people in Swaziland are so poor they live in abject poverty, earning less than £1.20 a day. At least one third of the one million population get some sort of food aid each year.
Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, whose government has admitted it is running out of cash. But in 2009, Forbes magazine reported King Mswati III had a personal fortune of £122m. He has 13 wives, and each has a palace paid for by the Swazi people.
For NY Times articles on the situation in Swaziland, click here:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/swaziland/index.html
For a few pictures and facts about Swaziland, click here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/africa_battling_hunger_and_aids_in_swaziland/html/1.stm
I know that living off much less this month doesnt necessarily do anything to help. But I think God is going to teach me a lot, and Ill be able to focus much more on what He has to do this month in Swazi.
