Every morning I woke up, walked outside, and had to ask myself if this was real life. Swaziland will forever be on my heart. I’ve loved every waking minute of this month in Swaziland. Here are 10 of the many reasons why I have fallen in love with this country.
- Banana. From the first moments of playing soccer and a game called Ninja with the children at the Anchor center, our ministry partner, they gave me the nickname ‘banana.’ This probably came from the song “go bananas, go-go bananas!” Ever since, when the children see me, even ones I have not met yet, I hear, “Banana! Banana! Come here Banana!” I wake up sometimes in the morning to pounding on the thin wall of our home, “Banana! Banana,” until I give in and go outside to spend some time with the beautiful and handsome African children.
- Running. It is so different than the dirty Asian roads full of pollution. Every morning I get to run alongside of the train tracks to view the endless mountain range, the African trees called Umbrella trees, say hello or Sawubona to all of the African people we meet, get stopped by a herd of cows occasionally, and breathe fresh air while listening to worship music.
- Home visits. Every day we are given the opportunity to be a part of someone’s story in Swaziland. They tell us part of their story and we are given the chance to encourage them and pray for them. I love getting to know the hearts of the people here. They are so open, honest, and willing to share where they are at. They all love getting prayer.
- Stars. Living in a village far from much civilization besides a grocery store fifteen minutes down the road and a gas station, you can imagine the stars would be gorgeous. There is a playground right next to the place we sleep this month for the local children to play on. The jungle gym is transformed at night on our team as we lay mattresses and pillows on it. We sometimes bring music or a podcast and coffee or hot chocolate and just lay down looking at the gorgeous stars in Swaziland listening to all of the animals.
- Sunsets. I’ve seen sunsets now in almost 10 different countries. African sunsets are the best. By far. Walking along the dirt roads while watching them is even better.
- Dancing. Growing up, I heard church was a celebration. I’ve had glimpses of that through my Christian life. However, Swazis know how to celebrate in church! It is a dance party for about half an hour. The offering they dance up to the front in joy to give what they are able to give to bless the church.
- Care Points. Along with home visits, we are able to visit ‘care-points.’ There are 10 care points in the area that feed the local children lunch, provide pre-school, and help out the local community. We visit a different care point almost daily and are able to love on adorable children and teach them stories about Jesus. I never get tired of spinning children in circles, skipping with them, or making silly fish faces.
- Animals. We’ve been stopped while running to a herd of cows multiple times. Baby goats walk around everywhere. I’ve had a zebra almost eat my backpack once. We’ve seen ostriches. Crocodiles. Donkeys. Turkeys. And of course the famous cows and chickens in all of the countries we’ve been to.
- Singing. The singing here in church is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It is so beautiful.
- AIM, Anchor Center. The ministry we’re working with. They know how all of the families in the area are doing through home visits. They bring them food when able and give them medical attention as well. They provide land for people to grow plants as there is limited water supply due to a very bad drought. They disciple children and feed children lunch six days a week, preventing starvation for many of them. They provide finances when able to students to continue on school after sixth grade, as up until then it is free. The ministry partners just love the Lord and the people in Swaziland.
