One of the unique opportunities we were able to take part in while we were in Swaziland was home visits. We were the first squad to be sent out to visit people in the local community that did not attend the church at El Shaddai. It was a way of reaching out to the community and blessing them. One group was sent out every couple of days to take a bucket with soap, rice, oil, flower, clothes, and for some we were able to take Bibles.
I was a part of two different trips into the community. We visited two homes on the first trip. The first home was fairly uneventful. The second home was much more welcoming to us and promised they would come to church on Sunday. When Sunday came around, it was raining hard. We didn’t expect to see our new friends because they had to walk about twenty minutes to get to church. Midway through the service, they walked in. We were so excited to see them and greeted them after the service. When we visited them at their home, we didn’t have any Bibles with us. We went and grabbed a couple of Bibles and gave them to the family. You would have thought they won the lottery! They were jumping up and down, dancing and whooping and hollering. It was really amazing to see how excited they were to have a Bible.
Before we left for the second visit, our squad leader Pat was playing the guitar in the room and I told him that he should bring it with him for our visit. We visited a woman named Emalina who was a widow and was raising her two young grandkids. Her son’s wife had left him and then he got sick and died suddenly. We asked her some questions and encouraged her, but she already had such a beautiful smile and a joy that didn’t seem to fit her present circumstance. She asked us to pray for her because she needed money to pay for her granddaughter’s school, fertilizer for her crops, and her house was in bad shape. We prayed for her and then we gave her the bucket we brought with us. She was grateful for the food and clothes, but when we gave her the Bible, she was overjoyed! She whooped, smiled, danced and hugged the Bible like it was one of her grandchildren. Seeing her joy about the Bible convicted me and I asked the Lord to give me the same joy and excitement for his Word every day.
When we first got to the house, Emalina was sitting on the front stoop. I noticed she had some really big holes in her socks. When we gave her the bucket I felt like I was supposed to give her my socks, but for some reason I hesitated for a second. I had my favorite Nike athletic socks on. I was really disappointed in myself that this thought even went through my head so I took them off and gave them to her. At the same time one of the ladies in our group had the same thought and was handing her another pair of socks. Emalina was almost as excited about her new socks as she was about the Bible. I felt terrible that I was so selfish that I hesitated to bless this woman who had nothing when I have so much.
After we gave her the bucket and socks, Emalina pointed to the guitar and mentioned that her son use to play. Pat played the guitar and we sang some worship songs. Emalina had a huge smile on her face. Pretty soon the singing turned a worship/dance party and Emalina joined in with us. After a couple of songs, two other people came and joined in. One of them had a guitar and he played right along with Pat. It was incredible! God met us right there on that mountain and filled us all with his joy. To cap it off, Alicia our other squad leader, gave Emalina her sandals and walked home barefoot. (And I was tripping about one silly pair of socks.)
I went on the visit with the intention of blessing and encouraging Emalina, but she ended up blessing me, teaching me, and convicting me more than she will ever know. Her joy despite her circumstances was inspiring. Her excitement for the Word of God was a challenge to me. Her gratitude for a small blessing of a good pair of socks made me realize how selfish I am with my possessions. I have a long way to go, but I’m grateful that God is continuing to form me into the man He wants me to be.
1 Timothy 6:6-8 – But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
