Hey everyone! I am so excited to get to share with you everything that has been going on here in Nsoko, Eswatini (Swaziland) as me and my team are sharing the love of Christ with the beautiful community here! I have so much to say already, I’m struggling to know where to start! But one overarching thing that God has taught me is that He is good, so so so good.
We are staying in a very rural area, meaning long walks to get from place to place and no accessibility to internet (which has been both hard and liberating; I miss talking to friends and family back home, but it has been wonderful getting to disconnect completely and live distraction-free!)
The Swazi culture is warm and welcoming, full of joy, dancing and singing. Life here is slow-paced. We have been learning first-hand the meaning of “Swazi time”; unlike America where everything is based off of a strict time schedule, this relationally-based culture is very loose and relaxed when it comes to set times. It is very common for someone to show up considerably late because they were talking to a neighbor or spending time with family. Here, we have a less-structured schedule and the schedule we do have hardly is carried out as expected, so God has definitely been teaching me what it means to rest in Him. This transition has been a learning process for me to say the least—back home, I am used to packing my day full with things to do, running from activity to activity in a constant state of busyness. But here I have learned what it means to be content sitting in silence and spending time in His presence. To be fully reliant on the leading of the Holy Spirit. To wait in the stillness to hear the soft, inaudible but distinctly felt voice of the Lord. To be completely dependent on my loving Heavenly Father to provide the strength, compassion, and endurance I need daily. He has been so faithful already!
So far we have been doing children’s ministry and home visits. With the smaller kids there are lots of hugs and cuddling (they are all so precious!) and when the older kids there are a lot of opportunities for conversation (English is taught in school so many of them are able to speak it pretty well). One of my favorite moments was when I got to talk to 2 wonderful girls: Mary (age 14, on the left) and Spiwe (age 12, on the right). We talked about the Bible and what it means to have a relationship with Jesus.
Please be in prayer for more opportunities for us to encourage the community around us and share Jesus! It has been incredible so far and I have learned so much. Love and miss you guys!!
