On September 8th, 2017, we said goodbye to our homes and headed to Atlanta, then Washington D.C., then Qatar.
Eventually we get to our home in Swaziland late at night. We’re greeted by a man in traditional Swazi clothes who gave us the run down before letting our tired bodies go to bed.
I woke early the next morning in my tent to the sun rising, roosters crowing, cows mooing, dogs barking, ect. Maggie, Abby, and I were the first ones up so we went on a run, and just as the sun rose, so did the locals for school. When we ran by an African kid, he or she would start running with us in their school uniforms. Pretty soon we had 20 kids from the ages of 4-18 walking with us, holding our hands, and singing and laughing with us. Keep in mind this morning was the first time seeing Africa not out of a plane or bus. It was such a special way to be greeted by the nations for the first time.
We came back for breakfast overjoyed and giddy, sharing what just happened with our friends.
A lot of Swaziland was hanging out with the kids that live in the area or going to the schools and care points. The kids were always poking their heads in our hammocks, our tents, and common area. For ministry we made the playground safe by making a border around the perimeter with tires as well as feeding the kids through a program that provides food for them. There was a lot of poverty to be seen in rural Nsoko, Swaziland. In the middle of a very serious drought, the farms were failing. Some of these kids only got fed one plate of rice and veggies a day through a feeding program we partnered with. But although impoverished, the people of this amazing country had more joy in their hearts than most all Americans I’ve ever met.
Let me just say that living in community is so fun.
One night the guys woke up at 2am, caught as many chickens on the property as we could and threw them into the girls room. I hit Ashley in the head. She said it felt like she got hit with a large hard covered book.
One time I found a toad and a hardboiled egg in the toilet.
Shower time looked like all of the guys going in the shower room together taking bucket showers and listening to frank ocean.
Church was hours of singing and dancing with the locals
We played hours on hours of soccer, hacks sack, and spike ball.
In the three and a half weeks of Swaziland we witnessed dozens of miracles and healings.
There was also a lot of opposition during our time there. While we weren’t expecting this, praise God that we were prepared and equipped to fight this battle.
It was common to come inside in the morning and hear that over half of us were having nightmares and experiencing a demonic presence.
I wrote about the story that keeps on being told, because it is truly amazing. And I bring it up again mostly because I want to brag on the men that I’ve gotten to do life with the past 8 months, I wrote blog when it happened, which is at http://willholt.theworldrace.org/post/our-last-moments-in-swazi
Basically one night there was clearly an evil spirit among us, we slept at the doors of the girl’s rooms and spent the night in prayer on their behalf. In the midst of warfare, we became unified as one. Ready to fight. It was something I never thought i’d experience.
I’m so thankful that this group is a group that walks in confidence rather than fear. People really stepped into the authority that God has called them to.
I hope you enjoyed part 1! The experiences we shared in Swaziland were truly wake up calls, and I believe they set the pace for the rest of the race.
