Eswatini

This past month I have had the opportunity to serve alongside one of the Adventures in Missions bases, in Eswatini!  Some fun facts about Eswatini are:

• It is Africa’s last absolute monarchy.
• They celebrated 50 years of independence in 2018. This is also when they changed the countries name from Swaziland to Eswatini.
• The Ngwenya Mine can be found here and it is the oldest mine in the world.
• Eswatini used the Swazi Lilangeni for currency.  17.94L equals 1 USD.

One thing that is important to know about Eswatini is they have the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the world.  About 27% of adults live with this disease.

This month was an all squad month. Meaning, as when most months we are split into our teams working with different organizations, this month all 16 of us stayed together and worked with the same organization.  We worked with two different care points.  Care points are a location in which 80+ kids in the community gather and receive a meal each day.  They learn Bible stories and practice memorizing scripture through their teacher whom is called a “shepherd.”  Some kids come and play all day, some come just in time to eat, some walk five minutes, and some walk three hours.  There are many care points here in Eswatini and they are run by the community themselves.  We got to stay with the same care points all month and build relationships with the same kids and workers daily (a luxury we don’t often have as we move around from place to place). 

This month was eye opening.  When we arrived to Eswatini and saw the tiny house we’d all been squeezing into to…there was definitely some disappointment.  How would we cook and squeeze into this two person kitchen?  Where would our backpacks go in a bunk room that we could hardly walk through? What if the killer snakes get into our house?! (<— this one’s a valid fear).

Our first day visiting the care point tears welled up in my eyes as I felt conviction of all the silly frustrations and irritations I felt about our house and other things.  You’d think after eight months of this life, I’d learn to just be thankful, for every second of every day.  But these silly little irritations still try to get me sidetracked.  These kids, teens, and workers taught me so much this month.  They reminded me of my purpose.  They reminded me that the only words coming off my tongue should be Gods word.  We’re told that these kids need love, comfort and affection; but in reality, they showed me more love, comfort and affection, than I’ve felt in months.  I often say that this year is about traveling to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to show who He is to others.  But this month, I saw the hands and feet of Jesus surrounding me, holding me up and moving me along in the moments it felt easier to just fall to the ground. 

Another huge blessing and gift this month was that my parents got to come and visit me!  They got to spend just under a week with me.  Living life on the mission field, adventuring, and seeing a tiny glimpse of what my last 8 months looked like.  They came to our care point two of the days, got to do a safari, and some other fun little outings!  It was extremely hard to say goodbye, but I look forward to reuniting in two months. 

We leave tomorrow bright and early to drive to our next destination- Lesotho!  I will be working with an organization called Africa for Jesus.  This is an organization that deeply values discipleship and I look forward to serving alongside them. 

Prayer requests:

• Endurance: that I stay present even as I look to the future.  That I soak up my time here in Africa.
• Dependence: that I completely depend on God to provide.  That I release any anxieties and stresses and trust Him fully.
• For our squad, that we keep seeking Him and His will before our own preferences and desires.
• Safe travels: as we continue to go country to country and as we prepare to travel back to the states. 
• That I would have some more inspiration for blogs!  I know I’ve been slacking lately!