Sawubona

Sanibonani!
Yebo.
Ninjani?
Ngiyaphila. Ninjani?
Ngiyaphila!



I see you!
Yes.
How are you?
I'm fine. How are you?
I'm fine.


The last two days have been the same, but also completely different. Yesterday we did two more home visits in the morning. We were able to be the hands and feet of Jesus by bringing food to an elderly man and his family that a group had met the day before. They were very grateful and we were able to pray for them as well. And take pictures with them of course.

The second place was a bigger house just around the corner from our Bhobokazi Care Point. There were three women here who thankfully all spoke English. It was great to be able to have a full conversation with them without needing to go through a translator. We were able to share scripture back and forth with these women and praise God for the work he is doing in Swaziland. You can really feel the presence of God in some of these homes unlike anything I've ever felt before in Canada. Even when you simply stand near some of these beautiful Swazi Gogo's (grandmothers) you can feel the presence of God around you. It's powerful and something that is not common back home.

The afternoon we prepared for our VBS lesson and waited for the children to arrive from school. It was neat to see familiar faces, especially when they light up when they see yours. We taught the children some new songs, did a lesson/skit on Moses and prayed with them. We were also taught a few Swazi games that the children loved.

 

Our debrief times at night as a group are quite powerful and people are amazingly transparent and vulnerable. It is really encouraging to see how a group of Christian brothers and sisters can trust and love each other so easily after just getting to know one another.

Today, August 8th, was a little different. Myself and two others went to a woman's homestead to help with a house addition. She has sadly lost her husband and was left with ten children. She also lives in a tiny one-room house with them. But today was also a little different because the Swazi builders seemed to have everything under control with the cement blocks so didn't really have much for us to do.

Lindewe

One room house with two half-built rooms being added

It was rather humorous actually when a truck with a large load of sand came for us to unload so I was happy to have something to do, and about five minutes in a Swazi boy came over and asked if I was tired and took my shovel. I looked at him and said 'no' and got Joseph to hand me another shovel :).

Thankfully after lunch we were able to start digging out the floor so cement could be poured smoothly. It was tough work with very hard ground, two shovels, a pick ax with no handle, and a large piece of re-bar. But, we're making progress and there is a giant pile of dirt to show what all we've done. A little more physically challenging and a little less mentally exhausting - a welcome change. I think we'll be going back to the construction site tomorrow again.

It's difficult to see children in such poverty. Many in only one pair of clothes. Almost all without shoes.  Most with just the one or two meals they receive at the care point, often having to share the one plate of food amongst three people just using their hands to eat. We have SO much in our western culture and are often SO disgustingly ungrateful. How do you help? What do you do? What can you say? Thankfully our heavenly Father is in this land and is working. As was stated nicely at debrief tonight by our project leader, Scott: "You have to see it as God was here working with these children before you arrived here on Friday and asked you if you could watch out for that little child for a week. And to love on them. And at the end of the week you have to have the faith that you can hand that child back to the Father and know that He will continue to watch over them."

God making his presence known in Swaziland

There's not a lot we can DO for these children in this week - though on a side note if you are interesting in supporting a child or want to sponsor a child so that he or she can go to school or eat regular meals etc. please contact me and I will be more than happy to hook you up with the Children's Hopechest. There is an understandable statistic between the percentage if Swazi girls who are educated and the age they become sexually active. And in a country with such a high HIV rate, education is so important.

It's very late here and I already know I'm going to be physically hurting in the morning so I have to bring today to a close.

"Whoever helps the least of these, helps me." Jesus