Jesus In a Wheelchair

At Ramblas in Manzini

 Tnamiso wanted to take my picture

Tnamiso & I (he is one of my 5 boys)

Tickling Sibusiso (another of my 5 boys)

Excited about some good lemonade

My American relief

Outside the Manzini market with my 3 girls (Tori, Katie, Kaci)

 

Bakery goodness

Skype with the fam in the internet cafe

Me, Debbie, Kaci, Katie in Manzini

Landon, Tori & I outside the Manzini market

 

Sunset from our homestead

Sweet kids waiting in line for the jump castle

 

Passing out bananas & apples on Fun Day

These boys loved posing for the camera

Our kids at Timbutini

(left) Bentley (right) Sibusiso 

my 2 favorite boys at Timbutini

I have officially been in Africa a month on Sunday.  In some ways it has gone by so fast by then again it does seem like a very long time since I have been home.  I am building some really close friendships with a few of the girls on my team.  In a group of 16 people, it is natural for certain personalities to be drawn to each other more than others, and everyone seems to have found their place on the team.  Once again I will just give you an idea of what I did each day of the week, but first I want to tell you a little about Swaziland.  I realized last night that I haven't really said much about the country so I want to take the time to do that. 

Swaziland is first of all beautiful, as you can tell from some of the pictures I have posted.  It does not look like the Lion King, which is what I was expecting!  There are some places that do, just not in our village.  There are mountains all around us.  Actually if you are using the toilet that doesn't have a door, you have an awesome view of the mountains, it's so beautiful.  The other day, Kaci and I were filming the homestead because she wanted to do a video tour of the place and when we got to the toilets we were showing how gross they are and then looked up and said "Well I guess the view is pretty awesome"  as the sun was setting and the mountains looked pretty amazing.  So even in the dirtiest places, if you just look up you will see something beautiful.  Swazi people are incredibly friendly, sometimes too friendly.  The men here SO want to marry a white woman, that proposals are pretty much a daily experience for at least one girl on the team.

 Let me give you an example: Thursday morning I was brushing my teeth.  To give you an idea of how everything in this story goes I'll explain brushing your teeth here.  Obviously we don't have sinks/running water so we just grab our water bottles and go behind our hut in the grass to brush our teeth.  A 'road' runs behind our homestead, so every morning while we are brushing our teeth kids on their way to school stop and talk to us on the other side of the fence.  The road is about 20 feet from where we brush our teeth, and about 3 feet from the toilets, so we have to be careful & fast when we use the door less one in the day time because people will walk by, and if you are using the bathroom you just casually wave and laugh, only in Africa :) .   Okay well Thursday morning I was brushing my teeth and 5 men are walking down the road.  They all stop and come up to the fence and start talking to me, as my mouth is filled with toothpaste.  A little more background:  right now it is the season for a certain fruit that falls from the trees and the people collect it and make a very strong alcohol from it.  Their version of moonshine?  So all these men were on their way to very drunk.  So I just said hi to them and kept brushing my teeth.  They were very excited to see a white girl, and said that I looked "very lovely."  I've never been told I looked lovely while brushing my teeth.  Well my leader Liz is really paranoid about men talking to us here so she didn't want me to stand over there anymore so I had to finish brushing my teeth some where else. If I had stayed I probably would have been proposed to by all 5 of them.  But, a guy on our team, Billy, went over and talked to them.  They were offended that I had left (I felt rude for leaving) and one guy said that it was his Go Go's homestead we were staying on (which it was) so Billy couldn't tell him to leave, since we were from America.  Billy asked them where they lived and said he would come visit them.  The man said "I don't want to be friends with just you, I want to be all of your friends."  Another guy said to us "You don't need to be scared"  "We leave here with your respect and you have ours."  Pretty hilarious to hear them yelling across the fence.  Liz and Neil, our leaders are nervous about us talking to people so they always come out when men walk by and say "Okay bye, you have to leave now," but they are harmless, and just want to talk to you so I always feel bad when I have to just walk away or ignore them when they say hello, so when my leaders aren't around I talk to them!  Don't be afraid Mom, they really are harmless, just very friendly and hilarious. 

So all that to say Swazi people are very friendly and forward.  It's funny because in their culture it's rude to ask personal questions but they will straight up ask us if we are married or have kids, which we can't really ask them so it's kind of interesting.  Swazi people literally do nothing all day.  You ask them what they did that day and it usually involves waking up at 5:00 am or earlier, doing their chores and once they are finished with work around the homestead for the day, they just sit around.  We go on walks and you just see people sitting, everywhere, doing absolutely nothing.  That's one thing we were told in our culture orientation our first day here, that Swazis do nothing all day long.  It's nice at first but I am definitely excited to be home with things to do.  There is this thing called "Swazi time."  I don't know if I have mentioned it before but basically it means that Swazis don't really go by a watch.  If they say something is starting at 11:00, there is about a 50% chance it will start at 11:00 so that's why there is not really a time for us to get out of church on Sundays.  Church is never less than 2 hours, like this past week I think it was around 2 1/2 hours.  I can't imagine people's reaction back home if FBCNB went until 1:30!  Swazis just live a very slow paced life, so something else that I've noticed is that they walk SO slow.  Not a big deal, but they are never in a hurry.  They think PBJs are really strange.  They love to take pictures.  I gave my nice camera to Zanelle on the Fun Day last week so she could take some pictures and she got so excited and I saw her organizing all the kids to pose for the camera.  They are very strict with their children.  Zanelle told me that it's okay for you to 'beat' a kid with a stick if you don't know him.  So if a kid runs across the street when they shouldn't have, it's okay for you to "shia" (beat) them with a stick, and they parents don't care!  Can you imagine that happening in the States?  They love "umlungus" (um-loon-goos) which are white people.  We will be driving down the road and hear kids shouting "Umlungus!" and then waving at us and running after the van. 

Okay so I realize how long all of that was, so I will give more facts about the country on a different blog, but now I want to tell you about the week, it has been very different than the others. 

Monday - my day to go to the school in Manzini.  This is definitely my favorite day, besides communication day.  This week we taught them the Tower of Babel and had a craft for them to make their own towers which was a whole lot more fun for them than I expected.  It was really funny during the story when I was talking about how God confused the languages of the people and gave the example of a person going up and speaking Chinese to their friend, and their friend answering in S'Swati.  Then I said "Wouldn't that be confusing?" and one kid said "No! I speak Chinese" keep in mind I was in Grade 2.  We just started laughing because we forgot that kids outside of America can speak more than one language.  So I asked the kids to raise their hands if they spoke 2 languages and all of them raised their hands, then 3 languages and some put their hands down, 4 languages and their were 3-4 kids who still had their hands up!  It was crazy, and I was so jealous.  But we had a lot of fun telling them the story.  So that was my Grade 2 class.  Then Kaci & I went to our Grade 3 classes and did the Salvation bracelet for their craft.  They loved it and it was a really great way for us to present the gospel to them.  We did the reading time with Grade 2 & 4 which is one of my favorite parts because they are just so fun.  Then, the headmaster told us last Friday that we can go swimming anytime we want to as long as there is not a class swimming, so we all went to the pool, but I left my "swimming costume" as Swazis call it, at the homestead so next week I will be bringing it!

Tuesday - this was our day off from last week.  Since Saturday we did the Fun Day at church all morning we only had an hour and a half at the internet cafe so we got this day as our day off.  We left for Manzini around 9:30 so we were there by 10:00 and spent all day there.  First a few of us went to an air-conditioned internet cafe that we found a few weeks ago.  The A/C felt so good, I hadn't been in a cold room in like a month, so that was nice.  By the time we were done there it was noon so we walked to Ramblas, the restaurant by the grocery store we go to.  Eventually the entire team was eating lunch in there.  I got a chicken & cheese quesadilla, chips (fries), lemonade & a strawberry smoothie.  What a nice taste of home; that was the first time I had something other than a PBJ for lunch in the past 5 weeks.  They also have WiFi in the restaurant so I paid for that and anytime I go back I get to use it so I got to talk to my sweet mom on skype.  Then a few of us walked to a bakery called Bakers Corner.  The best baked goods and pastries, Dad we could have done some damage in that place and it is so cheap you would have wanted to buy everything!  Tori, Landon and I split a slice of carrot cake that tasted like heaven, I got a chocolate cupcake & a white-iced with sprinkles donut.  We decided we will be visiting every Saturday.  Then we all went to the Manzini Market.  It is kind of a 2-story building with no walls.  The bottom is just vegetables and fruits and next to that people sell clothes and shoes and other random things.  I would describe the look of the booths as what you would imagine houses in a slum looking like.  A bunch of tarps making the roof and walls of each of their booths.  Then the top floor is where I will be doing all my gift shopping at.  They have all the handmade jewelry, bowls, drums, paintings, jewelry boxes, etc.  I took videos of the place it's pretty crazy all the things they are selling.  I kept myself from buying anything this time because I want to do all my shopping right before we leave.  Okay then I went back to another internet cafe with Kaci & Katie (2 of the 3 girls I'm closest to, the other being Tori).  I got to hear Dad, Nathan, Adam and Mom's voice!  It was so good to hear from home and sorry for waking all of y'all up, but it was worth it right?  After round 2 at the internet I went to the grocery store, then back to the homestead.  It was a great day off to be away from our homestead because I get stir crazy there.  Then that night we did what they called a Prayer Watch.  We were up from 10-4 am and worshipped, prayed and read scripture.  It was an awesome and encouraging time for the team. 

Wednesday - Since we were up until 4 am we didn't have to be ready for ministry until noon.  I was up until 5:00 am because I've been sick the past week; I won't go into detail but most of the team has been some kind of sick this past week.  So I only got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep but God's grace is enough.  Wednesday is our day to do whatever ministry we want to do.  Yesterday there was a group that went on a prayer walk/home visits, one to the Timbutini care point, and my group of 4 girls stayed at the homestead and cleaned all afternoon, which definitely needed to be done.  I didn't leave the homestead all day which I didn't realize was a big deal until Thursday.

Thursday - As I write this part it is Thursday. So I woke up this morning feeling pretty discouraged.  Every morning we meet at 9:00 as a team to pray, sometimes we just pray as a big group and sometimes split up and pray in smaller groups.  I was completely honest with my group and told them I didn't want to be in Africa today.  I didn't leave the homestead at all yesterday so I think I just feel really bored and ready to get back to having things to do at home.  I told them I don't want to feel like that because my heart does desire to be here but today was just a day where I didn't feel like being here and wanted to be home.  But this afternoon we are going to Timbutini care point and doing some crafts with the little kids and I will get to see some boys that I've started building a friendship with so I'm excited about that. 

This part I am writing on Friday, about Thursday:  God really used the kids at the care point to lift my spirits, I knew that would happen once I got there.  We took bubbles and foam visors for them to decorate.  I had one of those really big tubes so the bubbles are huge and when the wind blew and the bubbles appeared the kids started screaming.  I got Kaci to video tape me doing the bubbles with the kids because it was the cutest thing, they would chase them so far until they popped them.  They loved decorating the visors and they looked so cute wearing them, except they couldn't keep them on so we had to fix them over and over.  At around 2:30 the older kids show up because they get out of school at 2:15, my favorite kid, Tnamiso (I have a picture with him on the last blog & today)  showed up and I wanted to go to the store across the road to buy some fat cakes so he went with me.  He wanted to race me so he said "1,2,3, we go!"  He was fast, but I beat him :)  Then we get to the store and he beats his chest and says "I AM TIRED!"  It was so funny so I did it back to him, then we raced back and he beat me.  I absolutely love Tnamiso.  He asks the rest of the team where I am when I'm not at the care point so that always makes me feel good.  I met another boy on the Fun Day last Saturday whose name is Ayanda.  He is 13 years old and one of the sweetest kids.  I saw him a few days ago on our daily walk around the village and we talked to him and his friend Pinda.  I noticed that Pinda's shoes were falling apart so yesterday I found out what size shoe he wears and I plan on buying him a new pair since he only has one.  So Pinda & Ayanda walked us back to our homestead then went on to theirs.  Here when you are good friends with someone you hold hands, so Ayanda & Pinda walked away holding hands.  When I first got here I was still in the American mindset so I thought it was weird, but now I think it is such a great thing.  So, then I see Ayanda again on this day, Thursday, and he is walking to the care point as I am walking back home and we stop to talk for a little bit and he says, "I wrote this for you,"and hands me a folded up note that says 'My Friend' on the outside.  He wrote that both of his parents don't work and he wants to go to an all boys school because they teach very good English there, and he doesn't like being distracted by the girls at his school, so he wants to go to the all boys school.  Since both of his parents don't work (which is not uncommon in Swazi) he needs support to go to school and was asking me for help.  Obviously I can't write him a check for his schooling but I want to do something.  He told me I am his very best friend and "I love you my friend, very very very much my friend."  It was a sweet note and I know that he really does want a good education so I'm not sure what to do, any suggestions Mom, Dad, etc.?  It's no surprise that I always am drawn to the boys here, having grown up with all boys, and I feel like I am just beginning to build lasting relationships with the people here, and I want to come back and visit (possibly bring my family, ya?).  So all this to say, that Thursday turned out to be an awesome day in the Lord, being blessed by my beautiful kids here that I grow to love more and more each day.

Friday - Normally on Friday afternoons from 1-2 I go to the school in Manzini and teach Grade 6 girls, but today is a holiday for them so we didn't do that.  But I am starting to go to another Primary school just down the road from our homestead with some people in the morning to do a lesson at their morning assembly.  Musa picks us up at 7:00 and drives us to the school, it’s about a 5 minute drive.  WEll as we were driving, I was sitting in the front seat with him and he slows down as we approach a little boy in a wheel chair that comes to Timbutini care point and church, named Thando.  Musa asks me if I want to get out and push him to school.  I jumped on the opportunity and got out of the car before Musa could even stop completely.  I walked over to Thando and his brother who was pushing him down the road and asked if I could do it, so he let me.  It was one of the most beautiful times for me so far in Swaziland.  Pushing a little boy down a gravel road, with the beautiful mountains in front of me and hearing the kids laugh behind me; it doesn't get much better than that for me.  I started praying silently for him as I walked, and the Lord brought to my mind Matthew 25:35-40 "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the rightewous will answer him saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?....' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my borthers you did it to me."  All I could think about was that I was pushing Jesus in a wheelchair.  I can't even describe to you this moment for me, but it was beautiful, and something I will treasure forever.  Thando & I weren't even speaking but I felt so connected to him because it was just the 2 of us going down the road with only the mountains ahead.  Thank you Jesus for this amazing opportunity.  It is these kind of things that I long to do here in Africa.  I would walk that boy to school everyday if I could.  I could go on and on about this morning but I won't!  We did Daniel & the Lions' Den story with the kids and I got to play a lion, with my 3 girls (Kaci, Katie & Tori) so we roared/screamed as loud as we could, and Mom you know I loved that!  After we were finished with the assembly we say bye to the kids and you feel like such a celebrity.  They all ran up to me and wanted to hug me and do the Swazi handshake which I will be bringing back to Texas because it's so cool!  One of my little boys from the Timbutini care point, Sia Bonga ran up to me and gave me a huge hug, once again, melt my heart!  I so look forward to every Friday I will get to go and see these beautiful kids. 

Switch gears. We have to leave the country every 30 days, not sure why maybe it's because we only have permission to be here 30 days at a time, I don't know.  Sunday will be 30 days, so Friday is the best day for us to leave the country.  We went to Nsoko, Swaziland where another AIM team, the Novas Team which is an 8 month program, is staying and doing ministry and spent the night with them.  Our team got to go out to eat at a restaurant called Safaris and it was absolutely amazing! I forgot to bring the pictures to post this week, so I will put them up next week, but the restaurant was breath taking.  There was also a real crocodile outside in the pond that I took a picture of so that was pretty exciting.  I ate margarita pizza which made me think of Europe family!  Then got ice cream for dessert which was super tasty.  We spent the night in Nsoko and then came back this morning so we could come to Manzini for our communication day.  Less than 2 months left in Africa, this month has gone by so fast.  Each week seems to go by faster than the last.  Thank you to those of you who pray for me and my team, we have been so blessed. 

What I hope for myself each day in Swaziland:  Jesus above me, Jesus below me, Jesus to my right, Jesus to my left, Jesus in front and behind me, When people think of me they think of Jesus, when people look at me they see Jesus, that everyone I talk to hears His voice, and everything I touch feels the warmth of His hand. I want to be mistaken for Jesus.