When it rains, it pours...

I'm updating my blog today because some girls on the team and I came to Manzini for our 'day to pick what ministry we want to do.' There is a place called Hope House here in Manzini, that is basically like hospice in the States. Half of my team goes there on Mondays & Fridays, when I go to Khanyisile Primary School.  So Kaci & I wanted to come meet the people they have built relationships with at Hope House.  Then we decided to spend the rest of the day here in Manzini.  We woke up this morning at 6:00 to walk to school with some of our friends, then we took Public (transport) to town.  Taking public is SO much fun, because instead of being in our sick khumbis we get to ride to town with Swazis and just talk with them. It's such a fun cultural experience, and I got to do it on Saturday too!  So I don't have to write about the past few days when we come on Saturday, I will write about the first half of the week now :)

On Sunday we went to church, like always.  Going to church here is one of my favorite things, I will miss it so much when I come home.  There is nothing like Swazi church.  Afterwards, we came home and we had some friends over.  Katie, Debbie, Tori & I have made lots of friends here so we get to spend time with them everyday at the football field.  We invited 4 of the boys over for lunch on Sunday after church and we made pizza for them.  Phinda & Ayanda were at church with us, so they walked home and then with Katie and I to go to Vuma's homestead to get him.  When we got to Vuma's we could hear that he was still in church which is in a room on his homestead so we just waited outside.  I learned that his family goes to a Zionist church.  I had never heard much about Zionists until coming to Swaziland but I have met quite a few kids who say they are Zionist.  Nathan, Adam, Dad do you know anything about what Zionists believe?  That's something I want to research when I come home.  So anyways, Vuma eventually came out and we walked back home and made pizza and bought them soda.  It was so much fun.  My favorite Sunday for sure; most Sundays are pretty stressful and busy, just like they are at home but it was nice to come home from church and just hang out with the boys and get to know them better and outside of just the football field.  They love to laugh and make us laugh all the time.  They let us paint their toenails!  Swazi boys like to do one stripe of toenail polish on their toes, and we noticed this one day at the football field so we decided to ask them if we could paint their toes and they said yes! I of course was so excited since my brothers would never in a million years let me paint their toenails :) When we asked Ayanda how he felt about his toes being painted he said "I feel so happy and proud."  Ha, he is so cute.  Ayanda is 13, Phinda 12, Vuma 15 and Mbonisi 15.  We love love love these boys.  I especially do because they remind me of my Joe Boy.  Especially Mbonisi, it makes me miss my little brother a lot.  They love to sing so Ayanda said "we will sing a chorus for you" then I asked them to do a Swazi dance for us, so we got our our video cameras and they sang and danced for us! I can't wait to show that video to y'all, it's so great.  We went walking around Timbutini after lunch and bought them more soda at the general store.  Bandile, the 10 year old boy I bought shoes for on Saturday in town met us at the store.  He walked home with us and wanted to get his shoes from me, he was so excited.  When we got to our homestead I got the shoes and he tried them on, his foot wouldn't even fit inside.  I got the size he told me to get, but I think it may have been a long time since he got a pair of shoes so he gave me his old size.  He looked so sad when he had to go home without shoes, but today I'm exchanging them and will hopefully see him this afternoon.  Other than that small disappointment, it was such a perfect day

Monday was great at the school in Manzini. A few kids were absent in our Grade 2 class, and one of my favorite kids Bandile was one of them. I thought maybe he was sick, but I learned from the teacher that his mom had died this weekend from complications in here pregnancy.  Please pray for Bandile and his family. That was heartbreaking for me to hear, not that I would want it to be any other child's mom, but Bandile was one of the boys I have spent time with at the school so that was hard for me.
It has been fun to see the same kids every week because certain ones get so excited to see me and will run up and say 'Good morning teacher Jessica' and give me a big hug.  The kids are so sweet, it's going to be hard to tell them bye in a few short weeks.

Tuesday was first of all, incredibly hot!  We keep thinking we are going to have cool weather but a few days later there will be no clouds in the sky, and the African sun seems to be much hotter than at home.  We went to Timbutini and all the kids were already there at noon.  I asked them why they got out early and no one knew so we just played for a few hours then taught a lesson.  I know I have said this many times but it's so funny to me how all the younger boys and I seem to get along so well.  They all yell 'Nothando!' when they see me, I feel like I have 20 little brothers.  Bandile (the one I bought shoes for, not the one whose Mom died) I have noticed spends more and more time next to me.  When I first met him about a month ago he would always run away when he saw me.  But yesterday especially I noticed how wherever I went he would be right next to me.  I pretty much love it. There was one little boy who didn't have shoes on and had accidently kicked a stone with his big toe and was bleeding pretty badly so Bandile followed me as I carried him to set him in the shade, then Bandile came with me to the General Store to buy a bandaid for him. It takes Swazis a while to trust you, but once they do, they don't leave your side.  I'm so thankful to have been here for long enough to experience the part where they want to be with you all the time and do whatever you do.

We started to walk home after we taught the boys and girls their lesson and a crazy storm came out of no where.  The lightening was striking way too close for my comfort so I walked home very quickly, while taking a video of myself!  When we got home it started to POUR.  I love African storms, they are so intense, the thunder sounds like it is in your hut and the rain just comes down in torrents.  When it finally let up we walked to meet our friends at the football field, and eventually to Vuma's house on the other side of the mountain.  Mbonisi walked us home because he lives by us.  We decided to walk him home because dinner wasn't ready so we got to see his homestead.  His dad, Elliot, is the man who picked us up from the airport in Jo'burg, I have a picture of him on my first blog once in Swaziland (he is walking across the road holding bottles).  So we know his family but had never been to the homestead.  His Make, Busi, does our teams laundry every week and she is so sweet.  His little brother Sito is the cutest kid I have ever met.  He always has a smile on his face, Mbonisi said he even smiles when he sleeps.  So we got to see his homestead and then Elliot wanted us to meet the rest of his family since they all live on the same big piece of property.  I was the first to hug Mbonisi's aunt, who grabbed me and kissed/smacked her mouth against both sides of my neck and then started tickeling me!  So, I am incredibly ticklish on my neck/collarbone area and so it took all I had not to freak out when she did that.  Mom, I wish you could have experienced it!  Oh gosh, I'm laughing now just thinking about it.  But Mbonisi's family was so beautiful.  It makes me sad that we haven't started going there sooner.  They were so welcoming to us 4 and were just so excited to meet us.  His crazy aunt asked which one was his wife and he pointed to me.  So I think that makes me about 4 different guys' wife.  It was getting dark at this point and we aren't supposed to be out when it's dark, which frustrates me and my independent personality. Mbonisi is such a sweet guy and told us he wanted to walk us home.  He reminds me so much of Daniel.  He is such a gentleman, always walking us home and making sure we are okay.  His personality is so much like Daniel's, maybe not as sarcastic, but he is like the Swazi version of Daniel.  That's why Daniel is coming back with me at the end of the summer!  He is just so protective of the 4 of us and has such a sweet spirit.  His dad has raised him so well because he is the same way.  I wish I could bring him back with me!
It was not raining at this point but a few hours later it was.  Our electricity went out last night and was still off when we woke up this morning.  I loved laying in bed listening to the storm outside, one of my favorite things to do at home. But the homes are so different here, it sounds like you are outside in the middle of the storm.  I was a big fan of the storm until about 11:45 pm.  I woke up to water pouring on me from the roof.  Our hut has a grass roof, so this is a problem when there is a torrential downpour.  So I decided I could either get in bed with someone else which required me getting out of bed, or just moving.  So I pulled my sheet and sleeping bag off the bed and curled up on the end of my bed, because the water was pouring right in the middle and creating a nice sized puddle at this point.  It wasn't a slow drip, it was like someone had a water pitcher and just poured it on my bed.  Not exactly an ideal to wake up in the middle of the night!  But what an experience. Only in Africa :) 

This week has been so much fun already.  I have been hoping the last few weeks would go by really slow and this week has been so I'm grateful for that.  Only 3 1/2 weeks until I'm home which means we only have 2 1/2 weeks of ministry because our last week is our debrief in South Africa I think. 

No pictures today because I don't have my cord so I will be putting them up on Saturday.

Ngiyakutsandza umdeni.

Less than 30 days

 Dad, here's that picture you wanted right?

This week was so different from any other week so far. One of my favorites for sure: because we barely had any team meetings which seem to be the thorn in my side! The week started out kind of weird because we went to the internet cafe on Sunday so I felt like I was one day off all week. The days continue to be very hot, which gets old after a while so I am very much looking forward to having A/C when I get home, even just a fan will be nice.

Monday we were able to celebrate one of our Swazi friend Bheki's birthday which was a lot of fun for me because it was my night to cook.  So we made him a special birthday dinner which he got to choose what he wanted to eat and we decorated a chair for him to sit in and put up some other decorations and bought him a cake.  Musa came over as well so it was so fun to celebrate with him.  He said that last year the only person that told him happy birthday was his mom, which of course made me want to cry, and he didn't stop smiling all night, it was so great. I took video of singing happy birthday to him, it was definitely one of the most fun nights here in Swazi. Most of us made him birthday cards and he was so excited he started reading all of them right away.

Wednesday was the best day in Africa for me.  Myself, along with 5 other girls, our translator Titi and Musa left at 6:00 am for a town called Bulembu.  Kaci had been on a mission trip there Summer 2009 and wanted to go back so we go the permission to go.  It was about a 3 hour drive and so much fun. The town is literally on top of a mountain so the weather was beautiful.  There were sometimes where it looked like we were driving through Switzerland, it was so crazy because I would have never pictured any place in Africa being so mountainous. There were a few times where we weren't sure if the van would make it up the mountain but we did!  Bulembu is a town that was bought by 2 individuals in 2002.  The town had shut down, and these people had the vision of making it a self-sustaining town by 2020.  The town is mainly for orphans, and the workers in the town know that they are doing their jobs, whether it be with lumber, honey, mining, etc. that it will affect the orphans in the village.  It is a pretty cool concept but I don't want to butcher it so I really hope you will take the time to check out this link and you can find out all about it: Bulembu Link.  We had a lot of fun exploring in the town and getting to see all the different parts of it and meet some beautiful kids.  It was really encouraging to see a place that is full of hope and is doing so much for the people I have grown to love.  I would love to spend more time there in the future.  One thing they do is build these homes and have Swazi women come in and be the Auntie to that house.  They will put 7-8 children in the home and they make these families for the kids.  The process of getting a child into a house is about 2 months because they like to see which of the Aunties are meshing with what group of kids and what kids are getting along the best, then they put them in a home together and become a family.  It is so awesome and encouraging.  Definitely lifts your spirits after seeing many sad things in our village of Timbutini. It was such a great day. Musa is so much fun and I sat in the front seat with him there and back so we had really entertaining conversations, and he would burst into song at random moments and I would have to remind him that everyone in the back was sleeping.  We did manage to get a flat tire which I helped to change :)  Musa wanted to stop at KFC in Manzini to get ice cream for all of us so that was really fun. (KFC is a really nice restaurant here, it looks nothing like America).  So, although I probably didn't do a very good job at explaining the day, it was my favorite day yet in Swaziland.  I think I'm just pretty tired right now so I apologize now for this blog, it might be my worst yet!


The rest of this week has just been so strange.  I'm not really sure why, but it went by really fast and there were mornings I woke up so early that I'm pretty exhausted.  Pray that my last few weeks in Swaziland will be full of different kinds of ministry opportunities and that the Lord would use me in ways I couldn't even imagine.  Less than 30 days until I come home, very bittersweet for me, but it will be good to be home. I am already looking forward to my next trip to Swaziland! 

Once again I apologize for the lack of content this week, I'm sitting in the internet cafe and it feels like a furnace in here so I'm anxious to get out!  Here's some pictures from the week:

 The hike from Sunday

 Bheki on his birthday :)

Musa & I

Bandile is on the right; I will be delivering his

shoes to him this week, I'm so excited!

This is on our way to Bulembu :)

 Bulembu

So excited to see grass!

Musa with a precious little boy in Bulembu's ABC orphanage

The flat I helped Musa change!

My favorite flower; they were everywhere

Titi and I; she's really short

So good!

A few more pics

pipe

 just some warthogs outside in the yard

Dinner Saturday night of debrief

 In our hostel

for you sister

My disgusting feet after the hike, lots of mud!

sweet friends :)

All the girls on the team at the top of Execution Rock

Shoes & Hospitals

Friends at the soccer field

 Tor-Tor before church

Katie wearing my wrap

 Kids playing with the parachute

 Cutest thumb sucker ever

 Cheeks

Girlfriend and Diane

(Girlfriend is the nickname we gave her 

because she has attitude!)

 Zanele and I were serving food to the kids

 my friend Bheki (he's on the D-team and I'm cooking

his birthday dinner monday night!)

 pretty girls

 for you mom :)

the day it rained and poured!

 Phinda the day I gave him his shoes and socks

with Phinda's family (he was holding my hand) I love my

Swazi brother

 waterfalls we went swimming at Saturday

Culture show

 the Swazi man kick..SO awesome

Week 7 in Swazi was perfect.  Each week I fall more in love with this place.  I can't believe we only have 5 weeks left until we come home.  I'm excited to be home, but not excited to leave.  Does that make any sense? The Swazi people have become a second family to me and the friendships I have made are so beautiful.  I can't put into words how thankful I am to be here.  The outcome of certain things the past 8 months allowed me to come here and if they would have been different I know I would not have chosen Africa now.  I am so SO glad my life has turned out the way it has.  God, your plan truly is SO much better than mine, and your ways SO much higher than mine.  It's so crazy because at the time of certain things happening in life you don't understand why and think there couldn't possibly be a better way, oh but there is!  There is no place I would rather be in life than where I am right now.  The Lord has given so much freedom for me to go wherever and not have circumstances at home tie me down and I absolutely love it!  In Jesus there is the greatest freedom. 

So this week my blog is going to be a little different because I don't have much time to type so I won't do a day by day explanation of the week. 

The week was great though.  Each week is better and better.  I get to be with my friends on the team, but more importantly I get to be with my beautiful, amazing Swazi friends. I can't belive how close you can get to someone in only 2 months. On Monday after Khanyisile Primary School we went to the hospital to visit a 12 year old boy, Nkhosingpile, who we took 2 weeks ago.  Some of the team met him at a care point and his leg was bandaged. He had been in some kind of accident involving a motorcycle so they decided to take him to the clinic where they found out he had a broken bone.  So, very glad they took him. When I met him, he had been in the hospital about 5 days because he was waiting for a hard cast.  At the hospitals here, people spend so much time just waiting for something they need, when at home you can go to the doctor, get a cast, and go home all in the same day.  Nkhosingpile said that he hadn't seen his mom in a few days and no one knew where she was.  By the time I saw him, he said she had only come to visit him once.  I almost burst into tears.  He still had a smile on his face as he sat alone in his wheelchair outside.  We took him back inside and he hobbled to his bed. I felt and instant connection with him.  I introduced myself and he said "I'm sorry but I don't know if I can remember that." So I told him to call me by my Swazi name, Nothando.  That, he could remember :)  So I got on the hospital bed with him and we played the dot game, where you try to make as many squares as you can.  He loves that game.  He was so sweet, at one point he just put his little arm around me.   Once again, my tender heart (that has become even more sensitive since being here) melted.  We just sat with him and talked, because he doesn't have any visitors.  Can you imagine that?  Being 12 years old, by yourself in a hospital that isn't in the best condition?  He was so brave and joyful.  It was really hard for me to say goodbye to him, because I don't go to the hospital anymore, and because I knew he would be spending the night by himself.  So I wrote him a card that one of the girls on my team took to him on Thursday and he read it to the whole team.  He was discharged Friday night and Musa was able to pick him up from the hospital and take care of him. 

One of the highlights of my week was taking the school shoes to my Swazi bhuti (brother) Phinda.  We had planned to meet at the football field on Wednesday at 3:30.  Well, the biggest storm I have seen in Africa blew in about 2:30 so I wasn't able to meet him Wednesday.  I was pretty bummed out because we had both been looking forward to Wednesday.  I do see him everyday at the football field because he is on the soccer team that me and a few girls go watch practice everyday.  I decided to walk down to the field once the rain slowed down just to make sure he hadn't walked there to meet me despite the storm, but he wasn't there.  Tori & I just hung out on the empty field doing stupid things until the boys showed up.  So when Phinda showed up we decided that I would come to his house on Thursday.  So, Thursday afternoon I had been waiting for him at Timbutini because he said he would meet me there after school, but he didn't show up.  I started walking back home and saw and kid in a blue hoodie walking along the road watching us.  I didn't know who it was but figured out it was Phinda so I yelled for him to come walk home with me.  I asked him if he had any socks and he said no.  Sweet Melodee Burt bought me some new socks before I left for Africa and there are a few pairs I hadn't worn yet so I brought them out to him and he was so excited.  He picked a green pair and a blue pair.  So Melodee if you're reading this, know that you blessed the sweetest boy in Swaziland when you bought me socks that day at Old Navy.  He looked at me and said "I'm so excited,"  I said, "About what?" and he said "My shoes!".  One of my favorite moments here.  His homestead was about a 20 minute walk from mine.  Through the brush and off a mud path, which is how you get to every homestead here.  When we got to his house we shouted "Ekhaya."  This means 'home' but it's what you say when you get to someone's gate and that lets them know they have visitors.  We went inside the gate and I met his family:  3 brothers, mom, dad and sister with 2 babies.  They had mud huts for their home (I took some pictures).  When I pulled out his shoes their faces lit up.  His dad said "Sgiya bonga kakhulu" (thank you so much).  I asked if I could take a picture with their whole family and his Babe (dad, pronounced Bah-bay) wanted to change into a nicer shirt first.  I showed them the picture and they asked if I could bring them a copy, which I was planning on doing.  I'm confident they don't have one picture together as a family, so I'm happy the picture I give them will have me in it!  This is one of my favorite memories in Swaziland. I told Phinda that I am his American sisi and he is my Swazi bhuti.  I can't wait to come back and visit him. 

Last week I prayed for clouds because it had been such a hot week and the Lord gave us clouds and wind all week long, and even a few days of rain.  The African sun is merciless so clouds are always a nice relief. 

On Tuesday I taught the lesson for the Bible study Stephanie, Calie & I do with the translators.  Elizabeth, John the Baptist's mother, was who I chose to talk about.  I told Titi and Zanele that I was really challenged by her prayer life.  She was in her 60s-70s and was still praying for a son.  She didn't grow weary in worship of the Lord and knew that if the Lord chose not to give her a son, He would provide for her in other ways.  In those days, if you did not have a son to take care of you when you got older then you were on your own.  Elizabeth didn't fear this because she knew that if there was not a son, the Lord would be their provider.  She prayed years and years for the same thing, not receiving an answer from the Lord for a very long time but she continued to pray for it.  That was definitely challenging to me in my prayer life.  Am I willing to continue to pray for something I am passionate about even if I don't receive an answer in MY timing?  So often I think I have the right to receive a quick response to my prayers, but where do I get that idea from?  At the end of the Bible study I was so encouraged when Zanele told me how much the lesson spoke to her heart.  She had been struggling with prayer about things and she said this lesson is exactly what she needed to hear.  She went into more detail, but I won't write about it because it's not important to y'all.  So that was great confirmation for me that the Lord had given me the right words to say and that it wasn't me catering to what I thought they might need to hear, because I had no idea these things were going on in Zanele's life.  All the glory to my Jesus. 

We left Friday morning for our halfway debrief, although we are more than halfway because we have been here 7 weeks and only have 5 left.  We went to a game reserve in Mlilane and stayed at a hostel.  It's a 2 story room so the boys beds are downstairs and the girls upstairs, even though we could see over the railing down.  It was a good time of relaxation and getting away from the homestead.  The point of a debrief is for you to get away from ministry for a few days and 'process' what has happened so far and look forward to what is ahead.  I didn't really have much to 'process' because I do that pretty well in my journaling.  I really ended up missing my ministry in Timbutini while we were gone.  I absolutely love the ministries God has given me here and am soaking up every second I am here.  We spent Friday and Saturday night at the hostel and came back today (Sunday).  That's why I wasn't able to post my blog yesterday because we just got to Manzini today. 

I hope the blog was okay this week, I just didn't have the time to type about each day, but the 2 stories I shared were the highlights of my week and definitely close to my heart so I hope you could see that through my words.  Enjoy the pictures!  See you in 35 days!  I love you family.

Swazi my Home

Our soccer boys warming up :)

Tickling Sibusiso

Pinda and Ayanda 

Pinda is the short one & I bought shoes for him today!

Tori, Debbie & I with our husbands

Mine is in red!

Love Africa

Singing with Bheki

Eating Sugar Cane with Gogo

(never had it before so good!)

My 2 favorite men in Swazi

Bheki & Musa 

Soccer shoes before they practice

They bring a big bag and dump it out; whoever gets there

first gets the first pick of shoes

Ayanda my friend

Thulane

Go bobhuti go!

View from the Soccer field

On our walk by the field

This is why they are so "fit"

Mr. Mamba carrying the parachute for me

Tnamiso :)

Pinda, the boy I bought school shoes for today!

Nahti & Thulane

The boys

This was hilarious

Best friends :)

Week 6 in Swaziland.  I am in love with this country.  Each day I fall in love with it more than before.  The people just make you want to stay here forever.  I am already getting sad about the fact that I have less than 2 months left here.  It's been a weird switch emotionally for me.  Not that I don't want to come home, I do and I miss family and friends and the comforts of home.  But when I am here, I am completely care free.  I get to hangout with my Swazi friends all the time, talk about Jesus with them, eat meals together and go on walks.  That's pretty much what each day consists of for me.  I have really bonded with 3 girls on my team and we have so much fun together.  Since I know I can talk to them when I get back to America I am trying to soak up every second with my Swazi friends.  Zanele and I have become incredibly close, she is truly like a best friend and I get really sad when I think about saying bye to her.  Down the road from our homestead is the soccer field that Tori, Katie & I go to every day and watch our friends play soccer from 4-6.  They always expect us and watch for us down the path and get huge smiles when they see us coming.  The other day we brought some music for them to listen to while they practiced and they loved it.  It makes me laugh when I realize that most of my Swazi friends are boys.  That comes as no surprise to me, having grown up with my 3 brothers and their friends.  A few of their names:  Nahti (18), Thulane (19?), Owen (12), Seth (13), Selbi (?), Wandile, Ayanda (14), Pinda (13), Tnamiso (11ish), Sibusiso (5).  These boys are what I look forward to every day.  All of them but the last 2 boys play soccer every day.  I actually met Ayanda and Pinda at the Fun Day Saturday we had a few weeks ago at Timbutini.  So I have known them a little bit longer but Pinda plays soccer at the field so I was excited the first time I watched and saw that he was on the team.  Musa and Bheki are two guys I have talked about in other blogs.  They are on the D-team and we spend a lot of time with them.  We go to some schools on Thursday & Friday morning and they are the ones we go with and then this week when I cooked on Monday, I invited them over for dinner so we got to hangout with them outside of ministry so that was fun.  We probably see them 4-5 days a week and I have really enjoyed getting to know them.  I could write forever about my friends but I will save that for my journal :)  Now I'll let you know about this week!

Sunday - church is always something I look forward to every week.  It's such an awesome start to the week, being able to worship with the people here and getting to hear their perspectives on life.  I went with 3 other people on my team to go teach Sunday school at 10:00.  I was in the younger kids class and we taught them the story of Joseph because that's a lesson I had prepared for the school I go to on Mondays.  So it was a lot of fun getting to teach the kids in Sunday school.  Then church was after and lasts about 2 1/2 hours which I am so glad it does because the singing is amazing.  I haven't recorded a church service yet but I will before I leave because there is nothing like Swazi church.  On Sunday nights we usually do worship together as a team after dinner.  I invited Bheki to come because he told me he wanted to come the next time we did it.  He and I were talking about playing the piano and I told him I played so he brought his keyboard to our homestead and wanted to play with me.  He carried it on his back all the way from his homestead, so crazy.  He showed up at the gate with a huge smile on his face and the keyboard on his back.  We went inside and he started playing and wanted me to sing so I did and we had so much fun.  I will post some pictures from that.  So anyways we started team worship pretty soon after that.  In the middle of worship a police car pulls into the homestead following Lelo's car and we were kind of wondering what was going on but had a good idea of why the police was there.  Two girls on the team have had money stolen from our hut while we were not there.  One girl had $240 USD stolen and another had 170 Emanlengeni stolen from her.  We had come back to the hut on Sunday from church and her sheets were pulled off her bed and everything was on the floor.  We have our hut door locked so weren't sure how the thief was getting the money then I walked outside and realized that my arm could reach the stuff on the bed.  So anyways long story short, the guy who had stolen all the money was Maxwell.  Lelo's cousin who comes to the homestead all the time and is drunk 24 hours a day.  It's pretty sad because we had somewhat befriended him, as much as you can befriend a drunk.  So he was arrested that night.  They couldn't find him so they were looking at our homestead for him but he wasn't here but they found him later.  So all of this happened in the middle of worship so we decided to go inside and asked Bheki if he would lead us in singing with his keyboard and he looked so happy.  It was so great to be able to bless him and give him the chance to worship with us. 

Monday - Khanyisile Primary School day.  We taught Part 2 of Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors this week.  We didn't finish the story so the kids were all upset because they want to know what happens at the end.  In mine & Kaci's Grade 3 class we did picture frames for crafts.  The kids were ecstatic and it was pretty chaotic.  We never realize how crazy it's going to be, but it seems like Grade 3 is the most difficult class.  We had a lot of fun with them though and they were all excited about the sticky foam designs they were able to put on the frames.  So the school was fun as always.  We got finished a lot earlier than normal so spent a good amount of time at the pool after.  I got sunburned.  This African sun is so much hotter than Texas sun, you can get sunburned after being outside for 15 minutes.  Tori & I cooked hamburgers for dinner and Bheki (pronounced Beggy) and Musa came over for dinner.  Monday nights are fun because it's a free night for us and we just got to play games with them.  Then we all got in a circle and they had a dance off with a few guys on our team.  Swazis definitely dance better! 

Tuesday - Calie, Stephanie & I were planning on doing a Bible study with our translators last Tuesday but they didn't show up so this week was our first meeting.  They were a little late but that's Swazi time for you.  We talked about Mary & Martha and how Jesus told Mary that, "Martha has chosen the good portion."  How we so easily get distracted by being busy for the Lord that we forget to sit with Him and listen to Him instead of always serving serving serving.  Mom, I definitely have your servant's heart and that's something I have realized here in Swaziland that it's good to serve but I can't forget to spend time with Jesus.  So the Bible Study went really well and they are looking forward to next week.  I have been going to the hospital every Tuesday but now I am going to Timbutini care point.  I requested that I be switched with another girl that had been wanting to go to the hospital.  I already go to Timbutini on Thursdays so I like being able to see the kids on twice during the week.  We just play with the kids on Tuesdays because Christine, the American we work with at the school on Monday's comes and teaches a lesson to the girls while we are there so we don't have to prepare anything.  Which is really nice because we have so many lessons it seems like we plan during the week.  Also, my friend Ayanda came and I haven't seen him in about 2 weeks so we talked for a really long time and I told him to meet me at the soccer field where I go watch all the boys play.  Sibusiso (5) fell asleep in my arms which was really funny because he is always so full of energy but he wanted me to hold him.  So after I had been holding him for about 2 hours he finally fell asleep and it was SO precious.  I want to bring him home with me.  I always tell him "ngiyakhutsandza" which means "i love you" and he says "love you Nothando."  He is my little boy :)  After the care point we come home and so I asked Ayanda and Pinda to walk with me.  Tori let them listen to her iPod and they were so cute singing the songs.  American R&B artists are incredibly popular here so they were singing all the words to the songs.  I showed them pictures of my family and they just stared at them for a long time.  I told Ayanda that I would make him a bracelet and bring it to the soccer field.  We met them at the soccer field at 4:30 and he was waiting for me to get there and was so excited when I gave him his bracelet.  He said "I will wear this for all of my life."  I can't say enough, how much I look forward to going to the soccer field and meeting my friends.  At first they are a little shy but it doesn't take long for them to be your best friend.  One of the boys I was sitting next to proposed to me.  It's so funny because it's like no big deal to just straight up ask a girl to marry you if you like her here.  On Monday I was proposed to as well.  A nice self-esteem booster!  Katie and I wanted to walk up this path on the side of the mountain by the soccer field so we started to walk off and Selbi yelled after us to stop because "there are lions".  So I told him to walk with us, then he said he was kidding so I told him he just told us there were lions because he wanted to walk with us.  Which was true!  So Tuesday, another perfect day in Swazi.

Wednesday - Our day to do whatever kind of ministry we want.  I go on home visits every week and really enjoy it.  This week we went to a Gogo's house we have been trying to see for a few weeks but she is never home.  Today she was finally home but when we got there she was in the field so her great grandson went to get her for us.  She is 90+ years old and still works in the field!  Swazi women are so strong it amazes me.  We talked to her for a long time and brought her a loaf of bread and a liter of Coke.  She was so thankful because she had just run out of food this morning and didn't know what she was going to eat.  She told us that the Lord always takes care of her.  She has 11 kids (6 have died), 27 grandkids, and I don't know how many great grandkids or great great grandkids.  She still walks to church every Sunday.  What a powerful woman of God she is, I was blessed just to sit and listen to her talk.  We were going to fetch water for her so we walked down the road with the containers but the person in charge of the padlock for the water pump didn't have the new key so we couldn't get any water for her.  Then we went and visited Musa's Gogo again.  She is still in the same physical condition with not being able to use her legs from her stroke and has slurred speech but every time we ask her how she is feeling she says "The physical doesn't matter, my spirit is well!"  What a testimony of joy she is to me.  Last week I mentioned that Zanele told her I was Musa's girlfriend and this week she remembered me and said I must marry Musa and so should Zanele.  Then Zanele and I can live on the same homestead together and cook for her!  She is a pretty funny lady and she was just eyeing me the whole time, I guess sizing me up!  I read Psalm 73 to her.  I especially wanted to read the verse in the chapter that says "my flesh and my heart may fail, but God remains the strength of my heart and my portion forever....the nearness of God is my good, I have made the Lord God my refuge that I may tell of all your works."  Then we sang "How Great is Our God" with her and prayed for healing of her body.  When we left, her caretaker climbed the tree with Zanele and picked Guavas for us.  I'm pretty sure they aren't the same as Guavas in the States but they tasted pretty good.  I'm always nervous to eat things right after you pick them here because I don't know how clean it is but we always ask for grace on our bodies and haven't been sick yet, so praise God.  Wednesdays are a lot of fun for me because our leaders aren't around and we just get to do whatever ministry we want and I love seeing our translators so we get to spend the day with them.  We invited them over for dinner and it was a lot of fun to just hangout with them. 

Thursday - I go to Timbutini from noon-3:30 with just three other girls on the team. It can be a little overwhelming some days because there are so many kids and just 4 of us but this week wasn't bad because a lot of the Primary School kids were at their track meet in Manzini. I met some new boys and talked to them for a long time. Boys here like to talk a whole lot more than girls, at least they talk to me a lot. They are so entertaining. I feel like I'm gaining new little brothers every day and it makes me sad to think about leaving all of them, but I won't talk about that now! We brought one of those big parachutes that kids love to play with. I was carrying it from our homestead to the church and we came up on a group of boys so I had one of them carry it on their head for me (note one of the pictures).  His name is Mr. Mamba, I couldn't remember his first name because it was really long so he told me to call him Mr. Mamba. The kids went crazy when we got out the parachute. They were screaming and running underneath it, I wish I had my video camera because it was awesome. I love Thursdays at Timbutini because normally our leaders don't come with us so it's just me and the kids, which is my favorite thing.

Friday - we went to the Primary School in the morning.  There was a lack of communication with Musa not letting us know his van was broken down so we got to the school later than we wanted to but it all turned out fine. Of course, I always love going to the primary school so this week was great just like the others :) This afternoon we went to Khanyisile Primary School to teach Grade 6 & 7.  Kaci and I have the Grade 6 girls and this week we taught on abstinence and the girls received it really well. They were very interested in what Kaci had to say and they asked some really good questions. At the end of the lesson they wanted to act out a boyfriend/girlfriend scenario and it was absolutely hilarious. They acted out a first date and eventually proposing and they loved it! Kaci and I were incredibly entertained by them.  After the primary school we go to Dabas care point. This week the girls wanted to talk about 'puberty.' A surprising topic for us to talk about but girls here are very interested in learning about things and are not shy when asking questions so we really like spending time with them every Friday. 

After we get home from ministry every day a few of us girls go on a walk to meet our friends at the soccer field.  We have been going for 3 weeks now and look forward to it every day. The other day I met a guy, who proposed to me and still gets excited everytime he sees me.  He says "my wife! It's so good to see you!"  Don't worry mom :) He is pretty cute though, I'll post a picture. Swazi men are something else, I can't even describe them to you, so if you want to know, come to Swaziland! So all that to say I am SO enjoying the friendships I have made here and am not ready to leave them. Luckily I have just as much time left here as I have already been here. Does that make sense? In other words, I've been here 6 weeks and still have 6 weeks left! The first few weeks were all about building relationships and now I just get to enjoy them which is the best part.

Swaziland has a huge piece of my heart. I know I will come back here many more times and am already planning in my head when the next time will be and I want to bring some of YOU with ME!