It’s been a while. My time here has been incredible but as life falls into rhythm in Swaziland my day to day life seems less and less blog worthy. Here is little update on some of the joys and struggles of the last few weeks.
1. This last week I have had a pretty nasty cold. It makes me laugh. I survived the transition from a Minnesota summer to winter without the sniffles but as Swaziland ever so slightly cools off I find myself with a never ending runny nose and a very sore throat. I am very disappointed in my immune system but I am not going to complain too much because despite my cold I am loving this cooler weather.
2. Our Swaziland Easters was really great. The Swazis celebrate Easter all week long so they simply added an “s” to the end of Easter. Yesterday (Easter Sunday, not to be confused with today which is Easter Monday) all of the AIM families gathered for a really fun Easters celebration. The thirty of us spent the day worshipping, eating, playing games, eating, and laughing. Easter is my favorite holiday. My family and friends gather every year to celebrate and remember Jesus’ resurrection. I was feeling pretty homesick Sunday morning thinking of all that I would be missing at home but I am so thankful to have had a very similar celebration with my new friends here in Swaziland.
3. Two weeks ago Bailey and I helped lead a week long spring break trip. I enjoyed getting to know the group and serving alongside of them. One of our projects for the week was painting Gogo Grace’s house. Grace Nkambule is a 73 year old who participates in the Timbali project and cooks at the Bhobokazi care point. Grace has experienced a lot of loss in her life. Her husband passed away in 1978 and only one of her five children is still living. Despite these losses, Grace still finds joy daily by caring for the people around her. Grace serves at the care point because she sees that it is her part to care for her community and to serve the Lord. Grace is a very genuine women and it is apparent that every moment of her day is an act of worship and service to our Lord. Last spring a team built Grace a house after she spent a number of years homeless. Normally, when a Swazi wants to buy land they must pay the chief with a cow. The Chief knew about Graces situation so instead he requested that she pay him with a Coke. Talk about a great Coke commercial. Our team had the great blessing of adding the finishing touches to Grace’s small two room house. With the extra money we were also able to pay for a toilet for her squatty. Words cannot describe the joy that Grace expressed after receiving her new toilet. My time with Grace was a great reminder to continue my mission of living simply, to be joyful, and to thank God daily for his great love4. Okay, this doesn’t really have anything to do with me but it is an incredible story…so I am including it! Amy and Alison, two of the AIM staff, spend a lot of time at the hospital with the babies who have been abandoned. They have put forth a great effort to build rapport with the Swazi social workers in hope of creating a house of hope (foster care) for the children at the hospital. Often babies, who are perfectly healthy, are left at hospitals by parents who cannot care for them. Amy and Alison want to provide a home for these children while they search out Swazi families who can provide the needed care for children in this situation. After about a year of praying and trying to work with the social workers the hospital finally called Amy and asked if she would bring sweet little Mukelo home. I have chatted with some other missionaries here in Swaziland and they are all truly amazed that the hospital has not only allowed this but that they made this request. Mukelo was left at the hospital four months ago with an anonymous note from her mother. Mukelo has cerebral palsy. She will be two in June but is still wearing 6-9 month sized clothes. It is a challenge to feed her because of inability to suck. All of her liquids are given through a syringe. She received some care at the hospital but since she didn’t have a care giver with her 24/7 she was often neglected. I am brought to tears as I think about Mukelo’s mother. I picture a mother who loves her daughter so much but just didn’t have the resources or the knowledge to care for her sweet baby. The letter said that no one else would help her care for her baby and so she could not work. I picture a mom you had no other choice but to leave her baby at the hospital. Thankfully, God has opened other doors to ensure that Mukelo is loved and cared for. In fact, it would appear that God started preparing the Mcadam family long before they moved to Swaziland. Amy has previous medical experience and actually worked at a camp for children with Cerebral Palsy when she was in college. This passionate and loving family has created the perfect home for Mukelo and I am thankful that they will continue to care for her until they find a Swazi family that is willing and able to provide the love and care that Mukelo needs.
5. I love exploring. I have enjoyed traveling a little bit around Swaziland and enjoying God's beautiful creation here. Our most recent explorations have included a 2nd trip to Mlilwane Game Park, a day at the Swazi cultural village, and a short hike to the Mantenga Waterfall. I am also looking forward to a short trip to the Indian ocean soon. I have loved discovering Swaziland these past few months and I am realizing that I need to do a better job of enjoying creation once I get back home. There are endless amounts of things for me to see in this world and those discoveries should start in my backyard.
6. Bailey and I have continued our work with Timbali. We still spend every week interviewing the ladies, helping Titi with inventory and quality control, the head band project with the teen girls, helping at a preschool, and much more. I enjoy all of our responsibilities, especially now that we know the ladies better.
7. Trying to keep up on current trends. haha. I have read the hunger games and I have a pintrest account. You all should be proud!
8. I am doing my best to make the best out of each and every day. This has been quite the experience so far and I know that a lot more will be happening in my last month here. Despite all of this I can’t help but be a little homesick. I will be leaving for home in a little over a month and I am pretty excited to get back to the land of 10,000 lakes.
