Safe Arrival!!!

Well we have arrived! I arrived in Nsoko on June 6^th after roughly two 10-hour flights, an overnight stay, and a 9-hour drive. Here in Swaziland it is a 9-hour time difference from Portland so it is always an adjustment to get back on Swazi time. It is winter here in Swaziland but winter is very relevant, being as winter here still means that it is like 70 degrees is the average temperature.

I must say it is great returning. I have gotten to see a few familiar faces so far but I eagerly wait when I can see more of the children, gogos, and the rest of the ministry partners. So far as of June 7, I have seen Sanele, Smanga, Phindile, Mxolisi, and Nelly (ministry partners), Pastor Bheki and some of his family including Praise, and Bosewei, Colile (kids at the anchor center), and of course Erica (full time missionary). So much has changed since last year especially at the anchor center with the new playground equipment, the community center building is up (which replaced the use of the tent for church), and so is the earth bag house, and the community garden looks great.

So far mostly what we have done has been traveling and eating. Airplanes especially when they are international flights seem to feed you all the time, or at least that is how I felt this time. Unfortunately though they didn’t give us chocolate bars like last time L but maybe its because I didn’t fly with Luftansa and/or to Germany this time. But today (June 7) we did some cleaning around the Intern House/shopping, and split up to go to care points and home visits.

For those that don’t know…Care points are places that are set up where the gogos (grandmas) come and cook a meal Monday through Friday and the kids are welcome to come and get a meal. And then the ministry partners and teams that are around go to each of the care points and teach a lesson. In Nsoko, there are 10 care points around. And home visits are where we go to a homestead and just connect with those on the homestead and share life whether that is sharing stories about each others life, sharing scripture and thoughts, praying and sometimes even singing and then sometimes the ministry partners/team might bring supplies to the homesteads that AIM knows. So for most teams that come they will spend part of the day at care points helping with the lesson and playing with the kids and then going to home visits to get to know the community.

Today (June 7), Sarah and I also went to a few stores to get supplies, which is always an interesting adventure. On this adventure, Sarah and I had to try and find all the food we wanted for a couple days as well as cleaning supplies and some miscellaneous things. Something that is different from the states is when you get a loaf of bread, its not sliced until after you pay for it and then one of the store employees slices all the bread for you. Also on this trip, we were headed out of the store after paying and one of the security ladies stopped Sarah and I and asked for our names and then she just gave me a siswati name, Nothando, which according to Mxolisi means “Lovely One”.  I’m really sure why this lady just decided to give me a siswati name, it seems that most Swazis’ wait until they know you a little more before giving you one but hey I got a Swazi name now.

I found out that on Tuesday a few of us, (Sarah, Jesse Baumburger AKA Burger and I) will be going to Manzini for a few days to lead a team there and the rest of the interns (Ameena, Andy, and Jessy Prado) will stay in Nsoko will be leading a team here.

Sorry this if this post is kind of jumbled and not very organized. Internet is slow and we only get 15 minutes of free wifi before we have to buy a voucher for air time so I am writing this out what will be the night before this blog is posted and I’m quite exhausted from all the traveling and what not.

For those that are praying or would like to know what to pray for please continue to pray for safety and guidance. Pray that everyone continues to be renewed each day with strength and energy. Pray for the relationships that have and will be made that Christ is shown through those relationships. Pray for the ministry partners that they will be able to lead well amongst the community, pray for them to have strength and energy as well as it is there job to bring alongside all the teams to the different ministries and getting them involved. Pray for Erica as she has a lot to do with all the ministries as well as with the teams coming this summer. Pray for the gogos that they will remain healthy or get healthy if they are sick, pray for strength and guidance as they raise the children in the community. Pray for the children that they will be provided for, that they will know Christ and that they will grow up to help change Swaziland and help stop HIV/AIDs from spreading further. Pray for Pastor Bheki and all the other pastors and ministers here. Pray for patience for all of us. Pray that God continues to work in this place and continue to bring joy amongst all the situations. Pray for the teams that will be coming that God would prepare their hearts to be broken, for protection and safety, for guidance and understanding. Pray for us interns that we might also have our hearts broken for His people here in Swaziland, for protection and safety, for guidance and understanding. Pray for the families that we left that they will have peace and safety as we are away. Pray for Sarah (one of the interns) who is trying to figure out if she is going to move here for long term missions. Pray for Matt and Laura (Matt is essentially the on the ground coordinator for Nsoko with AIM and Laura is his wife) that they will also be able to lead well.

Thank you so much for all the support and prayer. I miss you all and wish that we were together but I know that this is where I need to be right now. It feels like home here to me and its always good to be home.

Hopefully soon I will be able to upload some photos but again, the internet is slow so I will do it when I get a chance.