Safely Back Home
by Alicia
Friends and Family,
Thank you so much for keeping up with us as we've had our adventures in Africa. It has made us feel like we're a part of something with you, instead of feeling like we were on the journey by ourselves. We apologize for not writing more frequently (at all, actually) over the past week, but we did not have any internet access in Swaziland, and then our last days in Capetown were busy saying goodbye to our new friends.
Our time in Swaziland was wonderful. I was suprised by how different it was from South Africa. I expected that there would be much more crossover in languge, currency, culture, customs and development since Swaziland is completely encompassed by South Africa. We were truly in a different world though. Swaziland is a small country. It probably would only take a few hours to drive across the entire kingdom. It's one of the only remaning constitutional monarchies left in the world, the UK being the only other that I know of, however the king actually runs the country (whereas in the UK it feels like the royal family is much more like a figurehead). There are funny things- like the Reed Dance Festival- every year all the young women of Swaziland get together and do this Reed Dance and the king picks one to be his new bride. A couple years ago he got into trouble b/c he picked a girl from South Africa and her mom pressed kidnapping charges.
The people hosting us in Swaziland were Sister Jabu (Ja-boo) and Brother Joseph Mabuza. Jabu is the head of PACWA in Swaziland, as well as one of the top executives for the electric company in Swaziland. They like in a mansion, and have live in servants, but then in the backyard they have cows and chickens. Joseph also had to buy Jabu as his bride with 23 cows (much higher than the typical bride-price b/c she is part of the royal blood-line). It's funny how there are these modern things right next to all these old traditions. Their daughter married a man from the UK and they even made him come to Swaziland to buy 18 cows for her bride-price.
While we were there Jabu took us to two different orphan villages. If these orpahns were sent to orphanges, they would lose their homes and land, to squatters-even neighbors sometimes- ensuring that they would most likely never be able to have another home (these homes are very small one or two room cinder block buildings- nothing fancy). Instead, the women on the perimeters of the community keep an eye over these child-headed households, leaving children in charge of their families.
The first orphan village we went to had 25 child- headed households. It seemed that most of them had around 3 children and the oldest never appeared to be older than 14 or 15, most of the time much younger. Jabu and another woman, Tandi, shared the gospel and from the word (all in the native Saswati language) and then Ben (through a translator) shared as well. We also delivered about 30 bags of lentils, some soap and candles & matches to the orphans. It was a very small amount of food and I don't understand how these children eat on a regular basis- actually, they don't always. Jabu said she originally found out about this village when she received a phone call from one of the neighbors saying that most of the children hadn't eaten for four days and there was no forseeable way they were going to eat again any time soon. Jabu asked her church and the Swaziland Conference of Churches to raise money so she could take some food to the children. At the end of our time there, they gave each of us (there were 5 of us total) a huge plate of rice and chicken. We were continually humbled by the generosity of thise in need- much more generous than we are when we have so much more than they do. They would share all that they had with their neighbors trusting that God would provide for their needs. Didn't Jesus send out his disciples in such a fashion, taking only their staff and no other provisions, so that they must trust in God's provision? It makes me wonder if we've built a safe cocoon around ourselves in America that is un-Biblical and againt what God truly asks of us. The Bible doesn't have much to say about savings accounts or giving only 10% of your income to your neighbors. It says things that are much more like, "sell everything you have and give it to the poor."
As a sidenote- the Swaziland Conference of Churches is comprised of all the churches in Swaziland that profess Christ as Lord. It's truly amazing to see the body of Christ united under one banner to do good in the community. Catholic, Conservative, Jehovah's Witness, Charismatic- all serving alongside one another to accomplish the good works which God has called us to do as we have been changed by the love of Christ. It was really neat to hear Jabu tell stories about all that they are able to accomplish as they work together.
We visited another orphan village, this time with closer to 60 or 70 child headed families. We didn't have much to give to them , certainly not enough for everyone who needed it, but Jabu said that in Swazilnad you simply cannot visit a neighbor in need without bringing something to them. She would not even consider going to the orphans and sharing the gospel without also providing for their physical needs. It was an amazing experience to watch Ben share the gospel to the children in this community. Since he was speaking through a translator and to children, he shared the gospel in a simple way(through the story of the prodigal son), and then asked how many of the children would like to follow Jesus and call him Lord- every single one of the children raised their hands. It's been truly humbling to see how passionately and wholly so many poverty stricken people follow the Lord. It convicts me to follow by faith more boldly. They trust that God is good, no matter what- even if they don't have food on the table. They still rejoice in God's goodness and are bold in sharing the gospel. It's amazing.
Our last full day in Swaziland was spent at a PACWA conference. All the PACWA members and many other women gathered for an all day seminar on the issue of Single-Parenting and Widowhood. A pastor came and shared for most of the day, and the end of the day was spent with women sharing testimonies, asking questions, sharing experience and wisdom and praying for one another. Ben and I were also given the chance to share again. I have never heard such beautiful singing as they worshipped. I couldn't unsterstand a word of what they were singing, but they cried out to the Lord with such a beautiful desperation. I don't know if I've ever felt as desperately dependant on the Lord as these women so apparently and wholly were.
We ended each evening with Jabu and Jospeh by the fireside in their home eating dinner and Ben and I asking tons of questions. Each night Brother Jospeh would get out his Bible and share from the word, teach a little and then we would all pray. Often in Swaziland, people will all pray out loud at the same time. I tried, but I just can't do it. They are so focused on communicating with God that they aren't even distracted, maybe not even aware, of the other prayers being offered up at the same time. It is beautiful to hear many voices united in prayer. Even if it was just Jabu, Joseph and Ben.
We then spent several days traveling by bus and staying in backpackers hostels along the way. Our route took us all along the Eatern Cape, so we got to see a lot of the South African countryside. It is breathtakingly beautiful- Ben made fun of me for having my nose pressed up against the window of the bus the whole time. Our companions on the bus were often drunk college students from the UK. It was bizarre to be in the company of people who were in S.A. to simply get drunk and do all the toursity safari stuff after spending so much time in the midst of so many people who are in need. I wonder what theses college students thought as they saw the shacks and barefoot children along the side of the road from the bus.
We spent two days in Durban in the company of a Pastor (friend of a friend in S.A.) and his wife. It was wonderful throughout the whole journey for Ben and I to be in the presence of older people who were willing to teach us. I felt like we were sponges for the wisdom of elders while we were there. We were able to share almost every meal with someone full of wisdom and knowledge.
The streets of Durban are dirty and crowded with street vendors. Among the many things we saw for sale from these street vendors were hand guns, passports, local liquor made from soured milk and stored in old Mayo jars or gas cans, and lots of weird animal parts used for witchcraft. Ben saw something that he still can't tell anybody (including me) about without starting to gag.
We finally arrived back in Cape Town, where our friend Jeremy picked us up and took us to a neighboring town called Stellenbosch (we've written about it before) in the wine country of SA, where he had suprised us and booked us for two nights at a Bed & Breakfast so we could rest and be alone. I'm sure it would have been wonderful if I hadn't gotten sick and puked my guts up. I'm an old pro at vomiting now. On the bright side, I was able to visit some of the professors in the Community Development and Theological department at Stellenbosch University, as well as the International Students Office. I was able to talk to them about maybe completeing a Masters Degree program in Community Development.
Ben and I then went back to Cape Town and were able to say goodbye to many of the friends we had made since we arrived. We rented a car for the last two days- partially so we could do a little sight-seeing and also so people wouldn't have to drive us around for us to run errands or get to meetings anymore. We spent one day driving along to Western Cape and down to the Cape of Good Hope, where Vasco de Gama made the first trip around the most Southern part of Africa. I have never seen such beautiful scenery. It was breathtaking.
Saying goodbye to all of the friends we had made in Cape Town was hard. There were many tears shed and Ben and I made pormises to return again. We were blessed beyond anything we could have hoped for by the people we were with, all that they taught us and showed us, and in the ways God challenged us and spoke to us and through us.
Then ensued 2 whole days of delayed flights, broken planes, waiting for 6 hours in a really scary Senegal airport, missed flights, 4 hours of waiting in a US customs line, and some extensive security checks and finally our arrival at DIA.
We got back to our apartment around 10pm last night. We are still a little wearied from the journey, but cannot wait to see all of our US friends and family again. It is relaxing to be with people who know you well and have walked through much of life with you (sometimes all of life!). We cannot wait to share pictures and tell you stories in person. There is so much more that we haven't been able to communicate here. Ben and I will be busy putting together a slide show to share with all of you, and you can even count on us to serve you some South African cooking!
Thank you for sharing this journey with us. Ben will also write his last blog, but know that the end of these blogs is not the end of the journey. We look forward to having you with us as we continue along in this life and know that there are many more stories to share about SA and about all of the things that are to come in our life and yours. Please call us and make plans to see us- we want to hear about the journey you have been on over these past five weeks!
We feel loved and are encouraged by you. Thank you.
Friends and Family,
Thank you so much for keeping up with us as we've had our adventures in Africa. It has made us feel like we're a part of something with you, instead of feeling like we were on the journey by ourselves. We apologize for not writing more frequently (at all, actually) over the past week, but we did not have any internet access in Swaziland, and then our last days in Capetown were busy saying goodbye to our new friends.
Our time in Swaziland was wonderful. I was suprised by how different it was from South Africa. I expected that there would be much more crossover in languge, currency, culture, customs and development since Swaziland is completely encompassed by South Africa. We were truly in a different world though. Swaziland is a small country. It probably would only take a few hours to drive across the entire kingdom. It's one of the only remaning constitutional monarchies left in the world, the UK being the only other that I know of, however the king actually runs the country (whereas in the UK it feels like the royal family is much more like a figurehead). There are funny things- like the Reed Dance Festival- every year all the young women of Swaziland get together and do this Reed Dance and the king picks one to be his new bride. A couple years ago he got into trouble b/c he picked a girl from South Africa and her mom pressed kidnapping charges.
The people hosting us in Swaziland were Sister Jabu (Ja-boo) and Brother Joseph Mabuza. Jabu is the head of PACWA in Swaziland, as well as one of the top executives for the electric company in Swaziland. They like in a mansion, and have live in servants, but then in the backyard they have cows and chickens. Joseph also had to buy Jabu as his bride with 23 cows (much higher than the typical bride-price b/c she is part of the royal blood-line). It's funny how there are these modern things right next to all these old traditions. Their daughter married a man from the UK and they even made him come to Swaziland to buy 18 cows for her bride-price.
While we were there Jabu took us to two different orphan villages. If these orpahns were sent to orphanges, they would lose their homes and land, to squatters-even neighbors sometimes- ensuring that they would most likely never be able to have another home (these homes are very small one or two room cinder block buildings- nothing fancy). Instead, the women on the perimeters of the community keep an eye over these child-headed households, leaving children in charge of their families.
The first orphan village we went to had 25 child- headed households. It seemed that most of them had around 3 children and the oldest never appeared to be older than 14 or 15, most of the time much younger. Jabu and another woman, Tandi, shared the gospel and from the word (all in the native Saswati language) and then Ben (through a translator) shared as well. We also delivered about 30 bags of lentils, some soap and candles & matches to the orphans. It was a very small amount of food and I don't understand how these children eat on a regular basis- actually, they don't always. Jabu said she originally found out about this village when she received a phone call from one of the neighbors saying that most of the children hadn't eaten for four days and there was no forseeable way they were going to eat again any time soon. Jabu asked her church and the Swaziland Conference of Churches to raise money so she could take some food to the children. At the end of our time there, they gave each of us (there were 5 of us total) a huge plate of rice and chicken. We were continually humbled by the generosity of thise in need- much more generous than we are when we have so much more than they do. They would share all that they had with their neighbors trusting that God would provide for their needs. Didn't Jesus send out his disciples in such a fashion, taking only their staff and no other provisions, so that they must trust in God's provision? It makes me wonder if we've built a safe cocoon around ourselves in America that is un-Biblical and againt what God truly asks of us. The Bible doesn't have much to say about savings accounts or giving only 10% of your income to your neighbors. It says things that are much more like, "sell everything you have and give it to the poor."
As a sidenote- the Swaziland Conference of Churches is comprised of all the churches in Swaziland that profess Christ as Lord. It's truly amazing to see the body of Christ united under one banner to do good in the community. Catholic, Conservative, Jehovah's Witness, Charismatic- all serving alongside one another to accomplish the good works which God has called us to do as we have been changed by the love of Christ. It was really neat to hear Jabu tell stories about all that they are able to accomplish as they work together.
We visited another orphan village, this time with closer to 60 or 70 child headed families. We didn't have much to give to them , certainly not enough for everyone who needed it, but Jabu said that in Swazilnad you simply cannot visit a neighbor in need without bringing something to them. She would not even consider going to the orphans and sharing the gospel without also providing for their physical needs. It was an amazing experience to watch Ben share the gospel to the children in this community. Since he was speaking through a translator and to children, he shared the gospel in a simple way(through the story of the prodigal son), and then asked how many of the children would like to follow Jesus and call him Lord- every single one of the children raised their hands. It's been truly humbling to see how passionately and wholly so many poverty stricken people follow the Lord. It convicts me to follow by faith more boldly. They trust that God is good, no matter what- even if they don't have food on the table. They still rejoice in God's goodness and are bold in sharing the gospel. It's amazing.
Our last full day in Swaziland was spent at a PACWA conference. All the PACWA members and many other women gathered for an all day seminar on the issue of Single-Parenting and Widowhood. A pastor came and shared for most of the day, and the end of the day was spent with women sharing testimonies, asking questions, sharing experience and wisdom and praying for one another. Ben and I were also given the chance to share again. I have never heard such beautiful singing as they worshipped. I couldn't unsterstand a word of what they were singing, but they cried out to the Lord with such a beautiful desperation. I don't know if I've ever felt as desperately dependant on the Lord as these women so apparently and wholly were.
We ended each evening with Jabu and Jospeh by the fireside in their home eating dinner and Ben and I asking tons of questions. Each night Brother Jospeh would get out his Bible and share from the word, teach a little and then we would all pray. Often in Swaziland, people will all pray out loud at the same time. I tried, but I just can't do it. They are so focused on communicating with God that they aren't even distracted, maybe not even aware, of the other prayers being offered up at the same time. It is beautiful to hear many voices united in prayer. Even if it was just Jabu, Joseph and Ben.
We then spent several days traveling by bus and staying in backpackers hostels along the way. Our route took us all along the Eatern Cape, so we got to see a lot of the South African countryside. It is breathtakingly beautiful- Ben made fun of me for having my nose pressed up against the window of the bus the whole time. Our companions on the bus were often drunk college students from the UK. It was bizarre to be in the company of people who were in S.A. to simply get drunk and do all the toursity safari stuff after spending so much time in the midst of so many people who are in need. I wonder what theses college students thought as they saw the shacks and barefoot children along the side of the road from the bus.
We spent two days in Durban in the company of a Pastor (friend of a friend in S.A.) and his wife. It was wonderful throughout the whole journey for Ben and I to be in the presence of older people who were willing to teach us. I felt like we were sponges for the wisdom of elders while we were there. We were able to share almost every meal with someone full of wisdom and knowledge.
The streets of Durban are dirty and crowded with street vendors. Among the many things we saw for sale from these street vendors were hand guns, passports, local liquor made from soured milk and stored in old Mayo jars or gas cans, and lots of weird animal parts used for witchcraft. Ben saw something that he still can't tell anybody (including me) about without starting to gag.
We finally arrived back in Cape Town, where our friend Jeremy picked us up and took us to a neighboring town called Stellenbosch (we've written about it before) in the wine country of SA, where he had suprised us and booked us for two nights at a Bed & Breakfast so we could rest and be alone. I'm sure it would have been wonderful if I hadn't gotten sick and puked my guts up. I'm an old pro at vomiting now. On the bright side, I was able to visit some of the professors in the Community Development and Theological department at Stellenbosch University, as well as the International Students Office. I was able to talk to them about maybe completeing a Masters Degree program in Community Development.
Ben and I then went back to Cape Town and were able to say goodbye to many of the friends we had made since we arrived. We rented a car for the last two days- partially so we could do a little sight-seeing and also so people wouldn't have to drive us around for us to run errands or get to meetings anymore. We spent one day driving along to Western Cape and down to the Cape of Good Hope, where Vasco de Gama made the first trip around the most Southern part of Africa. I have never seen such beautiful scenery. It was breathtaking.
Saying goodbye to all of the friends we had made in Cape Town was hard. There were many tears shed and Ben and I made pormises to return again. We were blessed beyond anything we could have hoped for by the people we were with, all that they taught us and showed us, and in the ways God challenged us and spoke to us and through us.
Then ensued 2 whole days of delayed flights, broken planes, waiting for 6 hours in a really scary Senegal airport, missed flights, 4 hours of waiting in a US customs line, and some extensive security checks and finally our arrival at DIA.
We got back to our apartment around 10pm last night. We are still a little wearied from the journey, but cannot wait to see all of our US friends and family again. It is relaxing to be with people who know you well and have walked through much of life with you (sometimes all of life!). We cannot wait to share pictures and tell you stories in person. There is so much more that we haven't been able to communicate here. Ben and I will be busy putting together a slide show to share with all of you, and you can even count on us to serve you some South African cooking!
Thank you for sharing this journey with us. Ben will also write his last blog, but know that the end of these blogs is not the end of the journey. We look forward to having you with us as we continue along in this life and know that there are many more stories to share about SA and about all of the things that are to come in our life and yours. Please call us and make plans to see us- we want to hear about the journey you have been on over these past five weeks!
We feel loved and are encouraged by you. Thank you.
posted by The Mongoose Chronicle at 4:44 PM
3 comments
