Sanibonani! Swaziland is a small country north of South Africa. It is a beautiful country that has many mountains and therefore some gorgeous views. However it is a country that is in a great need of many things- including hope. AIDS has greatly stricken the country. 40% of the population has been infected by HIV/AIDS, the largest percentage in the world. The life expectancy for people in Swaziland is 36 years old. A full generation has been nearly wiped out by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nearly every where we went we would see small children that were being taken care of by “gogos”- the name for a grandmother. The middle generation is rare to see, it is normally just small children and old people. The people walk many, many miles to get suitable water. And even then that water is not suitable for us to drink and is normally taken from a river where people wash their clothes, take baths, etc. The people are just crying out for hope- something that I hope our team was able to give them, through the Gospel, in the two weeks we were there.
The first week we stayed in city called Siteki. I was very nervous about staying with families but that ended up being an awesome experience. A girl named Anne and myself stayed together in a family’s home. The two parents were teachers and they had three loving children. I truly think I got the real African experience with them. One of them being that Anne, myself and the two little girls all slept together in a double bed. We showered with buckets and enjoyed meals with them. They are truly an inspiration to me and I really enjoyed all of my time with them. They are truly lights for Christ in their communities. They live out their life for Christ in everything they do. They prayed every morning and evening together as a family asking for God’s protection and provision over their family. I really feel as if I have family in Swaziland and they even called me their daughter. It was a great experience with them. While we were in Siteki we did ministry from early in the morning until late afternoon. We did a lot of kid’s ministry at various schools. We also visited the local hospital. We opened a medical clinic and while people were waiting for the doctor we entertained them with skits, songs, etc. We also did many home visits which was one of my highlights. It was good to see the people in their homes. I saw many people that looked close to death and very well could die in a few days. It was amazing to bring them hope and life when they seemed to have no more.
The second week we spent in a city called Manzini. All the girls stayed together in a woman’s home. In Manzini we did a lot of practical work. We made bricks for a person’s home, dug holes for a garden, cleaned out a house, etc. My favorite part in Manzini was one day we were working on the garden and there was really too many people working and not enough work to do so a lot of us were just standing around. We asked if we could go to a home nearby and pray with them. After the man said that was fine a small group of us headed to the person’s home. Unfortunately the door was locked and no one was home. A native that was with us to help translate encouraged us to continue on to another house. We were climbing through the fields, over bushes, over trenches, around rivers, etc. Eventually we saw a house but then the native turned around and told us that there were some dangerous dogs at the house that may try and bite us. At this I said that we should turn around, I was obviously quite frightened.
The native however encouraged us to continue on. As soon as we opened the gates two dogs ran towards us and were barking madly. I began to turn to run away when a woman came out and yelled at the dogs and they retreated back to their spot beside the house. She said something like “I know why you have come” and welcomed us into her home. Inside was her husband who was very sick. His breathing was so raspy and he seemed to be in so much pain. We shared some scripture with them, sang some songs and gave her a Bible in her language. I asked her to read the Bible to her husband so that he may learn more about Jesus’ love for him and a hope that he can cling to. She said that she would read it to him and that she would have her children also read it to him when they come home from school. Just that morning I was reading about how fear can stop us from proclaiming the Gospel and fully living our lives to Christ. Immediately that became true in my own life. I was so afraid of the dogs and didn’t trust in God’s plan enough. But it was amazing to see that once I trusted Him and allowed him to guide my feet, He led me to a man that was desperate for hope and love which we were able to bring to him.
At the end of the two weeks I was very exhausted and ready to head back to Pretoria. On the last day a few of our leaders were meeting with the Mother Queen of Swaziland. We prayed over this large field where they hoped to build a medical clinic. They had to meet with the Mother Queen and get her permission to have the land and build on it. They had many appointments that got canceled and were not getting their hopes up for meeting with her. On the afternoon of the last day the leaders went and the Mother Queen granted them permission to have and build on the land. Our leaders explained to her what our team was doing and after hearing the things we had been doing in Swaziland she desired to meet with us. She said that she would like us to do a small church service for her and then have a braai (a barbecue) at her house. She bought bush pig meat, which is a warthog for the braai. It was quite the experience being able to sit with a woman that has so much power. We shared scriptures with her and encouraged her to love her people and help them. She said that she really appreciated our time and thoughts and that we really encouraged her to help provide for those in need in her country. It was such an incredible and rare experience to meet her. She even said that she won’t quickly forget us and that we have made an impact on her and her country. This was such a great way to end our time in Swaziland and I really think there is so much more hope for the circumstances in this country.
Now we have a two week at the base in Pretoria. We will be doing some practical work on the base and also hear some teachings from special speakers. It will be a nice rest period before our next outreach to Namibia. Please continue to pray for my team that we will continue to connect not only with each other but also with our leaders. Please also lift up the country of Swaziland and the people that our team came in contact with. Thank you so much for reading this and for your prayers! Enjoy the pictures! And please if you have any questions about what I was doing or want to hear more stories just email me at: maria.messner@tt.rsa.om.org Thanks!
the people lined up outside the medical clinic
my my "mother", my "sister" Alice and I
a group of us on a safari, we got out of the car and were a few feet away from a crash of rhinos (they are right behind us!)
me and the landscape of Swaziland
the beautiful jacaranda trees
swaziland
me and Mother Queen of Swaziland
Anne and I braying the bush pig
beautiful swaziland
beautiful mountains
me loving on the kids
me and my Siswati family
