Africa so far!

Welcome back to another blog!!! I made it to Swaziland!!

Fun Things We’ve Done
We’ve been watercoloring like crazy! We even have an art wall above our mega bed (that’s Macie, Ryely, and my beds all pushed together).

On our first adventure day, we all went to the Safari Restaurant. It was so nice to get off base for a bit and have some WiFi to text family since I don’t have service here.

We’ve also been playing a ton of cards. Macie and I are learning a new card game every week here in Swazi. And of course, Dutch Blitz has become a squad favorite. Things get crazy! Everyone’s now seen my competitive side, which basically looks like me yelling at them mid-game haha.

And oh my goodness, I’ve been drinking sooo much tea, Rooibos Tea of course. It’s the best South African tea ever! I also stocked up on all my favorite South African snacks.

Squad Update
Our squad has been split between the boys and girls. Us girls are in Nsoko, which is the bush, and the boys are in Manzini, the capital.

It’s actually been so sweet being separated. We’ve had such intentional time together as girls. Every Monday we have “one-on-ones” where we’re paired up with a different person each week to hang out and have deeper conversations. It’s been such a special way to connect.

Ministry
Ministry in Swazi looks like care points and house visits! My team serves at the care point right here on the AIM base, while the other teams go out to different care points around Nsoko.

Each care point has a coordinator and a Shepherd who runs things day to day. Our Sheperd’s name is Dumsile. She is the sweetest woman ever. She has two kids who also come to the care point, and it’s been such a joy getting to serve alongside her and love on her family.

It’s also been amazing serving on base because I get to see the same kids all the time. They’re everywhere! I was on a walk the other night and these kids were shouting my name and it was a bunch of kids from my care point!

We’ve also done three house visits so far, and I’ve learned so much about Swazi culture through them. My team and our Shepherd walk from home to home, knocking and seeing who’s around to talk.

A big cultural difference here is that you don’t have to tell someone you’re coming over, you just go! I thought that was so wild compared to America where we plan everything ahead. But here, people just welcome you to sit and talk. But you sit outside their door on a mat!

One of the visits that really stuck with me was to a Gogo (which means grandma). She had been very sick and was lying on a floor mat where she’d been for months. We sat with her, talked, and prayed over her. She said people hadn’t been visiting her much lately, and it broke my heart. It was such a gift to just be there and bring her comfort through conversation and prayer.
At a different house visit we were given fat cakes which is delicious bread!

Church
We went to church this Sunday! We walked about 30 minutes along the main road to Elohim Church. The service started with the most beautiful worship, hearing people praise God in another language was incredible.

It reminded me of the verse that says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess He is Lord! Even though I couldn’t sing along, just closing my eyes and listening was so powerful.

What the Lord Has Been Teaching Me
Loving the kids and pouring into people every day can be exhausting. There are moments I just feel overwhelmed and honestly don’t feel like loving well. But the Lord spoke to me through 1 John 3 this week. Go read it!

He reminded me that the greatest act of love was Him laying down His life for us. Now we get to lay ours down for others. Love isn’t just words, it’s action.

There’s a line in a song that says “My heart is a wick, Your love is a flame, and I want to burn for Your name.” That’s been my heart this week, to burn for His name instead of giving in to fleshly desires of complaining or negativity in my mind.

We’ve been facing some spiritual warfare here, but it’s been such a comfort knowing that the One who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. There is no fear in Him. Because He drives out all fear.

Lastly, I have been reminded that love isn’t the world’s first choice, but as followers of Christ, we are called to be uncommon. We’re set apart, ready to pour out the love we’ve freely been given.

xoxo,
Abby