Eish... one of the many expressions I am going to miss :( Cant quite wrap my head around the fact that I've been here in Swaziland for already 31 days and I leave in 2. So incredibly bittersweet. I am going to miss the simplicity. The slow walking. The abundance of walking. The mountains. The sunsets. The palm trees. The kids at the care point. The smell. The rice and beans. The girls that struggle with prostitution. The sleep overs with our Swazi friends. Our night acoustic guitar worship sets. The random cows. The awful destructive driving. Hearing... "Umulungo!" (which means white person). Being called beautiful by some random dude even when I'm not wearing any makeup and haven't showered in 4 days. The sounds of the nocturnal wild dogs every night while in the bed. Being so dirty from a long day, that I am a shade darker from all the multicolored dirt I am covered in. Wearing skirts, and nonmatching t-shirts every single day. Seeing the beauty amongst all the poverty. Witnessing true love and reliance upon God among the beautiful Swazi people. Riding in the back of a pick up. Not wearing a seat belt because they simply just dont have them here. No texting. Talking in a funny British/Swazi accent everyone has here. Being proposed to EVERY where you go. Eish... the list could go on. A part of my heart will without a doubt be left here in Swaziland.
The last time I blogged was on Tuesday, and I ended up getting an awful case of the flu on Wednesday and Thursday. I was at the carepoint on Tuesday afternoon and I'm pretty sure I picked up the illness from there. One of the girls that I've wrote about previously, Daisy, told me she had a stomach ache and wasnt feeling well on Tuesday, but she is SO cute and I love her so much that I didn't really think twice about keeping my distance. I unfortunately have to say good bye to her today, and Im without a doubt going to cry. Eish. Its going to be so hard. I WANT TO TAKE HER HOME. I am going to miss the warmth and comfort of her frail body and her sweet compassion and giving heart :( On Thursday the rest of the crew went on the Safari, and they had a great time!! I was really really bummed that I couldn't go, but I know it wont be my last opportunity for an African safari. So much life left ahead :) Friday we went to South Africa for another VISA so we aren't fined, and we visited another beautiful orphanage. We also had a sleepover with the crew last night and I got to share a bed with the beautiful Ayanda :) I love her so much. It was SUCH a blessing to stay up for a while listening to her many stories. The way we live is SO different. She is so incredibly hardworking. Next time I feel lazy I think all I have to do is think of her and it will be enough to motivate me!
Thank you all so much for your unbelievable support and prayers. I could feel your love and prayers all the way over here in Swaziland. I cant tell you how much I appreciate all the comments and responses I've gotten from blogging, and just knowing that someone cares! I will be blogging when I get back about more experiences and my transition and such. Once again THANK YOU!!!!!
With SO SO SO SO MUCH love,
Lindsay :)
P.S. Prayers are needed for the travels! And for my motion sickness ;-/ I hope to not throw up in London again ;-/ I will be arriving in the States on Tuesday night :)
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
So. Many. Miracles.
Hello everyone! I am really sorry for the worry that I may have caused anyone by not getting on the internet this past Saturday! I ended up spending the day with Chanita Foster whose husband plays NFL football for the Indianapolis Colts! 5 years ago she was called to Swaziland by God and now has a nonprofit organization called Beyond The Game. She has started many schools and carepoints around the country! The day was SUCH a blessing and I had the opportunity to travel more to the rural parts of Swaziland. The specific place we were at was literally the stereo type of what you think of when you think of Africa. There was monkies on the side of the road, mud huts with grass rooves, and it was so HOT! Many of the kids have never seen a white person, and there were kids appearing from 2 miles down the road because there is no cars or electricity in this specific area. It was like I stepped into a time portal. I discovered that all of the Swaziland used to be like this 10 years ago until Taiwan decided to donate a certain amount of money for updates, and from there cities have developed everywhere. But there are still many parts of Swaziland that have not yet been reached. I was really grateful to meet Chanita, and I think God specifically set this up. I say this because before this past Saturday I was literally thinking "I dont want to go back to my old life. How can I honestly live in America and impact lives when I've seen and witnessed so much poverty?" Then I meet Chanita. She obviously lives in America, and has an abundance of money. But God has blessed her with this nonprofit organization and she travels to Africa for one week every month. Her time in the States is dedicated to fundraising and building support, as well as raising a family of 6 kids and 2 horses. Wow. This has really inspired me.
Normally I blog about each specific day, but I feel like SO MUCH has happened that I would be here for hours! So I am just going to go through all the key points and touch base on all of those. And especially all the miracles God has performed. :)
1. I had a wild impaca (I dont know how to spell this) nuzzle me, lick my hand and try to eat my hair.
2. Ive been proposed to with 17 cows and 3 dogs.
3. Last Tuesday I think it was? Our team felt called by God to go into the Squatter Camp, find prostitutes, and have lunch with them. When this idea was revealed by God we all thought it was really crazy. But through the grace of God and by trusting him...we did JUST that. We went in, found SIX prostitutes, bought them lunch. I found out that these lovely woman...are all around my age. One that I spent the most time with, Sonto, is 18, 5 months pregnant, lives in the Squatter camp, is abused physically by her boyfriend, and is still a prostitute. Nokwanda- 16 years old, no father, lives in the Squatter camp, dropped out of school, and is still a prostitute. The stories could unfortunately go on. While out with the girls, Nokwanda randomly turned to me and asked, "Lindiwe, do you drink?" I responded, "No, do you?" She kind of hesitated, and said "Yes. But only on Friday and Saturday nights because I have to..." This response will also be like a dagger to my heart. Ever since we went out, we have not been able to find her since. We got her in an interview and she admitted she needed help. Notando (who also is 18 and has a child) also openly admitted she needed help. After taking them out once, we took them out again 2 days later, and then afterwards brought them into our home to spend more quality time. They are just like us. Young women, who love to dance and laugh. They give themselves to men just so they can get by in life, and purchase all the necessities. Something as simple as soap, they go and prostitute themselves for. Normally for E20 a man, which is just under 5 American dollars. Disgusting. I HATE that these men have made them feel so worthless, and they feel so trapped. When they left our house they said "Can you come find us for church in the morning?" Um... YES!!! So on Sunday (which was just two days ago) we headed over to the Squatter Camp to find them, and we did. Although they refused to get in the Kombi with us. It was just Sonto and Notando who came up, and you could tell they REALLY wanted to, but something was holding them back. Kirsten and I were literally BEGGING them to get IN the kombi...but it got to the point where the large van was moving backwards and Kirsten and I had to jump in at last minute to catch the ride ourselves. We walked over a mile for these girls on Sunday morning to get them for church, and they were refusing to come with. I was beyond frusturated. As we pulled away I just looked out the window and immediately started praying, "Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you place some sense of guilt in their hearts and some how GET them to church." .................
4. During the service I turned around and looked out the tent to see...Tenele, Sonto, and Notando...WALKING UP THE HILL! Our God is SO GOOD! That walk is LONG. We offered a ride for these girls, and God answered the prayers and made them show up!!
5. The Pastors words, "Well, I prepared a messege last Monday, but I feel the Spirit is leading me in a different direction." ....The entire service consisted of a messege about not selling your bodies off, self worth, "an abusive boyfriend isnt one that loves you", beauty, etc. It was SO blunt and I think if the pastor knew that there was prostitutes in the church he wouldnt have been so blunt, but its EXACTLY what the girls needed to hear.
6. At the end of the service he had an alter call. The call was if you wanted to recieve the POWER to resist the devil, and all the evil desires of this world. WHAT!?!?! I was shaking at this point in complete shock of all the revalance. God REALLY wanted those girls to be there and it wasnt any accident they showed up. I began praying so hard and rapidly, "God please please please do what ever you can to GET THEM UP FRONT!" And my eyes opened to the sound of a scream I will never forget. It was a scream filled with agonizing pain, along with a sense of relief.
7. Notando, Sonto, and Tenele were ALL up front. The scream came from Notando who was on the floor, shaking, screaming and crying. There were people literally holding her down because her body was heaving so powerfully... It didnt take me long to realize that I was literally witnessing an evil spirit being cast out of Notando's body. I know this sound completely CREEPY, fake and unreal. But it HAPPENED. Tears started inevitably streaming down my face in complete joy and praise to our Almighty God. Never thought in a million years that I would be witnessing such a divine miracle. It's made me realize that our society takes a prayers so lightly and doesnt completely understand the power of prayer. When you pray a prayer, and are serious about a result, God means business. Even re-writing this gives me the chills, and I feel totally filled with disbelief.
God loves ALL. These women are so beautiful. It's going to be SO hard leaving in 6 days, feeling unsure if people will keep them accountable. Prayers are NEEDED for these women!!!
8. ANOTHER MIRACLE. So do you remember when I wrote about how when I was at the Hope House for the first time and when I layed hands on that one man to pray I felt really overwhelmed and I began to cry? Well....After the prayer he was confident he would be walking in a week. Guess what...HES WALKING!!! He will be leaving the Hope House soon :)
9. We also had a meeting last week with some people who live here, and they are really excited about the girls home and REALLY want it to get up and moving. Our God is so good. :) We are now just in the process of verifying a contracter for renovations because the home is in A LOT of immediate need. MONEY IS NEEDED for the home to be done. Our goal is to have girls in the home within a year!
10. We had a sleep over last week with some of the girls and they NEVER get to take baths and showers so they were having SO much fun and were shreeking with glee the entire time they were in the bathroom! Makes me grateful for every single shower I get to recieve. We are so incredibly blessed.
A lot more has happened, but I tried my best to convey most of the miracles! Prayers are still greatly needed! Especially that God will use our team as vessels and coworkers this last week we have in Swaziland that we can accomplish what we havent yet!
With MUCH love,
Lindsay :)
Normally I blog about each specific day, but I feel like SO MUCH has happened that I would be here for hours! So I am just going to go through all the key points and touch base on all of those. And especially all the miracles God has performed. :)
1. I had a wild impaca (I dont know how to spell this) nuzzle me, lick my hand and try to eat my hair.
2. Ive been proposed to with 17 cows and 3 dogs.
3. Last Tuesday I think it was? Our team felt called by God to go into the Squatter Camp, find prostitutes, and have lunch with them. When this idea was revealed by God we all thought it was really crazy. But through the grace of God and by trusting him...we did JUST that. We went in, found SIX prostitutes, bought them lunch. I found out that these lovely woman...are all around my age. One that I spent the most time with, Sonto, is 18, 5 months pregnant, lives in the Squatter camp, is abused physically by her boyfriend, and is still a prostitute. Nokwanda- 16 years old, no father, lives in the Squatter camp, dropped out of school, and is still a prostitute. The stories could unfortunately go on. While out with the girls, Nokwanda randomly turned to me and asked, "Lindiwe, do you drink?" I responded, "No, do you?" She kind of hesitated, and said "Yes. But only on Friday and Saturday nights because I have to..." This response will also be like a dagger to my heart. Ever since we went out, we have not been able to find her since. We got her in an interview and she admitted she needed help. Notando (who also is 18 and has a child) also openly admitted she needed help. After taking them out once, we took them out again 2 days later, and then afterwards brought them into our home to spend more quality time. They are just like us. Young women, who love to dance and laugh. They give themselves to men just so they can get by in life, and purchase all the necessities. Something as simple as soap, they go and prostitute themselves for. Normally for E20 a man, which is just under 5 American dollars. Disgusting. I HATE that these men have made them feel so worthless, and they feel so trapped. When they left our house they said "Can you come find us for church in the morning?" Um... YES!!! So on Sunday (which was just two days ago) we headed over to the Squatter Camp to find them, and we did. Although they refused to get in the Kombi with us. It was just Sonto and Notando who came up, and you could tell they REALLY wanted to, but something was holding them back. Kirsten and I were literally BEGGING them to get IN the kombi...but it got to the point where the large van was moving backwards and Kirsten and I had to jump in at last minute to catch the ride ourselves. We walked over a mile for these girls on Sunday morning to get them for church, and they were refusing to come with. I was beyond frusturated. As we pulled away I just looked out the window and immediately started praying, "Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you place some sense of guilt in their hearts and some how GET them to church." .................
4. During the service I turned around and looked out the tent to see...Tenele, Sonto, and Notando...WALKING UP THE HILL! Our God is SO GOOD! That walk is LONG. We offered a ride for these girls, and God answered the prayers and made them show up!!
5. The Pastors words, "Well, I prepared a messege last Monday, but I feel the Spirit is leading me in a different direction." ....The entire service consisted of a messege about not selling your bodies off, self worth, "an abusive boyfriend isnt one that loves you", beauty, etc. It was SO blunt and I think if the pastor knew that there was prostitutes in the church he wouldnt have been so blunt, but its EXACTLY what the girls needed to hear.
6. At the end of the service he had an alter call. The call was if you wanted to recieve the POWER to resist the devil, and all the evil desires of this world. WHAT!?!?! I was shaking at this point in complete shock of all the revalance. God REALLY wanted those girls to be there and it wasnt any accident they showed up. I began praying so hard and rapidly, "God please please please do what ever you can to GET THEM UP FRONT!" And my eyes opened to the sound of a scream I will never forget. It was a scream filled with agonizing pain, along with a sense of relief.
7. Notando, Sonto, and Tenele were ALL up front. The scream came from Notando who was on the floor, shaking, screaming and crying. There were people literally holding her down because her body was heaving so powerfully... It didnt take me long to realize that I was literally witnessing an evil spirit being cast out of Notando's body. I know this sound completely CREEPY, fake and unreal. But it HAPPENED. Tears started inevitably streaming down my face in complete joy and praise to our Almighty God. Never thought in a million years that I would be witnessing such a divine miracle. It's made me realize that our society takes a prayers so lightly and doesnt completely understand the power of prayer. When you pray a prayer, and are serious about a result, God means business. Even re-writing this gives me the chills, and I feel totally filled with disbelief.
God loves ALL. These women are so beautiful. It's going to be SO hard leaving in 6 days, feeling unsure if people will keep them accountable. Prayers are NEEDED for these women!!!
8. ANOTHER MIRACLE. So do you remember when I wrote about how when I was at the Hope House for the first time and when I layed hands on that one man to pray I felt really overwhelmed and I began to cry? Well....After the prayer he was confident he would be walking in a week. Guess what...HES WALKING!!! He will be leaving the Hope House soon :)
9. We also had a meeting last week with some people who live here, and they are really excited about the girls home and REALLY want it to get up and moving. Our God is so good. :) We are now just in the process of verifying a contracter for renovations because the home is in A LOT of immediate need. MONEY IS NEEDED for the home to be done. Our goal is to have girls in the home within a year!
10. We had a sleep over last week with some of the girls and they NEVER get to take baths and showers so they were having SO much fun and were shreeking with glee the entire time they were in the bathroom! Makes me grateful for every single shower I get to recieve. We are so incredibly blessed.
A lot more has happened, but I tried my best to convey most of the miracles! Prayers are still greatly needed! Especially that God will use our team as vessels and coworkers this last week we have in Swaziland that we can accomplish what we havent yet!
With MUCH love,
Lindsay :)
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Another beautiful week in Swazi :)
Hello all!! Its so nice to be blogging again and updating you all on my past week's endeavors! Cant believe an entire week has gone by and im once again sitting in the internet cafe figuring out how I can go about explaining my experiences. Ill go through day by day and relay ONLY the significant things that happened! :) I wish I could give you all the info I did last time, but I dont have as much time today.
Sunday July 8th
We left the house at 8:45 and headed to the Squadder camp to search for Tenele, Ayanda, and Johannes. We tried to get Sedrick (Tenele's boyfriend) to with us to church, but he LITERALLY ran away from us. The Squadder camp was severely depressing and eye opening. There were little dogs chained up and all that was left of them was skin and bones. It was extremely difficult not to pick one up and take it home with me. It took awhile to round the crew all up. Swazi's honestly have no concept of time management. Id have to say it may be rubbing off on me a bit, but im late for everything anyways, so I fit right in! :) Its so incredibly chill here. In the camp there were drunk people walking around at 9 AM on a Sunday morning. After the crew was ready we made our way to the kumbi station. When we arrived and were headed our to the bottom, men were literally screaming at us in Siswati and trying to lure us towards them. I tried to avoid as much eye contact as possible. They were trying to marry one of us. All this time Ayanda was holding my hand and I asked her, "Do they normally act like this?" And she just said, "not really, they just go crazy over you white girls." haha! She was finding all of this to be quite amusing. Honestly I felt disgusted and really degraded. The men were only viewing us as mere objects. I truly got a taste of what its like for the young Swaziland women who endure this every day to earn money :(
Monday July 9th
At assembly at Enjawbeni School~ I absolutely adore hearing their african songs and voices. They seriously blow America out of the water when it comes to singing and dancing. These girls came out dressed in some cultural garb and started doing this awesome African tribal dance. The kids were hotting and hollerin and cheering the ladies on, and some occasionally jumped in themselves. aTTHen some guy s stole the show and did the same dance. After assembly, Kirsten and I went to the 1st grade class (where I knew Nokwanda would be). Today I actually discovered Ningwani's name is actually Nokwanda! Ive been pronouncing and writing her name wrong all this time. But she responds to both pronunciations, so it must just sound the same to her. They were learning about what jobs exist and sentence structure in English. WE left a little earlier because we were starting to get a little tired sitting and lisening to such basic eduation. SHortly it was break and Nokwanda and her friends came and cuddled and hungout with Kirsten and I. They are SO sweet. Tehy started calling Kirsten and I magy which means mother in English... One of the girls that was with us named Seke told us that her mom ran away to South Africa and her dad is dead :( She currently lives with her grandmother. Later we saw her running around town with no shoes :( Breaks my heart. It also turns out tht Nokwanda's mom stays in the Squadder camp in Mangonani every day and her dad does "things"....The girls seemed really hesitant to explain to me his exact occupation. This really concerns me. I seriously want to take thiese kids ho me with me. THey live in poverty, and call me mother. How can I not fall in love?! After break we went to the preschool and played 2 circle games with the kids. Shortly they were all sitting down and the CUTEST little girl in the universe started waving me over so I sat by her feet :) She kept touching my hair and back really gently. ITs amazing how hungry for love these kids are. I mean they were just quickly touching me just to touch me. And during the games they were getting in arguments over who got to hold my hand...
Later in this day we FINALLY got to see Hosea's Heart house :) Soon this house will hopefully be FILLED with girls who are at risk or have been abused through prostitution, slavery, etc. The house needs ALOT of work. The ceiling is caved in in certain places, walls are cracking, and its just got a lot of work left. Funds are needed SO badly in order to get this process moving. The house is a wonderful size though, and it is so EXCITING to see the beautiful potential this house has :) Thrilled to come back in 2 or 3 years to witness the dramatic alterations and to hopefully see it filled with girls! Right now we are trying to finalize a contracter from South Africa. But with African time, things take awhile. Prayers are NEEDED. Fortunately Tenele officially said she wants to move out from Sedrick and get away. PRAISE GOD! Mary Kate (our leader) met Tenele when she was 12 as a prostitute. Her step mom was selling her off to men. So she decided to run away and make her own profit instead of her mother getting all the money. Eventually she got pregnant and not has a BEAUTIFUL baby girl whom she named after Mary Kate. She now goes to church and still currently living with the baby daddy Sedrick. Sedrick actually was one of the men her step mother sold her off to. Tenele is ready to move out and completely cut ties. PRAYERS ARE NEEDED! We may be able to buy a temporary home for Tenele and Christina (the social worker on our team) to stay in and that way more girls we come in contact with can stay in that home until Hosea's Hearts official home is completed :) This is honestly amazing progresss.
I wrote this while completely overwhemed earlier this week....
"I feel so filled with the Spirit of God, and incredibly convicted. Am I not doing enough? I know that I am currently in Africa. But being here was really made me realize how much I hold onto. Luke 14:33- "So you cannot become a disciple without giving up everything you own." Wow. That is SO much to take in at once. How do I live in the States and not rely on things of this world? What is ok and whats not? Where do we as Christians draw the line? God, please break my heart for what breaks yours. Flee demons away in Jesus name. I pray you reveal my calling throughout this trip. I feel a call to adopt one day, and to love on the broken. Give me guidance. I honestly feel like not washing my hair, wearing no makeup, and going barefoot for the rest of this trip just to become more on their level and to experience their daily way of life. They live so simply here, with such simple intentions that are slowly branding my heart. Melt and mold me into a beautiful image of you. I am here. I want to answer your call, I am listening. Passion laughs at the hold of hell. "
Immediately after writing this, I flipped through my bible and prayed, "God, please just show me what I need to read." And I came across this... Colossians 1:18~ "So he is first in everything."
Tuesday July 10
Went to the Hope House again on this day :) Its so nice praying and singing for the patients. One of the grandpas wanted one of us to stay with him and be his wife. Thank God for my purity ring because everyone mistakes it for a wedding ring! :) They are all excited to see us come back next week, and it was awesome to see that they reemberd us, and seemed genuinely delighted to see us. Its inspiring to see their positive attitudes about being healed in Jesus name.
Went to care point again--LOVE IT THERE. Seriously could live there. I wish I could bathe them, continue to shower them with love, and bring them home :) Mom, you would easily fall in love quickly ;p
Later we had dinner at the volunteer house. Austrian style lasagna! At one dinner we were representing 4 countries! It was such a nice evening. Unfortunately from the meal Rachael, Mary Kate, and one of the Austrians got food poisoning :( Wednesday was pretty miserable for them all ;-/
Wednesday July 11
Went over to the school again today and we first went to the 6th grade thinking we would only be there briefly... Turns out that the teacher literally just left the class and told them he would be back tomorrow...?!?! This kind of thing happens often in Swaziland apparently! So Rachael, Kirsten, and I were the teachers until after lunch time. We had a blast, although the students treated us very poorly. We love them all, but they were extremely rowdy and basically super pumped to have a substitute teacher for a day to just let loose. The thing with Swazi culture is that teachers are allowed to use physical force. Sticks, books, hand, you name it. And we were not about to be using any of that style of discipline. Definitely a good experience!
Went to carepoint again. Lots I could say, but one story that I think youll find amusing...
So when we first walked up to the carepoint there was a little girl whom none of us have seem yet, so when we got closer she ended up screaming at the top of her lungs and began to sprint down into the Sqaudder camp! Apparently we are the first white people she has ever seen! Her face was so incredibly flooded with pure confusion and fear!!
Thursday July 12
In the evening we had a birthday party for Ayanda! This is the second party she has EVER had in her life. Although her and her crew were literally 2 and a half hours late for her own party, she ended up having a blast :) We had chocolate cake for her! She lives in the Squadder camp, and has SO much character and SUCH a personality. When she opened our gifts, she immediately started giving AWAY some of the american candy to her friends...talk about selfless. She is so sweet. She also got my Nike tennis shoes, and she was wearing them Thursday and they fit PERFECT! ahhh it made me so happy. She is SO deserving and a perfect example of how we should all be striving to live. Very mature for only being 16!!
Friday July 13
Today I received the most precious note from a student :) Absolutely framing it when I get home. I named her Nicole because her Swazi name is too hard to write/pronounce! I love that we are here for a month, because we are finally able to get deeper with the Swazi people, and at a better place to learn more about their lives and what we can do to help them. Turns out that there is a large number of sexually abused girls that go to the school we volunteer at... PERFECT!!! Prayers we may continue to dig deeper into their lives and hopefully offer up the home to a few girls who need immediate help!
This week over all has been truly amazing. It went by SO fast, but in one week I feel as if God has accomplished so much with the girls home, in my own life, and with the Swazi people in general. Funds are still needed for the girls home for the construction!!!
Thank you for all the support, with out you, this wouldnt be possible!
With an abundance of love,
Lindsay :)
Sunday July 8th
We left the house at 8:45 and headed to the Squadder camp to search for Tenele, Ayanda, and Johannes. We tried to get Sedrick (Tenele's boyfriend) to with us to church, but he LITERALLY ran away from us. The Squadder camp was severely depressing and eye opening. There were little dogs chained up and all that was left of them was skin and bones. It was extremely difficult not to pick one up and take it home with me. It took awhile to round the crew all up. Swazi's honestly have no concept of time management. Id have to say it may be rubbing off on me a bit, but im late for everything anyways, so I fit right in! :) Its so incredibly chill here. In the camp there were drunk people walking around at 9 AM on a Sunday morning. After the crew was ready we made our way to the kumbi station. When we arrived and were headed our to the bottom, men were literally screaming at us in Siswati and trying to lure us towards them. I tried to avoid as much eye contact as possible. They were trying to marry one of us. All this time Ayanda was holding my hand and I asked her, "Do they normally act like this?" And she just said, "not really, they just go crazy over you white girls." haha! She was finding all of this to be quite amusing. Honestly I felt disgusted and really degraded. The men were only viewing us as mere objects. I truly got a taste of what its like for the young Swaziland women who endure this every day to earn money :(
Monday July 9th
At assembly at Enjawbeni School~ I absolutely adore hearing their african songs and voices. They seriously blow America out of the water when it comes to singing and dancing. These girls came out dressed in some cultural garb and started doing this awesome African tribal dance. The kids were hotting and hollerin and cheering the ladies on, and some occasionally jumped in themselves. aTTHen some guy s stole the show and did the same dance. After assembly, Kirsten and I went to the 1st grade class (where I knew Nokwanda would be). Today I actually discovered Ningwani's name is actually Nokwanda! Ive been pronouncing and writing her name wrong all this time. But she responds to both pronunciations, so it must just sound the same to her. They were learning about what jobs exist and sentence structure in English. WE left a little earlier because we were starting to get a little tired sitting and lisening to such basic eduation. SHortly it was break and Nokwanda and her friends came and cuddled and hungout with Kirsten and I. They are SO sweet. Tehy started calling Kirsten and I magy which means mother in English... One of the girls that was with us named Seke told us that her mom ran away to South Africa and her dad is dead :( She currently lives with her grandmother. Later we saw her running around town with no shoes :( Breaks my heart. It also turns out tht Nokwanda's mom stays in the Squadder camp in Mangonani every day and her dad does "things"....The girls seemed really hesitant to explain to me his exact occupation. This really concerns me. I seriously want to take thiese kids ho me with me. THey live in poverty, and call me mother. How can I not fall in love?! After break we went to the preschool and played 2 circle games with the kids. Shortly they were all sitting down and the CUTEST little girl in the universe started waving me over so I sat by her feet :) She kept touching my hair and back really gently. ITs amazing how hungry for love these kids are. I mean they were just quickly touching me just to touch me. And during the games they were getting in arguments over who got to hold my hand...
Later in this day we FINALLY got to see Hosea's Heart house :) Soon this house will hopefully be FILLED with girls who are at risk or have been abused through prostitution, slavery, etc. The house needs ALOT of work. The ceiling is caved in in certain places, walls are cracking, and its just got a lot of work left. Funds are needed SO badly in order to get this process moving. The house is a wonderful size though, and it is so EXCITING to see the beautiful potential this house has :) Thrilled to come back in 2 or 3 years to witness the dramatic alterations and to hopefully see it filled with girls! Right now we are trying to finalize a contracter from South Africa. But with African time, things take awhile. Prayers are NEEDED. Fortunately Tenele officially said she wants to move out from Sedrick and get away. PRAISE GOD! Mary Kate (our leader) met Tenele when she was 12 as a prostitute. Her step mom was selling her off to men. So she decided to run away and make her own profit instead of her mother getting all the money. Eventually she got pregnant and not has a BEAUTIFUL baby girl whom she named after Mary Kate. She now goes to church and still currently living with the baby daddy Sedrick. Sedrick actually was one of the men her step mother sold her off to. Tenele is ready to move out and completely cut ties. PRAYERS ARE NEEDED! We may be able to buy a temporary home for Tenele and Christina (the social worker on our team) to stay in and that way more girls we come in contact with can stay in that home until Hosea's Hearts official home is completed :) This is honestly amazing progresss.
I wrote this while completely overwhemed earlier this week....
"I feel so filled with the Spirit of God, and incredibly convicted. Am I not doing enough? I know that I am currently in Africa. But being here was really made me realize how much I hold onto. Luke 14:33- "So you cannot become a disciple without giving up everything you own." Wow. That is SO much to take in at once. How do I live in the States and not rely on things of this world? What is ok and whats not? Where do we as Christians draw the line? God, please break my heart for what breaks yours. Flee demons away in Jesus name. I pray you reveal my calling throughout this trip. I feel a call to adopt one day, and to love on the broken. Give me guidance. I honestly feel like not washing my hair, wearing no makeup, and going barefoot for the rest of this trip just to become more on their level and to experience their daily way of life. They live so simply here, with such simple intentions that are slowly branding my heart. Melt and mold me into a beautiful image of you. I am here. I want to answer your call, I am listening. Passion laughs at the hold of hell. "
Immediately after writing this, I flipped through my bible and prayed, "God, please just show me what I need to read." And I came across this... Colossians 1:18~ "So he is first in everything."
Tuesday July 10
Went to the Hope House again on this day :) Its so nice praying and singing for the patients. One of the grandpas wanted one of us to stay with him and be his wife. Thank God for my purity ring because everyone mistakes it for a wedding ring! :) They are all excited to see us come back next week, and it was awesome to see that they reemberd us, and seemed genuinely delighted to see us. Its inspiring to see their positive attitudes about being healed in Jesus name.
Went to care point again--LOVE IT THERE. Seriously could live there. I wish I could bathe them, continue to shower them with love, and bring them home :) Mom, you would easily fall in love quickly ;p
Later we had dinner at the volunteer house. Austrian style lasagna! At one dinner we were representing 4 countries! It was such a nice evening. Unfortunately from the meal Rachael, Mary Kate, and one of the Austrians got food poisoning :( Wednesday was pretty miserable for them all ;-/
Wednesday July 11
Went over to the school again today and we first went to the 6th grade thinking we would only be there briefly... Turns out that the teacher literally just left the class and told them he would be back tomorrow...?!?! This kind of thing happens often in Swaziland apparently! So Rachael, Kirsten, and I were the teachers until after lunch time. We had a blast, although the students treated us very poorly. We love them all, but they were extremely rowdy and basically super pumped to have a substitute teacher for a day to just let loose. The thing with Swazi culture is that teachers are allowed to use physical force. Sticks, books, hand, you name it. And we were not about to be using any of that style of discipline. Definitely a good experience!
Went to carepoint again. Lots I could say, but one story that I think youll find amusing...
So when we first walked up to the carepoint there was a little girl whom none of us have seem yet, so when we got closer she ended up screaming at the top of her lungs and began to sprint down into the Sqaudder camp! Apparently we are the first white people she has ever seen! Her face was so incredibly flooded with pure confusion and fear!!
Thursday July 12
In the evening we had a birthday party for Ayanda! This is the second party she has EVER had in her life. Although her and her crew were literally 2 and a half hours late for her own party, she ended up having a blast :) We had chocolate cake for her! She lives in the Squadder camp, and has SO much character and SUCH a personality. When she opened our gifts, she immediately started giving AWAY some of the american candy to her friends...talk about selfless. She is so sweet. She also got my Nike tennis shoes, and she was wearing them Thursday and they fit PERFECT! ahhh it made me so happy. She is SO deserving and a perfect example of how we should all be striving to live. Very mature for only being 16!!
Friday July 13
Today I received the most precious note from a student :) Absolutely framing it when I get home. I named her Nicole because her Swazi name is too hard to write/pronounce! I love that we are here for a month, because we are finally able to get deeper with the Swazi people, and at a better place to learn more about their lives and what we can do to help them. Turns out that there is a large number of sexually abused girls that go to the school we volunteer at... PERFECT!!! Prayers we may continue to dig deeper into their lives and hopefully offer up the home to a few girls who need immediate help!
This week over all has been truly amazing. It went by SO fast, but in one week I feel as if God has accomplished so much with the girls home, in my own life, and with the Swazi people in general. Funds are still needed for the girls home for the construction!!!
Thank you for all the support, with out you, this wouldnt be possible!
With an abundance of love,
Lindsay :)
Saturday, July 7, 2012
TIA...This. Is. Africa.
The above title has been our teams motto this past week...see anything unusual...the response just simply is... "This is Africa."
So Ive been here in Africa for a little over a week now, and so much has happened. I have no idea where on earth I can start, so I have decided that I will just be rewriting all my journal entrys from each day. This way you can get a first on few view on all that has happened and all of my emotions and such. Disclaimer--many sentence fragments and bad grammar ahead!!
July 1st.
Wow each day is such an amazing growing experience. This morning we went to church and it was SO COOL! We met at the care point near the squadder camp to meet Tenele and a few other kids including Fana and a bus/van came by and picked us up and it was packerd like Rachael was sitting on my lap! But the van was headed to the church. THis church had cement floor and it was in a white tent liike you would see at a grad party. INside there was white lawn chairs and card board for the little kids to sit on. It had a stage (really little) and a BIG speaker system. They were so incredibly loving and so grateful for our presence. We got FOUR shoutouts throughout the service. To start off, the people were walking back and forth in lines praying out loud in the Siswati language, as time went on the praying intensified and grew even louder. CHills were coverigng my entire body. THe service was seriously awesome. When people worshipped in song it wasnt like the typical singing, it was like they were little crying out to the Lord just as if it was their life anthem. Then they started DANCING! It was not like a performance by any means, but it was genuine in the sense that they were truly dancing for the Lord. Soon enough even us white girls were getting our groove on ;p THe sermon was about knowing the types of love. INstead of giing food to the needy, first cry for the ones in need. Not just loving to love, but to truly love someone is by feeling what they feel. He also spoke about how Satan trys his hardest and the world will truly start to persecute you when you become an intentional Christian and follower of Christ. This service lasted FOUR hours. The amazing part of it all is that it didnt seem any where near that long. The whole body of the church was up and moving and worshipping God with all they have without worrying about humiliating themselves. It was very loud, filled with laughter, and consumed with passionate praise to the Lord. Afterwards they all greeted us and told us again how happy they were to see us. One lady gave us this DELICIOUS roll thing. ANother man told us that we are welcomed to Swazi any time, and we are their people and that if anyone try to give us crap for being there to come talk to him ;p haha! Also Johannes gave me a Swaziland name which is Lindiwe, which means, precious girl. All the Swazis call me that now because apparently Lindsay is too difficult to pronounce! After church we all prayed for Tenele and she began to cry :( But her tears were a huge step in her life. Tenele has been Mary Kate's inspiration for starting Hosea's Heart. She started off a prostitute at the age of twelve when they first met, now she has a baby (named Mary Kate) and is out of prostitution and beginning to go to church :) Out God is so powerful.
I just realized that doing each day like this will take FOREVER! So I am just going to skim through the big things and write about those!
July 2nd
Today we headed over to the school right next door and played with the preschoolers and also met some teenage girls that were so incredibly sweet. They told us that the King has 12 wives, and all of them have 2 moms. Apparently its "not good" for the man to only have on wife. They shared with us alot of info on Swazi culture. I had to explain to them what a cookie is!! After the school, lunch, and a 5 minute power nap, we went over to the care point again :) My got "beautified." Its amazing how fascinated they are with white people hair. My highlight was when Ningwani randomly entered the care point and gave me a big hug :) I dont know what it is about her but my heart just melts for her. I want to take her home SO BADLY! A girl had charcoal in her mouth when we were leaving and she told us that thats how she cleans her teeth! Pretty interesting right? But if it works then thats great!!
July 3rd
If I was at home I wuold be looking forward to the Dubuque Mississippi river fireworks :( This is my favorite holiday and Im kind of bummed I am missing it. Yes, its sad but I know God has me here for a reason :)
Today we headed over to the MYC (Manzini Youth Care) office and met some workers. We then got to have a tour of the facility training centers they have there. Got to witness people making honey, and making jelwery out of mud which turns out to be so beautiful! Then we went to the Hope House. First we went into a nun's office and she asked us some questions and told us the whole low down of the organization. Basically its for people who are about to die. The first little home we went into, we prayed for this man, his wife, and their son. The second I layed hands on this man, I was completely overwhelmed and the Holy Spirit just took over my heart. I began to tear up and my knees began to feel weak. I held back my tears because I didnt want to discourage this man and his infectious joy. I think I began to cry because I was so shocked and humbled by his joy. Even though this man is literally on his death bed, his wife and little boy were still there with hopes of a healthy future. We went to many more houses and prayed and sang for all the patients. Many of them were unable to speak English but we were still able to communicate through Christ and his power. We knew just enough Siswati to get by, and God took over the rest. Its amazing to see and witness how grateful the patients were just to have visitors.j Some of them were SO HAPPY. It really puts things into perspective. To think I have EVER complained about anything in my life is truly a shame. Swazi's, dont have as long as a lifespan as Americans. Nor do they have the appropriate medicines or vaccines to be treated. I felt really called to house E. Turns out then when we arrived, the elderly woman was crawling on her hands and knees on the cement ground and brushing her hands on the grass saying "I am going home." wow. Her nurse told us that she has brain damage. It was clear that she didnt want to adjust to this new location to die. We said "Tandaza" which means "pray" and she got calm. We started praying for her, and immediately she was a new person. Afterwards we headed home and I sat outside for a while by myself just soaking in all the different sounds of Swaziland. The dogs here are literally like nocternal. They bark and howl non-stop here at night.
July 4th
Just had a wonderful American dinner made by MK and Rachael! We had hamburgers, fried potatoes, and some chips! We also went to the store and tried to find as much American food as we could! To say the least, I went to bed super full. This morning was amazingly random. WE got up at about 7 to head over to the school and hear the morning assembly. After the assembly we decided to break up in groups and go to different class rooms. Kirsten and I teamed up and went into the 6th grade classroom expecting just to sit in..but no. The teacher literally said, "Teach a little something, yeah?" So he gave us a little lesson book and that it! Within seconds Kirsten and I who are both 18 soon to be 19, are now in charge of teaching 6th grade for the entire morning. It was AMAZING! Seriously SO entertaining. We taught synonyms and antonyms, and a math unit word problems (which I have ALWAYS had troubles with). We also got to tell them a little bit about America. Kirsten and I were just feeding off of eachother and pulling information and a form of organization out of our butts. It was so cool! Afterwards all the students had to work on their workbooks for math and they were all asking a million questions! I kept hearing, "Teacha, teacha!" It was really interesting to be in the opposite position than what I am used to. I was no longer the clueless kid during the math unit with my hand up constantly in the desk, but I was in the teachers position running around trying to answer all the questions. After teaching I watched some African dancing because Don Bosco a dead saint was in town. Man can the men here shake their hips! TIA... haha...the men were literally wearing short cultural skirts! After that we went to the grocery store and I got to bond with one of MKs old students, her name is Nobele (with a click on the N) and she is SO SO SO sweet. After lunch and the grocery store we went to Manonani (the care point) again. It was amazing as always. They were teaching me some Swazi style jump roping. While jump roping we kept getting closer and closer to the mud. Eventually it ended up splashing up on me, and I just ignored it because I can wipe it off later, it was no big deal. And the Swazi girls who are filthy themselves, literally dropped what they were doing, ran over to me, and started whiping off all the mud as soon as they could. wow. This is incredible. They are SO compassionate, helpful, and willing to always help someone out. My heart is just burning writing about this. I LOVE the carepoint. I strive to be more and more like the Swazi people. Dirty, but yet SO beautiful. I see Christ within their captivating brown eyes. Johannes and Ayonda walked us home and they are so wonderful. Hilarious, helpful, and very interesting people to be around. As we were walking home some men were yelling at us who were building a fence and they were literally yelling at the top of their lungs, "One of you, PLEASE COME MARRY US!" Johannes (who is a great protector) yelled something back at them in Siswati and we moved on. Johannes hadnt eaten for days because his aunt is treating him badly, and yet when we offered him food, he was still said to Ayonda, "Ladies first." An allowed her to eat first and was still hesitant to accept food from us. This fourth of July has been one of my best, even without of the fireworks, mountain dew, and my family and friends. It was filled with God revealing himself everywhere we went.
I am running out of time to write about the 5th and yesterday!!!! ;-/ But Ill tell you breifly about yesterday because we went to the waterfall and it was BEAUTIFUL. Saw monkies, climbed through the rocks, and even jumped into the freezing cold water! It was literally so cold it made my bones ache. But what a WONDERFUL experience and sight I will never forget.
Today we are going to an orphanage and I am so incredibly excited. Lately God has been showing me my new found incredible love for young children. Orphans have been on my heart like a dead bug is on a windsheild--stuck.
Love you all!!!
Family. I miss you all so much. Hope all is well. Think about you every day!!! Also sorry for not calling yesterday, I forgot I can only communicate on Saturdays. Love you! HAve a fantastic day!
Prayers still needed for the girls home and everyone we meet here!! and endurance for the team!
God bless you,
Lindsay
So Ive been here in Africa for a little over a week now, and so much has happened. I have no idea where on earth I can start, so I have decided that I will just be rewriting all my journal entrys from each day. This way you can get a first on few view on all that has happened and all of my emotions and such. Disclaimer--many sentence fragments and bad grammar ahead!!
July 1st.
Wow each day is such an amazing growing experience. This morning we went to church and it was SO COOL! We met at the care point near the squadder camp to meet Tenele and a few other kids including Fana and a bus/van came by and picked us up and it was packerd like Rachael was sitting on my lap! But the van was headed to the church. THis church had cement floor and it was in a white tent liike you would see at a grad party. INside there was white lawn chairs and card board for the little kids to sit on. It had a stage (really little) and a BIG speaker system. They were so incredibly loving and so grateful for our presence. We got FOUR shoutouts throughout the service. To start off, the people were walking back and forth in lines praying out loud in the Siswati language, as time went on the praying intensified and grew even louder. CHills were coverigng my entire body. THe service was seriously awesome. When people worshipped in song it wasnt like the typical singing, it was like they were little crying out to the Lord just as if it was their life anthem. Then they started DANCING! It was not like a performance by any means, but it was genuine in the sense that they were truly dancing for the Lord. Soon enough even us white girls were getting our groove on ;p THe sermon was about knowing the types of love. INstead of giing food to the needy, first cry for the ones in need. Not just loving to love, but to truly love someone is by feeling what they feel. He also spoke about how Satan trys his hardest and the world will truly start to persecute you when you become an intentional Christian and follower of Christ. This service lasted FOUR hours. The amazing part of it all is that it didnt seem any where near that long. The whole body of the church was up and moving and worshipping God with all they have without worrying about humiliating themselves. It was very loud, filled with laughter, and consumed with passionate praise to the Lord. Afterwards they all greeted us and told us again how happy they were to see us. One lady gave us this DELICIOUS roll thing. ANother man told us that we are welcomed to Swazi any time, and we are their people and that if anyone try to give us crap for being there to come talk to him ;p haha! Also Johannes gave me a Swaziland name which is Lindiwe, which means, precious girl. All the Swazis call me that now because apparently Lindsay is too difficult to pronounce! After church we all prayed for Tenele and she began to cry :( But her tears were a huge step in her life. Tenele has been Mary Kate's inspiration for starting Hosea's Heart. She started off a prostitute at the age of twelve when they first met, now she has a baby (named Mary Kate) and is out of prostitution and beginning to go to church :) Out God is so powerful.
I just realized that doing each day like this will take FOREVER! So I am just going to skim through the big things and write about those!
July 2nd
Today we headed over to the school right next door and played with the preschoolers and also met some teenage girls that were so incredibly sweet. They told us that the King has 12 wives, and all of them have 2 moms. Apparently its "not good" for the man to only have on wife. They shared with us alot of info on Swazi culture. I had to explain to them what a cookie is!! After the school, lunch, and a 5 minute power nap, we went over to the care point again :) My got "beautified." Its amazing how fascinated they are with white people hair. My highlight was when Ningwani randomly entered the care point and gave me a big hug :) I dont know what it is about her but my heart just melts for her. I want to take her home SO BADLY! A girl had charcoal in her mouth when we were leaving and she told us that thats how she cleans her teeth! Pretty interesting right? But if it works then thats great!!
July 3rd
If I was at home I wuold be looking forward to the Dubuque Mississippi river fireworks :( This is my favorite holiday and Im kind of bummed I am missing it. Yes, its sad but I know God has me here for a reason :)
Today we headed over to the MYC (Manzini Youth Care) office and met some workers. We then got to have a tour of the facility training centers they have there. Got to witness people making honey, and making jelwery out of mud which turns out to be so beautiful! Then we went to the Hope House. First we went into a nun's office and she asked us some questions and told us the whole low down of the organization. Basically its for people who are about to die. The first little home we went into, we prayed for this man, his wife, and their son. The second I layed hands on this man, I was completely overwhelmed and the Holy Spirit just took over my heart. I began to tear up and my knees began to feel weak. I held back my tears because I didnt want to discourage this man and his infectious joy. I think I began to cry because I was so shocked and humbled by his joy. Even though this man is literally on his death bed, his wife and little boy were still there with hopes of a healthy future. We went to many more houses and prayed and sang for all the patients. Many of them were unable to speak English but we were still able to communicate through Christ and his power. We knew just enough Siswati to get by, and God took over the rest. Its amazing to see and witness how grateful the patients were just to have visitors.j Some of them were SO HAPPY. It really puts things into perspective. To think I have EVER complained about anything in my life is truly a shame. Swazi's, dont have as long as a lifespan as Americans. Nor do they have the appropriate medicines or vaccines to be treated. I felt really called to house E. Turns out then when we arrived, the elderly woman was crawling on her hands and knees on the cement ground and brushing her hands on the grass saying "I am going home." wow. Her nurse told us that she has brain damage. It was clear that she didnt want to adjust to this new location to die. We said "Tandaza" which means "pray" and she got calm. We started praying for her, and immediately she was a new person. Afterwards we headed home and I sat outside for a while by myself just soaking in all the different sounds of Swaziland. The dogs here are literally like nocternal. They bark and howl non-stop here at night.
July 4th
Just had a wonderful American dinner made by MK and Rachael! We had hamburgers, fried potatoes, and some chips! We also went to the store and tried to find as much American food as we could! To say the least, I went to bed super full. This morning was amazingly random. WE got up at about 7 to head over to the school and hear the morning assembly. After the assembly we decided to break up in groups and go to different class rooms. Kirsten and I teamed up and went into the 6th grade classroom expecting just to sit in..but no. The teacher literally said, "Teach a little something, yeah?" So he gave us a little lesson book and that it! Within seconds Kirsten and I who are both 18 soon to be 19, are now in charge of teaching 6th grade for the entire morning. It was AMAZING! Seriously SO entertaining. We taught synonyms and antonyms, and a math unit word problems (which I have ALWAYS had troubles with). We also got to tell them a little bit about America. Kirsten and I were just feeding off of eachother and pulling information and a form of organization out of our butts. It was so cool! Afterwards all the students had to work on their workbooks for math and they were all asking a million questions! I kept hearing, "Teacha, teacha!" It was really interesting to be in the opposite position than what I am used to. I was no longer the clueless kid during the math unit with my hand up constantly in the desk, but I was in the teachers position running around trying to answer all the questions. After teaching I watched some African dancing because Don Bosco a dead saint was in town. Man can the men here shake their hips! TIA... haha...the men were literally wearing short cultural skirts! After that we went to the grocery store and I got to bond with one of MKs old students, her name is Nobele (with a click on the N) and she is SO SO SO sweet. After lunch and the grocery store we went to Manonani (the care point) again. It was amazing as always. They were teaching me some Swazi style jump roping. While jump roping we kept getting closer and closer to the mud. Eventually it ended up splashing up on me, and I just ignored it because I can wipe it off later, it was no big deal. And the Swazi girls who are filthy themselves, literally dropped what they were doing, ran over to me, and started whiping off all the mud as soon as they could. wow. This is incredible. They are SO compassionate, helpful, and willing to always help someone out. My heart is just burning writing about this. I LOVE the carepoint. I strive to be more and more like the Swazi people. Dirty, but yet SO beautiful. I see Christ within their captivating brown eyes. Johannes and Ayonda walked us home and they are so wonderful. Hilarious, helpful, and very interesting people to be around. As we were walking home some men were yelling at us who were building a fence and they were literally yelling at the top of their lungs, "One of you, PLEASE COME MARRY US!" Johannes (who is a great protector) yelled something back at them in Siswati and we moved on. Johannes hadnt eaten for days because his aunt is treating him badly, and yet when we offered him food, he was still said to Ayonda, "Ladies first." An allowed her to eat first and was still hesitant to accept food from us. This fourth of July has been one of my best, even without of the fireworks, mountain dew, and my family and friends. It was filled with God revealing himself everywhere we went.
I am running out of time to write about the 5th and yesterday!!!! ;-/ But Ill tell you breifly about yesterday because we went to the waterfall and it was BEAUTIFUL. Saw monkies, climbed through the rocks, and even jumped into the freezing cold water! It was literally so cold it made my bones ache. But what a WONDERFUL experience and sight I will never forget.
Today we are going to an orphanage and I am so incredibly excited. Lately God has been showing me my new found incredible love for young children. Orphans have been on my heart like a dead bug is on a windsheild--stuck.
Love you all!!!
Family. I miss you all so much. Hope all is well. Think about you every day!!! Also sorry for not calling yesterday, I forgot I can only communicate on Saturdays. Love you! HAve a fantastic day!
Prayers still needed for the girls home and everyone we meet here!! and endurance for the team!
God bless you,
Lindsay
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)