90,000 words

This is Africa, and I am a Sponge

This is my first time to Africa, and my first mission trip.  Ever since arriving here, I have felt as if I have been here before.  There was never really an awe moment for me.  So many moments in my life have just lead me here.  I am so relaxed, like sitting on a friend’s porch after being invited for dinner and just being in the moment, taking everything in.  I think this is what surprised me most about coming here.  

However, upon meeting the first few children, who were very shy, began to wonder if I would ever connect with these kids.  Then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, I found myself in the midst of a sea of children, many grinning ear to ear, asking for hugs and attention, and I so wished I could be in more than one place at a time.  One six-year-old girl inspected each of my fingernails for quite some time, touching each of my fingers and nails with her tiny hands, and turning my hand this way and that, then staring up at me with a huge grin.  

I shared with several children and young teenage girls that I knew their “special friend” (AKA, church sponsor), and they gave me huge smiles and warm hugs.  I bent down to take a picture of a little one, who stood patiently for me to take his picture, then he quickly wrapped his arms around my neck and latched his legs around my waist, and he was my little cuddle bug for what seemed like hours.  I prayed and worked in a massive garden.  I painted a wall.  I washed feet.  I scrubbed little toes.  I took a photo with the mages (“mah-gays”; mothers), and one of them made me sit on her lap.  I blew bubbles with a circle of kids, some who waited patiently, some who shouted over and over, “now me, now me”, and some who shyly pointed to themselves and smiled.  I counted them out, and they would wait for their turn – one, two, three – until it was their turn.  Bubbles flowed from the bubble wand and the children would try to catch them and pop them, or bubbles would pop in their faces, and they would smirk or giggle.  For some children who didn’t understand how to blow bubbles (or didn’t understand me), I would lightly blow on their arms so they would know how to blow into the wand.  They got it!  And they would laugh with glee.  

I visited a family of eight – a father, a mother, six boys and their four-year-old sister.  I found myself overwhelmed and speechless, but so happy to be there, to see the mother laugh and blush, to hear the parent’s concerns and their children’s dreams.  

I also visited an extended family, where a young teen lived with his cousins and aunts, and his elderly grandmother, who sat on a mat on the ground, with her wrinkles and very firm and purposeful words that were interpreted to me and my small team.  I was so blessed to hear from his great aunt, who had such a passion for God, and who thanked us for coming to visit and telling us how we fulfilled her life-long dream of bringing America to her.

I watched and listened to over a hundred children sing and laugh.  I watched many dance, and laugh some more. 

Near the early evening, I would stop for a moment.  I watched the African sunset, and I breathed in God.  There is great beauty in Africa, and such warm hearts, and now my heart is here as well.

Dawn

The Old Man and the Tree

We started the garden by spreading 100 pound bags of lyme to help with the PH of the soil.  We had some of the older boys helping us but they were shortly disinterested in helping like many teenagers can be.  I started giving them a hard time that a 43 year-old had already done twice the work as they had.  They could not believe that I was 43, but the gray hairs in my now 5 day-old beard seemed to convince them.  As I left them to go spread some more lyme, on another part of the garden, I looked back and the newly re-motivated teens had a spontaneous push-up contest between them to see who was the strongest.

… All it takes to live in the bush is the ability to climb a tree.  On the last day, I was standing around talking to three teenage boys from earlier in the week.  From the first day, I was known as Mr. Johnsen, or “Old Man”.  The boys invited me to stay at their house the next time I visit.  I told them that would be very nice and that I could bring a tent to sleep in.  They said that would be fine, and that there were no wild animals in the bush here, but over the mountain, there were baboons and wild boars.  My response to them was to just give me a spear or a bow and some arrows and I would be okay.  They laughed and said, “No, that would not work.”  I told them that the four of us with spears could take down the boar if we all attacked at once.  They still were not convinced.  They said that to live in the bush, you had to be able to climb a tree to get out of danger.  I told them that I could climb a tree.  They looked at me and said, “But you are an old man and can’t climb a tree.”  So, we went over to the big shade tree and I jumped up, grabbing the lowest limb.  After making my way half way up, one of the boys joined me.  We climbed down and once on the ground, they told me that I could live in the bush.

~ Old Man (AKA., Eric)

I Miss the Rains Down in Africa

The evening before our final day at the Care Point, the skies grew ominous and cracked open. Oh how it rained down in Africa. The quick jump from the bus to the hotel left us soaked through and sloshing in our shoes.

 

Through the night, great booms of thunder startled you awake. The rain was fascinating and incredibly loud, like white noise gone wild. The African thunder seemed louder and huskier and much more exciting than our good old American storms that are over-hyped before they even happen.

 

It was hard to fall back asleep. We lay in our beds with a roof over our heads and thought about Mage (Mother) Shoba.

 

Sbongile Shoba is one of the five women who serves and cooks at Mkhombokati each day. She also teaches the little ones each morning. The preschoolers sit in small, plastic red chairs and one by one she has them say “My name is Kosaphayo. I am a girl. I am four years old.”She has them recite the days of the week and shapes and colors and numbers.

 

Seven children live in her one-room house. The house is made of mud and stone and is held up by a stick. It is broken apart in places. Everyone sleeps on the dirt. When it rains, Mage Shoba stays up all night, holding a blanket over the open areas the best she can. She doesn't have the resources to fix her house, never mind build a new one. 

 

It is this image that kept us awake.

 

 

That morning as I walked down to breakfast, I saw this in the hallway.

 

 

Team members had begun selling their shoes to one another in an effort to raise money to build Mage Shoba a new home. I felt a fresh wave of love for this humble, generous team.

 

When we arrived at the Care Point, Mage Shoba was in her usual spot, smiling and nodding, helping to prepare the sour porridge for breakfast and showing no signs of the long, cold and wet night she had. It was a relief to see her and to squeeze her extra tight.

 

Each time it rains I think we will all remember her and picture her holding up that blanket. We’ll ask God to bless her with the beauty of a rainbow and the miracle of a pot of gold at the end of it.

- Tara R.

Sponsorship = Relationship

Serving as Sponsorship Coordinator since 2007, I am often asked: what does sponsorship mean? Ah .. it could mean many things depending on the circumstances. In the case of our Swaziland partnership, sponsorship has a financial aspect (monthly contributions) as well as a very personal aspect which includes letter writing (at least once every few months), praying “regularly” and the most personal of all – the opportunity to visit the Care Point and actually meet your sponsored child (aka, special friend).

Collectively, this means RELATIONSHIP and this is the focus of the sponsorship program.

One of the most cherished moments and, in my humble opinion, the best part of being Sponsorship Coordinator, is when I have the privilege of witnessing the meeting between special friends. It is as if the gates to heaven have opened and the angels are rejoicing. God is smiling on us!

Imagine a child you have been supporting in a far away land that you write to occasionally and pray for consistently. You see the monthly reminder on your bank statement. But do you ever really think you might be able to throw your arms around them and tell them that you love them? I’ve seen it happen and have done it myself. It is unspeakable joy!

I get the true honor of just saying hello from one special friend to another, of relaying messages of passing out hugs and of delivering such special cards. The mere fact that we have now visited this community six years in a row has allowed us to truly watch these beautiful children grow.

And it all contributes to our goal of establishing and facilitating relationship. And as another saying here goes, in Africa the currency is relationship.

Dannele A.

Church in Swaziland: Holy Spirit, Come

After a hectic week of activities filled with fun, joy and laughter, a day of calm finally arrived. It was church day.

As the team gathered in the lobby to leave for church, the four guys in the team sneaked up to the balcony and sang a sweet Happy Mother’s day song….the ladies absolutely loved this act by the boys. And off we went to church!!

The road to church had been damaged in the rains from the night before, so we had to trek up and down a grassy slope. It was a wonderful sight to see our team in a single file line, one behind the other, winding their way to the simple yellow building where we would worship.

This was the same church that the 2012 mission team had been to and the team was ready for some Swazi-style church, especially the singing. It was wonderful seeing young Swazi teenagers lead worship with the simple instrument of voice.

The team was warmly welcomed by the Pastor and the members of the church. Seeing us enter the church with a guitar in hand, the Pastor invited our team to introduce ourselves and sing a song. We walked to the front of the church, introduced ourselves and Suzanne led us in singing the song HE REIGNS … “It’s the song of the redeemed rising from the African plains … Glory, glory, halleluiah he reigns … ”

I had the pleasure of speaking a few words on behalf of the mission team. Being Mother’s Day Sunday, I began by honoring all the mothers by acknowledging how they are a special and beautiful reflection of God’s very nature in their sacrifice and that they are the face of the Father in Proverbs 31:28-29. Turning to the rest of the people, I conveyed our love to the church, the kids and the families of Mkhombokhati village and to the people of Swaziland on behalf of Capital Church and all its members. I personalized the scripture from Isaiah 65:21-24 for the Swazi people and ended with the blessing from Psalm 115:14 -15.

The service continued with multiple offerings received, and testimonies shared. The Pastor then preached the word from Joel 2:28-32. The message was a reminder to all to wait on the Lord who has promised to pour out the Holy Spirit on all who call upon him. Although the service lasted much longer than our traditional Western world service, the team totally enjoyed the experience of joining our Swazi brothers and sisters in worshipping the Lord on a wonderful Mother’s Day Sunday!!

Anand B.