Back in Africa

Ellie and I have been back in
Swaziland
for a couple weeks now, after our visit to the
U.S.
We are glad to be back, but are missing some of our favorite things in
America
: family, friends, free refills, high speed internet, Target, Mexican restaurants with bottomless chips and salsa, good Christian bookstores, cool whip, etc. 

 

We’ve also enjoyed getting back to some of our favorite things in
Swaziland
: green mountains, jacaranda trees, sweet chili sauce, the women we work with in the rural area, avocados everywhere, etc. And there are a few not so favorite things that we’ve experienced since arriving: a bat in our house, a big snake in our yard, sporadic running water, flat tires, slow internet etc. BUT life is good and we’re happy to back in our own space, jumping back into relationships and ministry.

 
We moved into a new house right before our trip, so since we’ve been back I’ve spent lots of time unpacking, painting and making it feel a little more like home. It’s a bit of a fixer upper, but I enjoy that, and realize more everyday what a perfect location God has provided for us to live in. Ellie’s nanny has moved into a small house on the property as well, and her children, age 2 & 4, have become great playmates for Ellie. They are also great Siswatti teachers. I’m am determined that Ellie will be
at least bilingual. Maybe she’ll be able to teach me!

 

There have already been some great times of ministry and fellowship with the women in the rural area. It was such a blessing to be able to pay the women for the sales of their bags and baskets while I was in the States. They were so excited! Some of them made more than $100. And we’ve got orders for more, so things are going well. The women had a retreat our first weekend back, and profits from the craft sales covered the cost of food for all the women. We are hoping that future craft sales will help to fund our women’s ministry activities and events here in
Swaziland
, as well as supply an emergency fund for special needs the women may have.

 
During the camp, and also in our meetings this past week I’ve the opportunity to pray with many of the women involved in the craft co-op. Once again, my heart is burdened by the circumstances many of them are facing. Several women asked for prayer for alcoholic husbands, which prompted others to ask forgiveness for making and selling the local “brew” which contributes to so many family problems.

 
The women don’t always share a lot with the whole group, but I’m sometimes surprised by how open they are when we have the chance to talk one on one (or 2 on 1, with a translator). One woman, whose husband is abusive, asked for prayer for her children, as she sees their rough home life affecting them in school etc. Many asked prayer for sick family members, including of course, many with HIV/AIDS.

 
One young woman came up to talk and pray with my friend Jacci and I. Her story is the one that has really stuck with me all week. She’s a single mom in her early 20’s, and continues to sleep with the Father of her child (even though he has no intentions of marriage and is involved with other women) so that he’ll give her money for food. She had tears in her eyes as she told us her story, and that she knows what she is doing wrong, but doesn’t know what to do. Breaking off the relationship would most likely cause the boyfriend to become violent, and cut off all support. Continuing the relationship would almost guarantee exposure to HIV, if it hasn’t happened already.
What do you say to someone so desperate to just
 provide food for her child? We stopped and prayed before even trying to offer any counsel. There’s of course no easy answers. I know that God doesn’t call us to be obedient just when it’s easy to do so, and that He is faithful to give us all we need to obey him. We encouraged her to break off the relationship, but more so, we prayed hard with her that
God would end this relationship, that He would provide a way out, and that He would protect her from harm.
Please pray with us! 

 

We prayed for another woman who was wearing some bracelets given to her by the local withch doctor. Traditionally the medicine man is a spiritual leader for a community. People go to him for everything from sickness, wanting to make someone fall in love with them, and to sleep better, which was the case for the woman we talked to. Many traditional beliefs include communication with/worship of ancestors, and some of this has also become mixed with Christiam beliefs in many cases. This woman didn’t ask to be prayed for, but the pastor’s wife who was translating for us told her to come get prayed for. (A little more direct of an approach than I might usually take!) We explained some about the seriousness of what she is involved in and she seemed to receive our prayers well. We’ll see what God does there. Another woman came for prayer today, asking to pray for her husband who has decided to quit work to become a witch doctor. She has also recently found out he is having an affair with another woman. Another difficult situation, that’s hard to know how to respond to! Pray that the Lord would protect her and her children from the effects of the bad choices her husband is making. Pray specifically that they would be protected from spiritual attack.

There are lots of days where I feel inadequate to help these women, but God is showing me more and more how much I need him, and how much the women need him, and that He will be faithful to work and move as I point them to Him. Pray that I would do that!

Thanks for checking in on what’s happening in Swaziland. That’s all for now!