Ellie and I are settled back into life in Swaziland. Besides making the long journey by plane, there are a few other indicators that assure us we have arrived back in Africa…the temperature is about 80 degrees warmer than Iowa, there are lizards crawling our walls, and people tell me I am looking fat, and mean it as a sincere compliment 🙂 (i.e. it means that my parents took good care of me while I was away, which is of course a very true statement!), just to name a few.
I’ve especially enjoyed reconnecting with the Swazi women I work with. We had our biggest pay day ever last week, with some women getting as much as 800 Emalangeni ($115). One of the cute grandmas got her pay envelope and started fanning herself like she was about to pass out, the whole time saying, “Oh, oh, ooooo, oh, eeeee,” etc, etc. One of the other women ran up and put her ear to her chest to “make sure” her heart was still beating. It was hilarious. I also got to meet some of the new babies that were born while I was away…my friend Lindiwe introduced me to her newest addition…child number TEN!
The new school year has just started here, which means many are in a panic as to how to pay their children’s school fees. Since August, we’ve been giving the ladies the option of putting some of each month’s paycheck into “savings” for school fees. Thanks to donors, any money they saved was matched, so their money was doubled. It’s been so great to see the women trying to plan ahead and use their money wisely and of course to see God’s provision in this way.
I had a conversation with my friend Lindiwe (another Lindiwe) last week. We’ve been praying for her husband for a long time. Lindiwe has a strong faith, but her husband does not know the Lord, is not kind to their children, and is unfaithful to their marriage. Lindiwe said he has children by many other women…at least 7 that she knows of for sure, but she says there are many more. Lindiwe says she is scared of getting HIV. The reality is that she more than likely already has it. At one point, Lindiwe said to me, “Julie, the other day I did something that only the Lord was able to help me to do.” She then told me that one of the ‘other women’ came to her house with her sick child, looking for Lindiwe’s husband to help with money to see a doctor. Her husband wasn’t there at the time, so Lindiwe prepared a meal for the woman while she waited. Amazing. How many of us could be so radically obedient to God’s command to “love our enemies?”
We had Ellie’s 3rd birthday party over the weekend (this was acutally her 2nd 3rd bday party, with an early one w/ family in the States before we left). She turned 3 on Jan 18 while we were still traveling back from the US, so the party was belated, but still lots of chaotic fun!! It’s become our tradition to we invite the children from the local abandoned babies home over for the celebration. Between the 13 toddlers from the baby home, 7 or 8 other missionary children plus mom’s and friends, our little home was filled to capacity. Just like last year, it was so precious to see all these sweet little swazi faces smiling and having a blast, knowing the situations many of them have come from and the special plan God must have for their lives. I’ll try to post some pics tmrw.
That’s the news from Swaziland. We are missing friends and family in the US (Ellie is always talking about “Gemma and Gempa,” and all of her crazy cousins that she loves so much!), but we are also so happy to be back in Swaziland, and are excited for what this year holds for us here.
Thanks for checking in with us!
