Eswatini Ministry

I fell in love with ministry in Eswatini more than any other ministry we’ve done on the race. It’s been the only country where I shed tears about leaving. In some ways, it was one of the hardest months of the race, and in others, one of the best. Before describing our ministry, though, I’ll give some context for our living situation.
It was the first time our squad had been all together again since Guatemala, which was about 4 months ago. At times it was overwhelming to be back with 48 other people, but I found my spots to be alone and escape the chaos. Our base was the biggest one we’ve stayed at by far, so everyone could be more spread out and it wasn’t as crowded. There was a few water towers me and a some others would climb to get a prime view of the sunsets or city lights in the distance at night, we were living in the plains so we could see for miles in every direction. The sunsets were beautiful, and it was painful to tear myself away from watching them in order to get to squad dinner on time.
Almost everybody stayed in bunk rooms, but I decided to camp with some of my friends instead. We found a corner of the base and cleaned it up to make our own camp spot. We weeded, burned the brush, and put a layer of grass on the ground so our tents would be on a softer surface. We also found some wood to create a table, set up hammocks, and dug out our own firepit where we had many chats about life amd everything in it. We named the corner Eden, because there was a beautiful tree in the middle with weird orange fruit that we figured we probably shouldn’t eat(credit to Noah for that idea, he was pretty proud of it).
My team worked at a carepoint about 30 minutes from our base, with a name that started with M and is too hard to even try spelling. A carepoint is essentially a mini base that provides clean water and food for the local kids, while also giving them a place to play and discipling and evangelizing to them. The kids would show up anywhere from 1-2:30 in the afternoon after they finished regular school, and then we’d feed them, play with them, teach them worship songs, and talk to them about God. We worked at our carepoint Tuesday-Friday, and on Mondays we typically had campus clean up and squad time all day. When we arrived in the mornings, we usually started with prayer, sometimes a bible study with the leader of the carepoint, also known as the “Shepherd”, and then cleaned up and did yardwork. Me and Kara, my leader, would help out and talk to the cooks, who were called “gogos” which means grandma in Saswati, the language of Eswatini. Later in the afternoon once the kids came, I was usually pulled back and forth between little kids wanting cuddles or playground time and big kids wanting to dance. I learned several local dances and it was honestly the highlight of my day to just dance for an hour straight with all of the teenage girls. Some days we did house visits to the community surrounding the carepoint, which was my favorite thing to do. We’d walk anywhere from a few kilometers to at most 6 miles to visit different people’s homes, deliver food to them, and build relationships. I loved the opportunity to get a firsthand experience of the culture and the lifestyle people had, and it was sweet to be welcomed in to their homes. Most of the community were already believers, but because of the poverty that they’re living in there was a lot of hopelessness, discontentment, and discouragement. I was thankful that we had the opportunity to encourage them and bless them with prayer and food, and I was humbly reminded of how blessed I am and how often I lose a perspective of gratitude for all that the Lord has given me.
Speaking of gratitude, I was beyond grateful for our ministry host, Nelson, and his family. Him and his wife, Megan, welcomed us into their community and home so quickly, and I was touched by their sweet hospitality. I quickly bonded with their daughter Maddie, who was 14, the same age as my sister. She felt like a little sister to me which was comforting as I’ve been missing Vange, and her brother Connor, who was 16, also felt like an extended brother. Many of my favorite life talks in Swazi were with Maddie and Nelson, and it was hard to say goodbye. It was refreshing to be around other missionary kids, we just get each other in ways I can’t explain with words.
Overall, Eswatini was a very bittersweet season. While I loved our ministry, homesickness for my family set in really strong and I longed for the freedom I had before the race. Being with the whole squad quickly became draining and exhausting as well, though there were some unexpectedly sweet interactions here and there. If the race were to end now, I can’t say I’d be disappointed, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up what I’ve committed to. I’m so close to the finish line, and I want to remain obedient to God calling me here.
Pray for endurance, renewed patience, and a supernatural overflow of love as I head into these last two weeks of ministry overseas in South Africa. My deepest desire is that at the end of this trip, I’ll be able to hear the words from Him: “well done, my good and faithful servant.”