Swaziland

As I enjoy this beautiful Tuesday morning from my comfortable office in my lovely, new home I can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed about my Swaziland trip. I know I haven't shared my experience with you yet. I was waiting until I felt moved enough to put it into words. I had a delayed reaction to the trip. I needed to process what I saw. I needed to fully chew on the thoughts in my brain before I could explain to you what God is doing there.

I am not yet sure why God took me to Swaziland. I can't decide if he wants me to go back someday, to help support Heart For Africa in their mission in Swaziland, or if I'm simply supposed to be the spark that sends someone else to the beautiful country. I left Swaziland feeling a little.... unsatisfied, to say the least. My heart felt unfulfilled like when you are extremely thirsty and have only an ounce of water to satisfy your thirst. I felt like I had not done enough while I was there; like I didn't do what I was supposed to do.

Heart for Africa is doing wonderful things in Swaziland. They have built a 2500 acre farm where they grow seedlings that go out into the communities to build gardens for families so they may have food to eat. They give the families the seedlings, help them plant them, and then leave the families to nurture the seedlings as they grow into food. They are not giving away handouts; they are helping a country who so badly needs a helping hand.

On Project Canaan, the Heart for Africa farm, they have a baby orphanage that is full of beautiful Swazi babies who were orphaned between 0-12 months. Many of these babies were found after being left to die in pit latrines (think port-a-potty into the ground) or in the trash and most likely would have died if they had not been rescued and given the medical treatment ($10 per day) that probably would not have been provided if Heart for Africa had not intervened. 

These beautiful babies will grow up on Project Canaan. They will attend school there and will be taught skills and trades there so they can become productive members of society in Swaziland and, more importantly, they will live.

Heart for Africa partners with TOMS shoes and does shoe distributions to the many church sites that they partner with throughout Swaziland. I know our team gave around 250 pairs of shoes. There were 7 other church teams giving shoes out that day. There are three trips each year. That is a lot of TOMS.

And the TOMS that those kids get are a MUCH better quality than the TOMS that we buy in the store. That made me very, very happy. TOMS works to design the soles of the shoes to be especially helpful with the terrain surrounding where the shoes are taken. That means that the shoes in Swaziland are different than the shoes given to kids in Latin America. Cool, huh?

The HIV/AIDS rate in Swaziland right now is estimated by UNAIDS to be 24.8-27.2%. That puts it at the highest prevalence rate in the WORLD. Given that I’m a nurse, this aspect of Swaziland is what hurt me the most. The fact that these beautiful faces have a very high likelihood of having or contracting HIV/AIDS makes me sick to my stomach. Here are the health facts about Swaziland from WHO.

So what did I do while I was there? I helped plant three gardens. That will be grown and nurtured by the hands that will one day enjoy the blessings of fresh food. I must admit that it feels good to know that my sweat went into helping those families/children eat. I had some pretty good callouses by the end of the gardening.

I played many hours with the 42 (I think) children who live in this building while they attend the school on the same plot of land. Many of these children are orphaned, some simply live in conditions that are not in any way protective or live too far away from a school to receive an education. All of these children would not get a chance at an education if this school were not in existence.

Those 42 children may have visits from others to drop off clothes/shoes to them, but they don't get to play for three days and be loved on from strangers from around the world. That only happens once a year when Heart for Africa sends a team there.

I also had the blessing of getting to worship with these beautiful children the Sunday morning before we left from Swaziland. 

I also was convinced that I was to be eaten by a lion while we went on a safari. This is not zoomed in. That black thing in the left corner is our rear-view mirror. The safari truck was open (no windows or doors). 

So why is it that I think God took me to Swaziland? I am not quite sure yet. I know that it opened my eyes to what is happening in the world that is 16 hours by plane away from my comfort zone. I know that he intentionally placed those children, the heartache, and the wonderful acts Heart for Africa is doing in Swaziland in front of me. Heart for Africa is building a health clinic on their 2500 acre farm. Am I to go back to Swaziland on a medical mission trip one day? I sure hope that is what God has in mind. 

One thing is clear to me, God wants Heart for Africa in Swaziland. And he wanted me to see that I should be a part of it. He may not be calling me to drop my life here in America and move there (like He has many families who get involved with the organization), but He is calling me to stand up for those people. I can't wait to see what He wants me to do next and I'm so glad I listened when He told me to go.