Sometime last week, we were driving as a fam... and as we drove, I looked around in amazement. The things that I noticed we have grown very accustomed to (and really not causing us to look twice)... we've definitely become a part of and embraced the Swazi culture. To illustrate the point, these are some of the things we don't even bat an eye at... but it's taken the better part of 601 days to get to this:
-bomake (women) carrying flats of eggs (30 and 60 at a time)... on their heads
-babies, babies everywhere... tied to their bomake's backs with one single towel
-the all too frequent "whizzer": people alleviating themselves on sides of roads
-civil servants striking (read: blocking traffic, dancing, and singing) in the middle of roads
-cows, cows everywhere... and for us, learning that they only have one direction and speed
-people, people everywhere... "footing" it... dodging traffic to cross the street
-crazy, far-fetched newspaper headlines... sometimes sad, horrific newspaper headlines
-kombis (public transport) being jammed with people, going to and fro
-bakkies (trucks) with unsafe, oversized loads of random things, with little to no tie-downs
-"mealie" (corn) and "chicken dust" being roasted by vendors on roadsides
And, even as I write this, I hear Ave being the "great white hunter" (literally) on the veranda. I just grabbed my phone to see what he was doing and snapped these pics. I can't imagine what I would have thought about this 601 days ago, but now this is completely normal for a nine-year-old boy on this side of the pond. TIA (this is Africa).
And so, it became our science lesson for the day.
Locusts (intsetse): Widespread and common. Occur in wide range of habitats. Usually gregarious. Brightly colored. Only fly when older and can form large swarms. Herbivorous. Length: 80 mm.
Check out that hunting apparatus that Avery is using. A squirt gun to get the little guy to move, and a dowel with swim goggles -- at the perfect time he released the "cage" and trapped the locust. And, by the way, apparently the greatest locust hunters choose to operate in jammies... namely Guitar Hero boxers. TIA. It's so awesome.
Anyway, we're still in the middle of teams. We've had quite a bit of them this fall (American fall/African spring). Another one will arrive on Sunday, led by Mission of Mercy... with four from River Valley Church. YES! So, as we prepare for teams, it's always fun to think about our maiden voyage... and what Swaziland will look like through the eyes of someone who has never visited before. Our first trip to Swaziland was in 2008 with a team of 14 from River Valley Church. It was incredible. For us, it was the beginning, but we had no idea. It just felt like obedience -- and tons of peace.
We spent an afternoon doing a community walk, visiting three homesteads near the Murray Camp CarePoint. We were asked to pray, and to really focus on what God was speaking to us. As we wandered down the dirt path, I heard, "I want you to meet MY children."
The homestead visits were tough. Really tough. Our second homestead was especially difficult -- two boys, approximately 10 and 12, double-orphaned (essentially meaning they had lost both parents). They lived alone, in a small house, with little to nothing. Our hearts broke -- it just shouldn't have been this way.
And so, at dinner that night, we went into "American mode." You know... just trying to 'fix' everything. We were prepared to ship over boxes and boxes of clothing for the boys and the CarePoint, whatever we could do to 'change' them and their situation. I couldn't believe what we had seen, what we were experiencing, and all along I was trying to figure out how God had forgotten about this area. What happened? Why don't they have what we have? Why don't they have the same opportunity?
We sat across from Pastor Justin Mack and then Children's Cup missionary Jacci. As our minds and hearts were reeling, and as we asked hundreds of questions, she responded in such a calm, peace-filled manner: "You know, I've learned that God is sufficient." Sufficient? Ooooooh... she had said 'sufficient.' To most Americans, I think that can be a really ugly word.
sufficient[səˈfɪʃənt] enough to meet a need or purpose; adequate
Wow. I definitely didn't want to hear that. That really stung! Isn't God the God of abundance? Isn't He overflowing and limitless? And then I processed... for a couple of days. It hit me like a ton of bricks... right over my hard, ridiculous-thinking head. I thought about our children back home (then 2, 4, and 5)... and how we loved them so much. How much we wanted for them. How much we cared for them. And how many times we had introduced them as "our children"... and how proud we were of them. As I processed... He wanted us to meet HIS children. How HE loves them so much. How much HE wants for them. How much HE cares for them. How proud HE is of them.
I led a devotion for our team on Thursday morning of that week, sharing what I had been wrestling with, and the light bulb moment that was happening inside of my heart. I shared my life verse... words that had gotten me through some darker days, and realized how it had come full circle:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. (John 14:27, NIV)
"I do not give as the world gives..." He is incredibly sufficient. He is our Heavenly Father.
It will take me much longer than 601 days to figure out why Africans (and so many other people in other parts of the world) have so very little... and others have so very much. And quite possibly that's not for me to figure out. After all, we're not here to fix things... to change things... but to lead more people to Him, and help when we can. And I truly believe that HE will take care of the rest.
