Life In The Extremes

Coming to Swaziland I thought I had no expectations, or at least I knew what to expect. My team and I have only been here in Nsoko, Swaziland for a little over a week, but already whatever expectations I had have been blown away. All 21 of us live in a team building in extremely close quarters. The 16 of us girls are squeezed together in a room smaller than my bedroom back home. Our care point has a church, a preschool, a playground, and our team building, which is also used as the office space for the Adventures in Missions national staff.

Our whole team has been broken down into smaller ministry teams, which have been given their own schedule for the week. My team consists of Josiah, Josh, Maddie, Rachel, and myself. We have spent at least half of every day working in a field, clearing it away so that it can eventually become a soccer field. The care point where we are staying is very intentional about having discipleship for the kids and offering them one meal a day Monday – Saturday. For most of these kids, it is the only food they get. My ministry team has gotten to work with the kids during their discipleship, gone on a home visit, and had lots of opportunity to pray for the ministry that is being done here. 

On Tuesday morning, I was woken up with the words, “Kelsey, do you want to see someone giving birth, right now?” I jumped out of bed in one swift motion yelling, “THIS IS MY DREAM!” I woke every one up in the process, but I seriously couldn’t believe that it was real life. I had to ask my team leader once I was out in the main room if I was awake or dreaming. Rachel wanted to come with me so we hopped in the vehicle with one of the AIM staff and we went on our way to pick up the woman who was about to give birth. We drove for awhile, but on our way we got to see the incredibly beautiful country side. Once we picked her up, we turned around and went back past our care point and made it all the way to the South African border before turning. It was still another 15 minutes until we reached the hospital. Being able to see an African hospital in the first full week of being here has been a blessing in itself. It’s kind of a team joke that I’m the nurse even though I haven’t even started nursing school yet. Once we arrived at the hospital and went in, Steven, our AIM missionary host, wasn’t allowed to accompany us into the maternity ward because he is male. Rachel and I ended up not being able to go into the room to see the birth, but I got to pray for her and her child anyways, which for me was enough. We were informed later in the day that she ended up having a healthy baby girl three hours later.

On Wednesday, Steven asked Rachel and I if we wanted to go with one of the AIM staff to pick her and her child up. Of course we wanted to meet the baby so we jumped at the opportunity. On the way we picked up another lady who needed to visit the doctor. Once we arrived at the hospital again, mom and baby joined us in the vehicle. I thought we’d leave immediately, but as we sat in the van for three hours in the intense heat (I’m not exaggerating when I say that it was at least 100 degrees), the Swazi woman just sat with her baby waddled in fleece blankets, never once complaining. My respect for the Swazi people grew immensely in those three hours.

Yesterday, Thursday, was the hottest day so far and while I was out in the field pick axing away at these trees that are covered in poisonous needles, I realized something about this country that I hadn’t felt in any other country that I’ve been to before. Everything in Swaziland is extreme. The weather has such extremes, where one minute it is over a 100 degrees with no cloud coverage, and the next minute is it thundering, lightening, and down pouring. The landscape is extremely beautiful. The Swazi people have an extreme love for each other and for us. I have also felt an extreme love for the kids and the ministry partners already, even in the short time I’ve been here. I also feel joy, an extreme joy living and being surrounded by my teammates. Lastly, and most importantly, their is an extreme presence of God here in this country. Even though there are some negative extremes, the positive extremes make living life in the extremes incredibly worth it. I can’t wait to see how God uses me and my teammates in this country during the rest of our time here.