Our bus bumped along the rocky dirt road and I looked out the window at all of our surroundings. Little huts were spread around with metal roofs, smoke was in the air from families cooking their dinner, men with torn shirts and shorts walked the road, smiling as we drove past. As we rounded the corner the bus came to a stop and I knew we were about to see where we were going to live for the next three weeks. I became nervous, wondering what my bed would feel like, and where I would be eating. I stepped out and observed.
Our rooms were nice, cement floors, bunk beds that were comfortable. Our kitchen was nice too, two fridges, chairs, and an oven. I began to look around at what the others who lived in the same area had as living environments. They too had cement floors and nice buildings to live in. Yet, there were bucket showers, and long drops for bathrooms. They have an outside kitchen to cook their food where the chickens, dogs, and goats continually roam, and the bugs and trash fly all around. I was thinking to myself that I would only be here a few weeks and something hit me, this is their reality. This is their lives everyday all day.
I felt God just whispering that too me over and over, this is their reality and I slowly began to understand. It is amazing that when you look at pictures and videos we think we understand what their lives are really like, but we don’t. We can not really even imagine until we are there. And here I am, and still do not truly understand, but I think I am beginning to get a taste of what reality is like for the people of Swaziland every single day.
