Top Ten!

 

1. We are the “12 disciples”of Swaziland. I am Phillip, I prefer Uncle Phil.

 

2. The Gogo’s from Care Points in Manzini and Nsoko hand-sew purses, pocket-books, and many different types of bags. So in order to give all the hardworking Timbali Gogo’s a reward for such a successful year AIM set up a weekend retreat for them! It was so fun!! I was on duty with decorations and games. Decorating for the retreat was so great. I was talking with Julie, an employee of AIM here in Swazi and she told me her story about when she was younger on a missions trip, she was discussing her future with her leader and told her leader she wanted to change her major to Missions; Her leader then told her something that I as well needed to hear, “God wants you to use what you are good at for him, continue Graphic Design because he gave you those skills and will have you use them when on the mission field,” that made me so excited and less worried about my future, yay! And the language barrier did not keep the games from being a hit whatsoever, I had an amazing time laughing with eachother. We played a game where you pass oranges with only using your neck and I can now say that some Gogo’s and I were crying laughing, hugging our bodies insanely close together while rubbing our heads and noses into one another’s face in order for me to get the orange onto my neck. I loved it.

 

3. Our last night in our Manzini hut was sad but invigorating! Sad because we were saying goodbye to so many faces that had just entered our lives; invigorating because Michelle, Merideth and I pierced my lip, mainly Michelle but only because I asked her to. Hahaha. It’s healthy and healed don’t worry! And I’m not too sad because God is calling me back to Swaziland someday, so I will see them all again! Next morning we left for our new home, Nsoko, Swaziland.

 

4. Since we have been here my Ipod has been playing the song, Waka-Waka (It’s time for Africa) by Shakira, constantly on repeat on Patrice’s Ipod speakers for all the children to sing along to. If you don’t know this song it was 1 of the 2 theme songs for the World Cup this year. I’m learning new dance moves and am also getting many good laughs from all my new friends in Nsoko because they think it’s just soo darn funny when I copy their dance moves and somehow turn it into an ugly white-girl dance. Hahaha. I love this song, I love, love dancing with my friends! The usual crowd are Winnie (Nolile), Winnie’s sister, Gracie, Maga, Linda, Mufani, Simsiso, and so many other children; along with Brie, Eleisha, and I!!

 

5. My new friend Spunky, braided my hair. She is 27, has a little boy who is around 2 or 3 years old and is expecting a new baby in December! She tells everyone it’s a girl but that’s just because she wants a little girl. She is so sweet and funny, coolest Mom ever besides my own Mommy and my Grandma, and she really is ‘spunky’. Along with my hair being braided last night I showered and then was brushing my hair sitting with my friend Eleishaa and she started freaking out about my head having red zebra stripes on the top! So we both run to the mirror (she wanted to watch my reaction) and I realize my head got burnt when I had the braids in, my head looks like I took a scarlet-red marker and drew stripes across my head in straight lines going every which way! I’ve never been this badly burnt, thank God it doesn’t hurt and it’s only funny, hahaha I gotta love the African sun and my pale head mix, it worked out well. We got a hoot out of it.

 

6. I’ve been wearing and will wear the same 3 shirts, 2 skirts, 1 pair of pants, 1 sweatshirt, 4 pairs of shorts (for under my skirts), 1 bra, and 4 pairs of underwear for the passed week and a half and continue until my flight home. I want to give away all my other clothes and stuff, except for a few of my favorite shirts. My reasoning for this is because God has been telling me to sacrifice and fast from something and I’ve been praying and didn’t think food was it so I continued praying then on our first day here in Nsoko I looked at the children I was meeting, really looked at them. One girl around age 5 or 6 had pants on with holes on the butt, no underwear and a shirt too big with little holes all over it. I saw so many children in Manzini wearing the same outfits over and over, everyday but God just hit me with it when I watched this young girl simply live with the clothes she had on, not trying to cover her butt whatsoever or even recognizing her clothes were awful. I want to continuously give clothes away now and will bite my tongue when I’m about to say, ‘I have no clothes!’ I hope God teaches me more through this because I now know that my clothes are what He wants me to sacrifice for Him, His glory, not myself, for the children, and to obey His commands.

 

7. I play soccer games with all the boys that come over to our home which is like a recreation center for them to hang out at, outside. Boys ages 11 to 20 playing soccer together and myself. Hahaha. They just kept trying to include me, “Sphasha, Sphasha I will pass it to you, be ready!”, and then me yelling back, “No, no, no you don’t want to do that.” Hahaha but I soon realized it was more fun when I played with them and not alongside them because they really appreciated and enjoyed my time spent with them and I enjoyed them including me in thier game. My team won!!!!!!!!!! I had 2 assists!!! The following day one of our ministry partners who we work with everyday, Mapile who is 23 years old asked me to speak to the boys about somethin God gave me to speak about, after their soccer practice (he runs it). I was so honored and grateful for the chance. God had me tell them about respecting and obeying their authorities, which is something he has been teaching me a lot about so it was cool telling them that I was learning with them on how to respect and obey my authority because it’s what God asks of us. God also had me speak about obediance again but this week I got to preach His word to an entire public school, grades 1-7, ages 5-20, in 2 seperate assemblies. We also got to sing with them and have them sing to us. Amen!

 

8. Our ministry partners here in Nsoko are truly servants of God. Mapile (23), Mxolisi (35), Celimphilo (23), and one female, Nombali (18). They are beautiful people. So giving and so grateful for our company. They are so obediant which has me double-checking everything I do, and my motives for doing whatever I’m doing. They translate for us at all hours of the day and just are there ready to go when we are at a loss for words. They are full of joy, loving on the children constantly, and always getting them to play games. I’m so happy God placed them and us here together!!

 

9. With our ministry partners we go on home visits, walking onto neighboring homes yards and speaking with them about life, theirs and ours and then praying for them, listening to the Holy Spirit and asking for God to fill our prescence with Him. We, Eleisha, Rachel, Emily and I met a man yesterday, Nsepo, probably around age 45, with 4 grown children and no wife, no job. He told us everything, laid out his life before us. He has been in a mental institute for a few months, recently released, and became a new Christian a month ago. We all immediatley, urgently felt the need for prayer over him, for him and us to take authority over his body, not letting Satan take control. I asked him after we prayed if he had felt anything while we had been there or during our prayer. He said ‘no not really, but since you have been here everything about my mental attacks, and all the bad feelings, I forgot all about, it’s like it all never happened.” So we believe, that with Nsepo we can pray for authority over his body, for God to take it back from Satan’s hold. Home visits are really interesting, it’s weird how easily people open up but also very awesome!

 

10. Last but not least we went on a home visit but not to any homestead, actually to a vegetable field! The previous day a few of us girls had met them and the field but today was my first day visiting. We spent the whole morning with Nxampile (22), her daughter, and Nxampile’s sister (27). They had us hacking away at weeds, baby weeds but also gigantic monstrous bush weeds to make room for more vegetables! They then explained to us that the Queen Mother was coming tomorrow to bless their vegetable field, with a ceremony following, they told us to definately come, and if we wanted to wear traditional Swazi attire or just normal clothes. I was very intrigued by the “traditional” clothing so I asked Spunky and Nombali if they had anything “traditional” I could borrow, and there answer was duhh, obviouslyyy! Then yesterday (day of the blessing and ceremony) we go to the field at 8:30 am when they told us to arrive, waited for over an hour and still no one was there at the field except for our whole group of 16 people or so. I’m all dressed up, along with Michelle in our traditional wear, excited and whatnot. We then decided to just go to the ceremony. We waited there for a bit over 2 hours, you see in Swaziland time moves very slowly. After 2 hours we saw a bunch of girls from primary and secondary school do some traditional Swazi dances which was so cool. It is very interesting  and fun watching how other cultures are so different then ours. After that much time and still no Queen Mother we all wanted to leave because our stomachs were growling. Hahaha. Before I left though I took a picture with 4 of the girls who danced and realized that I matched them perfectly and so obviously could have been out there with them performing, hahaha, just kidding. In conclusion, we went home ate lunch and saw no Queen Mother, only the Minister of Education (boringgg).

 

– While decorating a journal of mine this week I placed 2 quotes on it which I’m gonna share…enjoy!!

 

<3

 

 

 

 

 

 Simsiso and Mufani!

 

Spunky!!