Every time someone asks me about what I want to do with the rest of
my life I tell them that I feel called to a tiny place in southern
Africa called Swaziland. I wish you guys could see some of the looks I
get.
“Swaziland?! Is that even a real place?”
“It sounds like an amusement park”
“Really funny, so what are you actually planning to do with your life.”
These are just a few common responses I get when I mention Swaziland.
Yes Swaziland is a weird name, and yes it is a very small but I look
at some of the most beautiful faces on the planet everyday and it breaks
my heart that to most of the world they are seemingly forgotten.
I picked up a Swazi newspaper the other day that read “Swazis to be
extinct by 2050”. The AIDS epidemic is literally on its way to wiping
this country off of the face of the planet.
Why isn’t this a big deal?
An entire country of beautiful people is supposed to die out in my
lifetime of a totally preventable disease and most people don’t even
know Swaziland exists.
Instead we’re filling our news with the latest gossip about Chris Brown and Rihanna.
Don’t get me wrong, I love E! News just as much as the next teenage
girl but its time that people start getting informed about things on the
planet that actually matter and start doing something about it
This especially applies to the church.
Too often we put God in a box. I think of Him as an English speaking American God and that’s unacceptable.
Our God works in the details and he is seen best in tiny dying countries like the one I am currently living in.
His Word says to go to the least of these, not to act like they don’t exist.
A week ago I was sitting at one of the carepoints holding a child and
talking to the preschool teacher who was working there. She was asking
me about why I am in Swaziland and how long I feel like I am going to be
here. When I told her I want to be here for the rest of my life and
that I love her country she looked at me like a had a third arm and said
“Why, it is poor.” I immediately looked down in my lap at the child who
was smiling up at me and couldn’t help but to think that this child is
not poor. This child has happiness and peace that I don’t have and he
doesn’t even have a second pair of shoes. This child has hope. I looked
back at the teacher and told her that her country is not poor. They are
rich in spirit and that is way more valuable than nice clothes and paved
roads. They are rich because they have hope found in Christ alone.
I believe that God is not done with Swaziland, and I’m just thankful
he’s allowing me to be part of the incredible work he is doing here.
To The Ends of The Earth
-Gene’
