Luke 10:38-42 lets us peek through a window into the life of 2 sisters for just a moment, on a very important night. We begin with one of the women, Martha “welcoming Jesus into her home.”   I can just imagine Martha right now, pacing through the house, doing last minute cleaning…what I like the call “stuffing the stuff”.  This is (let’s be honest how I always clean, yeah mom I know you’re shaking your head) where I just stuff things wherever I can find to put them justtttt long enough for the guests to leave and then I can go back to my...

I knew coming here I would be taught about the necessities of life, but I have been blown away by the number of blessings I have back at home. Simple things – silverware, shoes, showers – are hard to come by here. Seeing the needs that these beautiful people truly has been completely overwhelming. Going to visit a ‘Gogo’ (grandma) for a home visit and hearing about her life is almost too much to comprehend – it leaves me feeling numb. Eight grand babies and a few great grand all living in one ‘house’ – which in reality is a mud hut with...

My heart tends to fight for the underdog and against the big bad bully in nearly every situation. My heart aches for the ones who are picked on or are generally ignored. These feelings also surface not only in caring for the underdog but in disciplining the oppressor (Future Teacher Status). The “Dump” carepoint in Manzini, is a place in which the Lord has truly showed me his face and his love for the ignored of this world. Upon arriving nearly 7 weeks ago and each Monday that followed, I felt and noticed a continued air of sexuality and inappropriateness over the young children. They...

I sit on the floor of a hut, where Gogos, Geckos, frogs, chickens, sisters, moths and Jeffries make cameos. The dirt never fully comes off of my feet or out of my clothes. I really only bathe and do laundry out of buckets for mental comfort. Not too long before I left, I found myself sitting in front of my flat screen TV telling my mom how badly I NEED an iPhone. Here I see needs, poverty, and emptiness on a whole new level than imaginable. Yet, I sit and complain about my phone? This is the end… Nights leading up to me leaving I would stay up late, again in front of my flat screen...

Last week I fell in love with the kids here. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved being here and holding them and playing with them. However, last week two little girls at different care points remembered me. I have generally stuck with the older girls because I can talk with them, so they remember me fairly well. Last week though, I walked into Manzini care point on Monday and a little girl who I had played with the previous week came running up to me. I sat down, in the dirt, and held her for a while. After a few minutes she began to climb all over me, balance on my legs and hang over my...

Ever since graduating high school a few months ago I have really been praying about how to wisely spend my graduation money.   Like most Americans that visit third world countries, quickly after arriving in Swaziland it occurred to me that I need absolutely nothing and that I’m already living in excess compared to most of the world.             A few weeks ago I told you guys about the “dump carepoint”. If you didn’t read my last blog about the gutter kids, now would be a good time to click over and check it out.  ...