Yesterday was our last full day in Swazi before we packed up and are now on the way to Jeffery’s Bay, South Africa!
However, yesterday wasn’t a typical last day in the country experience… myself and 3 other of sisters in Christ got the opportunity to go visit 6 schools in Swazi with a Dutch missionary named Leo. Let me just say, the day was a blast and blew all and any expectations out of the water. I can confidently say that this is probably a top 3 day of Swazi for all of us.
Our day started at 4am since he was picking us up at 4:45. We quickly packed our pb and j before meeting Leo. He is from Holland put has lived here in Swazi for 11 years and before moving here lived in South Africa for a period of time. He’s passionate about telling people about Jesus and works alongside an organization called Valley Pastures. They provide a home for children, do house visits to check in on the community, and drop off a very special book called “Jesus Messiah” written by another Dutch missionary, Willem de Vink, who wanted a way for anyone to understand the gospel whether they can read or not. It’s set up like a comic book with pictures and dialogue that keeps it intriguing for all ages. While he doesn’t deliver the books himself his book has been translated into 340 different languages and distributed worldwide!
We were in the car for almost 2.5 hours before we made it to Valley Pastures but luckily Leo is a talker which made the drive go by fast, and helped us stay awake. The views were absolutely beautiful too!
Once we got there and the books got loaded we split between two cars, Lianne and I rode in the truck with Auntie Princess and Saneliso. While Skylar and Ella rode in Leo’s car. Then we drove to our first school which was another good 45 minutes. When we got there we automatically fell in love with this ministry as we watched the kiddos sprint to the assembly square. We introduced ourselves with new Swazi names, mine was “Bali” which translates to “flower”, and then Leo explained the book to all the students, we then got to pass them out while Auntie Princess taught them the gospel-ified “Jesus loves me”. They all took the book as such a gift, and truly what a gift they are receiving! The love of Jesus Christ forever!!
Then we just went right next door to the connecting highschool. The routine stayed the same with order of operation BUT while passing out the books here a Swazi high schooler asked me to marry him… what’s funny to add is this isn’t the first time this has happened to anyone. I just kept walking passing out books as I tried not to burst out laughing.
The third school we went to was by far my favorite! It was a cute little primary school with a beautiful view of the mountainside. When we pulled up they were already on their assembly square and singing songs and dancing for Jesus! His presence was already so evidently there and the kids facial expressions when receiving the books were simply precious. (I wish I could upload a video here, but it will be on Facebook!)
When we arrived at the 4th school the atmosphere just felt different. You can tell they are more disciplined here and were a lot more timid and shy. We got there a little early during their lunch break so we just played with them but some didn’t even want to come close to us. However what was beautiful was after the books were distributed and the kiddos were dancing the school director thanked Jesus and the mood was flipped upside down! Praise Jesus!!
By this time Lianne and I had made best friends with Auntie Princess and Saneliso. We also just found ourselves laughing at the way that we found ourselves to be 2.5 hours away from base with a Dutch missionary we just met, but all 4 of us were also taking it in since it was the last time we would see some of each other until we go back to the states.
School #5 was another primary school that loved singing. And singing LOUDLY! It was the sweetest thing! These kiddos were so excited they were pushing more and more forward as we were handing out the books and putting their hands in the air to grab them. The way they were reaching for the word of Jesus as kindergartners-5th graders just made you smile so much it hurt! We left this school filled up with so much JOY!
The last school we went to was the connecting highschool. After introductions and Leo explained the book, Auntie Princess wanted me to lead the song. So I did! Definitely out of my comfort zone but to see so many high schoolers jump up and down while singing “Jesus loves me” is something that you wouldn’t see in the US. Let alone is going around to public, government run schools, passing out books about Jesus. You would get kicked out. But it gives me hope that one day the US will be a nation just as on fire for Jesus as Swaziland! My constant prayer throughout the day was that the Lord would raise up laborers from these school to go to the nations and share the gospel! That Swaziland would be transformed into a SENDING nation and these kiddos would be the next generation of missionaries!!
This weekend I encourage you to spend some time in prayer for:
⁃ America, that the biggest sending nation in the world would also receive the gospel
⁃ That the kiddos who received the gospel this weekend would be raised up to be the next generation of laborers sent out to the nations!
⁃ The kiddos would take the gospel back to their homes
Well that’s a wrap on Swazi, we are now in South Africa and halfway-ish to Jeffery’s Bay!! I can’t wait to see what the Lord will do here and can’t wait to share it with all of you!!
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