C-H's travel stories: Swaziland, July 20, 2009

Dear Family and Friends ,

Gary and I had a great day on a Sunday a couple of weeks ago. We went to a local game park and drove all over looking for animals. It only cost us $2.50 to get in! They were pretty hidden but we saw some beautiful scenery. This area of Swaziland is very mountainous and we were able to climb to the top of a mountain for a beautiful view. We did see some zebra, warthogs, Cape buffalo and many beautiful birds. There was also a huge hippo mom and its ‘baby’ in the pond by where we ate lunch. It was fun to watch and see it amble up the bank to get to some hay. There are birds that sit on the hippos back all the time—I think they must eat off the small insects that live on the hippos hide. It was a very relaxing day and we were very glad we did it. There are 5 or so small game parks here in Sz--only one has lions, which we are still waiting to see! We will go there in a couple of weeks.

Chris was gone on her own mission trip for a week, the first part of July, so we worked around her home. She had no screens, so bugs, lizards and any other type of small animal could come in windows and doors when she left them open. During the hot season (November thru March) she needs the ventilation so this will be a big help for her. We were able to screen both her doors and two big windows. Her neighbors are fascinated by them--they all asked "what is that?" They don’t really understand the reason for them. There are no screens on any windows so all types of critters can get in!

She also needed some cement work done on her front area, so we mixed up cement in a wheelbarrow and repaired her front step area. In the rainy season, mud washes down to right in front of her front door and creates a small lake. We were able to remove some broken cement that was creating the dam and cement in a large area that was just mud. It is very 'interesting' trying to get materials here-we looked everywhere for screens--it is just not a concept they understand. We also cannot find a place that sells just hardware--it is all building supplies, laying in stacks all over and small bits and pieces of most things. Never a lot of stuff, just one or two items of each on a shelf. Most of it very crude and would not work in the US for putting into a home. So, it is challenging to say the least, when we have in mind what we want and it is nowhere to be found and have to 'kludge' something together. Takes a lot of imagination.

For three Sundays we have attended a church called “The Healing Place Church”. It is a wonderful, joy filled congregation that sings and dances and makes us feel right at home. It has mostly Black young adults and young families from around the area. They express their faith in the most loving way and we have really enjoyed being a part of this church. It meets in a strip mall using one of the vacant spaces. They are in the middle of a 4 week sermon topic on HIV/AIDS. It is very bold of them to talk so honestly about it and it seems that many churches are not getting involved in this issue. They have done some drama with the youth on the topic and this week, a young nurse from the States gave some facts on HIV with a rollicking drama about how HIV gets into the body. Next week there will be a panel of experts answering questions along with some HIV positive people telling their story. At the end of the 4 weeks they will have HIV testing in the church. The minister and the interns serving the church will be tested in front of the congregation to show them that they “walk the walk”. They really do feel that testing is a key to the stopping of HIV—people are afraid to get tested and so pass it on to others if they are HIV positive. Gary was reading an article the other day that said if the death rate from AIDS is not stopped, by the year 2050 there will be no Swazis. So sad….

Two women from California came for a couple of days last week to see what kind of work Chris is doing. For a week, they along, with 10 other women from CA (this is also where Chris had been on her own mission trip), had been up in a small mountain community called Bulembu. It used to be the area where the workers from a now closed down asbestos mine lived. At one time there had been over 10,000 people living there and working. A most unusual place—it has now been turned into a village where many orphans are being housed and taken care of by volunteers, nurses and house parents. A wonderful place that is filling a huge need in Swaziland. They have all of the old buildings from the community which are slowly being restored. There is a clinic, a small store and a school. They hope to turn it into a totally self-sustaining community, restoring health and providing care for orphans and vulnerable through hope, education and commerce. They currently have bee hives and package and sell honey. Eventually they hope to have a bakery, and tourism. Chris and the other women worked with the children there, playing, teaching and loving them for the whole week. See their website at www.bulembu.org for more information.

This past week we went to one of the Preschool Care Points way out in the rural area to deliver some uniforms that the Manyano women from St Paul’s had made. It was so heartwarming to watch the children go from raggedy clothes to these brand new uniforms. Some of them also got new shoes. Oh, and underwear—most did not even know what it was! We had great fun with them. We had brought peanut butter sandwiches for them. Most had already eaten their porridge from the school and we saw many quietly putting the sandwiches in their pockets for either later or for their siblings. There was a young man there from the local church and we began talking—he had been a foreign exchange student in the 80’s and started talking about where he had lived for the year. It was in Colby, Kansas! This is a place quite close to where Gary’s relatives lived and we just had to laugh—sending a student from the highlands of Swaziland to the flats of Kansas. What a small world.

We had an interesting evening last Friday. We were invited by a church member to go to dinner at the home of a member of the Parliament of Swaziland. It was way out in the country and we followed their car very closely in the dark to find our way. This woman Senator was recently elected and is full of life and fun. She is one of only eight women of 95 Senators in Parliament. Our dinner was held in a large rondevele, which is a thatched roof, round outbuilding, used for meetings and special times in lots of homesteads. It is also usually the place where the Gogo lives—maybe Damon and Jess will build me one on their property?? This one was very large and cold! (none of the homes in Swaziland have heaters) There was much laughter and very stimulating conversation about Swazi tradition, the government etc. The Senator did most of the cooking and kept coming into the room to laugh with us. I have included a picture of her—notice the slippers?

We are now official Swazi’s as the Manyanos have given us Swazi names. Jeri’s name is Nokulunga which means “Kindness”, Gary’s is Sipho which means “Gift”, and Chris’ is Nothando which means “Love”. We feel very privileged as this is a real honoring of a non-Swazi in Swazi culture.

Well, we will close this for now and get some pictures together so we can publish the blog. Every day is a new and wonderful adventure here is Swaziland but we are also missing all of you! WE LOVE TO GET EMAILS!!!

Blessings to all,
Gary & Jeri

Jeri mixing the cement