Continuing to Grow (Week 13)

They are almost done the ramp!

I can't believe it is the end of September already! This trip has been going by so fast and before I know it I'll be getting ready to go home! This week has been a pretty good week. Two teachers at the primary school run by MYC were away in England and so I was asked to help teach English in one of the classes. So each morning I went and taught Grade 6 English. It was a lot of fun, not something I'm great at, but it was a lot of fun. The kids were actually really good for me and made me feel good when they asked me to stay and not leave. They are fun kids and have a lot of character! On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, myself, and two other volunteers from Germany, tutored some of the boys in Grade 6 and 7. I tutored in English. It was difficult at times because sometimes it was hard for the boys to understand what I was saying because of my accent and theirs. They pronounce words differently then I would. So it was a bit of a challenge but it worked out. I enjoyed having more of a set schedule this week and loved interacting with the boys and getting to know them better! So on another note: great things happened in my life at home this week! I have a new niece and nephew! My niece was born on Wednesday and my nephew on Friday. It was quite a challenge not being home for these events! It actually was really hard to be away. But I got some great wisdom and encouragement from my sister who's in a similar boat as me, being away from home! She shared that He understands understands how I'm feeling and to wrap myself in the love of Christ. Also, to remember that anything we sacrifice for the kingdom of God is totally worth it. " But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14. Which is so true! I know I am exactly where God wants me right now and I know his plan is so much bigger and better than my own desires. So I have to trust that He knows better than me and if missing the birth of my niece and nephew, though I wish all the world that I could be there and am very sad that I missed out, is what God wants me to do then I have to be here and be present and not let my feelings take away from my experience here! So it has been another week of God teaching me more about myself and changing me into who he wants me to be! Lastly, the girl's home is slowly coming along.Currently, there are only two workers working on the home. I was told at the beginning of the week that they are going to try to have more workers there so that the work will go fast and the home will be done sooner! Let's pray that , that will happen so that we can start serving these girl's!  

The True Vine (Week 12)

They are working on building a ramp up to the porch

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2. This verse has been the underlying theme in my time here in Swaziland. In the first month the verse came up a number of times and since then it has been at the back of my mind. Well this week God has definitely been working in my heart and showing me a lot about myself. We weren't very busy at the beginning of the week and I had a lot of time to think, which sometimes isn't really good for me! So Monday and Tuesday were a struggle, I felt unproductive, not helpful and felt like I wasn't doing anyone good just sitting there. I was fed a lot of lies about how I can't be doing anything, that I'm not one to come up with ideas, I just let others do that and I just follow their lead. But God had a different opinion. One of the days I was walking to work and just thinking about these things and God was like Christina, you are a leader! I've created you to lead not follow. I couldn't even make excuses, I heard him plain as day. It made think how I was living in fear and afraid to step out and do things or take the initiative because I was afraid of failing, because I have always been a follower in most cases in my life. So, it's a work in progress, praying against the fear and letting God lead me to do what he wants me to do. The rest of my week was busy. Since school started on Tuesday, the kids got their reports from the last term so they came to the office to review them. So we went over their reports with them and set up times for them to have tutoring if need be. I interviewed a new boy who came to MYC because he couldn't pay for school and he was living with his sister due to both his parents passing away. One of the questions we ask when we do the initial interview is what is your current goal, he stated it was to continue schooling! He's a 13/14 year old boy and he wants to go to school! It was just sad to hear his story but gave me hope that he desires to learn and do well. We have to meet with him and his sister before anything is decided. Then on Thursday night, I had a conversation with a good friend about religion. It was a really hard conversation to have. It really got me thinking about what I believe and why I believe it. He doesn't believe in God and so we talked about what he believes and what I believe. It made me think but it made my faith in God stronger. The next day everything I looked at I saw God in. It was really cool. Even though the conversation I had with him was hard and I didn't always have the right answers, in the end it was a good conversation. It gave me a deeper sense of what I believe in and who God is to me and how he has used me in my life. On another note: the girls home continues to progress and is slowly coming along! It excites me to go and see every week how much they have gotten done, even if it is just a little! I know God is continuing to prepare me to work with these girls and I pray that I will be open and willing to the pruning and changes he is making in my life! (Sorry if my thoughts were scattered!)  

No Power But Plenty of Hope (Week 11)

So this has been a crazy week, with the power going on and off. Every night for dinner this week we've had to go across the courtyard to the priest's extra kitchen to make dinner. As you read in my last blog, this all started on last Saturday morning, we woke up with no power. It was out all day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Tuesday it came back on after someone looked at it but he didn't fix the problem. He showed us how to turn the power back on if it went out. We had to walk across the courtyard to the electrical box and flip two switches for it to come back on. Sometimes it would only stay on for a few mins, an hour, two hours, on Wednesday it was on all evening and it was on when we woke up in the morning. But then on Thursday it went off and didn't come back on. So we were in the dark all night, with our candles. It has been an eventful, busy week with the power being in and out and many things going on at the office. There were two things that really stick out to me that I did this week besides the power. One was we, Alban, myself, and the two new German volunteers went on a home visit to one of the younger boy's gogo's (grandma's) home. We learned that the boy's mother left him with the grandmother when he was 3 months old. Since then, she wants nothing to do with him. We were told if you call her and mention the boy's name she'll hang up on you. The boy lived with his grandmother for awhile and then moved to his uncle's and grandfather and step-grandmother's home. He ran away in both places that he lived, until he ended up here at Manzini Youth Care. I was thinking about what the boy has been through and why he kept running away and causing trouble. If your mom didn't want you and gave you away and wanted nothing to do with you wouldn't you do the same thing he was doing. I can't imagine how that boy felt, to not know why his mother didn't want him, maybe he blames himself. It just made me realize how much pain there is in the world and how selfish I can be. We haven't had electricity all week and it seems like such a huge deal when really it's not. This boy has a mother who doesn't want him. That is way more of a challenge or burden then not having power in our home.
 On another note, the girl's home is making progress! It is still a slow process but it is moving along and that is what is important! Before going to see the home this week and with the power out and going to the home visit and hearing about the boy's mother, I was feeling kind of hopeless, not sure what God was wanting me to be doing right now and feeling like things were just not going the way I thought they should be going. God is good at making sure I know I'm not in control but he is! So I was sitting in the office, not having much to do and so I asked God, what do you want me to do right now? I've been trying to listen to his promptings more often and ask because it's easy to get so caught up in everything around you that you forget to ask God where he may want you. So, after asking him, I got this urge to go see the girl's home. So, I wasn't doing anything and I went. When I first got there it looked the same except a hole was dug on the outside for the ramp to be built. But the door was wide open and so I walked in and two of the guys working on the house were there and things were being done! It was such a surprise for me and I was filled with hope that this thing might actually be on it's way and might get done in plenty of time before I head home! There was a room off of the kitchen that we decided to close of the door and then put a new door coming out into the study room. They had blocked of the old door and were working on the new doorway! I was very impressed and just was a spirit lifter. I know it will be hard here sometimes and things may not go the way that I want them to go but it's not really me that should be in control, it's God. I need to put my hope in him and know that this is his plan not mine! 

A picture of the front of the house where a ramp will be built.

There used to be no door there.

Week 10

Monday we had off work because of the reed dance. A tradition in the Swazi culture where the virgin girls between the ages of 12-20 I believe come and dance in their traditional dress (which consists of a skirt type thing and no tops but they did have scarfs and other material that were around their necks) before the King and then the King picks a wife. Myself and a few others went to watch this tradition. It was a neat and interesting experience for sure. Something you really only need to go to once though. The girl's started out by parading in and dancing. Then, after a long while, the King came in with the princes and danced around and looked at the girls. Then, normally the King will pick a wife but due to international influences he has not picked a new wife in a few years. It was cool to see some of Swaziland's traditions and culture. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked with Alban and on Wednesday we had a meeting with the houseparents of the boy's homes to go over new policies that are being put into place at the boy's homes because of government regulations. It went well and they seemed to understand what needed to be done. Also, on Wednesday two new volunteer guys from Germany arrived. They are staying a year. We had a nice dinner with them. It will be nice to have a few more bodies living in the Palace (what we call our volunteer house. It's not really anything close to a palace though! Haha). Now there are four of us with occasional visitors making us sometimes 5 or 6. It is nice having a few more bodies in the home because then it's not as quiet and I have already met so many cool people from so many different places and am learning so much about different cultures, not just the Swazi culture. Thursday, was Swaziland's Independence day so we had the day off of work as well. It has been rainy here all week so Thursday we relaxed and didn't do a whole lot. Then on Friday, I took the new volunteers around to the different boys homes and showed them around Manzini. It was a nice day! Over the weekend our power went out and so we spent a good amount of time in the dark and learned a lot about how much we rely on electricity for so many things...but more on that in my next blog!  

Let the renovations begin! (WEEK 9)

This doesn't show much but there was a huge tree there so they
took it out and are now marking where the ramp will go. More
pictures to come once more is done!

The renovations started on the girls home this week!!!! Praise God! They are starting on the outside. They are working on the stairs and the porch. I went on Wednesday this week and they were building a ramp up to the porch. It will still be a slow process of getting the girl's home completed. But at least they've started! This week has been a lot about me learning to let God be in control and learning not to just do do do but to also just be. I've been thinking about all the things I have to do for the girl's home and what I need to get done when but God just kept saying to me this week, just be present. Just be here, stop worrying about everything I think I need to do because God has everything under control. This week was good though. I felt productive and got to see some of Swaziland. Alban and I went on a home visit with this group of siblings to really the middle of no where! It was 30 minutes out on a dirt road over mountains and rocky roads. It was beautiful! But it was another lesson in going with the flow of things in Swaziland. We were meant to pick up the sibling group at 10am but didn't get there until 11am. Then, we had to make a stop and didn't really get on our way until 11:30-12:00. It took about 45 minutes to get there. Then, when we got there we talked to an Aunt and we were told that the grandmother (gogo in siswati) lived further down and we could only walk there. But it was too far away for us to walk so we took the Aunt's number and went on our way. We stopped at their uncle's house as well and he got to see his nieces and nephews. He was very excited to see them. I actually was a bit cranky because it was past lunch time and I hadn't eaten and I was getting a headache but looking back it was great that they got to see some of their family and have some connection with them for the future. We ended up not getting back until 3pm. I definitely am learning a lot of patience while I'm here and to go with the flow of things because if I don't I will miss out on a lot of great opportunities!