The Swaziland Experience

Sanibonani,Hello again from Swaziland. More than anything else, I want to thank people for sustained prayer for me during my time in Swaziland. I feel like one of the most prayed for people on earth. I can’t describe the blessing. The letters and packages have also been amazing. Thanks.Quick apology: The pictures link in my last update was not correct. It should be:
   http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13692&l=7cde6&id=591774512

I also have some new pictures. I have become a lot braver about taking pictures at homesteads and almost everywhere I go. I think that you’ll like these pictures. They can be found at:
   http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16022&l=fb69e&id=591774512

Also, you can always access Arnau’s blog at:
   http://missionissues.wordpress.com/

1. Visitors Round #1
My first round of visitors was March 8th – 15th. Callie and her sister Cora came to visit. This was a fun week, and I feel like they got a terrific African experience for the one week that they were here.
   The first three days were spent in Swaziland. We drove from Johannesburg early on Sunday morning to arrive in Swaziland in time for Swazi church. Sunday afternoon and evening were spent mostly with the wonderful orphans on my farm, which was really special time. Callie and Cora made a great connection with the kids very quickly. Monday was spent visiting three different homesteads with the home-based care workers. Tuesday, we spent time at Johane’s homestead (the man with the leg wound). Johane is one of my very favorite Swazis, and we had a nice time with him.
   Then, we spent three days at Kruger National Park, one of the most famous game reserves in Africa. We were within several meters of lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, vervet monkeys, a spotted hyena, warthogs, wildebeest, nyala, kudu, impala, and a python. We also got really good looks at hippos and white rhinoceroses. Twice, we passed lions that were in the road. One of these times, a very large male lion walked alongside our safari vehicle for several hundred meters. Perhaps even more exciting was being surrounded in our small VW rental car by about 25 elephants in very close proximity. Elephants are very large. I knew that I would really enjoy seeing the animals, but this far exceeded my expectations.

2. Visitors Round #2
The second round of visitors was affected by Milwaukee snow. I was planning on three visitors for the week of March 23rd. Dan arrived as planned. Brandon fought through four days of delays to come for three days (what a pal). Nikki never ended up making it here, which was pretty sad.
   Dan and I spent two days in Cape Town, a strikingly beautiful city. Among other things, we hiked up Table Mountain overlooking the city. We then flew back to Johannesburg to meet Brandon at the airport.
   Brandon, Dan, and I then came to Swaziland. It’s very special for me to be able to share my experiences in Africa. This was also impacting for Dan and Brandon. Seeing the conditions and the orphan situation among the Swazis with your own eyes changes everything. It provides an amazing set of new perspectives.

3. Soweto & Apartheid Museum
You have probably heard many times about Apartheid and other areas of South African history. In my time here, I have made a large effort to learn and understand more about South African history. While in Johannesburg, I was able to visit Soweto and the Apartheid Museum.
   I’ll try to avoid giving a history lesson, but without a history lesson, I don’t really know how to describe these experiences. Soweto is a township outside of Johannesburg that was instrumental in the fight against Apartheid. On June 16th, 1976 children in Soweto were protesting being taught in Afrikaans when police opened fired on the children. The Soweto struggles continued in the following months and until the fall of Apartheid. Soweto has also been the home of two Nobel Peace Prize winners: Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu.
   Following my Soweto tour, I went to the Apartheid Museum, which was amazing. I spent about two and a half hours there, but I could have easily spent five hours. The absolute highlight was sitting in a large South African police truck (casspir) that used to patrol the streets of Soweto while talking to a man who grew up in Soweto in the 1970’s. He was very open and honest with me as I asked question after question.
   This is hard to describe, but these experiences were more than just interesting tourist stops for me. Along with many conversations with both white and black South Africans and Swazis, they have helped to shape my view on race relations in South Africa, America, and in the rest of the world. Many of these thoughts and ideas I wouldn’t even be able to put into words quite yet. I have found myself challenging some things that I had previously accepted without a second thought.

4. God’s Protection
When I was in the process of figuring out where in the world I would go during this time away from work, I told God I’d go anywhere. I told him that if he wanted to send me someplace dangerous, then I’d go. It didn’t matter where: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, or any Muslim country in northern Africa. I didn’t think that this was likely, but I was open to it. Instead, God brought me to Swaziland, one of the safest countries in Africa for someone in my situation.
   Early in my searching process, I was emailing with a missionary in Nairobi. At the time, I thought that Kenya would be a relatively safe option. I remember that after exchanging a couple emails, I was surprised that I stopped hearing from him. Now in retrospect, I realize that I was being shielded from the violence that has occurred in recent months in Kenya.
   I’m grateful to God that he brought me to a safe country. I think that the challenges of short-term missions combined with fear of danger might have been too much for me to handle. God is a wise God.

5. Prostitution
I often visit homesteads with a Swazi named John. We recently had an insightful conversation about prostitution. Although I have heard that prostitution is common among the Swazis, it really hit home to hear John talk about it. He explained that older men, often 35-50, commonly pay young girls under the age of 20 for sex. All over the world, women are forced to choose between starvation and selling their bodies. With extreme poverty in Swaziland, many young girls and women find themselves in this terrible situation. Younger girls are in high demand because they are less likely to have HIV/AIDS. This is a tragic situation, and of course the girls do not have much of a choice whether a condom is used. As a result, the girls often find themselves pregnant, HIV+, or both. John told me that a common price would be about R100-150, or about $15 US.
   I must confess that sometimes when I see single pregnant mothers in Swaziland I think to myself, “Why did you do it?” Now, I realize that the answer might be that they were trying to live. This is sometimes a difficult world.
   Although I don’t think that this necessarily falls under the category of prostitution, many young Swazi girls are lured into sex because they know that the man will give them a cell phone or other luxuries. I know that to people who have many things, we might not understand the overwhelming and powerful appeal of things like cell phones, but I have seen that many people here strongly desire them. In fact, I have seen a poster throughout Swaziland with a picture of a young girl and an older man. Each has a thought bubble coming from his/her head: the girl’s thought bubble has a picture of money and a cell phone; the man’s thought bubble has a picture of a bed. Unfortunately, this is a quite accurate depiction.

6. A Kombi Story
I often grow annoyed that after sitting on a kombi for over an hour to leave, our first stop is commonly the filling station. I’ve noticed that instead of filling up, the drivers choose to only pump about a gallon or two at a time. This means that they often refill while I’m squished into a kombi waiting to get somewhere. I always think to myself that if I were a kombi driver, then I would stop at the gas station without passengers, and I would fill the tank full.
   This week, I asked a kombi driver why they don’t fill up the tank. I never would have anticipated his answer. He said that in case his kombi breaks down and can never be used again, he would hate for this to happen with a full tank of diesel.

7. Prayer Requests
- Johane’s leg to heal
- Lavumisa church
- John’s family during a very difficult time (I’ll write about it in my next update)
- Continued prayer: Lwazi, Sifiso, Lihle, Thobile, and Fansile
- For my remaining time in Swaziland