Here is my new friend Nikolo. She was born with a bit of a deformity in her right ankle. A simple fix in the United States but simply out of the question for a child in Swaziland. I am amazed at the resiliency of children in spite of their circumstances. Nikolo can still run (she hops on one foot if she wants to go even faster!), jump, climb trees, chase boys with sticks and EVEN jump rope. Shes actually better at it than any of the other kids her age. Things like this always bring me back to the realization that no matter how gloomy my day might seem, its really not that bad. Lord Jesus help us to show your love to these kids in some small way, that they might know their Heavenly Father loves them and is concerned for their every need.
Peek-A-Boo
Here is one reason why everyone should go on a mission trip. The picture says it all. Children are beautiful all over the world and love is the best thing we can give them. We spent this morning at HPC Swaziland service then headed for one of the Care Points for the afternoon. Even though the Care Points are not normally open on Sundays it did not take long for 70-90 kids to show up soon after we arrived. These Care Points really are a “safe place” for most of these kids. They always know they can come here and get something to eat and more importantly, someone to love them. As we simply loved on these children, picked them up and walked with them hand in hand I was reminded of the words of Jesus.
Matt 19:14-15
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
NIV
Ok We made it to Swaziland on Saturday afternoon after an overnight in Johannesburg. Why did we stay in Johannesburg you ask? Great question. Our flight came in a little late and with a 5 hour drive to get to the Swaziland border we were risking not getting there in time before the border closed for the night. Yes, they do actually “close” the country at 10 pm. Get there after that and you have to wait until morning. The South Africa-Swaziland border is not a place you want to hang out at all night. No Motel 6 here!! C’mon, even Wal Mart is open all night. I didn’t think countries were supposed to close for the day. Oh well, suppose I will be learning lots of new lessons. This is home now.
OK I am packing up my life into the infamous “black boxes” Anyone who has been on a Celebration missions trip knows these well. For those of you that don’t, they are a black plastic footlocker that is one half inch less than the maximum dimension the airlines allow. They are really a great way to travel. The challenge is getting them all to weigh no more than 50 pounds each. Its an interesting task to decide just what does one take with them when moving to Africa. I’ve never done this before. I surely have gotten pretty good at packing but it was always knowing that i was coming back in a short time. This is really different, its messin with my head. Either way, I’m goin to Africa. It just doesn’t get any better than that!!
