After staying in Alabanza for a week, we went to Swaziland a country right next to South Africa.  I had an amazing time and really learned so much while I was there.  We stayed in a big house with about 60 other people.  They split up the Jeffrey's bay team and so I really got to know a lot of the other people that were on the trip going to Kenya or Swaziland. We call them the "Africa Team".  Everyday we would walk down to this guest house where they had a room where we would all meet and we would have leaders or other people come in and talk to us. We would have two little sessions in the morning then after eating a Pb and j and a carrot stick we would go to ministry. 

The first day I went to the hospital to talk to patients.  It's one of the worst hospitals in Swaziland and it's filled with people who are suffering with AIDS and TB.  I was pretty excited to get to talk to these people.  I went into the women's ward and walked straight to the back of the room.  There was a woman who was in a bed against the back wall so I went up to her and said hi and then realized that she didn't speak English.  There was another girl there with me and so we just stood there for a while smiling at her not really knowing what to do next.  I really just wanted to turn around and find someone that would be able to understand me and that I would be comfortable with, but as I turned to look at someone else I felt like God was really saying don't abandon this woman.  I had no idea what to do.   I kept looking at the girl with me and I could tell that she really didn't know what to do. So we did what they told us and we prayed for her.  I think she understood what we were doing but after that we were back to standing there smiling at her.  I remember standing there praying that God would just give me a way to connect with her so that she could understand us.  I took out me notebook and Amber took out some pens and we began to draw.  Nothing amazing but just little pictures of birds and trees and flowers.  She thought this was quite funny and would try to copy what ever it was we had drawn.  I wasn't really sure how if at all this was helping this women or furthering the kingdom of God but to see this women smile and hopefully not think about where she was for a few minutes and not worry about how much longer she was in this world was nice to think about.  We found out her name, which is Jabu, and that she has children.  When it was time to leave we left the papers that we had drawn on and a pen for her and when Amber went back a few days later she found out that Jabu had kept the papers under her pillow and had drawn some more on them.  I just thank God that he provided a way for us to somewhat understand each other and bring some joy into this woman's life.  The rest of the days were filled with dinner and then night sessions and then some much needed time to rest.  We didn't really have much to entertain us except each other and it was fun to get to hear stories from everyone about their lives.  The other ministry times we went to care points which feed children. It was amazing to spend time with them, and just love on them in spite of whatever situation they are in they still smiles on their faces and joy about life.  We played games, danced, sang songs, and fell asleep in the dirt.

 I had such a wonderful time there and I have so many other experiences that I can take away from that week in Swaziland.  I'm so blessed to have gotten the opportunity to meet all the people I did while I was there.

Interesting Facts:

-By the year 2057 the population of Swaziland will no longer exist

-60% of the population is infected with AIDS

-The King of Swaziland has 14 wives, and every year he holds a traditional                                      African dance and picks his next wife.

-Native language is Siswati.

-Less than a mile away from our house, young girls would sell themselves so that they could provide for their families.  The exchange is usually sex for a piece of rotten fruit. This area was referred to as the Tree Line.