Weekend in Manzini (posted a week late)

Hey guys! this blog was actually written last week and posted on my facebook because I couldn’t get this to load, but here it is, and I will write this week’s too!

Today we are in Manzini! It’s a much faster pace than rural Nsoko,
which is only an hour and a half away. We are here for the weekend
staying with the 1 month group, and a few of us, including myself, get
to go to a Women’s retreat for the women who make purses for Timbali
crafts. Julie Anderson from AIM, oversees that ministry. I’m really
excited since I have actually read Julie’s blogs and even have a purse
from the Timbali ministry (thanks Jessi). So hopefully I will meet the
woman who made MY purse!! 🙂 Click these links to learn more about all
that: http://www.timbalicrafts.org/ and http://julieanderson.myadventures.org/

To summarize the week…wow. It’s tough. But just to give you a glimpse
of one week in Nsoko, here are some of the stories and scenes:

-I met a girl my age, who has a child, was raped and is now HIV
positive. Her attacker is out of prison now, after a whole 3 years.

-I befriended a 12 year old girl named “Notunda” meaning “no love” in Siswati. Both of her parents are dead too.

-We did house visits yesterday, out of the 5 homes we visited, 4 of
them asked for prayer for food. And jobs. But…there are no jobs right
now.

-A woman we visited also asked for prayer of comfort and patience as
she lives with the father of her children, but he still brings his
girlfriends over to the house and they provoke her. She’s trying to
stay strong.

I could go on, but I think you probably see the trend. In America,
these are headlines. Dateline specials even. But in Swazi, this is
life. Real life. Our team says that phrase a lot. At first we said it
just as a fun theme, but the thing is, it has so much truth to it. We
live in a bubble in America. A bubble of safety and security. I am
learning what real faith is here. Tested faith, I should say. Faith
that He will provide a meal. Faith that he will sustain you as you
watch your mom, your dad, and all those around you die. My heart is
breaking, but God is molding me, stripping my pride, and all my desires
of anything of this world.

That’s all for now, this interent is crazy slow. Oh man. I will
hopefully have a more detailed blog next time I have a faster computer.
Also, I can’t check my email today, this cafe isn’t allowing me to
access the site. I will catch up next week or sometime there after?!

I love you all so much and wish you were here! Praying lots!