Oh Swaziland!

Skinny dogs are barking outside today. It’s amazing how deafening (beautifully so) each and every sound in this valley is. The valley operates as a chamber of music: children’s voices, cow bells jingling, roosters crowing, goats bleating, Swati chatter, laughter, the shuffle of feet on dusty paths—all mingled together and bubbling at the surface, greeting my happy ears at the top of this (surprisingly) lush valley. I could listen and sit on this ledge all day.

Spending the first of many weeks this summer in Sub-Saharan Africa, I am living in a Zulu hut atop a valley in a tiny little village called Herefords in the kingdom of Swaziland. Who knew that a dry, impoverished, land-locked country could be so gorgeous and inviting? The people here are fascinating, and equally fascinated by us (myself and my one other teammate from America). I think that what I have been astounded by the most this week is their willingness to give me a chance—to trust and believe that even as a young person I actually have something legitimate to offer. I don’t run into the same problems here that I might run into in America; if I want to preach or teach I’m given full liberties to do so here. 1 Timothy 4:12 has constantly been ringing in my ears, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” And oddly enough, in my pursuit of “setting an example” I haven’t been looked down upon—I’ve been embraced. And I so often forget that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (!) lives inside of me too. If these Swazi people—people from half way across the globe who I have only just begun to know—can recognize this in me, then it’s about time that I started recognizing it in myself too, and walking in it…

Oh Swaziland, how could I fall in love so quickly? I am much more attached to this place—this orange earth, these wondering eyes and pearly smiles—then I had ever anticipated. All this time I thought “I’ll just make it through, I’m not expected much,” but I was wrong in so many ways. Once the people acknowledged my presence in the village and the children didn’t shy away from me, once I learned a little Swati and speaking it, once I looked at the stars enough, and got used to falling asleep to the sound of dogs barking and waking up to goat bells and roosters crowing, once I let God take care of me—then I knew they had me—then I knew I was hooked. And although I’m leaving this little village in five days time the people of Herefords are showing me more and more every day about God’s inconceivable fullness…for I am already full to overflowing.

*This is a revamped journal entry from Thursday May 17th, 2007, during my intercultural studies internship with Lee University. The bulk of my stay was in South Africa but my first excursion with my team (and really my first major exposure to Africa) during the beginning of the internship was to Swaziland for a week. I also spent two weeks at the end of the winter in Mozambique, but the majority of the stay was in South Africa where we did every type of ministry, outreach and humanitarian work imaginable (no joke). Marie Chiara

Marie is Lee graduate who majored in Intercultural Studies.