What exactly am I doing in Swaziland?
The last three
blog posts I’ve done have been sort of serious, so I thought I’d do one that
simply describes some of what I’m doing here in Africa for my internship.
I am the writing intern. Yes, it is an intentionally vague title.
I’ve done a variety of writing since I’ve been here: blogging, profiles, and
reflections. My first assignment has been gathering information on each of the
35 little ones at the El Roi Baby Home and constructing uniform biographies.
Since each has a unique story of how they got here and the amount of written
information on he/she varies, it’s been a bit more challenging than I
originally thought, but still a joy to put together. The biographies include
their Christian name, the Biblical namesake behind it, who named them, their
Swazi name and its meaning, and a short summary of the baby’s journey to
Project Canaan. One of my most favorite parts of this whole project has been
reading the Bible as I research the babies’ Christian names. For example, one
baby was named after Anna the Prophetess from the Gospel of Luke. She only is
mentioned in three verses, but she is said to have been a fiercely devoted
follower of God and predictor of Christ’s coming. Though I have read Luke many
times, I couldn’t recall Anna’s story prior to researching her. And it’s been
that way with many of the other babies, too. I have a very neat job!
I'm also involved with TOMS &
FMSC. Heart for Africa
is a partner of both TOMS shoes and Feed My Starving Children. Once or twice a
year, they send in reports detailing their outreach partnership and
successes/hardships. I’ve been given the opportunity to put some of these
reports together, which has proven to be quite awesome. In writing these
reports, I encounter and get to tell some of the most precious stories of how
HFA has been able to reach out to the community. Not only have they given away
thousands of shoes just this summer, HFA in partnership with TOMS has been able
to keep kids in school, furthering their education and benefitting the future
of this country, since children must have a pair of shoes to attend school and
some pupils would not have any otherwise. Feed My Starving Children, a
faith-based organization, helps HFA distribute some 74,000 hot meals per week
to the surrounding community. UH, THAT’S AWESOME! The manna packs are filled
with nutritious food, which will keep the students wearing TOMS healthy enough
to continue thriving at school.
I get to follow Mrs. Janine Maxwell
around. Though I do love
the writing part of my internship, perhaps the most incredible part of my time
here has been being able to tag along with the superwoman who is Janine, the
co-founder of Heart for Africa and “leader of the pack”. Talk about a woman
after God’s own heart! She has followed Him thousands of miles away from her
home country pursue His true purpose for her life. And boy is she motivated to
do whatever He may ask. I told her last week when we were venturing into town
to visit a pregnant girl (whose baby, Daniel, is now at El Roi) that it’s as if
the hand of God just sits on her shoulder as she goes about her business in
Swaziland, making a way for her in the darkness and connecting the dots of His
will. She has a triple-A personality combined with a fierce love for Christ;
Janine is absolutely fantastic at what she does. I am so thankful to be able to
learn from her.
I am living with some awesome people. There are ten of us in total. Four interns: JD, Danny,
Danielle, and myself. We all live at the Lodge, which is in a top corner of
Project Canaan, with some other long-term volunteers. Danny is from Missouri
and is the farm intern; he helps out with various things on PC, such as fixing
engines, changing oil on farm equipment, burning firebreaks, and helping with harvesting.
JD—from Pleasanton, California—and Danielle—from Missouri—are the trip interns.
They spend half of their time at the Lodge and the other half at the Lugogo Sun
Hotel with the trip participants who fly in every other week, helping out with
trip logistics. Mike & Austin are here until December, and have been here
since early 2013. Mike—from Wisconsin—operates heavy machinery, and he’s been
clearing several spots for construction while I’ve been here. Austin, from my
hometown of Alpharetta, Georgia, is here helping with carpentry; anything from
baby cribs to kitchen cabinets. Shelby and Riley, recent high school graduates,
just arrived and are here for six months working at the baby home. And finally,
Jimmy (HFA’s president) and his wife, Chrissy, are also back-and-forth between
the hotel & Lodge, supervising the incoming volunteer trips and planning
for the next one in-between.
It’s been an
absolute blast getting to know everyone. We have some of the most entertaining
dinner times I’ve ever been a part of (just picture 10 people trying to cook at
once) and I’ve learned a million new card games since arriving (no TV means no
after-dinner movie!). They are some of the most genuine, selfless, and joyful
people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and we all have bonded greatly
in the span of two short weeks. We have wonderful fellowship times where we
talk about our relationships with God, and we also have times where all we do
is laugh at one another for being silly.
It’s a beautiful
thing to know that God has purposefully brought us all together from various
places and different walks of life for just short period of time to bond and
serve together.
Living on a farm in Africa is an
adventure. Living at the
Lodge, though extremely nice when compared to most living conditions here, has
been an adventure in itself. It’s the middle of winter here, yet there are more
spiders hanging from our ceilings than I’ve ever seen in the US. Being the
nerdy girl I am, I don’t mind them (and think they’re actually pretty cool) but
it’s still kind of unsettling when you leave the kitchen to go to your room and
almost run into a large orb spider hanging inches from your face. Oh hey there!
There isn’t heat
or air conditioning, so it can get pretty chilly at night. I sleep with four
blankets on my bed and I am dressed in pajama pants & a shirt, my Patagonia
fleece + fuzzy socks, and still find myself getting cold sometimes. The wind is
a bit unpredictable too. For a few nights during the first week, Danielle and I
(the only ones living in the girls dorm at the time) would be woken up at night
as our door was blown open by the wind. So, now we have to barricade our door
each night with a chair…just to keep out the wind! We’ve had a few cold showers
here and there, just to keep things interesting. There are occasional bad
smells in the bathroom and surprising water pressure changes. And if you hang
up your clothes to dry and forget them overnight, they’ll be wet again in the
morning. Always an adventure!
Compared with
the rest of the farm, though, the Lodge is a tame place. Last week at the Farm
Manager’s Building, they caught a 20ft python that was just chilling in the
bushes nearby. Don’t worry; it was escorted off of PC to go live on a reserve
so the babies at El Roi need not fear.
The walk to and
from anywhere else on the farm from the Lodge is quite a hike, considering how we
overlook most of the property up here. I definitely think I will come back to
the US not only in better shape mentally and spiritually, but physically as
well! If you read my “A Walk to Remember” blog, that experience really made me
thankful for the phenomenal transportation system we have in the States. Dirt
roads, though more scenic, definitely make walking & driving more of a ride
than a drive.
I’m having the time of my life. Though I’ve been faced with tough
situations and have been dealing with my own life problems, I could not be in a
better place right now. Being surrounded by loving, Godly people who make you
laugh on a daily basis is just the medicine a soul needs to heal and be
renewed. I get to love on 35 of the cutest little ones you’ve ever seen and
write about their stories. I get to learn about and be moved by the country of
Swaziland. I get to reach out to the surrounding community with the love of
Christ. And oh, it’s a marvelous thing to be a part of! I know God has me here
for a reason and I take comfort in that when I get sad or homesick. I hope to
return so filled up with purpose that I continue to serve Christ daily back at
college, at home, and wherever I may go.
Thank you to all
who have been keeping up with and praying for me…I am incredibly grateful to
have such utterly amazing people in my life. I love you all!
XOXO,
Audrey
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