Dearest friends and family,
I hope I find you all blessed and well at the beginning of 2010. I pray that you had a fantastic break and that you experienced incredible rest, peace, and joy over the holiday season.
I realize it has been nearly a month now since my last update and I have so much to share I hardly know where to begin. I have now been living in Africa for over a month and a half I really can't believe it! Time certainly did fly by, and with every day I seem to fall more in love with this place. It feels as though I have always been here, and I am so joyful.
Since the last update quite a few things have happened. Just over a week ago the Swazi 1000 (the team of 250 volunteers) packed up and left to go home. It was very sad to say goodbye as I made some amazing friends. However as sad as it was to see them go, i have already had the chance to visit them twice and am hoping to see them again soon. South African hospitality is absolutely unreal though, never in my life have I experienced such incredible kindness and generosity. It is so humbling to be on the receiving end of it and I praise God for these friends every single day.
I have also been on the receiving end of some fantastic Swazi hospitality. i went to my first "Swazi party" a couple weeks ago. The Swazi food is absolutely delicious and the food was delightful. Everyone was eating and laughing and chatting and dancing these amazing swazi dances... and although i don't speak siSwati i felt really priviledged to be present.
While work has been keeping me exceptionally busy I have also had the chance to go volunteer at ABC (abandoned babies for Christ) children's home. It is an orphanage for abandoned babies under the age of four. The ministry is really beautiful as are the people that run it. Though it is quite heartbreaking to see all of these tiny babies who have been malnourished and mistreated so early in life. But Praise God they are in a safe place where they can experience a future and healing. I must say i admire the people that run ABC so much though, there are about 30-40 babies there, and they are there all the time... They have beautiful hearts to serve! i was the most exhausted i have ever felt in my life after four hours of being there, I cant imagine being there indefinetly, they are awesome!
As some of you may have heard, I had the chance to spend my Christmas vacation in Capetown with some lovely friends from home (the Milne's). They were wonderful hosts and it was so fantastic to be able to spend Christmas day with some familiar faces, we had a ton of laughs! It was incredible because it wasn't a normal Christmas in that my family wasn't there, there wasn't loads of presents, and there was certainly no turkey or snow, and yet I felt just overcome with love for and from those present, and those far away. I think sometimes I have been guilty of EXPECTING things from christmas, and if those expectations weren't met I was disapointed, but this christmas I expected nothing and yet it was one of the most joy filled Christmas's I can ever remember. It was a good reminder that Christmas is about celebrating Christ, and that really does boil down to loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and loving our neighbors as ourselves, and thats what this Christmas really was about for me, it was beautiful. The Milne's were so generous, they took me for some delicious meals (hurray for not having to cook for myself!), and out to Robben Island, to the aquarium, and I spent New Years with their son (and some of his very welcoming friends) on a rooftop overlooking the city. Really, it was all such a blessing to me.
I also spent some of the break with some friends I had met at the Swazi 1000. They were in Capetown at the same time as I was and they took it upon themselves to show me all the sites. They took me up table mountain at sunset, around cape point, and on a whim I decided to go to Hermanus ( a small town up the coast) with them for four days, where we had a relaxed and fun time of laying on the beach (and getting splotchy burnt), playing new sports like beach bat and ultimate frisby, swimming in the waves, braaing some delicious meat, and having wonderful conversation. It is really incredible in that after only a few weeks of knowing these people I feel as if I have known them forever! It was a very sad thing for me to say goodbye to them at the end of our trip, however I know it will not be long before I see them again, honestly I think they have some of the most beautiful hearts out of anyone I have ever met. Also just a note about Capetown-- I think it might be the most gorgeous city I have ever visited, the Coastline there is something to be believed, if you ever have the chance to visit there take it, I know you will fall just as in love with it as I did! It was a bit of a shock though going from a town of around 2000 people in rural Africa to a place teeming with people, in a VERY Western city!!!
It was the strangest thing I have not missed home since being here, however I was missing Bulembu while I was in Capetown... Thus at the end of my ten days I was extremely excited to return! I flew into Johannesburg on Sunday morning and the people that have become like my second family came and picked me up to take me for breakfast. It is really amazing, one of the things that I have missed is a sense of home, and family, and having people who love me and look out for me, but these people really have just come into my life and filled that spot more than I ever dreamed possible in a super short time. It's like God knew that desire in my heart, and he has met it in ways I did not even know were possible. I honestly hold so much love for them, and it is so wonderful to be loved back by them. We has wonderful conversation over breakfast, and it was great to receive "mom and dad" hugs! It was more than enough just to spend time with them, but these people also just overwhelmed me with their generosity and showered me with gifts and love, I was literally left speechless, and as most of you know that is extremely rare in my life!
Anyways our time came to an end far far too quickly and with hugs and kisses we said goodbye. As sad as I was to say goodbye though, i was also so excited to be coming back to Bulembu. It was the strangest thing as I crossed the border into Swaziland I just had this peace in my heart that was so strong. I just know i belong here right now, and i am so happy to be here. I have always thought i could never live away from the ocean, but after being in capetown and coming home ot the beauty of swaziland i am not sure i could ever be away from the africaness of it, the bush and the red soil and the mountains its breathtaking.
It is bizarre though coming back from first world africa to third world africa... i definetly felt like I was back in Africa, after 1) the customs building we were in got struck by lightning (it sounded like a bomb went off)... 2) the lightning in the sky was purple (and the most incredible thing ive ever seen) 3) it was pouring rain and so we stopped and picked up three full grown African men an hour before our town and gave them a ride, (we stuck them in the trunk), them smelling like alcohol, me covered in groceries and bags, the road being so foggy we could barely drive it, cows being on the road, potholes causing me to repeatedly hit my head on the window. I don't think i could be happier. I still cant understand how one girl can love the city and this crazy african life simultaneously. It was like coming home...
So when i got back i decided it was time to make it home... i totally unpacked my room for the first time, i moved a shelving unit from the living room in for my clothes, i folded everything and made it mine. I moved my stuff into the rest of the house and stopped living like a visitor... its official i live here and i love it, I also put up some little trinket things in my room and some pictures and for some reason putting these things up in my room made it feel like it was where i lived for the first time. They were touches of things and people i love and it brought so much warmth.
Anyways I know this was a bit long and I'll try to write again soon. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that took the time to say a prayer for me or send me a letter or gift over Christmas. These things mean more to me than you can possibly know. I hope God continues to bless you in 2010, know you are all in my thoughts and prayers. May the God of abundance bless you richly and sew new seeds in your life this year.
Just a note to those interested, unfortunately my church was unable after all to process any cheques sent to them on my behalf, so any money sent there will need to be returned and reissued to me, I am really really sorry about this but i appreciate your patience and understanding so much.
Thanks again for everything!
Much much love,
Heather Davies
Swazi update #2
Hello Everyone,
I realize this update is really soon after the last one but there is so much to write about that you will probably receive a lot more emails near the beginning, already i wanted to write twice as much as i did here just because there is so much on my heart... so here it goes. (also I apologize if i missed you on the first round, i am trying to iron out who I should send these to). Swaziland is unreal. I am in love with being here, honestly i was homesick for about half an hour one day and have been more happy than i can describe ever since. The adjustment has been almost too easy, its kind of weird, but i guess God was really clearing the way... I really truly love it here, it's like when i got off the plane half my heart was waiting here to greet me and i didnt even know it had been missing...
So I have been getting a lot of questions about what I do in a small town in Swaziland when I am not at work... so I thought i might tell you all little about what do i do here when i am not at work... i visit the local nightclubs obviously... JUST KIDDING... sadly there are no nightclubs. However, right now we have a team of 250+ volunteers here and they have worship every night, which i join in on, and obviously I mingle scouting for any future husband potential.. kidding... ok not really at all... but i am totally marrying a south african ;). Anyways back to my day to day life, umm there is bible study wednesday nights, photography class tuesday and thursday, there is waterslides to slide down, mountains to hike, and cool volunteers who are leave on Dec 15 to hang out with... i also work 8-5 monday to friday so that fills up a huge chunk of time.. there is also a lot of parties here, since i have been here (2 weeks) we have had a birthday party, american thanksgiving, and this weekend is the first of a series of christmas parties... what can i say the community is tight here and they throw parties so they dont go insane... there is also a lodge we hang out at a lot... yes our life is small but lovely. There is a small core group of people though that stay here and are really fun to hang out with. It is really ridiculously beautiful here.
Yesterday after work 10 of us took a car to a top of a mountain and then we hiked (the altitude is killing me), through snake infested long grass (im an idiot and was wearing flip flops/bare feet), up rocky inclines (with lots of crevices for snakes), through the bush and trees (perfect for deadly tree snakes), until we got to a beautiful waterfall, where we cliff jumped, and then proceeded to slide down the natural waterslides, they were about 20-40 feet and so so fun.... then we climbed up the rocks and did it again! It was ridiculously fun, as were the South Africans i went with. I am really going to miss them when they go home i love them! We then hiked back uphill again in flipflops (mess),...we then came home and went to a field for worship. During worship a huge lightning storm came in, it was crazy bright and beautiful (it turned the night sky pink, and blue, and orange, it was stunning), and I am not so afraid anymore.... in case you did not catch that I will repeat: yes, i did stand in the middle of a field during a lightning storm, God is certainly pushing me, and i am way less afraid! Praise the Lord, your prayers are working.
Life is good here in swaziland... I love Africa and don't think i ever want to leave, (I cannot believe I have already been here two whole weeks!)... However, I am also getting super excited to head to Capetown to spend christmas with some close family friends, the beautiful Milne family has asked me to spend the holiday with them, which should be awesome! I cannot wait to be able to buy some warm clothes. a heater, and most importantly drink diet coke, and eat (hopefully) licourice, and gum ( i accept care packages with all of the above things in it)... I am going crazy without these little addictions!!!!!!!! While i love rural africa, i think in my heart i am an urban girl, and i am super excited to be in a city!
Today I also had my first encounter with a rain spider (the big spiders here), honestly they are not so bad, other then when it jumped off the ceiling and attempted to land on my head (yes that actually happened)... the score this morning was looking like spider -1 Heather -0. However, i regained my strength over breakfast and went back to the bathroom and killed that sucker... Spider-1 (but dead) Heather - 1 (but alive and ready to kill more spiders)... However i think there is another one in the bathroom so i closed the door and put a towel under the crack... i will have to revisit the situation post work and i will tell you who breaks the tie. Also i think i have cholera, i dont want to go too into detail but i have what the swazis call a running belly... its pretty nasty and also quite funny, i dont know why i think its funny but it just is. I think i am going to have to laugh a lot here in Swazi if i am going to survive... joy is the secret to success.... also i think if this running belly continues i will be a skinny stick very soon!!!
It is not all fun and games here though, there is a lot of new things i am being confronted with daily which break my heart. For instance, I am learning a lot about the orphans that we have in our care, and the stories are consistently heartbreaking. I thought most of the kids in our care were here because their parents died of HIV/Aids, and while this is true, the stories are for the most part much more horrific. Most of the children's parents did die of HIV/Aids, however when this happens most of them go to live with relatives. It is here that the problems often begin. Most of the little girls have been raped (often repeatedly). Sexual crimes are a major problem and a huge stronghold here in Swaziland. Sexual behaviour is horrible and the majority of women are victims of it at some point which is tragic. However, hearing the stories of a seven year old girl being repeatedly raped is so far beyond tragic and horrifying it is unbelievable. An important thing i have learned here is that just because something is common does not make it any less damaging or horrific for the victims of it. It makes me sick to my stomach to hear of it. Also, of most of the children are so severely beaten that when we find them they are in hospital on the edge of death. Part of swazi traditional punishment is to beat your children, however it is a totally different level then spanking, as the scars on many of the children show.
These children have been abused physically, sexually, mentally, and emotionally, they have endured the loss of their parents and sometimes their siblings, and they are shells of children when we first get them. Some of them can barely speak when we find them. When you see them every part of you wants to fall into despair and you wonder how can there be any hope for these little ones. They have seen all the most horrible things that can happen to a person and they are haunted by this darkness when they first come to us. However, if I had any doubt ever about the power of our God as a redeeming healing God I no longer do. There is hope here, and these children experience the kind of profound healing I did not even know was possible. Literally, I have been looking through the files and update pics of the children from when we first get them until now, and hearing the stories from the caregivers of the changes that take place in the children and I am overwhelmed by the change in them... It is not just that their bodies now look healthy, it is the fact that their eyes no longer contain an empty, hollow look full of despair, but rather now carry a look of hope and unfathomable joy and life... there is life where there is death. These children have come from the worst backgrounds imaginable, and they have been given a future and hope, if that's not Jesus work then I don't know what is, and that is why this organization exists. Sadly there are thousands of children in Swaziland who are in the midst of this suffering, and although the organization is growing rapidly there is still so much support needed to make that happen. Overall though, what i have seen here is like nothing I have ever been part of before and i feel so blessed to witness it. God is very very good, and I truly know that he is closest to those that are poor in spirit, and he is the restorer of hope, and the redeemer of brokeness... it is pretty incredible to think that if God sees these little forgotten children and he restores the most broken people on earth, then surely he also sees us and wants to heal us from our brokeness. He is the bringer of life in our pain, even when we cannot imagine it as possible.
Finally I just wanted to remind those of you whom have asked that i send out reminders at the beginning of the month regarding donations...it's the beginning of the month and so this is my reminder. I really really appreciate your help as you continue to support me in this beautiful ministry. If you have any questions regarding what I am doing here let me know!
Anyways i hope things are really well at home. As christmas approaches i wish i could hang stockings, and put up a tree, and go christmas shopping, but you will all have to do it in my honor and enjoy yourself... I pray that this christmas you would truly experience the hope that Christmas brings, and that as you remember a child who was born so long ago, that you could look at the people around you and reach out to and show the love to those who might not otherwise experience it, that they might experience some of the hope and joy found in Christ and his birth. I pray that this season God will reach into your brokeness and that you would know that he sees you and that he loves you and wants to restore you from your brokeness. I love you all a lot and pray that you are truly blessed as we approach this holiday season... Thanks again for all your love and support it means so much.
MUCH MUCH LOVE
Heather
ps here is a video of me, i think i start after 2 minutes... lol i'm already a celebrity here! Day 2 Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRuuzoY-rWc
xoxoxox
pps my address is
P.O. Box 21
c/o Bulembu
Piggs Peak
Swaziland Africa
I realize this update is really soon after the last one but there is so much to write about that you will probably receive a lot more emails near the beginning, already i wanted to write twice as much as i did here just because there is so much on my heart... so here it goes. (also I apologize if i missed you on the first round, i am trying to iron out who I should send these to). Swaziland is unreal. I am in love with being here, honestly i was homesick for about half an hour one day and have been more happy than i can describe ever since. The adjustment has been almost too easy, its kind of weird, but i guess God was really clearing the way... I really truly love it here, it's like when i got off the plane half my heart was waiting here to greet me and i didnt even know it had been missing...
So I have been getting a lot of questions about what I do in a small town in Swaziland when I am not at work... so I thought i might tell you all little about what do i do here when i am not at work... i visit the local nightclubs obviously... JUST KIDDING... sadly there are no nightclubs. However, right now we have a team of 250+ volunteers here and they have worship every night, which i join in on, and obviously I mingle scouting for any future husband potential.. kidding... ok not really at all... but i am totally marrying a south african ;). Anyways back to my day to day life, umm there is bible study wednesday nights, photography class tuesday and thursday, there is waterslides to slide down, mountains to hike, and cool volunteers who are leave on Dec 15 to hang out with... i also work 8-5 monday to friday so that fills up a huge chunk of time.. there is also a lot of parties here, since i have been here (2 weeks) we have had a birthday party, american thanksgiving, and this weekend is the first of a series of christmas parties... what can i say the community is tight here and they throw parties so they dont go insane... there is also a lodge we hang out at a lot... yes our life is small but lovely. There is a small core group of people though that stay here and are really fun to hang out with. It is really ridiculously beautiful here.
Yesterday after work 10 of us took a car to a top of a mountain and then we hiked (the altitude is killing me), through snake infested long grass (im an idiot and was wearing flip flops/bare feet), up rocky inclines (with lots of crevices for snakes), through the bush and trees (perfect for deadly tree snakes), until we got to a beautiful waterfall, where we cliff jumped, and then proceeded to slide down the natural waterslides, they were about 20-40 feet and so so fun.... then we climbed up the rocks and did it again! It was ridiculously fun, as were the South Africans i went with. I am really going to miss them when they go home i love them! We then hiked back uphill again in flipflops (mess),...we then came home and went to a field for worship. During worship a huge lightning storm came in, it was crazy bright and beautiful (it turned the night sky pink, and blue, and orange, it was stunning), and I am not so afraid anymore.... in case you did not catch that I will repeat: yes, i did stand in the middle of a field during a lightning storm, God is certainly pushing me, and i am way less afraid! Praise the Lord, your prayers are working.
Life is good here in swaziland... I love Africa and don't think i ever want to leave, (I cannot believe I have already been here two whole weeks!)... However, I am also getting super excited to head to Capetown to spend christmas with some close family friends, the beautiful Milne family has asked me to spend the holiday with them, which should be awesome! I cannot wait to be able to buy some warm clothes. a heater, and most importantly drink diet coke, and eat (hopefully) licourice, and gum ( i accept care packages with all of the above things in it)... I am going crazy without these little addictions!!!!!!!! While i love rural africa, i think in my heart i am an urban girl, and i am super excited to be in a city!
Today I also had my first encounter with a rain spider (the big spiders here), honestly they are not so bad, other then when it jumped off the ceiling and attempted to land on my head (yes that actually happened)... the score this morning was looking like spider -1 Heather -0. However, i regained my strength over breakfast and went back to the bathroom and killed that sucker... Spider-1 (but dead) Heather - 1 (but alive and ready to kill more spiders)... However i think there is another one in the bathroom so i closed the door and put a towel under the crack... i will have to revisit the situation post work and i will tell you who breaks the tie. Also i think i have cholera, i dont want to go too into detail but i have what the swazis call a running belly... its pretty nasty and also quite funny, i dont know why i think its funny but it just is. I think i am going to have to laugh a lot here in Swazi if i am going to survive... joy is the secret to success.... also i think if this running belly continues i will be a skinny stick very soon!!!
It is not all fun and games here though, there is a lot of new things i am being confronted with daily which break my heart. For instance, I am learning a lot about the orphans that we have in our care, and the stories are consistently heartbreaking. I thought most of the kids in our care were here because their parents died of HIV/Aids, and while this is true, the stories are for the most part much more horrific. Most of the children's parents did die of HIV/Aids, however when this happens most of them go to live with relatives. It is here that the problems often begin. Most of the little girls have been raped (often repeatedly). Sexual crimes are a major problem and a huge stronghold here in Swaziland. Sexual behaviour is horrible and the majority of women are victims of it at some point which is tragic. However, hearing the stories of a seven year old girl being repeatedly raped is so far beyond tragic and horrifying it is unbelievable. An important thing i have learned here is that just because something is common does not make it any less damaging or horrific for the victims of it. It makes me sick to my stomach to hear of it. Also, of most of the children are so severely beaten that when we find them they are in hospital on the edge of death. Part of swazi traditional punishment is to beat your children, however it is a totally different level then spanking, as the scars on many of the children show.
These children have been abused physically, sexually, mentally, and emotionally, they have endured the loss of their parents and sometimes their siblings, and they are shells of children when we first get them. Some of them can barely speak when we find them. When you see them every part of you wants to fall into despair and you wonder how can there be any hope for these little ones. They have seen all the most horrible things that can happen to a person and they are haunted by this darkness when they first come to us. However, if I had any doubt ever about the power of our God as a redeeming healing God I no longer do. There is hope here, and these children experience the kind of profound healing I did not even know was possible. Literally, I have been looking through the files and update pics of the children from when we first get them until now, and hearing the stories from the caregivers of the changes that take place in the children and I am overwhelmed by the change in them... It is not just that their bodies now look healthy, it is the fact that their eyes no longer contain an empty, hollow look full of despair, but rather now carry a look of hope and unfathomable joy and life... there is life where there is death. These children have come from the worst backgrounds imaginable, and they have been given a future and hope, if that's not Jesus work then I don't know what is, and that is why this organization exists. Sadly there are thousands of children in Swaziland who are in the midst of this suffering, and although the organization is growing rapidly there is still so much support needed to make that happen. Overall though, what i have seen here is like nothing I have ever been part of before and i feel so blessed to witness it. God is very very good, and I truly know that he is closest to those that are poor in spirit, and he is the restorer of hope, and the redeemer of brokeness... it is pretty incredible to think that if God sees these little forgotten children and he restores the most broken people on earth, then surely he also sees us and wants to heal us from our brokeness. He is the bringer of life in our pain, even when we cannot imagine it as possible.
Finally I just wanted to remind those of you whom have asked that i send out reminders at the beginning of the month regarding donations...it's the beginning of the month and so this is my reminder. I really really appreciate your help as you continue to support me in this beautiful ministry. If you have any questions regarding what I am doing here let me know!
Anyways i hope things are really well at home. As christmas approaches i wish i could hang stockings, and put up a tree, and go christmas shopping, but you will all have to do it in my honor and enjoy yourself... I pray that this christmas you would truly experience the hope that Christmas brings, and that as you remember a child who was born so long ago, that you could look at the people around you and reach out to and show the love to those who might not otherwise experience it, that they might experience some of the hope and joy found in Christ and his birth. I pray that this season God will reach into your brokeness and that you would know that he sees you and that he loves you and wants to restore you from your brokeness. I love you all a lot and pray that you are truly blessed as we approach this holiday season... Thanks again for all your love and support it means so much.
MUCH MUCH LOVE
Heather
ps here is a video of me, i think i start after 2 minutes... lol i'm already a celebrity here! Day 2 Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRuuzoY-rWc
xoxoxox
pps my address is
P.O. Box 21
c/o Bulembu
Piggs Peak
Swaziland Africa
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