Day 166 In The Jungle



Hello folks! It was yet another early start for the Eswatini team today as we had to get ready to head back to the Women’s Centre for more worship and to hear their testimonies as well as give our own. We began the day running late but thanks to Lead Foot Liz McAuley (who never seemed to take her foot off the accelerator) we managed to make it there early!

The worship again involved singing and dancing but on the plus side we were slightly less awkward than yesterday. We even performed our own song and dance that we'd practiced the night before, for them, which they found highly entertaining. Then the testimonies began…it was heart-wrenching to listen to all the struggles the women had faced in the past but they remained strong and showed great resilience and yet when it came to giving our own testimonies it seemed we were all reduced to tears. Further counselling is needed for the Ballywillian Team, I think.

We were then supposed to head straight to Ngwempisi, however, we decided we needed coffee to restore us to proper emotional stability. So we ended up in a cafe called Mug and Bean where we also celebrated Jackie’s birthday with some chocolate cake that was devoured in minutes. Emotional eating, if you ask me.

Anyway, with our spirits restored we finally got to Ngwempisi after diving over the most horrendous terrain you can imagine. That alone had us fairly shaken. We were shown the accommodation called the Ekahaya Ranch. There are four bedrooms, three for couples and one for five of us. Which would have been perfectly fine except for the fact that the toilet and shower are in the exact same room, divided only by five foot high walls with no doors in between. This led to some awkward showers and runs to the toilet (Let’s just say I was sure to play music during these times).

We spent most of the afternoon painting the pre-school down the road which had been built using sandbags with a very thin, rough plaster. The inside wasn’t even completely finished, but we tried out best and got both the outside and the majority of the inside painted white. Unfortunately, Heather was sick and had to head back to the accommodation to rest. To be honest, the intense heat was particularly suffocating today, being in the thirties, which made all of us feel a little light-headed and tired.

Nevertheless, we got to enjoy serving food to some of the young children that were part of the Bible class. (These same kids had also enjoyed watching us whilst we had been painting, giggling every time Liz McAuley waved the paint brush their direction. Shortly after, Jackie entertained the kids with some games outside). After we left, Pastor Sipho and his wife joined us for a BBQ prepared by Bongani (our friend and guide from Challenge Ministries) which we ate on the veranda.

We will be returning to decorate the pre-school tomorrow!

Well, I’m end this blog here because it’s awfully hard to type when you’re trying to run away from a giant moth-butterfly-thing. Godbless!
P.S. Sorry for the late update, the wifi is woeful in Ngwempisi.

































                                Yes, this was the highlight of my day (at the Women's Centre)







"Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you." Matthew 18:20



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