The Raspberry and Cactus Tree

Hello everyone! 

 

I left Atlanta, Georgia last Saturday! It’s been one whole week in another country!! I have a lot to talk about. This will be a long post to share everything I have done, seen, felt, experienced, and shared! 

 

To start, I want to give thanks to the creator of all things who is helping me write this post. 

 

Saturday

Our alarms went off at 6am Georgia time so 5am Texas time. Our flight to Johannesburg was set for 10:30am. We had a 1hr 15min drive to the airport. We were all wide awake and ready for the Kingdom Journey we were all about to partake in. We get to the airport before 7:30am, take pictures, and get in line to check our bags in. 30 minutes later, the 8 of us are at the front of the line getting called to the Delta check-in desks. Everyone got their tickets and I was up to get mine. Long story short, the travel agency that booked the tickets must have made a mistake while booking my ticket, which meant I didn’t have a spot on the 10:30am flight. Fast forward 4 hours. We missed the 10:30am flight. We know God’s sovereign hand is perfect and everything that happens happens for a reason so we were all perplexed and confused but understood that there were things happening that were above us. We were supposed to take flights from Georgia —> New York —> Amsterdam —> Johannesburg and instead got tickets direct to Johannesburg (15hr) that departed at 7:30pm that night. We were off to a rocky start to say the least. 

 

Sunday

We had just got off our flight in Johannesburg. They fed us 3 meals on the flight. Hunger was not an issue. 2hours of sleep on my first 15hour flight was more of my worry. Once we got through customs, we all went to the carousel for our bags. I got mine, a teammate or two got there’s until all but 2 of us had there bags. Long story short again, the mishap that happened at the Atlanta airport, had come back to bite us in the butt. 2 bags went to New York then Amsterdam so they wouldn’t get to the airport for another few days. We all decided that we would share clothes and get the bags shipped to the closest airport to Nsoko. After all that we stepped outside the airport to meet our driver who picked us up and brought us to the small bedroom motel. The next day we would be driving to Nsoko so we all went straight to bed. 

 

Monday

Elliot 45-50 is a Swazi man that works for AIM, and lives in eSwatini and was sitting next to our group during breakfast at the motel and we started talking with him and then realized he was driving us the whole 8hr drive to Nsoko from Johannesburg. We left promptly after breakfast at 9:00am and I was the lucky one to sit shotgun in the van. That gave me the chance to get to know Elliot on a more personal level (God’s plan). He had a great personality and told me how he worked for AIM. He drove fast and and we got to Nsoko in about 8 hours after 2 stops. So total drive time was about 6 hours from Johannesburg. 

I remember settling into my sleeping bag that night and being nervous and excited for what God had in store for me. 

 

Tuesday

Today was the first day of ministry. The first day that we could put our training and preparation to the test and actually be the hands and feet of Christ himself. To be witnesses of the gospel and spread the fruit that was Christ himself inside of us. I was nervous and had no idea what to expect but my trust in God and how his sovereign hand that works over everything gave me more comfort that anyone or any words could have. Where we are staying there is also a preschool for young children and a leadership school for young men and women to join after high school and that want to follow Jesus footsteps. My group and I walked to the preschool around 10:30-11:00 and the kids were eating lunch at that time and the second they saw us they had huge smile on their faces and wanted to hug us and play with us. I could sense the teacher knew that our presence was good for their comfort but not the best to keep them engaged in their school work so she ended that day of teaching and let the kids go with us to the playground and get to know them. This was a new experience for me but I pushed into the feelings I was having and gave as much joy and happiness back to them that I could. Playing frisbee and letting the all climb on my back or on my front for hours Ha! Siyamtuanda 5 (See-um-tahn-duh)was the name of the 5 year old that was so full of joy and smiles. I was really blessed to have met him. After a while I was exhausted and got a chance to take a break at the edge of the playground with one of the students of the leadership school. His name is Bongoni 27 (Bone-gone-ee) and he was the first Swazi young man I met that was around my age. His mom left and started a new family in South Africa after his Dad died so that left him not having parents to provide for him. God was watching over him and brought him to the AIM base here that I am staying at for the leadership school to know more about Christ and spread his love. He had never heard of Texas and was intrigued about all I had to tell him about my home state. That was the start of my Kingdom Journey:)! After ministry we all walked back to gather our clothes to wash. Remember we all got to Georgia last Tuesday so we were kinda stinky. We went behind the house and found sinks/wash bins to put our clothes in and clothes wires to hang them. For 6 of us it was our first time hand washing, and it took a while! 3hours total! Ha! It was uplifting because it took a long time and we were all together, the sun was out, it wasn’t hot, there was a nice breeze, and everyone seemed happy, and you could sense the feeling that we had BECOME a team! They didn’t dry for 2 days so that stunk but hey, God’s plan. After that we met Thandi (Tahn-dee) our ministry host who is a local her in Nsoko and is a follower of Jesus and a child of God. She is 36-37 and is the one who we go to with questions and is our go-to person here in eSwatini. She told us about the history of Swazi and the do’s and do not do’s. One was not to pass anything to anyone with your left hand which was a sign of disrespect. Another was no burping or spitting around anyone. Only in privacy. Another was not to wear shoes in someones’s home. She then left and we all signed up for the cooking/cleaning schedule and played a game of uno before all heading to bed. I then read the introduction to the “Case for Christ” which I recommend to anyone and everyone reading this to get a better understanding of the PROOF of a living Jesus inside all of us who believe in him. 

 

 

Wednesday

We all just finished breakfast when Thandi got here and walked us all around the base were staying at and gave us a tour while we met most of the people that work here. That was about 2 hours and then we came back to make pb&j’s, chips, salad, and left over rice! After that we read and hung out for a little until we all had team time which is a special time specifically to become closer together with God/Jesus and our team (Bible Study, Constructive/Positive feedback, worship music, games, etc.) We then went straight into the start of our Bible Study. Steph felt lead by the Lord for us to read the book of Ruth(a short book about an undying friendship and loyalty between 2 women and the redemption of a family lineage through a faithful redeemer). Today was also the first time we could play soccer at the field next to the playground. I knew it would be a chance for me to connect with the guys from the leadership school and that I again could be used as the hands and feet of Jesus. We learned that they play every week day at 5pm and I will be be playing every day as well!! 

 

Thursday

Today I woke up at 7:42am (12:42am Texas time). We had cornflakes, an apple and rich rich coffee. We started our manual labor ministry today. 4 people can fit into Thandi’s ministry truck so I got picked to stay behind and wait with some of the guys that play soccer for the next truck to arrive to bring us with the tools to the other care point (15min away). While waiting I met Meloci (Meh-low-see). He was kind and interested in me and I enjoyed his smile. The truck had 3 up front and a flat bed for the rest of us guys to ride in. I had my back towards the cab of the truck while my eyes followed the mountains to my left that went on for miles in each direction. 

 

I want to pause here and express just how beautiful and green it is here. It is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been to.

 

I was nervous and all I could really do was smile since I just met those guys 5 min ago. The wind and language barrier made talking harder to do than it normally would’ve been. We then arrived to the care point and got to work. Cory and I were sawing the beams of wood for support of the fence while others twisted wire and then put them into the holes drilled in the wood to start the outline of the fence. After a while I felt called to go and talk to the “Gogo” (grandma in Swazi). I pulled up a chair next to her and we talked about a whole array of things. I was lucky that she spoke English. A little while later her granddaughter came by who is probably 28 and shared her plate of rice and chilis and spinach with me. This was my first time to eat off the same plate with someone with just my hands. It was an interesting and tasteful experience. Later on we all were getting ready to leave I met a man that works with the locals and trains them in beekeeping and how to harvest honey year round which was cool. By the end of the day Thandi picked us back up and I squeezed in the truck this time. She brought us to the local grocery store which is probably the size of a 7-11 gas station. It still had most everything that we had in the US just different brands. We unloaded all the groceries in time for me to go and play soccer. Again, I’m here to build relationships and be the hands and feet of Jesus. Spreading and bearing fruit wherever I go.

 

Friday

Today was a very busy day. 3 of our squad members were called to preach at a different care point while 5 of us including me were called to the home of a family that just lost their father. When we arrived you could feel the sadness and mourning they were going through. We entered their home and proceeded to read scripture the Lord had put on our hearts earlier that morning. After scripture Angie talked to them about rejoicing in the Lord and to remain faithful even in difficult times for when times are difficult the faith you have is tested and is worth more than gold (1 Peter 1:6-9). I read them Psalm 91. Sarah read them James 1:2-4, Psalm 23:4, Ecclesiastes 3:1-12. We then sat outside with them and played with their children and I made them paper airplanes from my notebook and they loved them:). This is also the place where I saw my first raspberry tree. Not a bush. A full grown tree that had raspberry’s that looked like they needed one more day until they could be picked. I also saw a huge cactus tree that was at least 20-25ft tall that had branches that were literally cacti! It was amazing. We said our goodbyes and made our way back to the base. Others started to nap and take showers so Thandi took Coryn and I to the meat market near her house and had them slice the thigh of a pig she had fed and kept herself for this type of occasion. I could tell Thandi liked Coryn and I. The meat was sliced by the butcher and then cooked over a log fire next door because she didn’t have a fire at her house that was going. After the meat was ready she wanted Coryn and I to try it and eat it with her so Coryn and I looked at each other and went all in. She served us coco-cola with it and then we headed back to the base and called it a complete day! 

 

Saturday

Today we went to home visits with a young man that named himself Sunday and Tuhkozo, that were our interpreters. They didn’t plan on coming as our interpreters. They just wanted to come be with us and happened to know the local language to tell them about Christ:). We talked to a lot of poor families that were so kind and open to us and greeted us and laughed with us and prayed with us. The community here is like the southern hospitality we have back home but on the poor end of the spectrum. We all sat on buckets or mats as chairs or just stood. It has been only one week and I have had the most eye opening experiences I have ever had in my life. There is so much more I could go into but I feel that God wants us to experience this stuff first hand and for us all to go on Kingdom Journey’s. If you have specific questions I would love to answer them in the comments! 

 

Sunday (Today)

Today we went to church here with the locals. We all piled into the back of trucks around the base and went across the street to the small church about the size of a house in America. Enough room to fit about 50 people. It was really cool because it showed me that everyone there knew everyone and the church itself felt and looked like the actually Body of Christ. The pastor’s sermon was about the blessing that God gave us all through Abraham. The fact that God gave us the blessing means that no one can ever take it away. Just believe in Jesus Christ with your whole heart. Seek him with all your troubles and rejoice in him. Be thankful for everything you have in America because I am a witness right now in Nsoko, eSwatini. Most everything I have in America and most everything I see in America is no where to be found here. It shows me just how thankful we all need to be. Not to just realize that we are blessed because again God’s hand is sovereign and we are all in the positions we are in for a reason but scripture also calls us to be thankful for all that we have because in essence none of it is ours, it is His, the one who died for all of us to have the opportunity to be alive and not dead to our SINS!

 

 

Talk soon!:) Love you all!

 

-Benjamin

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer requests: 

 

Coryn: healing for her headaches, and for our squad to have continuing boldness and uncomfortability. 

 

Sarah: healing for Coryn’s headaches, and for the people of Africa to have a deeper relationship with the Lord. She says they know the Lord but she wants them to have a relationship with the Lord. 

 

Angie: to go deeper with the Lord and people of Africa

 

Hayden: For his girlfriend Allie to be healed from Covid. 

 

Cory: for the man we met that had a stroke and is paralyzed in half his body and wants a wheelchair. (We will try to get him one). 

 

Peter: His loans to be paid for by the time he finishes school. 

 

Steph: For the squad’s laughter and joy and for everyone on our team to encounter the Lord in a new way.

 

Me: To continue to feel God’s presence within me. (It is the most comforting and peaceful feeling on this earth).