My mom has asked me what a typical day is here in my new home of Manzini, Swaziland. So I thought I would give you all a glimpse into my life…
I live in between a high school and primary school. So if I haven’t crawled down from bed (yes I am 25 and still sleep on a bunk bed, but I do finally have my own room) the sound of kids playing and the hand bell from the high school will have me up before 8am. I typically spend sometime with the Lord and then go about my day. Depending on how many people are staying at the house, there’s a line for the toilet and only the first 5 people get a hot shower. (There’s enough beds for 40 people in six rooms, but we’ve got a ton of extra mattresses. Unfortunately there are only 4 toilets and 2 showers.)
If Gary needs me in the office he’ll typically honk at the gate between 8 and 9. I don’t always know if I am going until just before hand, so I like to be ready just incase. (although Colin & Kathy have offered to start taking me to the office since they live in the attached apartment) I’ve been trying to help the Blacks get things organized so that things can be done quicker in the future in their personal lives and in ministry… it just means that it is taking a bit longer now. After I’ve finished the tasks for the day I wait until someone can take me home (it’s only about a 30 minute walk, but it’s not safe for any foreigners to go by themselves). I’ll try to get rides to the grocery store when others need to go as well, it’s safe to eat all the produce and even drink the water (not very tasty but it will not make you sick), which is a huge blessing! I try to get all my emails done at the office since it costs about $7USD an hour and is often quite slow at the internet cafes.
When I have a day ‘off’ it normally means it’s time to do stuff at home. Being such a large house it never seems to stay clean, so a lot of my time and energy goes into that. (it takes a whole day for me to clean the house by myself) then there is always laundry the old fashioned way… by hand. I usually wait till I have no clean clothes and am forced to wash them, when the only alternatives are to stink or pay about $10USD to have it all done at a laundry mat. (Lisa Black did say that I can start doing some of my laundry at her place, yea!)
Otherwise I spend my time hanging out with the teams that are staying in the house. There are always questions about missions, different countries / cultures / religions, about God and just plain old life. I get a lot of time alone with the Lord and have read some good books. I am trying to make my room and the house feel more like a ‘home’ and less like a cheap hostel, but it will take time and money to see that come to a full reality.
I’ve had the opportunity to travel all over Swazi (pretty easy since it’s such a small country) and felt the change of weather- it’s gone from cold to warm already, I think I might melt by the time summer hits.
I try to end the day sitting on the balcony outside my room, overlooking Manzini and watch the sun set behind one of the many sets of hills. After dinner I might make some popcorn over the stove or maybe just a cup of rooibos tea and a good read. Before you know it it’s time to wash my face, feet and teeth and climb up my ladder to bed…
