At training camp we found out that we were going to have roles for our trip. Day 2 of being at training camp, everyone voted who they thought should be team leader, and I was voted as 1 of 2 team leaders. Because that was to get an idea for the mentors who acts like a leader, it wasn’t final. The mentors and squad leaders would pray into who they think could best lead the teams. There are other roles but the team leader shepherds the teams. Throughout the next week and a half, I tried my best to stay in the shadows. God has given me the gift to be a natural born leader, but I wanted a break from that gift on this trip. But God had other plans and humbled me. Selfishly I wanted to do my own thing without the leader role. Four days before leaving training camp for Eswatini, the mentors called me aside and asked if I would be one of the team leaders. As much as I didn’t want to, God kept pushing YES into my face. The next morning, I gave the mentors the Yes, but still unsure if I was meant to be in that position on this trip. So I was chosen to be one of the team leaders for this trip.
Week 1 included travel and Eswatini
Sunday we traveled from Atlanta to Qatar and then in Qatar we had a 9 hour layover. Qatar airport was magnificent, it had a giant garden in the middle and had a beautiful sunset. I did a lot of walking and a little bit of sleeping. Monday we arrived in South Africa and the whole team had sweatshirts and sweatpants on and it was in the low 90’s. We arrived at Tambo International Airport, and all jumped in a bus and went on our way to Eswatini. It was a 4 hour bus ride, and on our way to the border we stopped at a spot called Kleinfontein station. It was a giant stop with KFC, and a bunch of other places to eat, as well as small gas stations. It had a beautiful place in the back that had a mini zoo with Zebras and a bunch of deer type animals. It was lunch time and I enjoyed a nice full BBQ chicken and it was only $4 USD. The rest of the trip was smooth and full of beautiful scenery.
Wednesday…The next morning we had a scavenger hunt to get to know the city. We divided into two teams, and had a list of items to get or achieve. My team turned the scavenger hunt into evangelism. We got to meet a lot of people who were struggling or just needed to hear the name Jesus. We met a lot of Christians that sang with us and dove into the Bible to read with us. We met a young lady who loves the Lord and is the Kings dresser. We sang hymns with her and prayed over her. There were many people we prayed over and got to know.
Thursday & Friday- It was our first day of ministry at the care point. We got to the kids care point at 10 AM and a bunch of little ones welcomed us. I found out that the care point is a place where kids come to get a meal, because a lot of them don’t get meals at home. First day we bonded with these kids! We did a Jonah skit, played on the playground, played soccer, and just loved on these kids.
“Adventure Day” Saturday- the Squad woke up a little earlier than usual and went to get picked up for the Eswatini historical dance. The drive was about an hour away. We arrived at 10:30 AM and had a tour guide ready for our group. We toured what the first king in the 1700’s lived in and how they lived together as a community. We then went under a giant hut and watched the historical dance which was so cool to watch! At about 1, we got the chance to walk to a waterfall, which was absolutely stunning! It was a little rainy and cloudy but it made it more beautiful. We went to a late lunch and it took 2 hours to get our food but the view of the restaurant was so beautiful. I got a large steak for $8 USD! It was so good!
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