Catching up...

Sanibonini!

We were without internet for a couple of days at the house so I have a lot of catching up to do. Today is my last day in Swaziland this trip. It went by too fast. 

July 4th went by with, obviously, no sign of the American holiday. We had a prayer meeting that morning and after Moses helped Annette and I with some SiSwati phrases. Basic words are difficult because they contain sounds we don't have in the English language. "No," "goodbye," and "sorry" are some of the hardest words to say. 

We went into the neighborhood again to do surveys. The kids here are pretty shy. They will smile and wave but not much more.(I thought this on July 4th, but found not all of the kids here are shy) I did make one friend. She is full of personality and a real cuddler. (I'll post her picture when I get home.) 

One lady we met today was 22 years and her oldest child was 10. This doesn't seem to be uncommon here. Statistics also say that about 1 in every 3 people we meet here has HIV. You can't pick them out usually. I try not to wonder which ones. 

I also got to see the church feed the children. There were 160 children there. (Pictures and maybe even a video when I get back to the States.)

The 1st Wednesday night of the month is singing with tea and biscuits nights at Matsapha Church of Christ. After an hour of singing, hot tea and a variety of muffins and cookies (biscuits) are brought out and everyone talks and eats. 

I had grilled warthog this week.  It was delicious! I branched out a bit this week.... impala, warthog, avocados, roasted squash... This is big for me. 

Thursday we had a meeting in Mbabane with the Registrar of the Nursing Council. We all crammed into a tiny conference room and told her the plans. All was fine until it was said that the clinic was attached to the church....okay, now for plan B. The classrooms that were being built in place of the current classrooms (which were going to be the clinic), will now be the clinic. This was acceptable to her. Dr. Whittaker asked her if there were any approved clinics that we could see the plans of so we would know we were planning correctly.  No. It is all a guessing game in a way. There are no written guidelines that they can give you even though they know what they want. It's very frustrating.  We told her we didn't want to waste time, money, and resources building something that wouldn't be approved. She said as long as it wasn't attached, what she saw we had should be okay.  Should be, that's comforting.

On Friday we took the day off and went to a game park here in Swaziland. We saw 3 of the "Big 5." We were fortunate to spot some lions. I have some good photos of them. We also saw Elephants and Rhinos. Other animals we got to see were warthogs, 2 zebras, impala, and a giraffe. We didn't go into South Africa to go to Kruger because there were no accommodations available. It is definitely a plan way ahead trip.

Saturday we met several members at the church, paired up and went out to do more surveys. More people are off of work on Saturdays so we could get more done. I was paired with Siboniso, a 27 year old who lost his job. His mother passed away and he and his father are landlords of a small area in the neighborhood. We went to his community to do surveys and this is where I found the kids to be very personable. We started out with about 4 kids following us. He did all the surveying while I entertained the kids. They are learning English and they must be going over body parts. They had me quizzing them. They also had me quiz them in Math. As we went along, more kids joined. By the time we were done we had about 15-20 kids tagging along with us, all fighting to hold my hand as we walked. Some places we stopped they would play games like keep away, or a game with bottle caps. Other places they would want me to quiz them again. About 1:30 we had to leave them and all the teams met back at the church to turn out surveys in and to discuss the reception we received. There is no doubt the people are excited about a clinic opening so close to them. The number one question was when! That is a hard question to answer. Building is underway but then there is the government.

Sunday worship was wonderful.  The singing is amazing. We did Father Abraham with the kids. That is the ONLY time we stood. I actually started to miss Curry Dudley making me stand every other song! Oh, I should mention that Bible class and church have no break between and lasts from 10:00 to about 1:00...sometimes later. Sunday night we went to the African Christian College again and had soup and sandwiches with Dr. Bruce and Beth Smith. They gave me loads of useful information about health education resources. 

Monday was spent running around trying to do all the things we hadn't done yet. I went to the Post Office, then to Swazi Candles. Amazing candles! We also went around to price cars. Ruth, a nurse with her doctorate at the church, told me I'd need a 4 wheel drive. I can get a 2003 for around 60,000E (less than $8,000). My budget is coming together. A few blanks to fill in. 

Today we are going to do a few more surveys and then I head to the airport! I'm all packed up, excited to get back and get started getting things together for coming back here again!

Impala, It's What's For Dinner

Tuesday July 3rd

It was a little bit cooler today, still warm, highs in the 70s, but people were walking around in coats and hats. Annette and I did 2 loads of laundry. This is blogworthy. First, because of how it all has to be hooked up. Second, because one load takes about 2 hours to go through the whole cycle. Third, there is no dryer. I am not very fast with clothes pins.

The biggest part of our day was spent with Moses in the neighborhood. We did some surveying of people there to see what hours they would want the clinic open, what medical services they were most interested in, and educational needs. Those we spoke with were so excited that a clinic would be close by. It is hard for them to get to the other clinics and most of them close before they get off of work anyway. If their children are sick they have to wait until they are off work also. One lady told us that the Chinese, who own the garment factories here, say they employ them, not their children. So they risk losing their job if they take time off to take their children to a clinic during work hours.

Most invited us into their homes which was usually one, sometimes two rooms. Bathrooms are separate and shared with other houses. Most have electricity. One light in the middle of the room, maybe a radio or TV. The "kitchen" is a small 2-burner gas unit, like we take camping in the US.  They were very hospitable, offering us seats on their beds.  No one rejected us.

Moses sitting in one of the houses

Dr. Whittaker was at the Nazarene Mission Hospital today so we went to change a leg bandage on one of his patients in the neighborhood. She is a typical "AIDS grandmother." Her children have died of AIDS and she is now left to care for their children. She heated water, took a sponge (that looked dirty), added some soap and cleaned her wound. She then sat in the sun to let it dry. I applied the ointment to the bandage and put it on her. (Nurses I work with, don't get any ideas. I am NOT doing your dressing changes for you!) I kept wishing I could run to Sumner Regional's supply closet and get some things that would help her even more.

 The woman washing her wound

Drying in the sun

We also went to visit a lady from church who had been hit by a car the day before. She said she just woke up in the hospital.  Thankfully the man that hit her took her there. Nothing major it seems, just really sore. They asked me to pray before we left the house. The need is so great here it is really overwhelming. I want to rescue them all.

On a lighter note, I had impala for dinner tonight. It was really good, much like our deer. I also finally got Melynda signed up on Skype!

Monday

Slept in till almost 8:00 this morning! Once up and ready I ran some errands with Annette and we all had a meeting with the leaders of Matsapha church of Christ concerning the clinic. Some government red tape has to be maneuvered through, but we are prayerful all will go smoothly. They called a prayer meeting for 5:00pm. They are firm believers in prayer and fasting here. Fasting isn't something the majority of Christians practice in the States. Here it is a very common practice when a problem is encountered.

I have been trying to learn some of the language, SiSwati. It has clicks in it. The word for "no" is almost impossible for me to say as is "I'm sorry." I can do the click but incorporating it in a word is not easy.  Almost everyone I've encountered speaks English but they all speak SiSwati to each other. All the signs are in English also, it I think it is important to learn the language.

Tomorrow we are supposed to go into the neighborhoods that are next to the church. Some say they are very bad, but the people that live there say they are not as bad as their reputation. Regardless, this is the area the church ministers.

Way behind!

Instead of catching up, I am now 2 days behind in blogging!

Sunday....
We walked to the church this morning. Church was supposed to start at 10:00....just like in the states, we started late. The singing was amazing.  Many of the songs I couldn't sing because they were in SiSwati. I tried to follow along but it is a difficult language to read and they make IMPOSSIBLE sounds.  Then came Amazing Grace, finally a song I know!  Yeah, they don't sing it the same way at all.  I did catch on though. The women take the lead in many of their songs and many times start a song for the leader. They also read scripture willfully. Bible study was first. The children all go to their classes. The Lord's Supper is next and then the sermon. While the sermon is going on the children are being fed. Many of the children that come are orphans. They will melt your heart.

I have learned the hand shake, don't be surprised if I shake your hand the new way I am used to when I get back.  People's names here however are very difficult to say, let alone remember.  There are a few, Ruth, Edith, Moses...I got those.  But, Ntombikayise Gule... I tried and she laughed.  I tried several times. After church I got to meet Ruth.  She is an RN and will be helping me out identifying needs and approaches.

View of the church's main hall

After church we walked home, had some lunch, had my first nap since coming here and then headed to the African Christian College. The service at ACC was held under a thatched shelter. It got a little cool (it is winter remember) but was very nice, maybe in the 60s? The singing was all in English since the students are from many different countries.  Tomorrow starts a new mid-mester for them so new teachers were here. There is also a library going up so others were there for that. Lots of people to meet. Tebo, a student there who I met that morning, did the sermon.  It was great.  He is very passionate about his faith. Afterward, I found out it really is a small world after all. I met Doug and Linda Foster who know Wilson McCoy and I met Jim and Jenene Marnach who know Mike and Karen Stroud.  Many know Homer and Joree Dudley from their visit last fall.  

Sunday flew by! This is going to be a busy week!

Saturday

I guess this blog will be a day behind for a while.  Oh well...

We were up around 7am, ate breakfast and then Annette and I headed for town, which no matter what part of Swaziland you are in is Manzini.  This was a two-purpose trip, to show me what is available and to look for a rug for their living room.  Manzini is not what I had expected at all.  It reminded me a little of Al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia but tons of people walking everywhere and tons of traffic.  I think I only saw 3 other white people the whole time there. I didn't feel weird though.

I am still not used to travelling on the left side of the road. I keep checking behind us in the other lane when we turn.

We went back to pick up Bob to go out for lunch. They took me out for my birthday! It was a little out of town in the Ezulwini Valley. It was beautiful! (Yes I have pictures and yes you'll have to wait till I get back to the States for me to post them.) The food was great! It is a popular place among the white population in there area, who are mostly European and South African.  Next we went to The Gables.  It is just a shopping center with a Pick N Pay, Click's Pharmacy, Woolworths (yes they have one here), and a few other places. Oh, and KFC  That is the only fast food place I've seen here and there are several!  The Gables is a popular place among the white population.  Annette said many of the whites live in that area more than in Matsapha or Manzini.

Bob heading into the restaurant

When you ask them to bring you a menu, they bring out this board.

Next we went to the Craft Market.  Here is where I got to put the shopping skills I learned in Saudi Arabia to use.  Bargaining, walking away, bargaining some more, walking away again, then buying it at my original offered price. Love it! If you can't say no, this is not your style of shopping. I personally like it.

The Craft Market

Fruits and vegetables here are insanely cheap if you buy at the roadside. They have HUGE avocados here. I tasted a bite...tolerable. I normally hate avocados. Oranges, bananas, grapefruit, apples, tomatoes, pears, carrots, egg plant, peppers, onions, potatoes.....all grown right here.

I saw so much today! Tomorrow is church and we're going to the African Christian College tomorrow night.