Happy Thanksgiving from Swazi

Happy Thanksgiving from Swazi!

Obviously they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Swaziland, or any other country for that matter.  So the whole rule of thumb that you can't celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving is non-existent.  Santa Claus has been planted in the local grocery store for weeks and you can hear Christmas music every once in awhile.  Christina and I did our best to stay away from any Christmas spirit until after today, when we finally celebrated Thanksgiving.  I love this holiday; it's kind of like Valentine's Day in the respect that what we celebrate on these holidays (love and being thankful) are what we should live every day, but I still think they are days worthy of setting aside some extra love and thanks!  Being away from family is hard on holidays, but for this one I was home. 

The Thanksgiving day started like any other Thursday.  Christina and I got groceries for our big dinner in the morning and then we headed to Enjabulweni to collect letters and deliver grade 7's letters.  Of course the other students hadn't written letters back yet, and when I delivered grade 7's letters, I realized I was about 20 letters short.  The names the head teacher had given me were only half of the students in his class! Eish!  But, like loaves in fishes, we multiplied letters by changing names of some that were doubles (because originally my students outnumbered the ones at Enjabulweni).  The students' faces were so priceless, seriously.  They way they held the envelopes and letters so tenderly made it look like they were holding treasure.  In fact, many of the students call them “love letters.” 

After Enjabulweni I took Tenele and Ayanda on a long walk up to the local prison (remand center) where Cedric was staying.  Apparently, Cedric had been selling cell phones and one customer wouldn't pay him properly so Cedric took the phone back.  The customer called the police and they arrested Cedric for stealing.  Of course, that's the story I got from Tenele's angle, so I don't really know the full story.  Anyway, we went to visit him and brought baby Lucia, his daughter, with.  When she looked at him and heard his voice, she lit up with her gorgeous toothy grin.  After a little while she kept crying and Cedric tenderly said, “Lucia, don't cry.  Daddy's coming.  Don't cry.”  Upon hearing his voice again, she calmed down a little.  Clearly, she recognizes and loves her daddy and he cares for her, too.  He has made the trip out once to visit Tenele's homestead where she stays with her real mother and sisters.  It's great that Cedric is making the effort to stay connected and involved in his daughter's life.  I know being in prison doesn't give a very good picture of Cedric, but I really believe he is also starting to become a changed man.  Tenele snuck in to see Cedric with me, because she actually can't see him without an ID; but the policeman inside the cell building was kind and let Tenele stay with us.  

We said our goodbyes and Cedric gave his appreciation and we started the walk back into town.  I was exhausted at this point but excited to cook a feast!  Christina and I were about to embark on a journey we had never taken before: cooking a turkey!  We bought a beast of a turkey at the grocery store to feed the ten plus people for dinner that night.  It was a wonderful three hours of cooking; yes, wonderful!  Ayanda also helped us in the kitchen, as we created the feast of turkey, cheesy mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, corn, and puppy chow!  The greatest reward was sitting at the long table with all of our guests (including Betty, Mzie, Ryan, Majabani, a few others, and of course Tenele, Ayanda, and baby Lucia!) and hearing their surprised complements of how wonderful the food tasted.  I was shocked myself at how delicious the turkey tasted!

As I sat at that table I couldn't help but laugh with amazement at God's goodness of those surrounding me, especially 1) Christina and 2) my kids. 

1)                  Christina amazes me; her utter devotion to God and her spirit of abandonment in following him to Swazi, sacrificing more than I could begin to write, is overwhelmingly inspiring.  She is adored by her housemates, her coworkers, the MYC boys, our kids, her family, and of course me!  What a blessing to be able to be in Swaziland to celebrate a day of thanks for her, to give her a taste of home, and support her in all the incredible work she is doing!  Y'all should follow her year in Swazi at: www.christinahealingheart.blogspot.com.

2)                  The time I've had with my kids so far feels like I never left them.  Though Lucia was afraid of me initially, she finally warmed up to me.  When she cries, I pick her up and sing her our song (Siyahamba “We are walking in the light of God”) and she literally stops crying every time.  It's crazy!  Even today, she was getting really fussy, so I simply put her on my hip and hummed around the kitchen as we cooked the turkey and other food.  She was seemingly at home on my hip. :)

It amazes me that God has put these special young ones in my life, not for me to change their lives but for them to change mine.  I have learned so much about myself through them.  They cry and hurt when I am gone, but they don't know that I can't live without them.  The longer I stay away from them, the more the breath inside of me slowly drains.  The way that God has renewed Tenele is still like a dream to me; I see a miracle every time I look at her and the way she tenderly cares for her baby girl.  They are wise and they make me a better person; they challenge me and they read me like a book.  Ayanda simply reads my facial expressions and knows exactly what I'm thinking; it's almost too spot on!  In the car ride the other day, Johannes, Ayanda, Christina, and I were talking about trust in relations to specific experiences in our lives.  I told them I wouldn't be able to be in a relationship if I didn't trust the person, and to make a long story short and keep the conversation confidential, basically Ayanda blurted out, “Mary-Kate, you are in a dilema.” “What?” I said surprised.  “Someone broke your trust and you're putting up a wall; you say you don't trust this person, but you trusted _____ with *this.  You can't go with your mind even if your heart is hurt.”   Johannes proceeded to claim Ayanda as the winner of what turned into an argument about whether or not you could/should be in a relationship with someone you can't trust.  Needless to say, I learn something from them every day, and I could not have asked the Lord for a bigger blessing than these sweet ones he has given me!

With a thankful heart!