Hello dear readers. My darling wife has informed me that some of you have inquired about the lack of recent posts.
Unfortunately this year the convent where we stay has no wifi avaliable to us. I have spent what limited connectivity that was available to me in posting pictures to Facebook on behalf of the team. But not to worry! Comfort for Swaziland will yet chronicle this year's trip, albeit in time shifted form. I will post installments (with pictures) as soon as I get back to the states.0
Today we went to the village of Zindwendweni in southeastern Swaziland. It is one of the most remote regions in one of the most remote countries in the world. It took us about an hour and a half on the highway to get to the dirt road turnoff, and then another half hour on a narrow dirt road through "the bush" (I will add a picture when I have more reliable internet available) to get to the small school where we held a free clinic and told the story of Jesus forgiving and healing a paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) with the children in the school. The kids remembered us and our presentation from last year (the story of Zachaeus) and enjoyed the puppetry. Again, I will add pictures when I get a better connection.
Regarding the connection, I am tethered to my friend's cell phone and it is the only connection to the internet that we have so far. It makes this place seem even more remote that there is no reliable on-ramp to the information superhighway available.
We have arrived in Swaziland. After settling in and getting some (very much needed) sleep, we attended a wedding at the main Christian Ministries Church in Matsapha today.
A wedding is always a celebration, but an African wedding especially so! We sang and danced for nearly an hour before the wedding party entered. They entered with a coordinated dance to a cheering crowd. I cannot adequately explain the atmosphere but it was a celebration from start to finish.
Afterward we shared a meal and then visited with old friends and made new ones. Tomorrow our team will split into seven different smaller groups so that we can visit most (but not all) of the churches in the CMC network.
I will be preaching at a service in the capital of Swaziland, Mbabane. I would appreciate your prayers. My text will be Mark 2:1-12, in which Jesus forgives, and then heals, a paralyzed man.
My wife would have liked being this close to the restroom. My daughter switched seats with a young man from Angola to sit with me. Long flight ahead ...
Good morning! Our journey has begun. We are on out way to JFK airport where we will catch our flight to South Africa. Once in Johannesburg we will take a second bus into Swaziland.
