Comfort is my name

My siSwati name is Mduduzi.  This means "comfort."  Read on and you will learn how I came to receive this name.

The first time I went to Swaziland, back in 2007, our team did most of our work in a very small village called Madudula.  The Swazi pastor who had invited us to come had told our pastor to "bring a tent."  By this he meant a large circus tent that would fulfill the role of church, health clinic, meeting room for the kids' program, distribution center for the clothing donations that the team brought, and at night, storage facility for the team's supplies.  

Our first task when we arrived was rolling out the tent and setting it up.  No one really knew how to, but we had several people who sort of knew how, but what we lacked in knowledge we made up for in enthusiasm.  As we worked, a crowd gathered, and many of them joined in to help us.  (Click the picture for a larger image.  I am wearing a red shirt and a tan hat, third from the left, in the back)

At night, several members of our host church would sleep in the tent to make sure that all of our supplies were secure.  I became friends with two of them in particular, Sifiso (left, in the suit, interpreting a sermon for Pastor Van Moore) and Ntsikelelo.  I asked permission to stay for a night at the tent with my new friends.

Two days later, I arrived in Madudula ready -- so I thought -- to spend the night.  It was an exciting day, knowing that when the rest of the team left, I would be there all night getting to know my friends and learning about their culture.  I especially had in mind an opportunity to learn more of the language, siSwati.  

Around 9:30 pm, the Americans and South Africans boarded the bus to return to the camp retreat center where our team was staying.  Some of my teammates were envious when they realized I was staying, although they were happy for me at the same time.  As the bus rolled out, I was struck by how far from home I was.  I was in AFRICA, and not only that, I was (soon to be, as the bus headed away) the only American for kilometers!

The first thing we did was go to sleep.  That isn't what I was expecting, but it makes sense.  Once we turned off the generator, there was no light.  I talked briefly with my friend Ntsikelelo (left, interpreting at one of the meetings inside the tent), and then we went to sleep.

At least, I tried to sleep.  But I found I was not at all prepared for the cold.  I had two blankets and my coat.  Sleeping on the wooden platform inside the tent, I got cold very quickly.  Swaziland is a high-altitude country, so the atmosphere is thin.  Once the sun goes down, the heat radiates out very quickly.  By midnight I was shivering with cold.  I would not have been able to sleep at all had Ntsikelelo not noticed and offered to share his straw mat with me.  The insulation provided by the mat and having Ntsikelelo's back to mine helped me make it through the night.  But I was very glad for morning to arrive.  

The next morning we had a fire, and boiled water in an iron kettle to heat it up for a wash, and the sun came out, and I had a great opportunity to get to know my friends.  Later that day, Sifiso stopped me as we were working and said "you must have a siSwati name.  Your name is Mduduzi.  It means comfort."

I was honored to be given a siSwati name, but I wondered why he chose that name.  It was ironic to me to be named "comfort" after spending the most uncomfortable night of my life in Madudula.  But Sifiso told me "it is because you came and stayed with us and comforted us at the tent."  

So that is my siSwati name:  Mduduzi.  And that, of course, is why my blog is titled "Comfort for Swaziland."  Many Americans on the team were given a siSwati name that year and in the years that followed, but I was honored to be the first.