A Tale Of Two Josephs

In Swaziland, the widows & orphans are the majority of the population, and get talked about the most. But God has brought me into contact with two men named Joseph that He is using here in Swaziland. The first is Ntombi’s father (read about her story here), whom I first met two years ago. He is a hard-working farmer who cares for his adult daughter with disabilities. He has built his homestead on the lower part of the mountain, overlooking miles of valleys. Baboons have stolen the corn out of his fields, but it is evident within a few minutes of being on their homestead that he is working hard to provide for his family. He has built silos for his corn, has several animals on the property, including donkeys, goats, chickens, and pigs. When I saw him again this fall (after two years since last seeing him), he recognized me & thanked us for coming again to check on his daughter.

The other Joseph has had an equally hard time in life, wishing he could change his circumstances. As we were driving to see him today, asking if this was his homestead, one of the ministry partners said, “he doesn’t have a homestead, just this house here.” We pulled up in front of a stick & mud hut with a corrugated metal roof. The huts are made of sticks, with mud on it to fill in the gaps. As we were talking, the door to the hut was open & I realized that I could see in the hut & right out the back because there were so many holes where the rain had washed the mud away. The hut, where this Joseph & his son live, was about 10 feet by 10 feet square. This man brought out 3 buckets for the men to sit on while we visited & a piece of metal leaning up against the hut caught my eye. Upon further inspection, this 5 foot piece of corrugated metal had been leaned up against the hut so that they could cook outside with wind protection. Joseph had been a single father for most of his son’s life, since his wife passed away. He had fled from Mozambique during the war, settling in Swaziland. He worked for a couple of companies until an accident at work left him with a debilitating head injury. Since then, he and his son have survived day to day trusting in the Lord’s provision.

These Josephs struck my heart, because like so many other Swazis, they are living faithfully day by day in the midst of hard circumstances. It reminds me of Joseph, in Genesis, who lived faithfully day by day as a servant, in prison, and in power in Egypt, trusting in God’s sovereignty over his circumstances. I don’t know if either Swaziland Joseph’s life will get any easier, but I can say with confidence (and I’m sure that they would agree), that though this world has brought many evils into their lives, “God meant it for good” and will bring His glory to shine even in the hardest of circumstances.