We pulled off the two lane highway down the steep, weed-covered embankment on the side onto a muddy path. Two women opened the loose gate for us to drive through as several other women hovered by the outhouses on this cloudy morning. There are 8 people sitting on the muddy ground under the tree...the 4 women angled together to talk to the 4 men, respectfully not making eye contact. What looks like a casual Sunday afternoon picnic is actually a meeting of the inner council of this rural area of Swaziland.
As they finish their part of the meeting, we approach them (car floormats in hand to sit on in the mud) and begin our greetings, men first & then the women. I stumble through my Siswati greeting (I haven’t even been back on the ground for 24 hours!) and as the last man asks me a follow up question, I humbly shrug my shoulders as I can’t answer what he’s saying. We begin in prayer & introductions as we meet together as 2 organizations and several community members to discuss our partnership in building a neighborhood carepoint to feed the children of the area. One organization will provide the materials (we discuss whose homestead will be safest to keep these at), one organization will provide the payment for a skilled builder (we discuss where the building will actually be), and the community members will come to help build the building and in return they will receive food from yet another organization. Our discussion continues as to what each can bring to the partnership, as we sit humbly in the muddy field under a tree. The headman of the area says that they have no way to give back, but that he knows God will bless these organizations for their giving.
What began as several kids eating at a broken down building on the side of the road will soon turn into kids playing safely, food being stored without being stolen, because God chose to work through a partnership between this community, these 2 organizations, the organization giving food to workers, the American church who donated money towards this project, the European community who donated money towards this project, and the American college students who will be coming over to help build this carepoint (I will post pictures later of this project & its progress).
As we wrapped up our discussion, we touched on the fact that the surrounding community would see this collaboration & partnership & we prayed that God would be glorified in that. Yet we humbly acknowledged that there is an enemy who seeks to divide Christians, pitting them against one another. We closed in prayer with the men standing & the women sitting still, heads bowed. As I watched a man pick up his boot & another his hat (anything becomes a seat when it's muddy) & walk away, I prayed that God would show His glory in an undeniable way to this community through this building project. Will you join me in praying for unity as this building project moves forward in the days & weeks to come?
"I do not pray for these only, but also for those who will believe in me...that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me & loved them even as you loved me."
(John 17:20, 23)
