I figured I should update
since I haven't in quite some time. I have been avoiding it, I must admit. I
feel as if I haven't had a specific event or motivation for writing, but I'll
write nonetheless.

At this point in time, I am
currently still working as an instructor for the Cherish program. We have been
traveling to local (and not so local) schools and having small group meetings
with high school girls. Most of the girls are doing Form 4 or Form 5 (which is
equivalent to Grade 11 and Grade 12). A lot of them are much older than I
expected, some reaching ages of 21 and 22. The reason for occurrences such as
this is simply a lack of money to pay school fees. In Swaziland, graduating
high school is a privilege, not a right. School fees per year range anywhere
from about 40 USD to about 600 USD (the higher the grade, the more expensive).
Needless to say, most of the families have a really hard time coming up with
the money, and many students skip whole years of school because of a lack of
funds. I haven't met one Swazi who hasn't brought up their need for school
fees. It breaks my heart.

The Cherish program has been,
I must say, a bit of a challenge, which is nothing short of what should be
expected. We are still getting to know the three Swazi girls that we are
working with and the language barrier has been an issue here and there. On top
of that, going into schools and requesting an hour out of their school day is
near impossible. Through God's grace, we have been given the time in five
schools around the area and beyond. The problem here is that a lot of the girls
don't end up showing up since there is no motivation such as final exams or
credit for the study. So far, it has been a struggle to have all the girls
attend, but I can see God's faithfulness in what's happening each time we go
back. The girls, though they sometimes appear complacent, seem eager to know
what we have to share. They are all so beautiful, too! It's unbelievably hard
to learn their names, though. I am meeting with about 50 girls and that in
itself is a challenge, but add on top of that the fact that each name has a
foreign click or sound that my tongue doesn't easily manoeuvre through. I must
appear so foolish to them!

Some random, and rather
comical things about Swaziland:

-Being white is so last year!
Haha, I'm serious. I see maybe one or two white people on an average day. No
only that, we are constantly gawked at EVERYWHERE we go. I have been proposed
to at least once, and we are constantly summoned while in groups by Swazi men
who simply yell "Oh, I want one of you, I have many cows at home!!" Needless to
say, being a minority is a very new and awkward feeling. I've got a whole new
perspective.

-Women in Africa really do
carry many a number of things on their heads. I am constantly in awe of this
talent, and I must say a bit envious of their ability to maintain perfect
posture while walking down the street with tubs full of who-knows-what
perfectly balanced atop their heads. Maybe someday I'll acquire the ability,
but for now, I'll just keep wondering how it's possible.

-There are cows EVERYWHERE.
Most Swazis refuse to drive at night because of the constant danger of hitting
cows on the road. When traveling to schools, we have to stop an average of
about two times per trip to wait for cows to leisurely cross the road. (Goats
are a common threat as well!)

-Sitting "criss-cross-applesauce"
is a firm NO NO, along with using your left hand for anything.  Wearing shorts in public is unheard of, and
most women wear skirts, especially in rural areas (pants are common in the
cities, but always below the knee).

Some not so random, serious
facts about Swaziland:

Life expectancy is 32 years
old.  America's is 78.

HIV/AIDS prevalence is 44%.
America's is .6%

Swaziland is expected to be
non-existent by the year 2050 if AIDS continues to go unchecked. (Yes, that's
right, 41 years from now, it is a possibility that Swaziland will be wiped off
the face of the earth.)

50% of children are expected
to be HIV positive by the age of 15 years old. (If my memory serves me correctly)

In a recent newspaper
published in Swaziland, it was said that of the population of Swaziland
(approximately 900,000), 300,000 Swazis have not even been tested for HIV/AIDS.
This makes the statistics hopelessly inaccurate.

"But our citizenship is in
heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will
transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that
enables him even to subject all things
to himself." Philippians 3:20-21

Even in the face of AIDS, in
the face of starvation, in the face of unfaithfulness, in the face of greed, of
pride, of hatred, of our differences, of everything in this world that
separates us from him, He has the power
to subject all things to himself.

There is hope.