Saturday: Shopping, First Aid and Other Surprises.

Today, Saturday, we had a light schedule, so we decided to stimulate the economy of Swaziland. We went en mass to Elzuini Market. The market is perhaps ½ mile from end to end and is a series of low roofed tin huts all linked one to another. There all things imaginable there: jewelry, batiks, wood carvings, clothing, drums, fabric….. Our vans were full of all manner of things African and we were about to load up and head for our next stop when Chris decided to run into one last shop. In his effort to be quick, he failed to duck as he entered the shop and we sustained the first (and hopefully only) casualty of the trip.

I was relaxing in the van when a couple of the team members came to get me saying Chris had cut his head. I had prepared a first aid kit before we left the states, and luckily it was not in my bag that is still in parts unknown. I got the first aid supplies and checked him out, and yes, Babe Christopher had cracked his noggin pretty good. After we got the bleeding stopped and the cut washed out I could assess the damage. Luckily it looked like a clean cut and I was able to get it closed well using steri-strips. Fortunately Chris is up to date on his tetanus and I suggested he start some antibiotic just to be on the safe side. He was most concerned about the haircut I had to give him to get the steri-strips to stick.

Many of you may remember the story of our last trip when a little girl cut her foot while playing and I attended to her, much as I did Chris. After getting her all taken care of she crawled up into my lap for comfort and consoling. I have used that story and accompanying pictures in presentations of our previous trip. Not wanting to be outdone and sensing and opportunity to be in future presentations, Chris crawled up into my lap for a what I think was a photo op. Somehow it wasn’t the same. However, I just checked him out (it’s about 10:00 PM now) and I must say, my handy work looks pretty good.

Tomorrow will be our last full day in Swaziland. We start the long journey home on Monday. Just as it was 2 years ago, saying good-bye will be difficult. But tomorrow will be a big day full of activity. Church at Kukhany O Kusha is an experience like none other. The singing is magnificent and I look forward to hearing their amazing choir again. There will be a choir concert as a part of the service and our group will sing As well as Kukhany O Kusha’s choir and at least one other guest choir. I am so excited to be experiencing this. Music transcends all boundaries am I’m sure tomorrow will be a spirit filled day.

Just this afternoon, Babe Mkhonta, the pastor of Kukhany O Kusha and our constant companion for the past 12 days, called me aside.

“Babe Johnson, President Mhlanga, Babe Gideon and me have conferred and would like for you to deliver the message at church tomorrow. Plan to read some scripture and then preach for 20 or 30 minutes.”

A hard learned lesson is that when things like this happen in Swaziland and I am waiting for the punch line and everyone to laugh at the joke…. It don’t happen. I should have known Babe would not have joked about church anyway. Protocol is very revered here and being male and the oldest member of the group, it fell to me to speak at church, and in the spirit in which it was offered, and not to offend our hosts. I will do my best to rise to the occasion. But I can promise you it won’t be 30 minutes.

Janice Wilson, our team captain will also speak. Janice has a passion for these people and has been so dedicated in leading this and past teams. This very male dominated society I’m sure is very challenging for her and I admire her resilience, resolve and faithfulness.

And tomorrow we will claim our gift of goat. There will be a Braii (barbeque) after church in our honor. Along with goat, I’m sure pap will be on hand. It promises to be another interesting and full day.