And so it begins….

And so it begins…. 

It is great to be able to update our blog.  In case you didn’t know internet access
here in Swaziland is nothing like in the States.  It is safe to say that you are one of the privileged few if
you have access at your homestead. 
Most of the Swazis and ex-pats will go to an internet café where you
have to pay by the hour to have access. 
Luckily we have one within walking distance of our apartment so we can
get by there often to check our email, update our facebook status and check up
on the news (especially my Auburn Tigers).  The only challenge is that it is usually very crowded so
finding a place to sit can be difficult. 
We are still very thankful to have the limited access we do have and
hope we can get access to skype very soon. 

Moving to a third world country does have its limitations,
but overall it has been a tremendous blessing for our family and the girls are
adjusting very well.  Our current
accommodations are very nice although we do not know how long we will be able
to stay here.  The one thing we do
not miss is the television!  You
would be amazed at how much time you can spend together if there are not the day-to-day
distractions most of the western world is used to.  Now I must confess that it felt strange not watching the
Auburn game this past weekend (I have not missed a game in over 10 years) and
not finding out until Monday who actually won the game.  Again, just removing another
distraction in our lives is not so bad at all.  

We have made our first couple of trips to the grocery store
and the food here is certainly different, but there are still enough similar
things that we are able to keep the girls fed and satisfied.  Now the girls would love them some
Chick-fil-A or Zaxbys, but KFC will have to do.  We made one mistake by going on our first shopping trip the
last weekend of the month.  We were
unaware that it was payday for just about everyone who works in Swaziland
(unfortunately that is only about 10% of the population), but still I think
every person who got paid was out shopping so it was very crowded.  It was still a good experience being
out in the community and seeing how Swazis live life, so to speak.

We are transitioning slowly into our ministry work, but we
have been able to get out and visit a couple of carepoints over the past week.  We went and visited the Bheveni
carepoint and had “Big Fun Day” with a team that is here from the States.  We also visited the Timbutini carepoint
and helped with an art project for the kids.  There is really only one word that can explain how Madeline
and Emma reacted to meeting their new friends at the carepoint and that is
AMAZING.  They did not hesitate or
have any issues with just jumping right in and playing with and caring for the
Swazi kids. 

Madeline and Emma also got to experience their first church
service this past Sunday.  The
music was beautiful and the message Pastor Walter brought was very moving.  As most of you know (or have heard)
that worship in another country is not limited by time or anything else for
that matter.  So after about 3
hours the service ended and to our surprise the girls were not completely
exhausted, they did ask on several occasions why we were in church for 3 hours,
but they were troopers.

And so it begins our journey in Swaziland.  We are so thankful to the Lord for
calling us and providing our way here. 
We are so blessed to be surrounded by such loving and supportive
people.  Please continue to pray, specifically
for protection for our family, provision for a vehicle and more permanent
accommodations to be found.  So we anxiously
await all that He has in store for us while we are here and we pray that we focus
on being Kingdom minded in all that we do. 

In His Service, 

Mark, Allison, Madeline and Emma