Bible Study at Ngowane

"You are the SALT of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the LIGHT of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before all men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." -Matt 5:13-16


May 24, 2012: Today, Steve, Gogo Shandu, and I traveled to the ends of the earth. For those of you who have never been there, it is called Ngowane. I'm just kidding...it was only a 2 hour ride down a dirt road. Anyways, I had the opportunity to teach an adult Bible Study this afternoon that meets at a primary school in Ngowane. There were probably about 20-25 people there.  I taught on Matthew 5 and conveniently (yet completely unintentionally) wore my "Light of the World" t-shirt that Brinkley and I sold as a fundraiser several years ago. Awesome.

After I finished teaching, I got to witness one of my favorite things that happens in Swaziland. Many of you have heard about this or seen it before, but at the end of Bible Study, everyone who was there brought an offering up to the front. Now in my limited American mindset, this automatically means everyone there brought up coins or paper money. No. Everyone brought up an offering. Think about the widow who gave whatever she had. Think about the church that we read about in Acts 2. Everyone brought up something that they had that would help someone else. On the table there were items like tea bags, avocados, lemons, outgrown clothing, herbs and spices, and the list could continue. (I have included a picture below.) The group then sang a worship song and circled the table, each taking what they needed. If only all churches provided for each other the way these Swazi Bible Studies demonstrate. It's such an encouragement.

When Bible Study was over, we spent some time with the children and youth who were playing outside of the classroom where we had been meeting. I have included a few pictures of that as well. You will see a little girl in one of Lacie Allen's old dresses, another young Swazi girl, a picture of several ladies from the Bible Study with their umbrella to block the sun, and another picture of some school children.

Tomorrow morning I hope to spend some time with Gogo working on my HIV Research and making a plan for what that will look like with our ministry schedules. The afternoon Bible Study will be at Peace so we don't have to travel as far as we did today. We're going to be learning about Jonah. :)  I hope you enjoy the pictures! Time for bed in Swaziland. Lala kahle.

Until the whole world hears,
Hunter