Now That I Have Seen: So much despair, yet so much beauty

One of the things we discussed while we were in Swazi was how much the country reminded us of death and despair, yet how incredibly beautiful God made it. When I first got back to America, I was taken aback by how green it was. I didn't really fully realize it in Swazi, but everything is brown. There's dust everywhere. There's no grass, and the little grass that was there is was brown. There are thorn bushes everywhere and so many thorns on the ground (trust me, my feet know all too well about those darn thorns). There were these trees/bushes that we called death bushes. They were intense. The thorns on them were at least 4 inches long. But everything was death and despair, yet it was so incredibly beautiful. Sometimes we just had to stop and look in awe at what God has made. And the stars there. They were unlike anything I've ever seen. I wish we could have captured it so we could share it with you guys, but that's kind of the beauty of it too. It just can't be captured because it's so incredible.
The landscape of Swazi is so much like the people there. So much despair, yet so much beauty. We saw sickness. We saw helplessness. These people have nothing. They wear the same clothes day in and day out simply because they can't afford more clothes. There are children running around naked just because there is no money for any kind of clothing. People sleep in freezing cold weather, with intense winds just because they don't have money to fix the gaping holes in the sides of their houses. We met one lady on a home visit that can barely walk because of some kind of illness, so all she can do is lay on the concrete floor inside her hut. There were no mattresses, no mats, just concrete. And the house was falling apart. I can't even describe it. I said there were gaping holes, but imagine ten times worse than that. And the night before was one of the coldest nights we had, probably below freezing. And the wind was insane; we could hear the roof of the center blowing and shaking because it was so windy. We got to sleep in nice, warm sleeping bags while this woman and her children possibly had a cover, if that. She slept on the cold, concrete floor. And I can't even imagine when it rains. Like I said, despair, poverty, brokenness, sickness, death. And even with all these things these people are fighting against, they find so much joy in life and so much joy in the Lord. So much despair, yet so much beauty. Their faith was incredible. Inspiring. These people have nothing and need so much, and they have so much faith that their Father will provide. We went there to try and be a blessing to them, but we left with them being such a bigger blessing to us than we could ever dream of being. The things they were thankful for was incredible. If you were to ask someone here what they were most thankful for, they'd say their house, their car, their iPhone, you name it. We asked the Swazis so many times what they were thankful for, and nine times out of ten they were thankful for their lives. They were grateful just to still be living. I don't know about you, but I don't really think about being thankful for my life. I don't know if it's because we don't see as much death as they do, but I definitely take my life for granted. They see death and sickness every single day so they don't take their lives for granted like we do. They know it's a huge possibility that they might not be alive the next day or that they may lose a child the next day to AIDS, or TB, you name it. And with all this, they still find joy out of life. They find joy in the little things. There was a boy at our carepoint who loved playing with a tire. He'd play with it for hours. Can you picture an American kid finding joy and contentment out of playing with a tire? All the toys they had were broken. They loved playing with this broken bicycle around the center that would most likely be in a dumpster here. It didn't have a seat. Either one or both of the pedals were missing. It only had one tire. Yet they played with it and they loved it. They find joy in so many little things that we pass off as garbage. They find such joy in life that we take for granted everyday. These people are incredibly beautiful. Their hearts are unbelievable. Their faith is incredible. So much despair, yet so much beauty.

Despair. Hopelessness. Poverty. Brokenness.