Rebel With A Cause

While most of the team has returned to the States and are settling into their daily routines, Heather, Hallie and I remain in Swaziland until Sunday. Hallie and I are in Manzini with Chris McLain while Heather remains in Bulembu with Lee-Ann, spending time with the girls at Jacaranda Homes.preschoolers at Lomngeletjane Methodist School

Chris took us to Lomngeletjane Methodist School today, not far from Manzini and yet a world away. Manzini is a bustling city while Lomngeletjane is rural and poor. I am struck by the incredible contrast. Chris has done much to bring a school this small community. There are 5 primary classrooms, an administrative office and toilets recently built. We also visited the preschool housed in a small, primative structure.
More than 25 children were in this little room built of corrugated tin siding and wood boards called offcuts. It was cold and not weather proof. Chris is overseeing the building of a teacher's house and has plans to expand the school to include secondary grade classrooms.
Tomorrow Chris will take us to a Methodist care point about an hour from here in the Lowveld. We will be taking sandwiches for the children's lunch and uniforms sewed by Thoko, Thini and Thembi of the Manyano of St.Paul's Methodist Church in Manzini.
Chris' passion for the work she is doing is so evident. She has deep compassion for the Swazi people and has a good understanding of the complexities of navigating the "system" here. She calls herself a rebel and she really is a Rebel with a Cause, with Micah 6:8 practiced in all she does. What does the Lord require of you: to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.
posted by Becky