the True Love Waits presentation.

One of our responsibilities and our platform for coming to Swaziland was to present the True Love Waits program. We were required to go into the schools and meet with the headmasters and set an appointment to share the program with the students. The AIDS rate in Swaziland is amongst some of the highest in the world. This is an epidemic that is sweeping this nation and killing thousands. Our hope is that teaching the students what God desires for their lives and the choices that He wants them to make will cause the rates to decrease. We explain to the headmasters that the program is an AIDS prevention based on the Bible. We teach abstinence instead of safe sex. We tell them that it is an interactive program that gets the students involved. We get the students involved during several sections of the program by “acting for the purpose of learning.” Usually at the primary schools (1^st-7^th grade) it was very easy to make an appointment. At the high schools (8^th- 12^th grade) it was a little more difficult to make an appointment because their schedule was so busy. But most of the time we were able to make an appointment at every school.  The actual presentation takes about 2 hours to present with a translator and we even modified it so that it could be understandable for the Swazis.

The first section is called “My Dream Family” and it talks about the families that they dream of having. We tell them that God has the same desires for them to have loving, healthy, happy, and secure families just as they do.  We tell them that we are going to tell them how they can reach these futures dreams by making wise decisions now. The second section is called “The Multiplication Factor” and it shows how when two people have sex they become one for a lifetime. They give apart of themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually to the other person. We get the students involved by “acting for the purpose of learning.” We use a simple demonstration of taking a sip of water and spitting it back into a cup to show how body fluids are mixed. This is a very visual learning aid for the students because they are so surprised that they could potentially are connecting themselves to hundreds of people by having multiple sex partners. We also tell them that there are not only physical but emotional consciences for sex, and that this type of sexual activity will not help reach their dreams. The third section is called “What are the Choices” and it is talking about how condoms are not 100% effective. We also confront some of the myths about how HIV is or isn’t spread. Some believe that if they have sex with someone who is healthy that they won’t get sick. But we show them that you can’t tell that someone is healthy just by looking at them. Someone could look great on the outside but they could be sick. The fourth section is called “Beautiful Water, Beautiful Sex.” By using Proverbs 5:15-18 we show the connections between water and sex. How water and sex both bring life, but everything that they have the power of bringing life to they also have the power to destroy. How a flood causes much damage and how when sex floods outside of a marriage how it also causes damage. Since 70-75% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, how it does not destroy us because God put it in boundaries. Just like God put water in boundaries, He also put sex in the boundary of marriage not to imprison us but to protect us because He loves us. The fifth section is called “What is True Love?” In this section we tell two different stories from the Bible to show what true love really looks like. We use the story of Amnon and Tamar from II Samuel 13:1-15 to show what true love is not and the story of Mary and Joseph in Matthew 1:18-25 to show what true love is. We show them what the ultimate picture of true love looks like through Jesus Christ. How God showed us what love really is by sending Jesus to die for our sins. And that even though Jesus was fully God, he was also human. Which means He grew up the same way we did, and His body went through the same physical changes that our does. And He never did anything wrong. He was perfect and yet He died for us. He died so that we can withstand the temptations we face every day. He gives us the strength to fight the temptations. And He gives the power to repent instead of just saying your sorry and we describe the difference. Then we talk about how God is the only who can heal a broken heart and who can forgive your sins. The last section is called “True Love Waits: Commitment Cards.” This is what the card says, “Believing that True Love Waits I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, my country, my friends, my future, and my future children to remain sexually pure until the day I get married.” We tell them that this is a serious commitment and not a joke. And that is a very possible commitment to keep but only with God’s help. We also tell them that isn’t just a call to sexually purity but to a lifestyle of purity. To remain pure in what you watch, you listen to, you say and in every aspect of your life. This presentation is a presentation that is engaging and informative. Not only are we teaching the students but the teachers as well and usually they get just as involved as the students. This presentation is calling students to a commitment and it is changing Swaziland for the better. 

a day in our lives.

Our days would start at 6 or 7 every morning and this was usually because the stupid chickens woke us up. So yes for those of you who know me, I was up before the sunrise! Be proud! Usually in the mornings we would go and make an appointment to present the True Love Waits program at a school or we would actually do the presentation. We had to rely on public transportation to get us to all the schools, which could be very annoying. We would have to sit around and wait on a kombi (van) to come and pick us up or wait on the kombi to fill up because the drivers refused to leave if it was not completely full. After the presentation we would go home and eat lunch. Then we had Bible study with the people in the community in the afternoon. Each of us would take turns preparing a message to present to the people. After Bible study the kids usually came and played at our house. We would have anywhere from 6-20 kids playing in our yard. And they love anything and everything you did with them. They liked songs, playing soccer, throwing Frisbee, jump rope, coloring and drawing, and dancing. They were so much fun to be around and by the end of the summer they were very comfortable with us. So we were able to hug and to just love on them! We would send the kids home once it got dark outside. Then it was dinner time! We usually had rice with vegetables mixed in, with chicken or beef. Some nights we had potato salad, beet root, or mash. Mash is like mashed potatoes but with vegetables. So we had squash mash or pumpkin mash. Some times we had thick porridge instead of rice. The best way I can describe thick porridge is it is the same consistency as grits. So I didn’t mind thick porridge. Thin porridge however is disgusting. It is like cream-of-wheat. Thankfully we only had to eat thin porridge on the first morning we were here, then they found out we didn’t like and they didn’t make it for us anymore. After dinner it was time for bed. We were in bed every night by 7 or 7:30. Some nights we even made it to 8 or 8:30! But literally once the sun goes down in the bush there is absolutely nothing to do and everyone just goes to bed. Plus by the end of the day we were so exhausted that we were ready to go to bed. If only I could go to bed this early every night while I was at school.

right? wrong? or just plain different?

This probably one of the most valuable lessons I have learned so far on this trip. When entering a completely new culture, the instant mindset is to compare our culture with the host culture. In this frame of mind the constant thought process that is used is that the way the people do something is right or wrong because it is not the way that they are used to. However, during orientation Deborah challenged us to think in a different way. Instead of seeing their way of life as wrong, see it as different. With mindset the way you view the host culture is brought into a whole new light. You can begin to see the differences and value the way they do things. And you can learn from them. You can begin to ask questions and start learning how and why they do things the way they do. You have to realize that the way they do things isn’t necessarily wrong, it’s just different. Just because someone does something differently than the way you do, doesn’t mean that it is wrong. This even happens within the culture, even within the States. Not everyone does everything the same. Not everyone has the same Christmas or Thanksgiving traditions and not everyone prepares food the same way as your momma did. It’s not that it’s wrong but that it’s just different. To determine if something is wrong or different, the Bible is the authority. You have to use the Bible to back up what you are calling wrong because it could be that it’s just different and there is nothing wrong with it. Looking at the culture from this point of view is so crucial when interacting with the people. It creates a whole new level of respect for the culture and it also helps you to be on guard with what you say. Instead of criticizing their culture and calling it “stupid” or “dumb” and completely destroying the relationship with the people, you can say “Well that’s different” or “That’s new” or “Woah! I’ve never seen that before!” or “I’ve never thought about doing it that way.” You never realize the damage that your expressions can do on a relationship. When you act like it is wrong and completely unacceptable, why would someone want to interact with you? Instead of being critical of their way of life, you accept it for what it is…different. And it can actually flourish the relationship because the people will see that you are accepting to their way of life and are willing to learn and be around them. It is showing them Christ. Christ is accepting. Christ is understanding. And He accepts people just as they are and appreciates all of our differences. I mean after all, He created us that way.