You all saw this one coming. I realize that this blog is two months late, so hopefully you can still appreciate it. I really wanted to share some pictures and video footage of my time in Swaziland with you! I didn't do a picture slideshow from this trip and I didn't get to go out with many people and share about my time, so this may be the first time some of you see the pictures, or atleast get an explanation to what the pictures mean. Enjoy!!! And I am still interested in sharing about both trips to Africa with anyone who wants to listen!

*Sorry if this isn't the most visually appealing blog. I had some major problems getting all the pictures up in the right way...and after several hours, it still isn't right. I hope you can still enjoy it!*

We started off our journey to Swaziland with a day spent in the Atlanta Airport. It was a REALLY long time, so the kids invented their own game: Using my eye mask to blindfold someone, and have them hold onto a sweatshirt and be guided around the atrium. Super fun!

This is a lovely group shot of the Swaziland Ambassador team in the Atlanta Airport, that we totally rocked and took over with the Kenya team! Notice the girl (Hannah P) sleeping on the chair...this has to be my favorite part of the picture!

This is the first glimpse we saw of Africa after being on the plane for between 12-14 hours. We were super excited to see it, and also super excited because this meant there was hope for us to get off that plane! The land that is pictured is actually the TALLEST sand dunes in the world. Cool, huh?

The picture on the right is the hut all the ladies slept in while we were in Swaziland. It wasn't actually that bad...minus the mice. Toward the end of our time living there I found out my bed was the rat highway between our hut and the roof. Oh, joy :) And the picture on the left is a far-off shot of our homestead. Isn't it beautiful? We were in the middle of the mountains!

You all expected these pictures! The picture on the left is a street view of our squatties. They weren't the best constructed squatties, but weren't too bad. They made it impossible to not pee on yourself, and they didn't have doors and they were facing the road that everyone walked on. And the picture on the right I like to call "The Squattie Throne." This squattie was a dream come true! You just hop up on that bad boy and it is so easy to stay balanced on it. And it doesn't smell bad either! The only downfall is that there are two squatties sharing a wall, so you can totally see someone else going if you are both there at the same time. But, I think it's worth it! (Stay tuned for a related video at the bottom of this blog!)

The group picture is from a group of us got up REALLY early in the morning while it was still dark and hiked up a local mountain to see the sunrise. We were up there for a long time because the sun had a longer way to rise to be seen over the mountains. Even though I had toilet paper stuck up my nose because I was sick and I was totally attacked by prickers, I think it was worth it to see the sunrise and go up there with some of my beloveds! And the picture on the right is super random, but I like it because it shows a really long street name in Manzini. That has to be a hundred letters right there.

All four of these pictures were taken at the Timbutini care point, the care point we walked to most days. Picture #1 and #3 are of the same baby boy. Whenever I was at this care point his older sister would give him to me. And he would be asleep within five minutes and would be asleep for over an hour in my arms. This was my favorite part of the day. Picture #2 is of Sibusiso (his name means blessing in Siswati), my heart in human form. He was at the care point everyday we were there, from morning to afternoon. We had this connection from day #1, or maybe he just liked me because I swung him upside down when we first met. Either way, we spent everyday together and he would run to me and jump into my arms. It was so sweet getting to spend time with him everyday. There is so much that I would like to say about him, but that is for another blog. Picture #4 is of Tabani. I wrote about him in my blog "What Love Can Do" (hyperlinks are still not working for me. You can find this blog on the left side of my page. It's a good one, check it out!).  He used to be mute, and after my team was done with him, He was speaking again. Yay, Jesus!