Money Matters 3 Weekend

Friday afternoon, I went with Peter and Mary Jean to Emafini Christian Conference Center near Mbabane. Saturday was the Money Matters 3 seminar so we headed up early to be ready and to get food for breaks. We went to dinner that night at the restaurant at the conference center. The chef has no formal training. He began reading cookbooks and cooking. Since then, he reads something new each day and is always improving himself. He has no formal training but has already won a large competition against classically trained chefs. The dinner was very good. It was expensive by Swazi standards but was much less expensive than if you had the same experience in the US. I ordered the lamb since I rarely pass up a chance to eat it. This fell off the bone and was so good! The conversation made it even better. A couple that are close friends of the Kopps and now live in Mozambique joined us for the weekend. It is always great to spend time with believers and share stories, no matter what continent you are on!

Late Friday night we were joined by 3 young adults from Mozambique that were coming to the seminar and then helping lead worship at Mbabane Chapel on Sunday. One of them was my roommate so we got to know each other very quickly before going to sleep. They had been on the road for about 5 hours. Friday nights are always dangerous and busy on the roads but it is even worse on the last Friday of the month since everyone has gotten paid.

Saturday morning was breakfast with all 5 of my new friends from Mozambique and then the Money Matters 3 class. I joined a table that included some workers from the farm. Their first comment: “You look like you are trying to find some familiar faces. You’re welcome here.” It was a great start to the day. I think my morning of shoveling manure with some of the guys will continue to pay dividends since I am not seen as “that white guy that showed up to tell us what to do” and instead I am counted as a friend. God is good like that!

For lunch I sat with two Swazi men I didn’t know from my table and also a teacher, originally from the former Congo, I had met in passing with Peter in Mbabane one of my first days here. We talked about the basic money thoughts from the seminar and then I asked them what I can do to help in Swaziland. I explained it is important to me that anything I do be about empowering Swazis to help other Swazis. We ended up having a great discussion about the mindset and culture of Swazis and how it needed a HUGE paradigm change. We talked about the deep rooted spiritual issues that needed to be addressed but also the basic budget knowledge most of the people needed. There is a consistent lack of self responsibility and years of aid have increased dependency on others. Just like at home, rarely does throwing money at a problem actually solve it!

The seminar covered many topics and was the continuation of the regular Money Matters class. It covered: changing from a consumer to an investor mentality, understanding making money isn’t the same as making a profit, simple agriculture ideas and also discussion of where to put money that you accumulate. The guy that talked about profit and understanding money also talked about self-help groups. This has become a large part of his work and he is working to spending all his time pouring into them. It is when 10-20 people come together to save together and then loan to each other to better their lives. It isn’t for consumables but instead things that can create income for the members. They help each other with ideas but they also hold each other to a higher standard of living. Spousal abuse is a problem in the culture and it is one of the things the groups help address in each other’s lives. This is just one example of the good things they are doing other than money.

Saturday night was another good meal and then time with the folks from Mozambique. We stayed in the restaurant area so long one of the staff people brought a key to lounge area and asked us if we’d be willing to move there. No one even knew it existed and, once we found it, we wondered why we hadn’t headed there sooner. I learned more about Mozambique and was encouraged about the great things God is doing there.
Sunday morning was church at Mbabane Chapel. It was fun to see familiar faces and be recognized and welcomed again. The sermon was about waiting patiently on the Lord and living fully into the moment as you wait. Hmmmm, sounds familiar. After church, I went with the Kopps and my new friends from Mozambique to the grocery store. The normal Sunday routine here: church, grocery store, lunch then head back to the farm. As we walked into the Pick and Pay at The Mall, I saw one of the girls that I went with last week to meet the sewing women. Just as I was thinking it was cool to actually see a person I knew, I ran into the rest of the group from last week. They were buying some supplies for their trip to South Africa for their final debrief time. Four of them had been in the program for almost a complete year and one had joined for the final 3 or 4 months. We talked briefly about the struggles to wrap up a year of so many opportunities before heading back to their homes in Zambia, Mozambique, Canada and the US. It was good to see the smiles on their faces and confidence in their voices that God had done and was continuing to do an awesome work in and through each of them.

We headed out to a cool outdoor restaurant after the store and before the other folks began their long drive home. It was actually a place I had visited with the team in 2007. They have shops which include Gone Rural and it has a performance area called House of Fire. Over lunch we continued our discussion on the cultures of Swaziland and Mozambique and how we can help change things for good. It is always amazing to hear stories about corruption and spending in places that have so little. There are constant reminders we are living a fallen world but it is still shocking each time I hear them. An example: in Swazi tradition, a woman must prove she is able to become pregnant before she is acceptable as a wife. You can begin to see how this will begin to play out. The king has many wives and more prospective ones so the example comes from the top. It really is no wonder that HIV has become an epidemic. I heard the story of a Christian girl younger than myself that was engaged to another Christian man. HER parents are not believers and would not bless a wedding until she had done her duties as a Swazi woman and gotten pregnant. I have trouble even imagining this!

We did talk about some good things too. Next time I come to Africa, I will need to make a trip to Mozambique after hearing the stories about seafood. The market is right next to the sea. You find a shop to cook your food, walk with the cook to the dock to buy your seafood straight off the boat, tell them how you want it cooked and then return to eat your food when it is done. Doesn’t that sound pretty awesome?
On the drive home, we stopped at MT’s homestead to see him. He was at the seminar Saturday and drove folks home that night. He was tired when he got home but wanted to read over the material and think of things to discuss with his wife when she got home. He doesn’t have power so that means a candle. He fell asleep and awoke to smoke and his pillow & blanket on fire along with part of the bed. He jumped up and got a bucket of water (thankfully before he opened a window) and was able to put the fire out before it spread. He was blessed to not be burned or lose more things. I am hoping he doesn’t try to reuse the mattress since it was charred pretty well but his options are limited. The extra sad part: his money from pay day on Friday was under his pillow and burned up completely. MT is such a great, humble guy and treats New Life Homes like it is his family. His attitude is that sometimes bad things happen but you can’t get down. He was complaining about his lungs being sore and I think the only thing to do is keep in the fresh air as much as possible so I told him so. I am still concerned about keeping the burned items in his little house. I was praying last night and I’m thinking about seeing if I can help toward a new mattress to replace the old one. What do you think? Does anyone want to help me with it? It isn’t a handout but instead stepping in for a brother in a tough spot.

Tonight I'm listening to the frogs by candlelight since the power went out again.