Swaziland so far

My time in Swaziland has been eye opening. The beauty of this country is overshadowed by the enormous challenges that face the Swazi people. HIV/AIDS has decimated lives and is slowly killing a generation of people. It is a strange feeling to walk the streets of Manzini and to be older than most of those whom you walk by. My parent's generation is all but gone here in Swaziland. The pain and loss is evident everywhere you go, yet for some there is still a sense of hope.

Yesterday we went to the Nazarene Hospital. It is a private hospital and you have to pay to receive services there. To say that the resources were limited was an understatement. Rudimentary tools were being used as make shift traction. Beds were reclined by propping up the ends on stools. Drugs were not readily available, and children were dying.

There was a beautiful little girl who was three (almost four years old) who was in the hospital. She came in for a broken arm, but it was determined that she had TB as well. She had just arrived a few hours before we had and was laying in her bed waiting for treatment. Her mother told me that she had not had any pain killers and it was evident that she was suffering. My heart broke. I felt helpless as a I watched this little girl, Gracie's age, lie their in horrific pain and with every cough from her TB the jolts to her arm sent waves of pain through her tiny body. I cringed every time she coughed and all I could do was think of my little girl and how helpless I would feel if that was her lying in the bed.

We visited many other children but one will child in particular will stay engrained in our memories for every.

There was a thirteen year old boy who was at the hospital with a woman who appeared to be his grandmother. She asked if we could come and pray for him. We quickly realized her grandson had TB and full blown AIDS, he was severely malnourished and had open sores all over his body. One of the nurses on our team said that she believes based on the signs that he was showing that he may only have 1-2 weeks left. This was a terribly painful and difficult experience to cry with a grandmother who loves her grandson and is losing hope in a helpless situation.

For me, I have always struggled with hospital visits...I think it's human nature to want to protect ourselves from situations like these. I had a realization though today. We need to live in this tension. This is reality and is the reality that most of the world lives with daily.

-greg