City Girl Turned Swazi: My Safe Haven

I love how I can be thousands of miles away from where I grew up and still find a group of people who I connect with; I am talking about my church family. I’ll be honest for the past few years I’ve been less than satisfied with the church. I’ve never stepped away from God, but I had been pretty hurt by His children. I was tired of all the bureaucracy and superficial people I saw there. Despite having been raised in the church, I didn’t feel welcome. Over time I didn’t care if I slept in or had to work on Sundays, going to church wasn’t on my list of priorities. As a result my spiritual life did suffer. I’m not blaming anyone or any institution for my docile behavior, it was my own decision to step away and I own that.

When I moved to a country where I really had to make an effort to follow Christ, I dropped the ball….. more than a few times. Again, I was still seeing the same lack of authenticity that I did in the states; therefore, I was still in this selfish mindset where church wasn’t on my “to-do” list. But you know, the good thing about God is that He never lets go of His children. I can’t recall one time where I didn’t feel the Holy Spirit’s pull in my life (just one of the many reason that prove this is real). So about five months into my PC service, I started to attend Simunye Christian Fellowship. I was skeptical at first to visit, SCF is typically known as the “white church” so I didn’t want to go there on that precedent. To my benefit the church was actually really great! I immediately felt at home. Six months later I became a member of the church and started getting more involved.

The thing I love about my church is how honest it is. It may not be the hippest or have catchy sermon themes, but the gospel is preached there. In a world today where churches preach watered down Christianity or the complete opposite and try to scare you into following God, my church continues to emphasize that we must live what we believe. We don’t claim to have “favor” just because you’re a Christian, we also don’t say that God will bless you just for showing up to church. We believe that true Christianity you must walk with Christ DAILY, and that your relationship with Him is serious and not to be taken lightly. This was an important factor to me because when I was living a life where I wasn’t taking my relationship seriously, no one forced me to live right, but it was through my pastor’s continual guidance that encouraged me to read my Bible, and to make sure I was not altering the Gospel to fit my life. It was through that, which made me change my lifestyle by my own decision. It was genuine.

One of the greatest aspects about my church is how much it cares. We are involved not only in our community, but also surrounding communities. We also have great children’s ministry were we are devoted to the cultivating their spiritual wellbeing. Currently I am teaching Sunday School for the grade 5-7 classes, and I am also the chairman of the fundraising committee for the children’s church camp. Last month I also helped out with our Sunday School fun day where we had lots of activities for the kids. The church also recognizes the importance of women’s ministry. In just a couple months we will have a women’s retreat where we will go to South Africa for the weekend. Last year we even had a group of missionaries lead a “Women’s Day” for us, and we have a program called Secret Sisters where we pray for each other all year. In addition to the women’s and children’s ministry, we dedicate a lot of time to prayer and Bible study. Throughout the week, we have two prayer meetings and a Wednesday night Bible study. Currently we are studying basic theology; it is a much needed study, because theology really isn’t taught in Swaziland. There are numerous churches here, but the training isn’t there. Coming here with a degree in theology, I love seeing my brothers and sisters grow each week!

One thing is for sure, I will definitely miss these people when I leave. My time at the church is always the highlight of my week. I will always be thankful for the influence they had in my life and being an amazing support system.