Monday, October 27 - from the Lydia's

By Lydia Brown and Lydia Kelsey

Thondo, our driver and guide, surprised us all this morning coming to pick us up wearing an Iowa Football t-shirt, given to him by a previous Swazi companion. Today we split into two groups, one group headed to the South, while the other half went back to St. Augustine's.

We were with the group headed back to St. Augustine's, as we were wanting to spend more time with the children. Our first stop was Ekukhanyeni where Archdeacon Josiah had asked us to do a chlorinator demonstration. Children were just finishing up their ABC's in the classroom when we arrived. The demonstration went well and we were invited for "tea" at an off site location.

We were taken to the location of the new church they hope to build for this community, which has been growing in size. We had a bit of a dilemma when offered a koolaid like cold drink made from water we knew could be unsafe to drink. The cornbread was delicious and we did our best to be polite while not consuming the liquid.

We then headed to Mpaka and visited St. Augustine's where the children were eating lunch. Elizabeth Ward took pictures of each child, so we would be able to bring back faces and names of children to Iowa.

Fr. Dent offered us a tour of his homestead, which utilized bricks made by the 2006 Swazi companions. We headed back to town for last minute errands and to prepare for the farewell dinner and reception.

The evening was lovely, with the final understanding being that this was not good-bye, but a pledge to continue our ministry as companion dioceses with Swaziland and Brechin. We were thanked countless times for everything we did.