25-28/06/11: The Cabrini Ministries, Swaziland

So my father had an old friend he lost touch with and only recently rediscovered had become a nun who, quite serendipitously, runs a mission in Swaziland, relatively close to where Scooter is posted in Mozambique. My dad and sister have visited the mission once before, but it was my first time.
Like the Laura Vicuña mission where Scooter lives, the Cabrini Ministries mission is also a school and orphanage and so, while we were there, we went to work, painting a dorm they’re renovating. When we had done all we could in the dorm, we painted “The Wall”. “The Wall” is a 6’x40’ nightmare sprung into reality while the sisters were away from the mission. Due to corrupt contracting, the request for a building foundation turned into “The Wall” which siphoned off $4k to build – a ridiculous price anywhere, but straight up unthinkable in a place like this where that amount of money could move mountains. It’s also one of the shittiest walls ever – we had to paint in completely with brushes because it was too rough to paint with rollers, not to mention chunks of concrete would come off if we painted too hard. I guess all you can do in an awful situation like this is learn from it, laugh it off, and make the most of it; at least now it looks kinda pretty painted, though I doubt it’ll last too many of the wind storms they have here.
After a full day’s work, we would have dinner with the sisters at 5:30 before their evening prayer sessions. The food was good and the conversation was engaging, ranging from the corruption in countries like Swaziland or Mozambique to the corruption and hypocrisy of the Catholic hierarchy. It was refreshing to be around people who are fully aware of the problems within the church and yet so devoted to the faith and living in what I believe is its truest form: devoted service to those who need it most.
Sunday, we took a break from work and attended mass in the morning. The church is the most noticeable building when you’re coming to the mission, being a large, sky blue dome in the middle of the barren landscape. However, the most remarkable thing about this church was the acoustics: breathtaking. It was like every person was miked, and when the children started singing, the harmonies just enveloped you.