Protection

I'd been here 8 months and hadn't been called to fast.
Even when lots of others were, it just wasn't there.
that was strange for me, since I use to fast often. (maybe that's why I've put on a few kilos.)
So Monday I woke up and heard it.
Fast
Okay. Don't know why, but okay.
Ben met me at the door of the office later
"Ah...Christy there is kinda an issue in Manzini. I guess the Kumbi drivers are striking along with the textile workers. They are rioting. We might need to reconsider the teacher's meeting. But call Daren, he's in Manzini. Let's here what he thinks..."
"I'd stay out of downtown if I was you. And avoid the intersection at RFM. But I don't know how you'll get Zakhele and Ngwane Park carepoints then. Don't have the drivers use the kumbis. They seem to be attacking just kumbis." Darren advised me. But it's your call."
"Darran, if I was Teresea, (his wife)what would you advise her to do?"
"Oh, I've already told her not to come this way."
Enough said.
Meeting Canceled.
IT's not worth having lots of staff, missionaries, and teachers going here and there in Manzini, even in cars. The less we had in Manzini the better chances we had to keep every one safe and happy. While the problem was still in the center of town, I had no idea if it would shift or trouble would break out in other places.
I called a family who I knew had driven their kumbi into manzini, to give them a head up.
"We'll just come back the same way we came,- via the bypass. We had no trouble that way." Randy said
I headed down that way myself with a few others to attend a meeting in the outskirts of Manzini. We then took the bypass to a second carepoint, and back to Mbabane.
While we saw nothing more than a mob in the far distance, and lots and lots of stranded people waiting for rides that would never come, I had an awareness of an underlying spiritual icky-ness (is that a term?).
I was so grateful I was fasting.
The whole day went without incident.
Then yesterday I spoke with a friend, the kumbi family. But had had some scary moments in the mix of all of this. The family encountered an angry mob on the bypass on the way home, about the same time we were traveling to and fro.
I have no idea how we missed it.
No, I do know. And I'm thankful for all of our protection.