One of them was Anthony Hargrove of the New Orleans Saints, who had just won the Superbowl only days before.  Talk about a crazy cultural shift - from crowds who can't get enough of you, to masses of kids who are afraid of you!  The first glimpse I got of these guys made me burst out in laughter; they were just so gigantic standing next to my Swazi babies!  Each NFL player I met was so down-to-earth, and willing to humble himself by fumbling through the Swazi cultural songs and dances.  One of my favorite memories in Swazi was doing the hokie-pokie and the harlem shake with the players and the kids.  So much fun!

 

A video was recently posted on the NFL website about their trip to Swaziland.  I love it!  And yes, I did drive a van just like the one you see at the beginning of the video!  The first building you see is Pastor Walter's church - the church I've gone to both times I've been to Swazi, and is right down the road from where I lived.  The man briefing them is Dennis, the American co-pastor of that church and one of the missionaries we worked with.  Check out his Swazi-English!  The little girl whose face the camera centers on at the end is Ellie, who was abandoned as a premie at the local hospital but was adopted by Julie, a missionary who has taught the gogos (grandmas) to make purses. 

 

 Click here to see the video!