Bobby Farris at a rural homestead

A few weeks ago, I visited with Bobby Farris and Janet Faubert in St. Philip’s Mission in Swaziland, Southern Africa. They live in a rural area of the country, an hour’s drive from the nearest city. Swaziland is a small country, bordered on three sides by the nation of South Africa. It is home to approximately 1 million people, governed by a king. It is a magnificently beautiful country with western mountains and big orange and pink skies. Women wearing colorful headscarves walk miles with gallon buckets of water and food on their heads. Elephants, zebras and giraffe roam safari parks. Donkeys, cattle, goats and chicken roam everywhere else.

Swaziland is also profoundly sad with poverty, starvation, water shortages, drought, unemployment, and no public education. Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world—it is estimated that over half of the people between 18 and 40 who live in the rural areas of the country may be infected.

Janet Faubert converses with residents at St. Philip’s Hostel

St. Philip’s Mission, located in lowveld region of the country, has been staffed by the Cabrini Sisters for more than 30 years. St. Philip’s is a growing mission, with a pre-K-12 school, clinic, tiny post office and a small market where people can purchase such provisions as chickens, bread, candy and car fuel. There is even a branch of the Swaziland Police Department at the Mission! In the middle is the mission’s landmark, a stunning, domed Catholic Church with tall pink clay steeples that glow at sunrise and sunset. Three years ago, the Sisters opened an orphanage for children whose parents have died from AIDS. Today, there are approximately 125 children orphaned by AIDS living in the orphanage.

Bobby assists a woman on a homestead

At the Mission, Bobby and Janet minister primarily to people living in rural homesteads—stick and mud huts with no running water or electricity. A seven-year drought in the rural area has created a severe shortage of water and food. Bobby is a nurse, and Janet is a pharmacist. They work with a Swazi nurse named Tandiwe to take food and medicine to people who are too sick to make the trip into the Mission’s clinic.

Bobby and Janet also transport people to the hospital, an hour away, to get their AIDS medicine.

Children at St. Philip’s Mission gather for a photo

What touches my heart is how Bobby and Janet seem to be at home in Swaziland, using their medical skills and experience to help people in desperate need of care. In the midst of great suffering and many deaths, Bobby and Janet are a steady, compassionate presence, and they are making a difference in the lives of the people at St. Philips.

What also touches my heart is seeing Janet and Bobby with the children at the orphanage and how they flock to them when they come around. Although the children have suffered greatly in their young lives, they still love to laugh and play. This summer, children in the Vacation Bible School at Bobby’s church in Montrose, CO, made and sold beaded necklaces to raise money for the children at St. Philips. They raised $300, and I carried that money to Bobby. She plans to use the money to purchase basic clothing for the children in the orphanage.

Madeline Bialecki, CMC Director, wears the colorful beads made by the children at Bobby’s parish in Montrose, CO, to raise funds for clothing for the children of St. Philips

Being a missionary is about entering into the pain and suffering of humanity, and allowing ourselves to be touched deeply. It is about being in solidarity with others who may seem so different from ourselves, and coming to see our common humanity. And, it is to know hope in the midst of seeming hopelessness, trusting that God is in charge of the bigger picture.

As I watched Bobby and Janet tending to the people at St. Philip’s, I saw how comfortable they were in comforting and consoling, and equally comfortable in sharing joy and laughter.

Each of us, as baptized Christians, is called to participate in the missionary activity of the Church—entering into the suffering of humanity and sharing the good news of God’s great love for us. I believe that our living out the Christian message “back home”, our Witness to the great love of God, enables Janet and Bobby to take that love to the people of Swaziland.

This is one of this children who lives at St. Philip’s Mission.

CMC pays approximately $7,000 a year for each overseas missioner. We rely on financial support from generous individuals to allow us to continue sending lay missioners to make a difference in the lives of God’s people around the world. Please help further the work of our missioners.

Madeline Bialecki
Director, Cabrini Mission Corps

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