We’ve finally made it… Swaziland. Africa. I take a deep breath and am met with such peace. There is something bubbling up in my spirit that says everything has been leading up to here. Being in Swaziland is a much-needed change after five months of Asia. While I loved all of the countries there, I’m ready to exchange the crowds of people and stuff for the wide-open spaces, trees, dirt roads, and mountains of Africa. And don’t even get me started on the stars! I feel refreshed for the first time in a while.
We are staying at an Adventures in Missions base in the small town of Nsoko, which is just a mountain range’s distance from South Africa. I am seriously so impressed with how organized everything runs here, which I am now aware is very rare in most places around the world. Essentially, AIM has 10 “care points” under their direction. These are locations throughout the region where they feed about 5-6000 kids a day countrywide (often their only meal of the day). Additionally, they provide teachings and discipleship, a medical clinic, clean water taps, churches, and community gardens so that nearby families are able to grow crops to provide for themselves. We stay at the main care point called the Anchor Center.
At about anytime of the day, you can first hear, and then see, a horde of kids playing on the playground and knocking on our door. This has probably been one of my favorite parts of ministry this month; these kids have stolen my heart! There is one little girl in particular who has been memorable. Her name is *Tina (name changed) and she is five years old. She is probably the sassiest girl you will ever meet and is always trying to push boundaries. But in an instant, she will leap into your arms and hug you and never let go. Both of her parents have died of AIDS, and while she has a home, our contact says that teams coming in and out of Nsoko have practically raised her. You can find her outside of our house with a smile on her face from about 7 AM until 6PM everyday. Many of the kids who play here don’t have homes to go back to or parents to really look after them. The Anchor Center is a kind of refuge to them.
Swaziland has the highest percentage of people infected with HIV in the world. This disease has wiped out almost an entire generation. In fact, the UN Predicts that Swaziland will cease to be a country by they year 2050. To make matters worse, men are almost non-existent in the homes and families. As a result, the “Gogos,” or grandmothers, are left with the task of raising multiple children who have lost parents either to AIDS, alcoholism, or neglect. We have visited a lot of homes this month to encourage the believers. I would say 99% of the people we visit are Gogos. Many have almost no way of earning income and are in poor conditions physically. This leads to a lot of hopelessness.
All this has just reaffirmed in me the importance of pouring into this younger generation. Swaziland has been ravaged by poverty, sickness, and death in recent years… but these kids have the chance to change that! They have the opportunity to grow up knowing Jesus, the One who gives them a hope and a future. And they can know the Father, who does not leave them as orphans but who adopts them into His family. We have seen so many kids who are able to go to school and get an education, and who consistently receive the love of Christ and hear about Him every week through those who work and volunteer here. I am encouraged because with every hug we give, game we play, or song we teach, we have the privilege of being Jesus to these kids.
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” Luke 18:16.
