This month we've been living in Nsoko, Swaziland at the Adventures In Mission (AIM) care-point called, The Anchor Center.
This is the main hub of 10 care-points in the greater Nsoko area. There are a total of 33 AIM care-points in all of Swaziland!
The goal of each care-point is to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the children in the surrounding area.
The 10 care-points in Nsoko feed 700 kids per day! The ministry partners from the Anchor Center visit each care-point at least once per week; the visit starts with prayer, a song, then a short bible lesson, followed by a memory verse and a craft. Then the kids are served a hot meal – the only consistent meal for many of these kids. The only care-point that serves a meal on Saturday is the Anchor Center, so some kids can easily go the entire weekend without eating!
The Anchor Center has an onsite medical clinic, a church, a preschool, a community garden, and a playground! There are always a handful of kids playing on the property, such as these cute little guys, who are full of energy and personality!
When we arrived at the Anchor Center, we attended a short orientation with our contact, Erica. Erica is originally from Colorado, but felt the Lord calling her to Swaziland for an indefinite amount of time. She had been to the Anchor Center on two previous trips before making her permanent move, which took place roughly one year ago. She told us a lot of useful information about the care-points and Swaziland in general.
Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world – at 26%!!!
The HIV/AIDS rate is higher in rural areas verses cities
Very few people have full time employment
The average salary is roughly $200 USD per month – which feeds roughly 13 mouths!
Poverty and lack of education lead to higher HIV rates
As we talked, Erica told us it is perfectly safe to drink the water here – however – it is extremely salty! It may leave you feeling bloated and weird, but it's safe 🙂 Later, she told about her attempts to obtain a filter for the well, but she came up empty handed. The water is within range (although certainly at the higher end) but it is actually good for people who are malnourished due to the minerals!
Ministry has looked significantly different each day. We visit care-points and homesteads during the afternoons – we were each assigned two care-points to visit each week during our three week stay. If it's not our day at a care-point, we paint, slash the grass, wash cars, de-nail wooden boards, play with the kids, wash donated clothes, work in the community garden, and many other odd jobs.
This month I've learned several important lessons. No matter what we're asked to do, whether it's denailing wood or praying for a family whose home burned to the ground, it's all for the glory of God! It would have been easy to complain about our ministry this month and wish for something better or more important, but everything is important when it comes to the kingdom of God. Everything we've done has improved the ministry in one way or another.
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
Colossians 3:23
