Dream of Memories
The moment I arrived in Swaziland all I wanted to do was see my kids.
When I arrived in September 2004, my leaders met a lady named Madame Hlope, who started a care center where children are given two meals a day and taught by mages (mothers) and gogos (grandmothers) in Swaziland. Every Tuesday and Thursday in the fall the children would await my team’s arrival after hiking miles to the care point. We learned the children at the center either did not have parents or their parents were too poor to take care of them. We had children coming from families of more than 11 children and parents who were unable to find jobs. I loved these children and desired to jumpstart them into school! (The king promised to pay for their schooling in years to come – only to find out two years later – the promise of the king was broken…)
Christmas season of 2004 was a joyous time! My church in Port Arthur, Texas and Port Neches Middle School, where my mom taught, became overjoyed with this opportunity God put before them. With so much excitement, we put over forty children in school, some for the first time. The smile on these children faces were indescribable, even the 16-year-olds who studied in Grade 2 alongside 8-year-olds were thrilled to have this opportunity.
During spring 2005, I made a commitment to make sure that our children were doing well in school. I tutored them – only to find out that many were the brightest in the class!!
God granted me the opportunity to visit our children a couple days ago!! The night before I was to go, God gave me the sweetest, restoration dream. During the night, he restored my memory with all of the children names. I saw the children’s faces and God calling them by name. I woke up ready to meet my children 2 1/2 years later…
As I got off the combie, the children were going home from school … the first girl I saw was the first girl in my dream “Calsile,” a beautiful child of God with now over 16 children. As I saw each child, God brought to mind every name. I walked up to the care center and saw Madame Mlope; she said, “I can’t believe my eyes” (I couldn’t either.), and then she grabbed my hands to pray.
Jeanette and I ended our day visiting some of the children’s homes. When the children realized we were coming over to their house, they began screaming and dragging us down the road to meet there care-givers. It was a glorious day – God reunited me with our children!!
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27
<Check out the pictures of a few of the children>
