This month, teams Indelible and Spectable are in Nsoko, Swaziland. We were orignally under the impression that we’d be working at an orphanage this month, but it is going to be much more than that. We are staying at a carepoint, which is one of nine locations in the city where children can come and get some food at lunchtime. The children also have a place to play and people to care for them…at least for a few hours. You see, the majority of these children are orphans. Usually, the father disappears early on and the mother dies as a result of the AIDS virus. This carepoint is supervised by Pastor Gift, and although I don’t know much about him as of yet, I can tell he will be great to work with.
Some of you may already know this, but Swaziland is a country ravaged by AIDS. It is believed here that fifty percent of the population has the disease. That’s one in every two people! A majority of the middle-age generation has been wiped out because of it, leaving mostly children and a few elderly to take care of them. The average person lives to only thirty years of age. The entire country is dying, and at this rate will not exist after the year 2040.
What will we be doing here? I’m still not 100% sure, but we have plenty of opportunities. Just yesterday we visited a young lady who is dying of a skin disease she cannot fight off because of AIDS. While we were there, we prayed for her and shared some things God was laying on our hearts. Pastor Gift knows of several such people who just want to know they are cared for in their last days. Today we visited the carepoints in the area, and we were able to interact with the children there. We sang, danced, played games, and even helped the children write some letters. These children usually get only one meal a day and a very basic education. We are hoping to build relationships with the people here in various ways and share with them the love of God. They need to know they are not lost and definitely not beyond hope. There’s no doubt God has a plan for this country, and it’s our responsibility to turn their eyes upon Him.
As a side note, we do have very limited internet access, and we’re going to try to post blogs once a week. There will not be time to check emails, and the internet here is simply too slow to put up pictures. So, use your imagination. 🙂 I look forward to sharing our month with you, but please keep us and the Swazi people in your prayers.
