There are about 40 care points spread out around Swaziland where children come every day of the week to play, learn a Bible lesson, and eat food. My team has about a 25 min bus ride to our care point, other teams walk about a mile to their care point, and some walk a few feet to the one that is right beside the base we live at. In total, the care points feed about 7,000 children in Swaziland, so it has been amazing to partner with such an amazing thing that the Lord is already doing here!
Each care point has what they call a shepherd, this is a person that is over the entire care point as a whole. Our shepherds name is sithulele (see-tu-lay-lay) and he has been at maba one (our care point) for about three years. He is 23 years old and the love he has for the Lord is evident in everything he does! He takes care of us so well and he quickly become all of our best friend! Apart from the shepherd, there are also what we call gogo’s- which is grandmother in their language. They interact and have relationships with each of the kids, but their main purpose at the care point is to cook the food each day for lunch.
When we first arrive around 11, there are already a handful of kids there. However, most of the kids arrive when the high school and junior high nearby release for the day. The ages range anywhere from about 1-18, but most are on the younger side. There is a playground that we spend hours on each day, swinging kids around and playing tag. We have a weekly Bible lesson that we lead, but most of our time is spent with the kids just simply loving them in a way that represents Christ’s love for us. We feed them lunch every day, which consists of a dehydrated rice and vegetable packet- and for most this is their only meal of the day. Some kids even take their single serving of food they have on their plate back to their house to feed the rest of their families. We leave around 4:00 or 4:30 each day, and every single time the kids hear the bus they squeeze and hug us a little tighter not wanting us to leave. The children here crave attention and affection just as every kid does. They desire to be held and feel loved and cared for and I am so grateful for the opportunity we have to represent Christ to them and love them in a way that points back to their father in heaven!
