Swaziland. It is basically just a big question. Where do I
begin? Will it ever change? Will my heart ever stop breaking? Is there an
answer? Will the people ever find reprieve? Where is the mercy? Where is the
Lord? Why? Why? Why?
It has been an incredible month. A hard one. One full of
these questions. Full of joy as well as sadness. Full of realization that
change is really hard and really slow. Full of realization that this
nation’s–this continent’s–only hope is an outpouring of the miraculous from
the Lord. A turn from tradition to the Spirit. An acknowledgment of the one
true God. For change to happen, for true, lasting change, the Lord is the only
intervention that will work.
I don’t have any idea how, whether through His people,
through prayer, through the straight miraculous, or through a combination of
them all, but I do know that no government organization or NGO can solve this
problem. This is not a people-fixed problem. There is not one root, one cause,
or one solution. It is a long festering, deeply spiritual, unsolvable problem
on many fronts.
So my plea to you is to pray. My plea to you is to ask. My
plea to you is to act. The Lord uses the body. The Lord uses prayer. And the
Lord uses the miraculous. And I am confident that this nation’s—this
continent’s—only hope is the Lord.
At the end of 2004, Swazi’s population was 42.6% infected by
HIV/AIDS, and it is estimated that by 2025, the nation will cease to exist
unless it stops. And while HIV/AIDS is perhaps the most visible problem, there
are hundreds of others that lie just beneath the surface of these beautiful
faces.
This nation—this continent—is a place of beautiful people.
People who don’t want to live under this bondage, this suffering, any longer.
They want out. They want to be free. But they don’t know how. They are a people
deeply rooted in thousands of years of tradition and culture. Dark and twisted
tradition and culture. A lot of which has been brought to the light in the last
100 years, but a lot of which still remains.
The King of Swaziland has 13 wives. The Minister of Health
of South Africa has publicly stated that having sex with a virgin will cure
HIV/AIDS. The people believe that tying a string around a child’s waist will
keep evil spirits away. The majority of men can’t afford to marry because of the
number of cows they must provide to their in-laws. These are just a couple of
examples. And because of these traditions and cultures, because of the way they
break down the civility of the people, it eventually means that you find seven
and eight year old orphaned girls that must sell themselves for a loaf of bread
to feed their five siblings at home.
As for the answer, again, I don’t know. All I know is that
the answer is up to the Lord. Entirely. So, again, I plead with you to respond.
I plead with you, my friends and family, to go before the Lord and ask, beg,
for release and freedom for these people. For your brothers and sisters who
don’t know what it is to eat three meals a day. Who don’t know what it is to feel
safe. Who don’t know what it is to feel of worth.
I ask you to get on your knees. Go before the Lord, the just
and merciful God. And ask. Ask how you can help. Ask what to pray for. Ask for
an outbreak of the Holy Spirit over Africa. Ask for change. Ask for healing.
Ask for empowerment. Ask for justice. Ask for the orphans and widows. Ask for
the kings and for the lost men. Ask for the continent. Ask for Africa.
The Lord can change. The Lord will change. So let’s be a
part of it. Let’s spur it on. Let’s do what it actually says in the red letters
of the gospels. Let’s take the Christ for His words. Let’s act as if, maybe,
just maybe, He meant what He said. What if we actually became a church that
believed He could turn five loaves into a meal for thousands. What if we became
a church that believed He could actually spit on blind eyes and they would see.
What if we became a church that actually believed He could take a continent of
hopelessness and turn it into a continent of redemption and healing. What if.
{If you would like more information, statistics, or specific
ways to get involved in the plight of Africa, read this book: Red Letters
by Tom Davis, or visit this website: www.fivefor50.com.}
