As most of you know by now, for the month of January, we are spending our time serving in The Kingdom of Swaziland! Other than China, Swaziland was the country I was most excited to visit on my World Race trip. Swaziland is a country that is landlocked by the countries of South Africa and Mozambique, and it is usually known for its high percentage of HIV/ AIDS. Approximately 76% of the population in Swaziland is infected, and it is projected by the year 2020, that the entire population of young people will be wiped out. By 2050, the country as a whole will cease to exist because of the disease. A very sobering and sad reality.
So far, its one of the best months I have had on the World Race! For our time here we are partnering with a ministry called El Shaddai Childrens Home. El Shaddai is located just outside the capital city of Mbabane, atop a beautiful mountain range! It is one of the most incredible places I have ever been in my life. There are 3 teams working here this month for our squad and we are living in dorms just down the hill from the ministry. The ministry itself was started and still runs by a lady named Charmain who has had the ministry for around 10 years. She has several african people whom help volunteer their time here and her daughter, Chanel, also helps out here at the ministry. Chanel does most of our cooking and does a fantastic job! We are so blessed this month.
El Shaddai has several different parts to it. There is the children’s home itself, there is a school where the children attend and a lot of other children from the surround community. They also do gardening to help support the pantry here at El Shaddai. The local church is located on the property of El Shaddai and each day the children do a chapel service to learn about the Bible. We have had the opportunity to help lead chapel each day, and also we are running the church services on Sundays for the community. El Shaddai has a clinic on site as well where local people can come and get medical attention when available. There is no nurse or doctor on site, but we are blessed to have a nurse on our squad, so during our time here, Ashley is getting to run the clinic to help the folks in the community.
This is what a typical day for our team looks like while we are here at El Shaddai. We get up and have breakfast and quiet time until 9am, and then we are split off into different parts of the ministry. Some of our team is working in the baby/ toddler house spending time playing and taking care of the children, while others are painting the schools, mural on the wall in the kitchen, and some of the dorms that house the mission teams. In the next week since our painting is almost complete, we will also start work on a fence to go around the outside of the property. There are currently wooden beams holding up the fence and because lighting strikes and brush fires are so common here, the fences always burn down, so we are going and replacing them with metal polls. The clinic also runs throughout the week and we do a few odd jobs around the children’s home from time to time.
We eat lunch around 1 pm and then afterwards we either go back to working at our designated areas or we spend the afternoon playing with the older kids after school and help them with their homework assignments. From 5:30- 6pm we have chapel, and then eat supper at 6. The rest of the evening we have feedback with our teams, prepare for the next day, and spend time with each. Its a great ministry here and the Lord is doing some amazing things in the lives of the children at El Shaddai and the surrounding community.
Before we arrived here, I had some friends who had previously served here at this children’s home on the World Race. I remember reading and checking out their (Michelle Smith & Phil Henry) blogs about the month they spent here, so when I found out I was assigned to this ministry, I was so excited! I couldn’t wait to see what the Lord had planned for the month, and it has been nothing less than what I prayed and hoped for! I ask that you will continue to pray for us as we serve here over the next 2 weeks, and pray that Papa would do more than we could ever ask or imagine. Continue to pray for our teams that the Lord would use us in a mighty way to help bring the Kingdom to the kingdom of Swaziland!
Love y’all!
P.S. I am still in need of some financial support for my trip. I need to be completely funded by March 1st, and I still need about $1,500 until I am fully funded! Please prayerfully consider helping me stay on the field! Thanks for all y’all do! This would not be possible without you.
