"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last."
-John 15:16
Alex and I have been given the opportunity to take part in the lives of Ntombi and Joseph (Check out my last blog for their story!) during our time in Swazi and, while it's definitely been difficult to see Ntombi's situation, it's been an incredible blessing to see Joseph's hopeful joy in the Lord and devotion to his daughter, as he carries her up and down the hill from their homestead each time and sits with her while she gets treatment.
Aside from a short greeting, we know no Saswati, Joseph knows no English, and Ntombi doesn't communicate at all. For this reason, our time with them was initially very frustrating for me because I didn't see how we could actually be making a difference in their lives without being able to speak to them. Yes, we pray for them constantly, during Ntombi's treatment and otherwise, and prayer is incredibly powerful, but I just kept wondering how much of Jesus we really could share with them with such limited communication.
Sometimes I forget that I am chosen for this by the Most High God. I forget that as long as I am seeking, following, and listening to Him, that His will WILL be done in my life. I don't always immediately understand what the Lord's good and wise plan is, and until recently, that was true of our time with Ntombi and Joseph as well. I didn't understand why we were taking time away from working in the garden, a project where we could clearly see our progress and the purpose for our labor, to barely speak with two people in what seems like a hopeless situation. But, God is good, and He has shown both Alex and I exactly why He placed us where He did.
We want to get YOU, our friends, family, and the body of Christ, rallied to make a difference in the lives of Ntombi and Joseph. Once she finally gets diagnosed, funding will be needed for her to get treatment. Swazi desperately lacks and needs medical professionals who are willing to give up the "American dream" and instead choose to selflessly help people forgotten by the western world. The people in this country simply need to be LOVED, and told that there is hope to the hopeless. His name is Jesus.
Currently, Alex is waiting to hear back from Eric, one of our contacts from this month, about the possibility of a doctor in Manzini who could skip the test results and resort straight to amputation. Upon gathering this information, we are also planning on writing to Seth Barnes, director of the World Race and founder of AIM, and to Luke's Commission (www.lukecommission.org) to formulate a plan of action for our own involvement.
If any of this sounds like something you are interested in, please don't hesitate to e-mail Alex, [email protected], or myself, [email protected] so we can keep you updated and get you onboard. Don't forget to SPREAD THE WORD! Even if you don't feel that the Lord is calling you to this ministry, maybe He's calling someone you know. And pray, pray, pray, pray, PRAY!
Change starts with one person or a few people who decide to say, "YES!" to what they know is right and take the steps to make it happen. This is exactly our heart. We hope it will be yours too.
