Farmer Esther. Well, you can go ahead and call me Farmer Esther! Right now, we’re tenting in the bush of Swaziland. We literally live on a farm (near sugar cane), with LOTS of chickens and roosters that wake us up every morning at 3 a.m. on the dot. They keep crowing until 6 or 7 a.m., and then randomly throughout the day. Our next-door neighbors are zebras, literally just feet from our tents and cooking fire pit. Daily cold showers may be painful during the process, but they’re much appreciated afterward, feeling clean and refreshed.
Each day we head to the care points, ministering to children. The greatest challenge: The kids speak SeSwati. When an English speaking Swazi is not around, communication becomes quite challenging. But the love of God transcends languages. And God has given me plenty of love for these children! We teach them both Bible and silly songs, play games with them (one’s very much like duck-duck-goose), and spend a lot of time holding them, giving them warm-hearted hugs.
Extremely dirty. These kids clothes and skin are covered in dirt. Can you picture it? You on the other side of the screen are probably envisioning the dirtiest that you’ve been. But consider not bathing for months, or longer. The dirt bakes into your skin. Shoeless eight-year-old girls have the feet of an old woman. Clothes are ripped. Children have no underwear. Babies run around without diapers, pants, or anything on their lower halves. Yet each child’s smile shines brightly.
Today we had a local translator/teacher, so we were able to teach them a Bible story about the love of God providing for them and how God hears their prayers. We also taught them a memory verse. And then we met some of their physical needs. Our friends Lisa & Gary Black and their family came down bearing gifts of oranges. Also each kid was issued a bright, shiny silver spoon to eat hot beans and rice for lunch. Before today, the kids would eat with their dirt-covered fingers after playing with roadside waste.
Tomorrow at one care point, we will distribute underwear for each of the kids that the Black family picked up. Also we will give them toothbrushes and toothpaste. Once again, God provides for these children through people like you. And His love shines through our hugs and smiles, penetrating even the dirtiest feet and worn ripped clothes. Thank you for
praying for these children, for provision of their basic needs and for personal relationships with Jesus.
Hope and future. Lest you begin to despair about these kids, please know there’s hope. A local visionary and farm manager Troy Minne, working alongside Gary Black and his family, and Seth Barnes and World Racers, plan to embark on their G-42 vision—a care point where many orphaned kids would live, raising their own crops, working the care point, being taught basic educational needs, thus providing food and education for generations. The plan is for ground to be broken on the G-42 building sometime this month. Please
pray for Troy, Gary, Seth, and their families and supporters as this vision comes to fruition.
