Crusted faces, bloated bellies, and all smiles, little Swazi kiddos come running from all directions to meet us as we arrive to our care points each day for ministry.
We were told 80% of children in Swazi are abused to some extent and many families are missing a parent. The death rate is high and pregnancy is high for young girls. Death and life placed all in one sentence, pretty crazy. And we are definitely noticing these statistics.
Swaziland has been an eye opening country. It has been incredible to see the beauty of the country and get to experience how daily life looks for children in Swaziland.
Whether a child is runny nosed, naked, dirty, or being mischievous we scoop them up into our arms and offer them all we have: Jesus, a hug, and arms to comfort them.
Our ministry this month is partnering with Hope Chest and AIM at care points. A care point is a safe place for children to come play all day, receive a free meal, and learn a bible lesson. The vision behind the care points is to provide a place for children to be children and play and experience love from the people around them. Each care point has a shepherd who looks after the kids daily and helps encourage them to pursue Christ.
Pretty neat, right? Another cool part of these care points are that they just started a partnership with Feed My Starving Child. So, as we sit and play with the kids women are preparing mana packs for the children! Feed my starving children is an organization that has created a meal that nutritionally hits all the important foods for a child to be fed well. A few months before the race I actually got to volunteer and pack mana packs. It’s been an awesome experience to see that FMSC is making it overseas!! You guys should check FMSC out and see if you can find a location close to you to volunteer at!
Swazi has broken my heart for the children we play with each day. My prayer as I hold each child in my arms is that God would plant seeds in there lives and that they would be protected and provided for. I’m believing that our prayers are changing the trajectory of many of these children’s lives.
Children around the world deserve to be children. However that’s not always the story. But, I see locals pouring into their communities and creating a space for there young to be children here in Swaziland and it is so encouraging. God works in incredible ways and there’s always, always hope to be offered and found in every situation.
Thanks Hope Chest and AIM for partnering to create opportunities for the youth of Swazi to live abundant lives and be well cared for!
Until Next Time,
Michelle
(A photo from when my parents visited me at the beginning of this month! Blog coming shortly on our time together!)
P.S. A few updates: 35 DAYS UNTIL I ARRIVE HOME! It’s crazy to be wrapping up month 10 and preparing to head to South Africa for our final month of the race! Please be praying for our final month and transition back to the States! Also, for fun many of us are running a HALF MARATHON at our final debrief to end our race strong in the physical aspect of it! Stay tuned for some fun running selfies! We have been running with goats, pigs, little children, dogs…you name it!
