Faith, Hope, and Love in Swaziland.

There were many things in Swaziland that broke my heart. The nation is in a place of great crisis. HIV/AIDS has infected a huge portion of the population. We worked with countless men, women, and even children with the disease. Looking at this crisis at times caused us to ask the question of “Where are you God in the middle of all this?” It was painful at times and heartbreaking. At one of the Care Points, Cori and I were holding a baby who had been born prematurely and we began to weep. This was the smallest child that I have ever seen in my life. It has been born into a world that is filled with death and into a nation that might be wiped off the face of the planet by 2050. It has been born into a world with not much food and it has been born into a world where it will have very little opportunity available. It was wrapped in a thin bright colored blanket and was sleeping while we held it. Tears were dripping down while we prayed over this child. “The Lord bless you, and keep you; May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” We begged God for the protection, provision, and future of this child in this life and for the next. We handed the child back to its sister and watched her carry the child back home.

One day after we finished at the Care Points, we had the opportunity to do some home visits. We came to the home of a man who was probably around 35. He was very sick with HIV and Tuberculosis. We sat with him and talked to him for a while. This sickness has been over him for a while and is consuming his life. He had a Bible with him that belonged to his family. I asked him what he thought about God. He told me that he believed in Jesus (many faiths believe in a Jesus) to which, I followed up his answer with a question of “How do you get to heaven.” His response was one I have heard many times. “I know what is right and what is wrong, and I now choose to do what is right.” I opened up the Bible to him and began to tell him about a God who loves him and who wants to save him. I told him about the cross of Christ and how Jesus can rescue him from his own sin if he would cry out to God for salvation. Good people don’t go to heaven. Forgiven people do. And for the first time, the light went on for him and he understood that he could not work his way into heaven. He realized he need rescue and he put his faith in Jesus. It was awesome to see and reminded me of the guy who was on a cross next to Jesus. Nothing to bring to the table. Saved by grace alone.

A group of our girls ended up going with a pregnant girl who was sick with HIV to the hospital when she went into labor on the way and our girls ended up delivering a baby in the back of the ministry van. The mother did not know what to call the baby and asked the girls to name the child. After much prayer, they felt like the Lord was saying to call the child Hope and so the child was named. The message of Hope is what right now the Lord is speaking over the nation. Even in the midst of the deepest darkness, there is HOPE in the cross of Christ. This child will be part of a generation that the Lord is raising up in Swaziland to bring the nation out of darkness and into the light. Read the full story on Tiffany’s blog.

One of the kids that I became most attached to in Swaziland was named Cebosesso. He is the best kid ever. He lives in a small little hut the size of some walk in closets with 4 other children. He is comes over to the church every day, has no parents, and constantly wants to be held. He would come in sit in my lap almost everyday. While many of the kids there wanted to play soccer or some other game, He just wanted to be held. And so he sat with me and we talked. Most of the time he did not even have much to say. He just wanted someone to give him a hug. He always called me “John Cena” (WWE Wrestler for those who don’t know) and so that became my nickname there. I never thought I could care for a child as much as I did him. Everything in me wanted to bring him with me back to the States. On the day we left, we were sitting together and he looked up at me and said “John Cena, I’m hungry.” I went inside the dorm and found some food for him but my heart was broken. This child will eat one meal on a good day and those words will be etched in my brain forever. “I’m hungry.” Something I have said many times but it has never carried the weight that it did when he said it. I prayed over Cebo, told him I loved him, promised him that at some point I would return some day soon, and said goodbye. I wish I could have taken him with me. I know that the Lord will care for him though and I long for the day when I can sit with him again.