I am so excited to share with you my upcoming mission trip to Swaziland! Last November, God opened my eyes to the suffering that the people of Swaziland are enduring. It is a country that has literally been ravaged by AIDS; the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate here is nearly 40%. Life expectancy at birth for Swazis is only 30 years old, and for most, this short lifetime is spent orphaned and hungry. While 10 days in Swaziland will hardly solve this crisis, I must follow God’s call to help, and I am certain that he will create blessings as a result.
My heart has been touched particularly for the children of this country, where over 40% of these precious kids are orphans. With so many adults either dying or already dead from AIDS, there are few caregivers to look after these children and guide them as they grow. This seemingly hopeless situation can be turned around only by Jesus. And since we are the hands and feet of Jesus, we must be there to show His compassion when called. Why He has called me out of my comfort zone to help, I am not yet sure. But I trust Him completely and am not the least bit hesitant to follow His will.
Right after God first opened my eyes to His children in Africa, he led me to All4Jesus (http://www.all4jesusfoundation.org/). This wonderful ministry was started by Jared & Cindy Martin, and has grown through His call in their hearts and others. All4Jesus works with the El Shaddhai children's home in Swaziland and is currently in the process of building a new orphanage there. The orphanage will be located next to the Komati River amongst the beautiful green mountains of Swaziland. All4Jesus is based out of Atlanta (which is a nice connection since that is where I was raised), so I have not actually had the opportunity to meet the team I will be traveling with yet. I'll be heading to Atlanta at the end of May and can't wait to meet Jared and Cindy in person. I feel so blessed to have been led to such a wonderful, Christ centered group of people whose hearts, like mine, are filled with love and hope for the people of Swaziland.
I praise God for calling me on this journey, one on which I never would have thought he would call me. Until now, He has never called me to missions. I've never been out of the country (except to Canada), never went on church mission trips even when it was the cool thing to do, and never felt guilty about my lack of desire to do so. God has always used my love for children to serve Him close to home. But now, he has grown that love to include his children in Africa. And less than a year after he opened my eyes to Swaziland, I'll be traveling there.
October 2009... I can't wait!
