Deciding to go to Swaziland

This is the first blog to chronicle my plans to join my church on a mission trip to Swaziland, Africa Sept. 9, 2010-Sept. 21, 2010.

This trip is not a decision that I have come to lightly. There has always been a place in my heart to help children, and even more there has been a desire to go on a mission trip. I remember as a student in college seeing the commercials of children in third world nations, thinking how sad their lives must be, and how much I wanted to go help them. As I have gotten older and now have children of my own, the feeling to help has intensified. Most of you will remember that Daddy always had a soft spot in his heart for children, and he never stopped giving. Every Christmas we did Angel Trees and donated toys to Toys for Tots campaigns. He was always on the ball field not just teaching those kids sports, but loving on them. I will never forget a conversation under a tree at Wilder’s Grove. He told me how sad it made him to hear about children who were suffering, either at the hands of their own parents, or because they had no food or shelter. I have carried those values with me and am now trying to teach them to my own children. I would open my home to every child if I could just stop the tears. I would feed them all, give them clothes, toys, whatever it took just to see them smile. I can’t do that, but I can donate clothes to needy families, provide meals to those in need, help purchase school supplies and more importantly teach my children that we are all God’s children and that it is our responsibility to share what we have with those who don’t. As I started thinking about going to Africa, I realized that this wasn’t a decision I was making for myself, but that I was setting an example to my children.

Now for how my decision to go has come to fruition. It started a few months ago when I learned that my colleague was going with her husband to teach dance in Kenya. I expressed my desire to go and the seed was planted. Shortly after that, the couple from our church who are stationed in Swaziland came home for the holidays and to visit an ailing parent. While they were here, I had the opportunity to hear them speak on several occasions about their life in Swaziland, the work that they do, and most importantly the children they serve. As the seed started growing, I began to pray about whether this was something I should be doing. My preacher’s first sermon of the year was reminding that God all of us passions and talents, it is our job to use them to help others. At the time I thought He meant to go with Lisa to Kenya. My bible verses for the next few days were as follows:

1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in it’s various forms.”

Epesians 1:18 “ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…”

Galations 2:10 “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do”

As it turns out, others in my church were also inspired by the time spent with our missionary family, and a team has decided to travel to Swaziland to work beside them.

We will be traveling under the hands of Children’s Cup. More information about this organization can be found at www.childrenscup.org. I can promise that the pictures do not give a true story of the plight of these children. The children that we will be working with live in mudhuts. When it rains, their houses wash away. Some of them sleep on pallets just outside the gates of the carepoints. Most of them are orphans. None of them eat more than ONE bowl of food a day. Always the same beans and rice, the only thing that changes is the amount because some days there isn’t much food to be had. Some days there is no food to be had and the missionaries buy food for them. Disease, injury and this tough life has taken their parents, and there are 10 year olds (sometimes younger) who walk their siblings to these carepoints for food, a little shelter, medical care, and most importantly love. The children get school lessons each day, Bible study, and the older children are taught skills that will help them work or earn money as they age out of the program’s care. While there we will have activities for the children to do and to assist in the daily needs of the care points. Most importantly though we will share the love of Jesus, and help them to see that they are not forgotten.