We landed in Eswatini after five days of nonstop traveling. Eswatini is our first country in Africa! Woop Woop!! This past month was so full and amazing. We worked at an Adventures in Mission’s base and got to work at the care points. Care points are centers where kids in the community come to be feed and discipled. There are around thirty eight care points that AIM helps with but local staff run these care points, they are called shepherds. The care point my team worked with was Empholi. Our shepherds were Lulu and Philile (also known as P). For five, sometimes six, days a week there are 150-200 kids being feed at just our care point. My team had the privilege of working at our care point Tuesday through Friday. On Mondays, we went to Manzini, a town close by and we’re able to do ATL or Ask the Lord. The Lord showed up in so many ways as we evangelized and prayed for what to do.
A day at Empholi care point for me looked like:
– Leaving our house around 9 am and arriving at our care point around 10.
– Daily devotionals with our team, Lulu, and P. Each day we would meet and if someone had a verse on their heart, they would share it with the group. This was such a sweet time of going through a verse together.
– After devotional we would start collecting sticks and cleaning the fire pit to make another fire for the food. We placed logs in the center of the floor then added sticks and plastic. Kayla (also called one match kayla) set the fire.
– While we waited for the fire to get hot we grab the giant pot that would be used to cook all the food. I cleaned it out and we would place it on top of the fire then fill it up with about three 5 gallon buckets of water. We’d put the lid on and wait for the water to boil.
– While we waited we would either grab our lunch and eat or chat with Go Go and Ellen. Go Go and Ellen are two of the five kitchen ladies at Empholi care point. They are chosen by the community to feed the kids and watch out for them while they are at the care point. We’d stir the food and I usually said “Gumbo gumbo in the pot, whatcha got!”
– Once the kids started arriving we would either play on the playground, braid hair, dance, or play other games.
– Depending on the day we’d start our lesson at 1 or 3 pm. This usually consisted of a Bible skit, the church clap dance, and a game.
– Once the lesson was done all of the kids would line up and sing before we served the food.
– Most days my teammate Amanda and I got to serve the food to the kids. The food that we served was from Hope Boxes, which consist of rice and vitamin packets that are all stirred together.
– After everyone had food, most kids left the care point because they had a ways to walk before they got home.
A couple of times throughout our month we were able to go on house visits in the community. Our shepherds would take us to one of our kid’s houses and we would talk to whoever lived there. We got to talk about the Lord and encourage them. My parents were able to go on one while they were here and we were able to bring some food for the family at the home!
So this month was super special because my parents got to come see me!! Saying I was excited and emotional, is an understatement. They came with AIM’s Parent Vision Trip or PVT. PVT is a time when parents are invited by their racers to come onto the field and do ministry with them. To have my parents come on the field with me is a blessing I can’t thank God enough for. I got to show them my world and they got to see why I love what I do so much. I missed them so much and to be able to hug them after 9 months was just what I needed.
My words fall short of saying how much I loved this ministry and how amazing and life changing it is for the kids in this community. These kids who may not be well taken care of or looked after in their homes have a safe place to come and get a hot meal. They are loved well by the shepherds and you truly see God’s heart for people in this ministry.
This month reaffirmed many things ministry wise for me. I know God has called me to evangelize to the nations, I know He has given me a heart for children, and I know He has called me to serve with all of me.
Update:
Next month we will be headed to Lesotho and my team (WOW) and team Canvas and Clay will be working at Africa for Jesus. Please pray for a month of health, strength, and endurance as we finish our last two months. Pray for our upcoming ministry and that God will use us as His vessels there. Also please pray for AIM Eswatini and that the Lord provided encouragement and strength for the staff working there.
Hello Sweet Em! Thank you so much for this update. It sounds like you had a beautiful month. We’re so glad that you got to see your parents and we’re so happy that they got a glimpse of what you’ve been doing. Powerful! It’s so awesome that the Lord continues to confirm your call. He is so GOOD! We love you so much and are praying for all your requests!