Sunday in Swazi

Hi friends! Our team is continuing to go through an amazing experience here in Swaziland. The children are beautiful, we've had a chance to meet our sponsor kids along with many of the sponsor kids from Crossroads. We attended a worship service today that lasted 3 hours but felt like about 15. We continue to be amazed by these people's faith and hope in the midst of what amounts to a dire situation. If the stats are right, 1 of every 3 people we see is infected with HIV. The drought is causing food shortage, people are starving. But there is hope in Christ.

Blessings and keep the prayers coming,
jeff

we're here

I've got 2 minutes before I'm kicked off the hotel computer, but we made it! This country is even more beautiful than expected and the people are just as amazing. We went out into Sithobella today and even met some of our sponsor children! We also met orphan led homes, saw the good work World Vision is doing, and met people who God loves dearly. Thanks for the prayers!
Jeff for the Swazi team

We're leavin' on a...

jetplane. Tomorrow! I can't believe it is finally here. We are mostly packed (except me I think!), mostly rested, mostly prepared, and VERY EXCITED to see what God will do in us. Please pray for safety, energy, our families back at home, and eyes and hearts wide open to be changed by this experience.

If I can, I will try to make a blog post or two on our trip. If you want to check for updates, be my guest!

Jeff

Map

Here is the map of Swaziland.

The Statistics

Obviously one of the big reasons why there is a crisis in Africa is because of HIV/AIDS. And Swaziland where our work is being done is at the peak of this crisis. According to UNAIDS, there are 220,000 people living with HIV in Swaziland, which makes up 33.4% of all adults (the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa by almost 10%). 120,000 of these individuals are women (read Mothers as well) who were introduced to the virus through their husbands. Another 15,000 are children who received the disease from their infected mothers. Thusfar, there have been 16,000 deaths and 63,000 new orphans due to AIDS. In all of Sub-Saharan Africa there have been more than 2,000,000 deaths thusfar, and 12,000,000 children orphaned due to AIDS.

And in the face of each of these people is Jesus' face. How can we turn away?

Late Night Questions

Currently, it is 3:45 in the morning (I have no idea what that translates to in Swazi time), but I can't sleep. I woke up thinking about our trip, and found questions racing through my head. What Bible studies should I prepare? Will we stay healthy? What should I do for my kids while I'm gone to make this experience special for them too? Have we prepared ourselves enough? When will I pack? What will we learn? So many questions for God and so many things to think about.

I'm going to guess that as we get closer to October 23rd, these late night questions and conversations are going to get more frequent.

I have a prayer I say over and over again, especially when I get anxious. Lord Jesus Christ, be still in me. This is called a "breath prayer" and it's 7 syllables matches the amount of time it takes you to breathe in and out (try it!). I find that if I utter this prayer over and over again, it becomes part of my breathing itself, and in effect, one can see what it's like to "pray without ceasing" as Scripture says.

My late night question asking sessions need to turn more and more into late night breathing sessions, trusting that Jesus himself is with us and will still our spirits, that we might be free to experience and see what he has waiting for us on the other side of the Atlantic.

Less than 3 weeks.

Jeff