On Friday May 15^th 2009 we @ AIM Swaziland experienced a breakthrough in our ministry. The 15^th was the day of our first medical clinic in our new partnership with The Luke Commission (TLC). In case you do not know of the Luke Commission, let me first begin by telling you that they are awesome! They are the real deal here in Swazi! TLC are a mobile medical mission based here in Swaziland, which focuses their efforts in the rural areas. They offer free medical care, free medications, free HIV testing and counseling, free vision care, free eyeglasses, free Bibles and the Hope of the Gospel.   In fact everything they do, all the care they provide, is infused with getting out the message Jesus. We are so excited to begin our partnership with them, as they have pledged to regularly run clinics at our care point locations. Please feel free to check out the Luke Commission @ their website. Their web address is:

www.lukecommission.org      

The location for our first partner clinic was @ the Timbutini Church/Care Point. I was so excited that we were finally able to provide this type of service for the community.  Usually, we have to take our children into the city to be seen @ a hospital. It is always a long, difficult, and frustrating process.  Most of the poorest people in Swaziland live in the rural areas. They usually do not have the funds to be treated by a doctor, let alone the money to even travel to the city to get to the doctors. What usually happens is that people suffer, and even die from simple treatable ailments. What a blessing it was to have very good doctors and knowledgeable medical staff come into our community to see the people right where they live!  For me this was a total dream come true! It felt like "Finally we are rolling here!" It was another step, an improvement in what we (with God's grace and power) are able to provide in terms of care and support to all our orphaned children as well as the larger community. Thank you Lord!              

The community clinic started at around 10 am and finished with the last patients at around 9:30 that night. It was a long day for sure, but so worth it! Many people were seen by the doctors – in fact no one is ever turned away by the Luke Commission, as they will stay until the last person is treated. Everyone who saw the doctor was dealt with care and shown the love and compassion of Christ. It was so great to see the TLC staff take time to explain to the people what their medical problem is. Almost always here a doctor will simply give you pills and not explain anything to you about your medical condition. And it is looked down upon for a patient to ask the doctor questions. Crazy right? 

      

Two different circumstances were brought to light within our community that truly have broken my heart. I cannot get into details, but in both instances a brother or sister in the faith was found to have done very inappropriate things with large amounts of money. They were not connected with AIM or Timbutini church, but in both instances they were a brother/sister in Christ, and known throughout our community. Their actions, the choice's they made, have torpedoed their lives and ministries. It has also brought a bunch of anger and criticism toward the larger Christian community. 

I was shocked when I found out, as I knew the people from both instances. I could not expect it at all.  Now please don't think I am trying to sit up on some high holy horse. I understand that there have been a lot of wrong choices that I have made throughout my life (and many I wouldn't want disclosed publicly!), and but for the awesome grace of God only I could have made a tremendous amount more. 

But the power, and the effects of our choices is what has shocked me. I am sure that in these instances the people didn't start out with huge levels of compromise. It probably happened little by little, and continued, until finally their wrong choices were brought out publicly - the result being broken relationships and destruction to their lives and their loved ones.       

The choices we make also have the great potential to hurt those around us. We just received a heart-breaker today. A girl that Zwakele and I are close with, someone we have spent a bunch of personal time with, was diagnosed with HIV. This news has devastated us. She is only about 12 years old, and has experienced so much pain already in her life, being orphaned and living in dire poverty. What is particularly painful is that she didn't make a choice that led to her infection. We are not totally sure how she was infected, but I suspect that it is a result from sexual abuse. It's terrible! Zwakele and I so love this girl, and through no fault of her own she has been handed this disease. Through someone elses wrong choice her life is terribly affected.

But Zwakele and I know the choices we are called to make:  To continue to display the love of God through word and action. When confronted with evil and injustice; we choose to act. When seeing those in suffering; we will comfort with His love. Please pray with Zwakele and myself that we would be faithful to our calling. Thank you so much for your continued love and support!     

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing..." - PS 68:5&6

There are about 850 + orphaned and vulnerable children that come to our care points. We are feeding them daily, and teaching them about the love of God. This past week Zwakele and I spent some extended time with Nokwanda, an 11 year old girl from one of our care points. Nokwanda had raised sores covering her head that were causing her a lot of pain. Because of the financial support from churches in the USA funding our work we have the ability to get our children much needed medical care. Without that support from our partner churches we simply wouldn't have the means to see that every one of those 850+ children could get medical attention.

Being enabled to take children for medical treatment is by far one of my favorite things about our ministry. To me it is so "the real deal." It's part of doing the works of Jesus, along with declaring His Word.

In Swaziland (and so many places around the world) there many people suffering because they simply don't have the money to travel to a doctor, let alone pay to get consultation. In some instances the cost is merely a few dollars to get much needed medication, but the people just don't have it. This is needless suffering; and it's also what Bono calls "stupid poverty." Can you even imagine that a dollar or two could be the difference between life and death?  In these cases we need to act to help alleviate this suffering. 

Nokwanda is a child that has no means to see a doctor. So Zwakele and I took her to see one. I didn't know much about Nokwanda's story before we picked her up from her care point. Zwakele told me that Nokwanda's father had died, and that the mother had married another man. Because of the new marriage of her mother, Nokwanda and her siblings had been dumped on their elderly grandmother to be cared for.

Typically in Swazi culture, a spouse will not care for children from their partner's previous       marriage(s). It is very sad, and both men and women are guilty of this absence of responsibility. So Nokwanda has now lost her father and basically her mother as well.    

We took Nokwanda to get the medicine she needed and then we made a special detour. We went to KFC! There are 4 Kentucky Fried Chicken's in Swaziland and they are always slamming with business. KFC is a preferred delicacy here and we wanted Nokwanda to have a special treat. We got some chicken, and of course a soft serve ice cream for desert, and just enjoyed the afternoon together. We talked a bunch, and we embarrassed Nokwanda a little as we told her that we loved her and that she could always talk to us. As we sat in the KFC with each other, I just had an overwhelming sense that we were doing exactly what God had made us for. As Nokwanda has basically lost both of her parents, God has called Zwakele and I to step up and love Nokwanda and be her family. God does set the lonely in families! For all of us who know Jesus, we are a family, and we belong to one another. I am just so thankful that I get to minister that truth and Jesus' love to the children around me.

AND if it wasn't for your support, we simply couldn't do it! Thank you so much for your giving, which allows us to walk in our calling. May God bless you abundantly!

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." - GAL 6:10

On Saturday the 16^th of February 2008 I married my sweetheart Zwakele Mamba. And then on Sunday the 17^th I married her again! Yes, we had two full-on weddings, two days in a row. Two days of "I do's", two days of my beautiful bride in her wedding dress, and two days of wedding fun and craziness!

Why two weddings on consecutive days? Well, we kind of had to do it that way. We chose to have our first wedding @ Emafini Conference Center. It is a beautiful place up in the mountains outside of the capital, Mbabane. Zwakele and I love Emafini, and we know the owners, so they gave us an incredible deal. The downside of Emafini was that it was a small venue, so only a limited number of people would be invited .

That didn't sit well with our rural community of Timbutini. You see, in traditional Swazi culture one never has a wedding that uses private invitations. Everyone and anyone from the community are invited, and the bride and groom are expected to cater for them. Many people upon hearing that we were issuing wedding invitations, and that it was an hour and a half's drive away, expressed their displeasure to us.  So, in a way of compromise, we decided to have another full-on 2^nd for the community taking place the next day.  We held the 2^nd wedding at Zwakele's church - Timbutini Wesleyan Church, where Walter Malaza is the pastor.

It was fun weekend but also absolutely crazy to have two weddings two days in a row. I don't think I would ever suggest it actually. In the end, some people were still not happy with our compromise. But most importantly we are happy, and we had our wedding(s) the way we wanted to them. Amen and Hallelujah to that!

Zwakele and I have been married for almost 2 months now. It's still hard for me to believe. We spent so much time and energy preparing for the big day (or days :) ).  And after all the preparation, the weekend came and went by so fast.  After it all when we were actually able to sit and rest for a moment, we held each other and said "Why did we stress so much about this. It came and it went, and was over." We spent so much time before in preparation.   In the end the result was sweet for sure, but we realized that we didn't really need to walk in all that stress and aggravation that we did. What's important is that God has called us together. And we are happy to be together.  Thank You Lord Jesus!   

Zwakele and I really just want to thank so many of you who helped us to take this next step in our lives. This would not have happened without the help of Ben & Janeen Messner, Julie Anderson, Matthys & Kirek Gereber, and YOU - Our friends and family that regularly support us!!! Thank you all so much!

AIM partners with an organization called Children's Hope Chest (CHC) in our ministry to over 800 orphaned and vulnerable children in Swaziland. CHC links churches in the USA to financially sponsor the ministry at Pastor Walter's 8 Neighborhood Care Points. 1 Church sponsors the food, medical care, and discipleship teaching at 1 Orphan Care Point. Without the 8 church's and CHC's help we could not do some the amazing things we get to do! Feel free to check CHC out at their website: www.hopechest.org

CHC wants each child's birthday celebrated. It is a huge task, but I think it is such a great thing. We want each orphaned child to know that their birthday is important because they are important. We want the orphans to know that they are loved by us but even more so by their Father in heaven.

CHC's official sponsorship didn't begin until half way through 2007. Even though we missed half of the year with the official program, we still wanted to celebrate each orphan's birthday for 2007. So, in November we started the task of throwing a birthday party at all 8 care points. 8 huge birthday extravaganzas for 800 + children.

Their party first starts with us running a jumping castle. Many have never seen or been on a jumping castle so it is a real treat for them. It is so amazing to see the children's excitement; they are so pumped! They are laughing so much, and have lots of fun. I realize that for a moment many of their troubles are put aside. They get to be kids, and experience some joy, which is so often absent due to the circumstances and losses in their lives. I wish that moment of the party could just go on forever for them.

After some serious time bouncin' in the castle we call all the kids together. I share the word of God with them - we read some of Psalm 139 which says that God made them in their mother's womb, and that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. I tell them that we are here today to celebrate them, that they are so precious to us, and to their Babe Wethu (Abba Father). Each child is then individually given a couple gifts along with some sweets. We then bring out some birthday cakes, light some candles, and sing "happy birthday." Each child then gets to chow down on some birthday cake. We then turn the jumping castle back on for more fun.

We have thrown 7 parties so far, with the 8^th and final one probably happening sometime this week. It has been a huge undertaking. A lot of prep work went into this one. About 15 of us made hundreds and hundreds of gift bags and bags of candy for each child. It is also a lot of work to run the party; to keep some sense of order during the festivities. At the end of the day our team is wiped out. But it is so worth it! We want these kids to know that they are valued. The day God brought them into the world is special, and we are thankful to God for them. But more so we want them to know that even though many have been abandoned or they have lost their parents to AIDS God has not left them. He loves them so much and has a plan for their lives. He wants these children to know him and his love so deeply, and share that love with the world.

 Next year the birthday parties will be a little different. At the end of each month at each of the 8 care points we will have a smaller party for each child who has had a birthday during that month. I am so thankful that next year we will be there again to celebrate their birthday. Their discipleship will continue, and so will our communication to them that they are so important to us and to the Lord Jesus. It's truly an honor to be a part of this. Thank you so much, my support team,  for your love and support to me in allowing me to live out this calling on my life!

"How do I do this Lord?"

The tragedy of some people's stories has left my heart raw at times. Sometimes I am so broken that I don't know what to do. There is one particular situation (out of so many) that has been on my heart constantly. The following is me trying to process this, and I wanted to share it with you all:

A few of us were visiting some "child headed homes." Because of the devastation of HIV/AIDS there are now many homesteads in Swaziland where both parents have passed away, leaving only the children to care of themselves.

We visited one home in the community of Timbutini; in fact the home is only maybe a hundred yards away from Pastor Walter's church. Even though I have been in the community for over 2 years I have never seen this home which is adjacent to the churches property. The homestead is obscured by the "bush," being various trees and other vegetation. The irony struck me pretty harshly. A homestead that is so close to the church walls, and yet many of us didn't even know of the desparate need that was so close. We were totally unprepared for what we were about to uncover.

There are five children that live at this homestead. The oldest, a thirteen year old girl, is the care-taker of her 4 siblings. All 5 children live in a one room building. When we arrived in the neighborhood we parked our vehicle at the church, and the 5 children were there. Straight from school they come to the church first, to eat at the Care Point. I was so relieved to see all 5 of them in school uniforms. At least their school fees have been paid for this year. The government of Swaziland is supposed to pay for all OVC's (Orphaned and vulnerable children) school fees. Each year though there is somehow not enough money to go around and many orphans are chased from their schools. Not enough money for orphans, but plenty to provide expensive cars for government officials, and plenty enough to fill the bellies of the honorable Members of Parliament.

We greeted the children and then went with them to visit their homestead. I had actually thought that they had lost both mother and father, but we found out that their father is still living. Through the course of our visit, we then found out that the father is sexually abusing the 13 year old daughter, and has been for a while. To make matters even worse, we know that the man is dying of AIDS. He is dying, and his abuse is sentencing his own daughter to death as well. Then, in the midst of our visit, the man arrives back at his house. What do we do?

How do you act towards a man who is sexually abusing his own daughter? How do you treat this man who is killing his own child, and furthermore a man who doesn't mind that he is doing it? Honestly, in my heart I want to kill this man, to punish him for what he has done. I at least want to beat him severely. I think "He must be punished!"

And yet I know the depravity of my own soul; I know what evil has lived in my own heart. Except for the Grace of God I could have been that man. I could have been even worse. And so my heart breaks and cries for even this man who is so far gone. Can the blood of Jesus even come to him? Am I even willing to pray for his forgiveness and salvation? Honestly, I don't know. I am so raw, such a mix of emotions, that when I see him that I have to step away for a few minutes. I am afraid that I will kill him. I walk about 20 yards away and start to pray. I feel the inner turmoil within myself, anger and grief, and the only words that can come, born of frustration are:

"How do I do this Lord?" I am so broken. My heart is grieved for the children and I am so angry at the father. "What do you want me to do?"

more coming soon...

My Dear friends and Family,

 PS 10:17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
   you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

 PS 10:18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
   in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

In working at the care points in recent weeks I have been praying this
verse and claiming it for so many of the children and their
stories.  More on some specific stories later...

This week we are starting the formalized discipleship program at Pastor Walter's Care Points. For the past few weeks I have been working with a team of 3 Swazi youth, training them and preparing for our ministry. In the first phase of this long-term program we will be visiting each of the care points and doing consistent discipleship teaching once a week for a couple hours. The time is meant to be fun and interactive, with games, songs, and crafts. Kind of like a VBS program but ongoing and better! We are also choosing to go deeper with the children than ever before. We believe that God wants to know these orphans personally, and use them powerfully. Through prayer we really felt that we were supposed to have a new curriculum written. We also felt that the new curriculum needed to emphasize the importance of prayer, and developing the children to learn to pray to their Father in heaven. We also felt led to build into the children a missional worldview. We want these kids to have God's heart and vision for their community, their country, Africa, and the World. We started at the basics of who God is, His character, and who we are in relation to Him. Our theme for the first 3 months is entitled: "God is…I am." The curriculum is also holistic in that we are teaching various health issues, as well as basic education stuff like counting, spelling, math, at the various age levels. Special thanks needs to go to two colleagues of mine, Katy and Ben, who put in a lot of work in writing most of the curriculum.      

My Discipleship Team, or "D-Team" as I call them, is great! They are all "20 something's" (a club I only recently just left, how sad!) whom love the Lord and children. I have one guy named Musa, and 2 ladies named Zodwa, & Ncobile. We have been having a great time getting to know each other, worshipping together, and praying for one another. I am in charge of the discipleship program at the care points, and my job is to pastor my team and help empower them to do the discipleship teaching. The logistics and all the prep work for lessons have been enormous, but it has also been a sweet time. Just the other day, during a time of prayer together, I realized how cool this whole thing is. It made me think of the days when I was back at Nyack, part of a new ministry team called Campus Chaplain's. Everything was new, exciting, and one had a sense that "God is doing something, and about to do even so much more!" It is hard to describe, but during prayer the other day I had one of those moments where you realize "This is why I am here on the Earth!" And you realize what a huge amount of grace it is to be His!

Please pray for my team as we start this new focused program. Please pray for the love of Christ and His unity to flow through our team, and please ask God to pour out wisdom and power on me as I lead my team. Thank you.

A few prayer requests for Swaziland…

Recent Drought - for the past 6 or 7 years some areas in Swaziland have experienced a severe drought resulting in a low or zero harvest. Other area's in Swazi had experienced a lot of rain and flourished. Unfortunately this year almost all of Southern Africa experienced a drought condition and the results have been very bad. Maize, or corn as we know it in the USA, is the staple crop here in Swazi and much of Southern Africa. Most of the maize has died this year, including the huge irrigated commercial farms as well as the small plots people have at their homesteads to feed their family. The price of a metric ton of maize has shot up dramatically from last year's price, resulting in higher prices on the shelves of grocery stores and small rural shops. It is a really bad situation for people that are already impoverished. There is also a big water shortage throughout the country. Please pray for the response of the churches with the Southern region of Africa. Pray that the brother's and sisters in Africa would have God's heart and show generous compassion to those around them.

The Political Climate - Swaziland has in recent years been extremely peaceful. At the same time in the past year there have been an increasing number of people who are not happy with the way the country is being run. There are no political parties in Swaziland, they are simply not allowed. "Democracy!" has been the cry of a few rallies that have been organized in recent months. The government and the police have come down hard on these rallies, using force or mass arrests to stop them. This past Thursday (12^th April) a political group organized a blockade at various Swazi/South African borders to get their message out. The BBC was there and covered the protest on their world service radio broadcasts. The Swazi police were also there, as they detained many people and officially arrested 6. The 6 are being charged with sedition, a crime that is punishable by death. I guess the police used some slight excessive force with a few people. A photograph was published in the Swazi newspaper with a police officer grabbing a protester's throat. The photograph has caused a lot of outrage among people, and the newspapers have been commentating about it daily. Please keep this nation's political climate in your prayers. There is a small but growing undercurrent of anger towards the traditional system and growing number of people that want change. If that change is to come, (it seems a long way off) I am praying that it is done in a peaceful way. There is too much bloodshed in this world already.

Thank you so much for your love towards me. Thanks to a few of you who have recently sent me an encouraging email. I really appreciate it! It means so much to me to know that I am in your prayers. Blessings to you my support team!

Living a life I never dreamed possible...