June 24, 2005

Africa Mission Overview

Sixteen of us from New Life Church in Glenside, PA, went to Swaziland for two weeks to help orphans and (somehow) proclaim the good news that Jesus is alive and reigns.

Swaziland is a tribal homeland, one of the last monarchies in the world, nestled in the thumb-and-forefinger of South Africa's northeast border. It is notable for having the highest rate of HIV/AIDS incidence in the world: over 40% of the population is infected, with higher incidence in the 25-35 year old range. Over 45% of pregnant women are HIV-positive.

With HIV/AIDS killing off this middle generation, a substantial proportion (almost one-fifth) of Swaziland's children are (or will be) orphans. (In one rural school we visited, we were told that of the 500 students, 300 were orphans.)

With this in mind, we planned, prayed, prepared, and packed over the last six months. (Some of us purchased stuff, too...more on that later, perhaps.) I'm back-dating the entries in this blog (written after the trip, which is why there are some non-concordant verb tenses here) to the events described.

Our goal was to proclaim the surprising goodness of Jesus in actions and words:

  • to provide clothing (and, well, stuffed animals) to orphans and the poor; we mainly did this by leaving each of five rural pastors with several bags of clothing, shoes, toys, toiletries, hoping to avoid a Somalia-like riot if we tried to hand things out directly;
  • to provide skilled medical care to those who needed it; we had with us two nurses and vast quantities of medical supplies suitable for a walk-in clinic;
  • to encourage believers by our coming, our support, and our prayers, including
    • the Van Dykens, the American missionaries from our church. No summer mission team from our church has yet gone to work with them, and although we could not do short-term work to help them and their mission, they arranged a schedule for us that put us to good use for other Christians in the airea.
    • the Swazi evangelists we will work with, helping them to show the Jesus film in rural areas and drawing on their abilities to translate, especially for our medical team.
    • the local Christians, to worship and pray with them, so they know they are not forgotten, and that the church throughout the world is indeed one.
  • to call believers and non-believers to repentance and faith, that they might know the comfort and presence of a living Redeemer in their sufferings, and that they (especially children) might walk in the way of wisdom, turning the tide of the HIV/AIDS scourge.

Technorati Tag: Posted by ronlusk at June 24, 2005 12:58 AM