It’s been a long time since I’ve had internet. Or a shower. This is the Africa Trek :) We’ve been to three different locations since I last blogged, so I’ll write a section about each.
Swaziland- A beautiful country. Much work to be done. 1
million people. 600,000 HIV positive. Many of the males are absent in the lives
of their families. They often work on sugar cane plantations and rarely come
home. The women run the households. There is also somewhat of a missing
generation, because a lot of those in their 20s-30s died of AIDS before
medication was available. AIDS is not talked about in Swazi society. Neither is
sex or anything related. We visited an orphanage where the oldest orphan had
two babies of her own. It is very common for teenagers to be sexually active
and to have children.
We did several children’s programs. We went to primary
schools and also pre-schools. I assumed that children are the same everywhere.
I was very wrong. The boys’ faces were angry. Tough. Untrusting. Like they
didn’t want anything from you. The girls’ faces were scared and searching. Like
they wanted desperately for you to love them. Their faces told tales that
children their ages should not have had to experience. They are too young for
expressions like that. There were not enough smiles on their dark and precious
faces. Yet, as we played with them and spent time with them, we saw their
expressions change. They had fun, and they started to become comfortable with
us. Once you give one child a high five, about twenty are lined up for the same
and the first kid has already snuck back into the line. It is very difficult to imagine what these
children have experienced at such a young age. Deaths of family members. Abuse.
Many orphaned. I hate to think about it. But I loved to see their smiles, hear
their laughs, and share the love of Jesus with them.
We also did house (hut) visits in Swaziland. We worked with
a local missionary (he tried to recruit me to come back to Africa the first
time we had a conversation) who distributes food and clothing to the homes. We
shared encouraging words and scripture with the people we visited and prayed
with them as well. One man, named Sunshine, decided to come to church with us
the next day and was able to connect with some church members who will bring
him to church every week. Sunshine asked
that we would pray for a better home for him. Another home visit was to four
teenage girls who are living on their own because their mother died of AIDS.
She stopped taking medication because she felt better. Most Swazi people are not
educated about AIDS. We also visited the home of a man and a mentally disabled
boy. The conditions in which they lived are unmentionable. The home visits were
by far the hardest thing I have done so far on this trek. Meeting people and
then walking away without being able to fix their situations is not an easy
thing. I can’t get their faces out of my head.
As you can probably guess, my heart broke for Swaziland. I
fell in love with the people and the places there. A lot has changed in
Swaziland over the past few years. I saw the hope while experiencing the pain.
As more people are educated on AIDS and more missionaries share the gospel,
things will change. The church we went to was incredible. These people showed
us great kindness and hospitality, and they were filled with the love and power
of God. They are working with the local community, and I know they will make a
difference.
Pray that God sends more missionaries to Swaziland and that
the church in Swaziland is encouraged and motivated to reach out to the
community. Pray for the children and the many people with AIDS. Pray for the
family structure, which has fallen apart. Pray that children find father
figures.
LinPoPo, South Africa- Very different experience than
Swaziland. The region is nestled between the most beautiful mountains I have
ever seen, but the place is one of the darkest I have ever witnessed. There are
many cults and witch doctors in the area. We visited hospitals, conducted youth
services, and visited people’s homes.
The patients in the hospitals seemed as if they had no hope
or emotion. It was very strange to see. We shared the word of God with them,
sang for them, and prayed for them. We have to trust God with the rest.
I was given the opportunity to speak at the hospital and at two
youth services. God gave both my team members and I the words to say. We have
really seen God’s faithfulness in providing us with what we need to minister to
people.
The home visits were really incredible. Massiye, a
translator, and I were sent off the first day. We visited the homes of
Christians and encouraged them with the word of God. We were expected to have
something to say to these people, and we really had to trust God to give us the
right Scriptures and the right words. It was great to see how God gave us
messages that related to one another.
The next day, we did more home visits with a larger group of
people. We went to the home of one woman, and I asked her if she had heard
about Jesus. She said no. I asked her if I could share the word of God with
her. She said yes. I shared the entire gospel message from creation to the
resurrection with her. She said (through the translator), “I agree that this
word is true.” I prayed with her, and she received Christ. The pastor of a
local church will stay in contact with her to disciple her. It was really encouraging
to see how God had already prepared this woman’s heart to receive the gospel.
It had nothing to do with anything I or anyone else on my team could have said,
but with the work that God was doing.
Another personal highlight of mine was visiting the home of
a Zionist. I was able to use a lot of my apologetics training to speak with
this man about the doctrines of his religion. He was honestly seeking the truth,
and he had a lot of questions about the Bible and the doctrines that he had been
taught since he was a child. He also wanted to know how he could know which
interpretations of Scripture were true. As my team and I shared scripture with
him and answered some of his questions, you could see that he was starting to
rethink some of the things he had been taught. He is going to stay in contact
with the local pastor, and I pray that he will come into a deep relationship
with Jesus Christ.
Zimbabwe- The ride here was a bumpy one. There were a lot of
problems with the vehicle, and it took us 8 hours to cross the border. We
travelled from 3 a.m. to midnight. I was told around dinner time that I would
be speaking the next morning. I learned a lesson about trusting God, because I
did not finish the message until the middle of the night. I struggled a lot
with finding the right thing to speak on, and I ended up changing my message at
about midnight due to the prompting of the Spirit.
The next morning, Daniel and Daniel and I (Team A.D.D.) ran
a school service and a church service. We were all exhausted, and in our
weakness, we really saw the power of God. Everything was led by the Holy Spirit,
and God spoke through each of us to the school kids and to the church. I was
blessed by the message God spoke through my brothers. Because we were so
exhausted and felt so unprepared, we knew that everything was coming from God
and not from us. So encouraging.
We were able to do some kids’ ministry and another church
service here as well. I have been fed many African meals. The people of Zimbabwe
are so hospitable. We were given giant portions of maize, and I think everyone
found it amusing to watch the girls try to clear our plates. We are operating
on African time, which means you get ready and wait.
I have hardly had the chance to catch my breath, and it is
hard to believe that I have been in Africa an entire month. But God is doing amazing things. I am learning a lot about myself and a lot about Africa.
Please pray for the unity of my team. Pray that we continue to discern and listen to God's voice. Pray for OM Zimbabwe, as they seek to encourage churches and motivate people to become involved in ministry. I am seeing a lot of people who go to church but fail to share the gospel or reach out to the community. I have seen a lot of that in America too, and I know all of us are guilty of doing that at one point or another. Pray for strength and energy for me and my team. It is hard work, and we grow very tired. And please pray for Africa. Pray that the church is encouraged and motivated, and pray that the gospel is spread throughout Africa. Pray that people's hearts are softened and their ears opened to the message of the gospel.
I would write more, but most of you probably did not even get through all that I've written ;) And I don't have a lot of time. I'll save the details and the rest of the stories for when I get back. Thank you all for your prayers.
Barney would like me to mention him in my blog, because he is from Australia and thinks that makes him important.
Bye until next time!!!
I have read every word that you posted with great anticipation to hear what God is doing in you and in the African people, and I have not been disappointed:)I am still amazed that you can be in another part of the world and yet I can hear the details of what you are experiencing! It is wonderful! May the Holy Spirit continue to lead, guide, and indwell you and your team as you reach out to Believers and the lost that He puts in your path. I know for certain that you will not be the same person as when you left home on this amazing journey with God. You are so privileged to be such a young follower of Jesus, and I am so privileged to know you.
ReplyDeleteLove in Christ,
Mrs. Pilch