Ministry Impact in Eswatini

Since the first of the year, the ministry in Eswatini has ramped up. Most gatherings have started back and the last update from the prime minister shared restrictions were being relaxed even more by stating “the wearing of face masks in open space is no longer mandatory in groups of not more than five people.”

As the ministry continues to reach out to children and their caregivers, we have several programs to help those who are grieving the loss of loved ones and programs to help teach that God has a plan for their lives.

Ngesikhatsi Grief Support Program:

A total of 133 children at 22 participating CarePoints successfully completed the Ngesikhatsi Grief Support course at the end of March. There have also been a couple of courses given to community members. Upon completion, each participant receives a certificate. Below is a picture of the community members holding their certificates.

The staff reported a testimony of impact of one of the young girls who completed the course:

An eleven-year-old girl shared her heart about the value in her life from the course. She wrote, “I was invited to be part of the course last year, and I couldn’t proceed due to increasing number of covid cases in my CarePoint. I am glad that I was part of the group now. The lessons from this course were so painful and I believe being part of the course will help me with the emotional load in me. I couldn’t control my emotions from the first session because the examples shared in the class were relating to my situation at home. When I think about home, I can’t stop crying. I lost my parents some few years ago, and I stay with my grandmother and uncles. I feel unsafe at home and as I think of this often. I can’t hold my tears from coming out of my eyes. The life is bad and my grandmother has nothing much to take care of me. After each session, my Shepherd spent time with me to check how was the session and to evaluate if I was acquiring something from the session. She prays for me and makes me feel comfortable to share with her my pain. I am not okay but I am thankful for the love, the time she shows me as I try to deal with this difficult time. I feel loved and valuable as my Shepherd is practicing what she is teaching in the Ngesikhatsi class.” (This was translated into English)

Small Groups Training:

In addition to the grief counseling program, shepherds are presenting discipleship lessons to the larger groups attending the CarePoints. Each CarePoint was recently involved in a small groups training to help prepare the older kids being trained to become leaders in their communities and at the CarePoint.

Here is a summary report we received from our staff:

Meeting with the Small Group Leaders (SGL) and accomplishing our goal of making sure they are trained and equipped was one of the highest moments of the overall training. We were able to reach out to 149 SGLs who participated in the training and a total of 48 children gave their life to Christ. We are excited that children came to see the light and made the choice to give their life to Christ. We hope and pray that this action will lead them into a solid foundation of their lives, and we believe that as they will be receiving and facilitating the sessions, they themselves would be strengthening their faith and growing spiritually. Shepherds will play a mentoring role for these children and will encourage them as they attend a sound church that will empower them spiritually. Matthew 18:12-14 emphasizes that, for you were as sheep going astray, but now are returned to the Shepherd and guardian of your souls. Those souls were won into the Kingdom and we look forward to working with them and alongside them for their growth and positive influence to others and also modeling Christ’s life in their communities.

Gift of Hope Program (Pilot Program for teenage pregnancy):

An amazing opportunity has led the staff to begin a pilot program to address teenage pregnancy. The goal of the program is to share with these young girls that God can use their stories for His glory and to empower them with God’s truths to be great mothers to their children. The program is still in the planning stage, but hopefully, will launch within the next few weeks.

A great advantage of our roles, is sometimes, we get a front row seat of His timing and provision and how God allows us to connect the dots as shared in the story below.

A donor reached out wanting to help a young girl. The staff became aware that the teenager was pregnant and was able to buy much needed supplies for the baby’s arrival. Our staff visited two days after the baby was born and God used the staff member, who was a new mother herself, to provide some assistance and advice. The donation was given months before that home visit and God used this donation at just the right time!

 

We have a trip planned for Eswatini at the end of May. This will be Michelle’s first time back since we moved stateside in April of 2020. She is excited to get back to connect and do some training with her finance team. We will use some of our time in Eswatini to train staff about the sponsorship side and collaborate on how to help each other in our roles. We also look forward to encouraging the staff and spending time with friends.

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your partnership and to give you a glimpse into what God is doing through you in His ministry in Eswatini, Africa. You are a vital part of the ministry and we are so very grateful for your prayers and financial gifts to further His kingdom! Thank you for partnering with us and being a part of the impact God is making in these young people’s lives.

Will you partner with us in prayer that the ministry in Eswatini will continue to motivate these young people to seek Him in whatever they face in their lives?

 

Because of Him,

Greg and Michelle Mullins