Surviving at Christmas

Imagine this is your kitchen…

Imagine this is where you sit and chat with your visitors…

Imagine this is your house…

This is reality for some families in Swaziland.  Last week our Manzini staff worked together to visit 116 “struggling” homesteads.  We had the priviledge of visiting with 12 of these homes.  This was not what our Christmas blog was going to look like, but after these visits, we could not make this blog “pretty”.  We were going to send a nice family photo and wish you a Merry Christmas.  We were going to say something nice about how beautiful this country truly is and that we are enjoying our first Christmas in Swaziland.  But the truth is…we just couldn’t.  We cannot forget that these families (most of which are child-headed) are struggling to survive.  

These visits wrecked us emotionally.  

Most of these homesteads have a very limited source of food and water.  Many have crops planted and are doing their best to survive.  It was so humbling to deliver a box of rice and see tears well up in the eyes of the caretakers as they realized this was food for the next several weeks.  We struggle with words to express our feelings about the impact of these visits.

 

Once again, we trust in what we know, not how we feel. God is sovereign and He has a plan for each person we visited.  Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

 

Thank you for allowing us to be here and to serve our Lord. Thank you for your support and your prayers.  It is not possible without you!  

 

As we begin a new year, please help us pray that God will lead us as a ministry to know how to serve the people in our communities.

We pray you have a blessed New Year!

 

Greg and Michelle