Yet, the beauty of the country doesn’t begin to compare to the beautiful people there.
Bright eyes and big smiles.
Hugs and handshakes.
It’s a beautiful country full of beautiful people, but it is dying.
Rapidly.
There are many problems in Swaziland, the first being poverty. With poverty comes a lack of education. With ignorance comes violence. Yet none of these are the biggest problem facing Swazi today. The biggest problem is a deadly disease.
AIDS has taken over Swaziland, making it the most AIDS infected country in the world with over 44.2% that are HIV+. The population fell from 1.1 million 2 years ago than less than a million this year – which means the people are dying faster than they’re being born.
The statistics are heartbreaking.
- Life expectancy is 28.7 years
- 44.2% are HIV+
- Between the ages of 15 and 25 girls have an infection rate of 56%
- There are presently over 100,000 orphans in the less than 1 million population
- 58% of children don’t go to school because they can’t afford school fees/uniforms
- 70% of children will be HIV+ by the time they are 15 years old
- Only 1 in 10 children will make it to the age of 30
That is, unless something drastic happens.
Well, guess what… We want to be that something drastic!
We believe that, as Christians, we are called to care for the ‘least of these’. (Matt 25:40) We are commanded by Christ to rush to their rescue- to feed them, to clothe them, to give them something to drink. (Matt 25:34 – 40, Matt 10:42) We know that God wants to save this country from death and destruction, and we are called to help Him carry out His plan!(Isaiah 1:17)
But it doesn’t stop there.
We don’t want to just “save” them from death. We don’t want to just sustain the life they are living. We know that God has more for them, He wants to give them a hope and a future! (Jeremiah 29:11)
We have many plans, hopes, and dreams to help the people of Swaziland- especially the over 100,000 orphans AIDS has left behind. From food, water, clothing, medicine, discipleship, and education at carepoints, to building a children’s village in Nsoko, these plans are already taking shape. Now we need your help!
Help make these dreams a reality! Join us today and help us give these children a hope and a future.
Hey Team,
Kevin that was a cool post… I have spent 18 of the last 36 months in Swaziland, and it is definitely an intense country for ministry. I have experienced almost every emotion possible in Swazi, and definitely a lot of tears. The devil has such a hold in Swazi, and is really unwilling to give it up.
We will find that we are going to see God move through our prayers. We can wake up every morning and go go go, do all of these ‘good’ things, but if we dont get down on our faces and cry out for souls, and for Swaziland our impact will be minimal.
Maybe we could put together a list of specific people or places in Swaziland, and set aside 5 or 10 minutes a day that we can all pray for these people and places by name… What do you guys think?
When I heard we were going to Swaziland I was very overjoyed, I love India but my heart truly kinda is and will always be in Swaziland, you can tell by what my friends call me (they call me Swazi. haha). But anyway, this country is so desperate and in need of the love of Jesus! My heart will never stop breaking for this country, to know the spiritual warfare going on, all the orphans, and HIV and AIDS wiping the country off this planet! Heartwrenching! It is physically imposible for me to even talk about this without crying. (embarassing, I know) But I want all of us on this trip and all of our supporters to remember to be interceding for this desperate country every day, for revival and awakening, for healing and unity, and for Jesus to have His way in this country. I love you all so much and am so excited to go and change this country with all of you!
May blessing pour upon you in Jesus name.
I agree one hundred percent! This country needs our prayers so much! God has been stirring in my heart latly that the events that have lead us to go to Swaziland has been His will. That we need to get prepared because God is going to move through us like crazy! God wants to use us to help break down the enemies grip on this country! In that, God has pushed me to fast for this country on their behalf. I would like to invite all of you to fast with me for however long you feel the Lord calling you. I believe this will be very effective and the Lord would honor it if we fast as a team. Let me know what you think about this. But we definetly need to be interceding for this country and the souls in it! Also, if you decide to fast or just want to read a really profound word click on this link. This guy is really good and is really into the word. But let me know what you guys think about doing a team fast before our trip. Blessings upon you all!
Kevin McKinnon
Here is the link:http://www.watchman.net/articles/fast.html