Swaziland - AIM & Nsoko

Our first full day in Swaziland. This photo is Dennis & Zwakele Brock, AIM missionaries. Dennis is from NY state and has been in Swaziland for 4 years. He met Zwakele in a local church and they married a couple of years ago. They are expecting their first child in late March. Hope Chapel is hoping to support them and their work here in Swaziland on an ongoing basis, if possible.

After 24 hours of travel, we finally arrived and spent Sunday night in the Tum’s George Hotel in Manzini, Swaziland. After breakfast, I, Ron, thought I had lost my wallet, but discovered it well-hidden in my room, much to the relief of the team – and an answer to prayer. Dennis and his wife gathered us together and on we went to Nsoko Swaziland, about an hour from where we are staying in Manzini. We stopped for lunch at a Game Preserve and met up with Jumbo, AIM’s director for Swaziland. We then went on to Nsoko and the anchor center for the carepoints in that region. We met the Peterson family who had just arrived for a 3-month stint working with the orphans at the Nsoko carepoints. Their story is inspirational – ask me about it sometime.

Finally it was time for my visit with the 4 boys Ann Marie and I sponsor. The boys live on the homestead of an elderly Gogo (grandmother). In this photo is the Gogo, and from the left, Mandla (11), Sibusiso (9), Cel-musa (5), Sanelo (10). This was my third visit to see the boys at their home and they were very excited to receive some t-shirts and a football. We spent a good time throwing the ball around and playing. After much too short a time, we left to go and look around a potential carepoint – Mbuthu. It is a bare-bones area, lacking in all basic necessities, but being a place of feeding for about 30 children.

We headed back to Manzini, ready to continue tomorrow with what God is bringing us. Tuesday we will be visiting an established carepoint – Tambini – where we hope to get a full picture of what our carepoint could be. Next we go Mpaka, which is unique in that it is a completed and built-out carepoint, but no children have been sponsored as of yet. Before the end of the day, we’ll head over to Mpholi to visit the children there – along with Pastor Bill’s sponsored child, Simongele.

Please keep us in your prayers as we finalize the carepoint selection. We have seen God at work already, and are confident that He is leading us as we go.