What’s the Lord doing in Swaziland?

Eswatini, also known as Swaziland, is the first country on my trip’s route. It’s this beautiful, traditional, and super community-oriented place in southern Africa, where Christianity is the main religion. The population is around 1.2 million people and almost half of that is children. I’ll be in the city of Nsoko, where the community has suffered so much loss from an HIV outbreak that has affected every aspect of these people’s lives. So our ministry is going to provide support and care for the children affected by this outbreak. Most, if not all, of the kids we’ll encounter are orphans who have lost their parents due to this disease and are either on their own or cared for by an older sibling who’s just struggling to get by. We’ll provide food and basic necessities for these kids, while also sharing who Jesus is and loving on them as best we can. The children that come will most likely get the one meal they eat in a day here… so otherwise, without this organization they couldn’t survive. The need for the gospel here is not as urgent (because they are a primarily Christian country) as the need for being Jesus’ hands and feet are. Just being willing and able to serve these kids who are suffering and have no way to help themselves, while also sharing with them who it is that loves them most of all… Jesus! 

It breaks my heart already for these kids I’m about to meet. Kids who never asked for this, who probably don’t understand why things like this happen. To lose your parents… go hungry every day of your life… struggle to simply live to the next day. I can’t imagine because in the world I live in money is the lord of everyone’s life and we focus more on it than we do the true and living God. It really just makes me sad too, because all of this is a result of the choice we made. To live our lives without God. To say we know better and don’t need Him. It’s so easy to look at this and say why God would you let this happen to these poor kids. But then I’m reminded that it was me that ate the fruit from the tree and said that I didn’t need Him. But that’s exactly why I do… because I made the biggest mistake of all, which was turning from God. I’m really eager to see how the Lord opens my eyes and changes me during my time in Nsoko. How He’ll change my selfish, never being satisfied, always wanting more, ways… and bring a spirit of gratitude for all He’s already given me. 

Overall, God has just completely softened my heart for these kids I get to love over these next two-ish months. I actually can’t wait for how He’s going to use me in these kids’ lives. To provide hope and physically be God’s love for them. It’s so incredible to me that God sent me on this trip thinking about these kids all along and how He wants them to know just how much He loves them through the vessel He’s using in me! Like wow! I get to show someone God’s love through obedience even though I’m far too unworthy to even receive that love myself, but yet He still wants me to. I can’t wrap my mind around the goodness of God and how sovereign and loving He is to us. I have a feeling, though, that through my time in Swazi God will slowly start to reveal bits and pieces of it to me.

I’m SO excited to come back at the end of November and share all the experiences and things God has done. To see where I was at before and then how He’s brought me through and changed me. 

Just a reminder that I will be in a very remote area, so unfortunately, I don’t know if I will be able to post any blogs, but I’ll definitely be writing them. And then once I go back to the airport for Malaysia I’ll send them out to you all!

Please keep me in your prayers as I begin my travel to Nsoko, Eswatini, tomorrow. I will officially make it to Nsoko on the 7th, so pray that the Lord would give me the strength to lead my team through 60 hours of travel well as I begin a new area of my leadership role. Dad, I hope you’ve trained me through enough airport travel days that I’ll be ready for this! Haha

Finally… Thank you…Thank you to everyone for all your support so far! I’m truly so grateful to have people back home rooting for me, praying for me, and wanting to hear about what the Lord is doing on this adventure of mine. Can’t wait to share more soon!

Much Love, Jaydin