In reflecting on the trip, we are reminded that us “westerners” really like tangible change and results. We really want to see a lot of things happen back in Swaziland and we want it to happen “yesterday”. Granted we saw some tangible results….
1. A fence was completed in a little over a week that covers over 4 acres of land
2. When we left, the kitchen was about 1/3 of the way finished
3. We took pictures of every sponsored child except for three and we gained new information on the other children coming to the care point (there averaged around 44 children each day coming to the care point for the food, games, crafts, songs, and bible stories) There were over 100 children on Saturday for the party
4. We made new friends and came to love such kind and joyful people
5. We now have 10 advocates for our mission work in Swaziland
So, we can look at some tangible resutls first hand from our trip…this is not even counting the decisions and changes being made in the lives of those who traveled on the mission trip. However, there are many other results that we may never ever see….some of these results may be even more important. We plant and water and let God cause the growth.
So, What is happening now!
Just to keep you informed….we are coordinating with Hope Chest to have a survery done on the care point to identify if there is water under the ground for us to dig a well. We have the funds, we simply need for there to be a good source of water–please pray for a lot of water to be found.
We are looking at trip dates for next year….we really believe that we can send at least two teams a year. There is a UAB group interested in joining in on our mission to Swaziland, this would be UAB students as well as medical/dental students.
WE WILL DEFINITELY HAVE A TRIP IN THE SUMMER next year…so if you are interested in going next year, please be praying. We can answer any questions that you may have. Lastly, we are scheduling a follow up meeting with the mission team and those who sponsor children to share an update from the trip and to keep talking about ways to move forward together. (If you may want to sponsor some fo the new children coming to the care point–email todd@journeybham.com and let him know that you are interested in being informed about the upcoming meeting…dates and times TBA.
Lastly, we are trying to get a Facebook page for our care point so that we can network what is happening in the Nsoko region with many other people who may want to get involved.
Keep praying as we continue to move forward!!!! With and without tangible results.
