What a blessed day of ministry! Our day started early at Franson Christian School for morning devotion. We arrived as students were loading their classroom chairs into the auditorium for their assembly. The singing voices of the students must be a sample of what we will hear in Heaven. You don’t want to miss it. Team introductions are always funny, because the student body reacts as the person is introduced. Parents of our youth, your children received a huge reaction! Franson students were amazed at the ages of our youth and their physical appearance. They thought the youth were older and very attractive. Tripp and Carter did a fabulous job sharing their testimony. Matthew had a good message that had the student body engaged.
What a blessing to eat breakfast with Hannah Poe and Judy Bond here at Phumula Guest House. Hannah and Judy are working on leadership training with Community Bible Study. Please pray for this ministry that trains leaders for CBS to be used in churches and communities here in Swaziland.
What a blessing to arrive at the women’s retreat at Thunzini Baptist Church to greet precious friends. The fellowship was sweet! Our Bible study time is always a treat with Thunzini women, because they are hungry for the Word of God. Joyce did a wonderful job sharing her testimony with the women. Trina led the Bible study on discipleship. The men ran errands, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then served the women. A side note, Carter loved his PBJ again! Carter and Tripp enjoyed the homestead children and played for hours with them. Visiting with Babe Mkhonta was a tender, precious time. He is getting feeble and unable to walk without crutches. Words cannot describe the emotions that were felt by team members and Babe as we visited. This was a very hard “see you later” when we left Babe. Babe Mkhonta’s family members are very dear to us. This family has strong Christian leaders in the communities where they live. Two of Babe’s grandsons, Simanga and Thabani translated for us again on this trip. Thunzini Baptist Church started meeting in a tent on the Mkhonta homestead over 20 years ago when Jimmy Moore and Jimmy Johnson first began coming to Swaziland. We have worshiped in their tin church building and now their beautiful new building. The precious people are the church. Wayne and Barbara Myers invested many days and years with this ministry. Both of you are dearly missed! The Allen family is missed as well!
What a blessing that we did not have another flat tire. Plans were changed and our last night of revival at Maloma did not happen due to Avis rental was not able to get another new van to us. A tire replacement would be too easy! The spare tire was fine to drive around town, but not on washboard roads. Avis is actually replacing our van tomorrow when we arrive in Tshaneni. Driving an extra 4-5 hours to chase behind us is acceptable to Avis, so we agreed. Come find us.
What a blessing worshiping at Mgamudze and Zikhotheni. Mgamudze Baptist Church has laid a strong foundation around their existing church with blocks stacked about 5 high. This is a labor intensive job of making blocks and then laying the blocks. Progress is slow, but steady. Our hearts were full seeing Chris and Annah Thwala. Other familiar faces were there worshiping too. The congregation is so warm and hospitable which is a reflection of their pastor, Chris. Hensley did a beautiful job sharing her testimony. Jack Cherry got his dancing shoes on and worshiped God through singing and dancing. The congregation loved it! Jimmy preached on Nicodemus and 11 children accepted Christ. Praise! Zikhotheni meets on Thuli’s family homestead, so she was able to travel with us and visit. The house church was overflowing to the outside. There were lots of community children in attendance with the adults. The team experienced one and a half hours of praise songs. Greg preached and the congregation was ready to hear the Word of God.
What a blessing to be in Swaziland serving the Lord! We plead for continued prayers as we continue to minister.
