Swazi...At A Glance

Here we are 2 weeks ago from departing to South Africa and Swaziland!  There are a lot of emotions swirling around for me and for the rest of the team.  Four years ago I had never heard of the tiny country called Swaziland, and now I will be helping lead a team of high schoolers and adults to Swaziland.

I wanted to give you a snapshot of the Kingdom of Swaziland.  For several years I have researched these stats, read about them, prayed about them and now they are going to move from stats to faces.  The 215,000 orphaned/vulnerable children number will move from a statistic on a website to an image of dozens of kids playing at the care point...which I am sure our team will talk about more on this on blog.

Hopefully this will give a you a snapshot of the country will be in!

*  Swaziland has a population of 950,000 - 215,000 are orphans or vulnerable children.  

*  There are 94,000 jobs in Swaziland - 70% are government jobs

*  On average 1 working Swazi supports 10 other people.  

*  Swaziland is a monarchy - it is ruled by a king.  King Mswati III, who has been king since 1986.  The King has 14 wives - each who drive a BMV, have their own royal residence.  The King also has 6 palaces.  

*  In the last 3 years 350,000 people have died of HIV/AIDS

*  44.6% of the population has HIV/AIDS

*  The religion here is a mix of Swazi Tradition, Zionism, and Christianity.  It's called a "powerless" faith.  

*  Life expectancy in Swaziland is about 40 years.  

Thank you so much for the support you have given and continue to give to the team.  We covet your prayers!  

For the team, 

Matt

Sleeping Bags and Jesus

When I was 18 years old, I felt the LORD move my heart towards Africa. Always being terrified that the LORD would force me to sell everything I owned, be single for the rest of my life, and move to a remote hut in Rwanda, I felt the stirrings and ignored them. But the God we serve is a powerful God and used the next six years to confirm the calling in my heart. I'm now 24 and in a very different place than I was six years ago – emotionally, spiritually, and physically. When I was asked to join the team my heart leapt at the opportunity to finally see the place that I had started to love many years ago. 

When you look at me you probably rightly assume that I'm not really the type of girl who jumps at the chance to rough it. Living in Colorado has slowly transformed a few of my prissier ways but still, my first time camping, ever, was last Labor Day. I only made it one night and then realized how dirty I was and was ready for running water and a hot shower. Africa will be a stretch for me in more ways then one. I've been practical in my planning knowing that I won't have basic comforts and have tried to embrace the "fun" of roughing it. When we found out a few weeks ago that we needed to bring a sleeping bag and pillow I thought about the big roll up one that I've used for sleepovers and camps throughout the years. I started thinking about how I was going to pack it in my suitcase but figured I would just unroll it and stuff things around it. The other night I off-handedly made a comment about the sleeping bag and my plan on packing it. Both my mom and brother stopped talking, looked at me, and started laughing. My brother bluntly told me that I was ridiculous and there was no way I was going to be able to take one of our sleeping bags to Africa. Here's what I assumed would be fine to take overseas with me:

My brother immediately started a quest to help me find an appropriate sleeping bag. Lucky for me REI is having a sale this week. He knew what I would need and basically sent me color and price choices. Once again proving that going on a mission trip requires many more people than just those actually going. This trip would not be possible for me or anyone else without the generosity of our donors, the prayers of those around us, and the helpful advice of people that know the right sleeping bags to buy and immunization shots to get. Thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

- Rachel Mueller 

The Final Countdown

According to our Facebook countdown clock we have 21 days, 18 hours, and 54 minutes until we leave for Swaziland.  It was about six months ago we begin the difficult process of choosing the team for this missions trip - 20 high school student applications and 13 adult applications were prayerfully narrowed down to a team of 12 high school students and 6 adults plus Jen and I as we lead the trip.  However, God was at work in long before that process even began. 


In 2006 God began to move in the hearts of the Student Ministry staff at Woodmen Valley and after a year of praying and research we felt led to partner with Children's Hope Chest in a tiny country called Swaziland.  In case you are not aware, Swaziland has the highest HIV infection rate in the world.  Officially, over 35% of its population are infected; unofficially, that numbers is closer to 60%.   This tragic situation has led to a life expectancy of less than 46 years for the average Swazi.  It also means that 25% of Swaziland's population are orphaned children.

Thus, the 3rd Project was born.  God first - everybody else second - and me third.

For me personally, this trip is an answer to prayer I have had since 2006.  Here we are about 3 weeks away from the trip and it is difficult to believe I will be traveling to Swaziland.  We will be singing songs, putting on a VBS, doing light construction work, holding orphans, and much more.  However, our main goal is to let the people at our carepoint know God loves them.  Whatever method God wants us to do that we will do exactly that.  If that means God wants us to work - we will work.  If that means God wants us to sit in the dirt and hold a child for hours - we will do just that. 

We plan on receiving as much (or more) as we give; learning as much (or more) as we teach; listening as much (or more) as we talk; being loved as much (or more) as we love.

This blog will serve to keep you updated, give you specific ways to pray for us, and to invite you to get involved!  While we are in Swaziland we will update as often as we can (internet connection can be hit or miss) so check back often.

The countdown is now at 21 days, 18 hours, and 27 minutes.  

Serving a God who is bigger... 
Matt