Swaziland Team

What a wonderful week of team training we have had together!  (Check out our photography website to see pictures from this week).  We have such a beautiful group of girls.  They bonded quickly and are very eager to arrive in Swaziland.  God has big plans, and we’re right in the middle of them!  Last night, the AIM staff prayed over the leaders, and in turn the leaders prayed for the participants.  Some call it commissioning.  We call it being sent.  Next stop…Swaziland!  

We will fly out of Atlanta tonight at 8:05 and will arrive in Johannesburg at 5:30 pm tomorrow.  (It’s a 15+ hour flight, and Swaziland is 7 hours ahead EST).  We will meet our hosts at the airport, and then we will spend the night in Johannesburg.  On Friday morning, we will drive five hours to Swaziland.  We will have cultural orientation with the hosts once we arrive at the AIM house.  I believe our first ministry opportunity will be church on Sunday, and we cannot wait!

Thank you all for your prayers!  We could not do this without you.  Check the photography website often.  We’re hoping to upload pictures as much as possible!

http://wallacephoto.zenfolio.com/swazilandtrainingcamp

http://wallacephoto.zenfolio.com/swaziland09

For those wanting to know all of the details of our ministry, here is everything we know!

Ministry Details

Care Point Ministry:  

Children’s Cup Care Point in Mangwaneni – This care point is only a ten minute walk from where the team is staying.  Mangwaneni is an informal settlement just on the outskirts of Manzini.  The care point daily feeds and educates orphaned and vulnerable children.  Ministry includes:  Playing with children, teaching VBS style lessons, & relationship building.  

AIM/CHC Swaziland’s Care Points in the rural community of Engculwini – AIM has 9 neighborhood care points located in this rural community.  Ministry desc. is the same as stated above…I would like this team to focus on one or two specific care points while they are here…we will decide which specific care points when they arrive.                                                                                                

AIM Ministry Internships – The following ongoing AIM ministries have requested help from this upcoming team…

Timbali Crafts – This ministry led by Julie Anderson & Zwakele Brock focuses on the rural mothers and grandmothers that volunteer @ AIM’s 9 care points.  They meet with the volunteers on biweekly to share the word of God and also produce handcrafts, which they then sell to visitors and to people in America to generate income for these ladies.  Julie is asking for 2 girls from the team to intern with them.  The internship would be Monday and Thursday 9am-3pm as well as an occasional Tuesday afternoon.     

Cherish – This ministry holds bible studies geared for teenage girls in various high schools around Swaziland.  The ministry is led by 3 Swazi girls in their early 20’s…They are requesting one girl from the team to minister with them, as well as to help drive them to the high schools.  Obviously, the intern must have a valid USA driver’s license, and must also pass our AIM Swazi driving test.  This internship would be 3 days a week (Mon, Tues, & Wed) from 9am until 4pm.  

Christine Chenoweth – Christine teaches bible lessons and life skills to girls aged 11-18 @ a couple of AIM’s care points in Engculwini.  She also teaches 2^nd graders bible lessons at a private school that’s right next door to where the team stays.  She is requesting one girl from this team to work with her on a consistent basis.  The hours are as follows:  Monday:  8am-1:30pm,Tues: 10am-4pm,Wed: 1:30pm-4pm, & Friday: 11:30am-12:30pm 

Hospital visitation – The RFM Hospital in Manzini:  A government run, overcrowded, understaffed, and very under resourced facility – Not a pleasant place to be for the patients, but a great opportunity to display Jesus and his love powerfully.  Opportunities to love on people, encouraging those who are suffering as well as sometimes distributing small gifts, etc…Not all of the team will participate in this activity @ once – they will be broken into smaller groups.  

Home visits – In Swaziland it is considered a blessing for someone to come and visit you at your house (even unannounced/unplanned!).  The RL team will break into smaller groups to minister to people at their homes in the community surrounding the care point.  There are many people who are suffering from HIV/AIDS and are stuck at home.  There are also many elderly people who are physically unable to leave home, as well as a number of children who cannot not afford to go to school and thus spend all their days just hanging around their homestead.  Home visitation can really be a powerful ministry tool in reaching out to the “least of these…” Part of the RL team’s in-country orientation will teach them how to do home visitation effectively and culturally appropriate.      

ATL in Manzini – Many of the teams in the past have done ATL ministry in the city of Manzini with great results.  It is good for the teams to break into smaller groups when doing this.    

Hope House, Manzini – This is a ministry for people with HIV/AIDS who are deemed terminal, or have come from abusive situations and need a place of refuge, or people w/ HIV who have been abandoned by their families.   Just like the hospital:  Opportunities to love on people, encouraging those who are suffering and sometimes distributing small gifts, etc…As with the hospital Not all of the team will participate in this activity @ once – they will be broken into smaller groups.  

Weekly Ministry Schedule

Sunday:  Church Ministry – All AIM SWAZI teams need to be involved in a local Swazi church.  In the past we have had teams choose to do church on their own @ the house or @ a public park.  Although more accepted in America, this is not culturally appropriate at all for Swaziland, and it looks to the Swazi people that we are too good to worship with them.  Of course teams are free to “do church,” at any time and at any place, however on Sunday mornings all AIM ministry teams need to be in a local Swazi church.  Dennis Brock will help this team find a good church that is in town, or this team is free to come to one of our partner churches in the rural area.    

Mon-Saturday:  The team leaders are free to make up their weekly schedule.  Care Point ministry and hospital visitation should most likely be down Monday through Friday.  And, as listed above, the specific internship requests operate Monday through Friday also.  I would suggest that the team takes Saturday as their day off/communication day.