Over the course of the trip, it became very clear to the exploratory team that God did indeed have plans for CLC to begin serving the people of Swaziland and that His desire was for us to partner with Kevin Ward and the Teen Challenge Swaziland program to implement an "In Community By Community" model. Through this model we were to establish a church, identify a local pastor and provide him a home near the church and build children's homes that would ultimately serve orphaned children and widowed women in the local community. Achieving this goal would require a new ministry team for CLC.
And so, as the team prepared to return to the U.S., prayers were raised, ideas were shared, ministry models were drawn on napkins and initial tasks were identified. As we sat in the airport in Johannesburg, South African and flew home over the Atlantice Ocean, the excitement was palable and hopes were high that the peole of CLC would rally around this opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters in Swaziland.
No one could have anticipated all that would be accomplished in the course of just one year. It is nothing short of miraculous! Since January of 2008:
* A lay-led ministry was created with approval of the CLC Board. Currently 13 people serve in leadership or assistant leadership positions within the ministry.
* Just over 100 people volunteered to serve on one of five ministry subcommittees: Communications & Education, Internal Projects, Prayer & Care, Travel Business Partnerships/Resource Development and Church Partnerships.
* Over $130,000 has been given in offerings to support the ICBC project. Of that total, $85,000 was spent to establish our first ICBC, Hawane CLC.
* Over $ 15,450 was raised by our children and youth to purchase water coolers that will be rented to Swazi businesses with proceeds designated for the ICBC operations.
* A pastor was identified to lead and serve Hawane CLC. Meet Pastor Augustine and his wife Elizabeth!
* 27 individuals traveled to Swaziland. 24 served on one of three construction teams and 3 completed an extended stay, individual mission assiginment.
* The 27 travelers raised over $77,700 in donations/gifts to cover their trip costs.
* Over $13,000 in revenue has been raised through our Swaziland Arts sales.
* CLC welcomed Pastor Kevin Ward, his wife Helen and their children Ashar and Joshua during a visit to the US in July.
* The Kook Sul Wan program at CLC held a Kick-A-Thon to raise funds for the Swaziland Minstry. By completing 1,850 kicks in one hour, $1,000 was raised!
* The first annual Swaziland 5K Race was held which raised over $2,000.
* CLC members have sent donations of tools, computers, books/videos, personal hygeine items and vitamins with visiting construction teams.
* A Church was erected.
* The church site was dedicated and Sunday morning services and Sunday School classes are now being conducted at CLC Hawane
* A storage building was rennovated to become a Pastor's home and the family now occupies the home.
* A second building was rennovated to become a Children's home and a house mom and children now occupy the home.
* A soccer field is being added to the ICBC land
* A third building is being rennovated to become a pre-school for local children.
* Computers have been purchased for the church/preschool at Hawane CLC.
* Thousands of prayers have been lifted up.
* A ministry identity and logo have been created
* Partnerships with local businesses/local organizations are being created.
As this first year of the Swaziland ministry draws to a close, Pastor Stan and his family prepare to visit Swaziland. A part of this visit will be dedicated to discerning the next steps for the ministry.
It is evident that there is much to celebrate and we give God the glory for all that has been accomplished in 2008. What an honor and blessing it has been for us to serve Him by serving the people of Swaziland. We stand in awe of the progress that has been made and we look foward to seeing what God has in store for the ministry in 2009.
To everyone who has served in, prayed for and given to this ministry, we say "thank you". We look forward to joining with you in the coming year as God continues to use us to accomplish His will for Swaziland.
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