Reflections and Updates from Stacey

God is continuing to do incredible things in Swaziland. When the first outreach team arrived, our hopes were extremely high. We had spent months and months in careful prayer and preparation of a program initiated by Kevin Rutledge called Seeds For Swaziland, a week long women’s retreat taught by Cassandra Conger entitled A Christian Woman’s Lifestyle, and a week long set of men’s discipleship classes taught by Gary Miller. We believed that God would change lives, win people for his kingdom, enhance the faith of young Christians, send His Spirit to guide us, spread the gospel through the giving of much needed gardens, and strengthen the relationship between Christian Life Center and Potter’s Wheel Church, the Lighthouse, and Christian Life Community.

He did all of those things and more.

The Seeds For Swaziland effort was a huge success. Beforehand God had provided us with the best seeds we could possibly give to the recipients of four gardens. Pastor Augustine Boateng had chosen carefully which four homesteads would receive gardens, none of which were even a part of Christian Life Community Church. Then the guys on our team tilled the hard earth and cleaned it of rocks, planted, watered, and left three necessary tools with the head of the household. They brought many of the boys from Lighthouse care center to help them, and encouraged the younger boys on the homesteads to help their “go-go” (Grandmother). Grandmothers in Swaziland are often the hardest workers and provide for their grandchildren by feeding and clothing them, and sending them to school. It was important that the children learned how to work hard to support themselves and their grandmothers. Several of the homesteads began to go to church; frowns turned to smiles, cold attitudes warmed throughout the week. They were asked to share the eventual crops; which is something Swazis do not usually do. New relationships were established with each of these homesteads which may result in new believers. We have prayed that these gardens produce not only physical fruit but spiritual fruit, that God would bless each family and bring everyone into His kingdom. We also prayed that the gospel would be spread through the gardens.

God also truly blessed us through the women’s retreat. We had asked God to bring to us women who had repentant hearts, made of fertile soil, that would truly bear fruit; that they would grow, or that new women would turn their hearts to Jesus; that He would show them His love and lift them up. Before we left, we were cautioned that Swazi women, especially the Siswati speakers, would not open up immediately because in their culture women are considered little better than the eldest child and were often abused or put down for having opinions; that it would take at least 3 days for them to really talk to us. This advice came from people who had a long experience with Swazis, and we CLC women went into the first day believing that, but praying that God would at least get them to warm up at some point.

The Lord decided to give us far more. Not every woman opened up, but the very first day even the community women who did not speak English talked and responded. By the third day they were very, very warm to us, hugged us, asked us questions, and testified of the amazing things God has done in their lives to this very day and what they had learned at the retreat. It was overwhelming. They sang beautiful choruses, full of joy; they danced together, and even those who had not known each other coming in became friends and conversed. They prayed altogether in loud voices, crying out to God; the second day several women accepted Jesus for the first time or said they had wandered far from God and wanted to come back. They asked for Bibles, talked about arranging Bible studies, and laughed together.

They also admitted their sins, what they struggled with, what was difficult for them to understand about God, and many admitted things that really brought them pain. If one said they found it difficult to believe that God provides for every need, another testified how God provided every need for her. And so we encouraged them to build each other up and support each other.

Every day we all went in tired and drained physically and spiritually. Every day God met us there and totally blew our minds. What an incredible week. We learned that God can move in more powerful ways than we could have imagined. Our hearts were broken for these blessed women who felt pain, fear, and loss but reached out to God nonetheless.

Thankfully the guys on our team served the women lunch every day. This was a total shock to many of them as women usually do the serving in Swazi society. I remember Kevin told us that he prayed that by the end of the week, the fearful and ashamed frowns he saw in the lunch line would turn to warm smiles of a more confident heart. They did. Eventually they began perhaps to feel that these foreign men believed they were worth something, and smiled and joked with them.

Jane Walker and I have developed a new community women’s Bible study on Tuesday to open opportunities for the Spirit to do what He did during that week. Please pray that God continues to move in these women’s hearts, that just because the retreat is over and the team is gone, they won’t let go of the truth.

The men’s discipleship classes did not go as expected, but we thank God for every single life impacted, even in the smallest way. We know He will do good things with Gary’s efforts. The first day, no men came, but the number grew throughout the week, and some men even came on the following Saturday to ask questions. Pastor Augustine has realized the need to guide men as the spiritual head of the household, and so efforts are under way to develop a men’s Bible study along side the new women’s study. Please pray that a time can be decided on and then men will come and be equipped to change Swaziland for Jesus Christ.

On top of all this, God really blessed our team. I did not hear a single negative report or argument the whole time though we were all drained and very tired. Even those around us commented on how incredibly unified our team was, and that the Spirit was with us. Pastor Augustine confessed the last Sunday that he had never served women and was truly convicted and inspired by the willing ministry of Kevin, Eric, Micah and Gary, who served lunch even though they were fasting one day. Even though most of us hadn’t known each other before coming to Swaziland, we became like family. We cried together, laughed together, ministered together, and supported each other. All of this was clearly through the supernatural work of Jesus Christ and the love that He poured out to us. We praise God for that highly necessary work in our lives. When the team finally left, it was very hard for me; not because I wanted to leave, but because I loved them so much and wanted every single one to stay.

After several weeks now however I am very busy and life is in full swing. I love every face here and the thought of leaving already makes me incredibly sad. I’m really getting to know the mothers and children at Hawane CLC and people at Hawane Farm; So far I’ve been tutoring, playing with the children, helping with the girls cell, starting the new Bible study with Jane, beginning the TCMI computer class, visiting homesteads, and working on assignments from Pastor Kevin and others. Much more is still left to be done. This has been a dream come true for me and I have already learned so much I can barely comprehend it all. I hope I will be able to be as much of a blessing to these precious people as they have been already to me and others. I believe that God has truly blessed this place with leaders and followers who desire to please Him and exhibit the reality of His heart. Please continue to pray that God will shower Swaziland with His love and transform broken human lives.