Loving the Orphans

An update from Swaziland! I am still alive, and I am loving every second of being in this beautiful country! I love the people, I love the weather, I love the amazing mountainous view, I love the way God is working in this country, and I love that I get to be a part of God’s divine plan for Swaziland!

Another thing I have come to love very much is the family of orphans that live up the hill from our homestead. Their dad died four years ago, and their mother was sent to prison for seven years leaving her 7 children to fend for themselves. AIM found a care taker named Mbali (who I also love) to take care of them while their mother serves her time. They have very little money for food, clothing, and school fees. The kids are Sibongele (16), Ngwanda (13), Numvuyo (11), Setu (8), Sibonelo (5), and Siboniszo (5) and then another girl who doesn’t live at their homestead.

I love their happy little faces so much, and it honestly lights up my whole world every time I’m walking up the hill and I hear them screaming “Hello April” in their little accents! I get the joy of hanging out with them everyday because the twins are in the preschool class at the care point where I work and the other kids
come to the care point after they get out of school. I also have gotten really close to Setu! He’s my favorite little boy in the whole world and we tell each other we are best friends, we even have our own handshake! Every time he sees me, he jumps in my arms for a hug. He just has such a big personality, and he’s so funny to watch. I am even close with the older girls, whom I pray over everyday that God will show them their worth in Christ!

After getting close to this family and seeing all the joy and life they have in such hard circumstances, I wanted a way I could serve them and show them Gods love. So I invited them to our Fourth of July party we were having at our homestead (which was so much fun). I was especially happy because we would have enough food to serve them dinner which would be a huge blessing for them!

I went to fetch them to come to the party and all of them had taken their weekly bath and put on their Sunday best just for our Fourth of July party! It was so wonderful to know that they were as excited to come as we were to have them. We gave them hotdogs, chips and soda for dinner. It was funny to see because Setu was clearly in heaven, he was double fisting hotdogs while also holding a big bag of chips! After dinner we had games and s’mores available for everyone! I actually thought the kids were going to get sick because they were stuffing themselves full of so many sweets! And they absolutely loved the s’mores! They were all having so much fun!

After the S’mores it was time for worship, which was what I was most excited for! Everyone sang along to the worship songs, and it was just so cool because it was a mighty picture of Gods love. Despite our language barriers and our cultural differences, we were all still able to come together and be united as the body of Christ and as His children.

As were were singing I held Siboniszo in my arms rocking him to sleep. I have never prayed so hard for someone’s salvation. I just wanted this sweet innocent little five year old boy to know Christ and to experience all the love his Heavenly Father has for him. Even though these precious babies earthly parents can’t be there for them that their Heavenly Father is mighty and powerful and has an unwavering love for them that nothing can surpass.

I love all of this family, and I don’t know how I’m going to leave them at the end of this month. But I am so thankful that I met them. They have given me such joy and I will never forget any of their sweet faces. I know God has them in his hands, it will just be hard when I don’t have them in my own.

If you all could be in continual prayer for them and our team it would be much appreciated! God is doing great things here in Swaziland!!