What!?! A whole month and half has gone by since we left the US and arrived! We have loved being here in Swaziland. Despite the incredible vehicle struggles (more on that later), we are so enjoying every opportunity to dive into ministry here. So along with our team we have had these amazing opportunities to serve people by;  teaching English, Math and computer classes, leading bible studies, devotions, youth group,  preaching (at Emafini, the Addiction center), hospital visitation, prison ministry and even digging ditches. We have been able to visit in the community.. and just yesterday from 7am-10pm we joined the Luke Commission doing rural medical missions. I have seen the incredible value of volunteers and the power of partnerships. I am constantly amazed at our servant team. Their flexibility, their teachable hearts and the clarity they have on why they are doing what they are doing is awesome . We hope you can see some of this in the picture gallery above and in their blogs.

Annie is over 6 months pregnant and being a real trooper. She is loving being around the team. Even though she doesn’t get to be as involved in all the ministry opportunities, she still manages to take good care of us all. Judah really loves this place. Kids paradise for sure! He loves all the orphan kids around him and they treat him like a king (…unfortunately sometimes. They want to carry him everywhere!)  He is also extremely spoiled by the volunteers who fulfill his every whim and fancy.  As for myself; I find I am thriving in the chaos and unpredictability of Africa. Every challenge is an opportunity and every opportunity a new way to depend on the Lord and see Him show up. This includes breakdowns, postponed meetings and last second sermon prep.  I most love our time with our volunteers. We have meals together, devotions , serve together and generally do life together. There is a beautiful passion in them to give their lives away to others. They are selfless, generous and humble. It’s an honor for us to disciple them and build into their lives as they build into others here in Swaziland.

Sharing a need:
I have realized that the most vital tool in our ministry is a reliable vehicle. Our current vehicle which has been a wonderful work horse is quickly dying (20+years old.) Last night, on our way back from medical missions, we were coming through the mountains with the whole team falling asleep from a long day of serving. As we meandered down the steep mountain side through a thick fog we suddenly lost all power, the lights, engine and breaks died on us. We drifted to the edge of the road between the rocky mountain face and huge sugarcane trucks barreling down past us. We got everyone out of the bus. James waved his cell phone wildly in the fog to alert traffic we were there while Clever put on his MacGyver hat and crawled under the bus and eventually solved the power problem. To say the least it was a dangerous situation to be in.  Unfortunately we have been in similar situations to this one, at least 5 times in the last month.  Like I said, a reliable vehicle is the most vital weapon we need in our arsenal and we are requesting folks to join us in raising the funds for a new one.  Together we all can easily raise the funds that will allow our teams to do medical missions, visit orphans and widows in the community and do food distribution etc, etc.  My request of you is to pray and give. Click Here to find out more!
Prayer for

1. A new reliable vehicle for our staff and teams.
2. Annie in her pregnancy. For the right name for our baby girl due on Jan 2^nd!
3. The 2011 Vision Year team that they finish strong and for the 2012 Vision Year team as they prepare themselves for a year in Africa!

 Thanks to everyone who remembers us, prays for us and our work.  We would love to hear updates from each of you and would love to pray for you through whatever life circumstances you are growing through.

Much love, Allan, Annie Judah and Bump

Last Words “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” –Gal 6:9

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 8th, 2011 at 11:33 am and is filed under Allan and Annie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.