Picture of our teammates and some of our Swazi teammates on the
May 31st - June 15th 2012 trip
Picture by Ken Roosenberg
Where do I even begin? It is so difficult to describe to all of you, the importance of the joint relationships and the actual relationships that have been and are continuing to develop between our New Hope Church, here in Lower Paxton Township, and the people of the Nsoko Anchor Center Church in Swaziland. Let me at least try to explain what has and what is being nurtured with our brothers and sisters in the struggling nation, almost 9,000 miles away.
It is so much more that just all of the funds that have been raised and used to further God’s kingdom here on earth. In a year’s time, these people see many visitors who come through on mission trips, young and old, who are touched by these Swazis lives. The first difference starts right there. They see them once and then they are gone, and in most cases, never to be heard from or to return again. In the case of our church, a number of us have returned several times, and in the case of Wil Sauder, after the August trip, he will have been there with them four times! I cannot explain the excitement in their eyes and faces, and in some cases the hugs that are shared when they realize who has returned. This alone is so significant. They truly feel a connection with many of us. They really know that New Hope Church cares for them.
Another really cool thing about God’s plan for our two communities is the way that relationships develop between the people of The Nsoko Anchor Center and adults and children from our church that have never gone to Swaziland and may never be able to go. A great example of that would be this year’s Vacation Bible School mission project. Hopefully you are already aware of this great accomplishment, mainly from the kids who attended the Vacation Bible School, if not, follow along and I will summarize it for you. The goal was to be able to provide school fees, school shoes, and school uniforms for five elementary-aged school children for a year. In Swaziland uniforms and shoes are required, and to most kids shoes would be a big deal anyway. It costs about $100 U.S. dollars to send an elementary-aged child to school for a year, so our kids were trying to raise $500 for five kids. God sure blessed this part of the mission relationship! The kids dug deep and more than met the challenge. After it was all said and done, they raised enough money to send 26 children to school for a year! Over $2600 was raised and sent to be used for some of the kids at the Nsoko Anchor Center! God is truly good!!
Relationships continue to go much deeper. Pastor Vern has now gone for the last two years with our teams. He has been teaching classes for church leaders. These people are starving for God’s Word, starving to know how they need to live their lives, and just how they plug into his God’s church. Even though Vern is just one man, one pastor teaching these people, I cannot even begin to explain how significant this is in their lives. Let me share the example of Gogo Alvena (gogo means grandmother in Siswati) and just how important not only Vern’s classes are to her, but how important the church and our Savior are to her.
Picture by Ken Roosenberg
On a typical Wednesday during our visit there in Nsoko, here is how Alvena’s day would be laid out. Before I begin let me also say that Alvena is 62 years old! She would awaken, probably by a rooster crowing, around 5am. She would start her day by mixing the batter together and heating the oil to fry a fairly large batch of Fat Cakes. Fat Cakes are very similar to fausnaughts. This would take her about an hour or so. Then she would pack them up in a two gallon bucket with a lid and begin her walk in the dim morning light to the Anchor Center.
Our team all had to meet at the Center by 7am to begin our day on the Earth Bag Home, which we and the Swazis were building. Alvena was always there before 7am waiting patiently for all of us to arrive. We would hold a morning meeting with all of the work crew each day and also say a prayer before we started. On the first work day of our trip, Alvena let us have the morning meeting first and then we prayed before getting down to work. On all of the following days, if Wil or I attempted to have the meeting first, Alvena would shout out in her limited English, “Prayer, prayer”! It didn’t take us long to get our priorities straight. Anyway, Alvena worked very hard, shoveling dirt and concrete non-stop from about 7am until 9:30am, when we stopped for a mid-morning break. That is when she would sell us her Fat Cakes. We always made sure to buy enough for everyone that was working and on most days we bought her out. This is the way that she made her living for her and her family. (It’s hard to believe that at roughly 12 ½ cents each you can make a living for your family).
Alvena then would work very hard, still shoveling dirt and cement from about 9:45am until noon when we would stop for about a 30-45 minute lunch. After lunch she would be back at shoveling from about 12:45 until 2pm (she wouldn’t let any of us or them even give her a short break). At precisely 2pm she would stop work, load any empty wheelbarrow with any tools, which needed to be locked up over night, and wheel it about 500 yards to the secure building.
From 2pm until 5pm or so, Alvena would sit in Pastor Vern’s classes. She listened very attentively as well as participated regularly with questions and discussion. She talked every day about how much she enjoyed his teachings and his times of questions and answers, even when many times they were way off the topic.
From roughly 5pm until 6pm Alvena would sit on the small sidewalk in front of the Anchor Center, patiently waiting for the Wednesday evening church service. The church service lasted from roughly 6pm until about 8:15pm. Immediately after church she would begin her walk home in the pitch dark (this time of year it is pitch dark around 5:15pm). She would arrive at home probably near 9pm. The next day she would do it all over again with the only difference being that church services did not happen again until Sunday. What a trooper! What a saint! I couldn’t help thinking about what a bunch of whining, whimpering people most Americans would be if we had to keep this kind of schedule. God bless you, Alvena.
Picture of the church tent donated by New Hope Church
Picture by Ken Roosenberg
Lastly I want to try to explain the feelings of gratitude that all of the members of the Nsoko Church have for all of us at New Hope Church. The large tent that our church purchased last fall is getting a lot of good use, but also showing a lot of wear. As I mentioned, they have services on Wednesdays and Sundays. The tent is full most of the time and they struggle to have enough chairs for the services. On the first Sunday there, Pastor Bheki gave us all credit for providing the tent and the sound system to them. The applause and cheers were overwhelming. They are so appreciative for all that we have done so far. They really need a more permanent church building, a place where they will have plenty of room for children and adults and a place where they can actually develop a kid’s ministry. Currently the children sit in the front of the service and they sat in there for the entire service which last between 2 and 2 ½ hours. They are so well behaved, but they cannot be getting much out of the sermons that are meant for adults and to be sitting that long in one place is hard to keep their attention span. I hope and pray that maybe we at New Hope Church can find it in our hearts and in our wallets to build them a real church within the next year or so. It would mean so much to them and it would continue to build our relationship with them and to help further God’s kingdom here on earth.
James 1:27 says, “Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.” At New Hope we have begun to help the struggling poor of Swaziland. There is not enough money in the world to fix the problems there. Although it takes money to do many things, it is really not about the money. It is all about the relationships we are developing and the love of Christ that we are bringing to these people. How can we put a value on that?
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