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Mission Trip Reports Trip Reports Home
Swaziland, Africa
Dream Team
| Trip Dates: | 6/23/2004 to 7/21/2004 |
| Age Group: | College-aged young adults |
| Status: | Completed |
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| Reports for Swaziland Trip |
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29
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7/16/2004
By: Seth Barnes Jr. and Nathan Ricke, Media Team Members
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The Swaziland Dream for Africa Campaign of 2004 is unofficially complete. Classrooms were found empty today as Swaziland’s high school students piled into the bleachers at the National Stadium in celebration of abstinence. It was exciting to see the enthusiasm that filled the air as students waved banners declaring abstinence the key to Swaziland’s crisis and sang original songs of the same subject.
Over 10,000 students cheered as Dr. Bruce Wilkinson introduced Hollywood actor Junior Singo, known to most as Musa from Beat the Drum, Friday morning at Somhlolo National Stadium. Beat the Drum is a feature film produced by Dr. Wilkinson that deals with twenty misconceptions and myths about AIDS in an effort to transform an HIV\AIDS-ignorant generation into a generation that fully understands the plague of their nation and is aware of how to change the problem. Singo performed a few memorable acts from the movie and encouraged the students to commit to abstinence.
About 1,000 college age Americans, South Africans, and Swazis, bombarded nearly every public high school in Swaziland in a campaign called Dream for Africa with information about HIV\AIDS. This summer’s section of the campaign ended with the climactic rally graced not only by Junior Singo, and Dr. Wilkinson, but also Miss Swaziland, the Prime Minister in place of Her Majesty Indlovukaz, and the Minister of Education.
There were speeches made by a local pastor, Dr. Wilkinson, Miss Swaziland, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Education, and a Swazi who actually has AIDS. The National Event ended with a climactic call for the students who wanted to make a public declaration of abstinence to storm the field. The bleachers were sparsely spotted with students as nearly everyone answered the call.
Tomorrow morning everyone involved with Dream for Africa will depart for their various locations. The trip will officially end on July 21st when the Americans, hearts hopefully broken and lives most assuredly challenged, will depart on their long journey home.
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Trip ending National Celebration at the stadium!
28
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7/16/2004
By: Seth Barnes, Project Leader
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The lead up to this national celebration at the stadium has been another roller coaster. We were excited by the fact that the Queen Mother had invited all the high school students in the country to the event.
We had the national stadium reserved, but then at the beginning of the week the department of education announced that it would be at the parade grounds instead. This, from our perspective, was not a good thing. The stadium was the better venue.
Things got more complicated: The government was not able to come up with the buses to ferry the students back and forth to the stadium. Also, there was no stage to perform on. And we were informed that we had to provide lunch for all the students. And there was no sound system! It all seemed overwhelming. We began praying around the clock.
Frankly, that’s how this whole outreach has been. Things keep changing; you never know what you can count on. So, we’ve just learned to trust God and keep on moving. Every day this week, we’ve been in the media with news stories describing the event, all the while never having the resources to do the job.
I called the minister of economic development; he told me about some buses and a stage, but they were costly.
Then, towards the end of the week, God began to work miracles on our behalf. There was a death in the royal family – they needed the parade grounds venue, so we were given the national stadium again.
On Wednesday we received word that a local foundation was going to give money towards 16 buses. Then yesterday, they upped the amount to cover 30 buses! Plus they threw in money for the stage and the lunches. A local pastor said that he had a sound system big enough for the stadium. Miracles that we couldn’t have imagined.
Last night they set up the stage. This morning they are setting up the sound system. As we speak, high schools from around the country are converging here and starting a march that will wind up at the stadium. It’s hard to take it all in.
We’ve brought in the star of the movie “Beat the Drum,” Junior Singo, have gotten music groups and dignitaries to perform and speak. The climax of the whole event will be a call to abstinence.
Yesterday, Bruce and I met with the King. He endorsed all that we’re doing. The media snapped pictures and asked questions. The excitement is definitely building around here!
Tonight we have a final rally with our participants and then break down the place and close up shop. There will be a game park visit for the CFNI students to follow as a part of their debrief.
Yes, it’s a whirlwind, but God is in it and we’re amazed to watch Him work. Thanks to all of you for praying. Without your prayers, none of this would have happened!
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27
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7/14/2004
By: Seth Barnes Jr. and Nathan Ricke, Media Team Members
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This is an informative article for one of Swaziland's newspapers concerning the National Event celebrating abstinence as well as Their Majesties' response to DFA.
Winner of Best Actor in Dr. Bruce Wilkinson’s Beat the Drum, Musa, played by Junior Singo, will attend the National Event tomorrow, July 16th. Competing against 1,500 other feature films, Singo’s debut in Beat the Drum won him instant recognition. The National Event will be held at Somhlolo National Stadium.
Dr. Wilkinson expresses his gratitude to His Majesty King Mswati III not only for His support of abstinence, but also His promotion of it as the key for Swaziland’s liberation from the bondage of HIV\AIDS. His Majesty will meet Dr. Wilkinson Thursday to discuss Swaziland’s future methods for freeing the world’s most HIV\AIDS infected country.
HER Majesty Indlovukazi is adamant in her promotion of abstinence as the solution for Swaziland’s HIV\AIDS crisis. She is looking forward to attending the National Event on Friday. Her Majesty has also expressed her gratitude to Dream for Africa for their efforts to prevent the spread of HIV\AIDS in Swaziland by educating its high school students of the misconceptions and myths of HIV\AIDS.
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A final push to the finish line!
26
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7/14/2004
By: Connie
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The students are still going very strong, determined to finish the course with great fruit.
The students at Piggs Peak base have written a beautiful worship song they will sing at the National Rally on Friday.
It is a tremendous blessing to actually see our students back in the classrooms, leading worship, meeting with teachers to educate them about AIDS, leading assembly programs, and giving altar calls. They have seen a huge response.
I see them serving at their bases, encouraging others when a four hour bumpy bus ride was longer than expected, praying and blessing others in all they do.
To God be the glory!
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25
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7/12/2004
By: Connie McKenzie
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I have been with each team at the five bases throughout Swaziland and I’m proud to say everyone is doing great. There is a cloud of peace over each student. God is using them in amazing ways. For most, it is a very hard outreach. This is due to the heartbreak we experience each day as we hear the stories of pain and brokenness from the Swazi students. Some of the CFNI team members have literally been weeping in intercession for the seemingly hopeless situation here.
We do know God is moving and changing hearts and lives. The students are receptive to the challenge to abstain. Many are giving their lives to the Lord. This is working and producing good results.
All of the teams met together on Saturday for a joyful time together. We all feel so privileged to be a part of this ministry. The dream is so big—to have an AIDS free Africa and to take this program to the rest of the world. We are so honored that God is allowing us to be part of this first outreach and believe we are making history.
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24
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7/11/2004
By: Seth Barnes Jr. and Nathan Ricke, Media Team Members
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Two of Swaziland's major newspapers have given Dream for Africa room every day for articles about DFA's progress. For the next week the updates will be articles written by either Nathan Ricke or Seth Barnes Jr. that will be submitted in Swaziland's newspapers.
A young girl who was raped repeatedly by her brother says that Dream for Africa’s (DFA) Beat the Drum campaign has given her courage and hope for the future.
When she was only twelve years old, he would come into her room and force her to have sex with him. Fear of what would happen if anyone found out about the abuse caused her to remain silent for years, keeping her pain a secret from even her mother. “I couldn’t tell my mother because I knew she would feel even more pain than me,” the young girl said.
Her desire for comfort led her into several relationships where she allowed herself to be used for sex. “I hated men after this happened,” she said. “I was sad every time… and I blamed myself a lot.” Believing that no one could help her, she considered ending the pain by killing herself.
She shared her story with members of the DFA team that visited her school in the hope that they could encourage her. Assuring her that she was not the only girl who had come forward with such a story, the team helped her regain confidence and optimism for the future.
Beat the Drum is DFA’s campaign against the spread of HIV\AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Using the movie “Beat the Drum” as the basis for the curriculum, teams visit each high school in Swaziland to present abstinence as the only proven method of fighting the disease.
An important part of Beat the Drum’s curriculum is designed to teach students that silence will not help them deal with their situations. Many stories of rape and abuse are being shared with DFA team members and it is important that students know they are not alone. Keeping quiet about sexual abuse gives the perpetrators of such crimes more opportunities to exploit others.
A rally designed to foster greater public support for abstinence will be held at Somhlolo National Stadium on July 16, from 11am until 2pm.
By Nathan Ricke
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23
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7/9/2004
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This article was written by a member of the media team for the national newspaper, The Swazi Observer.
Twenty teachers from St. Annes high school set up a club in response to Dream for Africa’s (DFA) campaign to help their students in several areas including finances. After watching Beat the Drum, a movie produced by Bruce Wilkinson, founder of DFA, the teachers said it was an eye opener that provided further motivation to inform their students about the crisis in the country. Beat the Drum is a feature film illustrating the AIDS pandemic that plagues Sub-Saharan Africa and the misconceptions involved and is being showed in every high school in Swaziland.
The teachers club began by recognizing the student’s problems. Similar to many other schools in Swaziland, many of St. Annes’ students come to school with dirty clothes, often have only one school uniform, are frequently cold, and regularly walk to school hungry.
The teachers plan on making a soup kitchen to raise funds to supply for their students needs. They hope to provide the kids with transportation, clothing, and food. Another fundraising project the twenty teachers hope to conduct is a chicken farm. Their vision is to erect a structure on the school premises that would house the chickens. The students would hopefully learn lessons in responsibility as they raise the chickens themselves.
A second project the teachers are initiating is a counseling service for their students. Many of the students are ignorant to the fact that Swaziland is the leading country in the world in HIV/AIDS victims. High school students are the generation that could turn the country around. The teachers would counsel them in personal issues such as rape, abuse, peer pressure, and relationships with the opposite sex, encouraging them to take the right course of action in whatever circumstance the students might be facing.
One of DFA’s follow-up procedures is to encourage the teachers to create clubs for their schools, such as this one started in St. Annes (which was initiated by its teachers), to aid their students with physical needs and moral issues.
By Seth Barnes Jr.
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22
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7/8/2004
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Today we learned of a call that the Queen Mother issued declaring that all high school students in Swaziland are to attend the rally on the 16th of July. School officials are required to contact the Ministry of Education to arrange transportation for their students. With the Queen Mother behind the effort, many of the logistics of the rally are being taken care of much faster than before.
This afternoon one of the Swazi television stations was supposed to come interview Seth Barnes for the nightly newscast. Two hours after the scheduled time, a member of the media team called to ask what had happened but was told that no one really knew why they never showed up. After playing phone tag the rest of the day, the station finally said that the king was flying in today from his meeting with the African Union in Ethiopia and a press conference would be held shortly thereafter.
When the king had landed, the news station alerted the Emafini office and Barbara McKie, leader of the media team, and Nathan Ricke, one of the media team members, took a camera and headed towards the palace.
They turned into the driveway of Edludzinzi, the palace that serves as the cultural and spiritual center of the entire nation, and drove through the fields that are used for all of the ceremonies and rituals. Cradling a machine gun, a guard stopped them to question the driver Nan, a local Christian businesswoman and close friend of many of the queens who has been helping Dream for Africa.
After being waved through, they entered the royal grounds, a collection of thatched hovels and log fences. The local media was present for the press conference and stood around in the parking lot waiting to be called in. Musa, the editor of the Swaziland Observer was very interested in Beat the Drum and the curriculum that the teams have been presenting in the schools. When Barbara Mckie told him of the royal order that the Queen Mother issued this morning, he immediately offered DFA a full page in the Observer every day for the next week.
During the conference itself, the king agreed to a private meeting with Bruce Wilkinson next week, an opportunity that DFA has been waiting on for several months. He also said that he believed that abstinence was necessary to stop the spread of HIV\AIDS in his country.
Several of the queens have also expressed an interest in receiving formal invitations to the national rally at Somhlolo Stadium on the 16th of July. Thank God for such an amazing breakthrough with the king in front of the Prime Minister and other important officials.
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21
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7/7/2004
By: Seth Barnes Jr. and Nathan Ricke, Media Team Members
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I ate dinner with Colin Honiball, a South African leader and driver, who shared with me the story of his day.
“Today in my class I taught on the subject of a real man and about love.
‘What is love to you,’ I asked them. ‘How would you be able to show love to your girlfriend or your wife?’
‘You beat your wife to show her you love her,’ one boy stood up and declared.
I was shocked. Originally I thought that this kid was just joking, but he insisted that he was serious. I was furious. I could not understand how this boy could think that beating a woman would show her that a man loved her.”
“Later in the teachers meeting, we discussed how they might change the AIDS pandemic in Swaziland, beginning with their school. I asked them that question,
‘How do we change the AIDS pandemic?’
‘Through love,’ they answered. When they gave me this answer I told them about my previous experience with the boy in my class.
‘So how can the teachers show love to their students,’ I then asked them. They were surprised and asked why I would ask this question.”
“I took out a ‘Dear Francis Letter,’ letters that the Swazi students write to the DFA members that tell stories about the students’ hardships. This letter told the shocking story of a student in the school who let the teacher take advantage of her. Later, the student broke the relationship with this man and took the situation to court. Her parents, however, intervened, not believing that this could possibly happen to their daughter, and dropped the case. I continued to describe to them how she was being physically and vocally abused in the classroom by this same teacher. It is not uncommon for the students to be ‘spanked’ by the teachers during school, but the students recognize that this punishment is often without merit.”
“The teachers mutually agreed to make up a code of conduct for the classrooms. They also agreed to teach about real love in their curriculum as well as what a ‘real man’ is. One teacher stood up in the meeting and announced that he was willing to take on the responsibility to change the school and he thinks this will change the culture and ‘academics in the community.’”
Thank God that the teachers are beginning to react.
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20
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7/6/2004
By: Seth Barnes Jr. and Nathan Ricke, Media Team Members
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Today the DFA students taught in their new schools for the first time. One report is that they were significantly more confident and prepared today than they were last week.
Today’s stories come from a couple of Africans working with DFA.
Simphiwe Manana writes,
During my first day at school I was shocked to see a boy of 13 years crying. I tried to calm him and he cried even louder. I didn’t know what to do, I just prayed God you are the Father. When I asked the boy what was wrong he said he was 3 years old when he left his mom and when he was 7 years he left his dad and his life changed. He started eating out of dustbins. He said when we showed the movie, he was saw that he was living a life just like Musa. The boy said he needs someone who will care for him.
Zamcolo Cyclone Mahlalela shares,
It was a Wednesday morning when a certain boy came to me during the break time. I was pleased to meet him because he was one of my students in the Form 3 class. He stated clearly that what he was about to tell me was very personal and that he trusted me, which was why he had come to me. He told me that between the ages of 14 to 17 he was raped by his grandmother with whom he usually stayed. He moved away from her but his heart couldn’t forget it. Now, my question to him was, “Did you forgive your grandmother when you got saved?” He replied that it was too difficult, because today when he sees her he feels like killing her. So I talked to my group and with his permission we called him to prayer. We prayed for a forgiving heart for him and one of my group members took him for counseling. After that he was a bit relieved.
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19
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7/5/2004
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Each week, DFA team members have the opportunity to provide for the needs of their students emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Sunrise is a boy in Form 1 (eighth grade) who shared his story with some of our team members at his school, giving them the chance to show him the love of Christ.
“My father died just after I was born so I do not remember anything about him. He was a police officer and was shot while on duty. Just a little while ago my mother was hit by a car while walking on the side of the street; she is still in the hospital recovering so I live with my aunt. She doesn’t take very good care of me, though, because she doesn’t feed me enough and is always arguing with me. I don’t have any friends because they are all liars and will just cheat me. During lunch every day I work on the little garden that the school has given me for agricultural class.”
Sunrise did not just share his story of pain and hurting with team members, also telling them of the lessons that he has learned and the things he wants to achieve.
“I want one wife so that I can be faithful to her and she can be faithful to me, and I want two kids so that whenever they say they are hungry and I can give them all the food that they want.”
DFA students decided to help Sunrise after hearing his story and took him to a grocery store so that he could buy some of the food that he needed. He also needed some new shoes so they purchased some sneakers and a pair of boots for him.
“Listening to Sunrise tell his story helped me realize why I am here, to show the love of Jesus in any way that I can,” said Meagan McCall, one of the students who took him to the store.
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Sisekelo Base Report:
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7/4/2004
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God is a faithful God! We can only praise Him for His goodness to us – both in the schools and in our own lives. We had an incredibly blessed week in which we saw many children come to the Lord (even teachers) and many thousands of young people commit to abstinence. We saw the Lord move mightily in the school where we faced the most resistance in the beginning of the week. On Friday, 81% of the school committed to abstinence and a whole class of boys gave their lives to Christ. Praise the Lord for that!!!
The Never-Ending Gardens were also a great blessing and brought joy to so many hearts. The rain was such a blessing. It came at just the right time. Who still wonders about God’s timing?
We also had a good rest over the weekend. As a result, we are ready and looking very much forward to the coming week.
Please pray with us for strength and enthusiasm, and that we will continue to walk very close to Jesus. Without Him we can do nothing!
We miss you all and continue to remember you in our prayers! May you all be filled with the knowledge of His will, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord (Col. 1:9-10).
Love in Christ,
Sisekelo Base
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Ministering to orphans
17
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7/3/2004
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At the Siteki base, one of our participants from Zimbabwe, Trinos, told the following story:
“In my class, I used a game called ‘Stand By Me.’ The idea is that you share something about your life and if anyone in the class can identify with it, they stand up.
I grew up in a broken home where I’d never known my father. When I was 16, I decided that I wanted to find him, so I searched him out. When I found my father, he said that he’d never even known that I existed. What really crushed me is that he said that he didn’t want to know me as a son.
I felt terrible and had a lot of unforgiveness in my heart toward my father. But then in our training week before coming to Swaziland, Dr. Bruce challenged us to let go of our unforgiveness. It was hard, but I knew I had to, so I forgave him.
There are a lot of orphans in the schools, but in my class, most of the students are orphans. After I shared this story, almost all of them stood to their feet. I stopped talking and they began to cry. They just stood there and wept.
I prayed for them and had a time of ministry. Later, when we challenged them to commit for abstinence, 38 of the 40 made the commitment.”
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Ngwane base
16
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7/2/2004
By: Connie
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One headmaster did not want the team to be at his school and said they could not show the film. Bay K. mentioned that they had flown all the way from Dallas, Texas and asked the man to please reconsider and at least let them show the film. The headmaster returned and said they could stay and show the film. The team has had a wonderful week at this school
Suzanne D. has fallen in love with the young children in the community. She and Connie M. led an impromptu children’s church with 100 of the children after school with a great response.
Our heart is broken to discover many or most of our Swazi female students have been raped. A big problem is the teachers raping these girls, yet the girls sing to us and hug us. We are really bonding. Please pray for the hearts of these girls to be healed.
Steve H. and his team are showing the film in the community tonight and have organized several showings for the weekend. Pray for a great response and that the Swazi people will understand the truth about AIDS.
Our mentors are having great success as they teach the teachers. Carrie B., Gary S. and Angie S. have seen major breakthroughs with some teachers volunteering to follow up on our campaign with the students.
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Piggs Peak Report
15
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7/2/2004
By: Jenn Lewis
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Mduduzi Ginindza is one of the Swazi Dream Team members living at the Piggs Peak base this week. As a team mentor, he has spent the week with the teachers of his high school, teaching them about the Beat the Drum program and motivating them to lead the follow-up within their own school.
“I have spent all of my time with the teachers and I have been very surprised with how cooperative they have been. Yesterday one of them opened the bible to Proverbs 31:10 and read Solomon’s description of what a good wife looks like. This happened during our discussion of what a real man and a real woman look like, the third lesson that we teach in the classroom. The female teachers were so interested to hear this verse, where Solomon says that women are more important that any other valuable thing man can possess. The teachers were so fascinated that the Bible taught that women were so worthy of man’s attention.
“I have had a really great time with the teachers this week and they have told me many times that they really appreciate the style that we use to teach. They are really impressed with out teaching, so I used the favor they were showing us to challenge them to take leadership roles in the Beat the Drum Abstinence Clubs, which we hope to start at every high school. Many of them believe that time may be a problem, which is understandable, but they are still willing to try and help the students remain faithful to the pledges they will make tomorrow with any time that they can spare.
“Today we also had the opportunity to walk around in the community, inviting people we met to come to a public viewing of Beat the Drum. A local Nazarene church has offered us their sanctuary to hold the viewing and then an open discussion of the movie and HIV\AIDS afterwards. The need for this viewing was apparent as we meet several people who shared their thoughts on HIV and we could show them the misconceptions which they believed.”
The teams at Mhlatane High had the opportunity today to speak with one of the most influential men in Swaziland, the head teacher of the school, Mr. Dlamanini. He expressed interest in helping Ben and Janeen Messner with the follow-up in his school and has agreed to call a parent meeting for Sunday afternoon to get the parents involved in the Beat the Drum effort.
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Moyeni High follow up meeting
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7/1/2004
By: Seth Barnes
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We visited Moyeni High to see how the follow-up club meeting would go. We were told to expect 30 or so of the 400 who had committed to abstinence to show up, but when we got there, nearly all 400 were there! They had organized themselves with a President, Vice President, and Secretary. All gave short speeches on the importance of abstinence.
Pray that we figure out how to help keep them motivated. We have a lot of ideas. If anyone wants to email me their thoughts, do so at info@adventures.org
This was the first day that many of the teams challenged their students to commit to abstinence. They came back to the bases with glowing testimonies of how they had responded.
Particularly exciting were the stories of young people who are notorious for their loose lifestyles boldly standing up and committing to abstinence.
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Wednesday report
13
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6/30/2004
By: Seth Barnes
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The logistics of this outreach are incredible. Because we don’t have adequate kitchens at most of our bases, we cook all the food for the six bases here at Emafini and send it out in a fleet of trucks. Every day we have to tabulate where our 500 participants are and how much food they need to eat, then cook it, divide it, and truck it out. Without our super kitchen staff, we’d have a lot of hungry people on our hands.
On Wednesdays, on top of everything else, we plant gardens for the orphans that comprise about 30% of most schools. Since many are perpetually hungry, this is an important ministry. Our goal is to plant 2500 gardens a week.
Remember our updates concerning Moyeni High? Walter made the following report after he paid our first follow-up visit there:
The students have formed an abstinence club. But a quarrel broke out between the Form 5 students (who assumed leadership) and the Form 1 students who said, “You’re going to leave in a year, so give the leadership to us.” They settled it with an Iraqi kind of solution – an interim committee followed by new elections.
The students wanted to know about the monthly newsletter that they want us to print.
They also wanted to know about how they could get blood tests to know their status.
Two teachers, Goodwill and Mduduzie, formed a teacher’s committee. They divided up responsibilities among them. They hope to start a soup kitchen.
During his visit, Walter discovered that his mother-in-law had been visited by one of our teams and had a Never-Ending Garden planted. What a surprise that was!
They invited me to come visit their next meeting tomorrow at 2:10, so I’m planning to come.
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We lied! Photos are in!
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6/29/2004
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Last second update from one of our camera men on the field. Check out the wonderful pictures!
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Toilets are flushing again!
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6/29/2004
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Remember the clogged toilets at the Ngwane base? They got fixed. Here’s how God did it:
Earlier we had five spare minutes to look for a plumber. We pulled into a nearby shop here in Mbabane and, would you believe it, this was the same guy who had installed the plumbing 20 years ago! He knew exactly the situation and every moving part in the plumbing system. He arranged for a team to come down today. In the mean time, Gary Stentz grabbed a knife and a pair of pliers and went to work. Before the plumbers ever arrived, he’d fixed a number of the clogged toilets.
We were particularly excited to hear about Walter’s trip to follow up on Moyeni High. In the last week since we were there, the students got together and formed an abstinence club. The teachers also got together and began assigning responsibilities. One will be over the soup kitchen they hope to start. One will be over the gardens that we planted with them. They invited me (Seth) to come visit them at 2:10 on Thursday. Stay tuned for that report.
The updates from all the bases were great today. Wonderful testimonies from everyone – the miracles have already started!
At some point in the future, we want to tell you the story of how one of our teams found out that three teachers in the largest Swazi high school were abusing eight of their students. It’s a story of great courage.
Ben and Janeen and the rest of the new follow-up team have started organizing and are excited by all the possibilities.
We apologize for the lack of photos on the web – the media team is up north at Piggs Peak. We hope to find another source of photos before they return this weekend.
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Into the Schools
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6/28/2004
By: Staff Care Team
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Monday, June 28
Today was our first full day out in the schools for project #2. We had the pleasure of catching up with 2 of the teams from the William Pitcher base and they shared these stories with us.
Harli, from South Africa, mentioned many miracles that took place throughout the day from answered prayers to an awesome story of a teacher that was so moved by the movie that she requested that the movie be shown to the community and offered her church as the venue. Several students shared stories of answered prayers, but one other story, in particular, stood out.
At one school, a Headmaster was very resistant to the Beat the Drum Team and even semi-hostile to the leaders at the beginning of the day. The students stayed focused and kept praying though. By the end of the day, the Headmaster had a complete turnaround towards the team. Derick, a team member, said, "It was like meeting two completely different people, from the beginning of the day to the end of the day." Gail said, "The Headmaster told her he was too busy to watch the movie today, but later in the day he came in and caught the last half of the movie. He said that he would return tomorrow and watch the rest of the movie. Thank you for your prayers...we felt them today."
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We're off to the four corners of Swaziland!
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6/27/2004
By: Seth Barnes, Project leader
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It’s been a crazy first three days of the project. First of all, for those of you supporting the CFNI team, Connie wants to let you know that they are doing well! They had a good trip to Swaziland from Jo-burg and have recovered a passport and some bags that were lost along the way. More from her below.
On Friday, 500 of us came together from South Africa, Swaziland, and the U.S. Yesterday we were trained in the Beat the Drum curriculum. It was a lot for the short time that we had together.
Today we felt the Lord’s presence in our training. Today’s church service was a great culmination of our time together at the University of Swaziland. Several participants shared testimonies of how God had redeemed their pain. Then we gave a challenge for purity and repentance before going to the field. Many of the students responded as the leaders prayed for them up front.
The afternoon was chaotic as we struggled to mobilize to the four corners of the country. Buses arrived and students weren’t ready, so they left, forcing us to call them back. The largest base, Ngwane, had problems with toilets, so we had to relocate 220 of the students to another base at the last second. Nevertheless, everyone got in their vehicles and the atmosphere remained upbeat throughout.
Now the rest of Connie’s report: Rachel W. insisted the housekeeper rest while she did her work. Other students walked to a shop and shared the gospel. One man gave his life to the Lord.
Lois H. and Bay K. shared in this morning’s chapel service. Jan C. sang over the group of 500.
Everyone is excited to be off to the 5 different bases around Swaziland to begin the mission of teaching God’s response to AID.
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8
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6/25/2004
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Praise God that the second month of the DFA campaign for this summer is starting! The day the CFNI students arrived they, as well as the South Africans and Swazis, found out onto which team they would be placed. Tomorrow those teams will engage in team builder exercises.
A day later, Sunday, the Dream for Africa teams will depart for their six different locations all over Swaziland. Recall that the students will be reaching 113 different schools in Swaziland, thirty-one more than last time, so they will need to be located closer to each of the schools. Most of the training will be hands-on as each afternoon and night, for the first week, the students will learn the curriculum and material that they will be teaching the students for the next day.
Monday the teams will show the movie “Beat the Drum”, the foundation for the curriculum they will be teaching throughout the course of the week, to the Swazi high school students. Tuesday through Thursday the DFA teams will be teaching the Swazi students about abstinence through the “Beat the Drum” curriculum.
After classes on Thursday, the teams will put aside a specific time during which the Swazi student have the opportunity to write their name down on a sheet of paper, signifying publicly that they will abstain from pre-marital sex (this act is dubbed “the assembly” of the week). The assembly is the climax of the week, the whole reason for the DFA campaign. Friday, the DFA teams and Swazi students will plant gardens to help alleviate hunger.
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7
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6/24/2004
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The teams have all arrived safely in Swaziland and are ready to begin their training. Beginning in the morning, the teams will spend the day getting to know their other team members, learning their individual roles within that team, and being instructed by the leadership.
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6
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6/23/2004
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This week has provided a chance to rest for those who are involved in both months of Beat the Drum, yet a lot of preparatory work has also been finished. Setting up transportation and accommodations for all of the teams, confirming the dates of Beat the Drum in the high schools, preparing training manuals, and many other important tasks have been accomplished this week.
Tomorrow the new groups of students arrive in Swaziland for a weekend of training. Team leaders, the mentors, and the team members who will be teaching in the classroom will all receive general as well as specialized instruction to prepare them to enter the schools.
During the campaign, the teams will be spread throughout Swaziland to cut down on traveling time and expenses. Whereas the first month focused on much of the interior, developed regions of Swaziland, this second month the teams will be targeting rural schools in the outer regions of the country.
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5
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6/22/2004
By: Seth Barnes Jr. and Nathan Ricke, Media Team Members
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Doug, an American from South Africa, shared his experience at one school last month in the final assembly.
“Satan attacked me with a lot of doubt in the beginning of the outreach. I didn’t think that the goals set into place could be achieved, no matter how big I know God is. Later, as I talked with God, he started putting me in my place, telling me that he is the almighty God that created the heavens and earth; if there were anyone to trust, it should be him. He told me never to doubt Him.
“He taught me that I should really believe that God knows exactly what he’s doing. He gave different people gifts for a reason. He is going to utilize them if the owners of those gifts if they follow Him. Three weeks ago a friend encouraged me with 2 Chronicles 20:15-17, which says, ‘…For the battle is not yours, but God’s…Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’
“The training really prepared me for what I was going to do here. I knew nothing about AIDS, just the statistics. I walked out into one of the schools and I saw kids sitting and singing and I started crying because these children don’t know it, but as it is, most of them won’t even reach age thirty. It broke my heart; but I clung to this verse. We spent one week at the school, the most academically advanced high school in Swaziland. It seemed like nothing was happening for a while between us and the students. It was discouraging to begin with, so I talked to Dr. Wilkinson about it.
“What are we going to do?” I asked him. “None of the students are responding.”
“Pray,” he told me. “Just pray for them. Pray for the students to commit to abstinence at the end of the week.”
“My team and I did pray. It seemed like the students were beginning to respond as we taught them about abstinence. They were smart kids. At the end of the week, we had the assembly at the school and a call for abstinence. At first, it seemed as though no one would respond, then slowly, one by one, they came up. At the end, 482 altogether publicly signed the papers gave them, committing themselves to abstinence. That number is 75% of the students in the school.”
This is our off-week. The African students have enjoyed God’s beautiful creation by going on hikes up mountains, playing cards, and other games together. At night we have Bible study and worship. Everyone has been thoroughly enjoying their free time.
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4
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6/22/2004
By: Seth Barnes, Project Leader
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We have begun the last stages of pre-trip preparation.
Most of the CFNI group has made it to London en route to Swaziland. Because of bad weather in Atlanta, 14 members of the CFNI have been delayed a day.
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3
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6/21/2004
By: Seth Barnes Jr. and Nathan Ricke, Media Team Members
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Tracy from South Africa shared this story with the group at the final assembly:
“Before I came, I lost my parents. It was hard for me. I didn’t want to come on a mission trip at all. I didn’t want to share my life’s story with anyone; but I realized that God wanted to use my story to change lives.
“The teachers and headmasters of the schools we were working with one week were fantastic. I opened up and told them my story. God used my testimony to encourage these teachers and students to open up and share what they’ve been going through as well. A lot of people here have lost their parents; it was incredible to see how God worked through me since I could relate to them.
“I challenged the teachers to look at the children in their school as if they were their own kids. At the end of the day the teachers started to share their hearts. The deputy came to me at the end of the day and started pouring himself out.
‘I lost my wife,’ he said, ‘and I don’t know if it were AIDS or something else. What should I do?’
“I told him that the only way to be sure would be to check his blood. He said he was scared and he wanted to leave a good memory behind if he were going to die.
‘I’m not a Christian,’ the man said.
I told him how to accept Christ into his heart and he did right there in his office. He started crying.
“I then told the school of the importance of a father-daughter relationship.
‘He is their protector and their provider,’ I told them.
It was a like a light bulb went on in their heads. They said that I was there to enlighten them. Their lives are going to be different in the future. They are going to be better examples for their students, encourage abstinence, and a good lifestyle.”
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2
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6/20/2004
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As the transition between the two DFA mission trips begins, we will post the daily updates on the 5-23 Dream Team report as well as the 6-23 Dream Team report. The stories posted will be those shared in the assembly two nights ago, the last meeting with everyone working with DFA for the past month.
A Swazi girl shared a touching story about one experience she had this month.
“Though I was from Swaziland, I could not relate to the kids that she talked to. I felt like a foreigner. I couldn’t relate to their abuse, their poverty, the fact that many of the young girls I conversed with sleep with men on a regular basis so that they could get money to pay for their schooling.
I was talking to some boys about abstinence at one of the schools one day and they said they couldn’t abstain.
‘Don’t you ever get worried about getting AIDS,’ I asked them.
One of the boys looked at her and responded, ‘Yeah that’s why we have to have sex with four and five year old girls. We know that they are too young to have AIDS already.’
“Later in the week, my team had a call for abstinence. In order to ensure sincerity, my team gave the Swazi high school students privacy as they wrote their name in the list for abstinence. After this event took place, I looked at the sheet of paper and noticed that this young boy’s name was listed in his handwriting. Seeing him later, I could tell that he was sincere and completely serious about his commitment.
“I miss my family and I want to be with my friends, but I thought about what would be beneficial in the long run. I decided that I could wait. Every day we sing ‘God it’s not about me, it’s about you.’ So I’m staying in Swaziland for another month.”
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The Art of Listening Prayer - by Seth Barnes
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This interactive devotional is for the person who isn't satisfied with a dry faith. If you're dying to hear God's voice, the good news is that you can! Jesus is the door, and He has opened it up to you.
Don't Miss Out on Hearing God's Voice!
The Art of Listening Prayer |
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