post. I have very little time today so I will have to make this short, but I
will be sure to give full updates when I get home. Today was a hard day. We
decided to take the team into the capital city of Swaziland to get on the Internet
and do some ministry. We went to the hospital first. It is the largest hospital
in Swaziland
and has people covering it on every side. I really struggle with going to
hospitals, but the Lord continues to put the desire to minister there in my
heart. We walked in and I was immediately overwhelmed. Most of the team went to
the children’s ward, but I felt led to go to one of the women’s ward where
people were suffering from HIV and Tuberculosis. I thought I was just going to
be with the HIV patients, but it turned out that a lot of the patients had TB as
well. I went in with another girl and we went through and prayed for many of the
women, read from the Bible to them and just loved on them a little. While we
were praying for the last woman all of a sudden I just felt sick and I
started to pass out. I don’t know what happened other than that it was just an
attack from Satan. I made it through the prayer and quickly went outside where
I could lay on the ground to regain my strength. It was just all really hard to
see and the heaviness there was great. The Lord just broke me. I went
to the children’s ward after that where I saw this little boy whose whole body was
swollen to the point that he looked like someone had beaten him badly. He was
only about 6 years old. I tried to walk away but just couldn’t. He was all alone
and I just felt like I needed to do something. I asked the nurse what was wrong
with him and she said he was swollen from malnourishment and he also was
suffering from TB. He had no parents and was completely alone. I went up to him
and put my hand on his shoulder. He could hardly see me because his eyes were
almost swollen shut, but I said hello in Siswati and reached my hand out. As I
reached my hand to him, he pulled his little hand out from under the covers and
shook my hand. His hand was so swollen he couldn’t even bend his fingers. I just
wanted to do something so badly, but there was nothing I could do to help him. I
prayed for him and then pulled a lady over to translate for me. I told him that
I loved him and would be praying for him. He said thank you. I left with such a
heavy heart and tears streaming down my face. I still haven’t fully processed
it. I just pray that the Lord continues to show His love to him and the rest of
the people there.
After the hospital we went to an abandoned baby shelter and
had so much fun playing and laughing with the beautiful children. I will tell
more about that when I get home and have more time. Thank you all so much for
your prayers and comments. They encourage me more than you know. I can’t
believe I only have a week left. Honestly, part of me really doesn’t want to
come home. There is just something beautiful about being away from everything
that can distract me in daily life from what’s important. Life is simple here and in many ways
that is a good thing. The team is doing well. They are growing so much and are
truly hungry for what God has for them. I am blessed to be around them on a
daily basis. Please continue to pray against the attack of the Enemy. We
continue to have random illnesses happen, but overall God has taken care of us
in ways I can not explain. Please pray that the Lord would continue to give me grace as well. I love you all and can’t wait to share more.
For Him,
Caroline 🙂
Ps. 56:3
