“But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.”- Psalm 9:18
Four years ago I fell madly and utterly in love. I didn’t fall in love with an individual person, but instead with a continent and the people that comprise that place. God broke my heart for Africa and the beautiful faces that live there. In 2004 and 2005, I had the opportunity to serve on short-term trips in Kenya, Africa. Little did I know that God would use these trips to change my life forever.
Especially after the second trip, I remember coming back and realizing for the first time that there was no way I could ever be the same again. I knew then that I had somehow managed to leave pieces of my heart over there, and I 
didn’t know how to get them back. It has been a little over 2 years since my foot last touched African soil, and I can honestly say that there has not been one minute that has gone by that I haven’t wished I was back there. Their faces are permanently etched in my heart, and they are constantly on my thoughts. I can’t escape from it. Ever since my last trip, I have been praying that the Lord would provide a way for me to go back. I didn’t know how or when it was going to happen, but I knew that God had placed this passion in me and that He would fulfill it in His time. Well, that time has come. In June of this summer I will be traveling to Swaziland, Africa to serve for a month as a leader for a group of high-school students that are giving their summer to serve Christ.
Swaziland is Africa’s last traditional Kingdom, and a country that has been ravaged by AIDS. People are dying at an alarming rate and are in desperate need of a Savior. Ever since I started working with AIM, I felt God building a desire in me to go to Swaziland. Honestly, there are so many things about this place that could scare me, but these are the people that are closest to God’s heart. This is a country mainly comprised of orphans, widows, the suffering and the outcasts. These are the people I was created to love, and I am ready. Not only will I have a month to minister to those in Swaziland, but I will also get to pour my life into a group of young people who are searching to know Christ more and serve Him by showing His love to others. I have no idea why the Lord has chosen me for this, but I am ready to follow in obedience with the expectation that God is going to work in amazing ways.
Most of the details have still not been determined, but Lord willing I am hoping to take the month after the trip and travel to the other AIM bases in Johannesburg, Jeffreys Bay and Kenya to visit the teams there and see the ministries in which they are involved. Obviously, because of the current violence in Kenya, I can not plan for that part of the trip yet, but I am praying the violence will be over by that time. I must say it will be excruciatingly hard for me to be on the continent of Africa and not be able to go to Kenya to see those who stole my heart 3 years ago. So, I am praying the Lord will work out all of the details.
I know this is still a few months away, but I wanted to go ahead and let everyone know of my plans so you could begin praying with me for this time. I will go through leadership training in April and then have training camp with my team a week before we leave. The time in-between will be spent getting to know my co-leader and the group of high-school students that will be on this trip. I am also praying that the Lord would use the next few months to prepare my heart for this leadership position and all that is involved with that. I will be updating all of you on the areas where I will be serving so you can be more familiar with them. For now, here is a short video comprising some facts about the country of Swaziland. Thank you all for going on this journey with me and for all of your encouragement and prayers. They mean the world to me. My heart is truly overwhelmed! God Bless!
For His Glory,
Caroline 🙂
Ps. 56:3
