Mission Trip Review

Mission Trip Review

By Ana Alburquerque

After 47 hours of travel I am back from Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and what a life changing experience it was! I’ve been taking time to reflect on everything I saw, experienced, and learned. I know no words will do it justice, but I want to, as much as possible, honor this Ministry, the missionaries, the volunteers, the staff I had the privilege of serving or serving with, and most importantly the children. It is also important to me to honor you for supporting the cause and supporting me.

Thank you for believing in and supporting the Great Commission to go and make disciples of ALL NATIONS! Thank you for your generosity. You are now part of something much bigger than yourself and I am too. You supported a remarkable organization called Challenge Ministries Swaziland which protects and cares for orphaned and vulnerable children, develops rural communities, provides education, rehabilitation programs, sustainability projects, and teaches godly leadership.

I wanted to share a few lessons from this trip, but I would love to share pictures and videos too so please find me on Instagram (amar_costarica) and Facebok as I will start posting in the next couple days.

  The mission of Challenge Ministries Swaziland through Bulembu is the closest image I’ve had of heaven on Earth – what God intended Earth to look and feel like, where we all share our resources to ensure everyone gets their needs met. An entire village dedicated to the caring and loving of orphans by the most godly, selfless people I’ve ever encountered. Everyone from the “aunties” who leave their families each month for 21 days to travel to Bulembu to raise their “other” children like they were their own, to the staff that cooks, cleans, grows food in the gardens, and especially the missionaries that run this organization. The strength of their faith and reliance on God for meeting their daily needs, their commitment to making each life matter, the obedience to their calling and the Holy Spirit, and their love God is something I can only pray I learn from and develop.

  Worshipping together God transcends all barriers including language, culture, background, skin color, and even trauma because in Christ we are one body, one Spirit, and one hope. I experienced this first hand when we joined the women at the Women’s Center for Chapel, listened to their testimonies, and prayed for one another. I bonded over past common experiences with one of the girls at the cender, her name is Phangi, because you see, pain, hurt, disappointment, and betrayal are no respecters of people. But we both also rejoiced in having being healed, loved, provided for and saved by our God.

Ephesians 4:4 "For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future."

  Us going all the way to Africa to serve them... the abandoned, the abused, the vulnerable, the unloved, “the least of these” shows them that they matter, that they have value, and that they have a huge family around the world that cares and prays and sacrifices for them and that is willing to do for them what their own birth family wouldn’t.

Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

  Last but not least, God is working everywhere and all the time... even when we cannot see Him or feel Him... Jesus is alive and well and He is reconciling back to Him everyone that seeks Him... The Holy Spirit is powerful and ready to change lives. Now, if we will just align our purpose with His and join Him in what He is already doing we might win too.

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

I encourage you to learn more about Challenge Ministries Swaziland by visiting their website (www.cmswazi.org). They have a God- sized vision to continue to expand to meet the needs of every child in Eswatini and I pray we will continue to support them every way we can: donations, sponsoring kids, sending missionaries (even going yourselves!), and praying for them.

Mark 9:36-37

From the bottom of my heart, again, thank you.

May God bless you and your families!

Ana Alburquerque