Part of living in Swaziland is the calculated risk that your life will be overrun by a particular need God calls you to.  This is usually messy, emotional, exasperating, exhilarating, and downright inconvenient.  But saying "yes" to what the Lord puts in front of us, at all costs, is the essence of discipleship and Kingdom living.  Saying no is death to life in the Spirit.  So, my recommendation comes out of personal experience and long emotional stories - when opportunity comes to do something God calls you to do, please say yes.

 

I'd like to tell you about a missionary family we have on staff living in Swaziland.  Two years ago Steve and Amy McAdams and their three girls moved from Birmingham to Swaziland.  They have been serving faithfully in all kinds of roles.  Amy in particular has been spending a lot of time at the local government hospital.  For those of you who read my first paragraph carefully, this is is a dangerous activity for anyone with a pulse combined with a commitment to Christ.

 

 

As is predictable, Amy came face to face - literally - with an opportunity to say "Yes."  You can read here about a little girl she met named Mukelo (pronounced moogelo).  A short-cut to the full story is Mukelo was abandoned at the hospital by her mother.  Mukelo is around 2 years old and has cerebral palsy.  Absent miraculous healing, she will be dependent on full time care her entire life.  She's a sweet little girl.  She's living with a contorted body, some difficulty eating and breathing, and vision impairment.  She's a 24 hour requirement - just like a newborn baby.

 

Not long after Amy met Mukelo, she came to live with the McAdams family in a foster care agreement with social welfare.   The policy is Mukelo is not allowed to travel outside Swaziland.  Given two years on the field, the McAdams' have been planning a trip back to the US to shore up their support raising.  They've worked to get Mukelo placed in a children's home in Swaziland but there are none that accept children with disabilities.  So, at this time they are unable to travel home.  It's tough on their children who haven't seen family for a couple years and they do need to address their ongoing support if they want to stay in country and fulfill the call on their lives to serve the Swazi people.

 

Here's where you can pray.  And perhaps someone who reads this will say "yes."  We are looking for someone to come to Swaziland and take care of Mukelo for a month or more over the holidays.  Ideally late November through the middle of January.  Would you pray for this that God would provide a caretaker?  Would you even put yourself in the messy, emotional, exasperating, exhilarating,  and downright inconvenient position of saying "yes."

 

If you hear a "yes" in your spirit that you are brave enough to admit, please let me know as soon as possible.  I will connect you to Steve and Amy to talk more about what that might look like for you and little Mukelo.

 

Thanks for praying.