Swaziland is the country where people die faster than anywhere else in the world – shockingly, the average Swazi doesn’t ever see 30 years of age. In the middle of it lives Pastor Walter. I first met Pastor Walter three years ago during a large outreach in Swaziland. He was the one pastor who, realizing that something had to be done about his country’s horrific HIV/AIDS problem, stepped up and helped out.
Living in a two-room house with his family of six, Walter was troubled by all the pain that he saw going on around him. He knew that there were about 600 children that were going hungry in the area surrounding his church, and he knew many would starve as their parents died from AIDS. He had preached about James 1:27 (true religion is to help widows and orphans in their distress), but then God said to him, “What are you going to do about it?”
Walter began organizing the last remaining pillar of society – the grandmothers. “Let’s feed our children,” he told them. They purchased eight large black kettles and began to boil a pot of corn meal mash every day for the kids. He did all this without any white man helping him to organize it and without any outside source of funds.
Yesterday when we talked, his vision had expanded. “I think God wants us to put in place a school, an orphanage, and some projects to support it – a chicken farm and a piggery.”
I was excited – the first day in Africa, I’d felt God speaking to me about helping with a school. Half the Swazi kids can’t go to school because they don’t have the money to pay their school fees. School teachers are respected and can be a great source of godly counsel in a society where the family has completely broken down. It’s a great idea.
I thought, “There’s a man I know who would be perfect for the job of starting this school – I worked with him three years ago.” On the spur of the moment, Pastor Walter and I drove to visit him. He is currently an assistant principal at a nearby school. We had a great meeting. We dreamed together about what it would be like to start a school that raised up young leaders who had in their hearts and minds the keys to saving their nation.
So many meetings like that end in nothing. The good news about Pastor Walter is that he is a man of action. This dream of his has a fighting chance.
I’ve been praying for Swaziland since Clinton first told me of it… and I’ll be praying with specificity about Paster Walter and the school… what a blessing that will be… p.s. notice I said “will be,” not “would be…
I’m praying today that God would bring the right people forth to see this vision come to fruition. It is a wonderful idea and will impact so many for good.
Wow, the first sentence struck me. So many people in the US complain about turning 30. Swazis dream of reaching it. May we be the hands & feet to their dreams!
Hi Seth-
What an honor it was to meet Pastor Walter back in January. Today, as part of Children’s Cup’s 40 Days of Prayer, I’m featuring Pastor Walter on my blog. I’ve linked to this blog post and used the photo you have here. Somehow I didn’t get a picture of him on our trip.
Thanks for telling the world about the true heroes out there.
Grace to you,
Elysa
you’re welcome, Elysa. Pastor Gift is another one – these guys are amazing.
MAY ALLAH HIM AND ALL OF US. AMEEN
Seth,
These are the kinds of stories that we need to tell more often.
Our Gospel is one of hope, and this is one of many examples. Thanks for sharing!