05.10Back to Bulembu
This past week, the AR team, along with Vincent & Gloria and potential AR staff for the coming year, returned to Bulembu, Swaziland, where we visited in December.
A few things struck me on this second visit. I loved Bulembu the first time but was secretly prepared for a less-romanticized experience, simply because we were already familiar with the place. I was surprised; in no way had Bulembu lost its luster. In fact, it was even more clear to us how God is using this village and drawing the right people into His mission there. Since December, a new primary school has opened, four times the capacity of the previous school; the arts & crafts center employing ladies from the village is ever-creative in the goods sold at the gift shop; the dairy is soon to open, which will provide more than 200 gallons of milk per day for the village and ministries; and most striking, an abandoned building we toured in December is now a beautiful welcome center for abandoned or abused children from all over Swaziland, before they are placed in specific homes in Bulembu. For more background on the incredible story of how a once-abandoned mining town is regaining life through the obedience of Christians, check out our previous blog post on Bulembu.
Our team was delighted to pay a visit to ABC Ministry and spend a morning with Robin and Gerry Richter. Once again, we were all incredibly moved by the amazing work ABC continues to do in taking in abandoned and unwanted children from all over the country, rooting them in God’s love and raising them up as leaders of the next generation. To hear Robyn herself explain ABC’s work, check out our multimedia piece.
We are excited that our friend from home, Katherine Donahoe, arrives in Bulembu today to volunteer at the clinic there for the next two weeks and that friends from our church and Will’s church who are interested in community development and sustainable enterprise will be returning there in early June. We hope that everyone of you will someday see first-hand the wonderful things that God is doing in this tiny corner of His creation!