We have a new guest in our home this week.  His name is Moses.  Don't worry, we don't have a man living with us who parts large bodies of water or demands that we let his people go.  This particular Moses is only 6 weeks old, and he weighs fewer pounds than weeks of life he's lived.  Yes, he is very tiny for his age!  (I was over twice his size when I was born)!

Baby Moses was found by another team who is passing through the Kingdom of Swaziland this month.  He was living with his mother on a tiny homestead in Nsoko (a region just south of Manzini).  Our precious little friend's mother has been very ill, suffering from AIDS as well as tuberculosis (a very common combination here in Southern Africa), and she has been unable to feed tiny Moses.  When he was found, he was nearly starving to death, and his mother asked the team to take him, knowing full well that it was his only chance of survival.  Sadly, this sweet woman does not have long to live.

As fate would have it, this team is now living with our team for a brief time, and they have brought baby Moses along!  I must admit that I've never held a baby so tiny.  We have all loved holding him, feeding him, praying for him, and cooing over his itsy bitsy fingers and toes. J  Although all of us have fallen in love with our little 4 pounds of joy, the time for parting is likely very near.  The team is looking for a place for Moses in an abandoned baby's home somewhere in Mbabane.  Please keep Moses in your prayers, and remember that even abandoned babies can grow into strong and courageous men.  It just starts out with a little love and some big prayers.

In other news, our high school ministry is still going very well.  We continue to work in four local high schools - Manzini Central, St. Paul's, Hillside, and Roads Park.  Each school is unique, and my ministry team (Kristen, Aubrey, and myself) has enjoyed getting to know the teenagers at each school.  We teach them in the classroom, at lunchtime Bible clubs, at Friday night youth group, in small groups, and during one-on-one meetings at KFC (yes, we do have KFC in Swaziland - in fact, it is the pinnacle of Manzini).  We have been focusing most of our programs on living a life of faith, love, purpose, and purity.  We are also guiding these young people in decision making, leadership skills, and conflict resolution.  We act as harbingers of hope and ambassadors of our God.  It is a big task, but has also been a rewarding adventure. 

Please pray for the growing generation in Swaziland - from Moses (and others like him), to the myriad of teenagers who will soon become leaders in a country that most of the world has never heard of.  They are "hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor. 4:8-9).  Remember, my friends, that our God looks with love and compassion on abandoned babies, troubled teens, dying mothers, and even young missionaries. J  I am praising him this week because he has enabled me to be his hands and feet in such a lovely land.  I'll be praying for each of you, as you are also equipped to act as the hands and feet of Jesus in your corner of the world!  Be blessed with eyes of faith, hands of love, and a tongue of praise as you serve God and one another!

"May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face shine upon us,

that your ways may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, O God;

May all the peoples praise you

May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

For you rule the peoples justly

And guide the nations of the earth.

May the peoples praise you, O God;

May all the peoples praise you

Then the land will yield its harvest,

And God, our God, will bless us.

God will bless us,

And all the ends of the earth will fear him."

Psalm 67