Swaziland Report
by Stephen Cartwright SOC Director
I got back from my trip to Africa last week, and it was a great trip, we were running the school in a country called Swaziland one of the last remaining Kingdoms in the world, the country is very small and maybe the first time you have heard mention of it. I was there for the last week of the school and it was great to see what God was doing in the lives of a small group of people in a town called "Hlatikulu".
The school started with over 20 people present with a number of pastors from the surrounding area, everything was running fine the first week, until at the end of the week some of the pastors started asking for money. This is unfortunately a recurring problem in some of the countries I go to. Often good meaning charities, ngo's, etc, have given out money and resources without demanding responsibility, millions of dollars have been thrown at problems ie. aids, food, housing development without fiscal accountability. This has produced great covetousness and instead of truly helping people, we have in fact stirred the lower elements of corruption in man.
The School of Christ does not operate on this basis, so the two directors that I had working there said that we don't pay for people to attend, well 8 of them left, tragically most of them that did were Pastors.
The ones that remained were a great blessing they prayed, listened to the Word of God and were greatly edified. One of them in particular that I want to mention at this time was an Anglican Pastor, he was so stirred by lessons in the school that he kept asking for them to be repeated. After the lesson on "Samson a Type of The Church" I got up to give the notes and commentary and before I could say anything, he stopped the whole class and said that he needed to pray. God did a great work in this mans life, he was having great anticipation about God stirring the Anglican church in his own country and also further afield to other countries like England where he stated they need the true Word of God. He is planning a mission trip to England in the near future to evangelize!
Each person left the school stirred and committed to see God work in his/her own communities.
I look forward with expectant heart at what is just a beginning in this country.
God Bless,
Stephen Cartwright
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