It started as a gimmick. On my MySpace page nearly nine years ago, I placed as my location “Boise, Idaho, but I wish I were in Swaziland.”

I had no idea where Swaziland was, but it sounded like paradise. Someplace foreign, worlds away and with a name like Swaziland, there had to be white sand beaches and azure blue waters.

Fast forward a few years, when I had moved back to Salt Lake City and started attending Capital Church. A team from Capital was heading to Swaziland and the stories they told of the kids at the carepoint piqued my interest. The following year, I had friends join the team and ask me to go with them. Because of where I was professionally, I couldn’t travel for the entire trip with them and was unable to go. However, this year, things changed.

I am now able to follow a nudging that has been on my heart the past few years to join a team of 14 from Capital Church going to Swaziland in 2014, to provide outreach, supplies and care for the community at the Mkhombokati carepoint, in partnership with Children’s Hope Chest.

I now know a little more about this country. Smaller than New Jersey and completely surrounded by other countries, Swaziland is Africa’s last traditional kingdom, and has more than 60% of its population living below the poverty line. With a life expectancy of 49 years, more than 80% of Swazis survive on subsistence agriculture. One in six children under the age of 15 have lost both parents to HIV/AIDS and more than 50% of pregnant women in their late 20s are HIV positive. Of the 1.1 million people in Swaziland, more than 150,000 are orphans. 

They say it takes a village to raise a child and I know this trip it is going to take a town to help our team provide support and supplies for the village of kids at Mkhombokati. I would love for you to be a part of my journey and help me in my goal of raising $4000 to offset expenses for our team’s travel and supplies. In years past, this money has gone towards building a working well, so the community doesn’t have to walk more than a mile to bring water back to the carepoint, building a shelter to allow kids a place to learn and play when the weather is inclement and razing and tilling a field to teach sustainable farming.

I realize that money is tight and I’m not asking you to fund all $4000 (although, if you want to, that would be amazing). Even if it is $10 or $20, your donation will be put to good use. Know that both Capital Church and Children’s Hope Chest are 501(c)3 organizations and your donation will be 100% tax-deductible.

If you would like more information about this coming trip, I encourage you to visit our group page at capitalswazi.blogspot.com. If you would be willing to make a financial contribution, you can simply click here .

Financial support isn’t all we’ll need to make this trip successful. Your thoughts and prayers are always welcome. As we get closer, I may be looking for clothing and supplies to take with me. Should you wish to know specific prayer requests, donation needs or have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you for your time reading this and for your support.