Take this hallway..

A couple of weeks ago we carried a team of people to the Atlanta International Airport. Their destination? Swaziland. If you have been in any modern airport, I am sure you have noticed the really wide corridors. Especially the ones in and around check-in. As we neared Gate A-7, we noticed a small, soft-spoken security officer trying to direct people down an obscure, narrow hallway. The throngs of people walking through the main corridor continued about their business – very few people listened to the officer and even fewer followed his instruction: “This is a security checkpoint. Trust me. If you do not follow this hallway, you will not be allowed to enter this area.” He kept saying to the people passing by, “Trust me.” We even noticed people stopping to curiously look down the narrow hallway, then look back in the direction they were walking – then continue on their way. Some of the people who didn’t follow the officer’s instructions later came back to where they were told they should go. I still don’t know where all those other people went. According to our new friend, they must have left the airport because they sure weren’t going to be able to access the gate area unless they went down this hallway. Who knows? They may still be aimlessly wandering the wide corridors of the Atlanta airport.
There have been many times when I felt as thought I was aimlessly wandering through life. I walked by a Man who told me that if I wanted to reach my destination that I needed to go down a path less traveled. He told me the route I was taking was very wide and seemingly easy to travel. But He also told me that the wide and easy path would lead to destruction. I believe we all go down the wrong path from time to time. I am so thankful today that God remains faithful to us. He is still standing at the crossroads, ready to lead us down the path that leads to eternal life.

Matthew 7: 13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only few find it.”

Life is like a road. Most of us will travel a road to get somewhere today. There are many streets that you could have taken, but you wouldn't have ended up where your destination is. You had to follow a certain path to get where you are going. If you'd taken a different road, you probably would have ended up somewhere else.

Jesus said that the choices we make in life are like picking which road to take. He describes two roads. One is wide, and flat, and easy with a wide gate at the end. The other is narrow, and rugged, and difficult, with a narrow opening at its end. Most people take the easy road, and few take the narrow one. But Jesus said that the wide and easy road leads to destruction, and the straight and narrow road leads to eternal life.

When we have to make choices in life, we have to base our decisions on more than what is easiest. Often what seems easiest or most appealing is the worst choice we can make. Satan wants us to sin, so he makes sin look good. But we have to know where our decisions will lead us. We have to look at the consequences of our decisions.

We can't take the easy road to get to heaven, we have to follow the narrow road. Some people think they can do both. Is it possible to drive on two different roads at the same time? Is it possible to drive in two different directions? There are times we think we can do wrong and be right. We think they can serve God, but do everything we want to do. Jesus said this is impossible. We have to decide to follow God, and put His will first.

Jesus is standing at the gate saying, “Trust me.” What road will you take today?

What would you do?

We received word this morning that the roof on the building at the carepoint we hold dear has been blown off by a wind storm. While we are very proud to have the building, it was in pretty rough shape. There were holes in the tin roof, holes in the walls and the mortar in between the blocks was beginning to erode away. I imagine it didn't take much to destroy what was there.



This building is critical to the ongoing efforts of Kriek and Jumbo Gerber and Children's HopeChest to develop relationships and disciple the people of that area. Food and supplies are kept in a small room in the building. When children come to the carepoint that are sick, the Go-Go's let them sleep on a mat in the building. When the weather is not conducive for being outside, they all pack into the building to seek shelter. Without a building to store food and the pots to cook in, there is no food for the children. We simply cannot and will not allow that to happen.

We need your help. If you feel led to help with this project, please contact me @ matthew25ministries@gmail.com right away. We are on a mission to gather funds by this weekend and begin repair immediately. In the meantime, please prayerfully consider what it is you can do and keep praying for the people of this area. Will you help?


It is so easy to see the good in this happening. Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, and the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Our prayer is that in every deed, word, thought - in everything that is done, it will be to Glorify our ord and expand His Kingdom. Blessings -

As For Me and My House...

Today, the team will be at Thulwane leading bible study along with the D-Team. Another project will be to paint the Home that Love built. Before the house is to be painted, scripture will be written on the walls. This home will be covered in the Word of God and has been dedicated to Him. We had dozens of people submit the scripture that will be written.

For the team today, please offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the people of Swaziland, for the AIM staff, for Childrne's HopeChest, for the sponsors of the children and for the partners in ministry. Our prayer is that God be magnified in all they do. Blessings -

Word up!

Got a brief word from the team today! Of course, everything is going well! Since our partnership with AIM and Children's HopeChest began at Thulwane in February, 2007, we have seen an incredible transformation with the people of that community. God has worked through Kriek and Jumbo Gerber, the "D" Team, the Go-Go's and even the older children. We are so priveleged to be a representative of our Savior! He has wrecked our hearts for the good and that is what calls us to action. Thank you, Jesus!

Please allow me to share a bit of scripture that reminds me of the mission of not only our team from the States, but our team in Swaziland:

Matthew 5: 13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Our prayer is that anything we do or say reflect the immense love of God.

No word today...

No official word today - which means everything is going well! It is difficult for us to have patience or understand why we cannot get word from our team - things are different in Swaziland - especially from a technological perspective. Internet is an absolute luxury. So here we are. Waiting to hear and to share in the daily victories the team will experience. While waiting, we can continue to pray. And pray. And pray some more. Let's honor our team by lifiting them to our Father.



1 John 5: 15-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that He hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him.



The key is for us to seek His will. And if we ask for His will to be done and for us to clearly see His will, then our prayers will be answered. It's all about alignment!



Father, I come to You with a soft heart tonight. We miss the members of this team so much. While it would have been really good to hear form them, I know that You have annointed each of them and they are in Your will. Please continue to bless them and those they encounter. I know Your light is shining through them. Thank You for that. Thank You for using them to teach us. Thank You for giving us the opportunity to lift each one of them up to You. Thank You for giving us patience and a sense of calm while we eagerly wait to hear from them. Whatever Your will is for this team, I gladly ask You to reveal it to us. It is not about us. It's about You. We want to glorify You in all we do and all we say. Please use the team of people who are here supporting and praying for the team. Use us to glorify You with our words and actions when we tell other people about this campaign. I ask for these and all other blessings in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

Boarding Call at 8:35 pm, cst.

After a delay of little over an hour, our Team is boarding! I spoke to several of them and they are all in high spirits and very excited to be on their way! Crystal and Ashley will email me when they can and I will update the blog just as soon as I receive the information. Speaking from experience, please take the time to reply to these posts... they will all huddle around a laptop to read the messages!!!

Thank all of you for your prayers, support, supplies, encouragement and wisdom you all have shared in recent months with our team! We are all so blessed because of you! We hope to have an update tomorrow night.

God is so very good! Please feel free to join us in giving thanks and praise to our Lord!

The Visit To The Homestead

What did we learn from Love? We learned patience. We learned understanding. We learned compassion. We learned hope. We learned, well.. we learned to love.

A few of us were able to go to the homestead of these four little girls. Picture the reality that four precious little girls, the oldest of which is five years old, living at this homestead alone. All alone. Caring for themselves – the most vulnerable of the weak. As we were talking to a neighbor, the girls came from their stick and mud hut to sit with us. They treated us like we were somebody special. Love went back and forth into the hut. She wanted to show off her “dress clothes.” She only had to change shirts once. That’s all she had. But she was proud of that. Looking back at pictures, the girls wore different clothes a couple of days – but they simply exchanged clothes with one another to have something different to wear. Four little girls sharing clothes. How proud these little girls are of their shared skirt!

Imagine what is was like to not have a mom or a dad there to make certain they brushed their teeth or washed behind their ears. How hard is it to fathom the emptiness they feel? Imagine the sounds of the night. Imagine the cold – the dampness – the darkness.

The visit to the homestead forever wrecked Natalie Mays, Alexis Vann and me. Almost a year later and we still find it difficult to revisit those raw emotions. But we are thankful to have experienced the things we did that fall afternoon. We looked into the eyes of Jesus that day – and I pray we remain broken and humbled with a spirit of compassionate action for the vulnerable and poor. God is good. He is faithful. He is love.

The House that Love Built - Part 2

Our first introduction to the children of Thulwane was through this video shared by Tom Davis with Children’s HopeChest. Please take two minutes to watch this video. Very moving.

This little girl hadn’t always been in a wheelchair. Before her traumatic experience, she walked around and played like most children her age. During her recovery period, her Gogo would place her in a wheelbarrow to get her to the carepoint so she could eat. Kriek and Jumbo Gerber, Missionaries in Swaziland, purchased the wheelchair for Love and this is where her life began to change… for the better.

We had absolutely no idea we would actually get to meet the little girl in the wheelchair. But we did. She is such an Angel!

The next blog will detail our first encounter with Love and what we learned from this little girl and the other children at Thulwane.

All Things New

We shared some pictures of ‘Love’ with you in our last blog – now I want to tell you why those pictures are so significant. When we first met Love in June, 2008, she was in pretty poor condition. She was malnourished, she had several burns on her little body, she had recently experienced some type of head trauma, her right eye was nearly closed and infected. She was a mess, at least in our eyes.

When we made her circumstances known to our friends, Kriek and Jumbo Gerber, they, along with one of their staff members, Dennis Brock, committed to ending the obvious neglect she had been enduring. I cannot tell you how fulfilling it was to see pictures of Love from this past Sunday. She looks like a different little girl. As my sister reminded me today, “God makes all things new.” That, He does!

This is an excerpt from an email Kriek sent me this week:

“So she was at the party on Saturday, walking around, just looking at everything. BUT she came to ALL of us (white people) and she wanted us to pick her up. She has never ever done this with us before! Jumbo and Julie picked her up once each, but she is so heavy that they had to put her down after a few minutes. They would put her down and then she would stand in front of them with her little arms raised, asking for more. It was so cute. Sorry, but I didn’t even try to pick her up!!! I just played with her every time she came to me! She also played with Jumbo’s car keys for a while; looking really interested in it. She even came to one of us with her sweater wanting us to help her put it on. It was amazing! But through all of this she never said a word or made a sound.

Sorry you were not there to be the one picking her up! I know you would have loved every moment of it.”

I was there, Kriek. My heart was there. God Bless.

A Win is a Win

What does living out scripture in Matthew 25 look like to you? It has to be about action, right? It is one thing to want to help the poor or have the intention of helping someone. But to live out scripture has to be one of the most touching acts we can do.

Backpacks. Bibles. Clothes. Shoes. Medical supplies. Food. Prayer. That is what Matthew 25 looks like to me. We have been blessed by so many people who ‘get it.’ Through the generosity of many, we have been able to share some very tangible things with the ‘least of these.’ I am so thankful for people like Kriek and Jumbo Gerber and their Swaziland staff, Erika Bennett and Seth Barnes of AIM, Tom Davis of Children’s HopeChest, and the many supporters of Matthew 25 Ministries.

I believe, that by nature, most people like to ‘win.’ But in ministry, sometimes it is difficult to define what a win really is. Sometimes it is not difficult at all to define a win – a Kingdom win… Winning teams set very specific goals. If the goal is to win a conference championship then the team has to win a majority of the games it plays. When a player crosses home plate, she isn’t concerned about her batting average – she wants to win. When the pitcher allows fewer runs than his team scores, he isn’t worried about his ERA (earned run average). You get the point. To have a successful team, we have to give-up our individual stats when it helps the team win. Many baseball games have been won by a sacrifice fly ball. Many football games have been won ‘in the trenches’ where there is little glory or recognition.

Matthew 25 Ministries works to win. How do we win? We accomplish the goal. We strive to share the love of Jesus through compassionate action. When we can do that, it is a victory! It isn’t about self. It can’t be. This blog is about thanking our Board, our contributors, our supporters, our families and our prayer warriors. All of that being said, we are very grateful to you, God, for giving us this opportunity to share the Love you have given us. Thank you!

I hope you have read previous blogs about a little girl we call ‘Love.’ Here are some pictures of Love that Kriek Gerber emailed me yesterday. Enjoy the photos and I will share more with you tomorrow night. The first two pics are from June '08. THe second two pics are from this past Sunday. Thank you and God Bless -

Nokuhle Dlamini

Please excuse the camera being turned sideways right after this video begins. The main thing I wanted to share with you is the sound of Nokuhle's sweet, sweet voice.

Nokuhle is just one of thousands of Swaziland children who need our help. While we cannot do everything we want to do at once - we can, however, make a huge difference - one child at a time.

I am so thankful God has put us at this place. God Bless you, Nokuhle. And God Bless, protect and deliver the people of Swaziland.

Journal Entry

Basic (excerpt) journal entry on June 7th, 2008.

The Children of Thulwane – it is so difficult to comprehend the life of an orphan. We walked to three different homesteads to visit and take food – I was scared to death during the walk – and it was daylight. I imagine the nights are very lonely. No electricity. No streetlights. Heck, no streets. Other than at the carepoint, there is no place to provide very basic care. Not because they won’t – but because they can’t. A simple runny nose can turn into flu. Flu can turn to death. In Swaziland, it is about survival. The strong make it ~ the weak don’t. Orphans stand very little chance of making it to the age of 15. In America, we stand a better chance of dying in a plane-to-plane collision than to die of starvation or a runny nose. It’s like two different worlds. God help them. And please give us the heart to help them. But for Swaziland to heal, it must heal from the inside-out. Her people must experience revival. We must experience revival.

Introduction to Love

I originally posted this in mid-June of this year. A friend of mie asked me post it again....

I have experienced Jesus in the flesh. No, this isn't the first time. And I pray it won't be the last. We were on a mission campaign in Swaziland, Africa. The morning had started off with the awesome responsibility of being called to compassionate action. We were at Thulwane carepoint. Thulwane is the place we had viewed video's of Tom Davis' blog. This is the place we have read about on the blog of Kriek and Jumbo . I already had this particular morning planned out in my mind. I would spend some time with the children as they ate breakfast. Then I would help other team members administer some meds at our 'clinic,' while at the same time I would be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of my oldest daughter, Alexis, as she continued the path of being a Godly young woman. But something happened that will forever change the way I view missions. The experience I was soon to live would literally shape the way I viewed life and love.

In order to fully feel the scope of this experience, please take a moment to watch this video: http://tomdavis.typepad.com/tom_daviss_blog/2007/03/the_girl_in_the.html


Crystal Baltimore came to me and said, "Hey, remember the girl in the wheelchair in Tom's blog? Well, she is over here and we are about to feed her." Wow! We met Pastor Walter just the day before - now, I get to actually see the little girl on the wheelchair. My family and I had watched that video at least 50 times. There she was. Little Nedia sat there on a mat in all her Royalty. She was dressed like the Queen of Thulwane. A red velvet dress adorned her bruised and battered body. She quietly ate her generous helping of food from her royal plastic bowl and with her spotless right hand. There was the Queen in all her splendor. I was speechless, as was the rest of our team. At that moment, a rush of emotions came over me. I was angry that she could have been violated in such sick, evil ways. Then confusion creeped in. How could someone physically abuse such a precious angel? It was obvious from early on that Nedia not only had been assaulted both physically and mentally - but she had also been neglected since Tom had posted the video of her from late in '07.

Then it happened. The defining moment of where the rubber meets the road. This was it - where the 'Red Letters' of the bible come to life. There was Jesus dressed in the distressing disguise of the Queen of Thulwane. My heart was wrecked. My sense of justice was awakened. As team members began to prepare for the clinic, I was able to spend some time with Nedia. Just me, her and the Lord. At first, I wasn't sure of what to say. Or what to do, for that matter. I had never met a queen before. I had heard of them and seen them on TV. But this was for real. So there we were. Just the three of us. What was the first thing out of my mouth to her? "Love." My big moment in the history of important moments - and all I could say was, "Love." How did she respond? "Love!"

I have experienced love in so many ways in my life. Love for my parents and sisters. Love for Ashley and our four children. Love for my friends. Love for my work and those I serve. Love for God and for my church. Love for missions. But this was the manisfestation of what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 25 when he talked about the poor. This was exactly what he meant. To be continued...