Brotherly Love

Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

The brotherhood of believers truly surpasses cultural and national boundaries. We have become blessed as some deep and wonderful relationships have developed here with members of our Swazi church family.

One young man in particular has truly become an integral part of our own little family. Phinda (you may recognize him if you've been following this blog for any length of time!) came to us as a gardener. He was 21 years old at the time and living with his uncle, one of his few remaining family members. Phinda lost his father and mother at an early age. His granny raised his brother and him until she, too, died when Phinda was in his early teens. The brothers survived as best as they could but desperately wanted a way to support themselves. Phinda came to church to look for work, and the rest is history.

He is, we are convinced, the most gifted gardener in Swaziland. But more than that, we've unofficially "adopted" him as our son. We love him dearly, and Jeremy and he are great buddies. He is growing in his walk with the Lord daily and has a real hunger and thirst for God's Word.

Please keep Phinda in your prayers as he seeks the Lord's will for his life. He is retaking some high school courses in the hope of making higher marks, since he was struggling through grief and in survival mode during his regular high school years. He is a very intelligent, hard-working young man and we know God has great things in store for him in the future.