Today I’m traveling to Swaziland, that little tear drop of a country embedded in the northeast corner of South Africa. It will be a journey into a land of beauty, and paradoxically, a culture of death. Our goals are to both minister to orphans and to develop a long-term plan to care for thousands more.

We’re partnering with Children’s Hope Chest. Their President, Tom Davis, will be shooting video updates back for all of us. Here’s his web site and video.

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I’m dreading the 18 hours on the Delta flight over. No personal TV and movie channel like on South African Air. I’m told the service on board has been churlish. And the plane is small. Isn’t it funny how our expectations change? I remember my first long flight – to Thailand as a 21 year-old. The whole thing was a thrill.

Here is the local Swaziland Newspaper if you are interested in current events. Swaziland has the dubious title of the highest infection rate of HIV in the world. I'm excited that you will be able to go with us through the video blogs that will be posted at least every other day. We'll take you to orphanages, the homes of children who are heads of their households, AIDS hospitals, and a few other surprises.

It's summer in Swaziland with means warm weather and lots of rain. Click here for the local weather forecast. We will have email access so please keep in touch and continue to pray for our journey. See you via video in a few days!