News From The Ranch

Dear Friends,

We are back and looking forward to sharing with you about our trip to Africa. Thank you for you prayers and your financial support, without either of which we would not have had the wonderful experience that we did. I can't express to you enough how thankful we are to all of you who gave sacrificially and prayed for our trip. Your prayers were felt. Throughout the trip I would comment to Eric about how I could sense the prayers of the saints on our behalf. There were times when it looked like the road was blocked (literally), but through prayer and perseverance we made it through. It was at those times that I was most thankful to know that we had so many friends praying for us. The Lord heard and answered.

Let me tell you some of the things God did that week.

• He planted over 8,000 gardens with the help of 80 Americans and lots of Swazi people.
• He allowed us the privilege of praying for many sick and hurting people.
• He gave us the opportunity to share the good news of His Son with people as we walked the streets.
• He broke the hearts of many of the American volunteers as they felt called to go back to serve in Swaziland again.
• He allowed us to be His hands and His feet to many of the orphaned children as we were able to play with them and love them as He would do.

It's hard to put into words all that happened and all that we learned and will continue to learn as we reflect on the week. Throughout the week, God continued to show me the value of each person and how each person, and the gifts that God has given them, is vital to His Kingdom. God needs everyone and God uses everyone. As the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:27:

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

First, let me tell you about Mshado, our host pastor and translator. His job was to greet each household that we went to and translate for us from English to Siswati and vice versa. Mshado loved the Lord and was a pleasure to work with each day. He had a wonderful smile and was liked by everyone we met. He did an excellent job of translating. He let people know we were coming back the next day to plant again, and told them how to care for their gardens. Without him, I have no idea how we could have done all that we did that week. He was also very bold in sharing his faith and setting up opportunities for us to share the gospel, or just to pray for people who needed prayer. On one day, when we went prayer-walking in the city of Manzini, Mshado walked us right into a Clinic (which would be like a Doctor's office to us). He asked the receptionist if it would be all right if we could pray for anyone in the waiting room who was sick. She said that would be okay, so Eric and I split up and prayed for the two people sitting there. The people were very thankful for the prayers, and were then called into the doctor's office. As soon as the woman I was praying for had left, another woman, who had come in and had seen what we were doing, jumped up and asked if we could pray for her, too. She told me what her physical problems were and so we prayed. We prayed until she was called for her appointment, too. Eric did the same with another woman. All because of the boldness of one Siswati Pastor. That day, as we prayed and walked the streets, Mshado also stopped many times to talk with people, allowing Eric and me the opportunity to share the gospel with people. We were privileged to pray with three men to receive Christ as their Savior. Without Mshado we could not have accomplished all that we did in Swaziland that week.

But then I can't forget Dumsani, who was our combi (van) driver. He's a very quiet, but likable guy -- and an excellent driver. Really! We drove 2+ hours each day just to get to the places where we needed to plant and I get car sick easily. It was difficult terrain, with winding, mountainous dirt roads that have cliffs and no guard rails! It was not my kind of leisurely drive. But he did an excellent job. In fact, he did it so well that I didn't have to take Dramamine once. Hallelujah! And the places that we had to get to were not on MapQuest, I'm sure. Imagine hill after hill of grassy pasture or cornfields with an occasional hut and no city signs, street names or address numbers. The first day out I really thought we were lost. After driving up and down a gazillion hills and around ten thousand curves for literally 2 hours, we finally stopped at this hut. I thought we were going to finally do the smart thing and ask for directions. But no! We were actually right where we were supposed to be. Amazing! There were about 18 people waiting for us inside this building. I couldn't believe it. Dumsani knew what he was doing all the time. (Sounds like God, right?) Without Dumsani, our excellent driver, I don't know how we could have gotten to all the houses that we did that week.

And then there was Jabulani, the Swaziland pastor coordinator. His job was to find Swazi pastors like Mshado who would go with the teams to each different area they were assigned. We had 13 teams for the 80 people on our trip. Most pastors are very busy and we heard that it is hard to find someone who would be willing to take a week off to plant gardens. Yet that is what Jabulani did. He found the pastors and made the contacts with each area's Chief (the Chief is a man who is appointed by the King to be in charge of a certain area of land). Jabulani told them when we would be coming and bringing seedlings to plant, asking them to till some ground near their homes and fence in the area for planting. He is part of the reason we had that group of 18 people waiting for us the first day. Without Jabulani we would not have had our translator/pastor and would not have had the people who were ready for us to plant as soon as we arrived.

Then there was Lad, our American/Swaziland coordinator. He and his team were responsible for feeding, housing and entertaining 80 Americans, among many other things. That alone is more than I could handle. Lad met with us each morning at 6:00 a.m. for prayer and had an excellent devotional each evening to encourage us in what God is doing in Africa. But Lad also worked with Jabulani to make sure they had the area covered that we were planting in. He had to order all the plants for us all week and worst of all.....figure out what to do with us all when it rained! Arrrgh! Truly a nightmare I wouldn't have wanted to deal with, but it happened. And Lad did a superb job of rearranging some of our activities so that we were still able to plant as many gardens as we could and God was able fulfill all of His purposes for us. Without Lad, we would not have been able to do much of anything that week.

Then I can't forget ALL OF YOU, praying for us while we were preparing for our trip and then throughout the time that we were there. There were many times I was so thankful I knew that people were praying. Early in our trip while we were on some more winding roads in Wales, and I became so car sick (Yes, this was even with taking Dramamine) that I had to just lay down for awhile and take a nap. I remember praying before I fell asleep and being so thankful that I knew other people were praying for me. I woke up about 1/2 hour later and felt great! Wow! I love prayer. During our time in Swaziland, I mentioned that it rained and so some plans had to change. Again, I knew people were praying and that God was in control of everything, rain or shine. Instead of going out to the villages as scheduled, we changed plans and went to an orphan Care Point, a type of day care center, to plant a garden for the children. I was thrilled as it was our second orphanage visit of the week. To see the transformation of the yard before the garden, from rocks and garbage and water that had made deep ravines in the dirt, to a beautiful vegetable garden, was worth every prayer and the effort made to get us there. Thank you for your prayers. There was another time in the week when we didn't think our vans would make it up the hills. The rains on the dirt roads made them into giant mudslides. We were told the roads were simply impassable, so we stopped our 8 vans and watched as other cars tried to make it, but got stuck in the mud. Although it looked like we weren't going to make it through, Jabulani thought if we waited an hour or so, the sun would dry up the road and we could try to keep going. Instead of turning around, we prayed and waited. Knowing that people were praying for us, this was just another time to see God literally make a way for us when there was no other way. And He did....we called on His hand, and He called on ours! As the dirt began to dry, some of the team got out and just pushed us up the hill one van at a time. Knowing you were praying sustained us and gave us the ability to keep pressing on.

And of course, there are those of you who gave financially for our trip. I had said before our trip that that it would have to be a God thing if we raised enough money for all four in our family to go, and it was. God clearly wanted us to go and be His hands and feet to the people of Swaziland. We felt His presence daily and are so grateful for your part in providing the funds that we needed to get there. Thank you for your obedience in following the prompting of the Holy Spirit to give. Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-20, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." I know there are treasures being stored up in heaven for you. May God richly reward you. Without YOUR gifts we would not have been able to accomplish anything.

I haven't even begun to list the number of people that God used that week to make our trip wonderful and memorable...the hotel staff who cooked wonderful meals and provided clean rooms and sheets and warm showers, all the Swazi people who came along and helped us plant the gardens, the mom who thoughtfully sent with us lots of hand sanitizer wipes for us to use after gardening each day, the friends who sent us with beautiful hand-made baby blankets, doll clothes, and other gifts that we passed out at the orphanages... The list goes on and on.

Each one of you truly is part of the Body of Christ. Don't think that you're gifts and talents are too small to be important. It really does take all of us to do the work that Christ still has for us to do. Know that your gifts and talents really do matter to Him, and that they really do matter to us!

We thought you might like to see some highlights from the trip, so we've put together a 5-minute video that you can watch on the Internet, and a fun slideshow to show you some more pictures from the trip. Here's the link to both:

Planting Hope In Swaziland

Thanks again for everything!

Love,
Lana Elder

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Video and Slideshow from Africa

Here's the link to our 5-minute (well, 5 and 1/2-minute) video summary of our garden-planting trip to Swaziland, as well as a slideshow featuring additional pictures from our trip.

Planting Hope In Swaziland

The video is narrated by the five of us from Streator, Illinois, who went on the trip: Eric and Lana Elder, Karis and Lucas Elder, and Felicia Lamb. The trip was organized by Heart for Africa, also known as Dream for Africa, which was founded by Bruce Wilkinson, author of the Prayer of Jabez. You can find out more about future trips with Heart for Africa on their website at www.heartforafrica.org.

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Clover Ranch Prayer Service

I mentioned in the last newsletter that we had recently purchased the farmhouse where I grew up in Chenoa, Illinois, to create a place for spiritual renewal. While we're still just getting started with this project, we'd like to begin with a prayer service there on Friday, May 12th, at 7:00 p.m., with a bonfire and wiener roast starting at 5:00 p.m. for those who want to come early.

If you're in the Illinois area, (or want to come from wherever you are!), we'd love to have you join us for this special night of prayer. Just email me at pokey(at)theranch.org for more details and directions. If you need a place to stay Friday night, we'll have beds and sleeping bags at the farmhouse, or bring a tent to camp under the stars. There's no cost to join us or stay overnight! We'd just appreciate your prayers.

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Please Pray With Us

Father,

• Thank You for using so many people to make our trip to Africa so successful. Thank You for keeping us safe and healthy along the way, and working through this project to help others.
• Thank You for giving each of us gifts that we can use for You,
• And thank You for our plans coming together for Clover Ranch as a place for spiritual renewal.

Father,

• We now pray that You would continue to show each of us how to best use our gifts and talents for you, this week, this month and this year,
• Help us as we convert Clover Ranch into a place that can bring spiritual renewal to those who visit there in the future,
• And we pray that You would continue to help people find their way to The Ranch website so they can find their way to You.

We pray this all in Jesus' name, Amen.

Thanks!
Eric Elder

Here's the link again to the 5-minute video and the slideshow:
Planting Hope In Swaziland

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