Some kids’ education threatened
DILEMMA: “Grand Staff Ministries offers a sponsorship programme that provides 22 children with school fees, uniforms, backpacks and school supplies.”
MBA BAN E–The liveli hood of 22 children whose education and well- being is supported by a missionary, is hanging by a thread due to the recent violent protests in Eswatini that has forced many missionaries t o evacuate t he country.
The worst case scenario could be the missionaries evacuating the country to a point of no return if the violence erupts again and persists.
Becky Spencer and her husband, Tracy, established a Christian pre- school ( Little Lambs), care home ( Shepherd’s Care) and church in the country.
The Spencers’ non- profit, Grand Staff Ministries, also offers a sponsorship programme that provides 22 children with school fees, uniforms, backpacks and school supplies. Most of those children and their families also depend on the ministry for food and blankets, as do several families from the church.
Recently, she has had to cancel a planned six- week summer mission trip to Eswatini due to upheaval in the nation.
“Of course, the big thing is access to food and gas,” said Becky in an interview with Charisma Magazine, which is a monthly Christian magazine based in the United States of America.
Spencer said beyond concerns about safety, food and fuel supplies from South Africa, where there is similar unrest, prayer for boldness among pastors to share the gospel with people who are worried and concerned, thinking about eternity and experiencing loss was paramount.
“So prayers for the gospel to go forward no matter what’s happening, and sometimes because of what’s happening,” she added.
Prayer for relief from anxiety among people who are afraid and concerned, wondering what they are going to do next, is also needed: “The peace that passes understanding, and that God will come through miraculously over and over and over,” Spencer said.
She said prayer was also needed for Eswatini’s economy, hit by the COVID- 19 pandemic and now the destruction of businesses and she highlighted that when the Spencers left the country in April this year, there was one case of coronavirus; now there are hundreds of reported infections. calm in the beloved kingdom.
The UN has expressed deep concern over the reaction of authorities to the protests and looting, calling for an independent investigation into allegations of ‘ disproportionate and unnecessary use of force, harassment and intimidation’ by security forces, as reported by The Guardian.
The protests, largely among young people, began in May when a Law student was murdered under circumstances that suggested police involvement. The unrest increased dramatically last month when authorities said they would refuse further petitions to government. This decision led to an escalation in violence and breakdown of the nation’s general law and order. Forty or more people have died in six weeks, with over 150 hospitalised from injuries due to gunshot wounds or beatings by police, according to information sourced from