The Sweerin's

Greetings Everyone! Thank you for coming to our blog to learn more about the Zambia School Project. We are excited to share with you all of the updates we have on how the school project is going. I want to let you all know that God has been doing some amazing things during the preparations of this curriculum.  I would like to share two with you:            First Story :  As I searched the internet for different books and materials I would find one that I would like, and I would begin pursuing it. The process would initially begin well, but for reasons unknown to me, the people would no longer answer my emails, or I would be unable to reach them by phone even though I had made contact with them previously. So, I would pray and ask God if this wasn’t right, then show me something else. God did each time. I would find new resources that were even better than the ones I was previously considering. The communication process would go rather smoothly ...

It has been about 8 months since our last post. Our family is doing well and continuing to experience God's love in so many ways. The highlight of our family is the new addition that arrived on September 3rd, Clayton Hans Sweerin. Being 6lbs 9.8oz's and perfectly healthy our hearts were overjoyed. Melanie is also doing well and was very strong through the delivery. As I have been soaking in the experience, I want to reflect on the lessons God has been teaching us. As many of you know, losing Elijah in September last year has changed our view of God in many ways. As Christians, we need to understand how when tragedies happen it isn't necessarily God punishing us, forgetting us, or a result of our own mistakes, but a result of the curse man brought upon itself.    Now September 3rd, 1 year later we have experienced God's grace in a new way. Clayton (meaning "from the clay") is an image that comes to our mind as we think of how God created us from the dust of...

    Being a part of Christ's family is a beautiful thing. After loosing our son, we were surrounded by our family in Christ. In the midst of all our sadness, God was near. He was present in our time of trouble.  In order to help with the grieving process, I was given a devotional that would help me sort through my emotions. In the devotional it mentioned writing a letter to our son. Nate sat down and began writing as I could not get too many thoughts together. I am always impressed at how he can put his thoughts down on paper.  Below is our letter to Elijah. We want to share it with you all. We pray that you will be encouraged  in your walk with God . Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as we try to discern what God has in store for our future. In Memory of Elijah Dale Sweerin “the Lord is my God” To our son Elijah, Your life is a testament to God’s love and provision. From the day he formed you in your mother’s womb,...

To our friends and family, Merry Christmas! It is now the time in which we reflect back on the past year and anticipate the year to come. It is the time we remember and celebrate the new life we have because of Christ’s birth. God created a way for us through his son Jesus so that we could be reunited with Him, and have eternal life.  This year we are especially thankful for all the love, support, and encouragement you have given us as we were called to serve at the Mission of Love Orphanage in Zambia, Africa.  Many of you supported us in this endeavor financially or through prayer, and you believed in the mission to which we were called to.  In Africa, Nate worked with the locals on various community projects and started doing bible studies with them once a week. He was going through a book called, Firm Foundations. Many of the Tonga people have heard the gospel message and claim they are believers, but they show no fruit. Many see God as another spiri...

To all our loved ones. We again thank you for all your prayers and encouragement during this time. We have received numerous messages that have helped us look to God. When God said in Isaiah 55, 8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10  “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11  so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.  God is the almighty creator and giver of life. He loves his creation who blatantly turns from Him each and every day. We follow the schemes of satan and our own sinful fles...

We come to you with saddened hearts as we have had a rough past couple of days. For some reason God decided to take our baby home to be with Him. On Saturday evening Melanie started having some mild contractions. We assumed it was braxton hicks or a false labor and decided to wait it out a bit as they weren’t getting stronger. After waking up around 5:30-6 in the morning we could tell they were getting stronger and we would need to make a plan. By 7:30am on Sunday the baby was born and had only a few breaths before going home to be with Jesus. The helicopter arrived  around 8:30 and the paramedic attempted to resuscitate him but his lungs were filled with fluid and collapsed. It just wasn’t time for Elijah Dale Sweerin. Our hearts are broken as we question why this happened to us but we are trusting in God’s perfect plan. He knows exactly why this happened and what our families future will hold. Please pray for us as we try to heal. Melanie has been checked by several doctors and a...

  Well, the first and most exciting news for our family here in Zambia is that we are having another baby! Most of you likely saw this a couple months ago on facebook, but we knew some of you haven’t  heard yet.  Due to various reasons that other mothers would understand, we didn’t know we were pregnant until we were 18 weeks along. And, yes, it answered a lot of questions we both were having during that 18 weeks.   God is soo good. We had an ultrasound done and Melanie and the baby both seem to be doing well. We have decided to go to South Africa for the delivery (due date is Dec 17) around the end of November and then return to Zambia at the beginning of January. We are very grateful as Jako and Amber have allowed us to use there vehicle for transportation and have helped us find accommodations. Melanie and I have decided we were not going to let another month slip by without updating all of you on how things are going here. In the month of July we were busy work...