Introductions

I Am Jonah

Hello Friends and Family!

 We're going to Swaziland April 14th--25th!!

 Our theme verse for this trip is John 11:40: “Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’”  We strongly believe that God has called all three of us to Swaziland this April, and even though we are not sure what He has in store for us, we do have faith that in whatever it is, we will see the glory of God!  We are stepping out in faith and would love for you to join us on this journey, whether it be through prayer support or financial support.  We know this may sound odd, but to be honest, we don’t have a set financial goal to raise—whatever we receive we know that the Lord will use and bless for His glory.  Any money raised will go towards the cost of the trip (airfare, food, lodging, etc.), purchasing supplies in Swaziland for the new preschool in Fontoje (pencils, paper, glue, stickers, paint, toothpaste, kitchen supplies, seeds for the garden, a washer and dryer, school uniforms, etc.), and supporting Corine, the full-time missionary living in Swaziland who we will be working and staying with.  Supplies that can be donated here for us to take over are coloring books, crayons, children’s clothes (ages 3-7), tennis shoes, dental floss, toothbrushes, markers, and kids plates (Disney or something colorful and sturdy!), so if you have any of that laying around, we’d love to take it off your hands and bless the people in Africa with it!  What a great God we serve, and we are so excited to step out in faith and journey with Him!  Hear our stories about why we desire to go:

Karen Blumer, 22: As soon as Katie told me about her plans to return to Swaziland, I couldn't get it out of my head.  I had been having this desire to go on a mission trip for the past few months, but didn't know when it was going to happen.  I already had plans to work at camp for the summer and I felt like waiting for another year would be too long.  The fact that Katie was going over spring break was perfect timing and after discussing and praying about it with her, we knew it was something God had completely ordained for both of us.  I have such a passion for children and I'm so excited to go and serve and share about the love of Christ in this way! 

John Williamson, 18: I want to go to Africa because Hope Rises needs people to go and serve. They just built a preschool and want to provide for the kids coming there, but they need to get all the kids’ information so they can be sponsored.  They also need a lot of supplies for the school.  On this trip, we are going to go around and visit all of the kids’ homesteads and make a sponsorship packet for each one, so that Hope Rises can put the information on their website and people here can sponsor and support the kids in Africa.  God has shown me how much I have to be thankful for, and because of that I really enjoy helping out families that need it.  This is a great opportunity to do that. 

Katie Williamson, 22: One of my greatest fears after I came home from Swaziland last summer was that I would get back into my regular routine and forget about the people I met and the experiences our team had.  I didn’t want the trip to be something that I just checked off my list or later in life simply recalled with fond memories.  My prayer was that the Lord would open a time for me to go back, but I didn’t know if I would be able to go back again over the summer with either The Well Community Church or Hope Rises.  As I was praying about this last November, an idea all of a sudden came into my head: “What about going over spring break?”  I literally laughed at the thought because it sounded so crazy, but I just couldn’t dismiss it.  Since then, plans have continually fallen into place by the grace of God, and now I am so excited to see this trip coming to fruition and to have the opportunity to share the people and experiences of Swaziland with both my brother John and good friend Karen.  I cannot wait to again visit the people of Swaziland and share the fullness of the love of Christ with my Swazi friends!

 

Thank you so much for your support in this trip!  May God continually bless you as you abide in Him!

Karen Blumer, John Williamson, and Katie Williamson

If you would like to donate to our trip, you can make your checks payable to any one of us. Our mailing addresses are:

John Williamson

321 Sunset St

Kingsburg CA 93631

Katie Williamson

4258 W Fig Garden Dr #130

Fresno, CA 93722

Karen Blumer

2532 Beverly Ave.

Clovis, CA 93611

Stay tuned for more updates as we prepare to head out!