Jonathan and Dayna Gleason

We arrived in Swaziland on the 19th of January 2005 and are currently committed to two years of ministry. Jonathan has been involved in youth ministry for more than 6 years and has a passion to see young people discover God's grace and purpose for their lives. Dayna has a similar passion for children and involves herself in several ministries focused on this passion. Dayna is also passionate about having her own children but Jonathan is trying to hold out for at least a few more years J.

Before Swaziland

We both graduated from San Jose Christian College (now William Jessup University) in 2002. Jonathan graduated with a double bachelors degree in Bible and theology and pastoral ministries. Dayna also graduated with a double bachelors degree in Bible and theology and missions and intercultural studies. We were married several months after graduation on February 8th 2003. During that time Jonathan worked for Adventure Christian Community in San Jose California as their youth and college pastor while Dayna held several jobs including a nanny position for multiple families.

Ministries in Swaziland

Apex GroupApex

Apex is a ministry to high school students at Waterford Kamhlaba, an international school in Mbabane. A large number of the students at the school are boarders and are not connected with any local church. One of our purposes is to provide an opportunity for students to discover as well as deepen their relationship with Christ.
Ministries throughout the week:

Child Headed Household

Currently we are working with three child headed households The Dlamini family, the Masuku family & the Kunene family. In 2004 the Dlamini'€™s lost both their mother and father in the span of three months. This family of 8 (ages 4 months to 20) were left with only a half built home and very little money. The Masuku family lost their mother in 2005 due to an AIDS related illness. Having never known their father, these three boys (ages 11 to 18) have been left in a state of poverty. The Kunene’s lost their father in 2002 and their mother in 2004. The Kunene family is the largest we work with, with a total of 10 members, ranging in ages from 2 to 21.

Our ministry to them:
Our goal with these families is to meet their physical, spiritual and emotional needs.
We are accomplishing this with the following methods:

Abandoned BabiesThe Web

The Web is a group designed to connect church youth leaders together for networking and to provide practical resources to conduct effective youth ministry in Swaziland. This group meets every month and a half and is attended by youth leaders from many parts of the country.

Children's Bible Club

Every Thursday afternoon, children in our community are invited to our flat for their own Bible club. Each week we teach a new story from the Bible, do a craft, memorize a Bible verse related to the lesson and finish the day off by playing a game and eating a great snack. Through this Bible club children are gaining an amazing foundation for their faith in Jesus.

Abandoned Babies

The government hospital in Mbabane has become a dumping ground for unwanted babies. In 2006 there were over 40 babies taken to the hospital & the two nurses on staff have been overwhelmed & unable to give these infants the one-on-one care they need. Dayna began volunteering several hours each week to go to the hospital and simply hold, feed, burp, bathe, change, play with and love these small babies.

University Students

In 2007 we began working with students at the University of Swaziland with the goal of training leaders to conduct mid-week Bible studies. There are currently eleven Bible studies meeting with about fifteen students in each group and two leaders facilitating each group.

ALP Finances

Dayna has done bookkeeping jobs in the past and is currently putting her talents to good use with ALP's finances. She dedicates several hours each week to work on expense and financial reports, record keeping and anything else that is needed.

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