Chris in Swaziland

Meet the head teacher, and update on Tiphelele

2009-07-01T09:31:00.005-05:00

Tiphelele is doing well. See the picture of Tiphelele and her mom, Bongiwe below. She was released from the hospital last Tuesday after spending 9 days in the hospital. She returned yesterday for a check-up. The Dr. said she is doing fine. Isn't she just adorable? She's God's little gift. Thank you to all of you for your prayers. I will continue to check on her often.

Meet the new head teacher (principal) of Lomngeletjane: Busisiwe Mndzebele. She was the deputy teacher (assistant principal) of one of our Methodist Primary Schools and she is one of my favorite teachers. She is very well qualified, which is actually how she got the position over two male head teachers, including the head teacher of the school she was at. She has a certificate, diploma and degree and has been teaching for 18 years.

She started yesterday (Monday) and we've already spent a lot of time talking about the school, dreams, issues, etc. We are both excited about working with each other. Another great thing is that the school she came from had a garden to grow vegetables for the school and had got several grants from the government to make improvements to the school. She also believes the children, parents and community have a responsibility to help build the school and take care of it. She has also already sent a couple of letters to the appropriate people in the government asking for student and teacher furniture. This is a big YEABO!

Pictures of Nashville team on final day

2009-07-01T00:42:00.007-05:00

Here are a few pictures from the final day that the Nashville team was in Swaziland. I'm starting off with the team that cleaned and leveled the area around the new toilets. They moved wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow full of dirt from around the toilets to another area where we will eventually need more dirt when with God's help we start to build the second 4-classroom building. It was a hard and thankless job, but this team worked at it the entire week without complaint. They were amazing! One other small team (of two people) didn't get a lot of recognition, but they planted around 70 wind break trees (small pine trees). That was a tedious job.

Final day working on the foundation. They all did an amazing job. Swazi and American women can really mix that cement! Yeabo!

Closing Braai (bbq) with the volunteers and Nashville team.

Update on Nashville team and Tiphelele

2009-06-16T23:07:00.004-05:00

The team is doing amazing work! They are always cheerful and are extremely hard workers. They are awesome representatives of Christ, the Church, the US and just what teenagers can do, given the chance. Below you will find a few pictures of the team at work. They have divided into different teams to accomplish so much of the work that needs to be done:
1. A tree planting team - they are planting approximately 70 wind-break trees. Lomngeletjane can get a lot of high wind, so these will help protect the future orchard, the teacher's houses, and the other buildings.
2. A team to work with the children - they are doing crafts with the children and teaching them songs and games. The children are so happy and are having a great time. When the kids go home around 1:00, this team then helps out on the other teams.
3. Dirt moving team - unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of this team at work. They are moving the dirt that came out of the pits for the toilets away from the structures to an area that will need dirt when the next classroom block is built. (I'm hoping this can happen later this year or early next year.)
4. A weed-eating team. We rented two "brush cutters" yesterday (Tuesday) to try and get rid of some of the weeds and reduce the fire danger. This was hard, dirty work and unfortunately probably didn't accomplish much. We're re-thinking how to reduce the fire danger at the school. I've been trying to convince the community to tie up some goats to eat the grass, but they don't think such a crazy idea would work. I haven't given up yet.
5. The foundation team. The team is doing an amazing job on the foundation. They have poured the layer of concrete that will support the blocks for the foundation. They are even ahead of schedule! John, the builder, anticipated that IF they were hard workers, they would be ready to start laying blocks on top of this cement on Thursday. They are going to start today (Wednesday)!

And finally, an update on Tiphelele. She is doing much better. She is still on oxygen and is receiving antibiotics. Rev. Nyameka, Jeri and I went to visit her in the hospital yesterday (Tuesday). On Monday the Dr. recommended she be put on formula instead of breast milk because he is concerned that the mother doesn't have enough breast milk to feed both babies. He also recommended a stronger anti-biotic that he said was expensive and not in stock at the hospital. The antibiotic was hard to find in the pharmacies in Manzini, but I finally found it and it only cost about $20 USD. I also bought formula and nappies (diapers) for them. On Tuesday, Rev. Nyameka reminded me that there was a baby at home that wasn't being fed milk so I bought more formula and more nappies and took the mother home to visit with her baby and other children at home. Please continue to pray for Tiphelele and this family. I pray that Thipelele and her family will all grow in their strength, health and faith in Jesus Christ.

Praise for Belmont UM team arrival and prayers for sick baby

2009-06-15T00:26:00.004-05:00

The team from Belmont UMC in Nashville, Tennessee arrived Saturday morning. They had quite a journey. Their flight out of the US was delayed due to a severe storm in their flight path, when they finally arrived in Jo'burg they had missed their connecting flight to Cape Town and found that none of their checked luggage had made it onto the plane. So they had to spend the night, a few hours actually, in a motel and after more mix ups they finally got on a flight to Cape Town mid Thursday morning. Luckily the airline put them up in a hotel on Wednesday night and gave them a voucher to buy some clothes since they didn't have their luggage.

On Friday, I drove to Jo'burg and about 5:00 PM Richard and I decided we would go to the airport to try and find out about their luggage. That was a very frustrating experience, but perseverance and faith paid off. It was nothing short of a miracle that their luggage arrived on Friday night's flight and that the airport officials finally allowed us in to see if it was all there. The even bigger miracle was that they let Richard and I take it with us. It saved us time and also allowed us to have the luggage packed before we went back to the airport on Saturday morning, and because we had the luggage we realized that we didn't have to bring the travel which is another huge blessing.

On Saturday, we met the team and then took over the Whimpys in the airport to get them a "quick" lunch before driving to Swaziland. Two of the women went to fill out the required forms to get reimbursed from the airlines. Over two hours later we finally left the airport. We were supposed to be at St. Paul's at 6:00 for a welcoming dinner with youth leaders from the Methodist Church of South Africa who had come to St. Paul's for a meeting over the weekend. We didn't arrive at St. Paul's until after 7:30. But the team ate, and I think they really enjoyed meeting the few people who were still at St. Paul's. We left St. Paul's around 8:30 for the drive back up the hill towards Mbabane to the Emafeni Christian Conference Center where they are staying. Thank God they gave me keys for the rooms on Friday because there wasn't anyone there except the security guards when we finally arrived. It was after 11:00 that night when I finally made it back home to Manzini.

Sunday was worship up at Lomngletjane. We filled the classroom. After worship they shared a meal with the community. The meal was cooked once again by Zitsile and her mom Maggie. They got up at 2:00 am to start cooking the meal. After the meal the group split into four groups and visited 5 different homesteads. We had bought food parcels for them to deliver to each family. Jeri and I went back to Maggies house to help her wash the dishes while the teams were visiting the homesteads, but the little bit I heard tells me it was a once of a life time experience. Praise God!

While visiting one of the homesteads, they found a baby very sick. The mom of the baby helped us when the team from Louisiana was here. She has twins. One is developing normally and seems quite rambunctious. The second one is quite a bit smaller and didn't seem to be doing real well two weeks ago. The woman came to church with only one of the babies. When the team took food parcels to the home they discovered the baby, Thepelele, was very sick. So I went to the homestead to have a look. The baby had been sick since Thursday and had turned worse. I took the mom (Bongiwe) and the baby to the hospital in Manzini. Since it was Sunday late afternoon, we had to go through the Emergency. Although I pray I never have to be a patient there, the wait wasn't much longer than we would have had to endure in the US. It brought back many memories of taking Christopher (my oldest) to emergency for high fevers, ear infections, etc. Scott's claim to fame was stitches. There were a few moments I thought I was going to break down and cry, but God gave me strength. The mom didn't know what was going on and was very concerned about her daughter. I was a little help in carrying things for her and just being there. The Doctors immediately put her on oxygen and they did their intake process. I kept trying to read over his shoulders to see what he was writing, but all that got me was being kicked out to wait with everyone else outside. After a while I was able to sneak into the treatment room and could talk to Thepelele, and helped hold her into a sitting position so the mom could put a little water into her mouth. She actually drank about 4 ounces of water over the hour or so which is a good sign. They admitted the baby. I still don't know what the diagnosis is. She is 9 months old but especially last night she seemed more like a child that was just a couple months old. She could barely squeak out a cry. I left the mom around 7:30 last night and am headed back this morning to check on them and see if they need funds to pay for anything.

Please pray for Thepelele (pictured below) and her mom.
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To Gogo's (grandmother's) House We Go

2009-06-11T13:27:00.003-05:00

This week the weather suddenly turned cold, cloudy and rainy. The cold weather is not unusual for this time of the year, but the rain is very unusual. When the cold set in my thoughts turned to the gogo I met in April that has to be 90+ years old. She tells us she is 2000 years old! I wanted to take her a warm blanket and a little bit of food. So this morning, Jeri, Gary and I met Thoko in town and then we drove to the rural community of Ekukhanye which is about 30 minutes outside of Manzini via a dirt road of course. We met the CCS from Ekukhanye Methodist church and then went to the homestead.

The woman lives in the mud house on the left of the picture below. Her granddaughter who lives on the homestead with her said that she wasn't feeling well, but that we could go into her house to visit with her. We walked into the house and it was so smokey we could barely see or breathe. There was a little fire going inside a wheel rim off of an old automobile that was sitting by her bed. The house is made out of rocks and sticks and then covered with mud. The floor is mud and the roof is thatched. There are no windows or any ventilation to the house.

She was glad to see us again. She is such a kick. She would say anything that was on her mind. She told us she had a son and a daughter but both have passed away. She has her granddaughter and great grand daughter who is about 18 months and a grandson that is 12. When we first arrived she said to us in English "many thanks." She also told us she was hungry and hoped we had brought her food, which we did. We gave her an orange to eat and she was so happy and gummed that orange pretty fast. (I don't think she has any teeth left.) Then I put a warm, soft blanket around her. She kept saying it was so soft and then she started praying. She was thanking God for our visit, the items we brought and asking God to keep us safe as we traveled home. Then she said "When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink, when I needed clothes you gave me clothes and when I was cold you gave me a blanket to keep me warm." That humbled me so much and went straight to my heart. I've read that verse in Matthew many times and have wondered how many times I didn't do those things. This is the first time that I actually tied in what we were doing with that verse. We bring food and clothes to people and we help them get to the Doctor for medication, but somehow I never really thought of myself doing what the scripture commands us to do. I just knew it was what was in my heart and that it needed to be done. We left shortly after and she kept saying in English to us "many thanks." Bless her heart.

A long day and a new name!

2009-06-10T15:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was one of those 12-hour days in the mission field. It was full of highs and lows, but what’s new? And of course winter decided to hit yesterday so it was very cold, cloudy and drizzling part of the day.

The day started with a visit to Mthokozise’s school to get a report on how he is doing. Imagine three Swazi women and I going into the office to have a meeting with our “son’s” teacher? He had no idea that Mthokozise was being supported by the Methodist Church, of his home life and situation or that he was loved so much by so many mothers. He thanked up profusely for being so involved in his life. He said most people just send a check at the beginning of the school year and never follow up. He said he was so blessed to see our love and concern for this child. After meeting with him, we saw Mthokozise on his break. We all had to give him a hug and each of us had some question or word of motherly advice for him. As I hugged him in the middle of the school yard, I thought of how I wouldn’t have dared to do that to my own sons. They would have disowned me. Ah, the little ironies of life.

From there we went to check up on a few of our kids that are part of the Lutsandvo Lwa Krestu project that are ill and leave money at the school for them to see a Doctor. The CCS (Christian Community Service) Manyano (Methodist) woman from that society (congregation) has been actively working with these children and their families on behalf of this project. She said she went around begging with people to give her blankets for one family that had none. She also talked about Mthokozise’ and his sisters needs at church on Sunday. As a result the members of that small society took up a collection of 75 rand to help feed the children. That isn’t a lot by our standards, but for people who are mainly unemployed with little cash, it is a tremendous amount. Our hearts were bursting with joy at how much our sister in Christ has learned and is growing in her role as the society’s CCS.

Then we drove over the river and through the hills to Salukazi Primary school. We added 11 families from that school to our Lutsandvo Lwa Krestu Project. We have visited all but two of the families. These last two families live so far out in the rural area that no one really knows where their homesteads are. So we picked up the children to show us where they live. The first child’s homestead was way, way out in the middle of no where. His grandfather said it takes them 2 hours to walk to school. I’m not sure that is exactly true, but I’m sure it takes at least an hour and we’ve been told by the head teacher at the school that some of the girls from this area have been raped as they walk to school. The grandfather lives in this homestead with one daughter who is a widow and a son living there with his wife. The grandfather has two grown children who have died. In addition, there are 12 children living on the homestead; six where under 4 or 5 years of age. As the ladies talked with the adults, I sat on my mat watching the children, observing the adults as they talked and praying. The mother of the youngest child had one of the children run and get her a bottle to feed to the baby when it woke up and cried a little. I found myself thinking that the mother was probably HIV+ or she wouldn’t be giving the baby a bottle. These people weren’t near a store or clean water. They wouldn’t be using a bottle unless it was necessary. Then I found myself thinking about how calmly I was processing my observations and wondered if my heart is hardening or if God has given me the strength to see what I need to see without my heart breaking open every time I visit a homestead. I prefer to think it is the later which is an answer to my prayers for strength and wisdom. When the conversation was beginning to wind down, it started raining a cold, steady rain. We hurried to the warmth and safety of my car, but the family remained under the tiny thatched roof.

As I drove away, I heard something on my tire. When I looked to see what it was I saw that I had run over a branch from a big thorn bush that is so common in Africa. I pulled it out and immediately heard the air escaping from the tire. Oops. By now it was about 2:30 or so. I had only had an apple for lunch with almost no water to drink all day. I was cold and one of the women was seriously getting on my nerves because of the tone of her voice and how much she always talks. She also has a way of making things sound worse than they are. I found myself so irritated at her that she made such a big deal about the children walking for 2 hours to get to school, but didn’t seem to notice the pathetic homestead and lowly conditions in which they were living. I had to tell the second child that she would have to walk home which irritated me even more because it meant we couldn’t finish our homestead visits as planned and I felt bad making her walk home in the rain when we had said we were taking her home. I wanted to get back to Manzini before my tire was completely flat. So I drove as fast as I thought I could or should go to the place in Manzini that fixes flat tires. I was real quiet as I drove, watching out for everything and any little sign that my tire has gone completely flat. But I knew that I was really being so quiet because I was angry and irritable. So we get to the tire place, I tell everyone to get out of my car and the guy fixes the flat in about 10 minutes for 15 rand. That’s less than $2.00. What a deal!

Just as we are leaving the tire place, Thoko says the others are wondering if we can go get something to eat because we have a meeting of this committee at 5:00 and they only had bread and boloney for lunch. I knew I needed to get something for these ladies to eat, but I was feeling tired and overloaded at that moment. But, of course I begrudgedly said yes, we could drive to the grocery store around the corner. As we start to go to the store, Thini says “We haven’t decided on a name for Christine yet and we must do it today.” For a foreigner to receive a Swazi name is an honor. It’s not something that is done readily. When I heard this from other missionaries when I first came to Swaziland I thought I would probably never be given a Swazi name. Thini offered up two names, but said she thought my name should be Nothando. The one lady who was getting on my nerves said to me “I bet you don’t know what it means.” I responded with a big lump in my throat that yes, I did know what it means. It means love. The woman was pleased that I knew what it meant, and I was so humbled. Why at my lowest moment when I was feeling the farthest from a Christian as possible, did Thini decide to name me Love??? It certainly was a reality check and I felt so unworthy of that name. I asked God for forgiveness and also thanked him for his gift of these sisters in my life. They also told me my last name has to be Dlamini which is the King’s last name. It is also their last name. So we all agreed that we are now truly sisters. Have I mentioned lately how blessed I am?

We had our meeting in the evening with the executive committee of Lutsandvo Lwa Krestu. The first part of our meeting was with Mthokozise’s father. The team is trying to understand his side of the stories we’ve heard and push him to care for his children. What we would really like is for him to let the children go live with the mother on his parent’s homestead. When our meeting ended, I drove Thoko and Thini home. That took about an hour and a half or so. So by the time I got home, it was 9:00 PM. It was the end of a long day. I had a bowl of cereal and went to bed tired, stressed and yet very thankful and aware of God’s presence in my life.

Fire at Lomngeletjane

2009-06-07T10:21:00.003-05:00

Friday was quite a day. We went up to Lomngeletjane for our weekly Friday morning meeting with Bethuel and John. While there, Lucky Mabasa who is helping us plan and plant an orchard at Lomngeletjane came to meet with me. I have been trying to find out what was planned, and identify where the trees that another volunteer, Dennis, bought because I can't find even half of the trees he paid for. I finally finished with them and Jeri, Gary and I walked up to the preschool room to bring up some of the teaching aids that were bought for them. I bought them a storage cabinet a few weeks ago which Gary and Jeri put together for me while I was meeting with the various people. We were up at the preschool for about 20 or 30 minutes tops.

Before we walked up, I went to use the newly painted latrine. I noticed the kids were picking up trash. I also noticed that the older, retired teacher who has been teaching the third graders was burning the trash. I thought of saying something, and then thought I would be rude so I kept quiet. BIG MISTAKE. When Jeri, Gary and I turned the corner of the preschool heading back down to the primary school I could see over the roof of the primary school that the fire had spread. Indeed it was out of control. The other teachers and most of the kids were gone. The old man and two small boys where trying to beat out the fire with branches. One of the young men who are helping to build the teacher's house saw the fire and was running to pull the water line they had just laid going to the teacher's house down to the fire. He ran right into the middle of the fire with the water hose. There were several other guys down in the pit they were digging for the septic tank for the house. I went to them and told them there was a fire. They just looked at me and kind of laughed. I then kind of hollered at them in a panic "Come help put out the fire. I don't want our school to burn." That got their attention. They poked their head up to see, saw the smoke and started running to help put it out.

There was only one container that would hold water and one empty 2 liter pop bottle. With all of us helping, the fire was put out. If the young man, Wandile, hadn't rushed into the fire with the hose, we would not have been able to contain it. I burned about a 1/3 of the field. After the fire was over, Wandile was having a hard time breathing and was having a lot of pain when he breathed so we took him to the clinic in Manzini where he received some medication.

Thank God Gary, Jeri and I were still there or the fire would have burned out of control possibly burning our buildings and the surrounding homesteads. I have had the pit in my stomach for the last three weeks about the fire danger at that school. It is approaching winter so the fields are very dry and more and more fires are starting all over Swaziland. They will just get worse. The first thing Rev. Nyameka and Bethuel said when I told them about the fire was: "You have been worried about that." I HATE it when I am right!!!

Praise God that no one was hurt, that the buildings didn't burn and that Gary, Jeri and I were still there to mobilize the workers to help put the fire out.

Pictures of the Louisiana team on 5-28 at Mahlatsini

2009-06-07T10:02:00.004-05:00

On May 28th, on our way out of Swaziland we drove by Mahlatsini Methodist Church. This is a small society made up mainly of gogo's and children. They are asking for help to finish their church so they can start some income generating projects and perhaps a preschool so they can help feed and care for the orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in the area. I wanted Richard to see the site while he was in Swaziland. We will be posting this project on the General Board of Global Ministries for potential work teams next year. Though I normally wouldn't get involved in building a church because I feel I am called to work with women and children, this project would definitely help the women and children in this area. This project just feels right for us to undertake. So please pray that we will be able to raise the funds and bring teams to help with the construction.

The pictures below are of:
1. The food they provided for us. It is the custom in Swaziland to always offer food and drink to visitors so they will feel good and want to come back. It is also to thank them for travelling so far to see them.
2. Bethuel on left explaining to the group about the church and it's dream. Some of the women and men of the society (congregation) are also in the picture.
3. Elter (Bethuel's wife) explaining to our group the meaning of the Manyano uniform. Manyano means unity. Manyano is also the name of the women's organization of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.
4. A final picture of the society with a few of our team members.

Our prayers are answered!!! Yeabo!!!

2009-06-03T13:55:00.002-05:00

The last week was busy. We left for Kruger National Park on Thursday morning. We stopped on our way out of Swaziland to visit Mahlatsini Society which is a small congregation of gogo's and other adults and 34 children. (See previous post for details on this church.) They started building a new church several years ago and have completed the foundation and the walls, but do not have the funds to complete it. They would like to finish the church so they can start some community income generating projects so that they can feed the orphaned and vulnerable children in the area. We are hoping we can get funding and teams to help them out next year. After visiting the church, we spent 2 1/2 days in Kruger National Park. As always, it is amazing to see the animals. We had some excellent cape buffalo, elephant and baboons sightings. On Sunday the team visited the Apartheid museum, then took a tour of a gold mine ending the day in worship at Primrose Methodist Church before going to the airport to catch their plane. The worship service was a perfect ending to the trip and the day.

I returned to Swaziland on Monday afternoon after having a mechanic look at my car because it is overheating again. Tuesday morning I saw Rev. Kanana Nyameka in the office of St. Paul's. He told me that he got word while I was gone that Lomngeletjane has finally received a registration number from the government! Yeabo! This registration number allows us to get funding from the government to hire a head teacher, teachers for grade one through grade four, desks, chairs and the curriculum. Rev. Nyameka is anticipating that by July first we should have the teachers in place. He has already started interviewing people for the head teacher's position. It has been a long, long process requiring a lot of patience, perseverance and prayer. But our prayers have finally been answered.

The final day at Lomngelejtane for the LAVIM team

2009-05-27T14:54:00.008-05:00

The preschoolers with their pictures on their way home. The kids love seeing themselves in a photo.

The children were introduced to Mardi Gra beads. Before the kids went home for the day the team gave each child mardi-gra beads, their photograph and a bag of candyand treats. The beads were a hit with volunteers and kids alike.

The foundation digging team. None of us thought at the end of the first day that the trenches for the foundation would be finished by the end of the 4th day. This is truly amazing. It was no little task and one of the biggest challenges was for Martha to overcome the initial resistance to a woman doing man's work.

Aren't these BEAUTIFUL? I have no doubt that they are not only the most well built latrines, but the most beautiful ones in all of Swaziland. The painting team was awesome!

Some of the parents cooked lunch for us. There were thank you's, pictures, fellowship and food. What more could one need? One could not only see, but feel the bond of friendship that was formed over these past few days. Friendships that I hope will last a life time.

Pics of the third day of work for the Louisiana Team

2009-05-26T14:41:00.011-05:00

The team hit their stride today. The friendships they are forming is awesome. I think a wonderful day was had by all.

Mr. Absalom Mamba (the man in the center dressed in brown), Chief Lomngeletjane's closest adviser, came to say "hi" to the team and talk to the team about some of the Swazi culture. He is very impressed with all the team has done.

The team working with the children introduced them to finger paint and drawing today. In the pictures below they are making a banner of hand prints to hang on their classroom walls. The team is really having a blast with the kids.

I don't think the team working on the foundation thought that they would ever actually break through the hard clay like dirt enough to actually dig the trench. But the trench is about knee deep! The greatest part is for the male Swazi's adjusting to having a female doing "man's work" especially when she is the strongest worker! Yeabo for girl power!

Marking where the cream paint will end and the terra cota paint for the bottom of the wall will begin. Followed by the painting of the door frames for the toilets. They have done an excellent job...and Johnny is still hoping they did it good enough! Swaziland has never seen such well constructed and beautifully painted latrines!

The final cleaning of the windows. I walked by the windows and they were so clean I wondered why there wasn't glass in the window panes!

Shelling the corn isn't as easy as it looks for tender fingered Americans, but it is a lot of fun sitting with the ladies and listening to them talk.

Sunday and Monday's Activities

2009-05-25T15:30:00.005-05:00

We've been so busy, it has been hard to update the blog. I'm sorry. The team worshiped with the congregation at Lomngeletjane on Sunday. It was a wonderful service. The team really enjoyed the spirit that moved so beautifully amongst the people. Below is a picture of some of the congregation dancing with joy of the blessings they have received. Following the service they served us a delicious meal of semp and sugar beans, white and red skinned native sweet potatoes, maize, maize bread, salad, beef in gravy. It was all wonderful.

After lunch, we visited the Swaziland Cultural village. Below are a few pictures of some of the team learning to dance the traditional Swazi dances! After the dancing we took a short tour of a traditional homestead and then went to Mantenga Falls which are very near to traditional homestead.

Today, the team was back hard at work at Lomngeletjane. We had several work groups going on. One team gave the grade one children play dough to play with. They had never seen play dough and at first they weren't sure what to do with it. But they caught on real quick! Another team took individual pictures of all of the children and teachers in the preschool and primary school. That was a lot of fun working with the children to try and get them to smile and look at the camera at the same time! Barbara and Ann had the patience of a saint. The pictures will be given to the children on the last day. These children have never had a picture of themselves so this should be quite a treat.
A third team worked on painting the latrines. Just the coat of primer on the outside walls makes a huge difference! They are racing against the clock to get them finished before they leave. Then a fourth team worked at scraping the paint off the windows. When the windows were originally painted by John the builder, he did a rather quick and messy job. The team repainted the windows on Saturday and then today started scraping off all of the paint that was on the window panes. They look fantastic. A fourth team worked with a few of the local men digging the trenches for the foundation of the teacher's house.
We also had a few ladies from St. Paul's that planted about a 8 or 10 trees that had been donated to the school. And last, but certainly not least, several of us ladies helped 4 Swazi ladies take the maize off of the cob so it can eventually be ground into mealie meal which is then cooked for the children to eat at their break (lunch) time.
Tomorrow will be another busy day. We are going to start earlier than we have been starting because everyone is getting anxious to finish some of the projects before we leave on Thursday morning for Kruger National Park.
I will try to get some updated pictures on the website on Tuesday.

Our first work day on Saturday May 23

2009-05-24T01:08:00.007-05:00

Group picture of the team from Munholland United Methodist Church from New Orleans, Louisiana with some of the community people that came to help us. A great day was had by all! Praise God!

The great lunch crew making sandwiches for the team and the community members who joined us followed by a glimpse into digging for the teacher's house foundation.

Some of the most excellent painters. We painted all of the windows and door frames in the four classrooms. The school now looks even more beautiful!

The Eagle has landed!

2009-05-22T23:55:00.002-05:00

Saubouna! The team from Munholland United Methodist Church of New Orleans arrived safe and sound Thursday night at 9:15. This team is organized! They were through customs in record time. We stayed that first night in Johannesburg at the new eMseni Christian Conference and Retreat Center. It took several years of careful planning, but it is absolutely beautiful. You can feel the Lords prescence everywhere. They use this conference center for Walks to Emmaus.

We had a good night's sleep, although it was a bit short, then up for breakfast, gathering our belongs, I was able to spend some sweet, sweet time with the Lord walking around the small man made lake and the beautiful gardens before the others were up and moving. It was a special treat for me because I don't have anywhere in Swaziland I could do such a thing. Just before leaving we had our morning devotional in the chapel.

The drive to Swaziland went smoothly. It took a bit longer with two Kombies, one of which was pulling a trailer plus my car all loaded with luggage and people. The team has 18 people plus Richard and I for a total of 20.

After crossing the border, we stopped at the Ngwanya glass factory so they could see the men actually blowing glass. We had a bit of late lunch (personally, I just had a piece of carrot cake!) and then it was on to the Madonsa Guest house which they will call their home until Thursday morning, the 28th.

From the Madonsa last night we went up to St. Paul's and were greated for several people from St. Paul's. The provided a wonderful dinner for us all and they had a chance to start getting to know some of the team members. This morning, as soon as I sign off this computer we will be heading up to Lomngeletjane Memorial Methodist Primary School to start working. Will update tonight with more pictures. The picture below is part of the group in our evening devotionals in the living room of the Madonsa Inn.

An Awesome Day

2009-05-19T14:23:00.001-05:00

Today has been an awesome day. It started with a buzz on my cell at 5:50 AM. A buzz is when someone calls and only lets it ring once as a signal of something which has hopefully been pre-defined. It’s the equivalent of the old American call collect and when the person answers and hears the operator they know you are home safe or to call you or whatever you managed to quickly say with the operator still on the line. Ah yes, those “good old days!” My dear, sweet Thini had messaged me last night to say that we needed to wrap a chain of prayer around my dear friend Laura in California who had just had surgery to remove infection from the wound from a surgery a few weeks ago. Thini said we had to pray at 6:00 AM for 5 days and that she would buzz me so we could all pray together. (I know that at least Thoko is also part of this chain.) It was such a sweet time with the Lord knowing I was praying with friends even though we were all in our separate houses. The fact that they are my Swazi sisters-in Christ made it even sweeter. It was awesome and left me lifting my voice in songs of praise and worship.

Then I went up to Lomngeletjane to work with the preschool children. They are the most precious little children. I love them all to death. The teacher helped me learn how to pronounce all of their names and gave me their birthdates. I am going to make little name tags for them to wear when I am there to help me learn their names and help them begin to recognize their own name in writing. I read them a very simple book on counting from one crawly caterpillar to ten tired tigers and another one on the ABC’s. They didn’t know much of what I was saying, but they do count in English and the ABC’s are the same although the combination of letters in Siswati words form completely different sounds from English. They picked up the concept of counting the objects in the picture on each page with me but the ABC’s was completely over their heads because they didn’t know what most of the items pictured were. I’m sure this was the first time the children had ever had a book read to them. We then sang some songs and then they worked on their daily assignment: to write their numbers from 1 to 10 whether or not they know how to write a zero and a 1. (They do this every day which drives me crazy.) The kids wrote on the individual chalk boards we got for them last year as part of a grant for teaching aids from USAID. I talked to the teacher about maybe arranging the kids at the tables so that those who are further ahead could sit together and those who need more help can sit together so we could give them different things to work on. She seemed to think that is a good idea.

When I was preparing to come to Swaziland, I thought I would be working with individual children. As it turned out, that was not God’s plan. However, I now feel that the Lord has given me permission to take some time away from the other projects to work a little with this group of children and that it is okay to work with these kids over kids at other schools. I don’t have a clue what I’ll do. I’ll make it up as I go along. Anything will be better than nothing. I hope to spend time with these children once or maybe twice a week when I don’t have teams here. I don’t have any grandiose plans or ideas about what fruit our time together will bear. I just pray that I can bring a little joy and excitement into their lives and let them know that they are all loved and cherished as precious children of God.

In the afternoon, I took Jeri and Gary Carson-Hull to Manzini with me as I ran a few errands including getting some of the tools that the team needs and construction materials that John needs to get ready to start digging the foundation for the teacher’s house at Lomngeletjane. I also took them to the grocery store. That’s always an interesting outing. They did well. Jeri and Gary are a couple from California who came to Swaziland last Friday to help me with teams and projects for the next couple of months. They leave the first week or so of September. As always things haven’t gone quite as planned in regards to their housing. However, we have a place for them now with a real good lead for them to housesit for an American missionary couple who will be in the States for the months of July and August. As always, through prayer, petition and with a bit of patience, all will be well.

One down, One to go!

2009-05-18T13:17:00.004-05:00

One of the toilets is pretty much finished! Yeabo!

The second one is getting close. It should be done by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.

I do believe we are almost ready for the team. Things are coming together and everyone is excited. We pray for safe travel for the team, for me as I drive to Johannesburg to help pick them up and for Richard and the other drivers as we bring them to Swaziland and for the remainder of their trip.

Praise God! Yeabo!

2009-05-14T05:19:00.005-05:00

Yeabo! The first of the two pit latrines is almost finished and the second isn't far behind. They will be ready to paint when our team from Louisiana arrives on May 22nd. But the best part was the two plus hour meeting John, Bethuel and I had with the Schools inspector. He approved of the toilets, made a few suggestions and thought John is doing a great job. We then staked out where the next four classroom block will go, praying the funding will come to make this happen next year. We wanted to stake this building out so we can start planting some trees, including fruit trees and we didn't want them to be in the way of future buildings. (Imagine, we're actually planning things! What a concept!) And then we walked down to where the teacher's house is going to be built. In faith, after prayer and discussions with John and Bethuel and using what I know and have learned since being in Swaziland, I told them we will build the foundation to accommodate two teacher's houses, however, I will only build one house. (The plans are for what we would call a duplex and it is typical here to build only one house at a time depending on funds.) Building the foundation for both houses will make it easier for them to build the second house sometime down the road and the house will be better because of the solid foundation. I didn't realize that we will need a septic tank for the house, but the inspector told us the measurements and requirements for piping and we talked about the best plan for longevity. The exchange of ideas is so exciting - almost as exciting as seeing the stake go into the ground of where the corner of the first teacher's house will be. Part of the team coming on May 22nd is going to help dig the foundation.

I ask for prayers of thanksgiving that such good progress is being made and even in our timeline! Second I ask for prayers for safe travels of the team when they leave the States next week to travel to Swaziland and while they are here. They return to the States on May 31st. And third, I ask for prayers that the funding will come to complete this teacher's house this year and then more funds will come to build the four-classroom building next year so that this very poor but beautiful community will have the minimum requirements for a complete primary school for grades one through seven.

Lomngeletjane Update

2009-05-12T12:32:00.003-05:00

Thoko and I went to Lomngeletjane to check on the progress of the toilets and to look at the windbreak trees and the garden area. We were pleased to see the progress John is making on the toilets. Barring a crisis, they will be finished on schedule. While looking at the windbreak trees we found about a dozen wild mango trees and a few indigenous berry bushes. We will want to clear the weeds and grass around them so that we make sure to keep them visible and not accidentally trample or cut them down. We also shook our heads at the irony of having such a great fence now (thanks to the Round Rock team last year) so now the cows and goats don't come into the school property but now the grass is so tall everywhere that we have to figure out how to cut it or bring a few cows or goats back into the school grounds to help get rid of the grass! We also discovered that only half of the maize was harvested. School starts on Tuesday, the 19th so John will have the kids finish harvesting the maize that day so we can then hire a tractor to come in plow the stalks under in preparation to plant a vegetable garden.

Thoko and I had a productive day, but more important, we had a nice day talking about all kinds of things as friends do. I finally had to hurry home because it was starting to get dark and I certainly didn't want to cross the river in the dark. (When I picked her up this morning, she walked across the river to meet me because I was hesitant to cross it again. When we came back I crossed the river to take her home and could tell that the river was not as high as it was last week and then we watched a car cross it so I could see the best path to take across it.)

Last week's adventures

2009-05-11T03:58:00.004-05:00

Last week went by rather quickly. It was a fairly busy week. On Tuesday my friend Mary Beth and I went to Nelsprit, SA for the day. We both looked at our calendars and decided if we didn't go then we probably wouldn't be able to go until mid-July or August after the teams left and things settle down. We left Mbabane around 6:45 AM to go through the border shortly after it opened. It was a beautiful day with almost no traffic on the roads or at the border. As always, our first stop was to get a good cup of coffee or in my case a good decaf latte. Then we had a few things to get in the mall and then went for lunch at Mugg & Bean. This is right next to a grocery store that carries the largest assortment of US foods anyone has encountered in all of South Africa. Mugg & Bean and the grocery store were the center of our trip to Nelsprit. We were like kids looking at everything on the shelf and discovering a few prize items. For me the highlight was a can of Bush's BBQ baked beans, two cans of black beans (they don't have black beans anywhere here) and a small package of frozen blueberries! For Mary Beth it was a spray bottle of Fabreeze. We were so excited with how we scored big time, even though we spent an arm and a half for the items. Our trip back was wonderful and we made it back to Mbabane well before dark which now comes about 5:45.

On Wednesday I took the ladies who volunteer for Lutsandvo Lwa Krestu (For the love of Christ) project out to lunch to celebrate being funded for another 6 months. The ladies donate their time to travel with me to the homesteads of the children we are trying to help with the project. I should say that I drive with them. I'm the transport. They do all the actual work. I took them to my favorite restaurant in Swaziland: Mantenga Lodge. In typical Swazi fashion, things didn't go as planned, however, the ladies all said they had a great time and enjoyed the opportunity to talk. I was disappointed during much of the afternoon because the restaurant had changed their menu so my favorite dish wasn't available anymore (spareribs with sauce as close to Texas as any I've found so far.) But also it drove home to me how very different our cultures and expectations are. I love the view as much as the food, but for them, even though they had never been there before, the view didn't mean as much to them and they were disappointed in the menu because they didn't serve what Swazi's consider a celebration meal, meaning much meat. The waitress graciously worked with the cook to provide them the meal they wanted. Then the ladies talked mostly in Siswati so I ended up sitting there reminding myself to take in the beauty of the scenery all around me. I gathered from what little I did understand that they were venting a lot of emotions regarding Swazi life in general and some things that have been going on at the church which haven't been real Christian like. One of the ladies on the executive committee also joined us and I was doubly glad because she could offer them wonderful words of wisdom, encouragement, hope and thanks for all their efforts.

After lunch I had to take three of the ladies home because it was late and it had started raining. My dear friend Thoko who lives the farthest out in the rural area would not be able to get transport at that time of the day/evening and it was raining so she would have had to walk in the rain. I couldn't take one home without taking them all home. When we dropped her off at her house in the pouring rain she directed us to go back via a way I have only been once before. She said it was shorter and that the river isn't as high in that spot so it is easy to cross. The other ladies had the directions so they directed me quickly without any trouble to the river. At first glance at the river I gasped "Oh my God! We have to pray." Praying started with me saying 'Lord, I trust you will get us across this river.." I started slowly across with that pit in my stomach warning me I was doing something I really should know better than to do it. The river isn't very wide, maybe 20 feet across. About 1/3 to 1/2 way across I swear I felt my wheels leave the soft, sandy river bottom. I prayed harder and held my breath and fought the urge to close my eyes. As my car kept going forward across the river and my car started reaching the more solid dirt of the river bank, I started saying " Lord, 'Even though I walk through the valley of death' has new meaning for me. Thank you for being with us." It was a few minutes after getting onto solid ground that I started breathing normally again.

On Thursday I took Thoko and Thini to a Manyano meeting at the Lutfotja society where we first started the Lutsandvo Lwa Krestu project. We wanted to explain to the women about the project and formally hand it over to their local CCS (missions person). She will keep in touch with the families and report back to us progress or needs while we start working with the second school. When we arrived we saw one of the children we help and her Aunt. Mthokoisize was also in attendance. The Rural Health Motivator was also there. It was so good to see these people that I have come to love. It was like coming home. The little girl, Samekelisiwe, actually let me give her a hug! I didn't understand a word they were saying during the meeting, but I could see on every one's faces that they were listening intently to what Thoko and Thini were saying and that they were all praising God for our visit and what our project has done for the children in their community. The grandfather of one of our children brought a big pot of backed sweet potatoes for us to eat and then gave a big bag of them to Thoko and Thini to take home. It was a very blessed day and I think it gave Thoko and Thini a lot of encouragement for the work they do. They don't often get much encouragement, just complaints from most of the women at St. Paul's. My personal highlight was when Samekelisiwe came and sat next to me when I motioned her to and let me hug her and sit there with my arm around her rubbing her back. She was so afraid of me when she first met me and she was so obviously sick. Now she is much, much better. She looks healthy and has the most beautiful smile. Unfortunately she doesn't hear well. We're sending her to a ear specialist at another hospital this week to see if they can do anything for her. As we left, we were loaded down with 4 additional ladies plus the big bag of sweet potatoes. What a site! By the way, their "sweet potatoes" aren't like ours in the US. These are white with a texture somewhere between an overcooked red sweet potato and an old white potato. They are very dry and kind of stick in your throat no matter how you cook them. The taste is okay though.

On Friday, Bethuel and I went up to Lomngeletjane to check on the progress of the toilets. We were very disappointed and actually a bit angry that John and his crew had not been working very much since our last visit. We also had to wait for almost an hour before he actually got on-site. Bethuel and I had a pretty stern, plain discussion with him and I told him both toilets needed to be completely done by May 19th when school starts up again. Our first team, from Louisiana, arrive on May 22nd. I received a message this morning that John is on-site, the materials we ordered were delivered on Saturday and he is working hard so I shouldn't worry. Actually, I do have faith he will get in gear and get the buildings finished, but this IS Swaziland. Anything could happen to delay him.

On Sunday, I went up to Mbabane to attend a English speaking church with several people there who are here with Children's Cup. It was bittersweet but such a blessing. The day was absolutely beautiful with just a touch of cool crisp fall weather and the beautiful white clouds suspended in the most beautiful blue sky that only seems to happen in the fall. The pastor, an American, called all mothers up on stage and gave us a chocolate candy bar and prayed for us and all of the mothers and gogo's (grandmothers) around the world. The tears couldn't be held back as I thought of how much I miss my mother and my sons. But I felt the love of Christ wrapped around me and knew it was okay. Okay to miss them, okay to cry and okay to cling to Christ in my humanity because he was clinging to me right back.

Ben, the Pastor, said one thing that stuck in my mind and heart that is so very, very true. He said makes (mothers, pronounced magay) and gogos in Swaziland work harder, sacrifice more and love unconditionally more than any of the mothers or grandmothers he has seen anywhere else in the world where he has been. They certainly have it much harder than anyone in the US could even imagine, even the poorest of our poor in the US. I find this so true and what strikes me the most is the love and sacrifice of the gogos above all else. They are the hope for the future and yet their own future is so limited. I shudder to think where these children would be without the gogos. No matter how poor the gogo is, her homestead is always much better off than one that has no gogo. You can't always see the difference, but you can feel it. It's all because of the grandmothers love, eternal sacrificing and dedication to her children and especially her grandchildren. God bless the gogos.

A blessed morning

2009-05-03T15:27:00.000-05:00

This morning, as I was walking across the grounds of St. Paul’s to get my car to go to an English speaking church in Mbabane, and feeling just slightly guilty for doing so, I saw a young man probably in his mid to late 20’s by the name of Sibusiso Ntshingila. I met Sibusiso for the first time the last weekend in February when the Manyano where having their Outreach event at St. Paul’s. Sibusiso was “in charge” of the 80 kids (that grew to about 200) from the St. Paul’s care point that were supposed to get food parcels and clothes. He had such a gentle manner and the children all listened to him and obeyed him without his ever having to raise his voice. I was very impressed. He was a natural with the kids. When I talked to him he told me he was the caterer for the event and that he had volunteered to help out with the kids. I couldn’t believe that he wasn’t a teacher and told him so. I’ve seen him a few times since so it was quite natural this morning for me to say “hi” and reach out to shake his hand in greeting. I told him that I had heard he was doing some good things with the children from the care point. He gave me a terrific smile (which comes so natural to him) and basically gave me his testimony. He told me that God has called him to children’s ministry. He said he didn’t know what that looked like or how he was going to get there, but he knew God would guide him. Since that weekend in February he heard God’s call to work with the children from the St. Paul’s carepoint using a holistic approach…feeding their body and their souls with good food. He also said that for about 3 weeks he wrestled with God’s call and responded with his list of excuses and fears. God’s response was to show him how all of the lessons he has learned in life, from using drugs and then selling drugs them and then stopping “cold turkey” to how to start and run a catering business has prepared him for what he is now called to do.

I had chills going up and down my back and arms. I kept saying “Praise God” as he talked because what he was saying was just so awesome and the true look of joy on his face was purely the face of the Holy Spirit. I have struggled with what to do about the St. Paul’s carepoint since I came here. I decided that the answer to my prayers was to just wait which has been very hard to do. But then Sibusiso showed up out of nowhere. He is taking information do about each child so they can then do home visits determining what the child’s home life is really like and what the needs are so that plans can be made to help as they can. He talked of doing some things as simple as giving each child a small piece of cake on their birthday so they will know they are special. God is good!

I praised God the whole way to church. I almost went up to the church early this morning to retrieve my car so no one would see me, but one thing after another came up. And then as I walked through the grounds of St. Paul’s on my way to get the car I ran into a few people I hadn’t seen for awhile and chatted with them. If all of those things hadn’t happened, Sibusiso and I wouldn’t have met this morning and I wouldn’t have heard his story or told him how thrilled I was and that I would be praying for him. God’s timing is nothing short of a small miracle.

Please pray for Sibusiso thanking God for his life and his responding to God’s call and for continued guidance as he embarks on the journey God has laid out for him.

We're getting closer!

2009-05-01T09:56:00.004-05:00

Aren't these beautiful? I wish they were a little further along, but I think John is doing a good job.

A bad start, but good finish

2009-04-29T13:23:00.002-05:00

Today was another one of those days. Thoko, Thini, Gladys and I had planned to visit some homesteads that are a part of Lutsandvo Lwa Krestu which I was very happy to do. However, I haven't been feeling well the last few days and I was still not feeling great this morning. I had a slight headache and was GROUCHY. Then a series of events happened (This is Africa) that prevented us from leaving downtown Manzini as early as we should have which just kept making me grumpier and quieter. We finally arrived at the first homestead, and the people weren't home. (I must say, for people that have no money, they sure are gone a lot! I can't figure out where they go or how they get there.) As I'm backing out of the homestead down a very narrow path with grass chest high on either side, grumbling to myself that the ladies make me drive right up to the homesteads and won't walk any further than they absolutely have to, I notice my car is overheating. Great. So we get to the little town not far away and I pull over into some shade next to a tiny petrol station to let the car cool down. Then I realize I didn't have a rag, a screw driver, pliers, water or anything in my car. So Thoko and Gladys went to ask some guys by the Petrol Station if they would come help. So about six guys come and lean over the car talking in SiSwati, of course and pretty much ignoring us. They did discover that the fans weren't running. They came up with all kinds of ideas of what they should do which made me very nervous and even more irritated. It was taking every ounce of my being to keep my mouth shut and not snap at them. I wanted to just get in my car and drive it home and then to the radiator shop in a near by town that did good work for me last year. I felt certain if I kept the car moving at a decent speed the wind would cool the engine. They weren't about to let me leave. I had visions of my car in pieces and then them not knowing what to do or not having the part. Finally someone called the mechanic from around the corner to come help. He wanted to test to see if the fans would run by putting a wire from the connector on the fan to the battery. It didn't work the first few times he tried it and then one of the guys saw that the wire was broken most of the way through at one spot. So the mechanic cut the wire and tried again. (By cut I really mean used his teeth to pull the wire apart!) This time it worked so he wrapped the wire around some parts so it wouldn't come loose when the car was moving so the fan would run whenever the car is on. And then he left. I didn't even get a chance to ask if I could pay him. Talk about a good Samaritan! That was the turn of the day.

We visited several homesteads. These families have become so close to my heart. They're almost like family. And I know exactly where they live even though there are no street signs or house numbers or even pavement on the "streets". As always I just adore the grandparents who are caring for the children, which is most often the case. One gogo came running in from her garden to speak to us. She was embarrassed because she was dirty and in her work clothes. But she was just adorable. She gave the volunteers butternut squash that were unbelievably big. Another family has the nicest homestead with many different fruit trees and a lovely vegetable garden as well as crops such as sweet potatoes. They even have a grape arbor! This grandfather gave the volunteers so many sweet potatoes they could hardly carry them! But the best part of the visits are the children. It is so great to see the kids and be able to talk to them now. One child who was so sick when we first met him 8 months ago came right up to me and said in English as bold as can be "how are you?" Thoko couldn't help but laugh at him. And then at the last house we stopped at a little boy about 2 or maybe three, came towards the car with a big smile and put his hand out for me to shake in a greeting of hello! The first time I saw him he kept peeking behind his mother at me. Those little precious moments are so dear to me.

One of the reasons we were making the homestead visits was to introduce the families to the local Manyano woman who would be following up with them as we transition the program to the local congregation who will then communicate back to us if there are needs. This will enable us to move to additional schools. It is part of our project plan and the right thing to do. However, I found myself thinking, I can't not see these precious children and families again. We're going to have to come periodically and check up on them because I'm not ready to say good-bye to them. I know, it's not supposed to be about me, but I'm a wimp sometimes.

As I drove us back to Manzini I realized once again how blessed I am and how faithful our heavenly Father is. This morning I kept praying for the Holy Spirit to fill my heart with joy and take the grumpy attitude away and before I realized what happened he did. God is good. All the time. God is good.

Progress on Latrines - Yeabo!

2009-04-23T03:29:00.003-05:00

John (the builder) Bethuel and I had a good meeting up at Lomngeletjane this morning discussing the progress, the next steps, alterations to the architect drawing (which leave A LOT to be desired) and negotiated the labor cost for John (the builder) and his two helpers to finish both toilets. We would normally have done the negotiations first, but we started rather quickly just before Easter and so we negotiated the first part and now the second part. However, because our first 2009 UMVIM team from the Louisiana Conference will be arriving on May 22nd, John was very motivated to get started on the latrines so that they would be finished before the team arrives.

Mixing cement the African way! In the background are the two latrines and John (the builder) in blue with the white hat near the pit and Bethuel our volunteer general contractor who is my technical advisor and does the leg work of ordering all of the materials for our building projects.

The first pit with the walls lining the pit finished as well as part of the bracing for the slab which will be "poured" over the top.

One of John's workers in the pit measuring the length of one of the support poles. Notice the ladder. This is the only one they have - hand made out of poles from trees.

Looking into the second pit that isn't finished yet. Notice the plank (board) laying across two steel drums. This is their scaffolding.

The next round of supplies are being ordered today so they can pour the slab of the first pit and then after a few days start on the walls of the house. They will also finish up the second pit to bring it up to the same level as the first.

Trip to Johannesburg

2009-04-19T13:13:00.003-05:00

I left on Wednesday afternoon to go to Benoni (a suburb of Johannesburg). I needed to take my car back to the mechanic who did some work on my car in February. He had replaced the tire rod ends but told me I needed Upper Arm controls and lower ball joints for both front wheels. I had to get them in Swaziland because my car is a direct import from Japan, which means that some parts are different. Swaziland is one of the countries that allow with direct imports because the cars are cheaper. South Africa doesn’t deal with direct imports so they can’t get the parts that are different.

The sun was setting just as I got to Benoni. The sunset was an awesome display of God’s glory. The sun was a bright red ball and there was a single white and grey cloud covering the top of the sun and then the most beautiful rays of the sun shining upward from the top of the cloud. Everyone says that nowhere in the world are the sunsets as beautiful as they are in Africa. I certainly agree with that statement. They are incredible.

Thursday we (Richard Bosart and I) took my car to the mechanic and then I met with the new Bishop of the High Veld and Swaziland District of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. After that Richard and I drove down to visit with Siphiwe in his new church which is about 45 minutes south of Benoni. It was so good to see Siphiwe. His two year stint in Swaziland was up at the end of last year and he was transferred to a white church in SA. He was like a son to me when I first came to Swaziland and I miss him very much. But, he’s doing well and seems to like his new post very much. It brings challenges for him, especially preaching in English, but I know he is up to those challenges.

On Friday we ran some errands. I had a list of things I can't get in Swaziland that wanted to get while in SA. We had lunch at McDonalds! There isn’t McDonalds in Swaziland or Nelsprit, South Africa. In the US I rarely eat at McDonalds. Over here, whenever I go to Johannesburg I look forward to having a Quarter Pounder and French fries because it is a true taste of America. PLUS over here they have Choccochinos which is coffee with hot chocolate, and I LOVE it.

Friday afternoon we called to check on my car and the mechanic told us that when they went to put on the parts they discovered that the CV joint on the right wheel was broken. Luckily he was able to locate one in the Jo’burg area and install it by the end of the day. He said he couldn’t believe I drove all the way from Swaziland with it broken. I said Thank You to God for keeping me safe and prompting me to get the car fixed instead of waiting longer. I, of course, didn’t know there was anything major wrong. The car just wasn’t handling quite right. But it was that nagging feeling deep inside that prompted me to get it fixed now instead of waiting until May when I drive to SA to pick up the first team from the US.

Saturday, after a fantastic breakfast taco (Richard is a great cook!) and two cups of caffeinated coffee (I haven't had an ounce of caffeine even in chocolate since February) I headed back to Swaziland, stopping by McDonalds for one last choccochino to drink on my way. Traffic was light and the day beautiful. I returned safely to Swaziland in what is probably record time.

Today I went to church at the International Church in Ezulweni and then went to my friends Mary Beth and Ron’s house for dinner and visit. Tomorrow is King Mswati III’s birthday so it is a holiday which means I will spend the day at home reading a good book and maybe watching a movie on my laptop. I will stay as far away from the crowds that may come out to celebrate and away from the soldiers and policeman with machine guns who will be patrolling the areas that he will be in or driving through. I’m not sure I will ever get used to policemen and army personnel riding in the back of pickup trucks or walking down the street with their machine guns. It is always leaves me a bit unsettled, especially when I think that most of these guys are probably not very educated and probably don’t speak English. If I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time they’d probably just as soon shoot me as try to communicate to me to get out of the way or to move elsewhere. So I think my plan of staying home is a good one.

Da Pits

2009-04-13T10:41:00.003-05:00

Yeabo! We have pits! Two of them! I went up to Lomngeletjane today to pay John the labor cost of his guys digging the two pits, one for the girl's latrine and one for the boy's latrine. He wasn't on-site so I phoned him. (I was late waiting on Bethuel who was supposed to come but never showed up. TIA) John asked me how I like the pits and if I was happy. What was I supposed to say? I asked if they were the measurements of what the plans called out. He said "yes" and I said "I love them". He was happy. The picture doesn't do them justice, but imagine digging two of these pits with only a worn out crummy little shovel. I think these pits were much deeper than the guys were tall. I don't have any idea how they do this but I know I'm impressed. Yes, I know, sometimes it doesn't take a lot to impress me.

And this is the yield of about 1/3 to 1/2 of the maize crop that was planted in December. Hopefully this is the first crop harvest of many for Lomngeletjane. Hopefully, the first of many!

BTW, I must be becoming Swazi... The temperature dropped to 20 degrees Celsius (68 F) at Lomngeletjane with a slight breeze and it was 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 F) and I was cold wishing for a jacket. hummm