Thaudeka

Thaudeka was a precious 12 year old Swazi girl we have gotten word that she has died. Thaudeka died of complications related to AIDS. She contracted AIDS from her own Dad. He raped her because he had believed the lie that if you raped a virgin you would be cured from the Aids virus. It is very hard to understand how a Dad can do such a horrible thing to his own child, but sin does horrible things. I would like to say this is a rare occurrence here in Swaziland but I cannot because this happens frequently. It is very hard sometimes not to become very angry and judge mental but I am reminded of what God says in His word that vengeance is His and we are to Love our neighbor. My anger and sadness turns to gladness when now I think of the splendor and happiness that Thaudeka is feeling right now as she rests in the arms of Jesus. No more pain, no one abusing her, no one touching her in ways no one and especially a 12 year old girl should be touched. But now feeling the tender loving touch of our Lord and savior Jesus. Thaudeka’s dad died of Aids sometime ago, I also hope he is feeling the same as his daughter but chances are he never understood the terrible sinful thing he had done and never repented, and now he is felling pain that has been increased a thousand times over to last throughout all eternity. Please pray for the vulnerable children her in Swaziland and for us to show them the Love of Jesus. On a brighter note God is at work, lives are being changed, people are being saved spiritual and physically, we conducted two community clinics a few weeks ago with a visiting medical team from South Carolina (man it was good to hear some southern slang) 410 patients were seen in just over four hours and all that agreed to be tested for AIDS were HIV negative! To God is the glory. The odds are one in three people here are HIV positive so this tells us God is honoring the work that is being done. Thank you for your prayers and for your support that helps us help others. Until our next post uNkulunkulu Busisa (God Bless).

AHH...

Well, finally get some time to write. There is so much to write about since the last posting for which I appologise. The last couple of weeks have really been busy. As I mentioned before we had around 84 people which came from the US to help Healing Place Church put on a conference for the pastors here in Swaziland. The focus of the conference was to minister to and help the pastors. The culture here is different from in the U.S. Pastors here do not come together anytime as a group, they do not have an ongoing relationship with their congregation or the community. This conference was to help empower them and bring them together so that maybe in the long term they will also help with the issues in the communities. During the conference I was in charge of the budgets for the groups and making sure they had accommodations each night and dinners. It was fun..but there was a lot to do, and Thank the Lord it came off without many problems. I have finally wrapped up all the receipts and other items to where today is a rest day for me. Kristin Evans and I were responsible for the costumes for around 20 CarePoint teenagers to do a dance each night. ( I made the skirts) I am going to try to post the video on this blog..(hopefully it will work) We were fortunate enough to go with Greg & Kristin’s group when they visited a game park so we were able to see the animals up close and personal. Thanks to TLC church in Memphis Tenn. For their hospitality ! The sun is shining today; we have had about 3 days of rain and cold temperatures. We have burnt a lot of wood trying to keep the dampness out of the house. We have not been having any heat at all until now. It has just been 2 pairs of sox, 2 shirts, flannel pj bottoms and a scarf. Reminds me kind of like frosty the snowman...ha ha. Soon we will be back on a normal routine and visiting our CarePoint more in the coming weeks so I will have much more to write about. This coming Wednesday, June 17th will be our 30th wedding anniversary and how blessed we will be to be spending it in Swaziland. Time sure does fly...and I know I am getting older when you read this you will know also. I finally caught my sister-in-law on face book the other night and she said “ just read that Leslie had her baby” well, I thought and then responded “Leslie who?” and she came back with “ ha ha very funny, your cousin Leslie” well, I had totally forgotten .. When we received the news she was expecting we were in the middle of trying to sell everything and wrap everything up to move here and I totally forgot. So, maybe it wasn’t totally old age...ha ha . Congratulations Leslie.. Going to say bye for now. Will write again soon. Oh, wanted to tell The AWANA class at Piney Grove Chapel thank you for all your cards. We will write and mail you some replies, I know AWANA is over for the summer but wanted to let you know we got them..Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers and thanks to our good friends Tracy and Daniel for the Potato soup recipe..um um good..and try to post a picture of a friend we had visit…yuck..I hate spiders.. Love you all.. Diane

See-ahh-bone-ahh

That is the way we as Americans pronounce the name of this child. He is at our CarePoint (Moneni). Today we visited our CarePoint and he came directly up to me speaking SiSwati and pointing his little hands towards 2 stray dogs which had found their way into the CarePoint fence. I guess he was trying to tell me about the dogs, so I in turn looked him in the face and said ruff-ruff…dog..(Since my SiSwati is not good at all ) he also repeated the sound I had made for the dog. The rest of the time I was there he stayed next to me and constantly looked at me and said ruff-ruff and chased me around holding his little bowl of rice which he had not eaten. School is out for the next couple of weeks but the CarePoint still feeds the children. Each child brings a stick or piece of wood which helps when cooking the food the next day, and in turn they receive a bowl of rice and beans or Pop depending on what is cooked that day. (The piece of wood is not required to be able to eat, it is just helpful). This little boy is just one of many sweet children at this CarePoint and as we continue to serve here and oversee this CarePoint I will continue to try to post pictures and tell some stories about the children. Please continue to pray for them.
Thanks to you all...God Bless


The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
Romans 8:15-17

Something interesting

This Friday, April 24, 2009, is another serve day for the Children’s cup staff and missionaries, it is the last day of school for 3 weeks. Our role in this day is to help the teachers and cooks do their everyday job at the CarePoints we oversee. Ours is called Moneni. This will be a good day for us to see exactly what goes into one day’s work at the CarePoint. I will try to post pictures and write another blog after we go.
Over the next few weeks we will be very busy. I have mentioned before that we will be hosting a large group of pastors the last week of May into the first week of June. Pastor Ben has put me in charge of the financial side. I never realized how much it took to schedule and bring in groups of people. I have to make sure that the meals, rooms, transport, game park visits are paid for and missionaries have enough money for extra items that may come up. This will be a really busy time for all, but am looking forward to it. Ben has left for the US this week for an ARC conference being held at a church in Clayton so I have sent a CD containing a power point presentation for our church. He should deliver it to Amanda this Saturday night when the original mission trip group gets together in Dunn for a reunion. Wish we could be there to see the old gang..(ha ha).. but Amanda is going as our stand in and will be able to be with them for us and to meet Ben for the first time.
Speaking of the old gang..we will have “ company” here at our house this coming July 4th. Brett Asher, one of the men who went with us on the original mission trip in 2007 is coming back to Swaziland for a visit and will be staying with us..We went yesterday and purchased a bed so he will have something soft to lay on instead of the hard cold tile floor. I asked him to bring a set of sheets because the sheets you buy here are like sandpaper, I told him that I did not think his wife, Pam, would appreciate him coming back home to her with no skin. He agreed!!
It is getting colder here. Last night I had a shirt, sweater, flannel pants and 2 pair of socks and was wrapped up on the couch with a heavy blanket and that was just right. And they tell us it is not as cold as it is going to be in mid June and July…(not looking forward to that). So Brett, if you are reading this blog, you better bring some “long johns”. We found what is the equivalent of an electric blanket, it is the opposite, instead of it being like a blanket it is like a fitted sheet that goes over the mattress and under the sheet and has duel controls for each side. That is really good because you can cut it on before you get into the bed and the bed is warm for you, the nights before we found this the sheets were like ice and it was hard to get warm. Thank you Lord!!
Just a short note: I found a vegetable that we call yellow squash, it is named yellow pity pats here and it looks like a small yellow ball. I quickly bought almost all they had and came home cut it up and cooked it with onion…yep, taste like our yellow squash…but the sad news is that I went back to the market the next day and “no pity pats.. So much for the almost home taste. Last night I ate Lamb for the first time. Donald put it on the grill like steak and it was rather good. Most meats (with the exception of Chicken) have a funny flavor and are very hard for me to eat. Maybe it was because I did not know what to expect for the taste of the Lamb, but it was good. Bread here is different also, it is baked daily at the grocery store and you cannot keep it (even in the refrigerator) for over a day or two because it starts to grow green mold, they do not put preservatives in most everything they make so it doesn’t last as long but it is better for you. It is the same with cheeses. The eggs sold here are brown and are not cleaned up when you get them, it is like they just take them from under the chicken and put them in the container for the store, they are date stamped though…(I would rather them be cleaned). Sorry to ramble on but just wanted to give you some insite on the life here in Swaziland.
We received several cards from our friends at church this week and they are such a blessing and encouragement to us. Thank you all…for your prayers and your support. ( and thank you for taking care of our family) We could not be here if it were not for all of you…God Bless and will blog again soon..

Easter Week in review

Today is Easter Sunday, How precious what this day stands for. We have had a long week here in Swaziland, The church started 7 days of serveolution. Each day we did something different for the community to show God’s love in action. The Second day two groups of church members went to a “homestead” to rebuild the mud and rock walls of a house for a poor woman. Homesteads are outside of the communities and are usually built of rocks dropped in-between sticks and packed with mud. They also mixed bags of concrete and concreted the floor which was once red mud. The third day is Sunday, We will not have a church service instead we will be going out as a group to clean up the local “kombie” rink. A group painted the concrete walls orange and the remainder of us walked and picked up trash from the ground. We received “thank you” from a lot of the locals. Third day was to cook and feed around 250 people. We all gathered at Pastor Ben’s home and cooked rice, beef stew, butternut squash and carrots for carrot slaw.( both of which had to be peeled by hand) We served it into containers and carried it out to a service station and offered it with “Love from Jesus” to the people, some of which were afraid to take it because food is not so freely given here in Swaziland. Day 4 began with low clouds and rain and looked like our plans for the day would be called off, but no, it gave a better reason to have your windshield or windscreen as they call it here, to be washed. Groups went to two different petrol stations and washed windshields for anyone stopping to get fuel for their car..in the Love of Jesus. Then “hot dogs” were cooked and served to all the employees and others who worked at the stations. Day 5 was taking packets that consisted of a wash cloth, tooth brush, soap, and toothpaste to patients in the local government hospital. I was head of the Make group of ladies; Make is pronounced Mog-gay which means Mother. So us older women –Makes- were in one group. They were the most wonderful women, they started singing the moment we got into the kombi( small minivan) and did not stop the whole way there and even the whole way back. Please pray for the people in the Government hospital, most of them are sent there to die, But, us Makes helped to lead 2 women to the Lord. So there will be two more souls in heaven. Day 6 consisted of cooking meat and rice and delivering it to the local bank branch and to the police station to also let them know that Jesus loves them. This brings us to Good Friday night. This night we showed the movie “the PASSION OF THE CHRIST” Can you remember how it was the first time you saw it?? Having to read sub-titles in English and trying to see the movie?? well, it was the same movie…so the Swazi’s had to read the English subtitles also, but like the Bible says, my word will not return void, we had 20 to accept the Lord Jesus as savior.. He speaks in all languages. Today is Easter Sunday. Our service was a little different than past Easters for us but good none the less. Pastor Ben really got everyone’s attention with the real coffin he had brought on stage. This one was an actual one used for burial here it reminds me of the old Dracula movies just a oblong box with only a small draping of material inside the box and a small pillow. There are bolts with fancy wing nuts which are used to screw down the flat lid over the body no fancy wheels or draping, no vaults in the ground.. just a plain white box. It made a good representation of how if we are saved there is nothing to be afraid of because only our flesh will be there and our souls will be with Christ.
I hope each one who reads this blog will realize how much we can be a witness even without a sermon.
Bless you all and hoping you have a blessed Sunday and remember what EASTER really means. We are really thankful to be a part of God’s family..Thank you all for your prayers and support. Love you ALL!!

Just a few pictures

Moneni

Donald and I have been assigned a CarePoint . The name of our CarePoint is Moneni. It will be another week before we will be taken and introduced to the teachers, cooks and children. I am really looking forward to starting to make a relationship with them and to spread the gospel. We have been told by the previous missionary that “it's a tough place physically and spiritually, the teacher’s cooks and staff are precious but it takes a while to break down their walls and Moneni as a community has a dis-proportionate percent of HIV, STI and sexual abuse. Many kids are orphaned or double orphaned, and one child lives with her 24 cousins in one house”. Most of the teenagers in the community have little or no education so if we can bring in some skill training for them it would help. Once we begin to get more involved there will definitely be more postings on the blog and prayer needed.
Donald is attending a class all this week in HIV and will learn more about the culture. I was suppose to attend this also but at the last minute they canceled 3 slots and it is more important for Donald to go than I. Another class will be offered later in the year and I will try to go then. Today I am at home writing emails to family in the form of a word document so that when we go to the office and if the internet is up and running I can just copy and paste into email and send, you have to be quick sometimes because if you try to write long emails the chances are that it will go down before you finish.
In May Children’s cup is hosting a pastors conference here in Swaziland for the Association of Churches where there will be around 150+ pastors and members coming. That will be our first taste of hosting a group of visitors. We will be responsible for a small group and will be showing them around and even supervise some activities that is planned for them at the CarePoints, like building , painting, and even feeding the children. When we have visiting groups each of the Missionaries takes a turn at hosting, but with this large a group we will ALL be hosting this time. I am looking forward to it.
This past Saturday we decided to take a drive up to one of our furtherest CarePoints about 2 hours away from where we live. It was a nice drive and on the way we spotted 3 giraffes and a large heard of wildebeest. No Elephants or Zebra’s but it was still a wonderful drive. Not something that is routine in the states but…. As much as I am a routine person, Life here is still not routine, and I don’t think it will ever be.
Thank each and everyone who is supporting us both by monetarily and especially with your prayers, please continue and we know you are……. we can see it working in our lives here everyday.
God Bless and know we Love each and everyone of you..

SAY WHAT ??

Just thought I would let you in on the language of SiSwati… It is hard for a southern girl to pronounce..
1. I sing all the time. Ngi hlabela sonkhe sikhatsi.
(I sing all the time)
2. They teach the Word of God. Ba fundzisa livi leNkhosi.
(The teach the Word of the Lord)
3. You ask a lot of questions. U buta imibuto leminengi.
(You ask questions that are many)
4. I understand you. Ngi ya kuva
(I you understand)
5. We give food to the children. Si pha bantfwana kudla
(We give the children food)
Ok, so I know a lot of you have been wanting more information on our house and car so I am posting this small picture (hopefully).. God has been so gracious to us, Children’s Cup has rental houses under contract just for their missionaries. This house was a previous missionary couple who returned to the States, so we were very lucky to get this one. So far everything, our Car, our furniture and all the kitchen accessories and appliances including 2 months rent has come from our personal savings account and not from the ministry budget. We have not spent any of our ministry budget as of yet. God has made sure that our personal money has stretched further that we could ever imagine. All of the missionaries here told us to make our home our sanctuary a place we could come home to for peace and warmth because everything you see here and are involved in day to day will eventually take its toll. From the blessings of God we have done just that. Thank you all for your prayers and contributions we know God will bless each of you.
This past Sunday after morning service, we got a chance to eat lunch with a group visiting from the Oasis Church. The Pastor who preached from the group is from Phoenix but is originally from South Carolina. We went to a local hotel and ate from the buffet which cost E 250.00 (the E stands for Emilinigini ) for both of us to eat and that is not including our Coke lights..(AKA =Diet Coke) Anyway, on the buffet there was a bowl which contained home cooked pork skins..yum..he had noticed my plate and asked what it was..when he found out he went and got some for himself and said it reminded him of “home”. Like we have said, everything is almost the same but different.
After the meal we were invited to execution rock to hike approx. 6 miles straight up.. ha ha, not me..but Donald took them up on it. The time was late when they left the restaurant for the hike so they drove half way then walked to the top. He has some good pictures but I have to figure out how to download them from his cell phone. They saw mountain lion tracks and a huge alligator in one of the ponds. He said he almost did not make it all the way to the top. Since we are at such a high altitude it seems harder to walk or run I have definitely noticed that. Well guess I better go for now. Thank you again for your prayers, we know you are praying for us we can see it everyday.

Short Thank you note

Luke 18:28-30 Then Peter said, “Look we have left what we had and followed You.” So He said to them, “ I assure you: There is no one who has left a house, wife or brothers, parents or children because of the kingdom of God, Who will not receive many times more at this time, and eternal life in the age to come.”
Oh, how I am reminded of the truth of how this verse is definitely working in our life. Yesterday, I could not remember what I had done with my wallet. Mind you there is not a lot in it but everything that is in it is very vital to us here. One of our dear missionary friends (Karen) said a prayer for me and in 15 minutes Donald found it in the car floorboard for where it had been all night and that day and by God’s grace it did not fall out when the doors had been opened several times that day. Today we received our vehicle after 2 weeks of waiting for it to come in on a ship from Japan. Everyone had told us that the cars usually come in very dirty and would need a full going over by a mechanic, new fluids, belts and possibly tires. ( We learned from another missionary couple that tires are very, very expensive) but to our amazement the vehicle looks terrific and is very clean and upon Donald’s inspection it looks like the fluids are new and the belts also, and so are the tires. Thank you Jesus….these are just a few of the examples of what God has done for us every day since we arrived here in Swaziland. It seems that God is working in our lives just like the verse says. We have received so many blessings beginning with getting great “deals” on furniture for the house. This is my short note of thanks to he who makes all things possible and always holds to his promises. Diane

The Same Just Different

"The same just different" that is what you hear most of the missionaries say alot here, Diane and I are also beginning to pick up on that saying. The weather here is the same as in NC just different it is hotter more dry, the meat here is the same just different pork? and beef? just does not taste the same, but we are getting accustom to it. I could go on and on about the differences here but I think you all get the point but there is one thing here that is the same people are hurting they have needs, wants,desires they want to be loved just like people all over the world wants love. And yes there is something else here that is the same all over the world and universe for that matter and that is GOD, He is the same as He was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow. God wants the same for His precious people in Swaziland as He does in any other place in the world, for them to Know Him through knowing His son The Lord Jesus, and by the grace of God we are going to make sure they do just that to know the love of God and what He has done for them through His son Jesus.

We are still setteling in, we are in "our home" now but will take some time to get everything together we just have to keep reminding ourselfes we are now on Swazi time and that is a lot slower than US time, just takes longer for things to come together.Diane is in South Africa for the next few days with Sandra another cup missionary (Sandra for some R&R Diane for shopping for more things for the house) so please pray for their safety.Next week we both hope to be able to focus more on the medical program and just loving on the kids showing them Jesus. As always Thank You to all our supporters and surely Piney Grove for helping us be here to do the work God has called us to do. We will try and up date as often as we can (internet VERY slow). Until next post God Bless you all and know we miss you all.

Donald/Diane