Pictures from the last week....

Our greeting party at the team house :)

One cool girl!

Going back home after a long day of work.

Havesting with the Joyela and Mahlabeneni gogos!

Hanging out with the girls at Mahogany.

Oct. 25

Today Sanele, Nombali and I went to the Mahlabeneni carepoint. While they were working with the older children I sat and played with the younger ones. It was a cool, rainy day. One little boy came into the building sobbing and soaked; his face was muddy from where he had fallen in the dirt, so I scooped him up and cuddled him against me under my jacket. His shivering stopped and he fell fast asleep.

It was the perfect opportunity to pray for this little boy and his family; his mom or gogo out working and providing a shelter for him and his siblings, his sister who was not much older than he and for his future, no matter how short or long it might be. It was so amazing being able to poor into this little boy’s life and love on him. I thank God so much that I have two parents, I have warm clothes, food three times a day and always have a weather-proof house to sleep in unlike this handsome little boy who probably has never even slept in a bed before.

   In 1996 a young woman, Ntombi, who is mentally handicapped stepped into the fire, burning her foot, while her family was out working in the fields. Slowly that burn healed on her foot but a small spot the size of a dime remained unhealed. For many years it grew more and more infected, but what could her family do? They barely have enough to live on much less carry her all the way down the mountain, pay for transport and spend a whole day at the hospital.


   In 2011 Erica Zeiler went with her team to visit families in that area and saw her infected foot. By this time it had started rotting and maggots filled it. With great compassion and love, Erica went up every week to clean and bandage Ntombi’s foot. Then, after Erica went home, for another year her foot went unnoticed and she went unloved, up in the mountains.


   In spring of 2012 Erica came back to stay and in her first week here, the Lord reminded her of Ntombi and back up the mountain she went to check on her. The wound had again become badly infected and had spread to more area in her foot. Again, overflowing with compassion, Erica cleaned out her foot once a week and left bandages for her father to re-apply. However, it still got worse and worse, so in June Erica took her up to the hospital were they took some flesh to run tests on it, but the results would not be ready for three months. It has been almost four months since the tests and still no answer. So Erica and the Discipleship team have been faithfully driving thirty minutes up into the mountains to bring her and her father down to the clinic three times a week to clean it out and put more bandages on it. For the last 16 years her father has shown his great love for her by carrying her on his back down the long path to the car, holding her hand while her foot is cleaned and then carrying her back up the path to their small house.

 
   Last week I was privileged to go with two members of the D-team to bring down and take back Ntombi and watch as they re-bandaged her foot. On the way back down the mountain after we took Ntombi home I noticed this beautiful flower, rather out of place among the thorn bushes and rocks. It gave me such an amazing picture of how the Lord used one woman through many years to bring a ray of hope to this family, how in Ntombi’s pain filled life, someone has cared enough for her to wash her maggot infested foot and to tell her she is loved not only by her earthly father, but by her Father in heaven.

 

I got to hang out with the precious, shy little girl for an hour the other day. So sweet and beautiful!

Passion Conference in Durban, South Africa

This week the "D" Team, Erica, Morgan and I were blessed to attend the Passion Conference in Durban, South Africa. 

The D Team - Nombali, Celimpelo (Pelo), Sanele, Thondi (H is silent) and me.

The "D" Team is made up of four college-age Swazi's who are the spiritual leaders for the children's carepoints.  Morgan and I are the 2 interns spending three months in Swaziland, and Erica is one of only two full-time staff workers in Nsoko, Swaziland.  A benefactor in the United States donated the total cost of sending the seven of us for a spiritual overnight retreat to hear Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin at Passion International in Durban, South Africa. 

Enjoying a real Mocha at the Mug and Bean in Durban

The conference was spiritually encouraging for all of us, and the first time most of the "D" team had every been out of Swaziland.

On our drive back to Swaziland we stopped at a South Africa beach for a few hours.  I was sitting on the beach in South Africa while my parents and sisters were at the beach thousands of miles away in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  And our God is the God over us all!  Pretty awesome to think about.

On the beach in Durban, South Africa

The "D" team marveled at seeing the ocean for the first time.  It was a testimony to the power of the Lord!

So many stories...

I've heard so many stories in the last month...so many stories of people in unimaginable circumstances. 

Gogo Maria who has back problems and can barely walk, but manages to provide for her two grandchildren.  Sadly she cannot pay for their school anymore.  (In Swaziland children can only attend school if they pay school fees.  These fees are very difficult to pay for a population who barely has enough for food.)  Despite these setbacks she still told us, "It is well with my soul."

The young woman with four young children who's husband will not allow her to go to church, yet has such strong faith in God.

And finally, in my last post I mentioned spending the day in the hospital with a 19 year old young man, Linda.  The hospital didn't admit him but sent him home with a handful of medicine.  Tragically, he passed away yesterday from HIV.  Please pray for his mom, grandma and sister.  He came to know Christ through the ministry team here.  They rushed him to the hospital and spent hours praying with and for him but he succumbed to the ravages of the disease which is so prevalent in this country. 

And the stories continue day by day...walking by faith.

This is a photo of a little boy at Mahlabaneni carepoint.  He posed for the camera after he sat in my lap and dozed on and off during the Bible lesson.  The children are hungry for love and affectionate.