Today we are helping with a medical clinic called Luke Commission.We expect to treat over 1000 people at this
one day clinic!
A few days ago an abandoned baby was brought to Pastor Gift's
house.Her young mother had given birth
to twins.In a few short weeks the mother
and other twin had died of HIV/AIDS.Now
this little girl is 4 months old with no family.The team is caring for her until we can get
her placed in a home somehow.She is 4
months old but small like a new-born.She will be the first patient at the clinic today.Please pray for her as she almost certainly has
some difficult medical issues.
In the mean time we are feeding her every two hours and
taking turns through the night.
Water is life here in Africa.I guess it is life everywhere but in some
places like here you just don't take it for granted.I have been reading through the Bible this
year and have been impressed how often water is related to life itself – life with
God.Still waters, rivers of life, clean
water over a dry and weary land.
In 2007 our friends Ed and Linda Langfeldt donated some
money for a project here in Swaziland.Since
Ed has spent a lot of his life drilling wells in Indiana we thought it would be
appropriate to put the money toward a water related project.
One of the care points here had no water source – the ladies
doing the cooking were literally walking a mile and getting dirty water from a
creek – the same creek where the cows did their thing.This care point has a long unpronounceable name,
but we have shortened it to Ntabas.
Ruby (on the left in front of the old kitchen at Ntabas) is the main gogo who cooks at Ntabas.Ruby is 78 years old and has never been
married or had kids of her own.But she
has taken care of plenty and even now has several children living in her home with
her. Now can you imagine a 78 year old woman carrying 5 gallons of water on her
head for a mile up a hill from a creek?Well, this was Ruby.
The summer of '07 my father was in Swaziland with Marcia and
me.We worked very hard for a few days
putting in a cement block stand for a large water tank for the Ntabas care
point.It was great to see Ruby light up
when we put in the water tank and stand so she would not have to carry water so
far and we could also provide clean water delivered to fill the tank.(On a side note, I think Ruby likes dad –
their birthdays are only a couple weeks apart and the same year and when she
saw us this time around she asked about him and brought a picture of the two of
them together in 2007!)
Well this has all worked very well (no pun intended) until a
church that supports the Ntabas care point – Warren Baptist in Augusta Georgia –
donated money to drill a well on site at the care point.
This is a huge improvement to the water system we put in a
couple years ago because now there will be enough water to have a garden. Also it will be more cost effective than
filling up the water tank with delivered water.
So you can see how it takes several people to come along and
do what they can to make something good happen.I am so blessed to show you this short video
we took early in the morning when the drillingequipment was on site.
Water is truly life – and thanks to the hard work of so many,
life will get better for Ruby and the children she feeds every day at Ntabas
care point.
Lindiwe is one of the women who sew purses for Timbali
Crafts.In fact she is literally the
face of the ministry as her picture is on the front of the Timbali Craftflyer. Marcia and Julie Anderson were with her just
last weekend for a big retreat for the ladies.
This week her husband died suddenly.They have ten kids - the oldest is 20 years
old.A couple days ago Marcia and I were
out near her house and decided to drop off some food to the family.Turning off the paved road we follow a gravel
road.After some time we veer off the
gravel road onto a narrow dirt path, which leads to a foot path which leads to
her house.Upon arriving at the house we
found a few small buildings – one cement block with two rooms and two or three
other mud huts with thatched roof.There
were several little kids running crying with crusty noses.Lindiwe was in town apparently making funeral
arrangements.We met the oldest
daughter, left the food, and took the second oldest back to the paved road so
she could catch public transport to a clinic – she was sick too.
All this was a very sad and tragic scene of the struggles in
this country made more personal by the fact that we know this woman Lindiwe.Can you imagine being left with 10 children
and little to no income?Through her
bright smile she has communicated the hope the Timbali ladies find in the Lord
and in their small income from the purses they sew.The days ahead will be difficult.
But what struck me most and what I can't get out of my mind
was the man we met on the way to the house.He was about my age or older, walking along the dirt path.We passed him as we were almost at Lindiwe's
house.He waved us down and asked us
where we were going.I figured he needed
a ride but we were going the opposite direction.I rolled down the window and he smiled a kind
smile as we told him we were looking for Lindiwe's house.He brightly responded that he was the
neighbor – we could see the blue door of his house from where we were
stopped.He then got very sad when he
referred to the sad thing of the husband dying and leaving all those kids
behind.
I suggested it would be a good time for the neighbors to
come around the family and help them.He
said flatly, "In Africa we don't help each other."I was shocked.Here he was talking about being the neighbor
and being sad about the loss but stating without remorse or shame that he would
not be helping the family.In this far
flung rural area far off the main road I would think people would stick
together – to reach out and help and be a community.But I guess once again I misjudged the
culture here.Or maybe I just misjudged
the kind face of the man we met.
After we left him to deliver the food I thought of our
encounter and a hundred responses – like the Golden Rule for example – that I
wish would have rolled off my tongue.Then I wonder about my own heart and how much I truly live by that very
rule.Yes we delivered $20 worth of food
to a needy family.In the days ahead
they will need much more.Here we pass
people every day in desperate need, yet I find it the norm to go about my
agenda with little more than a glance.But then I think it is not possible to help everyone – not even possible
to help more than a few.But when I look
away am I in some way protecting myself from the reality in my face every
day?
This is my struggle.I hope that the motivation of my heart is to do more than that man –
that I don't harbor a sentiment as his, "In Africa we don't help each other."
Last week I was in Maun, Botswana for a week of leadership
training.There is an organization there
who each year sponsors a two month missions training school for Botswana
nationals.This year there are about 30
people enrolled and what a group they are!Mostly 18-25 year old university students, these young people were
inspiring and a lot of fun to be around.
While I trained during the day, we all went out in the evenings
for outreaches in surrounding villages.There are 84 villages with no gospel witness.There is a need for church planting in this
area and the hope is that this training school will help raise up these
ministers to plant churches.
We went to one village and the team set about gathering
people and singing songs.Once there was
a crowd they built a big fire (it was COLD since it is winter here!).The whole village gathered around the fire
and heard stories from the Bible – all leading to the gospel.It was a great evening with many seeds
planted and several people accepting Christ.
The man I am pictured with is a leader of a student group at
the large university in the capital of Botswana.He says there are 400-600 students at his
meetings each week.So these students in
the school are influential in their own circles!
It was a blessing to be a part of the training and put into
practice so much of what I have been learning at Fuller these past three
years.In fact during the time I was
training I was also working on a final project for a class I took in Leader
Training Models – and the assignment was to design a training program for
leaders!So I basically taught exactly
what I had prepared for the class.Another example of how the course of studies I have taken fit in so well
with where the Lord is taking us in ministry.
Now I am glad to be back in Swaziland with Marcia.I need to write an update every day as there
are incredible stories to be told as we walk through each day here.I will try to be more diligent to share these
all with you.
How can I tell you all that has happened in the last month
in Africa?Impossible without a few
hours and a bottomless cup of coffee.From Swaziland to Mozambique (which was a day to enjoy the ocean and the
most amazing shrimp you will ever see) to South Africa to Uganda to
Ethiopia.What a journey.All along the way Marcia and I found
ourselves in the presence of need.Need
from the widows, orphans, pastors, and staff in Swaziland.Need from the hurting American team members in
South Africa and the grieving parents across the ocean.Need from the orphans of Uganda and
Ethiopia.Need before us, beside us, and
behind us.Overwhelming need.Relentless need.Insurmountable need.
But in every situation of need Marcia and I found God's grace
and provision.He met us in our personal
need – for strength, for wisdom, for discernment, for comfort in our hearts as
we faced it all together. We needed each other and the Lord used us together.
In one place in Uganda I came face to face with incredible
need.One community I traveled to is
called Rapha.To get to this small
village very close to the Nile we drove on not much more than a foot path deep
into the lush green bush, passing many huts and small farm plots of banana, manioc
and maize.We passed people struggling
under heavy loads and children scampering out of their huts to see a car
driving by.Cries of "Malungu" (white
man) came through all the green vegetation.
Once we arrived, we met some wonderful children and two
brave "parents" all living in an orphanage.I was shy to take video in the vacuum of relationship so I can't show
you all I saw. But I can tell you about Bosco and Juliet, the husband and wife
who seek to take care of 44 children living in this jungle outpost with little
to no resources.Both with beautiful
smiles and strong faith, Bosco limps with a cane from an accident that broke
his knee-cap last year.He has no money
for surgery but still works to father the children and eek out a living raising
some small crops and three pigs on the land.Juliet is his young wife who teaches the children about Jesus but slumps
some under the heavy load of responsibility.
22 children live in dark rooms the size of my bedroom with
dirt floors and no electricity.Tattered
mosquito nets hang from the teetering bunks that sleep two children to each mattress.Outside the fire smolders from cooking the
porridge for the days meal.One top need
from these hard working people is for medical supplies.They travel far for medical care and the
children are often sick in these conditions.
The good news is that a church in the US has agreed to
sponsor this small community.They come
to visit in a few days and will bring some much needed supplies and encouragement.I went many other places I might be able to
tell you about in the coming days.
While Marcia and I are drained from the work of meeting
needs while we were in Africa we know there are those here around us in our own
community of family and friends that are also in need at this time.I know the Lord sees each of us in our need
and knows our hearts.He has not
forgotten us.
How do I describe the last few weeks of life for Marcia and
me?Impossible.This past week we’ve had the assignment to
deal with a tragedy in South Africa. One of AIM’s First Year Missionary
participants, Sarah Buller, died in a car accident this past Sunday.When we got the word we left Swaziland
immediately and flew into Port Elizabeth, SA. We found a disaster area.The remaining team members were in shock,
three young people in the car were healing from various injuries, and there was much to do in order to
transport Sarah’s body back home to Minnesota.
With the great help of Pastor Andrew Pierce from Lighthouse
Church (AI’s partner in Port Elizabeth) we were able to work through many
issues with detail regarding Sarah and her belongings. I had many conversations
with Sarah’s mother and father in Minnesota as we prepared for the memorial
service here in SA.
The service itself was a blessing as it was a celebration of
Jesus in Sarah’s life.Although we never
met her, Marcia and I are sure she was a very special young lady.
Much more to say and people to thank but time is short - time to board another airplane.
Marcia and I have now parted ways here in South Africa. She
is waiting on her flight through Paris and Copenhagen back to Atlanta.I am waiting on my flight to Uganda where I
will be until Wednesday and then on to Ethiopia.
I can only say that the Lord has sustained us in these
difficult days.I sit here on the floor
in the jo-burg airport in tears for all we’ve walked through â€" not on my behalf
but on behalf of the tragic loss of a daughter and sister to a great family
back in Minnesota.His grace is
sufficient in all things. I look forward to joining my family again 10 days
from now.I miss everyone very much.
What if you could get a glimpse of the future? Would it
change the way you would live?Remember
the Back to the Future movie and the mean kid Biff who drove his car into a
manure truck?In one of the sequels the
adult Biff takes a sports encyclopedia, sneaks onto the time machine, and goes
back in time to give the book to the younger Biff.Of course the younger Biff bets on all the
sports events already recorded in the future and makes millions, changing his
life forever.
Here I am on the plane flying back to Swaziland trying to
manage the long hours of travel it takes to get there.I was walking down the isle and I saw the
future. There was an African man dressed in traditional garb with his Bible
out.While waiting for the bathroom to
open up, I could overhear him telling a middle aged white man about Jesus.
I find irony in that.Here I am a middle aged white man going to tell people in Africa about
Jesus and on the plane there is an African telling another version of me about
Jesus.And that my dear friends is the
future!
Did you know there is a global shift in the power centers of
Christianity?The church is growing
leaps and bounds in the southern and eastern hemispheres of our little
globe.The church in the north and west,
where we live, is shrinking at an alarming rate.As the US becomes more European in terms of
our post Christianity every day, I sometimes wonder as time goes by – who will
come to tell us (the north and west) about Jesus?
Let me fill you in on some behind the scenes plans I believe
God has for His world.He is going to
raise up an army of orphans from places like Swaziland and He is going to use
them to reach the world for Jesus.This
is His redemption plan for the AIDS pandemic the enemy is trying to use to wipe
out the entire country of Swaziland. (The UN says Swaziland will not exist by
2050 if AIDS is not curtailed)
So you can see why I get excited when I see an African
sharing His faith with a white man. God has taken me back to the future on this
airplane.I want to be a part of what I
believe to be His redeeming plan.How
about you?
I am going back to Africa betting on the future of the 2600
orphans being fed and discipled through the work of a handful of incredible
people on the ground and a whole lot of givers and senders back home.I think that bet could change not only their
lives but in fact literally change my world.
AIM has a mission team visiting Swaziland. They got together to have a wonderful banquet for some of the women who volunteer at the care points to feed the children.
One thing that is outside the culture of Swaziland is to reveal personal struggles and emotions. People, especially women and children, need to have safe places to share their story.
One the the team participants, Katie Rowland, put together a wonderful video of the event. I watched it in tears this morning as it describes in their own words the difficulties of the lives of these courageous women.
Marcia and I are headed back to Swaziland March 19-April 12. We covet your prayers as we give ourselves to bring help, healing, training, and empowerment to our staff there and the people of Swaziland.
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Marcia and I have been attending a church in our area named 12Stone. In fact, we just joined last week! We are thankful to have a church family again. Take a look at a recent skit performed in church - as of today it's got 78,000 views on youtube! Check it out!