Greetings from AFRICA.
Right now it is 7:40 in the morning and the house is awake. 35 girls trying to get ready in one bathroom. The life of a missionary. The last two week have held many excitements, tons of teachings and ministry. Swaziland was beautiful. It is called the mountain kingdom. The kingdom has the highest HIV rate by population. There is a generation of orphans being raised by Gogo’s -grandma’s. Our house contained all four Africa teams, 2 residential missionary families and some of our leaders. The house was very crowded, but it had running water and electricity. It is rainy season right now so pretty much every night there is a storm. The lighting and wind and rain is so cool to watch. Friday night there was a storm that just sat halfway over our house and it lightninged like I have never seen for 5-6 hours. We had worship at night outside and it was truly a fear and respect the God we love.
Ministry in Swaziland at brief glance contained Hospital ministry, Care points for orphans, painting, squatter camp and dump ministry. We also walked on the streets and prayed to find people had for us to talk to at this high school. The ministry at the hospital was very intense.
I sat with a women who was literally like 65 pounds. She has been in the hospital for a year. She had a daughter right before she went into the hospital. She was a great lady. One of the ladies who lives here on AIM staff who actually met her husband as a FYM. She goes there often. We would turn her and try to get her more comfortable. We fed her and gave her juice and water. We prayed for her and I read from Isaiah to her. Then the lady next to her was 32 and she had only been in there since tuesday. I sat with her and made conversation on and off. Then she was going to sleep. I helped her turn around and get in bed. I then prayed for her and held her hand. Lyndsee then came over and prayed for her as well. She thanked for it and i just held her sleeping hand for 10ish min praying over her. She was next to the window and I could look out and see the purple trees and flowers dotting the mountains and over the city. It was peaceful even if she was dying… I next went to the Children’s ward. There were 3 babies of 2 months 2 of which look to be dying. I talked to the parents and prayed for the kids. Everyone in swaziland wants you to pray over them and will even ask for it. I then walked back talking to different kids and parents. One little boy was eating a banana. He was in the royal family. I think a fairly distant relative. I just talked to them for awhile. In the back was a very cheerful, full of life little boy. He was from Mozambique. I played with him for a very long time. He had a carton that i made into a boat, car, airplane and such. He would copy and laugh. We played peek a boy. He made me smile and laugh. His mom was so nice. We talked about different things. Then i got to pray for him. That little boy was light and joy in that children’s ward of suffering. I left him and went and held a little baby that was very sick. She would just stare at my eyes. Played with my hair, and just stared in amazement.
One of the care points was an hour drive from the city into the mountains. Dirt, windy,bumpy African road. We get to the care point and get out trying to walk again lol. I went over to a group of kids that were hiding behind this building thingy. (o yeah mud huts, random cows EVERYWHERE, almost hit a goat yeah this is really africa) The kids I went up 2 had a little one maybe 1 and half almost 2 somewhere and there. The kid just started crying and crying. The other kids laughed and tried to get him to come to me. But the kid just bawled. Other little kids came jumping into my arms lol. Next we went up to the cooking hut (it is round haha). They were out of gas so they had cooked outside and we ran out of food not 2 far in… The Gogo’s (grandma’s) feed about 200 kids. It is the only meal these kids will most likely eat that day. Older school children come as school lets out. The whole time the little boy would cry if a white person came near. We were taught some songs. I sat on the mats outside with a mentally disabled girl. I just wanted to hug her. Some of the kids were poking at her I could tell. They unbuttoned her shirt and made fun of her. My heart cried out for her. I just sat next to her. When some of the kids came from school a little girl named Ayanda stole my heart. She is so precious. She is quiet, 10 and had on a green and white school uniform. (the girls uniforms are so ragged, more then hand me downs, they are sowed up and some like one girl i was trying to help zipper is completely broken it comes off it is 2 short there are wholes in her shirt) I looked through her school books. She wrote her name on my arm and i wrote mine on hers. A group of school girls played with my hair for awhile which felt really good. My head started pounding halfway through. We did a children’s program type thing. Songs, acting out the story of Jesus calming the storm, Chelsea telling a story from her kenya trip when God healed a paralyzed man. (yeah it really happened she saw it with her own eyes glory to God!) A deaf man came up at the end of our program and asked us to pray for him. We are continuing to pray he couldn’t hear right then but I am excited to see what God does.
There are tons more stories from Swaziland. We returned to South Africa monday night after a little trouble crossing the border. I almost got stuck in no mans land. This week I was able to go back to Atteridgeville. I love the place. I realize now how it seems like another world. It is crazy that I find it normal now for drunk men to come up and ask to marry me (happened yesterday). It is normal to throw the trash in the street, to avoid huge trenches of water rushing down the streets. It is normal to sing with ladies, hold babies and play with random children. It is normal to share, to love on anyone we meet. It is normal to see retarded children, to get filthy just from holding a child. I love the ladies I have built relationships with. They had us teach them. We sang together. Monday we are to go for coffee at ones home. I think we are going to bring biscuits. Laurain told Davy and I her story. In synopsis her mother put poison in her bottle age of 2 her grandmother saved her, then her mother tried to throw her in a river, then her mother abandoned her in a garden. Her aunt found her. She then grew up and went to school in a province near swaziland. She tried to go back to her father but he had a new wife who hated her. She then came to Atteridgeville and got married. The man was horrible and beat her and was horrid. She then somehow got a new boyfriend. She got pregnant with her now 7 month old. The man left her when he found her pregnant at 4 months. Right now she is acting in a movie called Skin. She is an extra and I believe she is having to pay to be an extra. It is interesting getting the inside scoop on people and happenings in the township. Life is rough for these people. Many are young mothers 15, 23, 27. We hung out with many ladies and went to a few different homes.
The weeks have included everything from having 2.5 hours in a game park. We have teachings every morning and night time worship times. We will be here in Alabanza for the next at least 3 weeks. We start deep bible study next week.
Prayer Requests:
My headaches have been flaring the last week perhaps from the rainy season. Pray for strength, relief, energy and healing
The Jay-Bay team leaves at 4 am tomorrow, pray for safety in travel and bonding of the team.
Pray for Atteridgeville. Pray that freedom will come to the people. Pray for jobs. Pray for food in the kids tummies. Pray that the bondage of alcohol, rape, child molestation, poverty, the ZCC and Sagnoma’s
Pray for the leaders. Pray for wisdom. Pray for strength and guidance. Pray for encouragement.
Continue to pray for safety, God moving and a heart for the people. Pray that as we break into our second location teams we will know where God wants us.
THANK YOU! Thank you so much for all your prayers, your financial support and love. Please feel free to email, mail or comment encouragement. I love to get internet on fridays and hear from everyone. I love you and you are in my prayers as well.
with love from Africa
~dD~
