What a busy few months it has been. As usual, I am not keeping up with you all as much as I want to, so I apologize, and want it to be no indication of how important you are to us. Here are some bits of news from Africa.
First Year Missionaries Finish Semester…Our team of 8 FYM's finished their five month term last week and headed back to the states. It has been a wonderful 5 months with them and we have shared in so many sweet experiences within the community. I am excited for a number of these missionaries have chosen to stay on for their summer and help lead outreaches to both Swaziland and other locations. We are also happy to welcome one of our ladies back next year as our new Ladies RA. Please see the testimony below from Matthew Best.
Testimony From an FYM…During his 5 months here Matt brought a huge amount of zeal and passion to the team, and dedicated much of his time to the Manzini government hospital. Often making daily trips to the men's ward in town, Matt would spend hours doing what most people would turn away from, by caring for and cleaning the patients. In short the government hospitals is Swaziland are deplorable to say the least. The hospitals were usually started by Nazarene Nuns; however, They were later taken over by the government and immediately began to decay. The hospitals are now slammed with patients, far understaffed, and there is no hope to be found within the grim walls. Most people know that it is the place "where you go to die". So in defiance of that stigma Matt would spend hours giving the men, most of which had TB and HIV, personal care, bathes, and pray with them. Of the many patients Matt spent time with, one man named Peter was a consistent one. Peter had both TB and HIV and was a skeleton of a man when Matt met him at the beginning of the semester. In fact, most nurses had given him only days to live, but on the contrary Peter fought back from horrible sickness. In fact he was even discharged at one point, and decided to jump right back into his old job. Now I do not know Peter very well, but through Matt's daily visits and prayer for Peter I saw dramatic effects in Peter's life. To the shock of everyone there Peter lived through the entire 5 months Matt was here and shared in daily discipleship, prayer and friendship with Matt. Peter did go home to be with his heavenly Father two weeks ago, but I am convinced as is Matt that it is Peter's great joy to be there now, as Matt was integral in Peter coming to the Lord! It continually blows my mind that our Father would bring a young 20 year old boy half way around the world to bathe people, change dirty sheets, love and care for the sick, pray for and usher the dying into a better eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Had Matt not come, Peter surely would have passed away months ago from a hopeless state. Matt has truly been a walking beacon of hope in the hospital and I know he is greatly missed by so many.
Update on the Girls…Mary is doing very well, and continuing to meet with her deaf friend to teach her to write, read, and sign. She has also been getting into cooking again now that the group is gone, and is coming up with some amazing chino-swazi-merican dishes. As the group left we moved from our two room house into the luxurious 4 roomer where the team was, and are really getting some great family time. Nondumiso just cleared her first birthday on the 4th of May, and is motoring all over the place. She is now a crawling machine, and walking with a little assistance from any nearby object. She is also looking much better and finally almost scabies-free. Her sign language is amazing, and she is signing "papa" every time I walk in the room. As for Busisiwe, she is doing great as well and just finished her first trimester of grade 1. Her teacher says she caught up fine and is doing extremely well in class. I know both girls thoroughly enjoyed their visit last month from their American grandparents (mary's folks), and are looking forward to meeting my mom and step father in June, and my dad and sister later in August!
Winter Plans…(summer for you Americans)
Mid May through the end of May…2 outreach teams in from Boston College and NYACK College Early June through Mid june…Working with a college age group who will be in country for two months at another community June 20-30…Claud's mom and step-dad will join us to check out the community July…Language focus time, and orphanage construction push August 5-15…Claud's dad, sister, and God father join us to check out the community Latter half of august…To the states for AIM staff conference
Prayer Notes… -making a major push on language learning over the next few months -targeting to finish the orphanage before AIM staff conference -development of profit generating jobs for locals in the community, as well as for the orphanage -begin meetings at the orphanage location for new Christians -development of youth discipleship through football clubs(more info to come…)
Closing thoughts… Really miss all of you and think of you always. I cannot tell you how much we thank God for your prayers and support. Please continue to stay connected with us and know that you are deeply valued by our entire family! What a joy it is that you join us in this work here!
After two 1o hour work days this week, both extending into the evening hours, we managed to complete the roofing for the orphanage at Tembeni. We worked around the clock, and it has been so exciting to see things coming together. The structure itself is 11 x 20 meters and will serve as both our family's home and a home to those children in greatest need of a safe place to live. We have already invited one young single mother to live with us, along with her twins, not far from our youngest daughter's age. The mother's name is Nondubeko, and we met her back in September, while living with her and the twins temporarily. Nondubeko speaks wonderful english and should be a sweet teacher of the language for us. The other volunteers who help at the care points will be assessing who the neediest children in the area are over the next few weeks, so that as soon as the home is complete we can get them in there. The next phase of things will be to pour the massive concrete slab and then begin blocking it in.
Yesterday Mary, Nondumiso, and I drove to SA in order that we might meet her parents today, coming over along with her twin sister for a two week visit. The arrived safely this morning in Jo'berg, and we are overjoyed to have them here. It has been a sweet day, as it is their first time to meet Nondumiso in person(their first grandchild). They will accompany us back to Swaziland tomorrow, and share in the ministry for two weeks to see what our lives are like here, as well as get to meet Busisiwe. What a sweet blessing to have them here.
Well, enough for tonight. Note that I have attached a picture of an identical structure to the one we just put up for the orphanage. The one in the picture is actually one we installed last June at Pastor Walter's property, and it is still awaiting to be blocked in as a church building and community center. Unending love, Themba (Claud)
We had a great week and are now heading into another busy one. Last week Busisiwe was able to start school for the first time in 15 months. She is doing grade 1, and according to her teacher doing extremely well. We were so blessed to have a dear friend help us get her into St. Michaels, a great english medium school in Manzini.
Over the weekend all the girls on our team headed into Mbabane to be trained as house mothers for orphanage work. This week they will spend three days and three nights caring for two full houses of kids, while the full time hosue mothers go for a seminar. While the girls were away, the guys on the team and I visited a woman in the community near the land where we will build our new home. The woman, Gcinsile, there is extremely sick and being nursed by her mother, leaving 12-15 kids to take care of the homestead themselves, not all of which are hers. We have actually visited her everyday for the last three days to pray for her healing and to take food for the family. We ask that you join us in prayer for this sweet mother. The heart breaking reality is that this is most likely aids combined with TB, so I daily wrestle with the idea of what will happen to the home filled with children if the mother passes away soon. Therefore, we thus far have refused to give up on her and intercede daily for her ultimate healing and recovery!
In situations like these we have been coming face to face with the effects of syncretism on our community, as this family and many others in the area are members of the Zionist church.(Zionist being a combination of Christianity and ancestral witchcraft and divining practices) Consequently, it is sure that the family, in seeking healing for their mother, engages in evil rituals to bring her healing. While I have been aware of this going on for some sime, I still feel so new to this realm of ministry and ask for your prayers for wisdom as we continue to minister in this community.
This week we are now beginning will be packed as well. The group of workers will come down from Bulembu tomorrow and Wednesday to put in the steel frame for the orphanage finally. Then Thursday we will head to South Africa for another check up for Nondumiso, and to pick up Mary's family on Saturday. Hope to update you more soon. Much love, Themba (Claud)
PS- I got the quotation to activate a water source at two of the care points yesterday(Tembeni and Beveni), after sitting through a three hour meeting, and will be activating them within the next week. There was also another water source opened at another care point(Thulwane) this past week! A huge praise to have good clean water for the kids to drink and to cook with at these locations!
We are down in J-Bay now with our team for a week long conference. The weather here has been gorgeous and you would not believe even if I told you how amazing the beach is here. Tonight is our final night here at the conference and then we are off tomorrow to begin the long journey back to Swaziland. It has been such a rich time of rest and growth for us. We are especially enjoying teaching from our dear friend, Ben Messner, and also teaching from Floyd McClung. Floyd was previously YWAM's international Director for many years and served with his family in both Afghanistan and in the Red Light district of Amsterdam. Floyd is now the founder of a ministry called "All Nations", which is in the process of relocating to Cape Town, South Africa. We have quickly become wonderful friends with Floyd and his wife, and hope to begin making some regular trips to see them once they move to Cape Town later this year.
On another note, Busisiwe arrived back in Swaziland just last week and is healing wonderfully from her surgery. She is still receiving daily dressing changes for another couple of weeks, but all her wounds are closing very well, and she is already standing more erect that ever. Just last week I was able to contact a friend who we stayed with during our initial time here in Swaziland, and he is going to be able to help us get Busi in for this school year to a great, English-medium school in Manzini. This is a huge praise, as the school year started already back in January and it is rare to be able to get kids started this late. My greatest request now for Busi is that she is able to make up the work that she missed in the beginning of the year and that she finds her place among a class that has already been together for some time. Another praise is due for we have found a school-van driver who can pick Busi up from the rural area and take her to and from school in the city for just under 50$ a month.
As for long term plans, for now Busi will continue to live with our dear friend Gcebile (English name: Cynthia) and her family while she attends school, and as we are building our home. Mary and I will remain her legal parents and be able to get great time with her every week at their home. It is a funny scenario because by America's common standards of "family" is normal to be together under the same roof, and yet we are doing something totally different. However, according to Swazi culture it is perfectly common for a child to live with aunties and uncles in a different area for the purpose of schooling, better care, or a host of other reasons. So in a way, Cynthia and her family have become like aunties and cousins to Busisiwe, which she loves deeply. I sat down with Busi to talk and she still knows we are her parents and that we are committing to taking care of her regardless of where she stays. She also knows that if at any point she decides she wants to come live with us, that there will always be room for her in the new house, and she is beyond welcomed! This is going to be another sweet way of allowing time for us to continue to learn Siswati and for Busi to learn English. (Humorously, I think Busi is learning English far faster than I am learning Siswati, as she said "bye bye daddy, see you next week", with a huge smile on her face as I left for South Africa.)
Another thing I shared with Gcebile was that in so doing things this way with Busi, we really see Gcebile and her family as becoming part of our extended family as well. So, something we will be seeking to do is to begin to help them develop their home more and complete some of the unfinished rooms they have started. This will allow more room for Busi and the other 3 children living there. I am also hoping to play some sort of fathering/mentoring role with the other three kids as I visit frequently, in the absence of a father figure in their lives. It is such a sweet family and we are so excited about becoming one big family.
Lastly, due to intense rain, the process was slowed down in laying the foundation for our home. Therefore, we have been postponed until the upcoming Tuesday to begin digging the foundation and assembling the steel frame and roofing. I hope to get pictures on the site soon from that as we break ground this coming week!
P.S…
If you want to check out Floyd's ministry, All Nations, you can go to: www.allnations.us
Another huge praise I want to make mention of is the nearly 10,000$ raised through AIM for orphan schools fees for this year! What a joy it will be next week for all of those kids to get started on their schooling!
Also posted some pictures of our family on the site, so if you haven't seen them go and check them out. (You just might find out what I would look like with a shaved head)
Goodmorning,
We just returned from two days up in the northern region of Swaziland. Our team stayed in an abandoned mining city called Bulembu, that is in the progress of being tranformed into a city for the glory of God. Of that many things going on there, we worked with some friends who run a home for abandoned babies. They are currently overrun with kids, having 28 in the home currently, and are forced to turn down many others needing a safe refuge to stay.
Again, the overwhelming feeling from our time there is the deep need for care and a safe place to live for the abandoned orphans in the country. On an exciting note, while there we connected with a dear friend who builds steel frames for churches, and he has agreed to sell us one of those 11 by 20 meter structures at cost for our home/orphanage. His team of workers will be coming to our community in the latter half of this week to put up the structure. Following the week, we will then have to lay the foundation and block it in, in order to begin laying out the rooms inside. What wonderful provision from the Lord!
So the remainder of this week will involve clearing thorn bushes off of our land and preparing to put up the structure Thursday and Friday. Later in the weekend we will leave for a long drive to the southern tip of South Africa for a scheduled conference in Jeffry's Bay. More to come soon. Unending love, Themba (claud)
2/24/2006
Hello everyone. We are in the midst of an incredibly busy week, and so many great things to testify to. We just got back from a half a week in Preoria South Africa, to check on Busisiwe's progress after her surgery. We were so blessed to find her happy and running around outside on the property where she is staying. The skin that was grafted is adhereing very well to her open wound areas, and the release of the contractures was incredibly successful. She is already standing more erect than I have ever seen, and there is nothing inhibiting a full recovery to perfect posture except the mental block of being bent over for 14 months. What a huge praise!
On another note, we have had some intense meetings here this week with some co-workers, Ben and Janeen, from the states, and are making major progress in the planning for future orphan projects here in our commmunity. I will be updating you soon in the future about plans as they unfold. We have thoroughly enjoyed having Ben and Janeen here and it has been sweet to share with them all the Lord is doing here. It has also been so neat for them as they originally initiated all of AIM's work here and established some of the rich relationships we now enjoy with Swazi's.
On a tougher note, this week I, along with some co-workers, visited a couple of care points within the community and we were heart-broken as we met with the children there. There we found many children sick with stomach issues laying lifeless on the floor of a cement structure, as flys flew in and out of their mouths and eyes. One of the little ones was a girl, 2 years old, who was unable to walk due to a number of reasons and severe malnourishment. We later found out part of her malnourishment was most likely due to that fact that she was actually fed large quantities of alcohol by a distant relative during early developmental stages of her life. After praying intensely with them we did some teaching on sanitary cooking and hand washing to help prevent stomach sickness, as well as administered vitamins and clean water to the ones who were sick. I could go into much deeper and more graphic descriptions of what we encountered, but in reality it is all suffice to say that there is a new level of brokenness in my heart for the children here. Subsequently, it has only increased my deep desire to begin caring for the neediest kids in our area. Please continue to pray for us and the completion of our home, as we begin to build next week and try to assess which children are most in need of a place to stay. We are targeting to complete the house by the middle of May Lord willing, and still needing roughly 20,000$.
Lastly, on a rich and celebratory note, we have received 10,000 dollars torwards the orphan school fees for this year already. We are only about 3,000 dollars short of our goal, which will provide schooling for a vast number of orphans this school year. That will allow us the interum time to hopefully and prayerfully have the first free school opened in january of 2007. Pray and dream with us for this goal to be met, and for the construction of a school during this calendar year! Most importantly pray for great teachers!
There is so much to say and so little time. Continue to pray for Nondumiso as she still has the rash for the sixth consecutive week now. The latest and best assessment is that it is scabies, and so we have moved into aggressive attempts to kill off the bugs if that is indeed what it is. Also pray for me as I continue to dive head first into deeper linguistic study. Well, I am off to dinner and then preaching at an all night funeral and vigil tonight so I must run. Love you all, Themba (Claud)
It has been a busy week. Our team worked all day Saturday clearing brush and thorn bushes on the new property to prepare the land for construction of our house. The fence is nearly completed, only having left to put on the gates. We, along with the community members will start making cement blocks at the local river this week, and digging of the foundation will happen next week sometime.
I got word from South Africa yesterday that everything is going extremely well following Busisiwe's surgery and she is healing rapidly. We hope to see her discharged from the hospital by the end of this week.
We also got some joyful news earlier last week, following some blood tests, that Nondumiso is in fact HIV negative! She is continuing to grow so fast, as most do, and is talking up a storm now. I am not sure if it is siSwati or English yet, but I am sure there will be a good mix of both.
Today I am off to host a pastors' conference, open to all pastor's from our community. This is the 6th consecutive, monthly, pastor's conference we have hosted with Pastor Malaza, and they continue to be a great success. We are hoping for an increased turn out today, as we met many more pastors at a gathering for prayer and fasting and the chief's homestead last weekend.
Tomorrow we along with the team will be trained in caring for HIV and Aids patients by a dear friend who is a registered nurse. Following that training we will head out with our team to Pretoria, SA for a couple of days of solitude. While in SA the team will also get trained in maintaining African vehicles in the bush.
