Transition

World in View is building the kingdom in the USA as well as in Africa. Since it was founded in 2007, I have seen the Lord use WIV to help individuals discover and pursue what the Lord has for them. Without a doubt, Jeff and Rebecca Neal have played this role in my life.

It feels like I have always wanted to work with people with HIV, but I could not articulate exactly why for several years. While studying Luke 4 it became clear to me that Jesus came to set free and to heal the most vulnerable in society. That was it! Finally I understood that the Lord was giving me a small piece of His heart. A heart to ensure that those who are most vulnerable in Africa know by our actions that they are loved and not forgotten.

"God sees you. You are not forgotten. You are not alone." became my montra while in Africa. This core message was conveyed through every task and assignment I was given. I longed for people to know that they were not alone. The Lord has not abandoned them. And we have come to stand with them as they see their dreams realized for their community to LIVE. Being a part of WIV made it possible for me to fulfill the Lord’s calling in this season. WIV held me close while pushing me closer to Jesus, to trust Him more for my every need.

As I see WIV develop, I can see their impact on so many people through their annual short term field service opportunities in Africa and relationships at home.

In 2009 WIV plans to take several more small teams to Mozambique and to South Africa. WIV is a part of an amazing move that the Lord is doing across Africa.

The heart of our Father breaks for those who are suffering. He longs to go to them- using your feet and touch them- using your hands.

He places dreams and longings in your heart so that He can express His love and His grace through you in a most unique way. I challenge you not to allow your dreams to remain dreams. May you be found faithful with the dreams that you have been given, allowing your dreams to become reality! As you do, I can imagine that the reality of the Lord's love will be made clear to many or perhaps to just one.

As we express the reality of God's love on the earth, the kingdom of God is built on earth as it is in heaven! I hope that we all spend our lifetime discovering what it means to build the kingdom of Heaven together.

For me, “building the Kingdom together” means that we work together to help people to LIVE the abundant life that God intended them to live. LIVE a life of freedom, a life that serves and honors God. And as we LIVE a life in love with our God, He fills us with compassion for our neighbor. This is referred to as "righteousness and justice" in the scripture.

World in View has helped me, as they have helped many others, to discover what it looks like for me to live out Amos 5:24

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to work with WIV.

As my 18 month commitment has come to an end, this season of formally working with World in View has come to and end. This transition will not affect my support of World in View in their efforts to care for orphaned and vulnerable children in Southern Africa.

You can continue to follow my blog at livinghope.squarespace.com for more stories from Africa and updates on my future plans.

My email address will also be changing to jeanaimee@gmail.com

Thank you! Much love to especially Jeff and Rebecca. It has been a joy to build the kingdom with you. I could never express how much I have learned from you and how thankful I am for all that you have done for me.

Just thoughts

I am home! and it is good. Almost 100% of my time has been spent with my family. Oh so important. The time that I have spent with a few friends has been sweet.

Tomorrow (well really today) I will be coming back home to Hillcrest. It will be WONDERFUL to see everyone again and begin to reconnect.

I feel like I will not be talking much. This is not because I do not want to talk, but because i would like to talk TOO MUCH! Better that i have some time alone to process before I start talking a lot so that I say will actually make sense. Know what I mean? If you have ever had a long conversation with me, I am sure that you do. :)

Oh, so good to be home.

Many more thoughts to come. Sorry for being absent for so long.

much love. Hope to see you soon. jag

diamonds for a goat

"... then a guy came and told everyone that they should stop selling their bags of diamonds for a goat!"

Andrew is a new friend of mine from Zim. Emily had told me that what is pictured in Blood Diamond is real and it is happening in Zim today. On the way to my HBC training in Bushbuckridge, Andrew echoed Emily's stories.

Andrew spent a year collecting diamonds near Mutare, the city in Zim that I used to visit last year once a month. His nephew found one stone that he sold for 50,000USD!

When it all started, just 2 years ago, he said that is so easy to find the diamonds, people just fill the plastic bags that "jelo" (Popsicles) are sold in and would trade it with ... whatever. They had no idea the value at that time! Now the government has caught on and corruption has set in.

Now, the police heavily control the area and shoot anyone found trying to get diamonds. Some say it is worth the risk. If you get the "right" cop, he will take his cut and let you go. Then there are buyers who come stay around the borders, ready to take full advantage.

My heart sinks. So many resources. So vulnerable.

Reflecting

“not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing, not how much we give, but how much love you put in the giving.” Mother Teresa.

A dear friend, Emily, shared this quote with me this morning. It seems to put everything into perspective. As I am thinking of returning home in a few weeks, I look back at the past year. What value have I added? I realize that it is not about what I have done but how much love I have put into what I have done.

At one time I was really struggling with this. The Lord told me to meditate on 2 Corinthians 13 everyday. The Lord wanted to remind me daily. While I may have good intentions and the things that I am doing are good, if I am not showing love in everything it is like a loud gong, rubbish.

Perspective is everything.

To all who have invested in this time, how can I best communicate the fruit of your investment? This rolls over in my mind again and again. Is it in a report with a list of activities? While this is important, I do not think that it will communicate how I have changed. How the Lord has touched others through me. Stories. I can tell stories. Man! Can I tell stories!

My hope is that you will smile when you hear that when I come home I just want to listen. I desperately want to hear your stories. I would like to share with you too. Show you pictures and share the amazing ways that I see the Lord moving in Africa. It is like I am coming home after a long day at work on the phone. Have you ever come home after a long day and you just want to listen to your loved ones talk? Just to hear their voice again. Just to see and experience life with the ones you have missed, the ones you love so much.

This is my heart right now. I just want to come home, sit on your couch and listen. Then we can share together. I am sure that we both have stories of the amazing things that the Lord is doing. So glad to be a part of your life.

See you in the morning.

How we move

When I was last in Mozambique, I began to think of a phrase that defines what the Lord is talking to me about these days, "this is how we move."

Carlos is a man who does not come out of his "prayer closet" until He gets a word from the Lord. Once that "word" comes, there is nothing that will change his direction, apart from another "word."

Some time ago the Lord spoke to him that there will be 5 community based organizations running home based care in Mozambique.

Carlos is like a steam engine. The Lord has spoken and nothing is going to stop him.

This is how we move.

The situation in Mozambique right now is very bleak. We have now entered "hungry season." Can you imagine? Hungry season. In the West we speak of holiday season, football season... but hunger season? shoh.

Mid-October marked the beginning of rainy season. The communities have prepared their fields. Now we wait. The harvest will be ready late Feb or early March. Typically people begin to run out of food by the beginning of January, making the first two months of the year difficult.

This year there was a fire that wiped out 700 homes, 400 grain reservoirs and leaving 10 people dead, all within one hour. With the dramatic inflation on food and many food reserves burned to the ground, we have entered hungry season even sooner than usual. The prediction is that this hungry season will be the worst that we have seen in a long time.

This does not discourage Carlos. It does not slow him down. The Lord has spoke. We are together. The Lord is with us.

This is how we move.

Currently our biggest need apart from food in Mozambique is a bore hole. A church gave money for a bore hole to be placed in Gondola, but it has not been placed yet. TIA.

We have a donor who would like to work with the Rotary club in Canada to fund a project with us. In order for this to happen, we need to have relationship with the Rotary club with the local Rotary club in Chimoio. We got the number and asked to come to their Thursday night meeting.

That Thursday Carlos was at the Rubatano Center for another meeting. A car full of visitors drove up in a "heavy" truck. About 6 foreign visitors piled out. Their visit was a total of 20 minutes. In that period, they explained that they just came for a quick visit. They had heard of Rubatano as it has been nationally recognized as best practice in Mozambique.

One visitor asked Carlos how many children meet at the center. 450+. "Is there enough water?" No, but we have a church who as promised money for a bore hole. The visitor made a call and they were off, back to Maputo. "who was that masked man??"

That night at the Rotary meeting, after we introduced Rubatano, a member casually asked us "did you have a visitor on your property asking you about a bore hole today?" yes. "I am the one that he called."

shoh. This is how we move.

The Rotary member met us at the Center 2 days later. He was stunned. Even though Rubatano "needs," they are not stopping. He was encouraged. To this point we are not sure what will come of this meeting. One thing is for sure. The Lord is busy with this man. The Lord is busy building His kingdom.

Whether or not the Rotary will place a bore hole- this is how we move. We/ Carlos will not stop.

Dara and Laura came to Africa planning to be nurses in Moz. They prepared to be nurses in SA for 3 months, then when they arived in Moz they continued to prepare to be nurses. It is now 6 months later and still no license. TIA.

When I was there I had a picture of them offering their lives as a living sacrifice to the Lord. They have spent the past 4 months writing proposals and budgets. Oh, their heart and their attitude is amazing. They are willing to do anything to be a part of what the Lord is doing.

This is how we move.

Now I think about my life. big sigh! I am coming home in less than 6 weeks now. Carlos speaks about Love in Action. To this point the word "hope" has carried me through much. Most people know how much this word means to me. "Hope" is no less important. Now I feel that I must grow up! It is not just about hope, but action. Sure, you must have faith and believe, but what are you doing with that faith?

shoh!
This is how we move.

living truth

So a film crew came to document what Rubatano is doing in Moz last July. The program aired today on direct TV in the states.

We are praying earnestly that the program will stir up much support and interest in what is happening on this side. Please be in prayer with us. This is a very improtant time for our work here.

The program might be available to download from the internet www.livingtruth.ca I hope to have a copy of the program when I return home. It will be good to watch it together. Hear it was very well done.

the team

Four friends from the US came to visit. It was wonderful! Jeff Neal, Audrea Lemons, Josh Hendon and Charlie Wheland. I met them in South Africa then we traveled together to Moz. They were here from Oct 7-16. I will return on the 21st to SA. The next time I am in the Joburg airport will be headed for the US. crazy.

It was wonderful to have the team here. To watch them love Africa as I do. Love the kids. Love the volunteers and Carlos. The Lord is present in this place.

Thank you for your prayers and support that carried their time here. I hope you hear many stories and see even more pictures when they return home to Dallas and New Haven.

Thank you for coming. It ment the world to me and to Carlos. Much love to you.

The Call

This week I met with George and Lynn to discuss the next steps to work with Pastor Roy Nazumbe in Malawi. We each agreed that he is a man to link arms with in his work in Mngwere.

The next step is a phone call from George to discuss the way forward. Dedza is on the border between Moz and Malwi, just about 5 hours from Carlos and Rubatano. I will be visiting Carlos with my team on Tuesday for about 2 weeks. It would be good if he could hear from Carlos and see Rubatano while I am there. We tried to call at our scheduled time, but unfortunately the connection did not go through. George agreed to try again soon.

Later that day (last Thursday), I thought about Pastor Nazumbe. He has been waiting for this communication for a month. Now we scheduled a call and it did not come. He does not get phone reception at this house, so if he is waiting on this call, I am sure he is trying to stay in a place where the call could come in. Thankfully the call went through later in the afternoon. We had a wonderful conversation.

He IS still interested in working with Hands, though is not able to come to Moz when I am there. No problem. He can come anytime it is convenient for both he and Carlos. As we talked through some preliminary steps, Pastor indicated that he is 100% invested in this. He has counted the cost and is willing to make the necessary sacrifices to make his community's outreach to the orphans, widows and the sick a success.

I am coming home in 11 weeks. Daily we process time spent here and what it will be like at home. (many of us leave in December.) I am here to lock arms with those who have a passion to live out God's call to "love your neighbor" and "let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Amos 5:24

Man, this call. To lock arms with Pastor Nazumbe. This is why I am here. To make the call to let him know that we (someone) wants to lock arms with him and see the life, physical and spiritual, that he longs to see in his community come about. Wow. Kingdom life. This is it.

Change

Only someone who has dedicated a block of time towards researching materials to write a manual will get so excited about a powerpoint presentation that they will cut and paste a slide onto their blog! Shoo! (tried to upload, but would not. user error, internet connection, bad format. oh well. )

Today I am making some good progress on the HAW HBC manual. There is a ton of pressure to get the first draft out as there are many projects who are waiting to be trained. Our team that does pastor's trainings have done a phenomenal job stirring up the church to the point of action. Now they are ready to take action! They have selected their volunteers and are anxiously awaiting training. My training.

It is good. Much has already been written by George and others that is excellent. All I need to do now is put it together into training programs. Sounds easy enough, right?

When I was going through a training program on clean water that our church partner in Canada gave to me, I found a slide addressing how people respond to change. I realize how much this slide has affected my thinking, so I wanted to share it with you.

The moral of the slide is that it is step 5 of 7 when someone comes to the point where they recognize that there is a problem and is willing to look at possible solutions.

I see this played out in my own life a ton! If I do not need a possible solution to a problem it is hard not to be in denial that there is a problem at all.

On the other side of that, this is the reason for our pastor's trainings. We all know that there is poverty and need, but it is not until we come together that we are able to see that there is something we can do. Until then, nothing is being done.

Reminds me of when Levi was speaking to the pastors in Dedza, Malawi. One of the men said that we opened their eyes to the problem and they now realize that even if it is bringing firewood to a widow, there is something that they could do. Now they have known that there was a problem. What has changed is not they have come together to make a plan on how they can address the problems.

hum. interesting. Hope it is for you too. :)

(sorry, no slide)

Letter of Thanks

After Levy and I visited Pastor Roy in Malawi, Levy headed home to SA and I went to Zambia. Laura Eliason met me in Zambia so that we could facilitate a nurse training together.

There is a project called the Go Center that does mobile clinics in many areas. They partner with Hands at Work by providing a mobile clinic once a month in several of the areas that we have HBC projects. It works well for the volunteers to refer their patients to the clinic. The mobile clinic also uses the Hands at Work nurses to staff the clinics.

They asked us to provide training for their nurses. This was a wonderful opportunity for us since their nurses are also our nurses.

We provided training on HIV and recognizing and treating childhood illnesses. It has been documented that most children that come to a community clinic are complaining of a respiratory infection, diarrhea, maleria, malnutrition or an ear infection. These illnesses have also been identified by the WHO as the leading causes of death in children under five. We facilitated discussions to help them get used to using the WHO tool called the IMCI (Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses).

I would like to share with you the speech that the participants gave at the certificate ceremony following the course.

"On behalf of my fellow nurses and on my own behalf I would like to thank Jean Aimee and Laura, and Chreso management for granting us this opportunity of attending this seminar which was very educative indeed.

We learned a lot, revised a lot and shared a lot of experiences.

We really needed this seminar for revision, for learning new things, and for motivation.

You made it easy for us to learn from you because you were really simple, cheerful and very friendly.

There was no time at all when we found lessons boring.

We were always filled with laughter and eagerness to learn more.

We have discovered a lot of issues that we needed in the mobile clinics. - You helped us to discover them.

We have gained a lot of knowledge from you. – We hope you have learned a bit from us too.

We have nothing to thank you with apart from these small tokens to remember us by.

We will always remember this seminar.- We will always remember your goodness.

May the Good Lord go with you, guide you, and see you through all your endeavors.

Thank you.

Be still and know.

Two phrases resonate in my spirit, “be still and know,” and “it is well with my soul.”

Laura and I have been in Zambia providing training to nurses that work in primary healthcare mobile clinics. Two months ago I felt intimidated by this charge. What value can I add?

The details for this training were not set until I arrived. I had a vague idea what they wanted to be taught, but it was not fixed. With more questions than answers, I was at complete peace.

The training has gone well. We have had some discussions that the nurses report “have really gotten our minds going.” Wonderful.

Laura is living and working in Moz with Rubatano, where I lived last year. She got an SMS last week. “Fires have burned down patients and orphans houses. Few dead. (two volunteers) independently wished that Jesus would come soon."

Laura and I prayed for the project, the families affected by the fires and our friends working there. I played a song called “Held” by Natalie Grant. “Surely we can wait for just one hour, watching for our Savior.”

This song speaks such truth to me. While we were both deeply grieved with the news of the fires, “what else do these families and children have left to loose, to endure?” Then we step back and watch as the body of Christ move. We have one team coming from the states in one week and another in about 3 weeks.

Exodus 2-4 is loud in my ears. The Lord has seen the suffering. He has heard the cry of His people, and he is responding by sending these 2 teams to be a part of helping these families.

What if these teams were not coming? What if they each thought,” I would like to go to Africa one day. Maybe one day. “ The Lord would find another way to touch the families and children in Africa, but the members of these teams and their support teams who are at home praying would miss it. They would miss the opportunity to be a part of what the Lord is doing… to Love, to Touch and to Hold.

humbled

Humbled. This is the only word I can think of as I process our time in Mngwere.

Levy and I traveled to Mngwere to meet Pastor Roy Nazumbe, a pastor and teacher.

Pastor challenged me. Do I REALLY believe God can change culture. He does. The more I got to know him, the more I saw in myself where I have stopped believing without realizing it.

Mngwere is a village 10km from the town of Dedza. It is not a big town, but it has a district hospital. There is a College of Forestry down the road, a secondary school where the current president of Malawi attended, a saw mill... There are resources around the village, but they have not penetrated into the village.

When we met with the District Commissioner, he laughed when we told him where we were interested in working. No one goes there, he said. People have tried to establish help, but have not been successful... due to culture.

Culture. How is culture keeping so many children from going to school, even though it is free? How is culture preventing help from coming to the many orphans and widows in the area?

The Little by little the truth came out about "the dance." Levy asked on day one if the cultural dance is practice in Mngwere. Pastor said that this dance is why he is there. He would like to be a part of changing how damaging it is to the life of the village.

"Gule Wamkulu" translates into "big traditional dance." When men, even boys as young as 7 put the mask on, you are not to call them by name. He is to be known only as the animal that he is representing. You are not to question him on his whereabouts. I think that it will take more than a few visits to the village for me to really understand the impact of this dance on the culture.

Pastor said that he has already seen change, though it is slow. Levy talked about community schools. If we do not help these children go to school, the cycle of despair will continue. Pastor agreed with his whole heart, adding that he has seen another community be transformed when they opened a community school.

Pastor Roy Nazumbe is an agent of change. He sees what needs to happen and he is committed, regardless low long it takes and how hard it is on him. Even though he has lived in the village for most of his adult life, because he was not born there, he is considered an outsider. He has gathered 10 churches together to reach out to the orphans, widows and elderly in their community. His role on this committee is not chairman, but coordinator. A humble man. I was humbled and highly honored to stay in his home.

Please pray for Pastor Roy Nazumbe and his village Mngwere. The Lord is doing something significant in that place. Levy and I went because the Lord said- go here now. The Lord heard the cry of his children in Mngwere and He responded. How humbled I am to be a part.

Even if...

Even if there is a clinic... many people do not have transport to get there.
Even if a mother finds out she is pregnant and is HIV positive... the hospital may be out of medication
Even if the doctor orders a CD4 count and HGB (to test for anemia)... the hospital is likely out of reagent.

Treating HIV in a resource poor setting has many challenges. As I learn about the complex issues I see over and over the need for Home Based Care. The medical facilities desperately need support to assure that the patients take meds and follow-up as they should. The staff is overwhelmed with the numbers of people, they are not able to council each person, to help each person understand what they can do to take care of themselves.

When I look at the hospital system my ray of hope is HBC and knowing that we are investing knowledge at the community level. HBC... oh so good.

"Jean Aimee come?"

Laura and Dara are two Hands volunteers who are working in Moz at Rubatano. Recently sent an email to let me know that Dorcas is asking for me to come visit.

"Hi Jean Aimee,
How are you? I was just up with Dorcus and the kids and Dorcus asked “where’s Jean Aimee? Jean Aimee come? Come?” I said “yes, she will come…I don’t know when but she will come.” You are missed here!"

Wow. I love those kids! It has now been a year since we asked their family if we could take them to Maforga. Fun that they are starting to learn English! I cannot wait to Augusto and his sister Dorcas in October!

What lies ahead

Refreshed! That is how I feel after our last week in the Cape. It is good to have a renewed perspective.

So, to recap. The last 3 weeks of July was spent de-worming. Then, off to the cape! We got back on Wednesday. Now that the computer is squared away, I am ready for the next trip.

Sunday I will leave for Malawi and Zambia for 5 weeks.

First stop- HIV treatment and palliative care training for 2 weeks in Malawi.
This is a very exciting opportunity that came up last year. My prayer for this time is that I will be able to bring back something that will be applicable and helpful in our HBC setting.

Then, the 3rd week, Levi is going to meet me in the capitol city to travel to a potential new project. One of our partners has gone before us and helped the community to identify a champion. We will meet with him, the local pastors and other community leaders to hear their heart. What are their dreams for their community? Our aim? To encourage and build into them. We will speak to them about who Hands is and come back to discuss the way forward with the Hands team in SA.

The project is located on the border between Malawi and Moz, straight north of Rubatano and Carlos. The idea is that he will be able to help this community start a HBC project.

I cannot tell you how exciting this is!

The second objective is to report the steps of how we went into the community, so that it can be duplicated in other communities that we are seeking to enter.

Levi will go home after our week and I will proceed to Zambia. Laura, a Canadian nurse currently working with Carlos, is meeting me to do a training for the nurses of a mobile care clinic. Exactly what we are going to train on is TBA. After all, this is Africa. If everything was planned to a "T", well... I think that I would go nuts when it does not follow the plan. Not really. We are still waiting to hear what topics they would like for us to provide training on.

The mobile clinics are staffed by nurses who also staff our Hands HBC projects in the area, so by providing this training it will in turn help the quality of the care with our HBC projects. Very nice.

Ok, I am getting too exciting and chatty now. Please pray as I prepare for this long journey. AND when you think of it, you might even give me a call on Skype!

Much love.
jag

fatal error

There is nothing like the sinking feeling in your stomach when your computer suddenly goes to a fuzzy DOS screen then powers down. It is times like these when there is much security knowing that everything is backed up!

When I came home from Cape Town, I told Jon, a fellow volunteer and a BRILLIANT computer guy, of my perrals. He spent hours that night only to discover that my Outlook was corrupted. Then he spent most of the next day ensuring that I had a solid back up to the computer and reformatting the hard drive. When friends give gifts like these it is humbling. I am thankful for the community that we have at Hands.

After MANY hours of patience on Jon's part, my computer is humming along, ready for our next trip!

every detail

For the last 7 days I have been in the Western Cape, SA on one of the best vacations I could ever imagine! Heather, a volunteer with Hands from Canada, and I left J'burg with a flight ticket and accommodation with a friend. We were both so busy before we left we literally did not have time to plan the details of our trip. Everything could not have been more perfect, from the moment we stepped of the plane and hopped onto my laptop to search the internet for car rentals!

We visited wineries, stayed with lovely friends, walked with penguins and climbed Table Mountain. Last night we stayed at a B&B with a view of the Atlantic. Breathtaking! After spending some time on the beach with the penguins, we drove down to the Cape of Good Hope, the southwestern most tip of Africa. "This is a holy moment" sung in my heart. Moments like these still my heart.

I continue to be Flickr challenged and my computer is sick, but will try to post some pics. Would love for you to see some of these sights! What you will not see is... the opera guy who sung to us on the Riverfront, the penguin who almost got my nose and the baboon who chased me until I through my mint choco ice cream cone down for her. Very fun!

I asked the Father when we were hiking up Table Mt to talk to me about his character. He said "I will take care of every detail."

Today we smile. hakuna matata! My new mantra!

Grace

I have learned much about grace over the past few weeks, mostly because I have required so much of it. Thank you to my dear friends for loving me through my stress. Thank you to the UK team for making what must have felt like millions of PB sandwiches and being willing to be stretched while entertaining the children. You did a great job talking about HIV and worms. Thank you to Carolyn and Vivian for helping the logistics come together.

Last Wednesday in small group I listened as Marc M talked about grace. I realized in that moment I have been very weak in the area of giving grace, while I have been receiving a huge amount of grace. This was a most humbling realization.

I have spent a lot of time meditating on grace. When we are young, we see the world in black and white. As we get older, our world perspective changes. When people let us down, we are able to not react, but address the issue. Wow. Lord, I hope that one day I grow up to the point when this can be said of me.

PB flowing!

Imagine a 20kg bucket of PB... I couldn't either before de-worming started. Now imagine the same bucket tipped over in the backseat of my 323 Mazda. Ugh. Wish I had to use my imagination for this one. I just had to laugh when I found that the bucket had tipped over, causing the PB to flow freely across my backseat. I am afraid the aroma of PB will be with me for a while. :)

At the end of the day

The day started at 6. I needed to stop by ASM to gather the supplies for the day. Thank goodness the UK team made my PB sandwiches last night. Ok, so I have 100+ sandwiches, de-worming pillies, books to record names, buckets, cups, juice squash and oranges.

On the way, I picked up Ezekiel and Victoria on the tar road and we were off! It was nice to hear Ezekiel’s story of growing up in Bushbuck Ridge and Victoria’s of growing up in Masoyi during our 2 hour trek. Ezekiel called ahead to be sure that Nicolas knew that we will need at least 2 buckets of water when we get there at 9 since it might take them a couple of hours to get it from the community pump.
Bushbuck Ridge was identified by the South African government as one of the most venerable areas in SA so it has become a focus for future Hand’s projects. Fickson, Ezekiel and Marc Damour are dedicated to raise awareness among the pastors and train the community regarding responding to the needs of the orphans and the dying.
Fickson told us that the community prepared a program for us, but we had no idea of the treat that was in store! When we arrived, Nicholas gathered the children to sing songs and play games with us. Soon a wheel barrel rolled up with a sound system. I could not figure out how it was powered until I saw the wires leading to a car battery.

Victoria asked me “Shouldn’t we sing a song and pray to begin our program?” “No, they are not a part of our program, we are a part of theirs.”
Two young girls had on shirts over their pants. Ezekiel explained they are traditional Shongoni skirts. We all gathered around as the girls began to dance. Before it was over, several children had traded the skirts from one person to the next, not excluding boys, ladies, Ezeliel and Victoria. Everyone was rolling when I gave it a whirl. Must have been quite a sight!

Nicosa had a special dance prepared. She began with a sheet wrapped around her and shakers around her ankles. The shakers were made from the plastic from milk cartons sown together in little triangles and filled with little rocks. Before long, she took the sheet off exposing her costume. There could not have been a worse moment for my camera batteries die!

After the dancing was over, Nicolas organized the group for the drama. 7 orphans began to sing a song about HIV. The message was “your mother is still your mother, even if she has HIV. She needs your support.” The song went on to include a similar verse for your father, sister, brother and friend. Then they preformed drama with a powerful message… in English! I usually prefer to hear people sing and speak in their own language. How special in this most remote village the children worked so hard to prepare something for us! Song, dance, drama. Beautiful. The community of Welverdeind was not interested in what we could come there to provide for them. They wanted us to experience their life and culture. We were a part of their program. They were not a part of ours.

What to say after that? I thanked the crowd which was now about 200 for the program. For the last 3 weeks I have been going to different communities to distribute de-worming tablets and saying a 10-15 minute spill on HIV. They have far outdone anything that I could have ever done! No amount of education that I could ever do can have the impact of awareness that they provide to themselves.
Each time I go to a community, we always have a brief talk about the medication. It is important to me that the caregivers and the children understand what the medication is for. The diversity of the crowd provided an excellent opportunity for me to ask them some questions that have recently come up regarding de-worming. I am told that the Department of Health is reluctant to allow us to do campaigns like this one because they believe that the communities do not trust medication brought in from outside. Also, Ezekiel told me that even though it is said that clinics provide meds to children 0-5, they often do not have the medication. What do you think? Is this true?

The leader of the UK team asked me if I ever have “pinch me” moments, moments when I can hardly believe that I am in Africa. This was one of those moments. To hear and begin to understand the issues of the community from the children, mothers, grandmothers, fathers and even old men! I could not believe the conversation that we had! It could have only happened in this setting.

We decided to provide the medication to everyone 3 and up, including adults. In every other community I only provided medication for ages 6-18. Nicolas had told us to prepare for 70 people, by the end of the meeting he said 80, in reality we handed out 210 pillies! This is not something that we can do for every community, but it was needed in this place. No one seemed to mind that we ran out of oranges and had to start tearing the sandwiches in half.

What a day. Pinch me.

We dropped Ezekiel off so he could stay the night in Bushbuck and speak at a church today. I am so glad that I had this time alone with Victoria. Our time was sweet. She said that she has learned a lot from me. She said that I do not push my own way, but am constantly asking for the input of others regardless of how much money they have. She said that she has felt valued. Wow.

In the process of putting together this de-worming program, I looked for the most efficacious medication at the lowest cost. We found that the least expensive medication was not the best for the children.

As I reflect on our whole de-worming project, I think of that word “efficacious.” What is most effective may not be what is least expensive in time, effort or finances.

I can come up with the essential elements of a de-worming program. We have to have pillies, records and food. What makes this program a success is how we do these essential elements. The opinion of the local coordinator and the needs of the particular area must be highly valued and drive how we put in place the essential elements.

This is what Hands is to me. What are few, core essential basics for a program to address the needs of the orphans and the dying and how can we work with a community to see them build an effective structure to address needs? In every one of the communities and countries that we work in, there are those who have a dream to help their community live and not die, spiritually, emotionally and physically. We hear “I want to… but I do not know how.” Our role is to help them to first recognize the tools and resources that they already have. Only then do we provide tools that we have found to be helpful in other communities.

It might be more time effective or more efficient to give them tools and tell them how to use them, for me to walk in to each area and say exactly how we have to do de-worming and do it the same each time. What is most effective for the community is for us to first build relationship with them, help them recognize what they already have then implement tools into their existing structure. This process is not easy and often looks “messy.” In the end, it is relationship that matters.

Victoria and I ended the day by providing a traditional SA braai for the Bible Club Champions that helped me in the first week of de-worming. They researched on their own and prepared a drama on HIV awareness for the kids. We had several long days together. It was nice to share a meal together.

At the end of a long day and a long three weeks of de-worming, I am thankful and I am tired.

Today

Today started with a wonderful discussion. Why did Jesus have to die? Very good.

The guys on the farm went to the 6am mens prayer meeting and I drove the girls down in my car. Since Masoyi moved to K2, we only have one Hands bukkie up here to transport folk. Times like these when it is wonderful to have a car!

I drove the ladies down and we all went to the Monday morning prayer meeting. Worship was wonderful. We have a guy named Ezekiel who loves to sing! He has a great voice and really gets us going. There is nothing like African singing! Our message this morning was about loving one another. Nice. Coming from a newly wed who is reading "the 5 love languages." Good thoughts.

Then 2 guys who did a community stay with orphan headed households shared their experiences. That phrase rolls off the tongue too easy. There is nothing "easy" about orphan headed households. Great to hear about their experience.

Thus started week 3 of de-worming.
1. The manager that I placed my bread order of 25 loaves with forgot to place it. They can deliver the bread, but it will not be sliced. No thank you.
2. Last week I told the project managers that the time for the event needed to be changed. It was scheduled for 12, but the children do not get out of school until 2. the time was not changed and letters went to the schools to dismiss the children early. Sorry, see you at 2.
3. We have 100 tabs left from Saturday. We can get 70 more, but we are expecting 180 kids. this weekend we had 60 more kids than expected.

Shoa! Takin' it all in stride, singing "Father Abraham" all the while. :)

Picked up bread from town. The UK team made the sandwiches and loaded the car. I went to town again to get the meds. They gave me 170 instead of just 70. Great! The manager said that they are crediting back everything that we have paid for and lowering the price. Great!

The project managers came with. That was nice for them to see what we are doing. I told them that this is exactly what it should look like. The UK team played with the kids while I set up and the whole time i was giving meds. Kids only had to stand in line 20 kids at a time. Nice. Thanks guys! 178 got meds and all went very smoothly.

We closed with a chat about the meds that they got. What they are for and to be sure to wash hands to further prevent worms. Then we had a 10-15 min chat about HIV. Everyone was hot and tired, but it went well.

At the end of the event, i got a call saying that the pharmacy has called all over town and there is no more de-worming medication anywhere. We were left with 20 tabs that were being given to kids who could not come. (The 1200 tabs to be picked up on Friday have not come in yet)

Should we cancel? No, not yet. Didn't we have 4 boxes? Where is the other box of meds? :) Somehow it was left in the car with 85 tabs. nice. since we are only expecting 100 kids tomorrow, the show can go on.

But wait... what about Masoyi? They just finished their de-worming program. Wonder if they have any meds? Quick, Unathi, I only have 3 rand of phone time on my phone, do you have any meds left? - Yes, we have 500 tabs. You can pick them up in the morning!

Oh, the Lord is so good.

The UK team came back with reports of having a good time. All went well... in the end.

Tomorrow the bread is being picked up by the project manager and the meds by the UK team while I am at my desk answering the emails that are piling up. delegation/ team work is great!

When I got home we had our Monday night dinner at the farm. We have 12 people living up here now. We had a great time laughing and sharing together. Every bit a family night.

I feel like we are walking down a path that is not complete until our foot actually touches the ground, but we cannot stop moving forward. George says we are building a plane while it is flying. Whatever it is, I am thankful for the Lord for taking care of all the details. AND really thankful that I have a holiday coming up in in Cape Town next week. Whew! I am tired! night.

Dreams

It was a dream that got me here and it was a dream that has kept me here. At the end of the day, it is not a dream that would bring me back. I have believed for a long time that the Lord is doing something in Africa and I want to be a part of it.

All that really matters is, am I honoring the Lord with everything that I am doing?

A dream can drive us, even away from the Lord.

Numbers 6 "May the Lord bless you and keep you." This is important because when the Lord blesses us, often we take possession of that blessing. When we do that it can destroy us. We try to control "it" and "it" becomes the object of our affection, of our thoughts and sometimes our everything.

If there is anything that I am white knuckling, refusing to release even to the Lord, I know that there is a problem. I realized that I knew that what the Lord put in me was from him, so I guarded it with everything. How does this relate to the parable of the talents? hum. Will have to give thought to that.

Right now I have never trusted the Lord more. Have I said that already? I realize that I have not always trusted Him with my dreams to be in Africa. In fear I have made decisions to be sure that "this" would always be possible.

The old saying is true, that you cannot steer a car unless it is moving. The question willing to trust God to steer? Seems silly, I know. Also seems real to me right now.

Zim

Emily is a dear friend from Zim. I have known her since 2005 and work very closely with here at Hands. She trained to be a nurse at ASM and has been working with Hands in Masoyi since 04 or 05 in order to gain the skills and knowledge to start a HBC project in Zim.

She has been ready for "too long." This week George, Lynn, Emily and Carlos will go into Zim to meet with Emily's church to discuss establishing a project there. This has been Emily's dream for as long as I have known her. Her church is already doing HBC to the poorest of the poor in Zim.

PLEASE pray that there would not be any road blocks to formalize our relationship. NOW is the time. Emily was telling me that 5 adult on her family's street in the recent months. Each of them have left children to raise themselves, the oldest being 16 years old.

Malawi

August is going to be a packed month! I will come back with lots of photos to share. After I get back from Cape Town, I will be taking a 2 course on HIV in Malawi. We are interested in starting a new project in Malawi, so while I am there another member of our team, Levi, will be coming to lay a foundation through relationship with me in the new area. I cannot express how exciting this is.

The new area is in a strategic location for our work in Mozambique, so it will be in line with Carlos' long term plans. We have just learned about the community in need. So Levi and I will be meeting with community leaders, pastors and community members to cast vision, define need and dream together about the possibilities.

Amazing.

Please pray for us. In addition to an action plan, we will also documenting each of the steps that we take so that it can be put together with what we are doing in other new areas. We are working very hard this year to document everything from how to start a new project logisticly to how to train new HBC volunteers, run a youth project... This is a very exciting time to be here!

Please pray for us as we go into Malawi. May be not lay down our own plans, but may our anthem be "we make a way for you, oh Lord!"

Desperately seeking... A VACA!

Dear Lord, May I please go to Cape Town in July? This has been my prayer for a few months. Within the past 2-3 weeks, it has all come together for me to go to the Cape with a friend from Canada. Wha Ho! We are both VERY excited. While the de-worming has turned around. It is going well and I am enjoying doing it, I am looking forward to a break!

We will spend 3 days in wine country, then 3 days in Cape town and 1 day traveling around the Cape of Good Hope. This is a very beautiful part of the world. It is amazing that we have this opportunity.

Without a doubt it is an answer to prayer!

De-worming

Recently, a friend asked me what I do on a daily basis. right now, I can summarize what I am doing daily in one word, de-worming. For three weeks in July, I am doing de-worming almost every day from about 1pm to 4pm.

It has been another one of those activities that I was hugely resistant to, but now that I am doing it I love it! The part that I was resistant to was the actually planning. It is no secrete that I am not a good planner. I was happy to be the nurse and give input, but was not excited about being the project manager for all 17 events to service approximately 2,500 children. We had several meeting leading up to July, where we divided up all the responsibilities. When it came down to the day before we were to begin, there were many factors beyond our control, which brought me to be the project manager.

"In my weakness He was made strong." I was stretched beyond what I thought was possible. The result? I trust God more than ever right now. I have see our Hands team pull together to see 1200 children receive medication so far, with a projected within the next week and a half.

Part of our proposal for the funding for this medication states that we will give HIV education at each event. At the first 2 we had a youth group do a wonderful drama. Again, due to factors beyond our control, they cannot go out with us anymore. So, after we hand out the medication, I gather the children to talk about the medicine, prevention of worms and about 15 minutes on HIV. It has been really great!

Another highlight is to see each of the coordinators in their element. I see them in a monthly meeting on our campus, but this is entirely different. As we give each child the medication, if there is one that I am concerned about health wise, then I indicate to the coordinator, and we discuss after the program is complete.

Through this event, we have not only been able to provide de-worming medication to children who would not otherwise have access, but we are also providing health education regarding worms and HIV AND helping the coordinators recognize children in need and make a plan.

Last week a coordinator introduced me to a child headed household. The oldest in the household is 12. She is caring for 2 other siblings. They do not have any food and are in great need. When I return to their area on Monday, I will be able to take a food parcel to the family. I also met a year and a half orphan living with her grandmother. They do not have any food either. The child is showing beginning signs of malnutrition. I can help them this week with food, but after this week? Please pray and trust with me that we will see God's provision for food for these families.

Just past the chicken dust...

What! Oh, it felt good to laugh so hard!

Vusie gave me directions to the next Home Based Care project where I would be doing de-worming. He said "turn left at the robot (traffic light). Pass the school on the right. You will see chicken dust on your right, and someone should be waiting for you there to guide you to the site." CHICKEN DUST! No where else in the world would give you directions based on chicken dust! :)

I was telling this story to my friends over dinner. We were all rolling... except one. "You mean that you have never had chicken dust?" He told us that this is what they call chicken that is being roasted and sold on the side of the road. We did not see a braii (barbecue), but we did literally see a pile of dust with chickens. Ha! We missed that pic, unfortunately.

Community Stay

Most volunteers who come to work with Hands for longer than a month stay in the Masoyi for 2-3 nights. Even my team that came last October stayed in Masoyi for a night or two. Thought I lived in Moz, I did not live directly in the community.

Tonight is my first night to stay in a community. Very exciting! Victoria is the project director for Mbonoswini. It is about 15 minutes away from where I live. She is taking care of 350 orphans and vulnerable children.

Hands focus right now is to plan how to practically and effectively reach 100 000 OVCs by 2010. We have had many conversations with project leaders like Carlos and Victoria and have come up with 3 service areas that we need to focus on: food security, basic health (which includes home safety), and education.

We are working with Victoria on developing these 3 service areas in her community. We felt like it was important for me to stay with them as I was doing the initial training to ensure that we were not simply training them in our (Hand's) plan, but that we are working with Victoria to come up with a plan together.

Please pray that the Lord would direct this time to ensure that it is all that it needs to be. I am releasing all control.

So many friends, so little time

I was only in Moz for 10 short days. The primary purpose of this trip was to help our new volunteers get settled. Dara and Laura are nurses from the US and from Canada. They will be there for 9 months working with Rubatano. Can I say that I am a bit jealous! :) They are both wonderful girls. It is exciting to see the work grow. For the nurses, I still feel like we are standing on the shoulders of the first 2 nurses to work with Carlos, Ginna and Sara. After only a month, Dara and Laura have done so much. I cannot wait to continue to live vicariously through them!

I continue to be amazed by the growth in Rubatano itself. The volunteers were trained by the government. This helped to increase their skill and strengthen their relationship with the hospital and clinics. I am honored to be in relationship with them.

My role in SA with Moz is country rep. That means that if Carlos needs anything from SA or SA needs anything from him, I help to communicate. Since I have been home, I have had 2 one hour conversations with Carlos. I told him how sorry I was that he had to explain everything to me. He said that was fine, as English is his 4th language. If I can understand what he is dreaming and doing, then I can translate that to the rest of the world, he is happy. It is such a joy to work with this man!

Of course I spent as much time as possibly possible with Augusto and Dorcas. I have uploaded some pictures from their birthday party. No one knows exactly when their birthday is. Dorcas asked for a birthday party and No was simply not an option. We had a combined birthday party so Augusto would not feel left out. It was GREAT! There about about 7 children, ages 2 to 6 that are in Augusto's little family at Maforga. The plan is to keep them together as they grow up. Dorcas is the big sister in the family. It is SO good to see them SO happy. Augusto's big brown eyes have captured my heart again and again. I cannot wait for you to see photos. Check the out!

Another day I went to visit the village. Oh what a party we had! We danced and sang together and tried to communicate. That part did not go so well. I know only a few words in Shona, but our love for each other always translates without fail!

Pasqua, Carlos' wife, and I made a carrot cake together over the fire. This was quite a memory. She is a wonderful friend. Maybe when I get back to Dallas we can make a fire in the back yard so I can teach you what I have learned about cooking over the fire! :)

After 10 days, 2 with HBC, many with friends and lots of good eatin', I returned to J'burg

Recentered

While in Moz, the Lord recentered me as He always does when I am there. I experience a unique confidence that only comes when I am sure of who I am. When he centers me in his love.

“Beloved, we are god’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3

Justice

Tuesday morning prayer Lady's meeting. It began without event, with a word and a hand full of heart felt requests. Emily spoke, "my father is better, but please let us still pray for Zimbabwe." Emily's family lives in Zim. She got news one Friday that her father was ill. Sounded serious. Between our phone lines being down and challenges on the Zim side, it took over a week to reach her family. It is good to hear that he is better now.

When prayer started, I got a picture in my mind from the movie "the Kite Runner." A young boy was watching his close friend get beat up by older boys. He watched, ran and never spoke a word to anyone.

Something in me rose up. Are we just watching what is happening in Zim from a distance then running away, doing nothing?

We have authority! We must pray! Right now there is a ship loaded with arms from China that tried to dock in SA, but was turned away. It is now trying to get in through Mozambique. We must use the authority that the Lord has given to us and intercede on their behalf!

My understanding for Justice is just beginning. What I know is that I am deeply touched by the pain that I see around me. The question becomes, am I going to do anything with the fact that I am touched, or am I simply going to turn around and live life as if I had never seen, never been touched.

This is what I believe that it means to desire justice.

I would love your comments on this.

Hands Conference

Zambia was wonderful! It was amazing to be a part of training the new HBC with the team from Westside Church, Canada.

I got home on Friday and had one day to regroup and prepare for our African Conference. We had about 20 people to represent our projects across sub-Saharan Africa. What a treat to meet each of them and learn more about their projects. We each interviewed the project directors. I asked them specific questions about their HBC, what they are doing and how I can help them. Interesting to see the diversity of our projects.

I presented a bit and learned A LOT!

Following the African Conference, our African partners and Hands staff went to a retreat center and game reserve to meet with our international partners (including Jeff Neal and his friend Tyler!!). Coming away from this time, the consensus was that this was a productive, well planned time. I enjoyed meeting the various Churches that have committed to Hands projects.

I always learn more of Hands vision each time we come together. Especially to see our US, UK, Canadian, and Australian offices represented. We all realize that we are a part of something much bigger.

Meetings, planning, presenting, getting a last minute computer cord since mine started sparking after the trip to Zambia... Whew. I always thought that the pace in Africa was slower than Dallas!

My current role in South Africa is the Home Based Care Champion. I am responsible for defining the Hands model for Home Based Care and documenting it. During the conference I assumed a new role as the Mozambique representative. Not sure what this means yet, just know that I am honored to be working closely with my dear friend Carlos Guia in Mozy!!

The best part of this time by far was the fact that my dear friend Jeff Neal was able to come. It was good to get to know his friend Tyler as well.

Thank you for your prayers. The Lord has truly helped me to prioritize relationship in the midst of everything.

I live for days like this!

I spent the first week that I was in Zambia visiting 3 well established projects. I definitely experienced the Lord going before me in that I already had relationship with each person that I needed to meet with. One project has a clinic associated with it where they are able to offer ARVs to their HBC patients. I got to see the community schools on the property of the next project. It was the most beautiful HBC campus that I have seen. I took TONS of photos. Will try to get them posted ASAP!

The next week I met a team from Canada who came to train a new group of HBC volunteers. This was an amazing experience!

On Monday, I went with the team and a few volunteers to do HBC in Mutende, a well established project. In the afternoon, we went to Mulinga. There we met the new volunteers. The leadership has been feeding OVCs and has a small school. The group has been doing HBC individually, but has only been together as a group for 2 weeks.

We broke up into groups of 3 or 4 and walked through the community with the volunteers. They showed us where they get their water and where the children go to school as they told us about the community. We passed a young woman with her 13 month old baby on her way home from the clinic. Her baby was critically malnourished. The clinic gave her soya and some other medication and sent her home. The volunteer spoke requested permission to visit her in her home to learn more of their situation.

It grieved my heart to see the condition of this small child and the hopelessness on the face of her mother. At the same time, I was elated seeing this volunteer in action. She had never been formally trained, yet she was ready to do anything she could to help. To be a part of the process of putting tools into her hand to help women like this one in her community... I live for days like this!

Zambia!

My heart if filled with stories to tell you about what has been happening "on this side."

I arrived in Zambia last Sunday. The purpose of this trip was to help to receive a team from Zambia who are coming in part to train a new HBC project. They arrived yesterday. Our time will over lap about a week, then I will return to SA for our African and International conference. (Jeff Neal will be at the international conference!!)

Since Sunday, I have been meeting with our existing projects in Zambia and learning about the youth project that one of our Footprint volunteers started, along with another friend with Canada, Jordan and Natalie.

I was anxious and concerned about the details of this trip before I arrived. From the moment that I arrived it has been amazing. It is so good to stay with Jordan and Natalie in their house. It is great to see what they have started from SCRATCH! They youth leaders are excited about learning everything they can to help the vunerable youth in their community. I was able to share my CHE material with them. They are very excited to put it into the leaders' hands!

One week before I came to SA, a group of 4 people came to SA to learn from the project there. We had a wonderful time visiting in SA. when I arrived here, it was a smooth transition to visit their projects to see and learn all about what they do. There is actually a project that distributes ARVs for HIV through a clinic exclusively for their HBC patients. My eyes were wide open!

All of the key relationships that I have here were established before I arrived, even up to one week prior to my arrival. I had even met part of the Canadian team last year in SA. Thank you Lord for going before me and setting up every detail.

Please pray for me next week as we start the training. Please pray that all of us come with an attitude of "learners" and we will all have a wonderful experience, I am confident!

No longer will the poor be nameless!

For the needy will not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not parish forever." Ps 9:18 (ESV)

This scripture describes my heart!

The vision/goal for Hands is to reach 100 000 orphans by the year 2010. When we look at how many orphans there are in Africa and how many we are currently reaching, the need to push to reach more becomes clear. I read Psalm 9:18 in the Message this morning. The first part reads "no longer will the poor be nameless..." Wow. This perfectly describes our desire to reach more orphans. May we know each of their names and be able to touch them individually and personally. May you know their names... or even just the name of one child so that you may pray for him/her by name.

The second part of the scripture made me very excited as well. A couple of weeks ago I heard a pastor make the statement "poor people have no hope." Shame. I do not agree with him. Rather, I am here to walk with those who desire to have someone to link arms with them as they pursue the dream that the Lord has placed in their heart.

In March I will be traveling to Zambia to meet James. James is a business man who saw a need in his community. He facilitated the start of community schools for children that did not have a school to go to. He is passionate about reaching the children in his community. After meeting George in January, he saw how doing home visits would help the community be more aware of the children's needs. After hearing George one time, we went to him community, gathered volunteers and started doing home visits/Home Based Care.

A team will be coming from Canada to train his volunteers in the basics of Home Based Care. There are 8 or 9 other similar communities who have contacted us for resources, training and support in various ways. How exciting that the Lord will be using me as one player to resource community leaders who long to effectively help there communities.

The HOPE of the poor will not perish forever! AMEN

Badplass

Yesterday I had a meeting with George and Robin.

About a week ago a missionary couple contacted Robin to ask if Hands could please help the project at Badplass to learn to be more effecient as they reach out to the OVCs in their community. This couple has been working with Badplass for some time and the leaders of the project expressed a need for additional training. They have been working for two years and have government funding.

George asked to meet with me and Robin to discuss what my roll in this process will be now and in the future. He would like for us to use this project to help me to define what we need to know from the community about where they are now. Then create a guide to process if we can help them and pratically how.

George was very clear that my role with Hands is not simply to train "nurses," but to help Hands to know what projects we can help and how.

Of course this role will continue to evolve as time passes, but it nice to keep you informed of the process.

Partnering with Belfast

Yesterday I spent the day with a team from the UK at one of our Home Based Care sites called Belfast. This week was my first week in Belfast.

This team represents a church in the UK that has committed to partner with Belfast long term. The pastor came with someone who specializes in working with Children, a coach, a doctor, a specialist in children with hearing deficits, and a gentleman who has adopted 3 children officially and many more unofficially. It was incredible to watch as this team learned about the community from the community. They offered themselves as learners, telling community leaders that they would like to partner with them.

The pastor has committed to send 2 or more specialized teams each year to help where the community has identified needs.

It was an honor to get to know this team and to walk along side of them in the community.

Getting my head around "it"

Hello my friends! I am still here! So glad you are too.

I have now been back at Hands at Work for one month now. Even though I was here last year, it was challenging to adjust back into life when I returned. Thank you for your prayers and emails during this time. I have felt very supported and loved by my friends and family.

I often look for stories in my day to tell you. You know how long my stories can be... so before I write to you, I like to have all of my thoughts together. Since "getting my thoughts together" since I have been back has not been easy for me, I have not been writing very much.

Today a light bulb went off! We have small group on Wednesday mornings. My group meets at the Snyman home. George was there this morning, so we stole about 5 or 10 minutes after the group for a quick chat. I told him that my head is spinning as I am trying to piece together everything that I am looking at doing this year. He narrowed it down and clearly restated what he would like for me to do this year. We are both on the same page exactly. I left our conversation feeling excited and recharged!

At the beginning of next month, we are going to have an African Conference, when all of our project directors will gather together. George would like for me to sit with each of them individually to ask them how their home based care projects are going and how we can support them. Then, I will meet with all of the projects from each country to do the same.

Following the African Conference, we are going to be meeting with our international partners. This will be an excellent opportunity for me to discuss with our partners how we can work together to offer our projects the support that they are asking for.

Wow. As I said, a light bulb went off. I can clearly see my place and it excites me every time I think about it!!

All things are truly coming together. I told many of you about a certification that I was working towards, so that we can offer training through Hands for Home Based Care workers to receive government recognized training. Praise the Lord, I passed! In SA the proper term is that I was found competent. This project was VERY stressful! Oh, I am SO relieved that it all worked out. Thank you for those who were praying for me about this.

As for what the Lord is doing in my life... I am not sure where to begin. The most significant lesson that I am learning is that I am not here TO DO anything. I am here to trust God and receive His love. This is my purpose. Everything else that I do is only secondary to loving Him.

Thank you dear friends for your love and support. Please remember that I am just on the ground. We are all a part of this work. I will try to write regular updates and post pictures on my flicker account and for those on facebook, I have not taken the time to figure out how to post pictures there, but I will give it a try.

Word for the day

"for if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to serve the Living God." Heb 9:13-14

My little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence God;" 1 John 3:17-21

What peace and security this word offers. "whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything." Thank you Lord. I pray that you will remind me of this truth each time I start to beat myself up.

The Sting!

I am now the proud and humble owner of a 2002 Mazda 323 Sting. Many have prayed the Lord's will for this with me. He has answered with a very good car. It is a low mileage car with an alarm and an immobilizer, CD player. One priority in looking for a car was one that is not high on the high jack list. This car meets all that I am looking for. Today I got insurance and did the math. I predict that I will spend exactly my budget for the car for the year. The Lord is very good. Thank you for your prayers and financial help with this!

Hello friends

I will start with an apology for not posting for so long. I will try to bring you up to date.

It was wonderful to be home and see friends and my family. I did not realize how much I missed everyone. Thank you for coming out to have coffee with me and hear stories about life here. I hope that you were encouraged and feel like you have a better picture of what God is doing here and what life looks like here. You are definitely a huge part of the work here. Your support means the world to me. These are not just words. I am discovering more and more what it is to completely depend on the Lord for everything.

My friends who advised me that it was going to be hard to come home for one month then return for one year were right. Though it was wonderful to be home, it was also hard.

On my way back to Africa, I stopped in London for a couple of days. One of my favorite sounds on earth is the sound of a boy's choir in St.Paul's Cathedral. Sunday night I traveled into town for a special service. I cannot imagine the sound of angels in heaven being any more beautiful. At the end of the service the hand full of attendees had the opportunity to get quite close to the choir as they sang. I think that this experience was the Father's special gift to me.

Coming back to SA felt very natural. There is not a grand sense of adventure or the unknown, simply the assurance that this is where I am to be at this time.

The first week the Lord took care of every detail. Friends from Mozy came to pick me up from the airport and drove me to their house 2 hours away. I stayed at their house (their haven) for 3 nights. On Friday they drove me back to Johannesburg to meet friends who would be taking me to see The Lion King. WOW!! To see this production in SA was definitely and experience of a lifetime! The Lord then arranged for a ride to ASM, where I live. I am so thankful to see the Lord's hand taking care of every detail as I return. I am safe in His hand.

This gradual process of reentering into SA was essential for me this year. As I said, I have a definite sense that I am in His will in SA, but it is very hard to be here. I feel that I have given the Lord all of who I am. In this transition back to SA, I felt the pain of this cost. In fact I have never experienced such pain. Many of you have supported me through this, and I thank you. I am seeking the Lord daily, sometimes hourly or more. He is faithful to give me His perspective and hope.

Because the cost of being here is so high, it is making my commitment to this year higher than ever. I am very excited to see what the Lord is going to do this year!! Thank you for believing with me and for praying with and for me. I will do my best to keep in touch with you with a play by play of stories!

coffee?

I will be leaving next week! It is hard to believe that the time has already come to return to Africa.

Before I leave, I will be having several coffees to show pictures and tell stories about Africa.

Friday night I will be having a coffee in Murphy at 7:00
Saturday afternoon in Richardson at 1:00
Saturday night in Richardson at 7:00

If you are able to come, please email me for more information. You may also call me at 469-487-6735.

I hope to see you!

"Why are you here?..."

Regardless how hot it was anywhere else, it always seemed to be hotter around Nyero Nyero, a small mountain in Mozambique. In other communities we were able to drive to some patients’ homes as well as walk, not here. To get there, we drive down a dirt road for an hour, then parked our car for the day. The rest of our time is spent walking from “house” to “house,” often 15-20 minutes between houses.

One day, after seeing patients for about 3 hours, we came to a home at the base of the mountain. Brooke and I noticed that there was something written in Shona on the side of a mud hut. Adao translated the writing: “why are you here? The poor man wants to know.”

May I never forget this question. May I never forget to stop what I am doing and answer.

Perhaps my answer would change according to my audience. If my family asked, perhaps I would give a different answer than if my pastor asked why I am here, at this patient’s house, at this time. Perhaps. Regardless, the most important answer to this question is the answer directed to this poor man. How would I respond while looking clearly into “the poor man’s” eyes?

Because I care.


Last week I visited many friends and co-workers from Baylor. A friend asked me “What drives you to do what you do?” “How do you know what to do?”

In the craziness of being home, I have spent much time thinking of these questions.

My mind is brought back to the moment that I experienced God’s love stronger than at any other time in my life. I FELT Him next to me. I HEARD Him singing His song of love over me. I was not shaken in that moment, because the Lord was at my right hand. Psalms 16:8

This love compels me to love others. This love gives me the desire for others to experience His love.
“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NKJV

Finally (until the Lord adds a new level), the Lord takes away all of my fears. “I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4

He will take my fears, if I give them to Him. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear…” 1 John 4:18

As I surrender fears to the Lord, He fills me with His love for His children. He gives me His perspective. This is where Henri Nouwen’s books speak loudly to me about the unconditional, forgiving love of the Father.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love asking questions that promote thought. I look for these questions in the Word as well. The Lord often asks questions to cause people to reflect on where they are and what they are doing.

Why am I here (in Africa)? Because I have been so deeply touched by the Lord’s love for me, I long for others to know his touch in their lives. While I realize that I can only express His love to the measure that I surrender my fears to Him.

Do they know that it is Christmas?

I arrived home last Tuesday. It has been one week and a day now. In that time I have rested, played and enjoyed wonderful time with family and friends.

I have not had much "culture shock" in the way that I have had in the past. Moving from Mozambique to South Africa was actually much more intense in the way. Rather I think that the culture shock that I have felt has been much more subtle. It was difficult for me to define until I heard the 1985 Live Aid song "Do they know it's Christmas?" As I listened, I realized that this song describes how I feel.

Sunday I was Christmas shopping with my mom. I was struck by the blank eyes, not connecting with others. I saw a young man directing slow moving traffic, looking at each person who passed. Not one returned the glance.

Beginning in South Africa I heard people remark that it does not "feel like" Christmas because it is not cold. It is not snowing.

What makes one "feel like Christmas?" Is it the cold weather, the feel good messages about "believing" in Christmas with no mention of our Lord? It is an interesting commentary to see and hear people answer this question with their words and their actions.

In South Africa I met 2 friends from Canada, Dana and Jordan. They had come to work in Masoyi in the spring of 07. While they were working in with the youth in the community, they heard several kids talk about how much fear they had associated with the Christmas season. My friends made a decision then to return in November to prepare for a camp for the child headed households over Christmas. This would bring the kids together in a safe and fun setting.

I am reminded of a story that George tells about a child that he met in the community. Her smile was SO big; he could see that he did not need to tell her that Jesus loves her. She knew. She KNEW just how much she was loved as she jumped into the arms of a Masoyi volunteer who fought to find a neighbor to take her in when her mom died. She had so much pride to show George her house.

What does Christmas "feel like?" Who in your life KNOWS that they are loved by the Father more today because of your touch? Because of the Father's touch through you?

COMING HOME!

Tomorrow morning at 6:30am I will start my journey home. I cannot believe the day has come. Where have the last 6 months gone? What will it be like at home? When people ask me for stories, will I be able to communicate the experiences?

As I pack everything up in my room, my mind is full. Often I like to have a nice neat story to share with you when I blog. This time I would like to share some thoughts as they are loosely coming together.

The past 3 weeks I have been working intensely on a project that was due on Friday. Hands @ Work is working towards becoming certified under the SA government as certified trainers. This will benefit people taking training from us and will help us with funding. As a part of this certification, I have to be certified personally as well. This was a very intense and stressful process. It was a relief to put the project into the mail on Friday.

Now that the project is done, I have been able to turn my focus towards preparing to return home. I cannot even begin to describe all of the emotions that I feel right now. When I was preparing to come to Africa in May, I remember feeling every emotion at the same time. I have definitely felt that since I have been here as well. Please be praying for my time at home.

Yesterday I felt the Christmas season. It was cold and rainy. I was talking to Carolyn Snyman about where she and her children will be for Christmas. I am so glad that the Lord told me months ago to come home for Christmas. I cannot wait to be home!

I have begun processing my time here. George mentioned at our Monday morning prayer meeting that Fear and Love are opposites. Wow. I can describe my whole time in Africa in this context. Never in my life have I experienced God's love, as I have since I have been here. This morning at George's house I felt so loved. Not because of anything specific, just being there, in the midst of his family.

I felt God's love for others in a way I have never known before.

Wow, even now, as I think back over the past 3 weeks. Working on that project, I was in such fear, for no reason really. Fear for the sake of fear, as I look back now. When I was in the midst of the stress, it was very difficult to have perspective. That was the problem. I lost all prespective. I was not loving myself or the people around me.

Until today, I was having a hard time looking back over my time in Africa and seeing anything other than that project. It totally consumed me.

I feel so refreshed, with renewed perspective. As I step out of fear and choose to receive God's love for me, He is free to do great things in and through me.

Gosh, it is difficult for my mind to contain even the beginning of what I understand of what next year holds.

Some Swedish friends that I met in Mozambique came to visit me in SA. We spent a day driving through the beautiful Mpmalanga. Breath taking! Even more breath taking was our adventure on the "big swing." We fell (strapped in of course) from a cliff 68 meters high then swung over the tree tops. This is hands down the scariest physical thing that I have ever done! Interesting. I think that it was no mistake that I did it at this time in my life. My shirt says "I have conquored my fear!" there are many spiritual lessons to be learned from this place.

Fear can be distructive, but only if we allow it to be.

I am looking forward to sharing stories of God's extravagant love. Please email me if you have anytime this holiday season to have a cup of coffee with me! I will also be having small gatherings of friends getting together to share stories.

This is not the end of the road

Today, more than any other day of the year, you will be bombarded with stats, figures and facts. One of my many longings for my time in Africa is: you hear all the numbers, you think of lives and faces being affected and effected by AIDS. Then, as you begin to see their lives and faces, see the hope, not just as a distant hope, but as reality... because it is reality. Hope is alive and active. Hope is reality.

Today I went to the Forward Education graduation. Amazing. I had chills and cried. This day is a huge milestone in the life of the 6 students, in the life of Masoyi and in the life of Hands.

I have come away from this day with 2 quotes: "the road that we are on has many turns and potholes (road through masoyi) but it does not have to be the end of the road."

"It does not have to be this way."

You and I can see, as outsiders looking in, that there can be a way out. As we each come in, committing on different levels and staying for different periods of time, we speak into lives "it does not have to be this way." It is for moments like these. When something in clicks inside one person... or six, and you hear a voice coming from within the situation saying "it does not have to be this way!" AND believes it for themselves. That, my friend it what so much of what we do is all about.

Believing that I am a son or daughter of the King of Kings and he has a wonderful plan for my life. I can dream. I can dream BIG! I can follow those dreams.

As a result of this first forward education course, 2 of the 5 so far have received a 4 year scholarship to any university that they would like to go to. They are all waiting to hear back from their applications to university. Very exciting to hear their dreams. To see how loved that they feel. To know that their dreams can become reality.

We talk about hope, we talk about what we dream of doing and the effect we long to have on lives. Today it happened. Hope is alive in Africa, my dear friends.

It was a dream for my team to come and for me to see them smell it, taste it, see it. As they realize others are living the reality of HOPE all around them. Amazing. I am in complete awe of the Lord.

There is HOPE, but we must not forget there is deep pain as well.

The pain of AIDS and the effect that it has is great. Right now there are stories being published stating that the number of people living with AIDS and dying of AIDS have been seriously overestimated.

In response to that, I look to Mozy. The government party line for the infection rate in area that I worked in is 17%. In this same small area, I see up to 5 people dying a week. I see people who are so sick, they are close to death before they are tested. Many are not even tested, though they ARE busy dying.

There are many things that we could talk about... why do people wait to get tested until they are nearly dead? being one. This and many other questions are important. They need to be asked... and answered.

One thing that is essential to understand is that there are HUGE numbers of people who have HIV but have not been tested. While the world governments are busy taking away funding, people are living in fear and are busy dying.

I pray that through my experience here in Africa, you are able to see how what "they" are saying effects lives of people just like you and me.

My Mind Connot Concieve!

After our Morning Prayer time, George Snyman asked to meet with me for 10 minutes. He said that the Glaxo Smith Klein Rep that met us in Mozambique offered to send me to the leading HIV training hospital in all of Africa for one-on-one training in HIV and infectious diseases.

He asked me not to answer, but to absorb what he was saying. The GSK rep said that she wants to fully fund this training as she feels that this will enable both Hands and me personally to move up to the next level.

After our ever so brief conversation, I told both Marc and George that it is in line with most conversations that I have with them. They are every bit as life changing as they are brief.

I wanted to capture the intensity of this "moment" for you.

While we were in Mozambique last week, George asked me if I could "see it yet?" I told him "no."

He was asking me if I could see how I fit within the bigger vision of Hands. This while I was doing home based care with George in Mozambique for the first time. I was in complete awe of what the Lord was doing.

Have you ever experienced a time or season in life when you identified with Dennis Jernigan’s song "I do not want to move from this Holy place?" A time in life when you almost do not want to breath for fear that this moment will be gone?

This would describe how I felt about leaving the time I experienced in Mozambique. As opportunities are unfolding before me, my response has been "my mind cannot conceive what the Lord has for me."

Often there is a bit of fear and in trepidation as I move my foot from one place to the next, only to discover bigger and more exciting plans that the Lord has for me.
Not only do I not want to move. I do not want to breathe!

Please believe with me and I will believe with you that the Lord has plans for us that our minds cannot conceive!

Thank you to the Team

So much has happened in the past few weeks it is difficult to know where to start. First and foremost, I would like to thank the team for coming. I have never been so honored and humbled.

I had much anticipation for their arrival. On the eve of their arrival, I could hardly sleep! We laughed together, worked together and played!! Wow.

It was priceless to watch as the Lord worked in each person's life, touching each one for eternity. Thank you for praying for them while they were here. We all felt it.

During their visit, I was reminded what it means to be sent. Africa has become so comfortable, I must never get lulled into believing that I am here doing my own work. I am here only because you have believed in me, in the dreams that the Lord has put in me. Through your prayers and support I am here, working for the Lord.

I wrote one blog entry about going into a new area deep in the bush of Mozambique. I described the experience in a way that brought you with me. Please know that I feel that you are with me. I am merely on the ground. Your role is equally as important in the work here.

The team is here!!!!

Our team safely arrived in SA yesterday at 2:45pm and to Africa School of Missions, where they are staying, at about 9pm. All is well.

We went to a church in Masoyi this morning. We all enjoyed it VERY much. I have actually never been to church in the community, so this was a special treat for me as well. There is nothing like African singing! Someone made the comment that the reason that we use so many instraments at home is because we cannot sing like they do here. I have tried to tape it, but it just never comes out like it sounds in person. I think because it is more of an experiense rather than just a song.

We were all challenged by the message as well. The lady who was giving the Word, spoke from John 6:35. If someone from our team had given the very same message, it would not have had the same impact. She was speaking first about physical hunger. When people are severely impoverished, they sometimes eat dirt to deal with their hunger pains. - This made me think of Augusto. He ate dirt even after he came to Maforga. I cannot express to you how deeply it hurt to think that he ate dirt to curb his hunger because his family did not give him food. Then, even when we were giving him food, he still ate dirt. Perhaps because it is what he had learned to do.

She then compared this to spiritual hunger. when we try to fill our spiritual hunger with things other than God, it is like eating dirt. - Wow. What a picture. So often the lord uses physical things to teach us physical lessons. May my heart break to the the same degree for the lost as it does when I think about why Augusto ate dirt.

The team's jet lag is wearing off and they are excited about their first day of ministry tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who sent goodies! My friends tease me that I earn my keep around here by keeping them supplied with movies! Thank you for helping me out! On a very serious note, I cannot express how loved I feel by you, for sending notes, toys, medication, bibles, movies, music, fun tanks... The greatest gift is for the team to be here. It is SO great to have them here.

thank you mom for sending a video message with jill. We are going to put it on my computer so that I can watch it again and again. I love you VERY much!!

SA: A New Chapter

Yesterday I arrived in South Africa. Thank you Mercy Air! Even though I had already sent most of my luggage back with Mercy Air, this particular flight was quite full. When the pilot saw my luggage, he said that he was going to have to strap it to the outside of the plane.

All went well.

SA is more beautiful than I have ever seen it! So green with roling hills and mountains. I wish I had had my camera ready! Will try when I fly over again in November. (95% sure I will be going back to Mozambique in November for a week.)

On the way home I was able to process time in Mozy. I have SO much to share with you. Stay tuned for many new posts soon.

Please be in prayer for me now as this is a huge transition back to SA. Like going from the 3rd world to the first world. Also I will miss Maforga, Augusto, and all my friends there very much.

Though I will be back for a visit, yesterday marks the end of a very significant chapter in my life. The opportunity to do HBC in Mozy was unique and precious.

Got Music?

We have a team coming in just about 2 weeks! I am counting the days! Please be in prayer for this team. The Lord has put the team together and He is going to do great things in and through them. I will post updates from the team on my blog... so stay tuned!

I have asked them to bring a few small personal things for me. One thing that would be great is some music! If you would like to put together a music CD of some of your favorite music, please send it my way. If you do this, it would be great if you could include a list of the songs and the artist as well. It can be worship music or fun other stuff as well! I like Nora Jones and Jack Johnson lots! Know anyone else with their kind of style?

Prison

(This is my second attemp to write this post. The first time, Augusto helped me by pressing "esc," deleating my whole email. Somehow it was ok, as he was singing "Under de sea..." while he was doing it. Ha- SO CUTE! It will be very hard to leave Dorcas and Augusto.)

Saturday night Kaas Tannis has the team over for dinner. Dinner at the Tannis home is always a wonderful experience.

Kaas told me that Sunday he would be taking the team to the prison to minister. Kaas and another missionary at Maforga rotate going to the prison each Sunday, always taking some of the boys who live here.

Kaas has lived here for 12 years and has been going to the prison for that long. The prison used to be one room that was so small, the men were not able to lay down. They could only sit with their legs crossed or stand and just had a hole in the wall as a toilet. Many died due to the conditions. Once a man was put out of the prison who was very sick and could not even straighten his legs.

Kaas and his family took him in and nursed him to health. This incident provoked Kaas to take pictures of the prison and turn them into a human rights organization. Soon a short term mission team came and began building the existing prison, a much larger room with better toliting conditions.

Ever since I came, I have been interested in visiting the prison, so I told Kaas that I wanted to come with him. The next thing I knew, I was taking the team alone! Wow. I have never done prison minsitry before, let alone in Africa! Thankfully the boys were very comfortable.

10 people piled into my car after church, headed for Gondola prison. On the way, we stopped to get 100 pieces of bread from the baker and LOTS of bananas. Food is very limited there.

When we arrived, we saw that there were 123 inmates, so we needed more food. The team and the boys stayed, while I went for more food.

When I got back, the boys had lead worship and a team member was sharing about how Christ identifies with our suffering. They had tried to do a drama, but their cd player did not work. Later they improvised and did a drama that did not require music. VERY well received.

When the team was done, our friend looked at me to ask if I had anything to share. I had not even considered sharing, until now. Until I was being asked to come up and did not have anything to say. I got up and said my name and thank you... and that was it.

Then we started passing out the bread and bananas. As we did, I looked into the men's eyes. Each man, one by one. The Lord so clearly spoke to me as I was doing that.

Everyone was ready to leave, when I asked if I could speak to them. I shared with them how honored I was to be with with and to look into their eyes. There is HOPE. The Lord loves them VERY much and longs for them to hope for the future (in Christ).

TIA!

I tell you... more and more things happen every day that remind us that "this is Africa!"

During our Wednesday night prayer meeting, we were all quite, praying in small groups, when a snake DROPPED FROM THE CELING! The girls screamed and the guys picked up a stick and proceeded to beat the snake until it was dead. Well, TIA!

Due to the rain, we have seen many spiders in our house. Most are harmless. In fact, there is one spider that we call a crack that is flat and just crawls up and down the walls. It is about 1.5 inches in diameter, often startleing when you first see it but harmless.

I think that we are keeping out more than just Mozies with our Mozy nets.

Orphan Workshop

On the same weekend of the Volunteer Workshop, the orphans gather at the Rubatano center once a month to PLAY! Oh, it is great! This was actually the first orphan workshop that I have been to. For one reason or another we have not been able to attend.

There was so much life! Rubatano takes care of over 400 orphans. To see them gathered together to receive food, play soccer, sing songs, do each other's hair... oh it just goes on and on. I could have stayed all day.

Pray for flicker to work soon when I get back to SA and I will post pics!

Volunteer Worshop

Once a month all of the volunteers from Rubatano get together to discuss how they are doing and what they can do better. These meetings have been a wonderful forem for Brooke and I to have an opportunity to speak to all of the volunteers, encouraging them with the word and offer training.

Last month Brooke made a "wordless book" for each of the volunteers that visit orphans. She taught them how to use the book with colorful pages to tell the children about God's love for them. The following day at the orphan workshop, she taught the wordless book to the kids, so the volunteers could see again how it was done. While she was in Zambia, I visited orphans and the volunteers presented the Gosple with the wordless book. Very nice.

I have been talking with the women every week. We have found that most of the volunteers are men. The women often do not speak up during visits, but just follow behind the men.

3 months ago, I shared my story with them and encouraged them that they have a story that will speak life to many. Speak of God's faithfulness. In the community, if I told someone to hope in God, it is likely that they would say back to me, "you have no idea the suffering that I have seen." True. However, if the volunteers tell their story of God's faithfulness in their life, then encourage the community to trust in God it is entirely different. The community knows that the volunteers have seen great suffering and know that the volunteers can relate to their own suffering. How powerful it is for the volunteers to share how God's love has been proven true time and time again. God is worthy to be praised and can be trusted with every need they have.

Each workshop I sat with the women and asked them to tell me their story and encouraged them to tell everyone of God's faithfulness. God's has given each one of them a great gift. We as nurses are simply a tool in their hip pocket for them to use to show God's love to their patients and orphans. It is all about them loving and caring for their community.

It has been wonderful to see my relationship with the volunteers grow through these times of sharing that we have.

Last week I shared 2 Cor 2:14-17. Your work is a sweet aroma to the Lord as you share Jesus with the community.

I am going to miss these times that I have with the volunteers as I plan to return to South Africa next week.

YWAM team

Last week we received a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) team from Swaziland. They are actually from about 5 different countries: US, Swaziland, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Sweeden. Wow, quite amaizing. I think that if I were to ever do a DTS (discipleship training school) I would do it with this school. We are very impressed with how flexable and prepared they are. It is hard to believe that the youngest members are 19!

They arrived on a rainy night at about 10:30pm. The bus dropped them off on the road, then Carlos and I picked them up and took them to the farm. We first went to the main house so that they could have some lamb stew that was prepared for them, then we took them to the containers where they would be staying.

Their version of the story is quite funny. Elvis from Nigeria said that he expected to go to Chimoio, the nearest city. When the bus stopped in the rain on the side of the road, there were no lights and all he could see was trees. Can you imagine! He thought that he was going to be staying in the bush! As you drive onto the farm, the first 1-2km (2 roads to the farm) is a forrest. He was relieved to see the that he was not going to be living in a hut for the next month!

Having the team here has made me very excited for my team to come to SA! Wow! I cannot wait! See you soon!!

Papa

I have so much to tell you on my blog, it is hard to know where to start! Still wish I could post more pics. Sorry about that.

Here is a bit more about Augusto. When we found him, he was not being fed by his family, though they were being given food for him. So, he was eating dirt. His little fragile body showed many signs of severe malnutrition: swollen cheeks and feet, large abdomen, straight orange hair. He was able to walk, which really surprised me.

After much talking and planning, he came to Maforga to live... to eat. We soon learned that he is HIV negative, though his mother died of AIDS. After 3 days on the farm, he was talking and playing with the other children. A rapid, marked improvement.

The first family member that we brought was a 13 year old girl, Rachel. She got scared here, so she suddenly wanted to go home after one week. When we went to talk to the family that day, his 6 year old sister, Dorcas was crying. The family said that she had been crying for Augusto everyday, so be brought her for a visit. We also brought his cousin, also Dorcas (we will call her Mana Dorca).

So, after one night on the farm, Rachel came to Dorcas early in the morning and told her "something" that scared her, so she left.

2 weeks after Mana Dorca arrived, she was found beating Augusto at the farm in front of staff and other children. She was asked to leave immediately.

Augusto has now been on the farm for 5 weeks. His weight started at 9.9, and has increased consistently half a kg each week. We are due to weigh him today, but last week he was at 12.2. Our goal was 12.5.

Baby Dorcas has been able to come for other 2-3 day visits. Very nice.

This brings me to yesterday. We were to meet his grandfather, who was to decide his "fate." This grandfather is responsible for the children, but lives about 30 km away in Chimoio. The family told us that they wanted to see Augusto.

Adao, Augusto and I went to visit the family. They told us that they were afraid that we were going to keep Augusto "forever." Also, the grandfather was afraid that Augusto was getting worse at the farm. Now we brought him for them to see how much better he is doing, they are very pleased.

Much grace, much favor. Much prayer went into this visit as it was possible that the family might say that Augusto may not ever come back to the farm, now that he is home again. Quite the opposite happened. They said that he may come to the farm for 2 more months and Dorcas may come with. They are fine with them not coming for visits to the family as they know that we are taking care of them.

As we were leaving, they said that when Adao would come see Augusto when he was sick, he would say "my papa is coming!" Since Adao was coming to be sure that he was safe and to take care of him. Very sweet.

Then, we asked Dorcas why she never smiles at home, but with us she giggles and carries on. She said that when Mana Dorcas cooks food, she does not give her any, she just eats alone or with the Vovo (grandmother).

Oh, the favor of the Lord is so sweet. We are so happy... and so are the children, that they are here. Please continue to pray for our Heavenly Father to order our steps that these children would be safe. Doesn't this bring more meaning to "Father to the fatherless?"

Calling all Techies!

I have a question for you. You might have seen George's video. There is also another video that needs to be on my site. Do you have any better ideas on how to accomplish this? Also, I have seen blogs that have text and information that fills the whole computer screen, even on blogger. I only find templates that put text in the center of the screen, leaving the sides blank. It would be great to have George's video and our video on the sides, so they do not scroll down into never never land.

Do you know how to do this. If so, please email me and we can chat.

Thank you!!

Savane

Tropical paradise... oh, I mean Savane was wonderful! It was truly was truly the time of rest that we both needed.

Our friends gave us directions.
Go towards Beira. Once you find our self on the 2 carriageway, watch for a market on your left. Just after the market, there is a turn to the left. They used to have a sign with a faded "Savane" indicating the turn, but I do not think that it is there anymore. Go down this dirt road for about 45 minutes. You will feel like you have gone to far as you will be in the middle of nowhere, but keep driving. You will see an MCell tower on your left. Just after the tower is a car park. Park there and men will help you to unload your things. It is a 5 minute boat ride across the river to Savane.

We took these directions and it was just as they said. When we turned onto the dirt road, immediately a man @ the market offered us a fresh coconut. I am not a fan, but how can I refuse this fresh one full of milk. Very nice.

They say that the dirt road used to be really bad, with pot holes as big as your car. When it rained, your car could slide off into the marshes that are on either side. Thankfully it was dry and they improved the road.

The boat carried us across Rio de Savane to the beautiful white sandy beaches of Savane. Savane is on a peninsula, so one side is the calm river and the other is the Indian Ocean.

We fully expected to pitch our tent, but were pleasantly surprised to hear that they had accommodation for us because several people did not show up.

So for four days we played in the waves, laid on the beach and watched the fisherman bring in their nets. I think that if we had known about this place sooner, we would have come once a month!

The Heartbeat Behind Hands @ Work

George Snyman is the founder and director of Hands @ Work. In 2005, I had the unique opportunity to travel with him to Zambia to visit the project leaders there. It was on this trip that I knew without a doubt that the Lord was wanting me to come to Africa to work with this organization.

I have told many of you this story. If you have not heard it, or you would like to hear it again, please let me know. It is better told one on one.

Hands has a nice website that I think that you would really enjoy. www.worldinview.org George has a video message posted on the site that I do not want you to miss! The Lord has filled George with much passion and love for the orphans, venerable children widows and dying.


Please check out this link to hear from George. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwvRkt44Rd0

Vacation!

Tomorrow Brooke and I are leaving for 3 nights at the beach, returning on Tuesday! All of our friends have told us how beautiful Savana is. Our plan was to go with Jackie and her family, but they are unable to go now. We had the time set aside, so we are going to forge ahead!

Is it a holiday weekend, so it will be very crowded, but we are so looking forward to the opportunity to get away.

We will be camping, playing in the waves and thinking about... nothing!

Please pray for us while we are away!

Water

I will never again take water for granted!

The last 24 hours we have had running water. Before that, it has been between 2-3 weeks since we have had water for more than 15 minutes a day. We used the take beside our house, then started to fetch water down the road, about 1km away. I am so glad that we have a car!

Maforga is rich in resources. In the past, water has been one of these resources. Their well has never before been dry.

The money was raise in the UK for a new bore hole to be dug at the farm. $5000 for each attempt. MUCH prayer and consideration went into where to dig. The leadership team were all in agreement when the decision was made.

The drilling team began to dig. 50 meters later, when all they had found was dust. In frustration, Roy, the director of Maforga, as them to leave. The prayer team did not loose heart. They still believed there was water there. In the morning there was 17 meters of water in the new bore hole! Indeed, they had found water! Water from rock. Roy joked that they read somewhere that this had happened to someone else as well. The Lord is good

Can you image caring for 7 infants, 7 toddlers and 16 young girls with little to no water? This has been a stressful time for the leadership team especially. Please pray that all continues to go well with this new water source.

Relief vs Development

One of the most valuable lessons that I have learned during my time at Maforga is the value of and the role of relief verses development.

Relieve is meeting an immediate need. One working in relief might bring in critical supplies from the outside and might only stay for a short time, until the need is resolved. When the worker leaves, the help is gone as well.

Development involves equipping. Local resources are used and people are trained from the community to meet the long term need.

For years I have been very passionate about the value of development, to the point that in my heart I had become a bit critical about the value of relief work. As I look back, I see that the Lord used this attitude to help keep me focused as I chose my path. Now that I am in the trenches I can see without question that each are of equal importance. You cannot have one without the other.

We must do something now about the immediate need while we are planning for the future and equipping the local community to continue the work. Saying that opens the door for a great deal of conversation... that I would love to have with you!

The Reality of Home Based Care

Two weeks ago, Adao and I returned to Nyero Nyero to see the patients we saw on our first visit. Because of our rotation, there was 3 weeks between our first and second visit. All but one patient said that she had greatly improved, and many gave thanks to the Lord. It was a great day.

Last Thursday was an exceptionally hard day. It began at 7:30. We went to quickly pick up a patient on our way to Gondola. He was too sick to walk to and from the taxi, so we scheduled to take him directly to the hospital in Gondola. When we arrived Lazero said that he did not want to come with us. He had already been to the hospital several times and he did not think that they were helping him. His volunteer and his mother pleaded with him, but he was not going. He died the following Sunday.

Later we saw Louisa. She found out that she is HIV positive about a week ago. Her body was a skeleton. Over the past 2 weeks she became progressively weaker to the point where she can hardly walk. We suggested to the family that she go to the hospital. Immediately she and her sister agreed. Immediately, we loaded her into the car. It was very important that her sister come to help to care for her in the hospital. Basic care is provided by the nursing staff, but bathing, feeding and toileting is the responsibility of the family.

Finally we saw Jaoquine. As soon as we saw him, it was evident that he needed to go to the hospital. Upon negotiation with the family, they told us no. No one is available to go with him, so he cannot go. There were women who could have gone, but he would likely be in a men's ward and his father said no. It was very hard to leave his house, especially to see the faces of his children who might soon be orphans.

I understand someone wanting to die at home with their family, rather than in a hospital. It is harder to understand the family saying that they do not have time to escort him to the hospital. How can someone become as thin as a skeleton before they or someone else recognizes that they are sick and need to get help? Many difficult things to process.

Aside from being an emotionally exhausting day, it was physically exhausting as well. I think it was the hottest day that we had experienced.

We visit. We love. We hope. We grieve. We keep walking.

Daddy's Kisses

When the Lord does something special for me, I call it a "daddy's kiss." Since I arrived in Africa, I have received many "kisses." He has taken care of every need that I have had, even before I knew it was there.

The most recent example of this was that He helped me get my luggage back to South Africa. I wrote about the fact that I flew to Mozambique on Mercy Air. The only draw back to that is the weight allowance. They allow 50kg while any commercial airline allows only 20kg.

This week Mercy Air was in town with an American team. They returned to SA today with 2 of my bags and 1 of Brooke's. I have never felt safer in my life. I KNOW that the Lord is taking care of EVERY detail.

The Lord is good... All the time!

A unique experience

George said that he would like for me to be in Mozambique to do home based care for at least 3 months... and I am SO glad that he did. He said that in the first month I would observe new things, the second month I could begin to recognize trends and the third month I would begin to really understand what it is like in the trenches of HBC.

Working under Carlos Guia has been an amazing experience. If someone is looking for the definition for integrity, they can certainly look to his life. Because he has run Rubatano with such integrity from day one, he is highly favored among the community and with the officials. From Carlos, I have learned how the program operates.

Jackie Smith is a nurse from South Africa and has become a dear friend. She has taught me to look for the "one" that might fall through the cracks of the program. An example of the "one" would be Augusto.

Together Carlos and Jackie have taught me valuable lessons that I could never have learned without the experience of walking daily with them. Some of these lessons I am still processing, some I would like to share with you.

It has been very hard to think about leaving Mozambique. Though I hope to return for a short or long period of time, the Lord has truly prepared my heart to go back to SA next month.

What I will miss the most about Mozy is the unique opportunity that I have here for hands on experience. I may never have such an experience again. My hope now is that the Lord will use what He has taught me here to help train and support other volunteers.

"She talks a lot."

Today we were in Nyero Nyero again. Adao is our volunteer in this area and we have a great time together.

He was translating what one of our patients was saying. After a while he just said "She talks a lot." I laughed and told him that I think people people translating for me might very well say the same thing.

As we walk through the bush, there are a few creeks that we pass over. Adao taught me that we must "knock" before we cross a bridge. You see, people might be bathing and they need warning that someone is coming. We holler "Hiya," then cross when we get the ok. Very fun to learn the culture.

Adao is doing a great job "fighting" to learn English. The other day he asked me what "hella" means. For instance, what the "hella" you doing. We all laughed. I told him what it means, adding that he might not want to say this.

Yes, Lord! I will follow you anywhere! except...

Even though I still have a few weeks in Mozambique, my time here is drawing to a close. This makes me very sad. I will miss little Augusto and his sister Dorcas and all of the new friends that I have made here very much.

I remember how I felt when I was in South Africa and I was thinking of coming here. There were many unanswered questions that made me very nervous and even scared at times. I prayed and asked the Lord to help me to rest in Him, trusting Him with every detail. The result... I love it so much I do not want to leave!

Carlos was joking with the Hands staff in South Africa that he is building an office for me here, so I have to return next year!

This has made me think back on all of times the Lord has asked me to do something and I have hesitated because of fear of the unknown. I am thankful that the Lord has helped me obey dispute the fear. Consistently, it is when I am inclined to say no to the Lord that He uses that very situation to bring the greatest blessing.

So my question to you is, what are you saying "no" to the Lord about? Are you saying "no" because something about it is scary or just does not make since?

I challenge you to trust the Lord fully. I think that it is possible to be confident you are hearing from the Lord, and still say no. Do you remember that passage that talks about- if you father on earth gives good gifts, how much more the Father in heaven. Are you trusting what is in the hand of the Father.

Do not get me wrong, please pray and consider if what you are hearing is from the Lord. If you have confidence that you are hearing from Him and you are still saying "no," why? Why would you say no to the Lord when He is asking you to participate in building His kingdom... in your own heart, in someone near to your or in the world.

I know that I am getting very preachy. Sorry. I just do not want you to miss out on what the Lord has for you!

Last visit to Zim

Brooke and set out for our final trip to the Zim border with our car loaded with supplies for friends living there.

This afternoon I was talking with a friend who has just come to visit for a few days from Zimbabwe. She said that in order to get bread, you have to stand in line at 3:00am! Supplies are critical low, even if one has money to buy food, etc. the stores do not have anything on the shelf.

The government is now limiting the amount of supplies that are allowed to be brought in. The inflation is going up at a crazy rate, so the prices of good go up by the day. For a while the people could not afford to buy anything, since their wages did not go up as well. Then the government fixed the prices and the shops could not afford to stock the shelves, because they were forced to sell for less than their cost. Now the factories are low on stock and are refusing to make more since it will cost more to make the goods than they can sell them for.

So we had several objectives for our trip today: make it across the border to satisfy my visa requirement, make it past the officials with the supplies, meet our friends to deliver the groceries etc, and if possible, see Leopard Rock.

One of our friends recommended that we visit Lepord Rock. This is a golf course and hotel in the Vumba mountains, about 30 Km from Mutari. The golf course is rated #3 in the world since the whole course is natural. We understood it to be very beautiful.

We made it across the border without a problem and immediately contacted our friends to set a meeting point. Then we set out for Leopard Rock.

Now when you drive into Zim, even in Mozy, the terrine is very dry. There is some green on the trees, but mostly brown and black from all the fires. It is without a doubt the dry season. As we drove into the mountains, the trees were so beautiful! It is spring here, so there are many flowers in bloom and the trees are getting their leaves back. Once we finally arrived at Leopard Rock, we were amazed! Brooke calls it the pink castle! We took many beautiful pictures (which I hope to post soon). In the reception area to the hotel, there is a tall glass wall with a rain forest on the other side. There were many golfers out on this beautiful, fairly warm day.

We had lunch at the club house on the green, then headed back to Mutari. Along the way there were many vendors along the street selling beautiful linens. Most of the vendors sell the same kind of things across Africa. We found many uniquely beautiful items on our drive.

We met our friends without a problem in town and delivered our treasures: flour, sugar, toothpaste...

As we were driving back to Mutari, the border town in Zim, our gas gage was almost on 1/4 of a tank. A big whoops! We are in a country where not even public transportation can get gas. Fortunately we serve a wonderful God who takes care of our every need.

One of the friends we met in Mutari has a auto shop, so they have connections to get diesel. Within 15 minutes we had an extra 5 liters of gas (just over 1 gallon) for just about $7!

Another day in Zim... full of fun and adventure! (fortunately with on police this time!)

Mozy life

I thought it would be fun to tell you some fun stories about living in Mozy...

Pacqua, Carlos' wife told me a funny story about her mother. Several years ago, Pacqua told her mother that she wanted to take her shopping. (Currently the exchange rate is $1 to 25MTN.) A shirt was 70MTN and shoes were 60MTN. When her mother saw the prices, she said "we are leaving." You see, she was used to having only 1 skirt and one capalna and one shirt her whole life. When Pacqua suggested that she get some shoes, she said that only men wear shoes.

FINALLY Pacqua was able to convince her mother to allow her to buy a new outfit for her, including shoes. When she put it on, she said "I feel so beautiful!" She eventually agreed to wear the shoes to walk to town, but would not wear them in town. Instead, she took them off and wrapped them up in the capalna and tied them onto her back. "Maybe another day, but not today." Now she wears shoes every day, no problem.

Pacqua and I were laughing loudly as she was telling me this story.
**

I have told you about the Zim border. One day a fellow missionary from South Africa was trying to get back in to Mozambique. They told him that he must stay in Zim for at least 2 nights. After negotiating to no avail, he realized that he needed to call friends back at Maforga for advice. He needed phone time, so he literally went to the fence and called "Mcel" into the bush and several men came running out with phone cards with air time. (Mcel is the phone provider in Mozy.)

As soon as he told me this story, I could not wait to share it with you! Classic!
**

The rainy season starts in October. Often during the rainy season, the electricity goes out and we loose water pressure so we do not have running water.

It is not rainy season yet, but we are having trouble with our well. For the last week we have water maybe 30 minutes a day. This builds community!

Fortunately we have a large container that collects rain water. Since our house used to be the clinic on the mission, the tank is on the side of our house. I am thankful that we do not have to walk a long distance like so many to fetch water.

American team's 24 hour visit

Last week we had some visitors come to Maforga for about 24 hours. The team was made up of 5 nurses and 9 pastors from the United States. Their original plan was to run a clinic while they were here. Due to the Mozy laws requiring a local license to practice, they were unable to practice.

Instead, 8 members of the team split up into 2 teams of 4 and did home visits. Oh, it was wonderful. Brooke was still in Zambia, so I was unable to dispense medication, so we visited patients with the volunteers and prayed for them. Each of the three visits were very special. I think that the team really got a good feel for Home Based Care, even with no medication.

As we visited each patient, I was able to explain to the team how we integrate first world medication into a third world medical system.

The first patient that we saw was a follow-up visit. We had been working with the patient and the volunteers to first get a TB sample to the hospital, then provide transport for the patient to get the results and see the doctor.

Unfortunately he did not have the results though he had been to the hospital. He did however come back with a positive HIV test. As we continue to visit him, we will help him to understand what his diagnosis means to his life and his health. Next week we will provide transport for the patient to get the results of his CD4 count and hopefully he will obtain written results for his TB test. He returned from the hospital with basic antibiotics for a respiratory infection, but we really believe that he has TB.

Even though they were unable to set up their clinic, the team reported that they were pleased with their visit and felt that they had learned a lot.

This was a very special day for me.

It is a miracle... really

Word come back this afternoon that Danieli has bronchial pneumonia. This morning he was not breathing. After much prayer and being admitted to the hospital to get IV medication he has improved a great deal and is going to be ok.

The Lord is a good God. I am honored to be a part of what he is doing in Maforga, Rubatano, Hands, Mozambique... and Africa.

"I Will Change Your Name"

When we arrived at Augusto's home, Dorcas (6 years old) had clearly been crying. Friday morning Rachael wanted to go home. We took her home, but we still needed a family member to come stay with Augusto at the mission, so we went to the family to discuss. We were met with a cold reception and many blank stares.

They could not deny how Augusto had improved in such a short period of time. After much discussion, Mama Dorcas agreed to come to the mission with her baby as well.

While we were talking to the family, they told us that his sister has been crying for him every day. We immediately said, "no problem, we will bring her along for a 2-3 day visit."

Oh my goodness! I only thought that I saw him happy before. He is a new child with his sister here. He is still very quite most of the time, but when they are alone... wow! Complete transformation!

They came to my house. They had a bath and I found a new dress for Dorcas.

Have you ever heard of the song "I Will Change Your Name" by D.J. Butler? I have not heard it in years. Seeing these little lives around me, I cannot get it out of my mind.

I will change your name
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, outcast Lonely or afraid

I will change your name
Your new name shall be
Confidence, joyfulness Overcoming one
Faithfulness, friend of God
One who seeks my face.

Sleepless Night

"Sister Genome, come quickly!" Vovo JoAnna called into my bedroom window at 2am this morning. Danieli had become very sick. JoAnna and I went quickly to the baby unit to find little Danieli in his mothers arms. His breathing was irregular and very fast, 80/minute. Danieli's eyes were barley open, rolling back while his mother's eyes were red with tears.

The triplets have been under the care of Jackie in the baby clinic since they were born. They are probably about 2 months old now and weigh about 3.5-4 pounds each. As patients in the baby clinic, their mother would bring them weekly to be weighed and to get milk for them. They became more than patients when one of the 2 older children anciently tipped a paraffin lamp and burned the house down.

Jackie arranged to have a new house built for them. It just took about 2 weeks to get it up, start to finish. Meanwhile the whole family has been living in the baby unit. Though the babies are growing and putting on weight nicely, at least one has been sick with pneumonia since they arrived.

Yesterday Danieli was ok. Jackie checked on him before she left and all was well... until 2am.

I held baby Danieli and prayed. "Lord, I believe in miracles! Please tell me, what would you have me to do?" I held him for sometime. Suddenly I became very concerned, so I called sister Jackie. We discussed what was happening and decided to give him some antibiotics and watch him for one hour. If no improvement, then we would go to the hospital.

I slept in the baby unit to keep an eye on him and to that they would know that they were not alone. He was ok at 5:30, so I went home.

At 8 I receive a phone call. "Please, come quickly!" Danieli had been found this morning with his skin cool to the touch with very shallow breathing. Immediately they prayed and he improved.

When I arrived I saw that there was a dramatic change from the time that I saw him. We phoned Jackie to let her know that we are taking him to the hospital immediately. She was to meet him there.

Dawid drove the family to the hospital 15 minutes away with a vovo. When Jackie saw him, she said that he was much improved, breathing well.

The crisis is over. Now we must continue to pray! I will keep you informed. Right now the news is good.

The Father's heart

The day began began with prayer, as with each day. Barbara & Andy, friends from the UK were joining us on Home Based Care. Our first visit was to follow-up with a patient that Ginna and Sarah had helped get to the hospital to be tested for HIV. Her hospital documents revealed that she was positive, however the they said they would not discuss the results with her until she brought a family member with her. We talked and prayed with her, then arranged to pick her up with her mother to go to the hospital.

We then saw her neighbor who has had a burn wound on his leg for over 20 years. We cleaned it and gave him antibiotics and arranged take him to the hospital as well.

Our next patient was Augusto (this is the little boy that I was asking Nana about in her clinic). Augusto is about 4 years old (no one really knows how old he is) an orphan under the care of Rubatano. He and his sister Dorcas have been living with their great grandmother for the past 2 years, since their mother died from AIDS. Both Augusto and Dorcas receive food from Rubatano, along with another family member named Dorcas. Dorcas is in her 20s and her son who is about 1.5 years old also live with the Vovo, grandmother.

Adao has been visiting this family for 2 months and has never seen Augusto with pants on. His belly, feet and cheeks were swollen and his hair was light in color and straight while his arms and legs are very thin. These are all classic signs of a severe protein deficiency.

We originally thought that there were 12 people living in one house sharing the food that was intended for 3 people for one week. As we continued to visit and ask more questions, we found that Augusto lived with his Vovo, Dorcas and her son and his sister... only. That meant the family had food, but they were not giving it to Augusto. My heart broke for little Augusto.

In this picture Mama Dorcas is on the far left with her little boy. Then Augusto's great grandmother. His sister, Dorcas is on the far right.

Over the course of a week, we visited Augusto's home 3 times, spoke to Carlos (the project director for Rubatano) and Jackie (the nurse in charge of the orphans living at Maforga). Jackie said that we could bring Augusto to Maforga for a few weeks to provide him with food, love and medication if necessary to see that he gets better.

Last Friday Jackie went with us to be sure that the family understood and approved of Augusto coming to Maforga for a period of time. After some discussion, they allowed Augusto to come to with us, along with a Rochell, 13 year old family member who came to help take care of him.

There are many stories about what happens in the community. Until I experience it first hand the stories do not seem real.

While we were visiting, Jackie explained that it is cultural to believe that the children of parents who have died of AIDS are cursed, therefore they often do not feed them, especially the youngest child, Augusto. I know without a doubt that this grieves the heart of the Father!

After all the documents were in order, we scooped up Augusto and brought him to Maforga. He had a big smile on his little face and waved "ta-ta" to his family.

That was Last Friday, 8-24. By Monday Augusto was a new man! He was laughing and playing... the leader of the pack! He ran up to sister Jackie to give her a big hug!

Monday we had a day in town. Jackie helped get him tested for HIV. NEGATIVE! Oh, the Lord is SO good! We went shopping and got shoes, likely the first that he has ever had.

Now, after 5 days the swelling in his face and belly are going down and he is laughing and playing all the time!

As I help to Take care of Augusto and Julinho (previous story) the Lord is giving me His heart as He shows me how much he loves... one by one.

Being a part of Augusto's life has without a doubt impacted mine! Jackie and I have had endless conversation about the love of the Father. How He loves us individually and longs to scoop us up into His arms.

"A Day of Rest"

Brooke was on her way to the Gondola Hospital to sit with the HIV nurses and learn their system. Because she is licensed as a nurse in Mozambique, she is able to work in the hospital once a week. Sometimes I go into town with her during this time, but today was to be a day of rest...

Soon after she left, our neighbor Nana came by to let me know that she was going to be treating a baby who has a abscess on her chin in her clinic. Nana is a nurse who was trained in Africa and has worked here her whole life. She is a precious resource who teaches us many things about practicing here. She started and ran the general clinic at Maforga for 20+ years, but has since "retired." Rebbecca took the clinic over, but had to return to the UK for several months to have a baby. The clinic has been closed during this time, so I had never seen it. This was a good opportunity to learn from Nana and see the clinic.

The clinic is very impressive, stocked with many medications, supplies and necessary examination equipment. We first treated the baby, then a man who was burned last Saturday when a paraffin lamp exploded in his face.

While I was with Nana, I told her about a child that we saw in the community with Kwashiorkor. This is severe malnutrition caused by protein deficiency. (see pictures of Augusto in later entries) She gave me good insight into how to care for him and nurse him back to health. The vovo who is caring for him is looking after 11 orphans. Their primary food comes from an assistance program that is providing one week of food for 3 of the orphans every Thursday. They said that food lasts for 2 days between all 12 people. We will talk to the vovo about bringing the child here to Maforga with a caregiver for 1-2 weeks so that we can train the caregiver on how to provide proper nutrition to the child and nurse him back to health.

After visiting with Nana, another nurse with Maforga stopped by. Jackie is from South Africa and is responsible for looking after the orphans and the baby clinic. She was talking to Nana about a young girl who grew up here, Candida. She has a chronic illness and was just discharged from the hospital after getting treatment for Malaria. It is possible that she has TB again, even though she was treated last year. She is married, but her husband nor his family is able to take care of her. She is unable to keep her infections meds in control and is still very weak. To the left is a picture of Heida, Candida and Auntie Mav.

Jackie and I had a very good conversation about how we can best care for Candida. Together we walked to the main house where Candida is now living. Auntie Mavis came out to greet us. She said that Candida is doing a bit better and is wanting to come outside. Jackie, Heida (a nurse from Germany) and me helped Candida into a chair and carried her out to the veranda. It was good to see her outside.

Shortly I will go back to the main house to take some music to Candida. It is good that she is here. I pray and ask that you would pray as well that she would know and feel very loved by her family here and the Lord. Please pray that she receive the Lord's love and that the Lord would give us all wisdom regarding how to care for her in these days.

Isn't the Lord amazing! He has brought a nurse from South Africa, the US, Germany and Zambia (Nana) to care for Candida. May she know just how loved that she truly is.

(can you believe that all of this happened before 10am! you can see how full our days are here! after I returned from the main house with Candida, I was able to begin my "day of rest.")

Is there hope for Africa? YES!

The first time that I met Joalinho was on July 12. He is about 4 years old and is HIV positive. Previously he enjoyed running and playing with his brothers, sisters and cousins. When I met him he could not walk. Each week that we went to visit him, he was getting worse. Soon he lost the use of his left hand and was loosing his hearing. It was evident that he had developed a brain infection and needed medication urgently. We treated what we could, helped his family get him to the hospital and continued to pray for him.

Joalinho is one of 6 orphans that his Vovo cares for. Though the family has very little material possessions, the love in this home is evident. The children laugh and play together with much joy!

We visited Joalinho's family about 2 weeks ago. He had received treatment at the hospital and was continued on his HIV medications.

Last Thursday as soon as we turned the corner to Joalinho's house he ran to us and jumped into my arms. My heart sang praise to the King of Kings! Oh, I cannot tell what it felt like to see him so filled with joy and life!

I can say with my whole heart... YES! There is hope for Africa.

Oh, Praise the Lord for his healing touch on Joalinho!

From Theory to Reality

Hands @ Work ministers to the poorest of the poor in areas where no one else is working. Friday we had the privilege to experience the birthing of a new project!

We (YOU, Brooke, our volunteer Adao, our translator Dorcas, the Local Pastor John and myself) went into a new community. Pastor Joao has been asking Carlos to send a team into his community for some time. There have not been resources available to make this possible until now. Adao has been visiting the people in Nyerie Nyerie for several weeks.

In the morning, we met with Pastor Joao at his house and prayed for the Lord to direct us. Then we set out! Pastor Joao took us quickly from house to house of those who were sick and dying in his congregation. I cannot express how beautiful it was! We saw a vovo, grandmother, who was very sick from vitamin B deficiency. In the same home we saw a young girl, 8 years old, who is suffering from a recurrent bladder infection caused by standing in stagnant water. Brooke and I were able to treat the problems and educate the family, Pastor Joao and Adao regarding prevention for these common problems.

As we were walking through the bush, suddenly Adao began walking very slowly and told us to be very quiet. He said in a hushed voice that there is a boa constrictor in the grass next to us. We listened as it moved on and watched the birds scatter. It was not long after that that Adao said "look, there is another snake!" This time it was a spitting cobra. It is good to be with friends who know the land!

We were clicking along in a very rapid pace along a path in the grass that could be up to 8 feet tall. Occasionally we came to a clearing where we would find a home with chickens, a fire and a small grass hut. We greeted the adults with "good morning, how did you sleep?" (in Shona) while the children enjoyed shouting "Azunga, ta ta!" (white person!)

We came to 2 structures that did not look like the typical homes. Adam explained that this is the school. They are on holiday, so the children are working in the fields.

What an amazing day! We walked the ground with the pastor, treating and praying for the sick, sharing the Gospel and encouraging many with the tangible love of Jesus! Wow! I hope that you enjoyed this day as much as I did!

Pictures to come SOON!!

There are several pictures patiently waiting to be loaded onto my blog. I hope to have the opportunity to go to an internet cafe on Monday in order to post them. The internet connection that I have access to most readily cannot handle uploading pictures. Sorry for the delay. Please come back soon!!

The Heart Breaking Makes a Sound

Suffering is a part of daily life in Gondola and the surrounding villages. Statistics are listed in government report of people dying every day, numbers of children left orphans. The "numbers" go on and on. One could become numb to the fact that each of these "numbers" represent a life that has been wounded deeply.

A sweet friend who loves Jesus, Perina Fombe, came to lunch at our house on Sunday. She was telling us that her family member was beaten by her husband to the point that it was thought that she was not going to survive. After several days in the hospital, Perina family member was discharged into her family's care.

When Perina was telling us this story, she said that when her family member was safely discharge, she fasted for 2 days to thank God. She did not think that she personally was going to survive after hearing about yet another tragedy in her family's life.

She was praising God for helping her to survive the grief and the suffering. God be her strength! Be her her Joy! Please pray for Perina.

Paula is our translator and friend. Perina is Paula's auntie. We were very happy to have Paula and Perina over one Sunday afternoon to enjoy coke floats. How wonderful it was to laugh together!

An experience that will change your life!

At the end of October a team from Dallas is coming to South Africa for 2 weeks! I will be traveling from Mozambique back to South Africa in early to mid October to help prepare for their arrival.

Please pray about coming! I am confident that the Lord will touch your heart in the most amazing way! The work happening in Masoyi is rapidly growing and exciting things are happening.

Please contact Jeff Neal at jeff@worldinview.org if you are interested in more information.

The Village

On Friday afternoons 4 new believers in come to our home to study the bible. I am so privledged to be a part of their life! Their study starPed early this year in Genesis. They have now worked their way through to the New Testament. We have taken a few weeks to review the Old Testament as we are transitioning between Sarah and Ginna to Brooke and myself. I have been so encouraged to hear how much that they have learned! They tell me that when the study started they did not even know the reason we celebrate Christmas. Now they are telling us all about the major events of the Old Testament and how they point to Jesus.

Last week our memory verse was John 3:16. When we asked for prayer request, one of the young men simply asked for the Lord to help him to memorize his verse this week.

Please pray for Antonio, Antonio, Messada and Grassa. They are seeking the Lord with their whole heart! Praise the Lord!

Living and working in Mozy

Jackie is from SA and has lived here for about 15 years. She told me that being a missionary is 99% living and 1% "those gold nuggets." I have found that this is so true.

I am living about 34 km west of Chimoio on the Beira-Zim highway. Chimoio is easy to find on a map. It is basicly right in the middle of the country. We live on a farm that is a part of the Maforga mission. The Maforga mission was started about 20 years ago when a couple purchased the property from a Baroness from Germany before the civil war. The focus of the mission is caring for orphans and vunerable children. Vunerable children are children who's parents are likely still alive but are unable to care for them. There is also a baby clinic, primary care clinic, community primary school, a technical school and many mashambas (fields) on the property.

There are approximately 20 international missionaries living here, most for 10 years or more, who make up a wonderful, supportive community. Carlos used to take care of the boys and his wife Pasqua used to work in the baby clinic. After Carlos went to ASM in SA, he returned to Maforga and started a Home Based Care project called Rubatano, which means unity. The greeting that the Rubantano volunteers use when they depart company is "we are together."

Two nurses from the US, Ginna and Sarah, went through the Footprints training in South Africa, then came to Mozambique to work with Carlos and Rubatano. They made a deep and eturnal impact on the community during their 9 months here. After they were awarded their nursing license in Mozambique, they had the same privledges as a physician in the US. As they saw patients with the volunteers daily and worked in the hospital once a week, they helped to build relationships. They also stated discipling a villiage that is located on the mission. This village is one extended family. Brooke and I will pick up where they left off. This is definately one of the highlights of being here!

Ginna and Sarah also worked to fix up and old clinic and turn it into a beautiful home that I am now privlidged to live in.

Carlos is the poject manager of Rubatano, the Home Based Care project in Mozambique. He is here with his wife Pasqua and daughter Tabita (on left). Brooke, the nurse from the US that I am living and working with, is to Carlos' right. Then Veronica is to my right. She is a part of Hands UK, who came to visit Mozambique to document what the Lord is doing and the specific needs. Finally Lynn is on the right. He is a part of the senior leadership of Hands. He is based in South Africa, but was visiting Mozy with Veronica. On Lynn's shoulders is Calab, the son of a long term missionary family at Maforga.

Our neighbor's sheep make us smile often as we watch new lambs being born and see them grow up. Often they come for a visit on our porch when they are coming home from a long day in the field.

Zim Border Crossing

I have now been in Mozambique for one month. This means that I had to cross the border as per my visa requirement. So, yesterday Brooke and I set out for the Zim border. We are about 1.5 hours from the border, then it takes about 1 hour to cross. We did not have any problems getting in, but coming out we were stopped by the police. They were looking for something... anything to fine us with. They told us that we did not have a required document authorizing us to drive this vehicle, since neither of us were the owner. The consequence... they were going to have to impound the vehicle until the owner could come. Interesting, but it was not going to happen. The Lord gave me his confidence and boldness to let him know that this is good information. We will now take the vehicle back to Mozy and bring the documentation with us next time. After some negotiation they let us go.

At the Mozy border, the officials gave Brooke a hard time about her visa. Again, we were being held responsible for information that we did not have. When things like this happen, we smile at each other and say "TIA," This is Africa.

Live as you are loved! This is the heart of our Father! John 15 says that we are to receive His love. Receive my friend! We are here to love. Love so that when you need to speak the words that God love you to a friend, they believe you because they feel your love for them.

I am in Mozambique. I have much to share with you about my time here. For now, know that it is beautiful. The hearts of the people are beautiful. I so love being here. More to come soon. Internet is not readily accessable at this time.

much love to you!! Pictures to come!!

Mozambique via Mercy Air and South African strike update

Tomorrow morning I will board a Mercy Air flight bound for Chimoio, Mozambique! http://mercyair.org/ This will no doubt be the beginning of a great adventure. Since I have arrived I have had a small amount of hands on ministry. The purpose of my trip to Mozambique is to go into the trenches with Home Based Care. I cannot wait!

I will have some Internet access, so I will be in touch. Thank you for your prayers.

The strike is still on in South Africa. PLEASE continue to pray for this terrible situation. Every week there are needless deaths due to lack of care. People are even dying in front of the clinic. Hospitals are accepting emergencies, but clinics are accepting no one.

A further implication of this is the thousands of people on TB treatment. If they are unable to get into the clinic, they are unable to get their medication. This is yet another crisis as a result of this strike.

Please pray.

No place that I would rather be

Today I went into the community with Emily, a nurse with Home Based Care. Despite the fact that the volunteers have not gone into the community for 1.5 week now, Emily went yesterday. Initially the HBC vehicle went out with several people into the community. The vehicle came back, but Emily and Busi with young mothers stayed in the community. They traveled in a unmarked car to see patients and others in need.

There is a rising fear in the community that if the volunteers go out to see patients, then the people who are striking will harm them for coming against their addenda. Please pray against this fear!

Emily asked me to pick up patients who are critical and take them to the ACTS clinic. www.actsclinic.com The first patient that we picked up was a young man in his late 20s and his wife. He had never been tested for HIV, but has been sick for some time. He had been very resistant to going to the ACTS clinic as there is a belief in the community that when you go there you die. Emily explained to him that often people wait too long to get tested and to go to the clinic, so that when they do go, they are often very sick. It is not the clinic that kills them, but the fact that they waited so long to go. After talking with Emily, he agreed to be tested with his wife.

The next patient was a young mother with 2 children. Both of her children came with us, the oldest no more than 10 years old with a baby 6-12 months old. The mother was very sick, too weak to even cough. She was clearly in great distress, even to breath.

The last patient was too weak to walk to the vehicle, she had to be carried. She came with one family member. It was evident that she had been sick for a long time due to her severe weight loss, very thin hair and she was not very responsive.

As we drove back to the clinic, a line in a song came to mind "there is nowhere else that I would rather be, than dancing with you as you sing over me." Please keep in mind, it was just last weekend that I was talking with the Lord about the fact that I have given until it hurts.

There is not one thing that I would have rather been doing than to drive these precious people to the clinic. I was honored to be working with nurses like Emily and Unithi who truly love and care for the community.

I wish I could post a picture, but there is not a picture that could describe what I was feeling in that moment.

Later in the afternoon we went back to pick up the patients. The mother of 2 and the patient too weak to walk were admitted to the hospice unit. We picked up the young man and his wife. We will take him back tomorrow to have a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. We took home the young child, 10 years old or less and the baby. This baby will now be this young child's responsibility. It is possible that the mother could come home. It is also possible that she may not. If she does not, the child cannot go to school unless an adult steps in and is willing to help with the baby.

Emily will make a referral for a the child care worker with the Home Based Care to see this family ASAP as this is a critical situation. The Child care worker will be able to connect the children with programs to help them with food and other resources.

Finally we took home another patient that we did not take to the clinic. A child 10-12 with HIV. She was able to talk about her medication and how to take it with just a glance at the bottles. Clearly these medications had become a large part of her life already.

What a day. Tomorrow we will pick up the patient for a chest x-ray.

On a day when the community clinics are closed, people "busy dying" in the community.

There is no place that I would rather be.

My dream for Africa is becoming reality

On the second day in South Africa I met with Mark Myburgh and George Snyman, the two primary directors of Hands @ Work. Our meeting was brief, but full! They each explained to me that I am to be the champion of Home Based Care for Hands. As the champion, I am to document the "Masoyi model" for Home Based Care, creating a resource library and a handbook. The goal is to have the necessary resources easily available to assist anyone to establish a new Home Based Care project in their community.


When they spoke these words, I thought in "This is it!" Everything that I have dreamed of doing is now beginning to have form. Everything that I have done to prepare for this season fits with what they just told me. I have the professional training as well as mission training and theory in Home Based Care. Even details such as compiling an orientation manual for my physician's office in Dallas. I learned to be flexible and adaptable with working in a resource pool at Baylor Hospital for several months before I left. Things that I thought the Lord was using for one thing, He actually had a much bigger picture in mind!

The task at hand is much bigger than I. A dear friend encouraged me with the words of Mother Theresa. She said "we are to be a pen in the hand of God that He may write His story through us."

In order to compile this information, I will be traveling to the various projects that Hands support across Sub Saran Africa. The first trip is scheduled for the first of July for approximately 2 months. While I am there, I will be working with other US nurses doing Home Based Care and working in a baby clinic as I gather information for the handbook. Please stay tuned as further details develop!

Me and Charlotte doing Home Based Care

Emily, age 7 and Elise, age 10 are my two nieces at home in Corinth, Texas. For the last several years I have asked them to choose a stuffed animal for me to bring with me everywhere I go. Charlotte is with me this time. You might see Charlotte every now and then in a photo. When I return home, I can make an album for my nieces and tell them about all the adventures that Charlotte has had.

Charlotte and I walked the ground of Cork along side 4 very dedicated Home Based Care volunteers. With little and sometimes no resources, the volunteers offer hope and love to those who are sick and dying in their community.

At the end of the day, all of the teams come together to give report. As the report is read aloud, the needed of the community becomes known and they make a plan to deliver medication, food or provide transport to the medical facility where needed and when resources allow.

While I was worshipping with the team prior to going out, the Lord spoke to me that He sees them and hears their cry, just as he heard Hagar in Genesis 16. The Lord also told me know important it is to walk along side of those who are doing this work. They are not alone. It is essential for them to know this. During our worship time I smiles as I closed my eyes and could feel all those who are praying for me and who have supported me standing and worshiping with me.

As we began to walk in the community I told the volunteers that the Lord sees them and they are not alone. It is an honor to walk by their side.

Driving!

I have started to drive in the community and to town. Driving on the left side of the road took some practice, but now feels normal. The hardest part is remembering which side of the street to be on while turning. It is also challenging to drive in the community on the dirt roads. I only got stuck once! Ma Che got the venture unstuck and came back to examine the mark left on the road. We all laughed! Not bad for a first timer they said.

South African Strike

June 1 the public sector went on strike. This means that all public workers have not gone to work, including nurses, teachers and public officials.

The community clinics are closed and the hospitals are only accepting critical patients as the doctors are still working. The hospitals have started to send patients home to recover as the build-up of bio hazard material has made the environment unsafe.

The strike is highly political. The unions do not support the current president. Knowing this, the president does not want to give into the demand of a 12% increase in wages.

Our community volunteers are being urged not to visit patients at this time by the community clinic workers.

It is very important to pray for a rapid and peaceful conclusion to this strike.

Home Run! A New Home Built for Masoyi Orphans

Today I went into the Masoyi community. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and walk the ground again. At the beginning of the day the volunteers let us know who needs to be seen by a nurse, a childcare worker (social worker) or for specific prayer. They then devide up into teams so the volunteers from the community see their patients with the trained staff.

Emily is a nurse from Zembawa who has been working in Masoyi for 2 years. I have much to learn from her. In the morning, we were in a team with 2 volunteers to visit 6 patients. It is painful to be reminded of the great need in the community. As we left each home, Emily reviewed the situation and how we can respond with the available resourses. One such resource that she calls on often is the ACTS clinic. Patients who are HIV positive have access to excellent medical care including HIV medication through the ACTS clinic. As you can imagine the need is great, so there is a high demand on this small clinic.

In the afternoon visited patients with a childcare worker Jebs and 3 volunteers. We visited one child headed home and she was able to sign them up with a program to supply them with clothes, food and blankets (it is COOL at night especially).

After we visited her new referral, we went to a home that Masoyi Home Based Care built for a family. Their home had burned to the ground late one night in 2005. The neighbors were able to help 5 of the 6 children out of the house, but one 16 year old boy was left trapped inside. Masoyi HBC organized a fund raiser to enable them to purchase building supplies, then the Masoyi Building team built a new home for them.

Now Vusi age 20, Agnus age 18 (and her daughter Angel 9 months old), Tandeka age 12, Sharon age 9 and Charlotte age 7 have a new home with a garden. The government provided aide to purchase modest furniture as well. THIS is Masoyi HBC at work. I was so proud of them when I heard this story and saw this fammily's new home.

Soft Landing in South Africa

The Lord's made it clear to me that He had gone before me, even before I left the airport in Dallas. British Airways informed me that they were overbooked so they wanted to change my itinerary. This meant that I would not have to collect my luggage and change airports in London. Excellent news!

After 20 hours in the air and 12 hours in the London airport, I arrived at the Johannesburg International Airport with a song in my heart: "This is the noise we make with our voices, with our hands. We have come to celebrate all across this land!" To say that I was excited is a great understatement! It was all I could do to contain myself from bursting out into full song! It is true that "we" have come to celebrate... I have not come alone, but all those who have prayed and have given of themselves in so many unique ways are right here with me.

All of my luggage arrived in (mostly) one piece which is a huge praise and a great relief!

During the 4 hour wait for my transportation to Nelsprit I worked diligently to purchase a phone card and to establish phone service in South Africa. My head was spinning, trying to sort out of all of the various options while fighting off jet lag. Everything worked perfectly. I was able to use my phone from home, saving the expense of purchasing a new phone and purchased a phone card for international calls.

The next leg of the journey was courtesy of the City Bug transport service. They were to take me 4 hours due east from Johannesburg to Nelsprit. Precious sat next to me. there is no telling what her first impression of me was. I was excited, exhausted... all at the same time! Precious told me that not only was she familiar with Masoyi, she lived there for 2 years and was involved with the Home Based Care. Her father still lives there. It was very interesting to hear her perspective.

Precious also told me that she has a family member who has AIDS, but does not have the resources to be on medication. This is the story of thousands, hundreds of thousands. We had a fascinating conversation. I was so glad that Precious was the first person that I met.

Liza-Marie, a staff member from Hands @ Work met me at the station in Nelsprit. We LOADED her car with my 194 pounds of luggage and were off! 45 minutes later we arrived at the Africa School of Missions, just outside of White River. Over the last several months she paved the way for my arrival. It was wonderful to finally meet her.

Once I arrived at ASM (where the Hands @ Work International headquarters is located) I knew it was right. It was the right time and I was definitely in the right place for the Lord to begin a new, long awaited season of my life.

Jean Aimee's Bio

As an AIDS Certified Registered Nurse, Jean Aimee Gifford is devoting her life to serve those who are held captive by the shame of HIV. Over the past decade she sought the Lord’s heart regarding how to respond to the AIDS pandemic that our world is currently experiencing. It is the passion of her heart for all to know, believe and experience the HOPE that can only be found in Jesus.

As AIDS has swept across Africa, it has left in its wake millions of destitute and marginalized people who have been stricken and orphaned by the AIDS. As we, the church respond to the call of the Lord there will be a new wave across Africa that will bring hope and restoration! Jean Aimee longs to be a part of this new wave that has already begun!

Jean Aimee oversees World In View’s investment into partners, Hands @ Work in Africa. H@W is based in North Eastern region of South Africa Just outside of a town called White River and they facilitate projects in several other countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Jean Aimee is currently preparing to spend three months investing in the Mozambique project. She is living in the trenches equipping local professionals and lay people alike to love the sick, the dying and orphans with the heart of Jesus as they care for their community’s physical needs. Believe with her that there is HOPE for these precious lives!