Real Life Swaziland - Making Disciples; Reaching Our World

SCARED E-Book

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Just found this...

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Final Week in Swaziland

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tuesday, June 23

We are learning to live a faith that is so real, we bleed Jesus. Here's how we start: Look for Jesus every morning in the eyes of the people you meet. And then look for Him in the mirror. Jesus in disguise.

I looked for Jesus today. I found Him at the Hope House in a 71 year old man from Portugal. He was so humble, and He gave praise to the Father for everything he said. I looked deep into his eyes and I saw a life of pain, yet there was joy. I also saw Jesus in a German chemistry teacher. And then I found Him in Kathryn who was taking care of her father. She was so happy to see us. Her face lit up when we walked to her. She wanted to sing and dance. She wanted us to pray for her father. She cried when we left and so did most of our group. I saw Jesus in my team today. They were His hands and His feet bringing hope, peace and compassion to the people they encountered.

Wednesday, June 24

We rented a Kumbi from Pete Johnston, an American who grew up in west Africa. We're going to Nsoko. It's an hour and a half drive from Manzini. We get to see firsthand how the Swazi 2-month team is living and to see the living conditions of the Swazi people. It's the poorest part of Swaziland. We've seen the videos on the AIM website, and we're anxious to experience it ourselves.

Nsoko is heart breaking. It's hot and it's dirty. I believe there are 8 carepoints in Nsoko, and they're all out in the middle of nowhere. You drive through fields and dirt roads that look undriveable. We found three carepoints with no children because there was no food. Teresa and half the team stayed at one of the carepoints with children. Doyle and the other half stayed at one carepoint with a few children, but there was no food either. He walked up to the general store and bought loaves of bread and a lemonade mix to feed the children something. Amanda and Matt drove me around to some of the carepoints and to check on their team. We found their team at a carepoint with a few children and no food. The teacher didn't show up that day to teach school because there was no food. We went to the local grocery and bought bread and oranges. One of the gogos ran to her hut to grab a knife to slice the bread. It was too dull to cut the bread, so she sharpened it on a rock. She sliced the bread into huge chunks. They were so appreciative. We've not seen this kind of poverty in Manzini or anywhere. Children, women, and men are starving to death, and we can do something about it...if we choose to.

We met Pastor Gift and his wife Pelele. Pelele asked me to speak at the women's meeting at 3:00. I asked God what He wanted to say, and He said it was really simple: tell them that I love them. I love the music. They sing from beginning to end and everything in between. Authentic worship, giving thanks to our gracious and merciful Lord!

Ntabis Church gave us a brie tonight. It was great, but it sure was cold! We had lots of meat. But no goat. I picked up a pretty good size piece of beef, and one of the mages said, "Don't you like meat? Swazi people love meat." I looked around and saw how everyone was getting a piece of each kind of meat. I don't think my stomach could take that much meat! It reminded me so much of our goat BBQ back home before we left.

Thursday, June 25

We went to the Manzini Market today. The team was so excited. Thursday is the big day at the market. That's when all of the crafters come from area carepoints.I almost felt guilty buying things after seeing what little the Swazi people have here. We Americans prospered their business today. (That's what they asked us to pray for when we prayer walked through the market a few days ago). We all came home and shared our found treasures. True authentic African treasures. Caleb got a drum. Josh got a segela (a weapon). Erin got a purse and jewelry. Sarah got a wooden giraffe. We bought gifts for family and friends. Doyle and I were done shopping. We had shopped enough for one day. The whole market was so overwhelming. One gift in particular was very special. Doyle and I were walking down one of the alleys looking at fabric. We found a Swaziland flag. (You can't buy an authentic flag; only the King gives those away). There were also beautiful shirts that looked like a nurse work shirt. Doyle turned to me with determination and said I'm getting this for Laura. I looked up at him. And he said it again. "This looks like Laura. I'm getting it for her." And then he started to cry. We miss our friends. We both started crying right there in front of the mage.

We ate KFC for lunch, and then headed to the carepoint dreading our last day with them children on Friday.

It's our last team time together. The ambassador team is coming tomorrow. We finally finished our God stories. I love our team. I believe they've grown spiritually during this trip. I pray so. We have become closer to each other and closer to the Lord. I don't think we'll realize how much until we get home.

Friday, June 26

Today was the hardest day. It's the last day at the carepoint. Time to say goodbye. We had a party! Autumn and Kelsey baked six cakes, and we bought some vanilla pudding. We also bought the gogos and mages lots of cleaning supplies and serving items to help with the cooking. Doyle brought the speaker and iPods, and we danced and sang with the children. It was so much fun. Then David Crowder "O Praise Him" started to play, and the team started to cry. Nesepo wouldn't let me go. She held on and we danced and sang and I cried. All of the kids stopped and looked at us. We were laughing and crying at the same time. The emotions were too much. And to add to all of this, Sarah is sick. My Sarah is running a fever. She begged me to let her go to the carepoint. She couldn't miss the last day, but we could tell she wasn't her usual spunky self.

We were to meet Julie at 4:30 at the AIM office so our team could buy Timbali purses. It took a long time to get everyone in the kumbis. No one wanted to leave the children. Our team was crying. The children were crying. I thought Sam was going to just put her twins in the kumbi with us. Those two little girls were sobbing as they walked home. They kept turning around and waving to Sam. We finally got everyone in the kumbis, and all of a sudden, some of the ladies started screaming with excitement. Staci and Edie came crashing out of the kumbi to see their "favorite" children. Lolo and Little Buddy hadn't been there all day, and they showed up as we were leaving. Staci and Edie held their babies and cried and cried. It was such a gift to them to be able to say goodbye.

The team bought lots of purses and agreed to take some back with them to sell in the states. I filled up two suitcases full of purses. 100 bags. I loved those purses before I came to Africa, but now that I've met the gogos and mages who make them they're even more special to me.

We decided to have a brie with the Ambassador team. We ate good tonight! Grilled chicken, rice and salad. Elysa -- your daughter Anna asked God to bless the food and gave thanks for it, and she got to be the first one to eat. She's a sweet girl!

Saturday, June 27

We left at 8:00 am this morning to go to the internet cafe. We also had to say goodbye to Titi. She'll be working with the Ambassador team next week, so our family will get to see her again. Sarah is still running a fever. As long as I keep giving her Tylenol, she feels okay.

We took the scenic Ezulwini Valley route toward Mantenga Falls. We stopped in Malkerns to shop at Swazi Candles (Effie Heaven) and to look at more crafts. It was a long drive, and I thought the team would complain. But they actually liked seeing more of God's creation. We even had car trouble. The kumbi we rented was leaking transmission fluid. We finally made it to Mantega Falls. There were monkeys EVERYWHERE! That did more for me than the safari! TIA - This Is Africa! We got a guided tour to the falls and through the cultural village where we saw a traditional Swazi village and watched their traditional dance. The water is so clean that the guide said you can drink it. Caleb and Erin did.

Angela, Anna, Whitney, Edie, Caleb and Joshua could NOT leave without taking a swim in the falls. I just want to go on the record that I did not want them to do it. But they said they had to. It was freezing! The wind was blowing, and it had to be 50 degrees outside. You can only imagine the temperature of the water. I thought Caleb was going to chicken out. I knew it had to be cold! Angela used Doyle's quote: No reserve! No retreat! No regrets! How can you say no to that? Whitney was the first to jump in. Then they all jumped. It took their breath. They didn't stay in long. :-() We took lots of pictures. How many people can say they went swimming in Mantenga Falls during the Africa winter.

Now comes another difficult part of our trip. Our final debrief. We needed to talk about the trip as a whole. We ate dinner at Ramblas and came back to the white house. We asked the team to give a highlight or turning point during the trip, and how they were going to process this mission over the next few weeks. I don't want to go into many personal details, but it was a very good sharing time. Lots of tears. Lots of unanswered questions. Lots of processing even during this debrief. Lots of honesty, compassion and love. The one consistent theme we heard through the entire team was seeing Jesus in the people they met and being Jesus to those people. Looking into their eyes and seeing Jesus. And knowing that when those people looked back, they were seeing Jesus in our eyes. It sounds so simple, but it was so powerful! Doyle shared something that he wrote on the plane as we were flying to Africa. I think it's worth reading, and since this blog is so long I'll share it in a separate blog.

We want everyone to know that Doyle and I are available anytime to talk during these next few weeks as we process what we've been through. We can share our stories with family and friends, but the fact remains, our family and friends were not here with us to experience it firsthand and they will never know the depth of this adventure. Please do not hesitate to contact us, whether it's by telephone, or Facebook, or Skype. 770-207-6981 home. 770-601-3892 Doyle cell. 678-448-6386 Tonya cell.wallacephoto@windstream.net and itwministries@windstream.net

I read this a couple of days ago, and I thought I would share it. It seems so appropriate at this moment.

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns:

At this point you have moved through your current transition feeling somewhat awkward at times and moving with grace at other times. It's been unsettling, but you've also been presented with opportunities for spiritual growth. Now, it would be of great benefit to you to stop, be quiet, and reflect on what has actually transpired so that you can gain a perspective devoid of emotional conflict and beyond natural assessment. What you have experienced, regardless of its level of difficulty, will actually work to your benefit, says the Lord.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Sunday, June 28

The team left for the airport around 10:00 am. This is not how I wanted our God adventure to end. I'm sick. I was up and down all night. Food poisoning? Parasite? Spiritual attack? I was able to come downstairs for a few minutes to see the team off. We took worship music outside and danced. I actually felt better while praising the Lord. Duh?! The team loves "Freedom" by Eddie James. And we danced and sang to "Hosanna! Forever! We worship You" which Edie played a couple of days ago during team time. I didn't want today to be sad. But it was. To be honest, I thought we would feel a sense of relief that the team is going home. Being responsible for 12 women plus our family has taken its toll. Doyle and I are physically, emotionally and spiritually drained. We both just want to cry and have for most of the day. But we would do it all over again. No reserves. No retreat. No regrets. Our time with these beautiful women of God is more precious to us than we could ever communicate in this blog. We have seen them struggle. We have seen them grow by leaps and bounds. And we have watched God miraculously work in and through them. They've been with Jesus and they've been Jesus these past few weeks. Whitney told me this morning: It's not the beginning or the end that counts, but all that's in between. It has been an honor and pleasure to be a part of this community. We didn't say goodbye. We simply said see you later. Whether it's in this lifetime or whether it's in Heaven, we'll see each other again. We love you all more than you'll ever know.

Our plan was to go to Nsoko after the team leaves. Pastor Gift asked Doyle to preach today at 4:00. We were unable to go. I'm hoping I feel better, and we can tomorrow. Jimmy Hutson is in Nsoko, and we really want to see him. We're praying for healing in my body in the name of Jesus. And I receive His healing. We'll go on Tuesday to check on Nesepo's foot. If it's not better, we're taking her back to the doctor. Marius and Jodi are taking us to the airport on Wednesday. I dread the flight back. 17 hours. Hopefully, we'll sleep. The kids will love catching up on some movie time.

We love Swaziland. And we know we'll be back. We see God at work here, and we want to join Him in what He's doing. We wondered if being here for a month really made a difference. We believe we have made a difference. There's the big picture that God sees and He gives glimpses every once in a while. Then, there's the little picture. One that is attainable at the moment. It just takes investment--investment into people's lives. Community. Communion with the Lord and with one another. We're now asking God what our next step is going to be.

Keep praying for us. We'll be home on Thursday.

We love you.

Tonya & Doyle

Caleb, Joshua, Erin & Sarah

As Yet Untitled

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Doyle wrote this on the plane as we were flying to Swaziland. It was amazing to read it after the team shared their final debrief. God spoke this from the beginning, and He spoke it through the team during the entire trip.

Between the unsteady rocking of my seat and the whir of the jet engine it's hard to relax. My family and I are somewhere over South Carolina, traveling at nearly 650 miles per hour. We're flying into our destiny. Sometime ago God began to adjust my perspective, maybe rearrange my idea of who He is and who I was meant to be. So now, here we are on our way to Swaziland, Africa.

What is it about Swaziland that God wants to show us? Probably, not much about the country itself other than the beauty of His creation. No, most likely, God wants me to look into the eyes of Swazi people. Children, women, men -- all who are created in the image of the Creator. God likes to do that. He likes to bring us face to face with the deity in flesh. Every person carries the imprint to God upon them, but too many times we're blind to both Him and them.

You see, God is up to something. He is always up to something. From the Garden of Eden to Moses and the Burning Bush, David and Goliath, the prophet Elijah and Jesus. Yes, Jesus. What was He up to with Jesus? Jesus stands as the culmination of deity in flesh. The gospel of John says that Jesus is "the Word made flesh". To look into the eyes of Jesus was to look into the eyes of God and man simultaneously. Jesus is fully man and fully God.

Sometimes I wonder what it was like to look into Jesus' eyes. What kind of emotion would those eyes evoke? Would I be overwhelmed by guilt and shame because of what I don't see of myself or would I be consumed by a passion that causes me to completely forget myself? Would those eyes crush me or comfort me? Perhaps I would find myself both overwhelmed and consumed by the intense gaze of Jesus. To have my soul stripped bare and then wrapped in the warmth of His loving compassion; surely this is what it is to be held in the gaze of the living Christ.

I have a friend whose eyes are the most beautiful blue that one might imagine. Many times I have looked into his eyes and wondered what Jesus eyes will look like. I know that, according to good old common sense, Jesus eyes most likely are deep, dark brown. He was born Jewish so of course He would have dark eyes. The Bible never describes Jesus' eyes. What we do know about Jesus' eyes is that they cried, they looked to heaven, they looked with compassion, they looked with sorrow. What matters is not the color or size of Jesus' eyes. What mattered to the Father was the message held within those mysteriously beautiful eyes. These were the eyes that witnessed the glory of God before creation. These were the eyes that witnessed creation itself. These were the eyes of God.

My friend with the beautiful blue eyes makes me think of Jesus' eyes. Actually, my friend's eyes make me think of Jesus. I've seen joy, sorrow, mischief and even confusion in my friend's eyes. Those eyes have been both an indicator and a mirror. They indicate the state of my friend's heart and mirror the condition of my own. Jesus said that the eyes are the window of the soul. And Jesus wasn't afraid to look deeply into those windows and straight into the soul of a person, a soul as big as the sky.

Awesome Autumn's Swazi Cake

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is the recipe that Julie gave us to make the cakes for the Timbali Crafts retreat and for the final party at the carepoint. We renamed the recipe to thank Autumn for making all those cakes!

Enjoy! It's delicious!

Awesome Autumn's Swazi Cake

2-1/4 cup all purpose (or cake flour)

1-1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening (butter)

1-1/4 cup milk

3-1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs

Heat oven to 350F (190C). Grease and flour pan.

Bake rectangle 40-45 minutes

Bake 9 inch round 30-35 minutes

Bake 8 inch 20-25 minutes

Home

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hello! I am Teresa, one of the leaders with Doyle and Tonya and up until now I would say that unfortunatly I have been pretty silent to this blog page. Now that I am back in the states I'd love to share a little of my heart with you. The past month with this team has been truly amazing. It has been nothing that I expected and everything that I could have ever wanted or needed. As I sit here writing this I am currently in a well air conditioned hotel, getting ready for leader debrief, on a double bed at about 5:30pm. It's crazy how things can seemingly change in an instant. I can't believe I am home.

It is now 11:30pm in Swaziland. I think about Doyle and Tonya settling in back at the house with the kids. The ambassador team had their first day of ministry today, and probably met the kids! I hope they saw my little girl SheShay(that's how it sounds, not how it's spelled!) I hope she got a lot of loving and that she serenaded them with her songs and giggles! Oh my heart is heavy for these kids today. What did they do and how are they? I am grateful though that they have a team to come in and love on them!

So here I am back in the states. Touched down around 7am and back into the hustle and bustle we were. It's funny because for most of the trip we would dream up and imagine what being home would be like. What would be our first meal? Who would we see first? Would we just want to talk about all our experiences right away or maybe just cry because we miss those kids and our team? Well, in my first 10 hours I have had McDonalds for my first meal. (not as good as I was counting on but YAY for sweet tea!) I have talked with my parents and best friends and really find that I can't even begin to put into words all that I feel or have experienced and already, I miss the people I met like crazy!

I find that I may have dreamt about home in Swazi all the time but here, I will dream about Swazi. It seems that maybe home is a bit more of a loser term now because part of my heart will be in Swazi forever and I really do think, at the risk of sounding cheesy, that home is where the heart is. So, to my team, keep swazi alive in your hearts and minds and bring the news of what is going there to those around you. Keep the news of Swazi alive, share your stories. pictures, videos, tears and laughs! Let people know what God did and is doing and remember your home in Swazi with your team and with the people there.

Love you guys!

my last swazi blog =(

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

its our last day here and were going to the falls (side note:: Burley bear "i gotta aowie"... mama i fell down....so i might have some facial changes when i get home....no stitches i promise. And my hair is braided....LONG so i might look like a hippie with a really really really really bad black eye) its hard to believe its over...

Ngabisa and her sister didn't show up for the last week, so i never even got a chance to say goodbye. if there is anything I've learned so far its to live in the moment and value the time you have with the people you love...because your never sure when you might or might no see them again.

Ayanda and Wandile have become my crew though and yeasterday was so hard saying goodbye to them....she taught me to dance (miracles do happen!) and we would run around like little girls (that's how i fell down...how stupid is that?) but she cried and wouldnt even look at me.....until the end when she and Wandile and about several-hundred kids chased after our kumbi. I dont think i'll fully process all this until i wake up in my own bed...and realize that the care point is no longer a 15-20 min walk down the road but a 16 hr flight plus a 5 hour car ride. I didnt think i'd become this attached to the people....its not fair.

Everyone and thier mom has asked me weather or not I'm ready to go home.

i'm not, i'm ready to bring "home" here....I'm not ready to leave them but to bring my life to them.

It feels like the end, but I know it's just the beginning..

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

My time in Swaziland is quickly coming to an end. I can't believe Monday I'll be back in the States trying to adjust to life as I knew it. Life as I knew it seems so distant to life as I've known it these last four weeks. I can not imagine my life back at home because I'm SO attached to these kids.

Yesterday was our last day at the Care Point. We threw a party for the kids. Kelsey and I baked 6 cakes yesterday morning and we bought custard to put on the cakes instead of icing. It's a Swazi treat. I was so pumped to give them their little treat. After their pop (they didn't have beans yesterday) they lined up anxiously awaiting the special treat. They were so so so grateful and excited. Their smiles were incredible. Even the little ones knew the excitement of lining up for cake. Doyle and them hooked up the speaker system with an Ipod and we had a dance party too! Oh my goodness... they were so adorable! They pretty much followed your lead and copied every dance move you did. It was very bittersweet. The David Crowder song, "Oh Praise Him" brought a lot of us to tears. Here we were in Africa, dancing with God's childrend, singing praises to God and knowing that we won't dance with them again until Heaven. It was bittersweet but a beautiful thing. I love those kids so much. I really can't imagine life without them. I've seen them pretty much everyday these last 3 weeks.

The kids have changed more than I can even fully process. I really don't what everyday at home looks like when these kids are here.

I held Neseepo for almost an hour. She was in such a silly mood! She kept saying "go, and kimchi" which means run. We'd run back and forth and I'd tickle her and hug her and love on her. Her laugh is so contagious. Actually most Swazi children laugh from the the depths of their souls and it's so refreshing to hear!

The bucket baby's sister was there today and she was very sad that we wouldn't be coming back. I told her that I would pray for her and show her picture to my family when I got back to America. Towards the end of the day, she asked me for food and told me she was hungry. I didn't have anything to give her. As we loaded the Kumbi I was telling my fellow teammates and asking if they had any food...and they did! So.. I got back out of the kumbi with a bag filled with some cookies, water, and a candy bar. I handed it to the girl and she immediately hugged me tight. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes! Aww. I prayed with her and then got back in the Kumbi. It still hasn't hit me that we won't be back. I'm trying to comprehend it, but it's so hard. It's still surreal to me.

I definately want to return to Swaziland!

Treasure the head of the Care Point was very grateful for our team. She thanked us for spoiling and taking care of "her children". Our team bought new rags, scrubbers, sponges and spoons for the Gogos. Treasure was very grateful for our gifts. Also, we had almost an entire cake left, and I told her she could have it. She was very excited and began singing ,"Praise the Lord." We also had 4 boxes of unopened custard which we gave her too. She was almost gitty. It was awesome!!! And.. the Gogo loved the cake so much that she asked me for the recipe! This is the infamous recipe that I made 5 of for the Lady's Timabli retreat a few weeks ago. So.. in the entirety of this trip I've made 13 cakes ( i made one for our team last week). So.. with a double check of the ingredients with Kelsey I was able to recall the cake from memory and write it down for her. I thought about renaming it to Autumn's Yellow Cake recipe, but instead I named it Awesome yellow Cake. Our team has renamed it to Swazi Yellow Cake. I think Tonya is going to put the recipe on here at some point. i don't have enough time to type it out, otherwise I would.

Lori and Alex.. Congrats on baby Lilly! I am so pumped for you guys!

Rose and Ashley and anyone else.... start talking and planning a visit to KC..

I love you all!!

Update from Lauren

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hey yo! Update #3!!! I guess I'm getting better at this lol. Figures, it takes three weeks to teach Loho how to blog right. Okay exciting stuff first!

---> I have two Siswati names

1)Mbali (mmm-bah-lee):: it means flower

2)Tibuyile (tee-boy-ee-lay):: it means to return or "I will return soon"

---> some of our danced a traditional Swazi dance with some girls from the local school (the gogo teaching it loved the dance moves we had) =)

---> Teresa and I got my hair braided this morning!!! (side note:: owie) mama you'll be thrilled ;)

---> I got a chance to play doctor on a little girls foot that had gotten super duper infected.

--> Christine shut the power off in our house just so we could see the stars outside

-->we watched Prince Caspian....on the ceiling

---> we colored amazing pictures and decorated powerful verses...and now they're on the walls of our home =)

---> we lined our staircase with mattresses....and rolled down it like a slide. (EPIC)

---> Every Sunday I've been excited to go to church....and to tithe....and to sing...and dance. (you might find that a small feat but what if I mentioned that the entire service runs anywhere from 3-4 hours long?)

Okay so after my breaking moment with Ngabisa and her family I guess you could say I thought about home a lot. But its gotten better. It's so easy to embrace the culture here...they are just so colorful and friendly. It really is amazing to see a nation ravaged by AID's and poverty, hold on to hope with everything they have. My heart breaks more and more for them everyday, they are drowning in suffering of every measure and yet they give with all they have and try to make sure their appearance is a happy, go-lucky, welcome to Swaziland. It blows my mind.

This being our last week has been really hard on some of the people we've grown with. Especially the kids at the Care Point, even though I got a few addresses there were tears shed and hearts broken. It breaks you...slowly...but it does. And you don't realize it until you remember your leaving in 4 days. And these kids who have nothing, made you their everything. As much as you might want to stay or take them with you...you can't. You can only take the memories, pictures and videos.

God has taught me so much. About value, love, respect, sacrifice, and true heartbreak.

I've been saying a prayer for everyone back home. I love and miss you all and can't wait to see your smiling faces (Katie, thank you for putting my return on your calendar. I feel pretty important. By the by I had a dream Luca died and came back to life. But I'll explain that when I get home)<---speaking of getting home....momma if you could get a hold of Tonya or Doyle and give them my flight info on how I'm getting from Atlanta to Midway or wherever that would be awesome...either by commenting on this or commenting on this. =)

Loves and kisses

Loho

Update from Erin

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It's me Erin! I LOVE being in Africa. It's so fun! Every Monday I get to to help our neighbor Christine down the road teaching at a school with 2ND GRADERS!!! At the house we have a cute little dog! And Christine has two CATS! We have parts of our team go to different places. Some go to the hospital, some go to Hope House, and some go to the care point. I love going to the care point! At the care point there is a little girl named Nosipho. My mom and I LOVE Nosipho! She is so cute! Every time we go there I spend the whole time with her... I don't know if I like EVERYTHING in swaziland or not. The reason I think this is I was offered a husband!! Not so exiting if his mom does it for him!

We get to go to the market on Thursday!!!! It's is so cool there! I can't wait to go. And the team is so, so well. You get the idea!

Sam: AWESOME!

Kelsey: AWESOME!

Sarah(not my sister.):AWESOME!

Edie: AWESOME!

Lauren: AWESOME!

Autumn: AWESOME!

Staci: AWESOME!

Meghann: AWESOME!

Angela: AWSOME!

Anna: AWESOME!

Whitney: AWESOME!

Teresa(leader.):AWESOME!

I can't believe we are coming back so soon! I LOVE swaziland but can't wait to be home! I'll be back in a week! See ya soon! I miss you Granny & Papaw and Mammaw & Papaw.

PS. LOVE YOU LULU!!!!! Can't wait to party all day and night!

Catching up with the Wallaces!

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is going to be a long one! It's been a few days, and I wanted to post everything.

Friday, June 19

Titi suggested that we do an ATL this morning. It's between the Carepoint and downtown Manzini with street evangelism. I knew that Teresa would do carepoint and that Doyle would do street evangelism. It was the opposite. I'm supposed to find a woman in a blue sweater near a rock wall or house. Lord, please lead me to her. Your word says You order our steps. You are faithful, and I will follow You.

I found the woman in blue at the rock wall. Actually, she found us. Autumn suggested that we stop and pray. At the same time, Edie said she didn't understand what we were doing. She's never prayer walked before. She said, "Teach me like a child. I have no idea what we're doing." So I started to explain to her that as we were walking we were asking God to show us who He wanted to speak to. And then I told her the vision or impression that God had given me during our worship time this morning. I noticed Meghann was talking to a lady. We were street level; the woman was down below in some type of shopping center. Meghann said she wanted prayer. The woman "Margaret" came running up the stairs and jumped right in the middle of our circle. She said she wanted prayer. All of us needed to pray for her. She wanted God. So we did a concert of prayer -- all of us praying at the same time. Margaret was very excited. She thanked us and went back to work. Edie couldn't believe what just happened. She started to cry and say "I get it! I get it now!" It was amazing. And then to know that this was the woman in blue at the rock wall that God had told me about was just overwhelming! Thank you Jesus!

Our prayer walk was great. Zelele took us to the Manzini Market. We have all been wanting to go to the market, and this was our chance, except we weren't there to BUY anything! Zelele told us that Thursday is the best day to go to the market. That's when all of the gogos and makes come from the carepoints with their crafts. It's the biggest day at the market. So I promised them that we could go on Thursday morning! Zelele walked us through the market and asked people if we could pray for them. Most of them wanted us to ask God to prosper their business. One man's leg was infected. He had been to the hospital several times with different medicines, but nothing made it better. One of the gogos pointed to me and said, "You. You pray for him." We all prayed.

On the way back to the AIM office, we stopped at a PEP store to buy children's clothes. Our team wanted to buy panties, diapers and other clothing for the kids at the carepoint. Erin picked out a sweatsuit for Nesepo. It's hot pink and black polka dots with black sweatpants. Erin was very excited about getting this for her. They all were in a hurry to get back to the carepoint to give out their treasures. We walked back to the AIM office. I took the girls back to the carepoint. Teresa and I went to the grocery store. I'm going to count and see how many loaves of bread we have bought during this trip. I think I buy 12 loaves at a time, and I go to the store at least 4 times a week. It's no wonder they say that women gain weight on this trip, with all of the rice, pap and bread! Adam called and found out about a safari. We made reservations for 2:00 on Saturday. We're not going to tell everyone until tomorrow. They are going to be SO excited! We're gonna make them sweat it out! And wonder if we're going to the Falls or on a safari. I love being a leader! Ha

Tonight we were invited to Scott and Marcia Borg's apartment. Julie cooked MEXICAN! Homemade tortillas and homemade salsa. Julie lived in Mexico for years, so she knows what she's doing. Christine, Dennis, and Zwekele were there too. It was fun to sit and talk to everyone. Dennis and Zwekele had a rough day. Zwegele's brother was causing trouble. They told us that he is a threat to the community; he likes to beat up women. He drinks and smokes weed every day. He came home and started a fight with his mother and sister. To make a long story short, he hit his sister in the head with a rock. She had to be taken to the hospital for stitches and shots (one in the head and in both shoulders). To hit someone, especially in the head, is attempted murder. They called the police, but the police said they didn't have time to look for him. They suggested that the family find him, beat him and tie him up, and then bring him to the jail. (This seems to be normal procedure). Dennis said that a posse was put together to search for him, and that he was going to join the posse after dinner. I cracked up! The posse are members of the church. Dennis said that Pastor Walter was there too with his hatchet. (Not to actually use, but to show that they're serious). We prayed for Zwekele's family and for the safety of the posse. They didn't find her brother. He's still on the loose. But he'll be back, eventually. And they'll take him to the police.

We watched a DVD with comedian Brian Reagan. It was hilarious. Teresa slept on the couch. She was so tired. It's the first time she's been able to relax apart from the team. I think she enjoyed her evening. When we got back home, we found out that the team cleaned up the white house! Yeah! Team!!!

Saturday, June 20

It's safari time. Well, actually the team is going to the internet cafe first, and then to the safari. It will be at least an hour's drive. Musa (from the D team) is driving the other AIM kumbi. Doyle wanted a cappuccino from Baker's Corner. So we met there. (He walked with some of the team; I drove the rest of the team). Josh and Caleb ate chicken pie, and Erin ate a peppered steak pie. Sarah was happy with her upside down orange drink and some chips. I met Crystal Chapman in Baker's Corner. Christine told me about her when we first arrived at the white house. Crystal has four boys, and they live in the same neighborhood. She heard Erin ordering food at the counter was happy to hear an American speak. She knew exactly who we were, so she came over, introduced herself and invited us to her house for a brie one night this week. I'm excited!

The Hlane Safari was awesome! We saw giraffes, rhinos, elephants and some really cool looking birds. I swore I saw zebras, but the driver didn't point them out. We went to the watering hole and saw a momma and baby elephant drink. They tried to charge us. It was great! The driver sped off. I was glad that the vehicle didn't die. It had been. And Caleb was freaking out! No lions today. There are 10 in the game reserve. But they wouldn't show themselves. I was disappointed. The driver told us about a cactus-looking tree located in the park. (There's a huge tree in front of the Manzini post office). The milk-juice is poisonous. Fishermen used to cut the tree up into little pieces and throw it in the water. The fish would immediately die and float to the top. The fishermen would have to get the fish out of the water quickly and clean it before the poison got into the meat. The driver also said that if you get any of the cactus juice in your eyes you would be blind for the rest of your life. The safari was 2-1/2 hours long. Time went fast. I have to admit that after going on today's safari Disney does a very good job with their safaris at Animal Kingdom. I leaned up to Josh during the drive and said, "After this, let's go ride Everest rollercoaster." He laughed. I still can't believe we're in Africa! And we went on a real safari!!!! We drove back to Manzini and ate at a restaurant called Nando's. It was excellent! Chicken pita and chips with peri-peri seasoning.

Sunday, June 21

Happy Father's Day! I am so thankful for my wonderful Dad! I went to the AIM office and Skyped him today. Brian is planning to grill a 24 ounce steak! I love you Dad! And Mom!

Doyle preached at Ntabas Church today. There was a full house. I videotaped some of the worship. I love church in Swaziland. It's one big house church! Our team sang "Blessed Be The Name of the Lord" and "How Great is Our God." I played the keyboard, and Caleb was going to play the guitar, but we couldn't get them both in tune. We're so white. That's all I can say. It was good. But we're really white compared to their singing! Ha. Doyle preached from John 15 -- the vine and the branches. He preached with a translator. Hillbilly to English to siSwati. Ha. It was great! Seriously, Titi's brother Bake translated for him. Doyle had to learn how to break up his sentences and let Bake translate them to siSwati. God was glorified! I also videotaped some of Doyle's sermon!

Let me tell you the best part of church! Someone brought a chicken as their offering today!!! It was a LIVE CHICKEN! And it was placed under the "communion" table! We at first thought it was dead or maybe even a decoration that had fallen under the table. But it really was a live chicken! It's legs were tied together so it couldn't run around. It was a beautiful chicken with black and white spots. I saw some boys put it in the pastor's car after church was over. And one more thing about offering. This is the funniest thing we have ever witnessed. Ntabas Church divides their attendees into two groups when taking up the offering. It's sort of a competition to see who gives the most money. The groups are -- Are you ready for this? -- divided into BMWs and Mercedes Benz. They even have model cars which are placed on a trophy-like piece of wood. The "winner" gets placed on top of the trophy. A woman gets up and makes the "Give your best to God" speech and then shouts "Hallelujah BMW! Hallelujah Mercedes!" I was a Mercedes, and I can proudly say that we Benzes won two out of three weeks. BMWs won this week, but only by a few Emelengenis. Wow! Can you believe that?

The pastor is trying to plan a brie for the team before we leave. It will either be at Joy Mission or at his house. The team is excited.

My children seemed to fight a lot today, especially Josh and Erin. (What else is new, right?) Caleb was even high strung today. I apologized to Doyle and said I was sorry that out of all the days we've been in Africa the kids picked Father's Day to fight and argue. Doyle said, "How many dads get to spend Father's Day with their family in Swaziland, Africa!" We went back to Nando's for lunch. It was between that and KFC. We ate KFC last Sunday. I don't know if I'll ever eat KFC in the states again. It's SO much better here! It has to be the fresh chicken.

Happy Father's Day! Or in Swaziland, Happy Babe Day! ("bah-be")

Monday, June 22

Today is the big day. We get to paint the canvass for The Sound of Hope. Well, we get to organize the painting of the children's hands at the Mengwenini carepoint for the canvass. It's going to be a big job. When we pulled out the "instructions," we found out that it's a bigger job than we anticipated. 58 pieces of canvass. It's going to take all of us at the carepoint. And we have to be organized!

We didn't get all of the paintings done. I think we have less than half to go. The process was good. The entire team helped make it a good process. It was fun to watch, and the kids LOVED getting their hands painted. Most of all, they LOVED the stickers and candy afterwards.

We saw Nesepo at the carepoint today. We haven't seen her since Thursday. Her foot looked horrible. She was still limping, and her toe looked like raw meat. During all of the hand painting, Lauren took her to the kitchen and washed her foot as best she could. Doyle then put medicine on it and we wrapped it up. Doyle said he thought it looked like an abscess that had burst. He called Harry Vanderwal at The Luke Commission and asked if he could see and treat her. Doyle, Erin and I took Nesepo to the hospital to visit Dr. Harry. Nesepo was very excited. I don't know if she's ever been in a kumbi before. She laughed and sang the entire way. Erin gave her a bottle of sparkling water. And I gave her a piece of chewing gum. It was heaven! Dr. Harry wasn't available, but we did see Dr. Andy Ingram. Andy thought that Nesepo burned her foot. He cut away the dead skin, treated it with silver antibiotic cream, and wrapped it up. He also gave her some antibiotics and pain medicine. She even got a new pair of hot pink shoes from The Children's Place to keep it clean. Erin was thrilled to give Nesepo her new outfit now. Everything matched! Nesepo was so excited. We needed to stop at the Spar grocery store to pick up some more bread (I really am going to count the number of loaves and I WILL post it!) I carried Nesepo into the grocery store. I tried to put her in the grocery cart, but she didn't know what I was doing. It was awkward. I realized that she's never been in a grocery cart before. She was oohing and aahing over the food. She wanted some milk. Then she wanted some yogurt. (After seeing the kids eat the spoiled yogurt, I wanted her to have it!) She then gasped over the large bags of rice. My heart broke! I bought that baby a bag of rice...and some yogurt...and some milk...and some bread...and some already cooked chicken...and some chips...and a donut with sprinkles. Her eyes were wide with excitement! I couldn't help but think about the countless times I've had my own children in the grocery cart and let them have what they asked for. At least for one day, I was able to bless Nesepo with that. We drove her back to the carepoint and walked down to her house. There were two women, a toddler and a crying baby outside to greet us. They said something to Nesepo in siSwati as we walked up, and she laughed really hard. Nesepo immediately shared her chips and yogurt with the older child. We told the ladies that we had taken Nesepo to the doctor, and that we had bought some food. The older woman was very grateful. She kept saying over and over "God bless you. God bless you." We didn't stay long. It was getting dark. We will ask Titi to read the instructions on the bottles of medicine. It's all written in siSwati. I don't know if we can trust anyone with the medicine to make sure she gets it. Maybe the gogos at the carepoint are our best effort.

The internet here is too slow to upload pictures. We will put ALL of the photos on our photography website when we get back home. I'll post an update with the link!

We love you all. Thanks for your prayers!

Tonya & Doyle

Caleb, Josh, Erin & Sarah

Team Updates

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The majority of the team do not have their password for this blog to post updates. That's why they haven't blogged as much as they wanted to. I wish that I had thought of this before now, but I'm letting them type on our computer. I'll post their updates, but it will be through our user name.

Blessings!

Tonya

Song Written by Sarah West

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

God gave Sarah a song. She wrote it in sections, and it all came together one night during team time. The next morning, she sang it during worship. She is teaching it to the team. We're going to videotape it and post it when we get back...

Broken Candles

By: Sarah West

V1.

Touch their lives, Lord Jesus

Allow their eyes, to be set on You

We want to fix the pain and the heartaches

But we know, it's not without You

Chorus.

Jesus, we need You

Your people are broken without You

Your people are lost without You

Reign in our lives

Consume our hearts with You

V2.

Heal the wounds we see in this country

Bring your people home

Oh sovereign mighty God, keep us in Your arms

I cry, with everything I am

We are your people now, have our hearts

Chorus.

V3.

Our eyes are opened to the truth

We see the hope and the light

You are here and your love covers all / You are here and your love covers all

Breathing life into the lifeless, and hope into the dying

Burn in us Lord, never leave...

Bridge:
We are Your candles

Set us on fire, speak through us.

Chorus.

Update from Autumn

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Everyday goes by faster than the last. I am in shock that we only have four more days of ministry. The note from my Mom encouraged me to reflect on my first few days here and how I felt. It is strange to look back and remember the anxiousness of diving in and loving on God's children. I have fallen in love with Swaziland and I'm pretty sure I'm coming back. I've told a few of my team members that I'm coming back next year and bringing Mason and Ethan.. So start praying! I love the friendliness of the people and the hope of the children. These little kids have barely anything yet they are so joyous and full of hope. I know that when I return home my heart will begin processing all that I have witnessed. As of now, my heart can only continue pouring out. I am beginning to wonder what my purpose is when I go home, while I'm here in Swaziland I know my purpose. It will be interesting to see God's revealed purpose for me when I return home far away from this place I've come so attached to. I have missed home a lot recently especially my best friend. As I they cross my mind, I keep being reminded of something Jill Briscoe told me back in March when I told her about my trip, "Home is Being in the Will of God." This phrase has run through my mind constantly, and the will of God right now is for me to love on His children and give attention to the forgotten.

So... Here's a ministry update....There is a little baby at the Care Point that basically is afraid of white people. She cries the majority of the time we try and hold her. Yesterday her siblings were trying to console her and they were exhausted from trying. We had brought a few buckets to the Care Point to help wash hands for our hand-printing, and Whitney suggested we place her in the bucket. She loved sitting on Whitney's lap in the bucket. It was so cute. Eventually she got scared and went back to her brother. I offered to hold her so the brother could play. The little girl loved sitting in the bucket and being rocked back and forth, it was so so cute. After about an hour of in and out of the bucket, tapping and singing, rocking, and swaying she finally fell asleep. I think she was teething, and I felt so bad for her, but I was happy that I was able to calm her down and sway/sing her to sleep. There was one little baby there that was practically screaming bloody murder, very very pain filled screams. The girl that was holding him kept shaking him to get him to quiet down. Watching someone shake a baby made me really nervous, so I passed my sleeping baby on to Josh and went to "save the day" and help with the situation. I took the little boy and rocked him back and forth, and for about five minutes he would quiet down, and then start screaming and clutching me tightly. I was not able to calm him down, and I relentlessly had to pass him back to his sister so I could help with the hand printing. I hope and pray that the little baby was able to rest. I hope and pray he was relieved from whatever pain he was experiencing.

The rest of day I was involved with the hand prints. Kelsey and I painted hands and Sam stamped the hands onto the canvas. All of their little hand prints were so precious. It is amazing to me how each hand print is unique. That sounds really silly but it was amazed that God knows each of those little hands by name and loves them far more than I can ever love them. It was fun to watch their excitement as we painted their hands. For some of them, this may have been their first experience with paint. They loved the ooey gooey feeling of paint between their fingers. I love art projects and I love children. At one point we were doing a pattern of left to right hand prints and one little girl got overly excited and slapped a nice white upside down hand print down onto the canvas. It was SO cute! It added character to the pattern. It made my heart smile. A few of the little ones loved getting their hands painted so much, that they came by three, four and five times to stamp their personalities onto canvas. I look forward to eventually buying whatever comes of those hand prints. =)

Sorry if I rambled, when they give me an extra chance to blog, I try to take advantage. Thanks all for your continued prayers. God continues to remind me of my purpose here in Swaziland.

Autumn

Update from Sarah West

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Sanibonani!

I can't even begin to believe that we are leaving in a little less than a week. It all seems so surreal, that could very well be due to the fact that everyday seems to disappear in the blink of an eye. I hardly feel as if I've had enough time to process everything. Yet here I am, typing away. Regardless, this past month has been absolutely eye opening, heart-breaking and amazing. The children we have encountered are such prime examples of innocence in Christ, and loving on them has simply made me realize how important they are. At the care point, I've found myself attached to this one little girl, whose name I can't pronounce for the life of me. Its one of those names with clicks and clacks... Oh how I wish I was able to fluently speak SiSwati! This girl, has the most incredible story, and every time she sees me her face lights up with a smile from ear to ear. I'm bringing her bak to Bermuda mom and dad, just be ready - I wish! Anyways, she was recently given a prosthetic leg by the red cross, and all the little kids are simply confused by it. She keeps hitting her leg as hard as she can, to show them that its fake, and they just stand there, mouths gaping open. To see such courage like that in a girl of 4 years old, is mind boggling. She is so unafraid of life. Sometimes I wish I could take on a similar courage in my everyday life. Its funny to think that the children here are teaching us so much as we witness to them. There is so much more that I would love to share, but I will save it for next time. I'll end with this, if I never see a peanut butter and jelly sandwich again, I think I will survive. In all honesty, its not that bad, I'm loving every moment of every day, and now, I'm going to ride in the kuumbi in to the African sun.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Phil 4:6-7

Peace and Love

Sarah

trip update

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I just wrote a long update and somehow it didn't get posted on here.. Sad day!

Thanks for all your encouragement. We have an Ambassodor group coming our last few days in Swaziland, so I might get to meet Anna, Elyssa daughter ( who left a comment on my last post). Anywayzz. thanks for all your comments, I was so grateful to read them. It's as if I was able to talk to each of you briefly!

I struggled this week to love the unloved. Loving wholeheartedly someone who smells is very hard. One little girl in particular is really clingy, hits everyone and is mean was very attached to me on one particular day this week. Her dress has crusted food on it and reaks of body odor and grime. During my devotions that morning, I'd written on my wrist ( I know Mom, you hate when I write on my hands), "God is love, love His children boldly". As I struggled to hug and love this little girl, I glanced at my wrist and was reminded to love His children boldly. Her little dress is ripped in the back and just hangs on her, she has no panties either. I loved on her, but it was hard. God taught me that sometimes it's going to be hard to love sometimes, but It's what He's called us to do. Tonya actually had an extra dress, so yesterday the other group was able to give this little girl a clean dress and underwear! She was so much nicer, less clingy and didn't smell. It was awesome to see how much a clean dress can change someone's attitude. It was encouraging to know we've made a difference in her little life. Our team was also able to give the other girls who didn't have underwear some. I'll never forget their little faces as they walked away with fresh clean underwear.

Also, I really saw the reality of the sick this week. Little Neseepo worried me so much all day, and I hated that when I taught the lesson that we couldn't hold her. I was glad that we were able to carry her home safely! I taught the story of Noah to the younger ones this week, and loved it. God just might be calling me to teach younger children (who knew).. haha. He's strengthening my gifts and reminding me of the passions He's given me. I held one little boy this week and he was extremely lethargic. He worried me, he was asleep in my arms and completely limp, and when he did kind of wake up his eyes would roll back. IT was scary. I prayed hard that he would be okay. He didn't feel feverish, but it was just strange. I had some sweet tea with me, so I gave him that , to boost his blood sugar, he seemed to be doing a little bit better after that. This happened on Wednesday, and since then none of us had seen him back at the care point. The little guy was Staci's little buddy and she and were convinced that he had died or something. But.. yesterday as we were leaving the Care Point, Staci spotted him and gave him a hug, and he looked better. She and I got teary because we were so excited. IT was a happy way to end the day!

At the hospital I got to stand and color with a little girl whose leg was broken. She was an awesome colorer. I also got to hold a 6 week old premature baby. The mother's name was Rose ( woot woot to my old roomie). And she 'jokingly' offered him to be my husband. The baby had to have weighed less than my purse. He probably weighed less than 3lbs. He was so sweet. All I could do was pray for his health as I held him in my arms. I'm hoping that when we go back to visit the hospital that he's still doing well.

I'm sorry by blog isn't very detailed. I had a more detailed one, that for some reason didn't post. We have one more week left here in Swaziland, pray for conintued openness to God's voice and His prodding. I can't believe we begin our journey home next Sunday. Time has flown by. I'm not sure if I'll be able to update again, but continue leaving comments, I appreciate them so much!

lori...everyone on the team has heard about you and baby g. I'm praying for you and Alex everyday and hoping you are doing well.

Dad.. happy father's day

thanks for your prayers!! love you all!

The second Loho/Swazi blog

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

okay i know i know i know! how is it going?

well hahaha its going....

after our first walk about of Manzini, i was a litlle frightened to go outside to be honest. And yes, the first week did go by very very very slow but this second week flew past and i cant believe were only here for 7 more days =(

The ministry opportunities are appearing endlessly!!!

but i will share the hardest days for me it was actually pretty recent hahaha

(june 16th) our team was going to the hospital (we usually have three choices; Hospital, Hope House, or Care Point. The Hope House is like a hospice for patients with AIDs/TB/ect...and we've been going to a care point that is just across the highway.) Anyway, we get to the hospital and not three seconds after we had stepped into the door a man broke out into a fit; wailing,crying, losing controll of all his limbs, and cringing up. welcome to the hospital right? i couldnt do anything but pray.

turns out the reason he was there was because he had one of these fits during a fire, and fell face first into the flames. i wanted to be sick. I expirienced my first dose of empathy as i hugged the gogo, she just sobbed as she watched the man she loved go through horrific pain and what hurt her hurt me too. After that we visited the childrens ward, never have i seen a hospital so dirty and uncomfortable....i'll have to describe that one when i get home.

and after THAT we did our first home visits! (YAY!) we visited this cute little 90 year old gogo...and at first she only saw dennis and pastor man...she was happy... then she turns around to see five more people standing there and oh did her eyes light up! she clapped her hands and did a little "oooooooooohhhhhh!" oh she was adorable. God really showed himself to me there. His gentleness so to speak. I wish i could say our last home visist went as well only Doyle was allowed to go because of the "situation" so we walked back to the kumbi and i sat down to journal. all of a sudden i started hearing moans and crying coming from over the hill, then i heard prayer. turns out the lady was demon possesed. I didnt see any of it but my room mate Staci did. I felt so bad for her because she never really snapped back into funcion and she felt wrecked. (of course she has gotten better after she came face to face with "little buddy". A little boy from the care point, she thought didn't make it and now we're going on a safari today =)))

(june 17th)

we did the hope house this day wich was probably one of the best and worst days ever

the best because i got to sing and play guitar for this mentally handicapped boy who sang and smiled ALL the time...so naturally i smiled/giggled ALL the time. he was SO sweet and his mother really appreciated the prayer. after that we went to the Care Point (this was my breaking expirience) Ngabisa, a little girl i've become very close and attached to was left at the Care Point by her older sister who usually makes the 3 1/2 hour hike with her back home. Ngabisa is 9 years old...no way was i about to let her walk by herself at sundown. So we hop in the kumbi and Ngabisa is giving Titi (our adorable translator) directionsthe farther and farther we got the more my heart sank "does she really walk this everyday?" YEP. When we got to her neighborhood it was gut wrenching the houses were no bigger than my dads yard shed; made of mud and covered with tin roof or the occasional scraps of garbage and smushed together like boxcars in a train yard. The driving got worse because well, not many cars could make the trip, but you could tell it wasnt exactly a nice place.

When Ngabisa said to stop she pointed at a path (wich looked more like a makeshift drainage system) She said her house wasnt far but Doyle,Titi, and I (good enough grammar ma?jk i lurve you) opted to walk with her anyway, it was getting pretty dark. We took the path, made a sharp left and stopped at about the third or fourth house down. The door had been busted in and a hole punched sheet was the only thing covering the crack. her mom walked out with her little brother (who was lacking any sort of lower coverage) and explained that her Father was home, and he was sick. she asked if we could pray for him. Not exactly knowing what to expect we said yes. I grabbed Doyles hand as we walked in (and prabably cut off the circulation....sorry bout that) As we walked through the curtain we eneterd a small room (a prison cell might be bigger) there were four beds one of wich was just a mat on the floor. There was stuff everywhere i was surprised we fit three people in that room, and it was so dark. No candles, electricity, flashlight, nothing. A random clothesline swung through the middle of the room. And it hit me then "This is where she lives. This is her livingroom, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, everything.and ther is just barely enough room for all of us." So i sat on the end of the bed where her father lay. He told us not to touch him for fear of getting us sick, but at that point i really didnt care. He continued to tell us his story::

He has pnemonia....for the past three months. He's been to the doctor twice but it doesnt do him any good. He's too weak to eat, much less take the pills, so he only drinks water. His wife is getting sick so its hard for them to raise the 6 kids they have (4 boys and 3 girls).And whenever he coughs it feels like he has glass shards or ice in his ribs. He used to have a Job but since he's been sick he hasn't left bed (ie; no money for food).

i just sat there and sobbed. here is a girl who is lucky enough to have both parents and all she can do is sit ther and watch as they dissapear.

i couldnt help it, i called her over and just held her as i cried. When i looked at her father i always saw mine. Her father told us that she comes home from the care point and always talks about her american friend (thats me). This girl has nothing to smile about, she's hungry, her father is hoplessly ill, her mother is going down the same path. but she smiles and she loves me and comes to laugh and play.

It took me two days to cope with the idea that God is still in controll. But i've still got so much more to learn here.

love and blessings

Lauren

Another Update from Tonya

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Wednesday, June 17

Today is Erin's best friend, Lucy's birthday. Erin cried today. She misses her friend. I took her to the AIM office to email Lucy. She seemed happier after that. Would someone please call and tell Lucy that we're thinking about her and we all miss her, especially Erin? It seems we're all missing our family and friends.

Today seemed to be even harder for the team than yesterday. Teresa's group went to the hospital. They didn't know what to do. They felt totally incompetent.Something was freezing them.

My girl Nesepo is still sick. She slept a lot today. When Autumn put her down, she cried. She said her foot was hurting. It's swollen. We don't know what's wrong with her. She can't walk home, so we offered to take her. We walked through the "squatter camp". I was shocked at how many houses are back there. We got to Nesepo's house. There were people outside sitting around drinking moonshine.Women sitting on straw mats. There were two babies -- twins. One of the men started talking to Doyle, asking him about President Obama. I heard Doyle say, "Well, I didn't vote for Obama, but he's still my president." I then heard Doyle say that having relations should be with your one wife. The man didn't want to hear that. He changed the subject. How do you convince them to stay with their one wife (and not spread HIV/Aids) when the king of Swaziland has 13 wives? Nesepo went inside and changed clothes. She's very quiet. We stayed for a long time. It was getting dark. Then we found out that a girl had been left at the carepoint who doesn't live in the squatter camp. She walks a couple of hours to get to the carepoint, and her older sister had already left. We decide to drive her home. I didn't get to go, but when the others came back, everyone was very upset. Even Titi was crying. Then Doyle broke. It was the hardest home visit Titi had ever experienced. The Dad has pneumonia. He's been sick for three months. He had a good job, but now he can't even get out of bed. He's going to die. The team prayed for him. There was no electricity. They don't have food. They could barely see inside the small hut, much less the man's face. But they prayed for God to heal him. The mother was very appreciative that we brought her daughter home. The little girl was estatic that we would visit with her family at her house.

Thursday, June 18

My team went to the hospital today. It was a great experience. The girls suggested that we prayer walk around the hospital first thing. Erin was car sick (she had to ride backwards). I stayed with her while Caleb, Autumn, Angela and Anna prayer walked. Then we went into the children's ward. There weren't as many children there. I spoke with the little boy who had stomach surgery. He had colored the majority of the pages in the coloring book. I gave him another. His babe and make were there with him. I prayed for their family. Then I spoke with the woman who lived in Virginia. Her father works for the Swaziland Embassy and was in Virginia for five years while she was growing up. Her baby is sick. She asked Erin to give him an English name. She named him Elijah -- Eli after Madelyn's brother. She said she was a true Christian. She had been in America, and she's lived in Swaziland. She knows that there are evil spirits and witchcraft and she can feel their presence. She said the evil was very present yesterday. All of the babies lie next to one another on the "changing table." Her son was on oxygen. The baby next to her was healthy, almost ready to go home. He died in the middle of the night. Then another baby died. She said evil had won and had taken those babies from their mothers. I told her that God was in control and that those babies were with Jesus now. She said she knew that. She just didn't think it was right for those babies to die. She prayed all night for her baby. She didn't want any evil to "jump" onto her baby. I'm glad she told me this story. It confirms what Teresa's team was feeling yesterday. I told the make about how the team felt. She asked me why we can't overcome evil sometimes. She then thanked me for coming -- thanked US for coming. She said that it helps when we're there at the hospital.

I went into the malnutrition room. THAT WAS SO HARD! These babies are skeletons. They're so small. They should be in incubators. Not being held.The babies cry a lot. One mother told me that her baby was a triplet. I asked where the other two babies were, and she said only God knows. She didn't know. She gave them away. Another mother asked what was in my purse. It looks big. I'm carrying my wallet, my journal, and medicine mainly. I gave her some chewing gum. She wanted the medicine. It was nighttime cold medicine, and yet she took it right then. We kept telling her it wasn't candy. I don't think she cared. She then asked me again what else was in my purse. I knew I didn't have to answer her, but I thought "What do I have that could help her?" I gave her some antibacterial wipes. And then I brought out the camera. She asked "How much?" I told her it was Erin's camera. She wanted me to take a picture of her baby. That started a whole chain of events. I took pictures of almost everyone in the malnutrition unit. The mothers thanked us for coming. Said it was a good thing that we were there.

When we came outside, we were blocked in by another car. We waited for 1-1/2 hours to get out of the parking lot. We prayed some. And then Caleb, Erin, Angela and Anna walked down to the soccer fields to watch the school practice soccer. Yesterday, there were soccer tournaments. All of the schools wear uniforms. There was every color of uniform along the soccer fields. Hundreds and hundreds of students. It was crazy to watch! The soccer fields today were empty compared to yesterday.

We drove back to the carepoint. I didn't get out of the car. It was past time to go home. It was getting dark. One of the kids opened the door and honked the horn. Oh my goodness! That was amazing to them. They all took turns honking the Kumbi horn. It was hilarious. They laughed everytime it beeped. Simple pleasures.

We're all doing fairly good. We can't believe that the team only has a week left. We're planning to go on a safari tomorrow (hopefully). It's our day off. Josh has been having stomach problems. He threw up last night. Please pray for him, and for all of us. It seems that everyone has experienced some type of stomach ache. I pray it's not the water! We were told that it was okay to drink the tap water at the house. Then others said it wasn't okay. Oh well.

Thanks again for your prayers. I hope these blogs are not too long. I'm trying to document everything that I can. Please continue to pray that we are the hands and feet of our Lord and Savior.

Blessings!

Tonya

SCARED by Tom Davis

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

If you want to know what we're experiencing here in Swaziland, Africa, I highly recommend purchasing the book, "Scared" by Tom Davis.You can get it through Amazon or you can go to www.tomdavis.com. I read the book in a couple of days. Everything that we have witnessed or experienced is contained in this book. From the airport to the carepoints to the feelings that we are having -- it's in this book.

Tom Davis is the founder of Children's Hope Chest. From what I understand, Children's Hope Chest is run by Adventures in Missions Swaziland. Tom writes about a local pastor here in Swaziland. God used Pastor Walter to make a difference in the Swazi people. I was privileged to meet Pastor Walter and his children while attending the Timabli Crafts retreat this past weekend. Doyle ministered with Pastor Walter yesterday. Scared is an easy read, yet it is an extremely difficult book to wrap your head around. It will break your heart and in return compel you to be the body that we're called to be.

Wallace Update

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tuesday, June 16

Today is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

It's 7:15 am. 1:15 am Atlanta time. We're now used to Africa time.Everyone gets up early. The water is out, and I desperately need a shower. Yesterday was my day to shower, but I didn't have time. We had our first "ladies only" meeting last night. It went late. Teresa talked about listening prayer. It was a good discussion. Some of the girls admitted that they don't know if they've ever heard God's voice. But they have. They're learning what He sounds like. One of the girls even said that they would give up their night off to do this again.We're still sharing our life stories. God is good.

Today was the hardest day yet. My group went to The Hope House. It's run by the catholic church. Sister Elsa gave us the official tour. Wash house (to wash their personal clothes). Laundry room to wash sheets and blankets. A chapel. A round outdoor patio where youth groups or other missionaries come to sing and preach. Each hospice patient has their own apartment home. The older homes are bigger -- more room. The newer homes are smaller, but nicer amenities. Sister Elsa said we could go visit at any of the homes. The first home was that of an 8 year old girl. She could not talk. Her head was oddly shaped, like a cone. Her aunt was taking care of her. She said that she stays with her during the week, and the mother comes on Saturdays and Sundays. She had a baby toy that played music. She gnawed on her hands and made weird noises. We sang "How Great is Our God." I have to admit; I was nervous. I don't think I acknowledged that God is great.

The next house was horrible. A woman probably in her 30s and a younger caretaker. They didn't speak much English. Death's appearance was known. We sang to her and prayed. No response. No smiles. No hope, and none of us knew what to do or say. I asked a question, and the caregiver actually picked her nose and ignored us. We left.

Before we approached the next house, we felt the urgency to stop what we were doing and pray. This is so hard. People come here to die. Yet we are supposed to be bringing life in the name of Jesus. We really hadn't shown life in Jesus at this point. I prayed and confessed to the Lord that we were out of our comfort zone, and we didn't like it.If Jesus were walking here and now on the earth, this is one place that we would find Him.

The next house was amazing. It was a young girl probably in her 20s. Her make (mother) was taking care of her. She had her feet propped upon the back of the couch and told us that all of her pain had left her body, except for her feet. She had BenGay cream to rub on them. The Lord used her to encourage us. She testified to His greatness, His ability to do the impossible. She is planning to go home at the end of the month. We sang our favorite siSwati song: The love of Jesus is so wonderful! It's so high you can't get over it... She kept on singing. It was a beautiful moment! When we walked out from her home, we all realized that this visit was God's gift to us. He used this young woman to encourage us to keep doing what He has called us to do! We can do this! Our next stop was Building N. We were told that this old man never gets visitors. His door was open, so we walked in. He had a mask on. I'm sure he had TB. The windows were also open, but I didn't want to stay any longer than 5 minutes. We sang Amazing Grace...and he sang with us. He even lifted his hands toward heaven. We prayed with him. I was so proud of our team. They were not afraid of him. They all gathered around and touched him. Jesus among the lepers. Caleb grabbed the man's hand and held it. Erin touched him. They were Jesus touching the untouchable. What an incredible God encounter! As we left this man's house, it wasn't quite time to leave. We did an ATL. I felt like we should pray over the entire area. Autumn thought we were supposed to go to Building L. We prayed in the round patio area proclaiming that Jesus rules and reigns in this area. Building L was right in front of the patio. There was a young woman in a fancy victorian bed. Her mother was her caregiver. Neither spoke English, although the make said "I only speak siSwati." We sang and prayed for her. It was awkward, but God was glorified.

We walked from The Hope House to the carepoint and stopped at Baker's Corner for a bottle of water. (We've been drinking the tap water, but none of us are positive that it's truly safe. I guess that's why we've been told to "de-worm" before we leave! ) The walk is probably a 2 mile hike. Nesepo (the little girl we would love to bring home with us) is sick. I found out that she slept on Whitney's lap most of the day. She was lifeless. I picked her up and discovered she was burning up with fever. I had two children's Tylenol in my purse. I gave her one to take right then, and one to put in her pocket. I told her that before she went to sleep to take the other pill. Erin stood in line to get her something to eat and brought it to her. She didn't want it at first. After a while, it seemed she felt better. She ate her dinner, and I cleaned her off with a wetwipe. Nesepo was clean. She had a bath and her clothes were clean. Maybe she gets a bath once a week. It makes me very sad to think that she's sick and has no one to hold her and take care of her. She has no parents. She lives with a gogo, and it's no telling how many other children this gogo takes care of.

Doyle and his group encountered some things today that some of the team have not experienced before.First was at the hospital when they walked up to the gate. An 81 year old man was sitting in a wheelchair waiting to be picked up in the car. He started having a seizure. It scared the team. Sarah was with them, and the other girls tried to shelter her from the scene. No one would help, not even a doctor. You would think that at a hospital someone would help, but no one came. They prayed over the man and spoke with his wife. The team took the man to the ER. The wife was very emotional. She said that the man has had fits for years. She was very thankful that someone cared. Lauren hugged her. The wife was completely broken. Then they experienced the children's ward of the hospital. * Adam and Staci were teaching at the high school in Timbutini and were asked to go and pray for a demon possessed woman. Staci was freaked out. The woman was convulsing, and she kept saying she had to go with her friends. (She was calling to her friends that had died in 2005). It took three people to hold her down during her fits. Adam said that her eyes were fixed; they didn't move at all. Adam and Staci didn't stay long because the pastor was coming. Doyle, Dennis and Pastor Walter showed up after they left. Doyle said she was still having fits. They prayed, and she seemed better before they left. Doyle said she was still tormented, but the battle was over at least for now. Pastor Walter said that the woman needed Jesus. It seems to be the case of cleaning house and not filling it with the holiness of our Lord. More demons have come back. I pray for deliverance in the name of Jesus.

We went out to dinner with Marius and Jodi. They both work for AIM and have committed to stay in Swazi for two years. I LOVE THEM! Jodi is from Jasper, Georgia.(It's such a small world!) Marius is from South Africa. They're going to have a baby in November and will find out this weekend if the baby is a boy or girl. We had such a good time. They took us to a Portuguese restaurant, and we ate chicken schnitzi with some awesome cheese sauce.Good food! Great company!

Love you all! Will try to update again soon. I wish we could upload pictures. It just takes too long! The internet is slow.

Tonya & Doyle

Caleb, Josh, Erin & Sarah

Here's our team time schedule:

Monday:Teaching

Tuesday:Off

Wednesday:Student led

Thursday:Game night

Friday:Dance party!

Saturday:Free day

Sunday:Church; ministry preparation

Hey from Swaziland

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It's hard to believe this is day one of week two ministry. We're beginning to get a little more comfortable with our surroundings and with our ministry opportunities. That doesn't mean it's easy, but we're getting used to it. Our family is doing wonderful! I'm amazed at how well we really are. The food is great. Sarah even eats the pap and beans at the carepoints!!! (And she doesn't eat hardly anything!)

Ministry has been a good challenge. We have split the team into three groups. Doyle, Teresa and I lead each group. We rotate every day between the carepoint, the hospital, and The Hope House (which is like a hospice facility). Tomorrow we're supposed to start home visits. I took our group back to the children's ward at the hospital today. (I actually drove the Kumbi today--yes, Swazis drive on the wrong side of the road!!!) Hospital visiting hours are from 12:00 to 2:00. We gave away "Jesus" teddy bears. The mothers loved it, and the children did too. The moms will take the Jesus bears and kiss the baby with it. Then they wrap the bear up in the blanket with the baby. It's hard to visit the hospital. Most of the patients are babies. They're all throwing up. Snake bites. Meningitis. Broken limbs. And they're all so small. When we talk to the mothers, we find out that the child is about 8 or 9 months old. They're no bigger than a 3 or 4 month old back in the states. Very malnourished. Most of them are HIV positive and probably have TB as well. The language barrier is somewhat difficult. When we give the Jesus bears, the mothers smile and immediately say "Pray for my baby." Door open for God to heal! The hospital is unlike anything you've ever seen. It's nasty. Rundown. There's no running water at times. How do you have a hospital with no running water? Everyone is lined up in one big room. Babies are lying next to one another -- no matter their symptom or sickness. It's like one big changing table with five babies lying on each one. The mothers sleep under the beds on the cold floor. They ask why we come. Why do we leave "America" and come to a land that is so poor and dying. The tell me want to live and make money in America. I've even been offered a baby. The mother begged me to take her baby with me to America to get her help. Why do we come? I had to really think about it. It's definitely not a vacation. The love of Christ compels us to be here! I'm not sure if the mothers understand that. I pray that they do or that they will.

Most of the team went to a game reserve on Saturday. They had a great time seeing all of the animals and seeing more of Africa. Doyle took lots of pictures. Autumn, Kelsey, Anna, Angela and I went to the Timabli Crafts women's retreat. It was Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. It was such a pleasure to meet and talk with the gogos and the mages who make the purses and table runners! This was the first time that all of the gogos from the many different carepoints have come together. We helped give them a well-needed break from their everyday life. It was truly a special weekend. By Saturday afternoon, we were dancing and singing with the gogos. It was so much fun. I sure wish I could understand what they were saying! From what I could understand it's 7/11 songs because they sing the same things over and over! These ladies know how to worship! Their singing is beautiful. They do this line dance where everyone gets behind one another and dance through the room. Then they back up and dance backwards. It's so fun to watch. They have such a good time with the Lord. Our group also helped with activities. I showed the gogos how to make a scarf. They sewed buttons on them and then used them for head coverings! There were also health checks going on at the same time. It's very easy and cheap to buy blood pressure medicine here in Swaziland. Some of the women were given a 30 day supply, and the nurses will follow-up with them at the carepoints. We also facilitated games --which were absolutely hilarious to watch! I was blessed to be able to sit in on a session where the gogos shared their God stories -- their life stories. They would share their testimony and then pray for one another. It was beautiful to see the Lord at work. On Sunday morning, our group did a skit -- the parable of the sower and the seeds. Caleb and Josh helped us. Josh was the farmer. Caleb was the seed who got choked. I read the scripture, Ti-Ti, our translator who is living with us, spoke it in siSwati, and then our team would act it out. They were very dramatic. The gogos loved it. It made them laugh so hard! I wanted to go to the game reserve, but I wouldn't have missed this opportunity to spend the weekend with these Godly women.

I haven't had the chance to come and update the blog as much as I wanted, but I'm going to try and make it a priority. I know many people are wondering how things are going and how we're doing. The time is flying by. The team leaves in less than two weeks. We are staying a few days after they leave. We'll probably go to Nsoko, the poorest part of Swaziland. Oh and by the way, we found out that we are living in one of the richest parts of Swaziland. Our house is called "The White House." Erin has been "teaching" with Christine, one of the AIM missionaries. The school is at the end of our road. It is the most prestigious school in Swaziland. One of the King's sons attends this school, and he is in the class that Erin teaches. She loves being called "Teacher Erin."

Doyle is preaching next Sunday at church. And the group is singing. They even have a keyboard. I was called out this past Sunday at church. "The pastor's wife" gave the closing prayer. It was funny. They kept asking "the pastor's wife" to pray. I didn't know they were talking to me! I was so nervous! But God is good!

We love you all, and we thank you for your prayers! We couldn't do this without you!!!

Tonya & Doyle

Caleb, Josh, Erin & Sarah

Ask for anything you like, and make it as difficult as you want...Isaiah 7:11

GO and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!

Trip Update

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I just want to say, thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. I have really appreciated your daily little notes that some of you sent me! I wish you all were here to experience the Swazi culture and the amazing people.

Swaziland is nothing like I imagined. We are staying in the most populated city called Manzine. There are lots of city lights, so I have unfortunately not been able to see massive amounts of stars. I was able to see a pretty sweet sunset right outside my room on the balcony. We are staying in a nice house with clean running water and bunk-beds and electricity. Manzini is fairly modernized, paved roads, grocery stores, electronic stores, car dealerships, etc/. On the way to Swaziland we ate breakfast at McDonalds. There food is better here than in America. We spent our first Saturday exploring the city, trying to adjust to the world around us. We have been attending a local church the past two Sundays. They are very welcoming and genuinely loved having us there to worship with them. The service is bi-lingual so we are able to understand, which makes the experience that much better!

This past week we have visited a few different Care Points, where the children come to get there one meal for the day. We spend a lot of the afternoon playing with them and loving on them. It is a lot of fun. The kids are full of energy and hope. They absolutely love love love stickers! A few of them like to put the stickers on their earlobes as earrings. It's SO cute. A few days ago Kelsey, Erin and I were able to teach a lesson on Nehemiah to the little ones. It was a lot of fun!

I expected to be SO broken and not able to function, instead I'm finding it really easy to love on these kids and see them the way Jesus sees them. They are just as normal as any child I've played with in America. They all just want love and attention. The majority of them have very little, and I have seen and held some children who don't even have panties on. It is really easy for me to see past the material side and just share the love of Jesus with them.

My first day at the Care Point, I definitely saw Jesus the first day we went out to the care point. I know very little Siswati (which is the language they speak) but I do know how to say Jesus loves you. The first day all I kept saying to each child I hugged and held was ,"Jesus loves you". I told each child I came in contact that phrase. Most of them just looked at me with big bright eyes. The care point is fenced in, and I noticed this one little girl in particular, before she even walked into the care point. She was wearing a bright yellow skirt. When she reached the gate, I walked over to her and knelt down to her level and said, "Jay-soo Ooo aaa Goo tanza (that's how it sounds when you say it in Siswati). She gave me the biggest smile and the loudest laugh. It was at the moment that I saw Jesus! It was amazing. The next day I worked at the same Care Point and the little girl remembered me. I was able to get a little video of her amazing laugh and her singing "Jesus is so Wonderful".

This past weekend Angela, Anna, Kelsey and I went and helped with a womens retreat. AIM has a ministry with a group of about 90 women that make purses. The retreat was a chance for them to take a break from their lives and just be able to relax. The women were so cute. They were like little school girls during the games. It was so refreshing to hear so much laughter. Also, the culture here is to sing sing sing. The women sung and danced around a lot, a few times, we were pulled into the dance lines as well. It was a nice break from the large group of our team and a really good chance to get to know a few of the girls on my team better.

God is showing me a lot, but I feel like it's still a time of input. I have not been able to comprehend the mass amounts of information He's loading me with. I'm expecting to have it all sink in and hit me hard once I get back. It's amazing that when I'm with the children nothing else matters in the world. I love that joy!

I am also amazed that the same sky I see at night is the exact same sky everyone else sees no matter what country! That just blows my mind the vastness of God! I am very open to God and am learning to become more aware of His voice.

I appreciate your prayers, they are carrying me through. It is your prayers that have allowed me to be this far from home and barely notice that I'm halfway around the world!

Ashley.. I'm praying for you!! Please send me your e-mail so I can e-mail you next Saturday.

I miss you all! It's crazy not talking to you guys each day!

I pray for you guys as I go to bed. I'm 7-8 hours ahead of you!

Love you All!

Autumn

leave me comments, so I can hear from you when I check this next weeK!!

Swazi in fifteen minutes :)

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I have 15 minutes left at the internet caf before my money runs out and I get kicked off, so this will be the quickest update ever.

We've officially been in Swaziland now for ten days now...craziness. It doesn't feel like that much time has passed. I'm glad I waited until the second weekend to blog here about it though, because if I would have done this last week it would have been a totally different post.

Last week I was scared of the city. I was scared of the people...of the culture...of everything, really. I guess there isn't a way to prepare for something like this, so when I get here I was in this total state of culture shock and it was a really uncomfortable place to be.

Now, over a week into the journey I have a completely different attitude regarding absolutely everything.

The country is breathtakingly beautiful. I hope the pictures we bring home can do it justice...at least a little bit...because the landscape is stunning. It's also littered with poverty. The kind of poverty you only see in pictures. We spend a lot of our ministry time down at this care point by the city dump, which is in walking distance from our home, and it backs right up to one of the city slums. Sometimes we will be down there playing with the kids and a giant dump truck will drive into the dump to drop off some trash, and all the older kids just take off for the dump. The little ones go out and stand on the hill and watch their older brothers and sisters dig through the trash and wait to see what they bring home...Then they all sit around and share whatever it is they find...rotten meat, yogurt so old it's hardened...we've just about seen it all. It's surreal. You don't really know how to respond to things like that.

I think God has shielded us in a lot of ways up to this point...so that we can continue to work, and to love, and to be Christ's body. It's hard...and when the brokenness comes I'm kind of afraid of what it's going to look like...but I trust that when it comes God will protect us in and amongst it. Because he's still good. Even in the brokenness, he's still good.

I didn't really mean to go off on a rant like that...I really just wanted to write to say that things were good. That the country is stunning, the people are truly beautiful...inside and out...that our team clicks so well, and we all feel like family...that we have a puppy and she's awesome...that ministry has been amazing...that we're all learning some Siswati to come home and teach you guys...that I still haven't seen a giraffe but I'm hopeful that day is coming...and that above all else, God is good.

Grace and peace,

Staci

What a Sunday!

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I only have a few minutes. Erin and I are at the AIM office. We just went grocery shopping for the third time this week, and we've only been here for two days. Shopping for 18 people has been a little overwhelming!

The team is adjusting very well. We spent the entire day on Saturday learning about Manzini. We went on a scavenger hunt which took us thoughout the streets and shops of Manzini. Some of the girls loved it; some of them hated it. Being in a new country with unfamiliar surroundings can be intimidating; but overall, they did very well. We came back, ate grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, de-briefed our day, and then we worshipped.

We went to church this morning. Dabas Church. We were welcomed with open arms and we all very much enjoyed the three hours that we were there. Lots of speaking -- both English and siSwati. Lots and lots of singing!!! Lots of harmony! It seems that the Swazi people are born with the ability to harmonize. I LOVED IT! We couldn't figure out who the pastor was. One person would get up and speak. Then someone would stand up and lead a song. Then a different person would get up and speak. Then another song...and so forth. What community! What a house church! I cried the entire time I was there. It was very emotional for all of us. We met many people and have been invited to their homes before we leave.

Our house is a mansion! It has all the necessities one would need. We're a little disappointed though. Tomorrow we start ministry. We will meet with the hosts this afternoon and get ready for what tomorrow holds.

Thank you for your prayers. We are eager to meet the orphans and love them. Erin just found out that she is going to school tomorrow with a fulltime missionary to help her teach 2nd grade. She is jumping up and down.

Gotta run. Dinner awaits.

Love to you all!!!!

Tonya

Bank Accounts

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Parents -- Please make sure that you have notified your bank that your daughter will be in Africa. We have had some problems at the ATMs withdrawing cash. Sam has been unable to access any funds.

Thanks!

First Blog!!!! =)

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

okay so where do i start?

traning camp::

we were camped out in Gainsville Georgia for five days to do training....possibly the most amazing expirience of all time (well besides now) just a side note for anyone and everyone reading VALUE YOUR BED! i stayed camped out in a small tent for those five days and although my roommie Kelsy is bella fabulous, short tent + Long loho doesnt mix well. The fire ants were not too thrilled with our stay, a black widow got a little jealous of our housing and decided to move right on in, and the other buggies seemed to be okay with the idea of a nice big suitcase as a home. hahah but seriously getting to know my team has been like getting to know my family...we each have our own little quirks that play off each other really well.

like Whitney and Edie (for everyone back home its like eeeeedie) those two are HILArious!

our first night in South Africa we stayed at a hotel, (i know right?!) whitney was videotaping to show her mom they run into the bathroom and edie hits a glass door face first. now i wasnt there but apparently it was pretty funny. So yeah i guess like that. =)

Swazi:: Getting here wasn't easy i guess, we landed in Johannesburg, South africa (by the by I pretty much freaked at the place where they check your visa...and i could tell the lady wa sgetting frusterated because no matter how she said it i couldnt understand what she was asking me, my leader Theresa came to my rescue....thurns out they werent going to arrest me for helping people with HIV/AIDS ha ha?) okay so anyway we stayed at a guest house (i think thats what they call a hotel around here) the first night besides the owner telling me that all the mafia comes from chicago it was a pretty normal place. the next morning we were out by about 8am heading out on a 5 hour drive to Swaziland! we stoped at a mcdonalds to get some om noms before we hit the road, blew some kisses to some very sweet S.A kiddies and hit the road once again. everyone else was super hungry by the time we reached manzini...of course i had no idea what anyone was talking about because i had been munching on my box of cheese its the whole time (thanks mom! there all gone now) lol. We are staying in a house on the outskirts of manzini.

its super nice and very very large, we even have a guard for the night time. Although its dangerous to be a girl team here, we are very safe. sticking with a guy team leader was a nice idea too =)

the sunsets are beautiful and our house has a puppy (but she could never replace you luca)

God has really taught me the value of silence and obedience

without both i would probably be in big trouble.

Our team walked around downtown Mazini today...it was sickening the amount of cat calls our group got, all the "hey there pretty ladys" "pst pst pst" and"flabba jambba hottie blah blah blah"

really make me want to vomit. but there was a moment of worth, we passes a gogo sitting by a wall she watched us pass by gind of quietly almost a sad look on her face...i decided to practice my SISwati (that is the language they speak) when she heard me say hello in her native toung her eyes lit up...she asked me how i was, i responed with the i am well phrase. but it was in that little moment i noticed..by me noticing her...caring that she was there, that is one more peson than she had a few moments earlier.

Team in Swazi

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I just spoke with one of the leaders very quickly. He said they have arrived in Swaziland and things are going very well. They are very excited for all that God has in store over the next month.

Blessings,

Chad M.

Team Arrived Safely

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hello family, friends, and blog readers-

I just wanted to give a very quick update that the team has arrived safely into Jo-Berg, South Africa. The team will soon be leaving the Jo-Berg airport with our Swaziland AIM staff to go drive the rest of the way into Swaziland. When I hear that they have arrived at their destination in Swaziland, I will post another update.

Blessings,

Chad M.

Swaziland Team

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Swaziland 09 Team

What a wonderful week of team training we have had together! (Check out our photography website to see pictures from this week). We have such a beautiful group of girls. They bonded quickly and are very eager to arrive in Swaziland. God has big plans, and we're right in the middle of them! Last night, the AIM staff prayed over the leaders, and in turn the leaders prayed for the participants. Some call it commissioning. We call it being sent. Next stop...Swaziland!

We will fly out of Atlanta tonight at 8:05 and will arrive in Johannesburg at 5:30 pm tomorrow. (It's a 15+ hour flight, and Swaziland is 7 hours ahead EST). We will meet our hosts at the airport, and then we will spend the night in Johannesburg. On Friday morning, we will drive five hours to Swaziland. We will have cultural orientation with the hosts once we arrive at the AIM house. I believe our first ministry opportunity will be church on Sunday, and we cannot wait!

Thank you all for your prayers! We could not do this without you. Check the photography website often. We're hoping to upload pictures as much as possible!

http://wallacephoto.zenfolio.com/swazilandtrainingcamp

http://wallacephoto.zenfolio.com/swaziland09

For those wanting to know all of the details of our ministry, here is everything we know!

Ministry Details

Care Point Ministry:

Children's Cup Care Point in Mangwaneni - This care point is only a ten minute walk from where the team is staying. Mangwaneni is an informal settlement just on the outskirts of Manzini. The care point daily feeds and educates orphaned and vulnerable children. Ministry includes: Playing with children, teaching VBS style lessons, & relationship building.

AIM/CHC Swaziland's Care Points in the rural community of Engculwini - AIM has 9 neighborhood care points located in this rural community. Ministry desc. is the same as stated above...I would like this team to focus on one or two specific care points while they are here...we will decide which specific care points when they arrive.

AIM Ministry Internships - The following ongoing AIM ministries have requested help from this upcoming team...

Timbali Crafts - This ministry led by Julie Anderson & Zwakele Brock focuses on the rural mothers and grandmothers that volunteer @ AIM's 9 care points. They meet with the volunteers on biweekly to share the word of God and also produce handcrafts, which they then sell to visitors and to people in America to generate income for these ladies. Julie is asking for 2 girls from the team to intern with them. The internship would be Monday and Thursday 9am-3pm as well as an occasional Tuesday afternoon.

Cherish - This ministry holds bible studies geared for teenage girls in various high schools around Swaziland. The ministry is led by 3 Swazi girls in their early 20's...They are requesting one girl from the team to minister with them, as well as to help drive them to the high schools. Obviously, the intern must have a valid USA driver's license, and must also pass our AIM Swazi driving test.  This internship would be 3 days a week (Mon, Tues, & Wed) from 9am until 4pm.

Christine Chenoweth - Christine teaches bible lessons and life skills to girls aged 11-18 @ a couple of AIM's care points in Engculwini. She also teaches 2^nd graders bible lessons at a private school that's right next door to where the team stays. She is requesting one girl from this team to work with her on a consistent basis. The hours are as follows: Monday: 8am-1:30pm,Tues: 10am-4pm,Wed: 1:30pm-4pm, & Friday: 11:30am-12:30pm

Hospital visitation - The RFM Hospital in Manzini: A government run, overcrowded, understaffed, and very under resourced facility - Not a pleasant place to be for the patients, but a great opportunity to display Jesus and his love powerfully. Opportunities to love on people, encouraging those who are suffering as well as sometimes distributing small gifts, etc...Not all of the team will participate in this activity @ once - they will be broken into smaller groups.

Home visits - In Swaziland it is considered a blessing for someone to come and visit you at your house (even unannounced/unplanned!). The RL team will break into smaller groups to minister to people at their homes in the community surrounding the care point. There are many people who are suffering from HIV/AIDS and are stuck at home. There are also many elderly people who are physically unable to leave home, as well as a number of children who cannot not afford to go to school and thus spend all their days just hanging around their homestead. Home visitation can really be a powerful ministry tool in reaching out to the "least of these..." Part of the RL team's in-country orientation will teach them how to do home visitation effectively and culturally appropriate.

ATL in Manzini - Many of the teams in the past have done ATL ministry in the city of Manzini with great results. It is good for the teams to break into smaller groups when doing this.

Hope House, Manzini - This is a ministry for people with HIV/AIDS who are deemed terminal, or have come from abusive situations and need a place of refuge, or people w/ HIV who have been abandoned by their families. Just like the hospital: Opportunities to love on people, encouraging those who are suffering and sometimes distributing small gifts, etc...As with the hospital Not all of the team will participate in this activity @ once - they will be broken into smaller groups.

Weekly Ministry Schedule

Sunday: Church Ministry - All AIM SWAZI teams need to be involved in a local Swazi church. In the past we have had teams choose to do church on their own @ the house or @ a public park. Although more accepted in America, this is not culturally appropriate at all for Swaziland, and it looks to the Swazi people that we are too good to worship with them. Of course teams are free to "do church," at any time and at any place, however on Sunday mornings all AIM ministry teams need to be in a local Swazi church. Dennis Brock will help this team find a good church that is in town, or this team is free to come to one of our partner churches in the rural area.

Mon-Saturday: The team leaders are free to make up their weekly schedule. Care Point ministry and hospital visitation should most likely be down Monday through Friday. And, as listed above, the specific internship requests operate Monday through Friday also. I would suggest that the team takes Saturday as their day off/communication day.

Word for the Team

Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We received this from one of our friends this morning. He was praying for our team, and he wanted us to share it with everyone. We believe this is a great word from the Lord!

Philippians 3:8-16 (The Message)

7-9 The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash-along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant-dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ-God's righteousness.

10-11 I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.
Focused on the Goal

12-14 I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward-to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

15-16 So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision-you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.

We love you Lord, and we're ready!

Communication

Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

If you do not have Skype on your home computer, I highly recommend that you download it. This is a great way to stay in touch with your family while we're out of the country. And it's free! Also, if you don't have a webcam, you can purchase one at Walmart for around $25. That way, (as long as the internet cooperates), you will be able to call your parents and actually see them face to face while we're in Swaziland. You do not have to have the webcam to use Skype. It works just like a telephone, but it's through the internet. Just go to the website and download the program:

www.skype.com

Search for our email address: wallacephoto@windstream.net or

Our skype name is doyletonya

We will be able to visit an internet cafe for blogging purposes and trip updates in Manzini. This expense is covered by AIM. If you want to email or call your parents, that amount must be paid by you personally. Don't worry, I was told that there is only a small fee for internet service.