Wallace Update

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 up on 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