House of Cards

Photo by Greg Star

When I got back from Swaziland a few months ago, everything was a bit of a blurr for me. 

I knew that God had asked me to go...but His reasons why were a bit unclear. 
I knew that I had been an integral part of the team that helped to shape and cast the vision for New Hope's ministry in Swaziland.
I knew that through the experience I began to feel like New Hope Church was home.
But over the last few months I've had this nagging sense that there was more to it. 
Sheila kept coming back to me...
New Hope church has decided to focus on the neediest part of Swazi, the area of Nsoko. I am so excited about our long term ministry there.  However, Sheila was a woman we met in the Manzini area, thus her needs did not really fall under the umbrella of the church's long term vision.  I spent some time praying through this, and the more I did, the more I got the sense that the Lord was saying to me that this one was my job. 



Wil, Sheila, and Becky
Photo by Ken Roosenburg

Here is Sheila's story:

Our first day in Swaziland, we met up with Pastor Peter and his wife Precious to visit the home of one of the families of his church.  Marcia Borg filled me in a little on our drive there.  Sheila has AIDS.  She is mother to four children, the oldest being twelve.   She is also a Gogo—the term for Grandmothers who take on the care of their children’s children because they have died, more often than not, from AIDS as well.  Sheila cares for her 9 months old grandson.  Her husband died from AIDS, infecting her with the disease before he passed.   

Marcia had asked me to share a Scripture, so I turned to the Psalm I usually use when I pray with those who are sick.  Psalm 103: 1-3.  The words sat before my eyes.  He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases.  All.  I read that word and I realized my faith was not big enough to read that to her.  How could I look into her eyes and into her condition and read the finality of such a statement with belief?  How could I not qualify it or reduce her expectation of it?  My faith was not big enough.   

When we arrived Sheila and the baby met us outside.  Not that our group could have squeezed into the one room anyway.  We all greeted Sheila, who was forgiving of our awkward Siswati.  Swazi’s have a somber look about them, but she did return our smiles.  Marcia knew Sheila because she is one of the Timbale women, and spoke quietly and warmly with her for a while.  Soon she motioned me closer to share Scripture. 

In preparing for my trip to Swazi, the Lord had impressed Isaiah 40-41 on me.  Isaiah 40: 1 says,

“Comfort, yes, comfort my people!” Says your God.  “Speak comfort to Jerusalem and cry out to her.” 

That was my call for this moment, to comfort Sheila.  So I turned to Isaiah 41:9-10 and read the verses over her,  looking into her eyes as I read them, as if to give her every word as a gift.   As Precious translated, she took in every one, hungry for hope. 

“You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not for I am with you; Be not dismayed for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you.  I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

She nodded and thanked the Lord closing her eyes to receive them into her being.  “Thank you,” she kept saying as I read.   Afterwards we all joined around her and prayed, asking God to minister to the needs of her body, mind, heart, and spirit.  She was very grateful for our prayers.  Then Marcia asked her if there was something in particular that she would like us to pray for. 

Sheila's Blocks

Sheila turned our attention to a pile of cement blocks sloppily stacked on the slope in front of her house.  As a Timbale woman, Sheila volunteers her time at a Care Point cooking and caring for orphans and other children whose families cannot afford to feed them.  On the days she is not at the Care Point, she and other Timbale women meet for a time of discipleship and share a sewing machine and make purses to sell for income.  This money is theirs to use for the needs of her household as she wishes.  Over the last few months, Sheila had used her money from the bags to buy the cement blocks.  She did not yet have enough blocks for a one room home, or money to buy mortar to put them together or for a roof overhead.  She explained to us that the wind and rain come into her house through the large cracks in the wood. During the last rains they stayed outside because there was actually more water inside.  Suddenly the holes in her walls took on a deeper meaning for all of us standing there.  Sheila’s prayer request was for one of her two older boys to find work, when not in school, so that they could save enough to build the blocks into a house that would keep dry in the rains. 



Sheila's Oldest Son and Grandson in front of their house.



I asked Jumbo later how much money it would cost her to build a little one room house.  It would be about $4,000, the roof being the most expensive piece.  Sheila sells the bags she makes through the Timbale project.  She volunteers daily at the Care Point, taking care of the needy children in her area.  It would take her about 3 years to save enough money.

 "That’s a lot of wind and rain and time," I thought. 

Then to our surprise, Sheila quietly shared with the group that she has AIDS.  This is a testament to the relationships that are being developed among the Timbale women.  Swazi’s do not normally share such things.  They never cry in public, it is a shame.  But slowly they are learning to tell their stories, and to trust that they will find comfort, sympathy, and acceptance.  We gathered around her and prayed for her, brothers and sisters in Christ, with little else in common with this dear woman.  Though she did not ask for financial assistance, we couldn’t help but feel the weight of her need and silent hope that we might help her. 

Sheila's Cross

After we prayed with her, Marsha, a nurse, sat and talked with her for a bit about her health while the team engaged with the children.    Attention is hard to come by in Swaziland, especially from adults.  Women are stretched way beyond the breaking point, caring for children with little to no food, money, or protection.  Many of them sick with disease themselves. 

Marsha asked Sheila if she was taking her medication.  AIDS meds are provided free for women with HIV positive children, but they have to pay money for transportation to get their meds, money that could be used for food.  Then they must prove that they will come consistently before they are even given medication.  AIDS medication must be taken consistently, on a strict schedule, a concept foreign to this culture. 

Unless God heals her, Marcia told me, she probably has a year to live.  I slowly walked the property, taking a few pictures.  The bits of information I had received started to come together in my head.  This dear woman’s husband has recently passed away from AIDS, which he most likely contracted from another woman.  He infected her with the disease before he passed.  Sheila was taking care of her grandbaby because his Mom has passed, so that means that she has lost a daughter in the last year as well.  Sheila has maybe a year to live and she has 5 children under her care who will have no one to care for them after she passes. 

Her faith in God is strong.  Her love for Him unwavering.  Her focus lies not on her own grief, but on building a dry shelter for her children to live in when she is gone. 

Sheila and Grandson

We gathered around Sheila before we left and presented her with a gift:  a 25 lb. bag of cornmeal to make pap, their staple food for every meal, some beans, cooking oil, sugar, tea, packets of gravy to put over the corn meal.  It was enough to feed her family for a week to 10 days. 

Through Precious, Sheila said to me as I hugged her, “I often am very afraid when I lay down to sleep at night.”  “But tonight I will rest well because of your visit to us.”  “I will have joy in my heart.”

What will happen to Sheila, I wonder.  Is there anything we can do to help this woman who suffers from the loss of her husband, her daughter?

 This woman trying to care for her children and grandchild with no electricity and no running water. 

This woman who has cracks in her stick walls large enough for me to stick my arms through and a few cement blocks on her land she can’t afford to mortar together. 

This woman who volunteers her energy and strength to take care of orphans and the underprivileged on a daily basis.

This woman who is sick with AIDS.

And I wonder, if God doesn’t heal her, what will happen to her children?  If they leave their land, they lose their property rights, but if there is a good shelter for them there, they could keep their land. 

As I thought about Sheila and the children, I felt more and more sure that the Lord was telling me specifically to do something for her.  I had sensed for a while there was something special He wanted me to do with my photos, and as I was praying about it, a very clear picture came to me and I knew what I was to do.  My Aunt has been telling me for ages that I should make up photo cards and sell them...but for any number of reasons I have been hesitant to try to make money off my photos.  This time, I knew it was the right thing.  You can actually make a really beautiful photo card for about 50 cents.  If you sell it for the price of a greeting card, you can make $2.00 profit.  So if I wanted to raise $4,000, I figured out that I needed to sell 2500 cards, or 500 packs of 5 cards at $10.00 a piece.  It actually seemed really doable.  It was as easy as 50 people selling 10 packs of cards.

I decided to call it the House of Cards project.  The people of New Hope Church have been so great in helping me put these together. 

There are three series that we have prepared.  Two of the series are photos of the children. One series is of African wildlife. Each series has five different photos cards with envelopes.  

If you are interested in purchasing sets or helping us to sell sets, come see us in the New Hope Church lobby this Sunday morning or send me an e-mail at bgrace@embarqmail.com.  I would love to talk more with you about this project.

Please pray that God will multiply these fishes and loaves.  It is possible this is only the first House of Cards we will build.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and prayerfully consider how God might call you to join us in building a house for Sheila.
Here is a sample of some of the photos we are using for the cards. 

Post and photos by Bgrace unless noted.
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