So Much to Say, So Little Time...

Friends - in case you've been checking often, you'll see we've had issues getting updates on the blog site. It's not because we're holding back though. The place where we thought we could have Internet access has been unavailable. Thanks to our missionary friends, the Petersons, we've had access a couple times including tonight.

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The Swazi 14 in Swaziland!

Greetings to our friends and family from the “Swazi 11” in Nsoko, Swaziland! First, our apologies for being late in posting to this blog. Our plans changed and we did not get Internet access until today, Sunday, July 17th.

Our travels while a bit grueling, were uneventful. Both of our flights were quite full. We had (surprisingly) good airplane food including several different meals on the 11 hour flight from Amsterdam to J’burg (the short name for Johannesburg). We finally arrived in J’burg Friday evening (see photo) and after getting our luggage, met Scott and Marcia Borg in the lobby and went to a nice hotel for the night.

We rose Saturday morning to load up and leave quickly for the drive to Nsoko, stopping at a truck stop along the way for breakfast. After some vehicle swaps at Jumbo’s house (see photo of Jumbo and Clara), we proceeded to the big event of the day - visiting with Sheila.

Velma Holding Clara

We met Pastor Peter and his wife Precious on the road into Sheila’s and they went along to meet her. As we arrived, Sheila came out of her old house with her grandson on her back. She was clearly overwhelmed by the large group, but as Marcia talked with her, she began to relax and talked to us. As we took photos of the new house, we could see that construction was proceeding. The roof is on, window frames are set and the work is proceeding in “Swazi time”.

Sheila shared that her two children need to find work. She also shared that her children ask her for money that she can’t afford to share. She told us that she just knows to hang on to her faith in God and depend on Him.

Sheila's House

Today (Sunday) we had our first experience of a Swazi church service. The singing was amazing! Wonderful accapella songs lined in siSwati and English. Pastor Bheki called the New Hope team forward and we each introduced ourselves and offered greetings. There was more singing, and then I (Jay) was invited forward to present the book of stories. I read the introductory letter as Pastor Bheki translated and the congregation cheered. Vern then preached a message from Romans with Bheki again translating. The congregation welcomed the message with “Amens”.

Church Service in Nsoko Church

Following church, we went to Pastor Bheki’s for lunch with some of the church leaders. We heard the story of Pastor Bheki’s coming to Nsoko and his work planting other churches. He introduced the church leaders. We prayed together, cleaned up from lunch and went to visit Gogo Nomsa’s house (where we will be doing some work this week). Gogo Nomsa told us of the loss of her husband, about her children and grandchildren and shared some stories of her life - we’ll bring that story back in our book from the Nsoko church to New Hope.

Nomsa's House

I’m out of time for tonight. We will post again in a couple days (maybe Thursday) when we are back at the Nisela dining room.

Blog updates during the Swazi 14 trip...

We just got the news that we will have low-bandwidth Internet access available at our accommodations during the trip. We will try to post often!

Nine Days and Counting...

The "Swazi 14" have been working to prepare for our trip now for weeks.  We meet together for the last time before the trip this Sunday to pack our VBS materials, notepads, medical gift kits and all sorts of other items to share with our Nsoko church family.

The anticipation has been building.  But the vision of this trip - loving the kids, meeting the families and spending valuable time with our brothers and sisters in Christ has never been more clear.   We want to share our lives as peers in the Kingdom - laboring side-by-side.

Also during this trip, we'll be looking at opportunities to provide some home improvements (cement floors, home repairs, roofing, etc.) to the extent we can.  A couple of engineers in our group will be looking at sustainable building opportunities - ways for other churches to send housing "packages" - predefined materials sets to build better housing.

Not only is this trip coming into focus, but a whole set of related ministry opportunities is coming into view:

1. After this trip in August, we'll be doing a training/test build of a new kind of housing - earth bag housing - to see if it would be another viable way to help with the desperate need for low-tech, inexpensive yet livable housing in Swaziland.  We will work out ways to minimize the tools and expertise so that we can take this to Swaziland on a future trip.
   
2. The House of Cards project (http://newhopehouseofcards.blogspot.com/) has been quietly bearing fruit.  As second house is nearly funded and the vision is expanding.  After a blog entry from a missionary, inquiries began to come in from other parts of the US.  When an AIM (http://adventures.org) missionary couple visited in June, we discussed how to expand the distribution of House of Cards publications - even with the idea of possibly producing them in Swaziland as a possible employment opportunity.  (We'll explore that option with the folks on the ground in Swaziland during Swazi 14 trip too.)
   
3. The AIM Timbali Crafts  (http://timbalicrafts.org/) ministry is also getting a boost.  A talented "crafter" from New Hope will be ministering with others from AIM to the 90 Swazi women who find employment and healing with the Timbali project in Swaziland in August.

—>  One more thing - during the Swazi 14 trip, watch this blog for updates (as often as we have Internet access)!

New Hope's "Swazi 14" Team for July 2011

In the last few weeks, the New Hope Church Swaziland team for this summer's trip (July 2011) was announced.   Our primary goal is to build a relationship with the Nsoko Center Church and community that will have a positive long-term impact on both churches and communities.


With that in mind, here are our ministry goals for this trip:

1. Spend time developing relationships with ministry leaders:
   - Pastor Bheki Matsenjwa, his wife Nombulelo, and their son Praise.
   - Missionaries Jumbo Gerber and Scott & Marcia Borg.- Nsoko Missionary family Eric & Jen Peterson with their children Clare and Jacob- Swazi Ministry Partners and Gogos.
2. Participate in church services at Nsoko on 2 Sundays.
3. Visit in the homes of members of the Nsoko church, gogos who serve at the carepoint, and others from the community.  Take their pictures, hear their stories, and be prepared to "introduce" the families of Nsoko to the families of New Hope.
4. Provide a Bible School children's program.
5. Meet some basic physical needs.  Distribute clothing to children. Do some minor home improvement projects.
6. Scout out future projects and other ways to be involved.

The members of the "Swazi 14" (our first group was lovingly dubbed the "Swazi 6") are:

Gogo Eliya

Lots of great things are happening at House of Cards. 
We have a new blog site we'd love for you to visit:
http://newhopehouseofcards.blogspot.com/

And now what you have been waiting for...
It is time to introduce you to Gogo Eliya!
Our current House of Cards project is to build a house for her and her grandchildren.

Jen Peterson wrote this story of meeting Eliya in November 2010:
On Monday afternoon, while Eric was driving one of our ministry partners (Celmpilo) home, he asked if they could stop to visit a go-go (SiSwati for grandmother) on her homestead. Celmpilo explained to Eric how he had heard of this elderly woman in his neighborhood. He had gone to visit her on Sunday and wanted Eric to meet her.
When Celmpilo and Eric arrived on the homestead, the go-go was sitting in the dirt outside, peeling the green leaves off of some kind of weed which grows wild around here. It is basically only good for animals to graze on. This woman was preparing grass for the family meal. Celmpilo introduced Eric to the go-go, Eliya.

Through Celmpilo's translation, Eliya told her story:
Eliya lives on this homestead with her two granddaughters, ages twelve and seven. The seven year old is HIV postitive. The girls' parents have both passed away due to HIV/AIDS. Eliya is in her seventies. She has been a widow for several years. Her arm appears crippled and bent, held up in a homemade sling. Eliya explains that approximately four months ago she fell and broke her shoulder. She was taken to a hospital by a neighbor and was treated. Follow up treatment was required to properly set the shoulder bone in the socket. Eliya had no money to pay for the initial consultation or any follow up visits. Therefore, the shoulder has not healed properly and Eliya is in constant pain, with very limited mobility.
Eliya also explains that she is, in fact, preparing the weeds/grass to cook for her and the children to eat. She says there is rarely any money for food. Because she is an elderly widow taking care of orphans, she does receive a small stipend from the government three times a year. It totals out to $30 a month...yes, that is right...this old woman and her two granddaughters live on thirty dollars a month. THAT IS ONE DOLLAR A DAY. Eliya says that every day she prays to God, and every day he provides something for them to eat. "It is like manna" she states. Today, it seems, manna came in the form of grass. Eric asked to see inside the tiny hut, which is caving in on one side. Eliya shows them inside and points to the mats on the hard, dirt floor where the three of them sleep.
"Each night, when it rains or the wind blows hard, I am afraid the walls will collapse onto us." Eliya states, "If we died in the night, crushed by our house, nobody would know we were in here. There is no one." The place is made out of sticks, mud and rocks. It collapsing is only a matter of time.
At this point, Eric is overwhelmed by the incredible need represented by this woman and her two grandchildren. There is, in fact, no food in the dwelling. Nothing. You know when you open your cupboard or refrigerator at home and say: "We have nothing to eat in this place..." ? Well, this woman had literally nothing. Not. A. Thing.
He tells Eliya that he is going to go to the grocery store and purchase some food for her. He asks her if there is anything special, a treat, that she might enjoy? After a moment of thought, her eyes lit up and she said: "I would like a Coca-cola!"
After returning to the homestead with several bags of groceries, Eric gives Eliya her simple request; an icy cold bottle of Coke! Eliya immediately gave praise and thanks to the Lord, for His provision. She knows He heard her prayer and was answering it.  At least for the next couple of weeks we know this family will have food to eat. What about when it runs out?
Monday night we prayed together as a family, along with Dan and Leah Luyk (friends here with us from Michigan until December) and Brandon (another missionary here for six months). We all asked the Lord to show us how to best help this woman and her granddaughters. In a place where every person you meet has some level of need, this family literally needed everything. Where do you even begin?
Tuesday morning, we were able to bring Eliya to the hospital that originally treated her for the broken shoulder. We have promised to pay her outstanding bill so that they will continue to treat her. They took new X-rays and it was determined that her shoulder has been dislocated (again) and arthritis has begun to form where things did not heal properly. The doctor was amazed at how this woman has tolerated it for so many months. "She must be in excruciating pain." He said. The course of treatment is that Eliya was admitted to the hospital yesterday and will be examined by the surgeon to determine if they can operate and correct the problem. Otherwise, she may need to be referred to an orthopedic surgeon/specialist at a larger hospital.
This is only the beginning. Eliya and her granddaughters need our help. They really need a new house. They need food provided for them on a regular basis. This is especially crucial with the seven year old, who is on antiretroviral drugs to treat the HIV. Those medications must be taken with food. They are growing girls, they will need clothing and shoes. Eliya will certainly have ongoing medical issues. She is an old woman. Who will take care of these girls when she dies? The list goes on and on.
It struck me, as Eric was repeating the story to me, when Eliya made the statement about the house falling down on top of them and nobody knowing they were inside. God would know. He sees this beautiful lady and these precious children. As I was waiting in the hospital with her yesterday, several hours of confusion and chaos that is the Swaziland health care system, I prayed. I prayed that when I look at this vulnerable (yet amazingly resilient) old woman, I would see my own go-go looking back at me. I prayed that the Lord would constantly remind me: this woman is my family. He sees her and I seated next to one another and He doesn't see how we are different; He sees how we are the same. "For God so loved the world, He sent His one and only Son..."

Jen and Eric have had recent word that Eliya is now sleeping in her open air cooking shelter so that if (and when) the place comes down she won't be smothered in her sleep. They have been able to raise some money for her and the children, but it has had to go toward food and medical expenses.  So this is where the House of Cards project comes in.  We would love for you to minister to Eliya with us!

If you would like to know how you can participate by purchasing or selling cards,
or if you have any questions about House of Cards,
please contact us at newhopehouseofcards@gmail.com

You can also send donations directly to:
New Hope Church /House of Cards
584 Colonial Club Drive Harrisburg, PA 17112

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.
Please respect copyright.