Martha

This is Martha, Jean's favorite house girl. She worked for them until she was too sick and hopes to return now that she is feeling stronger. I was amazed by this woman's character. We drove 45 minutes to get to her homestead. By bus it would take two hours, although there were occasions that she had to walk. And she was never late to work.
Jean explained that she lives with a son and grandchildren at her homestead. Her husband, like many Swazi men, took his cultural liberties and had many mistresses. When he got sick with AIDS he returned home, and Martha nursed him until his death. He is burried in her corn field. I can't imagine the heart and strength it would take to recieve a husband home after that.

Martha takes great pride in her home and her family. As you can see she lives well below any American standard. No heat, no electricity, no running water. Only mud walls and cow manure floors, yet she keeps her home as if it were a palace,- making sure the mud cracks are patched right away.
The day we visited her, she was feeling strong and had been working in her corn field. And the entire time, she just beamed from having her friends visit her. She just kept saying over and over, "Oh madame! I'm so happy to see you. I'm just soooo happy!"
What a lesson in humility and contentment.

New life in the rocky soil...

This is a cool photo I snapped on the way back from Martha's homestead. It was very common to see trees like this on the boulderous mountain side. Did you notice how the tree has actually split the rock in two, and is growing in the middle? Dave likened it to the seed of the Gospel on a rocky heart.
I like that.

Sunrise, Sunrise

As I flew out to Africa I was traveling west against the sun. It was amusing that we were only in the air for a few hours, and the sun began to set. Then it was night for a few hours more and the sun began to rise.
As I noticed the sky getting lighter, I opened my window shade to watch the sun rise. Slowly the sky turned from black, to purple to rose. And as the sun began to crest over the horizon I looked down and saw land for the first time. It was the coast of Africa! It was a beautiful sight to behold, - hours and hours of oceans finally giving way to land.
Suddenly I heard that line from the song My Redeemer Lives, "Who told the ocean, 'You can only come this far'?" It made me realize that all creation, under heaven and on earth will ultimately submit to His authority.
He is all powerful.

The Power of Prayer

It was out of character for Nhlanhla to be late. But when Jean awoke on that Saturday morning, Victor, the night guard was still on duty. Nhlanhla arrived a short time later, eyes red from crying. His four-year old boy was sick. He said it was the flu. Everything in Swaziland is the flu. Flu was the sickness that had taken his 2 year old boy from him just 2 weeks before my arrival.
Jean and Dave describe Nhlanhla as a rare Swazi father,- he loves his sons so much. He cares for them, he provides for them. And one by one he feared he was loosing them.
We all spent the day praying for Nhlanhla's little boy and spread the word to others to pray.
Before he left his shift, he'd heard by radio that his boy was recovering.

That evening we attended a birthday party with a dozen children from local missionary families. A toddler, Lacy, was tugging on her ear and fussing.
The next day, as we prepared for Easter dinner Susan got a call saying Lacy was very very sick. She'd been in and out of the clinic for 12 hours. With a fever of 105, the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. They suggested meningitis.
A small panic began to spread. If Lacy indeed had meningitis, then 11 other children has been exposed at the party.
again we began to pray, and befor the dinner dishes were washed and dried Susan recieved another call. A doctor had taken one last look in Lacy's little ears and had found an infection behind her ear drum. She was on the proper medication and would be fine. We all breathed a sigh of relief.
It amazing how these families, in a country where medicine and doctors are a joke, depend so heavily on prayer. For many situations, it's the only option. And God responds with favor when they turn to him. It was powerful to see in action!

home (not so sweet) home

I've been home almost a week now and things are starting to settle into their old routine. My sleep is almost normal, and my work has been caught up. It is pretty much just as it was before I left. But a piece of my heart is back in Swaziland. I'm longing to be back there with the cows on the highway and the boulderous mountains surrounding me. No, it's not a perfect country, -in fact it's quite flawed. But there's something there that I'm drawn to.
The day before I left I was hugging the Rodger children goodbye. Levi (5) asked me, "Are you ever going to come back to Swaziland?"
Touched, I answered, "Yes, I hope so."
"Will you bring me some pop tarts?"
Now who could resist a request like that?
I really need to return. Not just to take him some strawberry pop tarts, but to settle the urge inside of me. I feel this is a calling, so I'm praying and stepping out in faith to return as part of the Children's Cup team.