Makholweni Grand Opening

The grand opening for this new CarePoint was a success! This CarePoint is sponsored by Mission of Mercy (http://www.missionofmercy.org/). We had one of the princesses from the former King in attendance, along with the Minister of Education, the Minister of Natural Resources who is also a Member of Parliment, and many local chiefs. It was a very exciting day! Ben and Daran both spoke making sure to give all of the glory to God and emphazing the most important thing that we are trying to accomplish is to teach these kids the gospel of Jesus Christ. They also thanked the community for all of their hard work and dedication, as well as the lady who donated the land for the CarePoint. One of the local schools sent boys and girls to do traditional dances. The most special moment for all of us at Children's Cup was when the children from the CarePoint did a drama using the scriptures from the Bible where Jesus said, "When I was hungry, you fed me, when I was thirsty, you gave me drink, when I was naked, you clothed me", and they thanked Children's cup for being Jesus to them! What a priviledge to have the opportunity to minister to these children! They also did a drama about the good Samaritan, which was very cool! I am so thankful that our Bible club teachers are intoducing these children to the word of God! At the end, the princess cut the ribbon to the door of the CarePoint, I had the priviledge of handing her the scissors on a platter! Afterwards, I asked her if I could take a picture with her. She was very kind, and down to earth. She said that the Queen Mother was waiting for her, but she still took the time to tour the CarePoint, and eat a meal with us. She thanked us for what we are doing there. Our children also got to participate in doing face painting for all of the kids and a puppet show. The children lined up and waited patiently for their turn to get their face painted. The kids said that at the end some of them wanted their hands painted and then they started lifting their shirt for their belly to be painted. The kids thought that was going too far and said no to the belly painting. They enjoyed the time that they spent with the children.

Sidebar: Teresa really needs a recent PDR and we'd like to get Gabby a good book on Christian apologetics for teenagers.

Cemetery

I was driving down the hill from Waterford this morning and saw a sight that I had to stop and take a picture of: Two rows of freshly dug graves, maybe thirty to a row? You don't think much about the devastation that HIV/AIDS has when you only hear of a person here or there that "passes". But to see that many graves for one weekend was a shock. Another missionary mentioned that they commonly bury more than one person in a grave as well. How many more children are now classified as single or double orphans? How many of these are for children? The grief and hardship associated with that many open graves is hard to imagine. But it makes the point that what we do is for eternity and the importance of each and every person to God. (Daran)

A Day in the Life of a Children’s Cup Missionary

A Day in the Life of a Children’s Cup Missionary

One Day’s Hour-By-Hour Blog          Date 26-May-06     By Teresa Rehmeyer

7am     I woke up to a beautiful crisp, cold, windy morning.  I prayed for a little while, then I got up.  It is so cold in the house that getting dressed is a very quick procedure.  I layered my clothes, knowing that it is usually colder in the house than it is outside in the sun.

8am     Robin and I went for a walk.  Walking around here is certainly different than it is in Louisiana.  There are many hills, which make for a good workout.  The wind was brisk, but the sun was shining bright.  We soon were shedding layers as we warmed up in the sunshine.

9am     We went back to my house to have breakfast.  The electricity was off because of the wind.  It has been going off and on all morning.  We ate yogurt and granola, when the electricity came back on we had a cup of coffee.

10am     Pat came by to pick up tents for camping this evening.  He and Roger were going to take some of the kids from the CarePoints on a camping trip this evening out Pine Valley Road, which is a beautiful area with big rock hills.  After he and Robin left, I cleaned up a little, then showered and dressed.  I got clothes together for Joelle to stay with a friend after school.

11am     I went to the bank to get money to buy groceries and to pay my house girl and gardener.  This is the last Friday of the month, payday.  I thought, I’ll try to go to Shop Rite quickly to pick up a few groceries, since I am out of milk and a few other items.  I ran in and gathered my items quickly and then went to get in line.  I even found a short one!  Then I remembered that I had parked on the top level of the parking garage!  Daran and Kristen were waiting for me at the office to go to Manzini!  So I quickly got my cart to the elevator, and went up to the top and unloaded my groceries.  I was tempted to leave the cart there, but my conscious got the best of me.  I took the cart back down the elevator and back to the store.  Now, I could finally leave!  How do I get out of this place!  I circled around several times before I figured out how to get to the exit.  Then, once I got down to the bottom, there was a long line (que) of traffic waiting to exit.  Daran called, “where are you?”  I finally got to the exit to pay for my parking, I gave the guy a track with the payment.  He then asked me if I could arrange a Bible for him.  I was caught by surprise, but I said that I would check on that for him.  I will have to go back another day and find him to give him a Bible, maybe I will have an opportunity to witness to him!

Noon     I dropped off Joelle’s clothes to her friend’s house and then went home to unload groceries and pay employees.  

1pm     I finally arrived at the office.  Daran had gone to take Beano to the clinic to meet Sharon, because their car had a problem.  So I checked email, sent a quick email to my sister and mom and then started loading up the medical supplies to get ready for the medical clinic in Manzini.  When Daran got back, he, Kristen and I left for Manzini.

2pm     We arrived at Makholweni first.  As soon as we got out of the car, we are surrounded by little ones.  Kristen and I started greeting them and giving them hugs.  Daran had to pay the Children’s Cup employees at the site for Ben.  So while he was taking care of that, Kristen was listening to the Bible club and the workers started asking me for medicines.  Once I opened the back of the car, there was a line forming.  Ladies that cook, men that have been building, were all lining up to get antibiotics, cough medicine, panadol (Tylenol), eye drops, sinus meds, etc.  With winter coming, everyone has a cough or cold.  I had an unplanned mini clinic for the workers at Makholweni.  They deserved special treatment, since they have been working hard for the past few weeks to get this CarePoint finished for yesterdays grand opening.  We then gave gogo Motsa a bunch of yellow roses on behalf of Children’s Cup for her hard work and dedication to this CarePoint, and for making the grand opening a success.  She was so excited, she jumped around with joy, hugging all of us.  She is the lady that has been allowing us to use her house and yard  to feed the children, have medical clinics, store food and supplies, and have Bible clubs, until the new care point was built.  Daran also gave all of the workers a special thanks again for all of their hard work.  We left money for them to buy cold drinks to go with their left over food from the grand opening.  Everyone seemed pleased.  I also had to check with one of our Bible club leaders about his little cousin who we just got started on ARV’s (drugs to treat AIDS).  He and another younger cousin are responsible for making sure he gets his meds twice daily at the same time each day.  He said that is was going well.  The counselor at the clinic wanted me to teach the gogo of the child about the meds as well.  The gogo has been too sick to come to the clinic to learn about the drugs, and since the child is a double orphan, the only ones to take care of him are his cousins who are 17 and 19 approximately.  Now that the gogo is better, she needs to be taught about the drugs as well, since the child actually lives with her.  She was not available today, so we planned to come back on Monday to see gogo.

3pm     We finally arrive at Moneni, where I am supposed to do the medical clinic for the kids.  They are starting to feed them and others are still arriving.  Phindile and Treasure organized the kids and interpreted for us.  We saw many bloated bellies, full of parasites.  We gave worm pills to all of the kids, and recorded weights names and ages.  We treated coughs, upper respiratory infections, sores, and ringworm.

4pm      We loaded the medicines back into the car and left Moneni at about 4:30 and headed back up to Mbabane.

5pm     We arrived at the Children’s Cup office, unloaded medicines, checked email, then headed for home.

6pm     I arrived at home, cooked supper for the kids, talked to them about their day, and talked to Candice (our link student from Waterford) about the grand opening of the CarePoint yesterday.  I told her about how the kids from the CarePoint did a drama about the scripture in John where Jesus said, “I was naked and you clothed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was hungry and you fed me.”  In the drama they thanked Children’s Cup for being Jesus to them. It was very sweet!  I also told her that I met one of the princesses from the previous King, and how I gave her the scissors on a plate to cut the ribbon for the opening of the care point.  That was a great honor for me.  I asked her if I could take a picture with her, and she was very nice and said that I could.

7pm     We took the kids to youth group at Mbabane Chapel.  Daran and I went and had supper alone and discussed building relationships at the care points and the importance of spending time there.  The time that he was able to spend at the Makholweni CarePoint this last week working to help them finish building and getting ready for the opening was a great time to build relationships with the volunteers and community.

8pm     Daran and I were still having dinner and date.

9pm     We went to pick up the kids at Mbabane Chapel.  The kids told us about the series they are watching and how good it was and that they would like to go back next time.  We went home, brought in wood for a fire and all sat down in front of the fire to relax.  The wind was getting stronger and it was getting colder outside and inside, except for in front of the fire.  We observed a wild fire on one of the distant hills, probably caused from lack of rain and increase in wind.

10pm      Everyone is falling asleep in front of the fire.  I worked on writing my blog and read from my devotion book as I sat in front of the fire, listening to the wind howl outside and Daran snore, lying on the floor beside me.  

11pm     Gabby was studying in the next room, Danielle was asleep on the sofa in front of the fire, and Nathan was reading a book, Joelle is at a friends.  Thank you Lord for a good day, warm fire, family, and friends.  Amen

Link to Susan’s Blog for her hour-by-hour account of a day in the life of a Children’s Cup missionary http://susanrodgers.blogspot.com/

20May06

20-May-06

I passed by a go-go struggling to walk up a hill on Saturday morning after I dropped my kids off to play soccer.  I prayed, “Lord, should I go back and pick her up?”  I stopped the car and watched her in my rearview mirror, as she continued to struggle up the hill, with a very evident limp in her gait.  There were no cars behind me, so I started backing up, she stopped, as she saw me coming towards her.  She hobbled across the street to get in the car, and I asked her where she was going.  She said that she was going to town, to go to the Catholic church.  I asked her if she was going to service today, and she said that she was going to clean the church.  She went on to tell me that she goes twice a week to clean this church.  I asked her how old she was and she told me that she was 65.  I was amazed, as she looked much older.  I asked if she had children and she said that she had 4.  She couldn’t remember how many grandchildren she had, so she began to tell me how many children each of her children had, and I added up about 25 grandchildren.  I asked her if any of them lived with her, and she said that they all lived in their own homes.  I am amazed at the dedication of this elderly lady to make the long trip to town twice a week just to clean the church.  I don’t know if she gets paid or not, I didn’t ask her, but it is quite a sacrifice just to make a trip like that in her condition, without transportation, twice a week.  I dropped her off at the bus rank in town, where she said that she would take a bus to her church.  This process probably takes all day on those two days a week, but this little go-go is willing to make the sacrifice.  Am I willing to make the sacrifices that I need to make to be obedient to what God wants me to do each day?

Praise the Lord for safe keeping!  Also on Saturday, after I got home from taking the go-go to town, an interesting event happened.  The kids and I were in the house.  Nathanael had a couple of friends over, and they were playing a game, Gabby was studying and Danielle, Joelle and I were cleaning up the kitchen.  All of us were downstairs.  Candice, a girl that is staying with us from Gabby’s school, was upstairs in the room studying.  She came down, looking rather distraught and asked if we knew that there was a man that was up in Gabby’s room.  I knew that Daran was still in Manzini at the care point, and there were no other men in the house.  At first I thought that she had been asleep and was dreaming.  We started looking through the house and went outside and the gate was open.  Then I started to get a little frightened and asked Candice what had happened.  She said that she heard something and looked up and there was a man standing in the room.  She asked him what he wanted, and he asked for Jacob.  She told him there was no Jacob here.  He tried to speak to her in Siswati, but she told him she didn’t understand.  She said that he then smiled, turned and walked back down the stairs and out the door.  I’m not sure what he wanted, maybe he thought that someone else that he knew still lived here, or if he had evil intent, we may never know.  Praise the Lord, no harm was done, and nothing was stolen.  Lesson learned, keep the door locked during the day even when we are at home!  Thank you Lord for protecting us!

Extravagant Love

29-Apr-06
I was sitting at the clinic with one of the boys and his go-go; and a lady sitting next to the go-go called me over to sit next to her. She told me her story of how she cares for 3 children, 2 of her own and 1 from her late brother. The one little girl belonging to her late brother, is HIV positive and is on ARV’s. The lady says that sometimes she doesn’t have any money or food to feed the children and she wants to know how I can help her. I asked if there is a CarePoint in her area, she said that she didn’t think so. I asked if the school that the child attends has a feeding program, and she said sometimes they feed them, but not all of the time. I took her name and number and told her that I would have to check and see if there were any resources that she could take advantage of in her area. I walked away feeling very helpless and like I was only needed to give money, which is what I knew that she wanted. White face equals money in the minds of many Swazi people. However, if you start just giving out money, it will never end, and it will solve none of their real problems. I felt discouraged, until the Lord showed me that it’s not about me. Jesus loved me so much that He gave His all unselfishly. I need to love Him with total abandon of myself, holding nothing back. Even if it means loving people that don’t love me back and are using me for their own gain. I need to show Christ’s love to them anyway, the way that He showed His love to me. That’s what it is all about. Lavish, extravagant love for Christ! As Mary gave her all by pouring out the expensive oil/perfume on His feet and letting down her hair as if to stand before Him, naked, empty, nothing. She put her reputation on the line, giving all, and in return, He said, “leave her alone, she is mine, she belongs to me”, extravagant love! I am His! I belong to Him! I pray that the Lord will help me to love extravagantly, giving all, abandoning self, holding nothing back.

21-Apr-06
We are now in the process of getting three of the boys from one of the Care Points started on ARV’s. It is a long process of testing, counseling, testing, and more counseling before actually starting them on the medications needed to help fight HIV. We are transporting these boys from Manzini to Mbabane to a clinic sponsored by Baylor University and Bristol Myers Squibb. There are two American Pediatricians there who are very knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS and the treatment of this horribly rampant disease here in Swaziland. One of these boys is 9 and the other two are 11 years old. “They are just normal little boys,” I think as I watch them draw and color with the paper and crayons that a friend of mine brought to help keep them occupied during this long process that they have to sit through once a week or once every two weeks. You don’t hear them complain that they are bored, or tired, or hungry. They are happy that they are able to draw and color and get attention and be praised for their work. They respond with a huge smile at the praise that is given to them for their work. One of the little boys has only a very sick grandmother (go-go) that he lives with. So he comes to the clinic with no family members. I go in with him to see the doctor, I must find someone to be responsible to give him his drugs that he will need to receive twice daily, at the same times each day. Whoever this person will be, must attend 3 counseling and adherence sessions before he can be started on medication. The goal is to have the family member understand the importance of their responsibility to a make sure that the child receives the medications consistently and that the child receives proper nutrition and care to go along with the medications. It is difficult to get family members to make this kind of commitment. There are three different medications that must be given twice daily, one is a liquid that has to be drawn up and measured accurately, and the other two are pills, one a whole, and one a half given only once daily.

One of the little boys asked his go-go why God created death. He lost his dad a long time ago, and just lost his mom a couple of years ago. He was very close to his mom, as he is the only child. He misses his mom very much, and asks about her often. I asked the go-go how she responded to his question, and she said that she told him the story about the lizard and the chameleon, and she claimed that it came from the Bible. I told her that that was a folk tale that was passed down from her grandmother, and that it was not in the Bible. Then, I went on to explain how sin came into the world with the fall of man, and why Jesus was sent to die in our place, and to overcome death and give us eternal life. I told her that that is what we should tell the boy, instead of the folk tale. I also told her that Jesus will be the boys’ best friend and that He alone can heal the hurt and fill the empty place left by his mothers’ death. Only Jesus can mend the broken heart of this boy, as well as hundreds like him.