Medical Mission Reflection

Reflecting back on this past week with the Mission of Mercy medical team, we saw over 1700 people in 4 and ½ days. Many people came to know the Lord Jesus as their personal savior, and many were also tested for HIV. It is our primary goal that the spiritual needs of the people are met, and then that their medical needs are met to the best of our ability. It is also extremely important that they know their HIV status. Overall it was a great week, and many people were touched and blessed both spiritually and physically. It was a huge blessing for me to work with such a wonderful team of doctors and nurses, as well as all of the others that were a part of the team. Every person more than pulled their weight and sacrificially gave of themselves over and over. I was able to learn so much from this fantastic group of people. They also worked with and taught our Swazi staff of health care workers so much. Our Swazi health care workers are also a great group of people who also gave of themselves over and over this past week. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people to work with! The whole Children’s Cup team worked extremely hard to make this week a success. We also had other volunteers who helped us interpret, register, and counsel the patients each day. Thank you so much to everyone who was involved!

The first day of the clinics was the most stressful for me, primarily because one of our little ones who has been on treatment for HIV for two years was brought to us in extremely poor condition. As soon as Dr. Beyda saw this one, he was very concerned. She was very anemic, weak, dehydrated, with a high fever and cough. Immediately after hearing her breath sounds, he diagnosed her with pneumonia. He said that she needed IV antibiotics and IV fluids as soon as possible. We didn’t have all of the supplies that we needed for these things to be accomplished, so I got on the phone to get the supplies that we needed. Once we got some Tylenol, fluids, IV antibiotic, and oxygen going, she started to look better and her fever came down. Thank God that this team was here and they were able to save this little girls life. The next day, we gave her more fluids and IV antibiotics. She looked much better, but she was having diarrhea and not eating very well. When we saw her on the third day, we started her on oral antibiotics. On Friday, she looked better, but still not eating much and continuing with diarrhea and fever. We took her to see the doctor at the VCT clinic at RFM hospital. He looked at her chart and saw that the last time she was in, her CD4 count (an indicator of the immune system) was extremely low. It had been up to over 100 and now it was down to 7.4, which means that she has absolutely no immunity. We are afraid that her father, who is sick also, has not been making sure that she takes her medications properly, which would explain the drop in her CD4 count.

One of the ladies that cooks at the Care Point had been taking care of her before, and she was doing very well when she was with her. This lady came with us to the hospital, and I asked her to please take this little one back to her house and take care of her while she is so sick. This little girl is 9 years old and she looks like she is 6. My little girl, Joelle, who is 8 is much bigger than her. She also went with us to the hospital, and she was amazed that this little girl was older than her. As I watched the doctor examine her, I couldn’t help but start to cry, as I thought of how healthy she looked just a couple of months ago, looking at her now, so frail, thin and weak. The doctor at the clinic wants to see her back on Monday, and if she is not any better, he will change her antibiotic and possibly test her for TB. Please help us pray that the Lord will intervene and heal this little one, or if she doesn’t make it through this battle, that we will be able to keep her comfortable until the Lord takes he home to be with him. I need wisdom and strength for the task that is ahead, but I know that my God is able to do more than I could ever ask or imagine.

Completion

The Madonsa CarePoint and the "Children's Wellness Centre" in Makholweni are essentially complete! With just final touch ups we'll be in good shape for the medical team arriving this weekend. Dr. Beyda and the team will be spending a day at Madonsa, Mangwaneni, Ngwane Park, and Makholweni next week to provide free health care to the children in each community as well as to the community as a whole. What a blessing! A major part of this outreach is having councilors and pastors from the local churches to be available for prayer. We are hoping that besides touching them physically, we'll have a major (and longer lasting) spiritual impact.

Malnourished

This little one is 9 months old, believe it or not. He is a very small nine month old. His arms and legs are very thin, and he doesn’t even cry when he is hungry, because he is used to being hungry. His mother left him with a go-go and an older sister. The mother shows up now and then. The baby is not getting milk. The only thing that the baby is fed is soft porridge. When they brought the baby to me that day, it was 3pm. He hadn’t eaten since 10am. He was not crying or fussing.

I was teaching the health care workers an update on how to do a physical exam and they brought this baby to me to do an exam on. He was full of scabies, and so dirty that I could hardly stand the smell. He needed a clean diaper desperately, but there was not one around. One of the ladies that cooks at the CarePoint is trying to help take care of this baby. When I heard that he was not getting milk, it broke my heart.

This baby is very malnourished. I gave the lady that was helping take care of him some medicine for the scabies, and told her that I would bring some milk. The next day, when I brought the formula and mixed it for him, there was no bottle, so I put it in a cup. The baby gulped the milk from the cup like there was no tomorrow. I wanted to cry, I knew that this little one had not had milk in a long time. I tried to take the cup away, and he reached for it. Milk was going everywhere, but he didn’t care, he wanted that milk. It was gone in no time. I told the ladies at the CarePoint to feed him 5 or 6 times a day while he was there, and send some formula home. Later that week, I came and the baby wasn’t at the CarePoint. They said that the mother showed up and the baby was at home with her. I sent formula home and showed them how to mix it. I pray that we can keep this one healthy and help the family take care of him. I know that the Lord loves this little one more than I can imagine. Please pray for me that I will have the wisdom that I need to know how to handle this situation, and many more like it.

One Year Anniversary

It was one year ago today that we started our journey here to Swaziland. (Of course the preparation started way before that.) It is humbling to look back and see where we started to where we are now. I don’t think anyone in our family could imagine where we are now versus when we first arrived here. Stepping into a culture that is soooo totally different from what we were used to. I would never make it out like we have “arrived” and are at home or even comfortable here. There are countless reminders every day that this is not our home. Abraham (Hebrews 11:8-10) comes to mind: a stranger in a foreign land; and like Abraham we also look to our permanent home.

I can remember going into the Spar (supermarket) or CashBuild (Swazi Home Depot) and being so intimidated by everything. Now it’s no big deal. Police roadblocks don’t bother me as much as they irritate me now.

So what have we accomplished in the past year? Teresa has been making weekly visits to the CarePoints to provide basic health care. We’ve taken responsibility for the CarePoints at Makholweni and Madonsa: meeting with the cooks, teachers, and Bible Club teachers to make sure the goals Children’s Cup has set for each area: food, health care, Bible Clubs, informal schooling, and anything else that you can think of. Trying to get each group or individual to work together to meet the needs of the children. And I’ve been the front man for Children’s Cup construction. Now trying to coordinate at two different sites all the material and workers. Doesn’t seem like much when you put it down like that. But I was driving home from Makholweni this evening and all the kids at the CarePoint and all the kids along the road that had already left were laughing, shouting and waving “Bye Bye”, “Bye malungu (white man)”, “Hello how are you”, “I’m fine, how are you”……. Smiling happy kids. Who had a good meal and learned about Jesus. That says a whole lot more than trying to describe what we’ve been “doing” and says a lot about what has been accomplished: by God’s grace only.

I look at the transition our kids have made and am so proud. They were literally thrown into a new environment: new schools, new friends, and new soccer teams. Like us: new everything. They have done exceptionally well. All are doing well in school, if not excelling at a curriculum (if I can say it) is harder than what they had in the States. They’ve started Bible studies, led other students to Christ, and been lights to their campuses. We couldn’t be more proud of them and their witness here.

So where do we go from here? While we are looking forward to visiting family and friends in December, our hearts are set on continuing the work here: to reach more kids and to be there as they grow: to see them reach maturity in Jesus: which is their (and this countries) only hope.

A special thanks to all our friends and family for you prayers and support. We couldn’t have done any of this with out you. We pray God’s richest blessings on each and everyone of you. You share in each victory and blessing here.

Final Push

We start our final push to complete the Mission of Mercy CarePoint at Madonsa and Nurse's Station at Makholweni this month. Our kids helped paint a little at Madonsa between the school terms. We took last week to leave for a short break as well. There were two Swazi national holidays last week also so we thought it would be a good time to go rest and relax before the kids go back to school for their final term for the school year. We spent a few days at a beach in Mozambique north of Xai-Xai. The (Children's Cup) Rodgers' and the (Baptist Mission) Poe's went with us for a great couple of days.

We're back now, the kids start school tomorrow, and we at Children's Cup have to push to complete the CarePoint and Clinic before October.

Training Dr. Beyda

Last week we had 15 teachers from our CarePoints that were trained by a pediatric physician from Phoenix Children’s Hospital. His name is Dr. David Beyda. These teachers were taught how to do a physical exam, CPR, first aid, basic anatomy and how organ systems function. They will be assessing kids at their different CarePoints and letting me know which ones are sick and what their symptoms are. They can do basic first aid and simple wound care. They can take vital signs, and also assess the signs and symptoms of some common illnesses.

We all learned a great deal from Dr. Beyda. One of the things that he focused on was building a covenant relationship with the patients that you see as a health care worker. He not only taught , but modeled by example the things that he taught. He allowed the students to practice doing their physical exams on him, and also allowed them to do an 8 man lift on him from the floor to a table. He was very brave, but they did an excellent job. The students are all very bright and will be great health care workers. They are practicing what they have learned this week. They were so grateful to him for sharing his knowledge with them. They had him sit in a chair and literally lifted him up before the Lord and prayed for him. He was very broken and deeply touched by this.

While Dr.Beyda was here, he diagnosed one child with cerebral palsy, just by observing and assessing him. He is going to send me a physical therapy program for strengthening his legs that we can teach his go-go so that he may be able to walk better with his walker. I was amazed at his vast knowledge. He took the students outside at the CarePoint where the children were playing and had them pick out the sick ones and bring them to him. As he saw them, I took notes, and got medicines for them. He pointed out protein malnutrition in several of the kids. One 22 year old mentally disabled girl had a seizure right in front of us. He diagnosed the type of seizure, and asked to see her medicines so that he could readjust them. This girl was having several seizures a day and always falling on the same side of her head. She had many injuries on that side of her head and eye as well. Dr. Beyda told me to get her a bicycle helmet to protect her head from further injury. He not only shared his knowledge with us, but also his compassionate heart that goes the extra mile to care for those in need. Thanks again to Dr. Beyda for everything!

Update about 3 year old girl from Government Hospital

Remember the 3 year old girl that I have written about before that was terribly sexually abused? She has finally been discharged from the hospital and placed in the Sandra Lee Center, which my friend, Robin runs. I saw her a few weeks ago at a school fair. Some of the students go and get the kids from Ward 8 (abandoned children’s ward) and bring them to activities like this. At that time she was still living in the hospital, and that same scowl was still on her face. We tried to get her to smile, we took her in the jumping castle, but she was not impressed at all. As of last week, Robin was able to take her to her new home, the Sandra Lee Center. She is adjusting beautifully! She is now smiling more than frowning. She loves her new home. If you were to visit, you would find her with a backpack on her back and a baby doll in her arms, playing happily and smiling. She is now getting the love, care, attention, and nutrition that she so desperately needed.

Plastered

Update on the ongoing construction for the Mission of Mercy CarePoint at Madonsa. The trusses are up and the walls are plastered! The corrugated iron roofing should be going up on Monday. I am so looking forward to this CarePoint being fully operational. Now the kids are only coming for the food which is dished between 12 and 1:30. There is such a need for a teacher and Bible teacher here. Jesus needs to be lived in front of these kids: that is their only hope.

The Mission of Mercy “nurses station” in Makholweni is progressing quickly as well. Most of the block work is complete, the trusses are up, the roof should go on next week. It is looking very good. Dr. Beyda, Mission of Mercy’s Medical Director, is putting on a health training seminar for all of our teachers and Bible Club leaders this week at the CarePoint at Makholweni. This is the first step in bringing better health care to all of the kids we work with in Manzini and Mbabane. Praise God!!!

Sunset

Teresa and I were driving back from Manzini on Wednesday evening and were struck by the view. Blurry picture at 130Km/hr doesn't do it justice.

The "Nurse's Station" we are building at Makholweni is nearing roof level. This project is being funded by Mission of Mercy. We should be able to put up the trusses next week. We are constantly amazed at the level/quality of health care available by the vast majority of the people here in Swaziland. We try to take the care of the people who work with us by taking them to the private clinics. These provide respectable care; but the government run hospitals are "less than optimum". The daughter of one of our Bible Club teachers received second degree burns from her upper thigh to her toes this weekend from boiling water. The government hospital sent her home with panadol (like tylenol) and said come back in two weeks; that was Sunday. No antibiotic, burn treatment, nothing. The picture shows her bandages and swelling on Monday morning. We took her Monday afternoon to the Imphilo Clinic. They took very good care of her. She is going back every two to three days to have the bandages changed, is on an antibiotic, and is doing very well.

We are not trying to provide the level of services the hospitals (are supposed to) provide, or the clinics (although their cost is out of reach of 98% of Swazi's). Our goal is to help provide basic preventative health care to keep the kids at our CarePoints out of the hospital entirely. Please pray that the governmental approval process and funding continues to go smoothly! Pray that God's healing would be evident through each one of us here.

Training @ Baylor Clinic

Last week we had 14 people from our CarePoints attend training at Baylor Clinic. This is a pediatric clinic sponsored by Baylor College of Medicine and Bristol Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals. The doctors are from Baylor, and they see only HIV positive children and their families. They do a wonderful job of counseling the family members about HIV and the medications to treat it. So they offered to do this training to one or two people from each of our CarePoints. We thought that it would be great to have someone at each CarePoint who is knowledgeable about HIV, the symptoms and the treatment. Many times, the kids at the CarePoints don’t have anyone to take care of them and make sure that they get enough to eat, take their medications, or make sure they have good hygiene. So if there is someone at each CarePoint who is trained to do these things, it will be very helpful.

The 14 people were made up of teachers, Bible club leaders, cooks, and community members. These guys got a lot of information in a three day period. They asked good questions, and really got a lot out of the training. Many of them got tested themselves, which is a step in the right direction. They were very appreciative for the training that they were given and expressed this very sweetly, both to the staff at the clinic and to me. I believe that the information that they gained will help them, not only at the CarePoints, but at their own homes and communities as well. If the people of Swaziland can be taught of the importance of testing and that even if they are positive, it is not the end. Treatment is available and it is free. So many lives can be saved it they will only get tested and start on treatment. The stigma that goes along with being HIV positive here is amazing. It keeps people from being tested and getting treatment. So I think that this training was a wonderful thing, and I am very grateful to Baylor for arranging these sessions and teaching our workers at Children’s Cup.

I tried with all my might to understand the training myself, but since the majority of it was in SiSwati. I had great difficulty following what they were talking about. They wrote on the board in English, so I could follow, while they were discussing those things. As soon as they got off of the subject on the board, I was lost, only picking up a word here and there. It was a blessing to serve these precious workers these three days, as I was in charge of making sure they had food and drink for tea time and lunch time. May God richly bless these precious workers in His field.

Update about 15 year old girl from Madonsa

I mentioned a while back a little 15 or 16 year old girl from one of our new CarePoints (Madonsa). We did a clinic there a few months ago, and when this little girl walked in, we all knew that she was sick. She was very thin, her heart rate was very rapid, and she just looked extremely ill. When we asked her age, and she said 16 we all were amazed, because she didn’t look a day over 10. She had a severe cough, diarrhea, and was very malnourished. We started trying to find out who her family members were, so we could see if we could get her tested. First, I treated her with antibiotics and cough medicine, and we brought her some mealy meal with extra nutrients in it. After about 2 weeks, she was a little bit better, but still not well. I think that I put her on 2 rounds of antibiotics and then we had a meeting with her mother, who also looked sick herself, as well as very thin. We told her that once she finished this second round of antibiotics, it she was not well, we needed to get her to the clinic. Once she completed them, I saw her again, and she had improved, but still was not well. I knew that she needed to be tested. At this point, we explained to her mother that if she wanted us to help her, we needed to take both her and her child to the clinic in Mbabane so they could be tested for HIV. Her mother agreed and we brought her for testing. It turns out that they are both positive. The doctor wants to work on nutrition before starting ARV’s. So he explains the importance of good nutrition and eating many small meals a day. Two weeks later, when she returned, she had gained 2 kg. The doctor was very pleased and now we are waiting for her CD-4 count to come back to see if she needs to start on ARV’s.
It turns out that this little girls’ birthday is April of 1991, which makes her 15. I thought about my own 15 year old daughter who was born March of 1991. I look at this thin little girl, and then at my daughter, who is a great athlete, and is very healthy, and I am very thankful to the Lord for His mercy and grace on us. However, I pray that this little one has a chance to be healthy as well. She has not been able to continue to attend school because she has been so sick. She also has a hearing loss problem which her mom says that she has had since birth. I pray that we can help her to return to a state of health that will allow her to return to school and to live a healthy life.

When I walked into the clinic this past week and this little one saw me and recognized me, it gave me great delight to see the smile light up on her face as she waved to get my attention. I brought some colors and coloring books for her and the other kids to use while they were waiting. It gave me great joy to watch her color a picture of Joseph and his coat of many colors. Then I asked her to write her name on her paper, and she wrote it very neatly and precisely. I have great hope that the Lord will help us to be able to help this little one return to a state of health in which she can return to school and also come to the knowledge of the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as well as her mother. Please help me pray for these precious ones that the Lord loves so dearly.

Break

We needed a break. I think the constant pull on emotions and barrage of “I need’s” and “I want’s” take a toll. We spent this past Wednesday thru Friday in a beautiful part of South Africa called Blyde River Canyon. Like a mini Grand Canyon in the States. We took along another US missionary’s daughter and our link student from Waterford. Short, but a nice break. Ready to start again on Monday.

Chicken Feet

There are some things that were probably never meant to be eaten. Enough said. So what part of a chicken is really inedible?

Ward 8

I visited the government hospital again today with my friend Robin.  We were taking some of the HIV positive babies from her orphanage to get their blood work drawn.  While we were waiting on the doctor to draw the blood, we visited Ward 8, the abandoned children’s ward.  We saw the little 3 year old girl that had been abandoned about a month ago.  She had been terribly sexually abused, and had trauma, as well as sexually transmitted disease, which was manifested in little cauliflower shaped blisters or sores all over her genital area.  When we were there a month ago, she was just lying on the floor, not responding at all.  Today as we entered the room, it was bath time.  All of the children were lined up for their bath which took place in big plastic basin on the floor.  She was being bathed, and the look on her face was one of absolute terror.  Even though, she was not being harmed, the fact that she was naked, and someone’s hands were on her, even though just being washed, she looked horrified.  I watched as they finished and applied lotion to her and Vaseline to her still sore and raw genital area, and dressed her.  She walked over and was still pulling at her clothes as if she was still in pain.  I’ll never be able to forget the look on her face.  I so wanted to see her smile.  I sat on the bench holding one of the babies, and she came up right beside me, with her back facing me, but leaning on me.  I placed my arm very carefully around her, and she just stood there allowing me to hold her for about half an hour.  I could hardly contain myself to think of the horror that this child has been through.  I just held her and prayed that God would somehow heal her little mind, soul and body.  Tears rolled down my face, I tried to stop crying, but I just could hardly contain it.  Finally, I got a little stuffed animal toy and tried to play with her.  As I brought the toy to her face, and played, a big smile came across her face.  That was worth a million bucks to me right then.  I praised God for that smile, even though it quickly faded and the scowl returned.  My friend Robin, is in the process of taking this little one to her orphanage to try and get her the emotional, and spiritual help that she desperately needs, as well as lots and lots of love.  Please help us pray for this precious little one as well as many others like her.  Please pray that God will help us to show His love to these little ones as He would have us to.

Stitches

Well, Joelle managed to fall out of the lemon tree yesterday afternoon. We knew she had cut herself, but she refused to let anyone see it. Daran finally forced her to open her hand so we could see it. A one and one-half inch gash that was completely through the skin. Wince. Wailing. Knashing of teeth. Teresa took her to the private clinic where the doctor stitched her up. More wailing until the anesthetic took effect. She came home an hour later bouncing around and proud of her "badge of courage." Now she has something to show off at school for all her freinds to see.

A lot of pain

A lot of pain.  The ‘Cup weekly staff meeting/Bible study opened with a discussion on how we view our earthly fathers.  In English we have father, dad, daddy.  Each progressively intimate.  In Swaziland, there is only one word: babe.  Each Swazi spoke of the distance between themselves and their father and mothers.  One even spoke of a father as an enemy.  Swazi heads nodded in agreement.  (Cultural) Abuse, neglect, bitterness, hatred.  Please pray for the Swazi staff for a break through in forgiveness and a true vision of their heavenly Father.  Then for the Swazi nation and especially for the children we see at the CarePoints that they can see God as a true father, even abba father.

daransday

0630-get up from the sofa (retreated there after Teresa was snoring and kicking too bad last night) 0715-out the door to drop Danielle, Nathanael, and Joelle off at Sifundzani 0730-head to ‘Cup office 0740-checking email, deleting spam, check foxnews for the latest happenings 0830-off to Swazi Water Services to pay water bill, then to bank to pick up statement for Gugu at ‘Cup 1000-collected invoice for material delivered to the SOS Village (orphanage) for a CarePoint they are building (I agreed to oversee the construction for AMICAALL, out of my mind when I did it) & met with Sikhombuzo about two projects in the Nygwene area that he was seeking funding for. Sikhombuzo is the secretary of the Women’s Football Association and a police detective (so I have to be REALLLY nice to him :-)). We met while I was trying to find a team for Gabby. He has two projects he had me come and look at: a small health clinic/preschool building and a small school for OVC’s in his home area. Unfortunately, while probably good projects, there is no way ‘Cup could fund them and I can’t do it personally. I found a possible funding source for him and gave him the applications and went over them with him 1100-at Makholweni in Manzini. Got the latest wish list from Dudu on what she wants for the CarePoint. Only wish our budget matched her ever growing wish list. She (usually) doesn’t ask for anything extravagant, but it still a seemingly endless barrage of I want’s and I need’s. Also met with the builders still on site finishing up all the construction. Gave a Joyce Meyer book (in Portuguese) to Mkhulu for his daughter. They are from Mozambique. Gogo Kunene donated the land for the CarePoint, and as a gesture of thanks, we agreed to build her a bathroom on her house. So I got the daily material list and sent our driver (Gcina) to Cashbuild to pick up what they needed to continue. Also trying to arrange for a plumber and electrician to come from the community to do what’s needed on that end for the bathroom 1230-at Madonsa in Mazini to “inspect” the foundation. They have started to dig the foundation here, but dug an extra 10 meters of dirt. Good exercise maybe if you need it (which they don’t), but a real waste of time. Met with Nicholas (can’t even begin to spell/pronounce his Swazi name) who is our building coordinator for this project. Looked at the foundation and extra dirt that was dug, looked at material delivered to date (sand, crush and block), reviewed invoices for total material required and made an initial payment. Encouraged “Ben” (again, can’t even begin to spell/pronounce his Swazi name) and the ladies who are there to cook to keep up their commitment 1330-at Ngwane Park CarePoint to drop off a UNICEF/AMICAALL request for a meeting to help evaluate what makes a functional CarePoint functional (vs. a non-functional one) 1400-at Zakhele CarePoint. Dropped off same UNICEF/AMICAALL request here and waited for Teresa to arrive. She’ll be doing a clinic here this afternoon. I’m the chemist (Pharmacist). I get to dole out the meds Teresa prescribes. Patrick calls me Dr. D. Dr. D is in the house! We only see about 46 kids, but more arrive as we are trying to leave. So we give them worm pills (a twice yearly exercise unless they have a visible worm problem {use your imagination}) 1600-back to Ngwane Park to drop off paracetemol (tylenol like stuff) to the cooks there. We pick up Gugu (the Bible Club teacher there) to take her home. She was having the kids there practice a song/dance for a “day of prayer” celebration in Manzini on Saturday. The kids looked really good. Dropped her off and headed to Mbabane 1700- unloaded the meds at the ‘Cup office in Mbabane. Checked email, ate a peanut butter sandwich and an avocado sandwich (pre dinner snack). Reconciled cash expenditures for the day, checked email again, looked at foxnews 1800- brought Charles & Kristten to our house for dinner (they won’t have a car till next week). Teresa isn’t home yet so I start on dinner. Played Uno, started a fire (no heat in the house and we don’t have any electric heaters). 1930- Roger Kunene stops by to practice guitar with Gabby for Sunday’s worship. 2000- everyone sits down to dinner 2100-more guitar until Gabby falls asleep holding her guitar in her lap 2200-take Charles & Kristten home in Emafeni 2230-in bed and asleep in 2 minutes (obviously wrote this part the next morning)

Sharon VanRensburg is supposed to have the next daily blog. But I really don’t know where to point you to find it.

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.

The Week in Review with ....

Every once in a while you need to be able to see exactly why you do what you do. This afternoon I visited a potential new CarePoint site in Madonsa. The community had approached us about siting a CarePoint in this peri-urban area outside Manzini: just outside the city limits. It's kind of strange to drive there. Up until you cross out of the city limits, you are driving by what would be million dollar homes in the US. Then you leave the asphalt pavement, cross a muddy creek, and you are immediately back into homesteads made of stick, mud, block, tin and grass roofs and cement. What a contrast.

They have been cooking and feeding the kids for less than a week now and already have close to 150 children coming each day. I watched as a 6-7 year old little girl strapped on her little sister (maybe 1 or 2?) onto her back to walk home. I asked the Indvuna (guy in charge that reports to the chief) about her family. Two younger brothers. Abandoned by their father who they think went to South Africa. Living with their mother who has no work. Destitute. Legally that makes all the children single orphans. There are worse off children here as well. Double orphans and truly destitute, dealing with the effects of HIV in parents, relatives, siblings, friends, themselves. The only purpose of the CarePoint we hope to build here is to offer hope to these children. A place to grow up where some of the most basic needs are met and the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ can impact their lives.

Several gogo's are sitting under some trees for shade surrounded by 30-40 children. They begin to sing "Ngiyabonga Jesu, Ngiyabonga Jesu, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Amen"

Teresa's take

Government hospitals in Swaziland are limited in how and what they can do for their patients, therefore, making the care, for the most part, palliative. Babies and children that, if treated in the states would have a great chance at making it; here usually don’t make it out of the hospital. Why? Who’s to blame? Who knows? The medical professionals do the best with the skills, knowledge, and equipment that they have to work with. Is it enough? I can’t answer that. It is very difficult to go to the pediatric ward and see sick babies one day, and go back the next day, and they are gone. Where?- to their eternal home. Are they better off? Yes, of course, but could they have made a difference in someone else’s life down the road? Did God have more for them? More questions that go through my mind that I cannot answer. One young mother stood in the pediatric ward our second day visit. I asked her which child was hers. She answered, “Mine was the one that was in the second cot with the wound on his head, he died last night about 6pm.” I was speechless for a few seconds, and then I asked if I could pray with her, she said that I could. I attempted to pray without breaking down and crying, I didn’t quite make it, and quickly said Amen and told the mother how sorry I was. I had to leave the pediatric ward then; I could take no more for now. Then, while I was standing outside of the ward, wiping my tears, I hear someone calling me, and look to see a young boy lying on a cot on the floor. He had seen that we had been taking photos inside and he wanted his photo taken. We asked him what happened to him; he had a broken arm and many scrapes and scratches. His mother told us that he had been hit by an automobile. He was healing well and was going to be alright. We rejoiced for that.

Dr. Beyda was able to bring much wisdom and insight to me just in the two days that he was visiting, seeing children both at the CarePoints and in the hospital. We are very excited to see what God has in store for us and we pray for wisdom to make the right decisions for the future of our medical portion of Children’s Cup.

On a lighter note, the Rehmeyer children have started a Bible study at break time, at school. They are bringing their Bibles and doing devotions and prayer. Yesterday, one little boy came up to Nathanael and started making fun of him, getting down on his knee and mocking, and calling him “preacher man.” I told Nathanael, and the girls, to just hold strong and be obedient, and don’t let the mockers get to them. This little boy that was making fun, may be the first one to be saved, one never knows.

Snippets

All three of the younger kids took part in a swimming gala yesterday. Over all didn't do that well, but had fun trying! A teacher told Teresa this morning that on the way back to the school, the entire bus was singing Christian songs. She had asked her daughter what was going on about that. Her daughter said it was the "three Rehmeyer kids." It makes us proud to know that besides all the sibling "stuff" that goes on, they still carry a witness with them and are an example and a light to the other kids they are around.

More Medical......

We just finished two days with a doctor/dentist team at our CarePoint at Fonteyn in Mbabane. They did a fantastic job ministering to the people of the community. We need to give special thanks to Dream for Africa for allowing us to use their mobile medical clinic for this outreach. The clinic is set up for dentistry and worked great. I don't know how many extractions were done, but there were many, many people who came out smiling: to finally be free of pain from broken & rotten teeth. We also were able to give out glasses to the community, thanks again to the generosity of Dream for Africa in supplying the glasses and the diagnostic machine to measure the eyes!

We have also been busy this week with a medical assessment team from Mission of Mercy. Dr. David Beyda has been here to see what way Mission of Mercy could complement the existing medical infrastructure to best help the children at the CarePoints Children's Cup is operating. Please help pray with us to have God's vision on this and not what we may think needs to be done.

Praise God! This has been a very exciting week.

February 13 - 17, 2006 Medical Team Chronicle

Prep- Oh by the way, can you host a medical team next week?

Kakhoza – We saw about 150 people and had to turn away people at the end of the day. We thought we were going to have a riot in the afternoon. People kept crowding in the door and we told them we were going to have to close the clinic if they didn’t cooperate. We saw one little girl who had been beaten in the head by her step mother and now had cerebral palsy as a result of the head injury. She could see only large close objects, could not feed herself, or communicate. The pediatrician encouraged the mother to exercise her little frail arms and teach her to feed herself. She also encouraged her to stimulate her by touching her in a loving way, rubbing her back, arms, legs, etc. She would respond to touch and occasionally to close objects coming towards her. There were many children, as well as adults with sores and wounds, skin conditions, worms, and infections. There were many elderly women that could hardly get around. Many wanted their eyes checked. We did have the eye machine and were able to check eyes, however, we were limited with the number of glasses that we had for lower prescriptions, which is what most of them had. Many just needed reading glasses. There were a few that really couldn’t see and when they were fitted with glasses, you could really tell that they could see the difference. We did not leave there until 7pm; people were waiting in the pouring rain to see the doctors.

Makholweni – This one was very well organized by the action committee. We saw 150-200 people, but we had to turn many away at the end of the day. We saw many sick people, a few that we had to go get because they were too sick to walk. One young lady, that was dying from AIDS, could not sit up, and had to be carried. She had a very high temperature and much infection in her body. We gave her Ibuprofen for the fever and antibiotics for the infection, ORS for the diarrhea. There are several children at this CarePoint that have been identified by Dudu as being possibly HIV positive and we need to have them tested in the near future. One little boy, had a huge gash in his foot that needed stitches. We got stitches and the pediatrician attempted to stitch up the foot, but the skin was so tough and thick the needle bent and she could only get 2 stitches in and had to complete it with staples. The boy screamed in pain as the staples were being placed. In the process of the foot being cleaned prior to being sewn up, some of the solution was splashed in one of the volunteers face. She wasn’t sure if it had blood in it and also, she wasn’t sure if it got in her eye.

Murray Camp- Daran and I missed the clinic here altogether. Today we had to find the mother of the boy whose foot was stitched/stapled yesterday and ask her if she would agree to have her son tested for HIV, which she did agree. We took them to the FLAS (Family Life Association of Swaziland) center in Manzini, and explained to the counselor what had happened. She said that their procedure called for the victim of the accident be tested, not the boy. The counselor proceeded to talk the mother out of having the boy tested. Now what? What to tell this volunteer, we don’t know the boys status, we don’t think that he is positive, but we can’t be sure. That was a very trying day. And its only 12 o’clock.

Moneni – We went for the afternoon, and saw many sick people. There are many little ones that just hang around this CarePoint by themselves. We played little games with them and made them laugh. One little one came into our pharmacy and wanted to play with the medicines, so we made her a balloon out of a glove and she kicked and bounced this new toy for quite a while. She crawled up in the lap of one of the volunteers, just to be held, uninhibited that we were adults and also white. We also had to turn away about 15-20 people that were standing at the gate that we just couldn’t see.

Mangwaneni – We had this clinic in a small church in the middle of the poorest area in Manzini, right across from the trash dump. There were many sick here also. We treated several with sexually transmitted diseases and counseled them to get tested for HIV. One guy had a gash in his head that was open all the way to the skull, that had been stitched and reopened twice already. The doctor cleaned it and steri-stripped it, because there was too much scar tissue to stitch it. This was the smoothest clinic day that we had so far. We didn’t have to turn anyone away today. That was a good feeling.

Ngwane Park – We saw close to 200 people today. Many little go-go’s that could barely get around, one that we had to help up the stairs, no shoes, feet in terrible condition. I have no idea how she made it home once we helped her down the steps after the doctors had seen her, except that she did have an old stick to help steady herself. As I was making sandwiches for our interpreters, (who worked extremely hard and were indispensible to the team) I noticed out of the corner of my eye, I was being watched by a group of kids on the other side of the fence. I knew that they wanted some of what I was making, so I started breaking up the bread and handing out pieces through the chain link fence. When I was out of bread, there were still little faces staring at me through the fence. That was hard, but I knew that they were going to have some pap and beans in just a little while that the ladies at the CarePoint were cooking. Thank God that Jesus is the Bread of Life and that He never runs out, and we never have to hunger or thirst spiritually.

We had the mayor, a city counselor, and a prince show up for this clinic. When we asked the prince (he said that he was a brother to the king), why he came he said that he had been to doctors here, but he had more confidence in American doctors and wanted a second opinion. We teased the nurse who gave him a shot and asked her if the royal bottom looked different from any other bottom.

Daran had a more sobering experience: he was sitting in the room where the people were admitted and seen by the doctor. Sitting close by was a young girl maybe 16 or seventeen. Her complaint to the doctor: no period for the last 5 months. The doctor asked “Could you be pregnant?” She didn’t know. She was with a new boyfriend. They gave her a pregnancy test. While they were waiting for the results the doctor asked her what she would do if she was. Just resigned silence. The test came back positive. There was a look of sad resignation to the results. The doctor counseled her to be tested for HIV and nutrition for her and the baby.

We had music, dancing, and games with the children outside in the afternoon. That was a lot of fun! While I was watching the children dance, I recognized her face, could it be, yes it was, it was Nqobile. She was dancing, singing and playing with the other children. It was wonderful to see her smile and laugh. She is still very, very thin, but she looks better than I expected after months and months of continuous diarrhea. Nqobile is the 10 year old girl that we attempted to take to the clinic and get tested for HIV before the holidays. Her mother first agreed, then with the persuasion of her sons, decided that we were trying to harm the girl instead of helping her. They convinced her that we wanted to take her and inject her with the HIV virus, and they told their mother that if she allowed us to take her, that they would no longer help her with anything. I expected her to run when she saw me, but she didn’t. She was watching me, I was taking pictures of all of the kids, but really trying to get pictures of her without her knowing. Finally, I noticed that she was interested in seeing herself in a picture, so I took a close up of her and showed her. Her face lit up in a smile when she saw herself in the picture. At least she doesn’t seem to be afraid of me. She did see the doctor and just told her that she had diarrhea and the doctor gave her worm pills. Of course, she didn’t share with the doctor how long the diarrhea had been going on. I am so glad that this story is not over, God can still intervene and make a way, all is not lost! Praise God!

At the end of the day, the last day of the clinics, someone came in with a little boy who was crying in pain and his arm was dangling and the bone was sticking out at his elbow. The doctor said, “this is a fracture, I can splint it, but he needs to go to the hospital to have it set and casted, possibly even surgery.” We went on a search to find something hard enough to splint the arm. All we could come up with was a piece of plaster, and the doctor wrapped it up to immobilize it, and we gave him pain medicine. Then we had to find his mother and bring her to the CarePoint so that the doctor could talk to her and explain that he had gotten hurt playing and that she thought that the arm was broken and he needed to go to the hospital. We took the mom and boy to the hospital and got them into ER and x-ray and then we had to leave. We prayed that night that the mom wouldn’t mistreat the boy for costing her E35 and the trouble of having to go to the hospital.