What's Next?

This is also a popular question we've heard a lot in the last month! Well, we can happily say that we now know where we're going and what we're doing.

Michaele has been hired by Bethany First Church of the Nazarene in Bethany, Oklahoma as pastor of equipping ministries. Brent has several job opportunities in the Oklahoma City area, but none nailed down yet. We will be moving in the third week of August, and are excited about joining the community and work in Bethany!

While we worked with BFC this past year in Swaziland, God grew wonderful friendships and allowed us to develop much respect for the church's vision and leadership. We know that they are people of vision and passion and are doing great things as a part of the Kingdom of God.

Over the past few weeks we have been able to see many of our friends and spend a lot of time with family. We are now in Johnson Vermont working as teen camp directors for the next two weeks.

As always we appreciate your prayers as we drive many miles, and walk in faith the road marked out for us!!

What did you learn in Swaziland?

Since being back in the US just over a month, we’ve been asked a lot of questions about Swaziland. Among the top 5 is – What’s the biggest thing you learned? Superlative questions are always the hardest, but this has been especially difficult to answer. I think we will continue to reap lessons from our time in Swaziland for years to come, but in this last month a few things have crystallized in our minds.

I have learned the truth that compassion is a lifestyle. Working with Americans and other westerners in a developing country, I watched the discomfort and shock that comes with seeing poverty one’s never encountered. Often in the processing of thoughts and emotions, I’d hear someone ask, “Why do the Swazis not have compassion on their own people?” Usually “the Swazis” referred to the collective society of systems and culture, not individuals. They were basically asking how could they let it get this bad for this child, or this person with HIV? Of course there are many individuals who exhibit stronger compassion that anyone I’ve ever known. But in our sweeping, generalizing analysis of an unfamiliar situation we often look over those small things.

It is not the crisis, one-time events that determine whether individuals are compassionate. Rather, it is the daily even hourly decisions that are made. It is the motivation or goal of our life that determines our compassion. Anyone can give clothes to a person in rags – yet that can even be motivated by guilt or a sense of pride or obligation. But what motivates people like Evelyn and Mary of the Task Force to search out the people in rags? Anyone can give medicine to the sick person comes through your door, but what brings someone to look for the sickest, weakest people who can’t get off the floor let alone get to a doctor? A compassionate person is not one who merely gives out the right materials to a person in need at the right time. Rather, a compassionate person is one who has made compassion into a way of life and not just an event. Mary and Evelyn and those who work with them have re-ordered their lives to minister to the poor, sick, dying, parent-less and hungry. Yes, Swaziland could use many more people like that – but who are we as “outsiders” to say that Swazis have no compassion in light of this? And how many people of Mary and Evelyn’s stature can we boast of in our own churches and communities?

The longer I was with them, the more I realized we were the ones without compassion – at least the kind of the compassion I saw in them. What would it look like if I lived a lifestyle of compassion at home in American like they do in Swaziland? How many of us have been so filled with God’s compassion for others that we went looking for people in need? I don’t know if I’ve ever done that. Usually I’m doing good if I have a compassionate response when a need is starting me in the face. At times this revelation has left me feeling hopelessly bad and inadequate. Yet I have been reminded that yes, compassion is a way of life, but it is part of the whole new life God is bringing me into. As the Spirit works in me to make me more like Christ, I cannot help but become compassionate – because Christ is. Compassion is a lifestyle, but it is part of the lifestyle of a disciple of Christ. If we are growing into discipleship, we will certainly be growing into compassion. And it will be a compassion rooted in our way of life, not just special events.

Out of necessity, I have also learned how to trust God for some of the simplest things. In regular American life, we have good systems in place to get us what we need or want. (And if you just rolled your eyes as if to say, ‘Well, sometimes our systems are good…’ then you need to spend time in Africa. Our systems are good. Period.) We rely on systems to make things fast and easy, because the customer is always right. The downside is that we unknowingly become self-absorbed consumers who expect that things should be fast and easy. Yet systems and customer service are not the strong suits of Swaziland.

Needless to say there were times we literally prayed to get online so we could send an email. There was also the time our four pieces of luggage were lost in Johannesburg, and no one at the airport could help us at all. Long story short, I finally stopped trying to find my bags, prayed about it, and three hours later they were found. Another story that comes to mind is when we needed to hire a crane to lift a container of medical supplies that was being shipped to the hospital. After calling company after company and hitting roadblock after roadblock, I was exhausted and on the verge of tears. I slumped into a chair in our living room to pray, and ended up asleep. An hour later I awoke to the phone ringing and found out the whole problem was solved while I slept. Each of these situations (and many more) taught me what I said I already knew: that we serve a powerful God who cares about the smallest details of our lives, and has resources and methods we can’t even imagine.

Coming back to America, I was worried that I might lose this precious gift back in the land of customer service and orderly systems. We learned to rely on God more than others or ourselves, and we didn’t want to revert back. So Brent and I prayed that God would help us to see Him and know Him here as we did in Swaziland. And already, He has.

Our second week back I was flying from Maryland to Wisconsin for a conference. There was a problem with my boarding pass, and was sent from the front of the security check-in line to the back of a customer service line with 20 minutes until my plane boarded. I was feeling anxious and antsy, and growing ever-more worried as the time stretched out and the line got no shorter. I began to think about customer service and how I could push myself to the front by yelling, ‘My plane is boarding in 15 minutes, let me through!’ I knew people would not be happy, but they would probably let me. But then I thought about what I would do if this line were in Swaziland. I would wait quietly like everyone else and pray that somehow God would not let me miss my flight. So I did that instead of pushing and yelling. Not one minute later an airline employee came through the line asking what people needed, and I told her (not as calmly as I would like) about my situation. She took me to the front of the line, got me my boarding pass, and sent me on my way. I got through security, boarded the plane, and even had time to buy breakfast on the way!

In America

After these few months we are back in America again!!

We have been as the Swazi's say "Moving Up and Down" since we arrived last Thursday. We are visiting family for the next few weeks as we pray about the future.

Our arrival back into the US is bittersweet but we are confident that those that we have worked with in Swaziland are continuing to search out the Lord and to courageously give our Lords love to those in Swaziland.

We will post more in the coming days but wanted to give this much delayed update to let you know where we are and praise God for what he has done.

Answers to Prayer

As our time in Swaziland is winding down (six days left!!), we are thanking God for the many, many prayers he has answered during this year. At the top of the list is the answered prayer for people to follow us here in Swaziland.

Andy and Amy Curry, the new on-site coordinators for the Swaziland Partnership, have been in country with us for the last three weeks. They graduated from Southern Nazarene University and have been friends with Brent since college. Andy grew up in Swaziland while his parents spent four years here as missionaries. Not only have they been a huge help to us during the last crazy weeks, but we are excited to see the gifts and passions they bring to this position and to Swaziland. We continue to celebrate God's faithfulness and His perfect timing.

They have developed their own blog to chronicle their time in Swaziland, and we invite all of our followers to follow them as they learn and write about their time here. We know that many of you who have been praying with us, have in fact been praying for them, since we asked people to pray for those who would follow us.

You can follow their Swaziland adventures at: CurryExcursion.blogspot.com

Three Teams in Three Weeks

This last month has been a whirlwind of activity. In three weeks we helped to host and lead 3 teams totaling 65 people in all! There was a team of Southern Nazarene University students and three of SNU's administration; a class from Eastern Nazarene College; and a combined team from Lenexa Central Church of the Nazarene and MidAMerican Nazarene University students. In addition, we also were happy to have Michaele's Dad as a part of these groups and Andy and Amy Curry, who will be taking over as the new on-site coordinators for the Swaziland Partnerhsip.

It's true that we are tired, but God blessed us richly with 65 wonderful people, no accidents or serious illnesses, successful projects, and meaningful relationships with the Swazis we worked with. Once again we feel blessed to be in the connecting role, enabling the relationships and interactions that change lives on both sides of the ocean. As time permits, we will try to get a more complete update of what these teams accomplished while they were here.

Thank you to all who have prayed for us in these busy weeks!

What does the Bible say about HIV and AIDs? Part 2

There is an interesting and sad misconception that can be found all over the world. In fact it was a misconception that existed when Jesus walked the earth as well. It has permeated every generation of God-followers, and is often found in a misunderstanding of God himself. It is the half-truth that says "holiness" -- the set-apartness and special quality of the people of God -- is all about doing certain good things and not doing certain bad things.

The Pharisees and other religious groups of Jesus’ day fell into believing this very thing. They were so careful not to wander into any of the bad areas that they purposefully fenced off other areas that were not bad per se, but might let people get too close to the bad. Following these rules and living within the fenced-in areas was said to safely assure one’s holiness. This is what we commonly know as legalism.

When Jesus came to earth in the middle of this very legalistic religious society, He purposefully smashed down every fence he came upon. He ate with people who were on the other side of the fence; he talked with women; he touched sick people; he gave forgiveness and compassion instead of judgment and shame for those who broke the rules.

He not only taught by his actions that "fence-making" was not a true concept of holiness, but by his words as well. He preached that hate, lust, pride, and judgmentalism were the true barriers to holiness -- not just behaviors, but the desires of the heart. He said that knowledge of one’s need of God was the most important aspect of true holiness – realizing one’s own inability to produce holiness. He also painted for us a full picture of God and said that holiness is being like God. This included not only doing right things, but also having the love, compassion, forgiveness and grace of God as well. (Check out the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.)

This was not really a new sentiment. Jesus was just reiterating what had been said many years before, but had been neglected or unheard. Early in God’s relationship with Israel He told them to “be holy, as I am holy.” Holiness is being like God, who was revealed in fullest form as Jesus Christ. And so we say true holiness is Christ-likeness.

Therefore the picture of holiness as doing right behaviors and avoiding wrong ones is a sadly truncated version of the truth. Holiness is loving like Christ, showing compassion like Christ, offering grace and forgiveness like Christ, and bringing the outsiders in like Christ. A professed holiness that shuns, judges and brow-beats Is not holiness at all.

In light of this, the Church all over the world needs to find out what their response should be to the HIV and AIDs crisis. What is the response of people who are “holy as God is holy”? I think we can safely say that attitudes of judgmentalism and picketing with signs that say “HIV is God’s punishment on sinners” isn’t it. I think we can also count out the option of ignoring it and effectively shunning the ones who need the Church the most.

What does the Bible say about HIV and AIDs? Part 1

This may seem like a very odd question, seeing as the virus and its resulting disease did not descend upon humanity until nearly two thousand years after the last books of the Bible were written. Yet it is a crucial question, and our dear friends here in Swaziland and all over the world are desperate for the answer. Closely related to this question is the one which asks what the church’s response is to this disease and the plethora of issues surrounding it. Yet it is difficult to know how to respond before we know what, if anything, the Bible has to say about it.

Let’s start with Jesus. (Always a good place to start.) What do his words and actions say about HIV? Well, at face value, nothing. But when we spend time digging deeper and looking closer, we realize that Jesus spoke and ministered to the most basic of human conditions that are found everywhere and throughout time: suffering, rejection, sinfulness, shame, and the desires for love, belonging, and redemption. All of these elements are familiar to anyone who has been affected by or infected with HIV/ AIDs.

When Jesus touched lepers, He provided more than physical healing. Lepers were the most ostracized group of people in Jesus’ time. They were literally shunned by their societies and families, and sent to live by themselves or with other lepers. “Clean” members of society could not touch, eat with, or be knowingly in the presence of someone who had leprosy. Part of this was a misunderstanding of the disease that led people to think that it could be spread by touching a leper. However, there was also a belief that a person who had contracted leprosy had done something wrong to deserve it. He or she had sinned against God, and this was their punishment. In the sacrificial system of the Jewish temple, however, they were not able to offer a sacrifice for atonement because they were “unclean” and could not enter the temple.

When Jesus interacted with, touched, and healed people with leprosy he was making a statement. He was bringing justice. He was giving emotional and social healing as well as physical healing. He was restoring the humanity that years of shame and rejection had taken away. He was bringing the outsiders into the inner circle of relationship, chosen-ness and blessing.

The same is true for a number of other people groups with whom Jesus freely mingled. He ate with tax collectors, a despised group of people in the eyes of the first century’s “religious right.” He talked openly with women, even sinful women who were known to be prostitutes. In John 8 we even see Jesus defending a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, rescuing her from the punishment she deserved, and most importantly offering her free forgiveness. This is a Jesus who was fearless in breaking down the walls resurrected by judgment, shame, fear, stigma and sin.

In Swaziland and many places of the world, there is nothing more shameful, nothing that can bring more rejection, and no more ostracized group than those who receive a positive result on an HIV test. These people are placed firmly on the “outside” of society life, often times even in the church. There is a shockingly deep and penetrating stigma surrounding HIV. This is primarily fueled by fear and a lack of understanding, as most stigmas are. This fear leads to silence and denial, because not talking about it is better than being confronted with a shameful truth.

Yet what can we learn from the life of Jesus? What does the Bible say about HIV and AIDs? It says that Jesus is not afraid of it. He’s also not afraid of what causes it. Loud and clear, it says that Jesus’ compassion, love, forgiveness and grace is extended especially for those who are suffering on the “outside,” including those with HIV and AIDs. Knowing what we know about Jesus, I think it is safe to say that He would spend plenty of time with people who had been pushed to the outside by HIV/ AIDs. His whole mission was and is to bring outsiders in – into grace, into relationship, into forgiveness, and into the blessedness of being chosen by God. This is to be the church’s mission as well.

Mighty Men's Conference

This past Wednesday, I (Brent) was able to go to the Mighty Men’s Conference in Greytown, South Africa. I went with 8 boys and one caregiver from the New Hope Centre in Swaziland. We left Wednesday morning for the eight hour trip. This was to be the final MMC, and 400,000 men anticipated.

Seven years ago, the Mighty Men’s Conference started with 14 men led by farmer and evangelist Angus Buchan. The story of his faith and ministry is told in the book and movie “Faith like Potatoes”. The second year of MMC had 50 in attendance, and the following years grew to 700, then 2,000. Last year there were 200,000 men and as this year was the final meeting they were anticipating many more. This growth has come without any advertising or publicity campaigns. In recent years they have launched a website, but only to organize camping and registration for the event.

Each morning having the opportunity to wake up and see tents and men moving around, as far as the eye could see, was something I could not adequately take a picture of or describe in words. Having the additional knowledge that each man was there to search for and hear from God more than awesome. The focus of the week was Men of the Watchtower, the premise being that we as men have been called to stand watch against the enemy in our homes, communities and churches. We are the ones called to blow the trumpet to alert everyone of the presence of incoming enemies.

When talking to other men at the conference they offered me an interesting perspective concerning the magnitude of this event. 400,000 men represent nearly 20% of the white South African male population. And in a time of real testing with new issues in the country, Angus spoke for all when he said, “men are coming to this place for answers from God”.

We arrived Wednesday night at dark and set up camp. Think about how challenging that would be with eight boys under 14! For the next few days, we were able to camp and attend the conference that started on Friday and went through Sunday. (four services) I have never been in such a large group of people, let alone men.

If you want to know more about this event and resources associated with it you can search on the internet thru Google “Mighty Men’s Conference South Africa 2010”
For those of you that knew I was going on this trip and prayed specifically for safety and hearing from God your prayers were answered (Glory to God!!!!!) and for those that continue to life Michaele and I up in general your prayers were answered this past week as well.

Ndubazi Church Update

This Update was sent specifically to the team from BFC (Plus Matt Bunnell) that came in March concerning ongoing and exciting work at the church our ministry focused on..

Enjoy!!

Last week we received a call from Reverend Mahlalela (South District Superintendent), asking us to come visit the Ndubazi church. We hoped that the congregation had been meeting in the new building, but he told us they had not yet. We were disappointed, but understand that it can be very cold without doors or windows now that winter season is coming. We did agree to come down to Ndubazi today (Monday April 19). We have been working to get additional groups involved to get the church finished, but that would not require us to be there in person. We usually are able to talk on the phone or when Reverend Mahlalela is in Manzini. So we were just curious as to the purpose of our visit.

When we got down south we met at Rev Mahlalela’s home and we loaded into the car with Mrs. Mahlalela and drove the short dirty road to Ndubazi. On the way there they talked the good memories of the team and the success of the projects. And then we arrived at the church..

When we first arrived I looked up the road and saw Babe Masuko walking down to us. We greeted each other and then began to walk to the church and as I looked in the open windows I saw… a poured, finished, concrete floor!!!!!

In the weeks since the team has left the church has been working hard. The walls have been completed with plaster and the entire floor has been poured – even the back rooms. There was much rejoicing today!! We could not believe what was in front of our eyes and were excited to see what God is continuing to do there in Ndubazi. With pride Babe Masuko and Rev Mahlalela walked us through the church on a hard smooth concrete floor. I still remember the few days that the men of our team and Ndubazi worked hard to get that floor leveled and now it is completed. Babe Masuko also shared with us that he has ordered and made plans for the installation of all window frames, complete with burglar bars.

This is exciting news that we wanted to share ASAP.
With this tremendous work it is going to take much less to complete the church!

Additional needs at the church:
Payment for window frames and burglar bars
Window panes
Doors
Plaster of the outside (only 12 more bags of cement will be needed)
Final labor payment for plastering of the outside and installing the windows
Paint for walls inside and out

The total cost to complete the church now looks to be about $2,000 USD instead of our original higher expectation, which was a much larger number.

We wanted to share this exciting news with you all and let you know how the work that was started is being taken to completion by the hands of our brothers and sisters here in Swaziland.

In Transit

Greetings to all!!

We have just had a great two weeks with our family (Brents Mom and Dad as well as Michaele's brother Caleb). It was such a rich time and a great honor to have them see and experience things that God has allowed us to be apart of in Swaziland. They are now all safely home and getting back to the things that they do on a daily basis (hopefully jet lag is not to bad on them).

This week Brent leaves to take some boys from New Hope Center to the Mighty Men's conference in South Africa and Michaele takes part in a Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Conference here in Swaziland.

Please pray for safety as we travel and for God's strength as we continue preparations for the three teams that are coming to serve here in May.

More updates to come soon!!

March BFC GO Team

Thank you for all who prayed for us and the team during the last weeks. It was a wonderful ten days of service and learning and transformation. The two major projects were the finishing of a church building at Ndubazi, and the painting of a nearby school. The compassion team also led school assemblies and VBS’s for nearly 2,000 children by the end of the week. The medical team spent time at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, visiting clients of the HIV/ AIDs Task Force, and at a clinic day with The Luke Commission.

Joy is a nurse who was a member of this team. She shared very honestly one night that the whole trip seemed like a roller coaster to her. Sometimes she felt like she had nothing to give, other times she was overjoyed that she was able to be present and serve. I think she spoke for all of us.

Some of the places we’ve been – both with the team and by ourselves – are so hard and heartbreaking that we feel overwhelmed with hopelessness. It is sometimes a struggle to see where God is working in the middle of so much pain and suffering and chaos. And it is intensely uncomfortable to watch it all and feel unable to fix it. Yet I firmly believe, and it has been confirmed in the past week, that until we are uncomfortable God is not able to change us.

I praise God for the Ndubazi Church of the Nazarene having a roof and plastered walls. I praise God for the Nyamane school having fresh paint, new school supplies, and a beautiful mural. I praise God that nearly 2,000 children saw His love in the songs, games, crafts and faces of ten Americans. I praise God for the encouragement brought to doctors, nurses and pastors of our Nazarene institutions.

But my heart swells with excitement and gratitude when I think about the unseen, but much longer-lasting, effects of this week. I was able to witness the transformation of hearts and minds. I was able to see people being broken and others being healed. I was able to watch God shape and mold his children to look more like Christ, and to see the world a little more like Christ sees it.

I know the Swazis are grateful for our presence and the work we’ve done. I know they feel they need us. However, I think our whole team has been reminded this past week that we desperately need our Swazi brothers and sisters. We need the lessons God teaches us through them. We need the opportunity to serve and see Jesus’ face in those who are sick, hungry and without clothes (Matthew 25:35-36). And we desperately need the experience of going to give, and coming back having received much more.

BFC March GO Team

Tomorrow (Friday March 12) a team of 21 people arrive from Bethany First Church to spend 11 days in Swaziland. We have been working hard to get everything ready for them -- all the housing and transportation logistics, project plans and costs, and all the events the team will be a part of. This will be our third team since we've been in Swaziland, and it's nice to feel like we know a little bit about what we're doing this time! Although of course this past week has still had many unforeseen adventures and obstacles in leading up to this point. But hey, it's Africa! That's what makes it fun.

While the team is here, the majority of their time will be spent in the Shiselwini area, the South District of the Swaziland Church of the Nazarene. Outside a large southern town, in an area called Ndubazi, there is a small church of 36 people who have been meeting in a small structure made of something a little thicker than cardboard. Several years ago, a member of the church bought a kombi (mini-bus used for public transportation), and has used the profits of this small transport business to build a proper church building. With these funds and congregation coordination, the foundation and walls are finished.

Our team has the awesome privilege of helping this group of dedicated believers finish their church building! They will putting up the roof, finishing the floor inside, and helping with finishing of doors and windows. Their pastor is a retired woman minister who goes by Gogo (Grannie) Rebecca. She has a fiery spirit and a radiant smile bursting out of her small stature and aging features. She keeps saying we are a blessing for their church, but I know each of us will be blessed after working alongside her for one week.

Other members of the team will be doing painting at two local schools, school assemblies and Bible clubs. We will also spend a day visiting HIV positive clients from the Task Force. It's going to be a full, tiring, but wonderful week.

Please join us in prayer March 12 - 21:
- safe travels as the team goes throughout South Africa and Swaziland
- safety for the construction crew as they work on the roof
- pray that deep relationships will be made between Americans and Swazis
- pray for the Ndubazi community and church, that they will be reminded of God's great love for them this week
- pray that the Holy Spirit will have ultimate authority to move and change his people, even if it goes against our schedule

Sunday February 21

Sunday 2/21/2010

5:30 am : Woken up by a phone call from Brent’s dad telling us that our first nephew, Graham Rylan Howe had been born and was healthy.

8;50 am: About ten minutes before we leave the house for church, Brent received another call from our landlady and friend, Val, asking if we could help out Elvis. Elvis is a groundskeeper on the mission and we have a good relationship with him. He’s getting married in a few weeks, and Val said he needed help picking up the cow.

9:15 am: Brent and Elvis hook up the trailer to the B3. (The new name for our vehicle: the Blue BFC Bakkie [Bakkie is pronounced “buckey” and is Afrikaans for a truck]).

9:30 am: Brent, Michaele and Elvis head out to Luve where Michaele is preaching. The cow is apparently not far from Luve, so we planned on picking it up after church.

10:15 am: We attended Sunday School, Michaele led NYI, then Brent played guitar for worship and Michaele preached. We visited with the pastor and his wife, drank some Coke and ate some biscuits.

1:30 pm: Head to Dvolkolwako (about 45 minutes from Luve in the opposite direction of home) to pick up the butchered cow for Elvis’s wedding feast, which is not until March 6. On the way we found out that the cow had been wounded and so needed to be killed early.

2:15 pm: Arrive at the homestead where the cow was butchered. The skin was laid out over a large metal tub, still freshly bloody. One leg could be seen beside the skin, which was just a bone all but the ankle which still had hair and the hoof. Beside it were the horns, which had been removed from the skull. The rest of the cow was lying in pieces on the ground under a tree. Michaele took pictures as Brent tried to be helpful yet really wanting to keep his distance. Three members of the homestead bagged up the meat in any kind of plastic bag available, and loaded them into the trailer. Not wanting to watch too closely, Michaele played with three toddlers who were fascinated by the camera.

3:00 pm: Leave Dvolkolwako, picking up one more passenger from the homestead who needed a lift. We drive to Matsapha, passing our house on the way, in order to drop the meat off at Elvis’s fiance’s places, which has a deep freezer.

4:15 pm: As we’re getting close to Matsapha, we realize that the cell phone network is down so Elvis cannot contact his fiancé to let her know we are coming.

4:30 pm: Arrive in Matsapha and wait on the side of the road until a plan can be formulated.

4:40 pm: A man in a pick up truck (bakkie) pulls up and says we can put the meat in his truck. Elvis says this is a good plan. But we offered to take the meat wherever it needed to go, so we follow the bakkie up a winding, washed out dirt road into a densely populated area of Matsapha.

4:50 pm: After having driven too far past the drop off point, Brent spends 10 minutes trying to back up with the trailer and turn around in a narrow, crowded street.

5:00 pm: Even though we thought the meat was going to be put into someone’s house, it’s actually transferred to the back of the bakkie we had followed. Needless to say this could have been done earlier, without the crowd watching and on a much better road.

5:05 pm: Michaele and Brent head home alone, since Elvis needed to stay and sort out the meat situation.

5:30 pm: Arrive at home, tired and hungry and laughing.

8:00 pm: Saw our nephew on SKYPE for the first time and got to talk to Matt and Beth for a while.

.....We decided to wait to later to tell them what we were doing during Graham’s first day of life.

Kings and Kingdoms

A few months ago (hard to think that it was only a few months) as we were preparing to leave for Swaziland, we were packing and our neighbor came over to talk to us. He was kindly cautioning us to think more about this decision to move to Africa and volunteer. At the time I (Brent) was impressed by God to remember that He has risen up and deposed Kings, and He has more than enough resource and power to take care of us. At the time that was the message that I felt that God wanted me to be speaking and living.

Since then our Lord has been proving himself daily. First and foremost He has proven himself by using the people of God to provide for us and pray for us. We have received more in prayer and financial support than we could have ever imagined. God has thus far given us favor with, and a great love for, the people that we have worked with both in Swaziland and in America. Also our God has protected us as we have crossed many miles in Africa and crossed the borders so many times.

This past week has involved a lot of challenges here on the ground as well as questions beginning to arise for when our service here is over. Yet at the end of this week, I feel that God wants me to say out loud…and proclaim to those that will listen (or read), that our God is the one who created the universe. Our God knew these brief days that I would be on this earth before I was born. And the one true God whom we serve has raised and deposed kings in a moment’s time. Our God can and will take care of each of us as we serve Him and wholeheartedly surrender ourselves to His direction.

Please be praying for

- Wisdom as we plan for many teams to arrive in Swaziland over the next few months
- A new passion to serve and to “wash feet”
- Open eyes to see what God is doing here
- An increasing faith in our Lord that the more we lean on him the stronger we are
- God’s guidance and wisdom as we begin to think about what is next

Naledi Child Development Center, Soweto, South Africa

Bethany First Church is embarking on two focused initiatives starting in 2010 and the future years of their partnership with Swaziland. The first is partnering with Nazarene churches and institutions to reduce the HIV infection rate in the country, through the wide sphere of influence the Nazarene church already has. The second is to partner with these same groups to support the care of the growing number of children left orphaned and vulnerable in the wake of the AIDs pandemic. It is estimated that now there are at least 15,000 households in Swaziland which are headed by children because there is no adult left in the home. It is projected that by 2012 Swaziland will have an orphan population of 200,000 – a full fifth (20%) of their national population. In light of these staggering statistics, Bethany First Church is looking for ways it they can support those people and groups who are caring for this growing orphan population.

Last week, Barbi Moore (Director of Global Outreach for BFC) was with us in country and we traveled throughout Swaziland and Johannesburg on a fact-finding mission regarding these two areas. We looked at what is already being done, what needs to be done, and most importantly, what our Swazi leaders want to do in the face of this present crisis.

Some of our meetings were with regional leadership in Johannesburg. As we learned about the Child Development Centers sponsored through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, we were curious to see this comprehensive model in action. Faith, the director of the Child Development program invited us to tour one of the Child Development Centers in Soweto.

Driving through Soweto was an experience in itself as we had never been to this remnant of one of the largest townships in South Africa. The number of people everywhere was like being in the middle of New York City at rush hour! We arrived at the Naledi Church of the Nazarene and were greeted by Pastor Pule and Thandi, the Coordinator for this Child Development Center. We talked for half an hour as they shared how God had led their church to become the literal “FAMILY” of God to the children in their community that no longer have earthly family. Once we were finished sharing together they led us to see the Child Development Center in action. We met a GoGo (Grandma) that has taken up the call of God to cook for these children each day. She also takes on many other responsibilities for these 40 plus kids.

As we moved from the kitchen to the sanctuary we saw that the worship room had been transitioned into a learning center with children in different age groups who were getting help on their homework and even being instructed in some cases by teenagers who used to be children cared for by this Child Development Center.
I will never forget what was said by Thandi when we asked her what she would say to anyone considering starting this type of program in their church. She said “you only need passion for these children.” She went on to say that there are many days she finds herself doing things that she may not be equipped for, but it is in those days that the passion that God has given her for these kids sustains her.

As you read this post please..

- Pray for those in Africa who are leading the way with their churches and creating the “family of God” in their communities for children who have little or no family left through these Child Development Centers
- Look for opportunities to pray for, affirm, and support those children that you know that are in need.
- Ask God to give you the strength to use what you do have as a platform for God’s Passion to sustain you and help you do something new.

To see more information on the Child Development Centers and Child Sponsorship through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, visit: http://www.ncm.org/learn/childdevelopment/

Lost and Found

Our return trip to Swaziland was pretty uneventful… until we arrived at the Matsapha airport in Swaziland and found only one of our four checked bags. This was on Saturday morning, and being the weekend our options were already severely limited. So, we registered the missing items with the airport baggage staff (who also serve as the check-in staff and runway traffic control [you know, the guys with the orange sticks directing the planes]). We were told to call them at 3pm to check if our bags had arrived on a later flight.

We tried calling the airport after 3pm, but no one answered. We’ve learned that the best results come from in-person conversations anyway, so we drove the 15 minutes to the airport. However, once there, we found that the last plane had come and gone by 2:30, and the whole airport staff promptly left.

Sunday morning we decided to get to the airport for the first arrival from Johannesburg. We thought we could quickly pick up the bags (we were hopeful they were there), and be at church no more than 15 minutes late. Of course things went very differently. The bags were not there, and apparently the airport’s computer system had been down and so the report of our bags had not yet been filed. We found the staff to be incredibly helpful, however, and were invited into their back room to make phone calls to all kinds of people in Johannesburg. Between the four of us in that office, we spent an hour on the phones trying to get information from various airlines and offices in the Johannesburg airport. All to no avail. And we didn’t get to go to church.

Back at home, with no real prospects, I (Michaele) was feeling incredibly discouraged. All the nightmare stories of stolen bags were coming back to me, and I just kept remembering more and more items that were stowed away in those three bags. Not willing to give up, I continued to call all the dead-end numbers we had tried earlier. I finally was able to talk to one person who was very helpful, but still had no news about where the bags were located.

Brent gave up and took a nap, and I got online and started emailing everyone I could think of who might be able help – baggage claim service, customer service, and friends I knew would be passing through the airport on Monday. I also left a pretty despairing status on my Facebook account regarding our lost luggage. Within a few minutes, I had received a message from Dr. Filimao Chambo, Africa’s regional director for the Church of the Nazarene. He said he would be traveling through JoBurg airport that night (Sunday), and he would check on our bags for us. Saying a prayer and thanking God for this small glimmer of hope, I sent him all the information on our lost luggage.

Last night, over a late dinner, Brent and I tried to remind ourselves that God could take care of this, even though it looked like our bags might be gone for good. We also reminded ourselves that there were worse things in the world than lost luggage, (though we had a tough time considering it as the luggage lost was full of presents for our Swazi friends). We went to bed at peace with the situation, feeling wholly out of control, but aware that God could handle it.

This morning we received an email from Dr. Chambo bringing the awesome news that he had located our bags!! Somehow, they were in a storage room for domestic luggage with one of the airlines who had said they had nothing to do with our bags when we had called them. Since they could offer him no guarantees that the bags would arrive safely in Matsapha, he took the bags with him. They are safely at his home in Johannesburg and we will pick them up when we go there for scheduled meetings on Friday! When we looked at the time stamp on Dr. Chambo’s email to us, we realized that even as we were trying to encourage ourselves over dinner the night before, God had already taken care of it.

This story is a great reminder to us of several things. Even in the most seemingly insignificant circumstances, God is at work. And in the areas in which we feel we have absolutely no control, God is at work. Even when we give up and go to sleep, God is at work! We are also reminded that in Africa, relationship is everything. Processes and systems have their place (but not usually in Africa when emails and telephone calls and customer service fails, a face-to-face means everything. Dr. Chambo was able to accomplish in person what we never could have in a million phone calls.

Although a bit anxious and frustrating, our first 48 hours back in Swaziland have been rich in lessons and many reminders of why we’re blessed to be in Africa!

Back to Africa

36 days

3 countries

9 airports

5 states (excluding lay overs)

10 different beds slept in (excluding plane seats)

11 flights

4 pieces of checked luggage, weighing in at just under 50 lbs. each for a total of 200 lbs.

4 carry-ons (weighing more than our shoulders should carry)

Traveling home to see family and friends for Christmas...

PRICELESS!!!

Thank you to all who made our month at home such a wonderful time. We are feeling richly blessed with friends and family like you. The next months will be full and busy, but we're excited to jump back into life in Swaziland. Thank you for your continued prayers and support!