A bitter sweet day for me, and a gift for you.

Thursday was a really hard day.  We were asked to bring a 6-day-old baby boy to Project Canaan whose mother died two days after his birth.  The boy was born on the floor of a stick and mud house where his young mom lived with her parents and 13 other people. The baby’s father is nowhere to be found, his family is very poor and there is no food, no clothes, no diapers and now, a mountain of grief and sorrow.    They have no money to bury their daughter, so are trying to borrow funds and bury here next week.  I took the 5+ pound baby from a distraught Grandmother who knew the boy how had a chance at life and a future.

Thursday was bitter sweet. The sadness of the family was bitter, but bringing the newborn baby back to Project Canaan, while our whole big family was celebrating US Thanksgiving (complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy!) was nothing but sweet.

Today is a new day and it’s the beginning of the Christmas season.  We celebrated here with our annual Project Canaan Academy Christmas pageant, and it was magical.  The children performed beautifully and the true meaning of the Christmas season was celebrated.

As you sit and read this blog today then move on to some online shopping I ask that you please start your shopping at www.khutsala.com.  We have 110+ workers who have worked all year to have product on our website and are depending people like you to buy their goods.  The handcrafted jewelry and beadwork is beautiful and very high quality.

As a special gift to YOU for being loyal blog readers, I am offering you a 50% OFF discount for everything at www.khutsala.com (excluding tree ornaments) by entering the code JANINESBLOG. This offer is from today until Monday only.

PLEASE shop today and help us care for our 174 babies PLUS the 100+ Khutsala artisans.

Christmas with children is wonderful and I am thankful to have 176 to celebrate with.

Live from Swaziland … praying that you will shop www.khutsala.com.

Janine

Cancer sucks.

Tomorrow is my 54^th birthday.

Two days ago our friend Sharon died, the day after her 54^th birthday.

In June 2016 Sharon McGill and her family were with us in Swaziland.  They sat with us at our fireplace and enjoyed a Swazi sunset, they built the playground at our Emseni Campus, and they enjoyed playing with our children. 

 

Six months later Sharon was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, sought treatment and was thought to be in remission.  Then there was the “potato-like” lump on her hip in September. I laughed and told her that I also have lumps on my hips that are from potatoes. 

And suddenly she is gone.

Sharon and her husband Terry are dorm parents at Morrison Academy in Taiwan where Chloe went to high school.  That is where we met them and became friends.  They are missionary kids themselves and in fact were students at Morrison Academy when they were teenagers, and then were married for 27 years.  Their lives are parallel to Ian and my lives in many ways. Ian and I also went to high school together, we have been married 26 years, we are both called in ministry to care for other people's children and of course there’s the 54^th birthday.  I will eat cake. She couldn’t. 

Death is a strange creature.  We are all going to die. No one escapes that.  And yet the pain that comes with it feels like having open-heart surgery without any anesthetic.  As followers of Jesus we believe that Sharon is completely healed and is in heaven with those that have gone on before.  We also believe that in a blink of an eye we will see her, and all of our loved ones again.  But in the meantime, the pain is unbearable for loved ones left behind.

And then there are the hospital bills.  The McGills are from Taiwan. Through a series of events Sharon ended up in an ICU room in a hospital in San Diego.  They don’t have US insurance, and the bills are staggering.  Then there is the travel back to Taiwan.  My head spins at the complexity and I find myself shouting “this not fair God!”

When I was a little girl and was upset about something that I didn’t like I would say to my mom, “That’s not fair!”.  And my mom would always respond, “Life is not fair.”  I found no solace in that, nor was she trying to give me any. She was just stating a fact.

Life is not fair.  Cancer sucks.

I am writing today with a birthday wish.  Would you please pray for Terry, their boys and the HUGE family who is mourning this tragic loss.  But also, will you take a further step and help relieve the pressure of the hospital bill so that the McGill family can mourn their loss in peace?  Please go to https://www.youcaring.com/sharonmcgill-1006441 and give now.

Terry wrote a beautiful blog during these last few weeks and yesterday he ended it with these words, “We are grieving and we will continue to.  We will simultaneously grab hold of all the joy in life that God gives us and we will carry on.” ( http://carinforsharon.blogspot.com/ )

Live from Swaziland … "Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted."  Matthew 5:4

Janine

Beautiful things out of dust

Many of you have heard the song called “Beautiful Things” by Gungor.  Yesterday the song was brought to life to me in a new way, and I saw the hand of God in a new and mighty way.  It was at the Project Canaan Academy Talent Show that took place at the Oasis on Project Canaan.

Some children sang, others danced, and then there was Rose.  Rose is our eldest (almost 7-years-old) and her talent was performance art.  Rose proceeded to paint using white glue on a white paper, so no one could see what she was painting.  As the music played out “You make beautiful things out of the dust”, Rose blew glitter dust on to her invisible painting and magically, a beautiful flower appeared.

Our Rose is a beautiful girl, named after a beautiful flower. She was found as a baby, sitting in the dirt outside of a stick and mud hut many years ago. She and her twin brother had been left by their mother and stayed in that dust for more than 48-hours until the homeowner arrived home.  Social welfare placed them with us and now Project Canaan is home.

Rose was severely malnourished when she arrived at 18-months-old.

As I sat and watched Rose, I wept. God makes beautiful things out of the dust.  That truth is real, and that truth was right in front of me.

I hope you are blessed by this simple, yet powerful thought.

Thank you Amber and Melissa for making this all possible.  

And here is a bonus video to make your Saturday happy. Our Kindergarten class dancing to a little JT!

Live from Swaziland … happy Saturday.

Janine

For those of you who are not familiar with the song "Beautiful Things", here is the YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1spkhp41ig4  and here are the lyrics.

"Beautiful Things"

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

What I know for sure

Ben feeding Wendy

Whenever I pick up an “O” Magazine I always read the last page first. It’s a personally written summary of what is on Oprah’s mind that month.

Here is what I know for sure today.  Home is where the heart is, and my heart is here in Swaziland.  This is my home.

After being away for 25 days I spent most of my week hanging out with our children and children’s home staff. It is where I am refueled, rejuvenated and where my heart fills up very quickly.

I watched our big kids playing with and helping out with our babies and it brought me joy. 

I saw little ones learning how to sit at a small table and feed themselves as they prepare to move to the toddler home and it brought me hope.

Lillian

I was able to help save the life of a 6-week-old baby who was starving to death in a one-room home with an old Gogo who had nothing to give the baby except her love and I was able to show love.

And I sat on the patio of our home and watched the sun go down over the recently plowed and planted fields of Project Canaan and felt peace.

What I also know for sure is that obedience precedes understanding, and I am so thankful that we were obedient.  There is no place that I would rather be than on our mountain top in the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland.

Live from Swaziland … life is good (not easy, but good).

Janine