Kidnappings, human sacrifice and moths

I don’t think I have complained in a blog for a long time, so please allow me to do so today, and forgive my frustration and rant.

Our national newspapers are filled with more and more disturbing news each day, and reading the paper is not for the faint of heart.  There have been many children kidnapped in recent weeks and used in human sacrifice to make a potion that is believed by some sects to make people more powerful when they consume the potion called muti. Yes, this is a real thing. Yes, we are taking more precautions for our own children and encouraging our staff to be cautious in their own homes. Yes, we are praying for safety for all.

Yesterday the front page told us that the Ministry of Health has not paid their bill to local drug provider SwaziPharm and now SwaziPharm cannot replenish its stock of lifesaving medicines, including meds for HIV, cancer and all other conditions. We received a letter from SwaziPharm earlier in the week apologizing for all of the out-of-stock issues we are having with them for our own clinic and children, causing us to have to seek medication in South Africa – not an easy solution.

Newborn babies continue to be dumped in pit latrines (two this past week), both by desperate mothers.

Allegedly the government owes millions for diesel/fuel used by all government offices. That means that police are impacted with no fuel, social welfare doesn’t have transportation to help children in need and no road work is being done, resulting in our vehicles being destroyed on 5KM of dirt road that resemble Swiss cheese.

Here at Project Canaan we are dealing with the dust that fills our lungs, triggers our children’s asthma and chokes our vehicles, moths that eat the clothes in our closets leaving holes in everything we own, and the task of cutting 27 KM/17 miles of fire breaks that our workers have to cut to keep us safe from wild fires and arsonists trying to burn us out.

Today I was re-reading Henry Blackaby’s book called “Experiencing God”. If you haven’t read it or done the study, it’s a must.  My book is bathed in yellow highlighted passages, but one that stood out to me today was this: “God is never fooled.  He always matches His assignments with our character and faith in Him.”

That sentence gave me reason to pause. First, it encouraged me and reminded me that it is GOD who called Ian and I to this assignment and we DO have extraordinary faith in Him.  So rather than complaining, I need to remind myself daily of James’ instruction to us that says, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”  James 1:2-4

Today I give thanks for the 130 people who have purchased 441 boxes of diapers and wipes on our Amazon Diaper drive.  We have 1471 items on the list so we still need 1,030 more. Will you help us to day by shopping on line? It’s so easy and amazon will ship the items directly to our warehouse in Georgia. UPS is shipping the container for free and it leaves in just three weeks so we need to fill it quickly!

Thanks for reading this blog, for praying for us and for loving us.

Live from Swaziland … giving thanks for my village.

Janine