An unprecedented week of encouragement

The world is crying out in pain, and the pain will continue to intensify in the days and weeks ahead.  We are watching from a mountain top that feels to be at the end of the earth.

South Africa is approximately 15 days behind the US outbreak and Eswatini is likely a few days behind South Africa. So, for now, there is silence.   As Ian and I sit out on our patio every night we have been talking about the tsunami that is coming our way, but this week we started to change our language to the wildfires that are coming rather than a wave.  Back in July we experienced for 40+ hours of horrific and terrifying wildfires on Project Canaan that quickly changed directions, jumped over buildings and came back to life after we thought they were out.  As this tiny nation, with the highest HIV rate in the world starts to look to the horizon, waiting for COVID-19 coming over the mountain, we know that we are not prepared.

Our Prime Minister made an announcement on Tuesday night that provided a glimmer of hope – a country shutdown that would start at midnight on Thursday night and end on April 16th.  He explained that all non-essential services should stop and only essential businesses such as banks, grocery stores and medical facilities could remain open.  We met with the Supervisors from all our departments to determine who was essential and who was non-essential. Then we met with all 345 Project Canaan employees to deliver the news.  Most non-essential people were very upset because they would lose their pay, but we did what we had to do.

Swazi’s all get paid once a month and it’s on the last Friday of the month, and then they all rush to town to buy groceries for the next month.  Public transportation and streets are packed with people, stores are emptied, and Swazi’s experience joy at being able to get their hair done, get nice food for the weekend and maybe even a treat for their children. The first day of the lock down was pay day. 

Then, a change in direction.  Friday morning we were told that the Minister of Commerce made an announcement on the radio on Thursday night saying all businesses are to remain open (perhaps so people could do their month end shopping?), and were to call all employees back to work on Monday. If we chose to remain closed we were to pay all employees their full pay until work resumes – that is 185 Project Canaan employees. It is only a partial lock down? 

Our employees all walked out through the front gate and headed to town with money in the bank, and the satisfaction of knowing that they would be back to work on Monday.  Ian and I saw their departure to town as being like matches lit and thrown out in to our surrounding communities.

We have put all the precautions in place that we can, and now we wait. But in our time of waiting the Lord has blessed us beyond measure.  We are in a time of preparation, and let me tell and show you what the Lord did in the last FIVE days.

The farm is an essential department and we have been looking for a new tractor for a couple of years. At the end of 2019 the funds were donated and our search began.  The current exchange rate is the highest it’s ever been in our time in Africa, so we were able to buy TWO tractors this past week. One is brand new and is being built and the other one is gently used and a really powerful piece of equipment that will help us immensely in our agriculture program. Our farm team is on the moon!

We currently have a 7-gallon milk pasteurizer that takes 90 minutes to pasteurize those 7 gallons of milk in our main kitchen. We need to pasteurize close to 44 gallons of milk every day for our children’s consumption.  Ian found a company in South Africa that makes inline milk pasteurizers, which will pasteurize 22 gallons per hour.  He ordered this equipment to be made at the end of 2019 and it arrived this past week!  Not only does it allow us to pasteurize 22+ gallons per hour, it then chills the milk and has a 90-gallon chilled storage tank.  The cherry on the top of this is that we purchased a milk separator and a butter churner, so we will be able to make our own butter! 

We want to increase our goat production so that we have more meat available, both for us and for our church feeding program.  This week we received the funds and were able to hire the people and purchase the materials to start fencing in 10 acres of land that will be prepared to start an intensive goat breeding program.  You can see the area planned in the image below.

With the recent closure of all schools, we took the opportunity to focus our construction team on building the 3^rd/4^th grade classroom. The materials for the second floor (called span slab) are made and imported from South Africa and we needed the funds to order them in order to proceed. Not only did the Lord provide the funds needed earlier this month, we were able to order the product and get it delivered on Thursday, before the borders completely shut down. 

Lastly, but perhaps the most interesting and comforting, was a US foundation approaching us and asking what we needed during this time of uncertainty.  David Bryant explained that with flights/trips cancelled for the foreseeable future, we will lose significant income that we receive when people travel with Heart for Africa to Eswatini.  The foundation committed to FULLY cover that lost income and a check is in the mail.

God is so good. He knew that during this unprecedented time of uncertainty that we needed an unprecedented week of encouragement, and He sent it in waves that brought joy, refreshment and hope.

I pray that this encourages you too. Look for the ways He is blessing you during these difficult times. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Isaiah 4:10

Live from Eswatini … we are going for a long walk.

Janine