Death, life and indescribable peace

This week our dear friend, Mathokoza Mtetfwa, lost his beloved father to Covid-19. This is the first death to this virus that has been personal to us, and we mourn with he and his family. We have another dear friend, Rev. Dr. JV Mazubuko, in hospital fighting for his life having buried his wife only three weeks ago.  There was “fake news” announcing his death earlier in the week, but he is still fighting the fight as I write this blog.  He believes that one of the people who came to visit his wife in her last days brought the deadly virus to the house. The virus is real, and it is here.

 

Each week Ian and I take a cautious journey to town together to pick up groceries and supplies.  We laugh at ourselves and say that the country mice are going to the big city, with masks and hand sanitizer in our pockets. Every store we enter (which we limit as much as possible) takes our temperature and insists that we also use their hand sanitizer for our hands, and sanitizing wipes for our cart. We shop and check out as quickly as we can, although the stores are very quiet and the parking lot is usually almost empty. 

 

Liquor stores have been closed since June 1^st and will not reopen until mid to late September, which also reduces the traffic in the shopping center where we buy our groceries.  We are told that emergency rooms in South Africa and Eswatini have been much quieter because of this ban on liquor sales because drunk driving accidents are down and bar fights, gang fights and general “stupid” fights have been greatly reduced. Sadly, domestic violence has escalated, but in Eswatini the police don’t have any gas for their police cars so they can’t go and rescue a woman being abused, or transport her to the hospital for care. Instead, she has to stay at home with the abuser (who is now drinking home brew… which can make you go blind, paralyze you for life, and most certainly make you go crazy). We see this frequently at Project Canaan when women don’t show up to work. When we dig down to why they were absent, it is almost always a result of being badly beaten up, and they are either to hurt to come to work or too ashamed. It’s heart breaking.

 

In other news we have lots of activities happening on Project Canaan. This past week we started harvesting almost two acres of onions.  Did you know that onions need to have their necks broken (ouch), and then they are left in the ground to “heal the wound” before being harvested? Then they are hung in the greenhouse to cure for 2-3 weeks until the necks are completely dry and the outer skin is slightly crisp. The farm team is growing enough onions to last the children’s campus a full year, and we will sell the rest. Believe me, we use a lot of onions!

 

This week we poured the concrete floor on the main floor of the second Oasis building called “O2” (a play on Oasis #2 and a place to get oxygen for the mind, body and soul). It will eventually be the large dining hall for our older kids on the upper campus (as opposed to the middle and lower campuses). This building will be used as a recreation center for the next two years and will have a second-floor outdoor patio space for games, homework and just hanging out. When we were in Georgia in January with our friends the Jean and Jerry Eickhoff and Jan and Ernest Taylor, we saw the most beautiful outdoor patio roof on an early morning walk. We are always looking for interesting ideas that we can use on Project Canaan when we travel around the world. We immediately knew that this roof would be a stunning addition to the new O2 building, and our carpentry team is working on the design now. Thank you friends for the kind invitation and for showing us such beauty.

 

We also had a big soccer tournament this week with the older children followed by a braai (grilled meat) and gigantic bon fire.  It was too cold on the day of the tournament to end with the bonfire (55F), so we spread the fun over two nights. There was something magical about the evening that is hard to put in to words. I am attaching a few photos, but you will have to breathe deeply to smell the meat on the grill and listen closely to hear the children singing along with the music and cheering on the players. The fire was warm, the sunset was stunning and everyone was happy. Covid-19 did not exist for a few hours, and we had indescribable peace.

 

I hope that you will be able to take a moment this week, if only for a few hours, to breathe in deeply, listen closely and enjoy a moment of indescribable peace and joy.

 

Live from Eswatini … going for a Saturday morning walk around the farm.

 

Janine

Are 3 pictures worth 3,000 words? (Bonus: Phiwa is on a plane coming home!)

I had a photo pop up on my Facebook news feed this week and it showed a group of our first nine children sitting on change tables that had been pushed together to fit all their tiny bodies. Below that picture was a photo taken five years later of the same children, placed in the order, on the top bunk of their beds. That prompted me to go and get an updated photo to add, three years later. This time they wanted to pose themselves to look like they looked five years ago, and the photo that you see above is the result.

As I look back at their baby photos I am immediately transported back to the day that our first baby, Joshua arrived.  Ian was on Project Canaan with Pete Wilkerson, and they were at the top of the mountain when I received the phone call in Alpharetta, Georgia, telling me that our first baby had arrived.  I called Ian and told him to rush down the mountain, there was a baby!!!  The second person I called was Teresa Birk, as the baby home was built in honor of her deceased son, Jared, and then I called Raelenna Ferguson, who was largely responsible for raising those funds.  What a day of joy and thanksgiving that was!

 

Today we have 271 children who call Project Canaan “home”.  Each child’s story reminds me of one of those first nine, from being found in an outdoor pit latrine, to arriving at our door severely malnourished (and crying whenever the spoon showed the bottom of the bowl).  Another one delivered to us in a cardboard box, covered in lesions with skin too raw to touch, and another found at a bus stop, in only a diaper, in the middle of winter, and in the dead of night. Each story worse than the next, but each story the beginning of salvation and redemption.

 

While we first focus on the physical health of each and every child who is placed with us through Social Welfare, we very quickly start to pray for healing for their emotional scars, pray for the restoration of their emotional health, and start them on a journey to their spiritual health. Each of these three are important to us, and we are intentional and wholistic in our approach to each. And it’s working.

 

Now, when I look at the photo taken this week of these same nine children who arrived hungry, hurting and helpless, I see children filled with confidence and joy.  I see the strong silent one, I see the class clown, I see the ring leader, and I see the academic.  But more importantly to me, is that I know that eight of these nine children have made a personal decision to join the family of God over the past year. That is the most important part of what we do, and I am thankful for all of our volunteers and staff who are aligned in working on this vision together.

 

You may recall that the now famous Swazi girl named “Phiwa” went back to the US for surgery last November with her guardian, Project Canaan staff member and super-hero, Nokwanda.  They found themselves locked down in Boston when Covid-19 hit, and eventually made it to Florida to be reunited with the Habelow family.  After a time, we decided to move the girls to Georgia so that Phiwa could get some educational testing, counseling and special education assistance. They would also be tucked in with our Heart for Africa staff in Georgia. Their time there was highly successful and Phiwa made lots of progress in many ways, but then we heard about a repatriation flight that might be able to get them back home, and we jumped on the opportunity.  The process was long, complicated and expensive, but our own, Hannah Gaddis, navigated the giant maze with grace, love and determination, with the help of many people including Teri McClure and Lynn Floum. 

 

I just now received a call from Nokwanda in Amsterdam, where they are awaiting their next flight to Nairobi. They will fly direct to Eswatini tomorrow (Sunday, August 16^th) and then be taken to a hotel for two days while they receive medical assessments, after which they will live at The Lodge on Project Canaan, self-isolated for 14-days, but at least they will be home!

There are so many people to thank for helping Nokwanda and Phiwa during their unexpected 8+ month stay in the US, but I would specifically give a shout out to the Habelow family, Bishop family, McClure family and Floum family for hosting the ladies and making them feel welcome and a part of your families. Thank you to Robin Daughtery and her team of educators who helped with assessments and tutoring to help Phiwa move forward with her unique educational challenges. Thank you again, Hannah, for being friend, sister, Mother, Aunt, driver, nurse, Covid-19 test(s) finder, travel agent, US Visa tracker etc. etc. The Lord brought you to us “for such a time as this” and we are so grateful for you.  And thank you David Bryant for your leadership, your wisdom, guidance and love for every one of our Heart for Africa team members, and the extra love and care you are providing everyone you touch during these difficult times.

 

Our goal is to do the best we can with what we have to provide physical, emotional and spiritual support to every child who is placed with us through Social Welfare, but it takes a very big village to do that for 271 children. Thank you to every person who sponsors a child through Heart for Africa, and if you don’t, I ask you to consider sponsoring a child today. I promise you that you will be blessed, and you will help save a life like Phiwa’s.

 

Child Sponsorship in the US:  https://www.heartforafrica.org/HOPESTARTS/
Child sponsorship in Canada:  http://bit.ly/hfahopestartsca
 

Live from Eswatini … I am living in a state of awe.

 

Janine

 

The world needs heroes now, more than ever.

 

What do you think of when you think of a hero? Superman? Spiderman?  A fire fighter? Your dad?

It’s a question that comes up each year as we approach the month of June, which is the month that we celebrate Father’s Day. I never really thought of my dad as a hero, but he really was one. He was a caring pharmacist who would stop everything he was doing to listen to a person with a problem, whether it be a physical ailment or a financial problem.  I saw him reach in to his wallet many times to help someone out in need, and he became a hero to them.

 

When I think of my dad, I think of him being a good provider for us. Not everyone has had their dad provide for them, in fact, too many people have been let down by their dad in this area, and therefore struggle with God being a good “father” and a provider.

 

One of our 8-year-old boys, Emmanuel, is a very pensive boy who asks a lot of very deep questions.  Last week he came up to me and asked me where Babe Ian (pronounced Bah-bay, meaning “dad”) was. It was the middle of the day and so I told him that Ian was working.  He rolled his shoulders, and his eyes, and then let out a big sigh and said, “he’s always working”.  And looked at me with a pout.

 

I laughed, and told him that as a father he needed to work to provide for his children.  Working allows a father to put food on the table, buy clothes and provide an education for his children.  I mentioned it to Ian who made a point of going down and spending some time with Emmanuel.  It may have seemed like a little thing, but it was a big thing to Emmanuel. 

 

Both heroes and fathers often do things behind the scenes that no one ever knows about or sees.  It’s often those little things that make all the difference to the outcome. For example, Ian was on the phone for hours trying to find a way to purchase and transport 4,000 seedling trays to plant 800,000 vegetable seedlings from South Africa, WHILE the borders were closed due to Coronavirus. Eswatini is in desperate need of food right now and there are farmers who are desperate to buy seedlings, so getting the seedling trays would mean that we could grow more food, sell more food, sell seedlings to others so that they can grow food, and generate income to provide for our children. 

 

I have seen Ian get in his car and make the 12-hour round trip drive to Johannesburg, through two international borders, to buy fish food for the aquaponics project, all because the person responsible forgot to tell him in advance that they were out of food. The fish would have died had Ian not done what needed to be done, and he did it with joy.

 

Ian is a good father, a good example to his many children and is providing discipleship to other men on how to provide for his family.  But Ian now has 266 children that he is responsible for, and he while he works his butt off to lead a team of smart people who are working on solutions to provide sustainable solutions for these children and those who will follow, he needs help and support.  Heroes and fathers need help and support, but rarely ask for it.

 

Today I am asking for your help.  Did you know that we spend $30/month on cleaning supplies at the El Rofi medical clinic to create a safe and healthy clinic environment?  Did you know that it costs $80/month to transport one of our 340+ employees to and from work every day to save them a FOUR HOUR WALK?  Did you know that it cost $150/month to provide electricity to our staff housing, which is home to 60+ people?  Did you know that it costs $500/month just to buy seeds for planting in our greenhouse and in our fields?  It also costs $500/month to provide electricity for the dairy operation.

 

All of this adds up, and these are things that Ian thinks about all the time.  Each of those things may seem like a “little thing”, but they are BIG things to us.  This morning before I wrote this blog, Ian and I went for our regular walk around the farm, and there it was again... Ian stopped to help this baby goat.

 

For the month of June we are focusing on getting more people to become a Heart for Africa HERO, which means making a monthly financial commitment to help us run the operations of Project Canaan.  God is our father, and He is our provider, and so we are asking Him to bless us this month with 25 new Heroes.  Perhaps you would like to honor your hero by giving a monthly gift of $30?  $80?  $150? $500? If you can, please do so by clicking on one of these links. Join Ian and become a HERO today and help us help people in great need.

In the US: https://www.heartforafrica.org/Become-A-Hero/

 

In Canada: https://www.heartforafrica.ca/be-a-hero/

 

Live from Eswatini … Ian really is my Super Hero!

 

Janine

Finding joy during lock down

Our borders have been closed since March, which means we can’t leave Eswatini.  We hear that they won’t open up again until South Africa reaches Level 1 of lock down.  South Africa is at level 4 now, and we also hear that South Africa won’t hit the peak of Coronavirus cases until September.  We can’t leave, we are stuck for a long, long time.

BUT, we are “stuck” with 263 really cute and funny children, and so I spend a lot more time with the kids than I usually do.  They just crack me up, and I am quickly able to find joy during lock down when I am with them.

Take Treasure for example.  She just turned 2-years-old and has more personality than perhaps any of our children.  Her face tells the whole story of what is happening in her mind, and she can go from a very grouchy scowl (usually when Ian is around as she doesn’t like him) to a face with total joy, in a split second.  She sheds crocodile tears to get her own way, and feels that she is the only baby who should be held.  I picked her up the other day and took her to the clinic as I had a few things to discuss with the nurse. She sat on my lap and started counting to five.  None of her words were right, but the tone, intonation and self-congratulations were perfect.  Rebekah caught it on video for you to see below.

Then there is a conversation I had with Ruth when I was painting the big girls finger nails, that went like this: 

Ruth:  “Make (mom) Janine, are you going to paint the fingers of the little girls from

Emseni 1?”

Me: “ No, I am only painting the big girls nails.”

Ruth (big sigh): “Well, they probably don’t know if they are a boy or a girl anyway.”

Then there was the conversation with Titus about Spencer and Jane being engaged.  I was telling him that they might come to Project Canaan for a wedding ceremony. Here is how that went:

Titus: “ Why would they come here for a wedding?”

Me:  “Because they would like to have their younger brothers and sisters to be a part of special wedding.”

Titus: “Make (mom), will they kiss?”

Me: “Well, yes, I think they will.”

Titus (closing his eyes): “Oh Make, I can’t watch that. I will have to close my eyes.”

This week at the Project Canaan Academy teacher Amber introduced the concept of sharing hope with people in need, to our primary age children.  When they got their morning snack, they had the opportunity to take that snack and put it in a basket that had a “Share Hope” sign on it.  They were told that the fruit would be given to children who really needed food. Most of our children quickly took their snack and put it in the basket.  Amber did this every day last week, and each day there were only one or two children who ate their snack – everyone else gave it for a hungry child.  Below is a short video of Joshua explaining what they are doing, photos of the basket, and photos of Anthony distributing the fruit to children in need.  

I also want to let you know that we have started delivering food again to our 30 church partners.  We were forced to stop delivery due to travel restrictions, but now the government is encouraging food delivery to help the hundreds of thousands of Swazi’s in need.  Schools have been closed for two months and there is no sign of them reopening in the months to come, so that means that school-going children are not getting the meal that they have come to depend on at school. We MUST feed the children, and we have started doing so again, while encouraging social distancing etc.  We will have more news to share on this in the next week or two. Stay tuned on how you can help feed starving children.   

With many of our workers not able to come to work, with children around the country starving, with the future of our ability to leave the country looking bleak, and with coronavirus news on every channel, it would be easy for me to be depressed and fearful. But I choose joy, and I choose to look at the things that bring me joy and bring me hope.  I hope that you will do the same.  Look for joy.  Look for hope. Watch Treasure’s video over and over again if you need to.

Live from Eswatini … sharing hope with the world.

Janine

#sharehope with an "essential" person

These are difficult days.  As we sit in the relative safety of the mountain top in Africa, we can’t help but feel helpless watching the news, knowing that our friends and family are struggling. Ian and I are “fixers”, and we can’t fix this global pandemic, so we have been asking the Lord to show us what we can do, and we got an answer.  About two weeks ago I really felt the Lord telling me to be intentional about encouraging others on a daily basis through social media.  So, I started posting daily videos on my Facebook page and Instagram pages that would hopefully bring a smile to my friends and families faces.  Below is a short video that I posted this week of baby Treasure and I doing a video selfie. 

On Thursday I had a video call with of our US team and asked how we at Heart for Africa could serve as encouragers to the world.   We obviously don’t have volunteers traveling to Eswatini, we can’t have meetings and fundraising events, and those things are what the US team does on a day to day basis.  Heart for Africa’s focus is to bring HOPE to the Kingdom of Eswatini in the areas of Hunger, Orphans, Poverty and Education, but now we must expand our efforts to bring HOPE to the world. 

So, here is one of the ideas that the team came up with.  What if we could provide a way to share hope with one another through Khutsala Artisans product?  They quickly created a special page with all of our HOPE products and we are asking you to consider ordering one of those products and send it to a front line “essential” worker who is working at a hospital, pharmacy, grocery store or any other essential position.  We will insert a special card that tells that special person that the gift is from YOU.  For as little as $10 you could bring a smile to someone’s face and let them know that you are thinking about them.  I will start by sending this HOPE bracelet to my cousin Carelle McKellan who is a Public Health Nurse in Canada and she is dealing with 400+ COVID-19 patients in the Fraser Health system. Carelle, we are sending love, prayers and thanks to you and all you are doing.  Stay safe!  

Please note that our Khutsala warehouse is in Michigan and product will be shipped from there, but we have limited quantities and we are not able to ship more product from Eswatini as Khutsala Artisans have all been sent home and airlines are not flying any non-essential product.  The good news is that if we sell a lot of product during this time, there will be work for our Artisans when they are able to come back to work. 

Some of you might be wondering how Spencer and Chloe are doing and I wanted to give you an update. Spencer is working in a consulting firm in Chicago and can do so from the safety of his apartment.  We are thankful that Jane and her puppy “Swazi” are nearby and they can spend lots of time together.  Chloe is finishing her last year at Brock University, but just started a job on Monday making COVID-19 testing kits!!!  Can you believe it?  She does her school work during the day then works from 4PM to 11:30PM at a biotech company called Norgen Biotek.  Two nights ago her team made 22,000 kits and they posted an hilarious video to celebrate. You can see it below.   We are so very proud of our two children and miss them so much.

 

 

Spencer working at home

Please join me in shopping, post a photo of yourself with your own Khutsala product and use our #sharehope hashtag to help spread the word.

Live from Eswatini … sharing hope.

Janine