What should my third book be titled?

New dragons have arrived at www.Khutsala.com.  Now they  just need names!

This has been a very intense week. We had our annual Celebrate HOPE Gala in Georgia, where we typically have 200+ friends and family gather to enjoy a nice meal, a grand silent auction and a message of hope through what God is doing at Heart for Africa. Ian and I are always in attendance, but this year we are still in Eswatini, watching the live streaming event from bed in the middle of the night. The event included a virtual tour of Project Canaan and live segments with music and updates, all resulting in $70,000 being raised to help us continue the work here in Eswatini. The very next day was our Annual General US Board meeting, where we look at the year 2020 in review, then discuss and approve operating and capital budgets for 2021.  It’s a very intense and exhaustive process, but we had a great meeting and we are so very thankful for our US Board of Directors and our US staff, under the leadership of David Bryant.

 

The borders from Eswatini to South Africa have reopened, with certain Covid-19 restrictions, so Ian and I have decided to take a week’s holiday in Durban to rest, restore and get renewed next week.  I also really want to get my third book finished and published.  The manuscript is written and it is back from my editor. Now I just need to add the final touches, some photos, front and back cover, and… a title.  That is where I am really stuck. This book gives a short recap of where Ian and I started life, marriage, former lives-turned-missionaries, and then the rest is the story of Project Canaan. I attempt to give in-depth details of how the project developed, the highs, the lows, and the challenges in-between.  While it’s not a manual or “how to” book, it does give a lot of instruction or suggestions for other people doing similar ministry around the world, all wrapped in stories of joy, sorrow, miracles and wonders, with the golden thread of hope through the whole thing.

 

Today I am asking you to do me a quick favor. Please click on this short survey link

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5JRY5X8  and answer SIX easy questions, including what to title this new book. I know it may be hard to name a book without having read it, but I have given you some suggestions and I’d like to know what book title would you be most likely to buy, read or share?  Please, please take that short survey today, and maybe I can get this book published in November.

 

I do have one more favor to ask.  With all the heaviness that is weighing on the world by a global pandemic and a national upcoming election, we thought we would try to bring a little levity by producing some fun, new product at Khutsala for this Christmas season. We have designed four really cute little dragons, complete with handmade SwaziMUD eyes, that have arrived in the US warehouse, and just like my book, they need names!  Please feel free to email me at janine@heartforafrica.org and give me a name for the RED, GREEN, PINK and YELLOW dragon OR comment on Facebook with your suggestions. We will give them all winning names this weekend and they will be ready for sale next week! Thanks for playing.

 

The RED dragon should be named  ____________.

This GREEN dragon should be named ___________.

 

This PINK dragon should be named ______________.

This YELLOW (and green) dragon should be named ___________.

Lastly, we shipped 200+ blood wood charcuterie boards, and some beautiful blood wood coasters this past week to our office in Georgia (well, actually it’s Pete and Julie Wilkerson’s house – thanks friends!!), and they will arrive by mid-week. Half of them have been pre-ordered and will be shipped out or ready for pick up. The other half are ready for you to order them for your Christmas gift giving.  Please support our Khutsala and Kufundza artisans by shopping at www.khutsala.com today. 

 

Live from Eswatini … it’s a glorious Saturday morning.

 

Janine

My third book is (finally) written

Swaziland 2005

Yesterday was the 19^th anniversary of 9-11, and the day on which the trajectory of my life – and that of my family – was forever changed.

 

In my first book, It’s Not Okay With Me, I chronicled how the events of 9-11 sent me on a journey to Africa, seeking God’s purpose for my life. In my second book, Is It Okay With You, I shared the origins of Project Canaan and our work in what was then called Swaziland.

 

It has been many years since I wrote my second book, and honestly, I felt that this weekly blog was “Book #3,” with each week another chapter in the story of HOPE. But last year during the 10^th Anniversary celebrations of Project Canaan, I realized that I should write a proper account of all that has happened in the first 10+ years of Project Canaan. It needed to include the history, the development, the trials and tribulations along with the miracles and wonders.

 

While this season of Covid-19 has been complicated and filled with uncertainty, it has also been a time of blessing here at Project Canaan (read this blog for  a real glimpse). It has also given me time to reflect and write the book that tells the story of Project Canaan. While it is not written as a manual, I have attempted to give detail, helpful information and key learnings for anyone being called to serve in a ministry like Heart for Africa in Eswatini. I hope there are a few of you who are interested in reading it J

.

The manuscript is complete and in the hands of my editor. Fingers crossed. God willing, we hope to publish it before Christmas.

 

Now we are working on a title and a front cover image.  This is where YOU come in. I am looking for book cover photo suggestions.  I want a photo that was taken specifically ON Project Canaan that says HOPE. Do you have a great photo of a child or children, or farm workers that shows what hope looks like? If we choose your photo (and you give us permission to use it) you will get the very first copy of the book, hot off the press, and a gift pack from Khutsala Artisans.

 

This photo of Phiwa and her peeps says HOPE to me.

 

There are two ways to submit your photos. You can simply email your photos to info@heartforafrica.org or if you have a Shutterfly account, you can upload them directly to our account at https://projectcanaan2020.shutterfly.com.  Please keep your submissions to five photos or less.

 

Now, for a little teaser as to how Chapter One of the new book begins…

 

“It was a very dark night, and she was afraid. Labor started earlier than she had expected, but she knew she was in labor, because her first child arrived when she was only 15 years old, and she had not yet been able to push away the fear and pain. She made her way to the pit latrine (outdoor toilet) that the family had used for many years and sat down on the old platform. The baby started to come, and she pushed. This second child wasn’t any easier than the first, but at least she knew what to expect. She pushed again, until finally the baby’s head erupted from her tender teenage private area as the baby slipped on through into the pile of human waste below.

 

She was not quite sure how it happened, but the placenta followed and there was silence. She tried to see her newborn, but there was no end to the darkness that she peered into, as if the baby had been swallowed by the blackness itself. She cleaned herself up as best she could and made her way back to her stick and mud house.

 

She lay on her bed and forced herself to go back to sleep, but sleep would not come. Five hours later, the sun was starting to peek up above the mountain range in the distance and she crept back to the pit latrine to make sure the baby was dead, but to her shock, she heard a cry. Oh no, she thought, ‘This can’t be happening? The baby can’t possibly still be alive after being there for five hours! Surely the newborn would have suffocated by now.’

 

Other family members were starting to stir, so she quickly ran and got a shovel and scooped up some hot coals from the fire that would soon heat up the leftover mealie meal (cooked maize) from the night before to make soft porridge for her 2-year-old daughter and herself if there was enough to scrape from the side of the pot. She stumbled back to the pit latrine and threw the hot coals down onto the tiny newborn whose cries were getting louder. Suddenly she heard footsteps coming toward her and she panicked. Who could it be? Would they hear the baby’s cries? Would the baby be dead before the person opened the door? Would she be able to lie her way out of this scene?

 

Suddenly the door swung open and her uncle was looking directly into her soul. What had she done? What was that noise coming from the depth of human waste? He held his breath and looked down into the toilet as she fell to the ground and sobbed. What HAD she done?”

 

I know, it’s tough to read, but it’s real, and it’s what we deal with on a regular basis here in Eswatini. But fear not, the story ends with great joy, healing and redemption, and HOPE for both mother and baby.

 

This photo of Gift and Shirley says HOPE to me.

If you have never read the first two books, you can buy them at www.khutsala.com or on amazon.com.  If you would like to listen to the audio version of It’s Not Okay With Me to hear how this all began 19 years ago on September 11^th, 2001, you can download a free copy of it here.  Feel free to share the free audio book with friends and family to prepare them for the next book in the trilogy. 

 

Please send your photos ASAP as we will start working on the cover soon.

 

Live from Eswatini … it’s Ian’s birthday weekend!

 

Janine