Completely freaked out about moving

On Friday my friend Jeanette asked how I was doing with the preparations for our move. I told her I was in a really good place. I had thought through what I wanted to ship (based on placing our furniture precisely our new home floor plan) and had a some idea of what we were going to sell on eBay, put in a garage sale or give away. I was selecting special family items that I felt needed to be given to other family members ie. Grandpa Willis’ pool table should stay on the Willis side while Grandma Cosen’s bible should stay on the Cosen’s side. (Yes, I see the irony in the choice of two items to be left here). It was good, and I had peace.

Then Saturday the wheels fell off.

All of a sudden I was completely freaked out.

For the first time since our decision to move to Swaziland I was shaken. Was this really God’s plan or was it a crazy idea that we had, maybe that I had, and had convinced everyone else of its wisdom. Did we really have confirmation? How on earth would we get rid of two thirds of our worldly possessions in order to fit in to our new house? Do we really have to spend $10,000 shipping a container of “stuff”? How will we get it all unloaded, AND get Chloe in school in Africa, and hang pictures properly on a wall that is made of cinderblock, covered with mud and paint (no dry wall used there). Holes in my new walls would be permanent!

Then I freaked out about our appliances. We would have to run 110V in the house along with 220V so that we can take our big appliances, as they are really expensive to buy there. Who would be able to help us run the 110V wiring and set up the transformer in the garage?

The rainy season was to start in November and our dams should be full by now, but they are dry. How does that affect the water supply at our house? If the dam is dry, we will have to irrigate crops from the borehole. Our house water comes from the borehole too (pumped to the top of the hill, held in a tank then gravity fed back down to our house), but if the bore hole dries up, what about our showers? Cooking? Drinking?

And what about the electricity? The price of it has gone up 1300% in the past year, and when South Africa “turns off the switch” we have brown outs or no power at all. I will pack hurricane lamps, but suddenly they didn’t seem so romantic.

God is good, and He is faithful, and He gave me a husband who knows how to calm me down. We pulled out a calendar, made a plan (I LOVE plans), moved some people around, and then asked our heavenly Father for some help (probably should have done that in reverser order). And it came. It came in the form of words of encouragement from Jere and Janet. It came in the form of our kids tackling their rooms and getting rid of things, packing treasures and helping get their space prepared. It came in the form of Ian going out to the garage and starting to purge and clean. It came in the form of Nan (our wonderful real estate agent) coming and assuring me that HE would take care of us. And then a wonderful gift – our dear friend Ralph was supposed to fly to Swaziland this week to serve at Project Canaan for 5 weeks. Sadly, his mother-in-law had a bad fall yesterday and he had to cancel his plans. And guess what? He rescheduled them to go when we move, so he can help with the 110V and the holes in the wall and the electric fencing and whatever other immediate needs we have. God has sent us a friend to help, ‘cause that is just the way He is. I am so thankful that His plans are perfect so I don’t have to worry about getting my plans right.

Today a man will come to the house to help me get some big items listed on eBay. Nan will come with a “home stager” to help get the house ready for showing. Tomorrow Woody will come and help us get some painting and fixing done. Then we list the house for sale on the market and it will be official.

Oh, and today we also go to the police station to get our fingerprints done so that we can submit them to the Canadians for police background checks. We need these to apply for work permits that will allow us to live in Swaziland.

I am not freaked out today. Today is a good day and I am thankful for His peace that passes all understanding. Be encouraged today friends.

Luke 12:22-32 Do Not Worry

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Amen.

What do AIDS in Africa and Debt in America have in common?

There has been a delay of several weeks in me writing this blog as I was unsure of backlash that may likely ensue.  But I am back from weeks of travel and ready to write, so here it goes.

I recently had a BIG "ah-ha". 

I spend a lot of time answering questions about the HIV/AIDS and orphan situation in sub-Saharan Africa. They are usually asked by well-meaning, un-informed people.  They go something like: “Why don’t they teach birth-control so there aren’t so many children?”. “Why don’t they just stop having sex so that AIDS stops being transmitted?”.  “Why don’t they use condoms?”. “Don’t they know that if they don’t stop having sex that they will all die?”.  “Why aren’t they educating people why the AIDS pandemic must be reversed?”.

HIV/AIDS is killing the Kingdom of Swaziland (and many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa).  And a question that maybe should be asked is why Swazi’s don’t want to talk about it with their families and neighbors?  And why it is politically difficult to talk about it and address it properly at the highest levels of government?  The answer is simple.  To have truthful and effective conversations about HIV/AIDS is awkward and ugly and is brings feelings of shame and embarrassment for those infected with the disease as well as for the government who has to deal with the judgment from and repercussions of the international community. No one wants to have their dirty laundry aired in public view.

Awareness and behavior have to change at an individual level, each person making his/her own choice to stop behavior that is killing the family and the nation while starting to talking about it openly and honestly.  It is repentance (regret for past action and turning away from it). 

Let’s flip it around now.

I don’t spend a lot of time answering questions about the DEBT CRISIS in America.  There are no well-meaning un-informed people in Swaziland who ask me questions like: “Why don’t they teach responsible spending to their children in America?”.  “Why don’t they just stop buying things that aren’t an absolute necessity, like food and water?”.  “Why don’t they just cut up their credit cards and put away their check books?”.  “Don’t they know that if they don’t stop spending and creating more debt that the country will die?”. “Why aren’t they being educating people why the debt crisis must be reversed?”

Consumer and government debt is killing the United States of America (and many other countries around the world). And a question that maybe should be asked is why Americans don’t want to talk about it with their families and neighbors? And why it is politically difficult to talk about it and address it properly at the highest levels of government? To have truthful and effective conversations about debt and spending is awkward, and ugly and is brings feelings of shame and embarrassment for those who lose their home/beach house/boat/car in foreclosure or who are forced to declare bankruptcy as well as for the government has to deal with the judgment from and repercussions of the international community. No one wants to have their dirty laundry aired in public view.

Awareness and behavior have to change at an individual level, each person making his/her own choice to stop behavior that is killing the family and the nation and start talking about it openly and honestly. It is repentance (regret for past action and turning away from it). 

Ironic?

Sin is sin. Whether it is sexual sin or greed, pride or gluttony or the ones hidden in our hearts that will never be revealed in public.  It’s awkward, ugly, shameful, embarrassing and has repercussions of killing our families and our nations.  Let us stop thinking that our sin is somehow different, cleaner.  That is the ridiculous religion of the Pharisees in today’s church.

Joel 1 (Message Bible translation)

Get in Touch with Reality—and Weep!

^1-3 God's Message to Joel son of Pethuel: Attention, elder statesmen! Listen closely, everyone, whoever and wherever you are! Have you ever heard of anything like this? Has anything like this ever happened before—ever?  Make sure you tell your children, and your children tell their children, and their children their children.  Don't let this message die out.

⁴What the chewing locust left, the gobbling locust ate; What the gobbling locust left, the munching locust ate; What the munching locust left, the chomping locust ate.

^5-7Sober up, you drunks! Get in touch with reality—and weep! Your supply of booze is cut off. You're on the wagon, like it or not.  My country's being invaded by an army invincible, past numbering, teeth like those of a lion, fangs like those of a tiger. It has ruined my vineyards, stripped my orchards, and clear-cut the country. The landscape's a moonscape.

^8-10Weep like a young virgin dressed in black, mourning the loss of her fiancé.  Without grain and grapes, worship has been brought to a standstill in the Sanctuary of God.  The priests are at a loss.  God's ministers don't know what to do.  The fields are sterile. The very ground grieves.  The wheat fields are lifeless, vineyards dried up, olive oil gone.

^11-12Dirt farmers, despair!  Grape growers, wring your hands!  Lament the loss of wheat and barley. All crops have failed. Vineyards dried up, fig trees withered, Pomegranates, date palms, and apple trees— deadwood everywhere! And joy is dried up and withered in the hearts of the people.

Hosea 6:1  

"Come on, let's go back to God. He hurt us, but he'll heal us.  He hit us hard, but he'll put us right again.  In a couple of days we'll feel better. By the third day he'll have made us brand-new, alive and on our feet, fit to face him.”

Lord, please shine light on darkness.  Please call your people to repentance and have us listen, again.

The colors of Swaziland

I am sitting half way up one of the hillsides that overlooks the fields at Project Canaan.  Beside me are a series of stakes in the ground with red and while plastic string wrapped around each one to show the exterior outline of our soon-to-be-home in Swaziland.

It’s a grey and dreary day, but no rain yet.  Soon the rains will begin, the crops will be planted and the country will become green again.  But hope doesn’t come with rain or even food anymore in this tiny Kingdom. 

I can’t help but be caught in the confusion of the two worlds that collide here.  Although I hate to make this blog about “color”, there seems to be a “black” Swaziland and a “white” Swaziland.  I hope this blog will not be seen as offensive, that is not my intent.  I am simply trying to put on paper (maybe just for my own self-awareness) what I see on a daily basis and the world which my family is about to move in to.

White Swaziland seems to be made up of people with nice (western) homes,  4 wheel drive vehicles, weekly visits to the local Pick’n’Pay grocery store, children in school, dinner parties with friends and family and general talk of the weather when there is nothing else to say.  This is a general observation and does not apply to all.

Black Swaziland seems to made up of  traditional homes built with sticks and mud, once erect and proud, beautifully adorning the Swazi countryside, now crumbling and washing away because the owners have either died or are too old (or young), or sick to care for their homestead.  There are no grocery stores within walking distance, no money to buy food if there was a store and no energy (or seeds or fertilizer) to plant this year’s garden because of poor health and nutrition.  This also is a general observation and does not apply to all.

Many (most) schools are closed now because the government hasn’t paid the 2^nd semester school fees for the 1^st and 2^nd grade orphans of the nation.  You see, in 2010 His Majesty King Mswati III generously offered to pay the school fees for all children in first grade who were orphaned and who had no parent to pay their school fees.  Read this part carefully please:  the country has a population of 950,000 people and His Majesty paid fees for 120,000 orphaned children who needed to go to FIRST grade only.  That means that 12.6% of the total population is approximately age six.   In 2011 he offered to pay for first and second grade fees for orphaned children.  While it is believed that His Majesty has given the funds to the Ministry of Education but they have not passed on those funds to the school level (to pay the teachers for last semester) so, the schools are closed until further notice.

Dinner parties in “black Swaziland”?  The celebrations and gatherings of past generations seem to have gone away as quickly as the food that used to be present at them.  Buthusile Vilakati, a local 43 year-old woman who is caring for 11 children/grandchildren, has been too sick to work so when there is no food to give her children she goes to visit her neighbors and humbly asks if they will share theirs with her family – some dinner party eh?

And weather?  Well, I don’t hear much talk of the weather in  “black Swaziland” because no one seems to have the energy or desire to just make small talk.  Conversations are about things of importance or there is silence.  As a friend once said, “in Swaziland, silence is the loudest sound”.

While color is often a taboo subject to write or talk about, the fact is that my skin is really really white and my hair is blond and I don’t look like most of my new neighbors.  But I know that Jesus loves me just as much as He loves all of the people of Swaziland and the people of the world.  He allowed me to be born in a first world nation and be raised in a family who had a nice apartment, dependable car, a grocery store next door, a (free) school across the street, the occasional pot luck dinner and lots of small talk when there was nothing else important to say.   But was that really better?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” Matthew 5:3. 

The Message translation of Matthew 5:3 says, “You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”

It seems that having all the comforts of living in the western world make it hard to be “poor in spirit”.  When we are at the end of our rope we have many distractions to turn to (TV, shopping, entertainment, food, addictions etc).   When someone has nothing but God to rely on is there is a greater opportunity to be less and have Him be more?  

I look forward to being Buthusile’s neighbor, not so that I can deliver food to her and treat her as a pet project or charity case, but rather to spend time with her and get to know her as a neighbor.  She weaves beautiful mats out of grass – maybe I can help her sell them?  Maybe I can provide a word of encouragement while helping her fetch water from the river some days.  Maybe I can be the hands and feet of Jesus.  Maybe I can just sit in silence and enjoy the moment when there is nothing important to say.

Pondering in Swaziland.

Janine

September 11th - 10 years later. His ways are not our ways.

Tonight I am siting in a hotel room in Canada after visiting my 80 year old mother in the nursing home or "hell hole" as she prefers to call it.  I had to break the news to mom today that her only daughter (that would be me, Janine), mother of her only two grandchildren (that would be Spencer and Chloe), who moved her family (with her husband Ian) to Alpharetta, Georgia (that would be in the country of the United States of America - out of Canada) was now planning to move to another foreign country (that would be Swaziland) ON A DIFFERENT CONTINENT (and you know where that would be).

Why are we moving?  Because "God asked us to".  When did we start caring about what God wanted?  Shortly after September 11th, 2001... ten years ago this weekend.

It is hard to believe that on night of September 10th, 2001 I was out at a club in the Village in downtown Manhattan with a couple of clients who have never gone clubbing in downtown Manhattan (no, my kids do not read my blog :).  Nothing bad (never did drugs), but loved a good live band and a cool bar scene.  Got in really late (or early on the 11th), had to be a conference by 9AM the next day.  Slept for a short time.  Ordered room service (likely a $25 breakfast) without a thought.  Showered, headed down to the meeting room and then, the world changed forever.

It's now ten years later and certainly a time for reflection.  This year, on September 10th, 2011 I will spend the evening speaking to 300 youth in Effingham, Illinois.  Many of them are followers of Jesus, and (I assume) and many aren't, but all of them were toddlers when the planes crashed from the sky and people jumped from buildings in front of my eyes.  On September 11th I will be speaking at Christ's Church of Effingham to talk about what God has done in my life and how He is using ordinary, everyday people for His glory in Africa - who would have guessed that one ten years ago!?  Not me (or anyone who knew me).

I find it odd that when I think of that fateful day, my mind immediately goes to what I was doing RIGHT before the attacks began.  I was just living my life the way I liked living my life. I was just doing what I liked to do.  Period.  And why not?  I wasn't a bad person.

Ten years later I can't help but see how September 11th changed the trajectory of my life and the lives of my entire family. In approximately 245 days my husband will be working on sustainable farming and economic development on a rural farm in the Kingdom of Swaziland. My son will be heading off to college in America while his family moves to a foreign continent.  My daughter will be enrolled in an international school, in Africa, with students from 180 nations.  And I will become the mother to many... to orphans and widows in distress... to those who need a word of encouragement or a hug (or a kick in the butt).  And my mother?  She will be left in the "hell hole" to keep the staff on their toes and to remind me daily that God loves her as much as He loves the children we will serve in Swaziland and that HE has her in HIS hands, and that I am not to worry (or feel guilty).  NONE of this would have happened if not for the tragic day, ten years ago.

Everything changed on 9/11 and many are still reeling and recovering from the repercussions of that day.  I changed on 9/11 and for that I am thankful.  In the past ten years I have learned that God does not waste anything.  He has taken my life and flipped it upside down.  Would I have embraced this "flip" if I had known about it on September 10th 2001?  NOT a chance.  Now, I wouldn't change it for everything.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.  Isaiah 55:8


Thank you Lord for loving us so much that you will allow tragedy and pain for your glory.  Thank you for pursuing me when I was running (or just ignoring) you.  Thank you for loving my mom so much that you have created a safe and healthy place to live so that I can be obedient to your call.  Thank you for a family who said, "yes Lord, here I am".

May all honor and glory go to you and you alone.

Amen.

PS - He makes beautiful things out of dust:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyPBtExE4W0

Mona Lisa and the children

We just arrived back from Swaziland and it is time to pause.  But before I do that I want you to see Mona Lisa and Stula's children for yourself.  Please go to this link and meet them: http://www.youtube.com/user/heartforafrica#p/u/7/X9abdlw76dk

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for the grandmothers and orphaned children in Swaziland.

Janine

Part 2 of Stula's Story - meet Mona Lisa

 (Mona Lisa is the woman standing in the middle with the red shirt and head scarf).

When I arrived in Swaziland last week I immediately asked Kaleli Mulli (our Farm Director) if I could meet with Stula's mother and her children to tell them how terribly sorry we all were to hear about Stula's death.  He immediately made arrangements for that meeting and this is the story from that meeting.

The young woman who died in childbirth two weeks ago was named Stula.  She was the second born of a woman named Mona Lisa (no, I am not making this up).  Mona Lisa is 61 years old, four-foot nothing (as we say), weights 80 lbs dripping wet and is feisty, loving, determined and very very sad.  Her husband died 26 years ago and she was left to care for and raise 5 children, living in rural Swaziland surrounded by abject poverty.

When Project Canaan began in 2009 both Mona Lisa and Stula sought employment from Kaleli and have worked there for the past 18 months. 

Every day Mona Lisa leaves her house at 5AM and walks for two hours to arrive for work at Project Canaan at 7AM sharp.  She is a good and faithful worker.  At 5PM she leaves work and arrives back home at 7PM to begin preparing a meal for her grandchildren.  It is very cold and dark during an hour of both walks as it is winter here in Swaziland and the sun rises late and set early.  Now that Stula has passed away Mona Lisa makes the long journey alone.

Mona Lisa says that Stula was her "rock".  Stula was a hard worker and provided for her own four children as well as helped her mother provide for three of her sisters children who have been left with them.  With Stula dead, now Mona Lisa must provide for seven grandchildren - an almost impossible task.  They range from four to thirteen years of age.

The whole family lives in single room mud hut with a grass roof that has a very big hole in the top of the roof where termites have built large nests and will gradually consume the entire roof.  When it rains the water pours on to the mud floor where the children sleep and share only two blankets.  The children get themselves up in the morning and leave for school at 6AM.  They have a 90 minute walk EACH way, to and from school, and arrive home to wait for Mona Lisa to return from her long day of farm labor. 

They must fetch the water from the local crocodile inhabited river (a short 10 minute walk away) and then fetch wood to start the fire on which they boil the river water to cook the maize flour, which will be their meal.  While the story is heartbreaking and tragic, it is the same story for MOST Swazi's in rural Swaziland today.

The point of this blog is not the hardship that they are enduring or the lifestyle in which they are imprisoned, but rather a simple statement made by Mona Lisa that was awe-inspiring and life-changing.

I sat with Mona Lisa on an old tree stump and passed on our condolences for her loss, offered to help provide clothing for her grandchildren and promised to visit and bring food the following day.  But I had a burning question that needed asking.  I had to ask why and how the family could name Stula's dead baby "Thank you God", when both mother and child had died during child birth?  Mona Lisa looked at me, and without a moment for pause she said, and I quote, "we must give thanks to the Lord God Almighty.  He gives us everything we have and we must thank Him for all things.  If God wanted Stula and the baby to live, they would be alive today.  He chose to take them away two weeks ago, and His plans are best, so we give thanks."

I have so much to learn from my soon-to-be neighbor.  I may have more food and clothing than her, a nicer home with a whole roof, a kitchen and convenient water supply, but I can only hope and pray that one day I will have the faith of a Swazi grandmother, like my new friend and sister Mona Lisa.  May we all give thanks to the Lord God Almighty for He is good and His plans are perfect. 

Janine

One young mother dies, one unborn baby dies, four more children are orphaned in Swaziland. Jesus have mercy.

One of the primary objectives of Project Canaan is to provide training and employment for people in the community surrounding the farm, and beyond. Ideally we would be hiring men who would then take their incomes and provide food, water, shelter and education for their children  However statistics clearly show that in Africa if you pay a woman, she will feed and provide for her family.  If you pay a man he is much more likely to spend it on beer, cigarettes and things other than his family.  Let me tell you about one of the women who has worked at Project Canaan since the fall of 2009.

Her name was Stula (which is a nickname meaning "hefty" in siSwati).  She was a bright, friendly, robust Swazi woman who spoke excellent english and worked hard to provide for her four children.  She was pregnant with her fifth child and until last week still showed up on the farm every day to work.  Last Thursday that baby was very overdue and Stula made her way to the local clinic where she was told that she must go immediately to the Nazarene hospital in Manzini (one of the best hospitals in the country).  She and her sister took public transportation (a small crowded bus) and when they got there Stula was induced with pills.  When the pills did not work they gave her an injection which brought labor on hard and fast.  As she cried out for help and moved into a state of distress, the nurse who had been attending her left to find a doctor.  By the time the doctor arrived, Stula was dead.  And so was her unborn baby girl.

Stula was 29  years old.  

The four orphans (ages 4 to 10) who have been left behind will live with Stula's mother, and the orphan statistics bump up another notch.  Grandma, or "Gogo" as she would be called there, also works at Project Canaan, but may have to quit her job completely to care for her grandchildren.  She is in her 50's and has long outlived the average life expectancy in Swaziland of 29 years.  To an outsider she looks to be more like a 70 year old woman.

The all night funeral vigil was on Saturday and I was moved to know that our  Project Canaan farm team was able to take Stula's children to the funeral and be with them as they mourned.

Stula had her own open coffin and the baby girl (whom the family named Sibongile Khoza or "Thank you God") had her own little coffin next to her mom.  The teams says the baby showed visible signs of distress prior to her death.  This did not have to happen.  

Stula and Sibongile Khoza are dancing with Jesus, and for that I am thankful, but I pray that their deaths are not in vain.  I believe with my whole heart that if the Medical Center at Project Canaan had been built then Stula would have had easy access to prenatal care and someone to oversee her pregnancy. I therefore believe there is a VERY good chance that Stula and her baby would be alive today.  She would have six mouths to feed, we would have a great farm worker and Swaziland would have four fewer orphans needing care.  

According to the United Nations the infant mortality rate in the United States is 7.07 deaths for every 1,000 births (infants under the age of one year).  The infant mortality rate in Swaziland is almost TEN TIMES that at 68.63 deaths for every 1,000 births.  The infant mortality rate globally is 49.4 deaths for every 1,000 births.  This is not okay with me.  It does not need to be this way. I believe Stula is one woman we could have saved and I am more determined than ever to get our Medical Center built so that we can save the next "Stula" and her baby.

I won't ask you for money often, but I am today.  If you can help us financially to build a medical/dental clinic on Project Canaan, please give today by clicking here. We still need almost $200,000 to make this dream and we believe that El Shaddai, God the Provider, will provide, maybe even through you.  Thank you on behalf of all the "Stula's" in the Kingdom of Swaziland. 

Sadly,
Janine