Important announcement: Babies have arrived at the El Roi Baby Home on Project Canaan!

It was Easter morning in 2003 that I first witnessed the rescue of a child who lived on the streets of Lusaka, Zambia. It was an earth-shattering, life-changing event that changed the entire trajectory of my life.  I saw hope in the face of six year old boy named Kantwa, as he said goodbye to the filth, the terror and the hopelessness of life as a “street kid”. It may have been in that moment that I first truly understood the power of the resurrected Jesus, and it was Easter morning. 

It is now the week before Easter 2012 and I am overwhelmed as I reflect on all at all that has happened in the past nine years.  I have experienced intense pain at the death of children I love in Africa and I have cried a thousand tears and wondered if they would ever end.  But I have also see miracles with my own eyes, seen buildings built, funding appear from the most unexpected places and felt the hand of God on my life in a palpable way.

3 day old baby boy

But today I am writing to tell you of a new story of hope and it comes with the news that the El Roi Baby Home on Project Canaan, in the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland, is now open. El Roi is the Hebrew name for “The God Who Sees” (read Genesis 16:13) and we know that He sees the babies who are being directed to us just as He sees you and me.

In late February 2012 we opened our doors and wondered when, how and even IF any babies would be brought to the El Roi Baby home.  Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world and this murderous and relentless pandemic has a left a wake of orphans and vulnerable children.  It has also left women (often young girls) with a feeling of utter hopelessness that results in them “dumping” or abandoning their new born babies because they have to possible way to care for them.

On March 1^st, 2012 our first newborn baby arrived. Please allow me to introduce you to the newest members of our family and of the El Roi Baby Home.

Baby #1:  Joshua was a three-day-old baby boy was brought to us because his mother couldn’t care for him and had planned to “dump” him as soon as he was born.  The child’s father had been murdered months prior to the baby’s birth and a caring Social Worker convinced the mother to bring the child to life safely and she would help find him a home.  El Roi is his new home.

14 day old baby girl

Baby #2: – Esther was a 14-day old baby girl who arrived a couple of days after Joshua.  Esther’s mother was young and planned to commit suicide in her eighth month of pregnancy.  Again, a caring (and life-saving) Social Worker convinced her to save her own life and the life of the baby.  The baby was abandoned at the door of a man who delivered the child to a local hospital.  The mother is HIV positive and Esther was treated as soon as she was born.  We will know in a few weeks whether she is HIV positive as well, and what her future care needs will be. El Roi is now the home for this little girl.

8 months old baby boy weighing 12.3 pounds

Baby #3: Caleb is a baby boy and is 8 months old and only weighs 12.3 pounds.  Fortune was delivered to a local hospital in a cardboard box, by his father who is in the final stages of HIV/AIDS.  His mother had already succumbed to the disease and the father was no longer able to care for him.  Fortune is HIV positive and is being treated with ARV’s.  He has active Tuberculosis and is covered in terrible sores and lesions.  If that wasn’t enough for this little guy, he is severely malnourished and is struggling to survive.  El Roi is now his home.

8 week old baby boy

Baby #4: Levi arrived TODAY (March 29, 2012) and is 8 weeks old.  His mother was raped in South Africa and as a result is HIV positive and while she does not want to have anything to do with the child, the Social Worker encouraged the mother to care for the baby for a time to see if she would change her mind.  Today she brought the baby to the hospital and left him there.  El Roi is now his home.

Baby #5: Anna is a baby girl, is a month old and has been living in a government hospital since she was found in a pit latrine (outhouse/toilet) just after she was born.  She has been struggling with a chest infection since then and getting treatment in the hospital.  While she has not arrived at El Roi yet, we are praying that she will be released to our care in the hours/days ahead and El Roi will be her home.

As you can see we have much to be thankful for and much to pray for.  The emotional and physical cost to care for these babies is high.  Please join us in praying for Helen Mulli and the others who have been hired to provide 24 hour care at the El Roi Baby home. As some of you may know, Helen was rescued by Mr. Charles Mulli at the tender age of eight-years old and was raised by Mr. & Mrs. Mulli at the Mulli Children’s Family Home in Kenya.  She has grown to be a wonderful woman of God, married Peter Mulli (Charles’ youngest brother, and Kaleli’s Uncle) and is now living at the El Roi Baby Home to care for “the abandoned and ignored” babies who are brought to us.

As you would expect there is also a high financial cost to care for these babies so that they get proper and immediate health care, the right nutrition for their situation and all the love that can be poured on them.  Currently we only have 6 people helping on a monthly basis and are asking if you would consider becoming a Heart for Africa HERO by committing to a monthly donation to support the El Roi Baby Home.  It is as simple as clicking here and signing up today.

This has been a long read, but I hope that you are inspired by it and will join me in prayer and thanksgiving to the Lord who is the giver of life, and to El Roi, the one who SEES us all. Thank you also to Annie Duguid, from the Watoto Baby Home in Uganda, who came to Swaziland to help prepare the El Roi team to be ready to receive babies (including hiring and training women who will love and care for these children).  We are thankful for the leadership team at Watoto who invested in the El Roi Baby Home by giving Annie six weeks of paid leave to come and serve with us. Thank you to our Staff at Heart for Africa and on Project Canaan and to our Board of Directors in the US and Canada who have stood by us through the highs and lows as we have prepared the way for the little ones to arrive.

Happy Easter everyone!  He has risen indeed!

Janine

Janine's ramblings at day 79

Moving to the US in October 2006 seemed like a bigger thing than moving to Africa. The move from our home in Aurora, Ontario was traumatic on so many fronts. It was the home that we designed and loved. It was perfect in our eyes. We had a big piece of land, large gardens, a fabulous custom designed pool and great neighbors who were Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Indian and just a few WASPS. The hospital the children were born in was close by and everything they knew was right there. Healthcare was free, my cousin was our dentist, the restaurants were diverse and my mom was just down the road. Our community was very safe and the small private school the kids attended was lovely.

We were happy (well, content might be a better word). We were certainly COMFORTABLE with what and who we knew. Moving to Atlanta was crazy because we didn't know anybody, we had no friends here, AND worse, we were heading south to be in full time ministry, which was WAY out of our comfort zone.

But God is faithful and He connected our family quickly and for 5 1/2 years this has been home.

Now it's time to move again, and for some reason this seems much easier. Well, "easy" would be a gross overstatement, but we have such peace about this move and every day Chloe says, "I can't wait to move to Swaziland! I wish we were going tomorrow!". Wow. I never thought I would be hearing that from my beautiful 15 year old daughter. I know that I would not have been saying that to my parents at that age (actually, that was the age I was shipped off to boarding school because I had a bad attitude :)

79 days from today the Maxwell family will be driving to the Atlanta airport and getting on a plane. This blog is just an update on where we are in the process, just in case anybody cares.

Our house in Alpharetta is on the market now, but we haven't had anyone come through and see it yet. We are in the process of building a house on Project Canaan in Swaziland and it is coming along nicely. Above is a photo of the house and the view from the front porch The doors and windows are in, the view is great and the electric/security fencing will be going in soon. There is lots of landscaping to do, which is critical to try to encourage all the neighborhood poisonous snakes to relocate. Landscaping will also remove of all the marijuana plants that seem to have cropped up wild all around our house. Sheesh.

I maybe should be feeling panic, but I am not. I have peace about our impending move and our new lives. I found out today that I will have to iron ALL our clothes that dry outside (too expensive to run the dryer except during rainy season) because of grass tics and itch bugs that might be living on your clothes when you bring them back inside.

We don't have a water filtration system installed yet for any domestic use, but that too is underway. We have started our Typhoid pills just in case of an outbreak - strange to have to take a live virus in a series of four pills over eight days to prevent possible illness. I am so thankful that malaria is not an issue where we are living so we don't have that to deal with.

I have gone through every drawer, every closet, every room and have purged to the best of my ability. The way I look at it is we now live in a three story home and are moving to a one story home. Simple math suggests that we need to eliminate two thirds of all the stuff we own. Slowly it is going away and I am not missing any of it. We will ship the first half of our belongings on April 4th so they are there when we arrive on June 2nd. The other half ships on May 31st as we get on the plane.

A few things that are still to be done: sell the house, drive our 2 Canadian cars up to Canada to sell them because we can't sell them here, determine what University Spencer will attend, find someone to take our 2 beautiful Bengal Tiger house cats, Chloe's 16th birthday party, Spencer's 18th birthday party, pack 2 containers, change of address notifications, get new Canadian passports for the family (they expire soon - not good) and a long "to do list" of miscellaneous items.

I have a bit more travel to do before we leave. In fact I have 14 more flights before I get on a plane to fly to Africa. Now I'm not complaining because I have an awesome month ahead with some awesome speaking engagements (Hawaii, Venice Italy, Las Vegas, Edmonton Alberta), but I look forward to the month of May when I am home in Atlanta for our last month.

Of course (ladies only read this please) I also want to get everything "checked out" before the big move since I won't have access to the same level of healthcare in Swaziland. So this month is Mammogram/PAP/Colonoscopy month and Chloe got her wisdom teeth out. Fun eh? I know, I know, WAY more information than you wanted - that was for the die hard friends who are still reading down this far :)

We left the comfort of "home" in Canada to settle in the "land of the free and home of the brave". It has been an interesting time here in the sunny south and we are thankful for our time here. But it is time to move on. We really don't know what to expect when we get to Swaziland other than change, challenges and joy. What we do know is that God is with us every step of this journey and we feel His presence every single day. For that we are thankful. Without His presence, this would just be a bad idea.

Thanks for your prayers and support and for reading all the way to the bottom. Happy Tuesday!

Janine
79 days and counting

Thoughts on spiders, snakes, abandoned babies and Jesus

It's a rainy morning in Georgia and I am jet lagged, tired and a bit foggy, but I want to put my thoughts in writing while they are fresh. It seemed that it was a week of extremes (as always?), and I will write things here that may not help in our "recruitment" efforts, but maybe they will help us all with a deeper understanding of Jesus and His plans.

I just arrived home from 10 days in Swaziland where my dear friends and sisters (Lori Marschall, Janice Johnson, Bree Friedl and Annie Duguid) worked tirelessly to get the El Roi home for abandoned babies ready to open - and it is officially open now! What an amazing group of women they are.

We were blessed to have nine teams of visitors come to Project Canaan for 3 hour tours over five days. We welcomed senior members of several big hospitals, Police Child Protections services, Planned Parenthood, World Vision, Pastor and members from Mbabane Alliance church, the "Queen" called Inkhosikati LaMbikiza (who is the Patron of the home) and on the last day the Deputy Prime Minister of the country and twenty of his Social Welfare Officers who are responsible for OVC's in the country. It was glorious to show them all the Lord has done in only 2+ years at Project Canaan. Now we wait for government approval for us to receive babies and are praying for "Joshua" to arrive any day.

While the Lord is blessing the team at Project Canaan in unimaginable ways, it is not easy work. And it is not always safe. Many of us are quick to judge "Africans" and wonder why they don't just get up and work or why don't they just solve their own problems. But we can't even begin to imagine the basic challenges in day to day life.

Last week we stayed in the newly built (and beautifully modern) Lodge at the farm. We were staying were we were comfortable and could focus on the work. Here are some my thoughts on what we saw and experienced.

Spiders - First day there I got a large spider bite on my finger. It blistered, bled a bit and is now healing. Didn't really hurt, just a bit ugly. Haven't really seen many/any spiders, but I know they are there.

Snakes - Several days later Annie went to use

the bathroom (without her glasses on) and saw a frog on the bath mat. Well, the frog slithered away and she realized it wasn't a frog. After an emergency phone call to and visit from Kaleli we discovered it was a baby Puff Adder snake. Not good. Speaking of frogs - there are frogs everywhere ... think of the story of Moses and Pharoah. For those of you are now saying "oh, I won't ever go and serve there" or "I don't like spiders and snakes" I would like to say "NEITHER DO WE!" And I can assure you that the orphans and vulnerable children who we are called to serve don't like them either and don't have doors and windows that shut tight to keep them out. So, we suck it up, pray, and go.

Electricity - There was no electricity for the first few days of our stay. We were thankful for Peter getting up and putting on the generator so that we could have lights for a while at night and could eat with lights on. When the electricity did come back I was SO thankful because it was SO HOT at night and we were then able to use the ceiling fans (windows closed tight due to snake incounter).

Water - We don't have a water filtration system at The Lodge yet so we (Lori) had to boil all our water to drink, cook and even to wash our dishes. Simple? Yes. Time consuming? Definitely - but at least we had a gas stove to use for heat - we didn't have to go collect wood. Our water for showering and cooking comes from the bore hole in the farm and is pumped up to a 500,000L holding tank. We must always use it sparingly because when it runs out, it runs out. Speaking of running out - the dam that we must use to irrigate the crops is almost empty. Without rain the crops will die and our plans for a second and third crop (using drip irrigation) will not be possible. Water is life. Period.

Orphans - I was speaking with Pastor Mike, who is the newest member of the Project Canaan team. He delivers maize and Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) meals to our rural church partners. His heart broke as he told me about six very young children (5 different families) who live near him, right near our farm, and have lost their parents (that means 10 adults have died). He has little to give, but with the FMSC MannaPacks he can now feed them twice a week. His challenge? All the other little eyes who peek through the cracks in the wall longing to eat too. We will work on growing his feeding program soon.

Abandoned babies - oh yes, abandoned babies. Meeting after meeting we saw our Swazi brothers and sister lower their heads and shake them slowly as they shared story after story of young girls giving birth to premature or malnourished babies and then dumping them in the pit latrine, on the side of the road or in the garbage dump. It is a tragic situation of hopelessness. We heard of rape, incest and hunger driven prostitution. It is dirty, ugly and shameful, and no one really wants to talk about it. Can you blame them? But they exist and El Roi sees them (see Genesis 16:3) and He is asking us to care for them. Maybe he is asking YOU to care for them? EVEN if there are spiders and snakes and no filtered water and random electricity? Hmmm.

Jesus - He sees you and He loves you. He sees the abandoned babies and loves them just as much. That is why He calls us to "GO". He sees Kaleli and his team cry out for the rains to pour and He is the ONLY one who can make it rain. He sees Pastor Mike feeding the six young children who live near him and then He asks La Croix church to send 270,000 FMSC food packs to help. Jesus healed my spider bite quickly and protected Annie from the poisonous snake in her bathroom! Jesus invited each and every Swazi who came to visit to see His work and His glory. He gave us a beautiful place to stay, a roof over our heads, soft beds, fresh food, wonderful fellowship and best of all, His very presence. And He gets all the glory. Jesus is alive and well in Swaziland. Amen.

What are you worried about today? Are you worried about not having clean water to drink today or that taking a long shower might use up all the water? Or are you worried that you might see a poisonous snake in your room? Or are you afraid to go down the road in case you find an abandoned baby?

Matthew 6:25-34 Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

PS - yes I do realize that I had this scripture in my last blog. I thought it was worth repeating.

Want to help an abandoned baby right now? Please go to http://www.heartforafrica.org/ElRoiBabyHome.aspx

Thank you for reading, praying and acting.

Janine

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