40 Days of Prayer

I want to thank everyone for their prayers this past week as I and others have been struggling with being sick. I am lousy at it. I snuck into work the first few days for a few hours and started getting others sick so I stayed home the rest of the week. The thankful part was I was not running a high fever or was so bad to just stay in bed and sleep. But I was sick enough to not want to do anything but be bored and tired and lazy. No time for that! Today I'm going to get something done around the house, even if I have to nap in between. Ha!

For fear of spreading my germs, I have not been to either CarePoint all week and I miss that. The children have been working on prayers for the Children's Cup 40 Days of Prayer With the Children. It's start's August 1st and I hope everyone will participate online. Click on the photo below which is linked to the site.You will not be praying for us but with the children we work with. I will be sure to point out if the prayers from any of the children at Fonteyn or Mangwaneni, Mbabane are on a particular day. In this next year we want to take another step forward beyond the supplying of physical needs and speaking of God but in transforming kids lives. Without Christ transforming these children from the inside, this generation will be cursed to the same mistakes as their parents. We have laid foundation of consistency of the fundamentals at the CarePoints but now we are working to find ways to disciple a few kids at each CarePoint who are showing spiritual hunger to know God deeper. Our prayer is that God, working through these children, will start setting examples of making Christ-like choices in a society where the opposite is so prevelant. We want to raise leaders living lives of integrity and purity and searching God's Word for answers. Showing other children and youth that there is another way. And most importantly growing in their faith that nothing is impossible with God! Pray with us!!!

I'm Back!

I'm back in Swaziland and hard at work! I was blessed to be greeted at the airport by several of my African staff, Nathie, Gugu, Zinty and her fiance’, Lu when I arrived. I was then surprised by being taken to local restaurant for a traditional Swazi dinner with several of my Swazi staff, Nathie, Gugu, Queeneth, Bheki and Roger. I felt soooooo special!!!

That was on a Thursday night and then on Friday I went to both of my CarePoints and the office to let everyone know that Make “mah-gay” (mama) Sandra was back. I was told many kept asking if I was really going to be coming back. My teachers at Fonteyn said, in a little more blunt manner, that America had been nursing on Make Sandra way to long and it was about time they let go and let her come back to nurse her “babies” in Swaziland. There was also a grabbing of a part of the body (theirs not mine) to emphasize this. Guess you have to have been there to catch the Swazi humor in their statement. No offense was intended or taken and it did make me laugh and know I was missed.

The weekend was the point of catch up on jet lag because by Monday I was back in full swing. My name is now heard over and over in the office “Make Sandra” this and “Make Sandra” that. It is good to be back!

It is cold here though and that was hard to come back from summer to winter. It gets dark by 5:30 pm. The cold and dark makes it hard to be motivated. Now back to internet except in the office. The good news is that Swaziland now has a form (slow form) of broadband I can get on my home phone line and Jessie and I have applied. That will make Skype and email so much easier. Jessie had gotten season 4 of the show “House” and we have been watching that a lot. No will power to watch one episode a week.

The monkeys are still around and have come by the house a few times since I arrived home. They are getting bolder. They are stealing the avocados from our tree though (or the tree on the other side of the fence that drops on our side).

Anyway, I wanted to update my blog that I’m back in Swaziland and busier than ever! I do want to ask for those who read my blog for assistance. What kind of things do you want to hear about? What do you want to see on my blog? More life stories, kid stories, personal spiritual growth stories? What in the past have you enjoyed the most? And don’t say you love everything I write but help me focus on which areas you want to see more of. You can comment on the blog (just need to sign in under a google or aim or there is one other but I can't remember it) or you can send a comment by email or through facebook. Thanks ahead of time for your input and for your constant prayers and support!

Sala kahle! “sah-lah gah-(slur out sides of mouth)lay” (Stay well!)

Friends

I'm missing Swaziland but it has been nice to be able to touch base with old friends. I am so blessed! Here are a few of my friends, there are so many more but I forgot to take out my camera.



















Update: My breast biopsy and pap smear have both come back with a thumbs up. Thank you for your prayers.
The first flight back I can get a seat on without a larger cost is on the 23rd of June. So I will be spending my 50th birthday here with my mom in the sunshine and long daylight hours. That was probably the hardest thing to hit me in Swaziland -- my birthday being on the near shortest day of the year! It will be good to be able to spend Father's Day with my mom though and next week I will start my 3 day journey back to Swaziland!!!! I apologize for not taking my camera to get most of my church friends but here is one that they sent me. I also want to say a big thank you to Dixie and Grady for giving me lodging and fellowship the 3 weeks I was in Atlanta. I wish I had thought to take our picture!!! Thank all of you for your prayers and support. If you have not joined the top left hand "Tuned In" section of this blog, please do. Some days it is hard to take the time to write blogs and it helps if I know that you are following me. This will also allow you to be able to make comments on my blog which is encouragement that I cherish. I am joyful for my 50 years of life and celebrate the family and friends that God has blessed me so richly with!!!

My Mom Cruising Along 74 Years Without a Name????

Let me start by saying that everyone should get a passport! My mom and I went to Florida to join the Oasis church on the cruise this past week. My mom is 74 years old and has used her hospital birth certificate her whole life; for driver license, marriage license and anything where one was needed. It was a last minute decision for her to join me so we did not have time to get a state issued one -- (a MUST when on a cruise). The cruise line said they would let her on with a fax of her state certified one (in Oklahoma). Mom was born in Shawnee, OK (never heard of it? I'm not surprised). My mom had an old friend there check with the courthouse where he found that all vital statistics are in Oklahoma City (no relatives or friends there). We finally found out we could also get one in Tulsa and my uncle went down there with a faxed permission for him to pick it up. We got a call later saying they could not find a birth certificate for my mom. My mom is a twin. She was born 5 minutes before her brother. That's when they found it --"unnamed female twin". They would not release it because it "not her name". After almost 75 years, we are now working on getting my mom "officially" named Irma Jean Johnson (maiden name).
We can laugh at it now but Monday it was hard for me as mom made me board the cruise with instructions to have a good time and she ventured back to St. Louis. God IS good!! After the initial trauma, we both had a week of enjoyment and reflection. It wasn't what we planned but God was faithful just the same. Here are a few pictures of my week. It was restful and fun and full of little surprises! Thank you Cabaniss family for adopting me for the trip and for all the love from my Oasis family onboard!!! Check out our pastor boy band on the last night of karaoke!

What Has The Lord Been Showing Me Lately?

Hmmm! He keeps leading me to Psalm 23 lately. The other day my quiet time was
1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."
I was reading it and thinking, I've got this covered. I'm not anxious about the breast biopsy that will be delaying my trip back to Swaziland. (Although I miss everyone there terribly and feel so out of the loop.)
(Update: 2 mammograms show distortion on my left side, very small and high probability of being just calcifications but I have to have it needle biopsied. It could not be scheduled until the 8th with results not in until the 11th or 12th --I was scheduled to leave the 9th)
I'm not worried about my house not being rented yet or my finances. I figure it's all His anyway and He'll help me make it all work. But then He said "So then why can't you lie in green pastures and enjoy the still waters?" "You are worried about not having enough faith to move mountains or that you are not 'doing enough' away from Swaziland that you are refusing to rest in Me."
BAM!!!
That was God hitting the nail on my head! That's why God keeps bringing me back to the 23rd Psalm (and not to the valley of the shadow of death part)! I'm not really resting in Him while I am away. Why? 'Cause Satan is good at his job and sucked me into "holy" worrying: Need to take time to see everyone that I ever had contact with before I left for Swaziland, share my ministry with everyone I meet, get my house in order, get my house rented, make financial decisions, help my mom make decisions, grieve for my dad; so many "works" to try to fit in. None of them are bad or wrong. Not even that any should have been left undone. But there is nothing holy about worrying about getting them done. Nothing relaxing in stressing over "Am I doing everything?", "Am I doing it right?", "Am I forgetting anything?" "Should I or could I be doing more?". I allowed Satan to steal my joy of each day and each encounter.
Today's devotional was on the "Secret of contentment" which is: "Doing it because the Lord has called me and because of the love and relationship I have with Him. Whether it succeeds or fails is of no consequence to me. What is important to me is that I'm doing what the Lord has called me to do." I haven't been content, not because I'm away from hands on ministry in Swaziland but because I was not doing what God called me to do for these last several weeks; enjoying green pastures and still waters. Time to be content again!

Tomorrow, VERY early, I leave for a short cruise with my mom. We have both been lacking the enthusiasm of anticipating it. Even tried to get out of it "for the sake of the biopsy". But I think it is just what the Lord has ordered, time away from any kind of communication or normal routine. Even in our grief it is okay to laugh and celebrate an adventure. Easy to say but not so easily done. I'm ready to rest Lord until you provide my timing back to Swaziland. No more agenda. No more worrying about being the "perfect" Christian. I will rejoice and be happy that You saved me, You love me and You care about me and there is NOTHING for me to worry about!!!!! So what has the Lord been showing you lately?

My "Baby" Graduates from College

Just want to take a time out to brag on my son Michael who just graduated from Piedmont College the day before Mother's Day! He is a psychology major and planning on going to graduate school in Connecticut.
My older son, Kristopher, will finish his Master's degree and get his teaching credentials from Piedmont College this summer after I return to Swaziland. He is looking to teach high school history. (Anyone know of any openings???) I am so proud of them both.
Hear are some shots during and after the graduation. Michael is the clear head in the sea of blurs. Some of the other people in the photos are Kristopher's fiance Christina, my mom, and my son's other set of supportive grandparents. Thank you for celebrating with me!

Happy 5th Anniversary OC!!!!

Had a great time celebrating the 5th Anniversary of The Oasis Church yesterday!! It is so exciting that our Loganville church opened a Snellville campus (neighboring community) just 3 weeks ago and already over 30 persons have excepted Christ as their Savior!! Awesome!!!!Over these past 5 years, the Oasis Church has been instrumental in thousands coming to know Christ and/or rededicating their lives to God. I am so proud to be a part of this growth by serving and ministering in Africa. Below is a video to express the last year and a half since the Oasis Church began helping in Swaziland. I look forward in anticipation of what is yet to come!!
Thanks to everyone who has been supportive in this life changing ministry to hundreds of orphaned and vulnerable children in Swaziland Africa!!! The faces in this video are not just cute kids. These are the children that will be instrumental in changing their generation in positive ways because you reached out and made a difference!! You let them know that EVERY child matters!! You are helping break down cultural and HIV barriers!! You are sharing with them that we serve an AWESOME GOD!!! (Note: The white dots and squares on foreheads are stickers from teams who have visited.)

Songs are from Chris Tomlin's "Hello Love" album: "Love" and "God of the City"