Not To Be Taken For Granted!!!

One fact I have found hard to ignore as I live and work in Swaziland is . . . .Life Is Fragile!!!! There have been several friends in my women's bible study sharing and lifting up in prayer friends of theirs with life threatening cancer, serious illnesses, pregnancy of a unborn child with fatal diagnosis once he arrives and more. And then with the suddenness of Mitch's (our Swaziland director) decline in health and surgeries (3 now and over 2 1/2 weeks in hospitals) and a toddler boy from our church here in Swaziland who had a brick fall on his leg a couple of months ago and is now fighting for his life due to infection I am once again faced with issues of God's sovereignty and eternity.

Life is fragile . . . . here on earth. . . . but eternity lasts forever.

With these reminders that my days are numbered, that my life is fragile, I am blessed to know where my eternity will be. I am reminded that as fragile as this life is, it is not ALL there is.

It is not to be taken for granted though! Each day people die without knowing the Savior I know and the peace that brings. There are people who live not knowing there is a choice to make. A choice that matters for eternity. God hates sin (doing things we know are wrong). You can't earn an entry ticket to heaven no matter how "good" you try to be. So God sent His Son to pay the price for your sins and my sins. He sent Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a sinless life. He allowed himself to be killed, to die, to go to hell and conquer death by rising from the grave!!! When we accept that Jesus was God's son and the ultimate sacrifice for our sin we also conquer death and hell. When Jesus Christ is in us, God sees Him, blameless and holy instead of our sins!!! Amazing how that works!!! How amazing that the Holy Spirit, in us, confirms that and encourages us to fellowship one on one with God, our Father!!! As I am reminded by the current situations that life is fragile I am renewed by the Easter season and to know that eternity is not fragile. That Jesus is real and through Him my fragility doesn't matter. I pray that everyone that reads my blog knows Christ as their Savior. If not, just cry out to Him and He will hear you AND RESPOND!!!! (Maybe not how you think He should but in a way that is best for you to KNOW Him.) Go to a local christian church this Easter and hear about Christ's love and sacrifice for you!!! Don't take you life for granted or death!!!!

Praise God through every joy, every tribulation and every moment of my life here on earth!!!

Chicken Day!!

I am enjoying time with my son Michael as he experiences the different aspects of the ministry at Children's Cup. It is great having him around this month. This picture is from his arrival. As you can tell he is keeping me laughing!

A week ago, Friday, we got to help with a chicken day at Mangwaneni. They had won an award in a contest and chose to use the winnings to bless the children with a chicken day.

The staff decided to have 25 live chickens instead of frozen pieces because then they could use ALL the parts. The only thing that was not cooked was the gallbladder and stomach! We call it walkie talkie soup because if you look at the picture below closely, you can see the heads and feet. Michael and I (okay I only did one) helped kill the chickens and I helped the cooks and one of our new teachers, Lungelo (the young gentleman) and Zanele with the plucking. It is a little yucky to slaughter chickens, but will do it any day so that these kids can have meat in their diet. This is the only opportunity for meat for most of them and it only comes along a few times a year! All the hard work was worth the joy in the faces of the children and staff that day!!

(Be warned that some of the pictures below are not suitable for squeamish persons . . . just look at the last 2 if that is you!)

My first official newsletter!

Since I first came to Swaziland I have tried to keep people updated by my blog and on FaceBook. Now I have found that a newsletter might be a preference for some. Below is my first attempt. Email me at sandra@childrenscup.org if you would like to get further newsletters by email or FB on a regular basis. If you know of someone who would like it by postal mail then you can email me their physical address and I will try to do handle those also.

Thank you to all who pray and support the ministry here in Swaziland!!!