My Dad got a Kidney transplant

I emailed a lot of you on Sunday that my dad had gotten a call Saturday night to come to the hospital for a possible kidney. He has been on the transplant list for over a year (but I did not know that until a few weeks before I came to Swaziland). I knew he was on PD dialysis at home for low kidney function but was unaware that they had totally stopped working after his surgery last year.

I got an email this morning in Swaziland (last night in the states) that he did recieve the kidney and it is in "A-1" condition and a good match. Even though he thought with his age he would only get a kidney from someone deceased, this one was from a live donor or so we think. My mom thinks it was someone who signed up to give a kidney to a relative but was not a match for their relative but when their relative got a kidney, they still donated but to a perfect stranger. Not sure though.


This is my plug though that if you have never signed the back of your drivers license to donate your organs, you should do it today! I thank the unknown person that gave up one of their kidneys for a total stranger and has to recover from major surgery from their act of kindness. Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!


Be in prayer for my dad as he recovers. Because he is on inmune surpressants they want him out of the hospital as soon as possible so he doesn't pick up any staff infections or other germs at the hospital. The best they hope for is a 4 day stay. They have filled him with IVs and the kidney seems to be doing it's job. It would seem strange to be so excited that you have to go pee! It is probable that dad will not have to have any more dialysis!!! Hooray!!!


Thank you God for this surprise blessing out of the blue!!!! You are awesome!!!

Me and my dad, Howard Sparks, just before I left for Swaziland November 2007!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

It’s the start of a new year! I know I don’t like to make New Year’s resolutions but when I think of what I would like to improve in myself in 2008 what would it be?
In 2007 I strove to trust God to work it out and lead me to the mission field since I felt Him leading me to become a missionary in November of 2006. And look, I’m here in Africa!! I don’t know how He worked it all out, but He did. By the world’s standpoint I should never have been able to get it all worked out to be over here. By the world’s standpoint and a lot of you, I’m just plain crazy. But I know beyond any doubt that I am supposed to be here is Swaziland, Africa. My goal last year was to prepare to come, physically, mentally and spiritually but what about this year?
This morning “The Word For You Today” devotional I brought with me from the Oasis Church, made me think of New Year Resolutions like “exercise”. It wasn’t talking about physical exercise which I admit I need to walk more after conquering Execution Rock :) but it talked about “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Eph.4:1). The devotion first talked about that “when we say yes to God, he imparts the ability we lack to perform His will. Note, the Lord doesn’t impart His ability first, then call us. No, He calls us, and as we step (walk) out in faith and obey Him, He imparts His ability.” So true!! How often have I not taken that step of faith and lost out on some amazing happenings. Last year I was able to take steps and God was true to His Word and imparted the ability for me to be here! Awesome! But what now?
When the devotion went on to talk about Ephesians 4:1 it said the word ‘walk’ “does not refer to some sort of meandering stroll. It means to stay in step with the Lord, to catch the beat of the Holy Spirit, and to move precisely as He moves.” What a picture that paints for me. When I was exercising by walking around the Oasis Church before I came to Africa, I remember trying to keep pace with Kathy and Jill, to stay in step. I love thinking of doing that with God!!! “Once you begin to walk to the rhythm of the Holy Spirit, nothing is going to matter as much to you as keeping pace with Him. You will find that the direction He takes you in is always the right direction, His timing is always the right timing, and the results you get are always the right results.” Awesome!! That’s my goal for 2008 and my verse I plan to memorize and hold to in order to accomplish it is 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.” AMP.
I hope this has encouraged you to have a personal vision for 2008! You don’t have to be in Africa to walk with God. He’s everywhere. He just happened to walk me to Swaziland. My prayer is that I, my family and my friends will go to the next level with God (I’m starting to sound like Pastor Troy now). Step out in faith and challenge God to direct you where to go! Do you need to step out and shed fear, self doubt, pride, selfishness, bitterness, anger or do you need to not hold back but get into His Word or memorize scripture. Talk it over with God, He’ll let you know your own area. Email me or comment to my blog. Hold me accountable this next year to grow in studying God’s Word, not just listening to Troy’s sermons online (although they have been Spirit filled) or just reading devotionals or other studies but delving in myself. Have a Happy New Year, I know I plan too!

It's a Jungle Out There!

I'm loading my pictures first, before I start writing! It took me from 8 am to almost 3 pm to be able to sign on and get the pictures for my last blog uploaded. So while it's now working, I will load the pictures. Hopefully they will all get on before we lose the internet again.

Before Rajni left we took a day drive @ Hlane (pronounced Shlane but with a thick tongue on the "SH" and you say it out the sides of your mouth with the tip of your tongue between your teeth -- go ahead a try it, it takes practice but I'm starting to get it). Rajni took the picture of me, Zinty (my co-worker and becoming good friend) and Tamara her sister. The Hlane game reserve is one of the few in Swaziland with lions. Our first animal to check out was the dung beetle. (See it on the ball of dung? There is one on the other side too.) It's job in life is to roll up "sh_t" and take it away. For those that have gone through Healing Streams @ the Oasis Church, this was the name our group affectionately gave to Charlie. (because he so neatly rolls up all are dung from our past and shows us how to let God take it away)

It is best to see animals at sunrise or sunset because as it gets hot, remember it's summer here, the animals start to hide. The picture of the pond really is two hippos to the right of the little island poking their eyes out of the water. They are the most dangerous animal in Africa and their area was fenced off so we couldn't get too close. The ostrich was out though and didn't have his (or her) head in the sand! We found some white rhinos roaming and we then happened on a whole herd of elephants trying to cool off in the mud puddles they had made. You think you could spot them from a great distance but the trees and bushes really make you say where did they go as soon as you've driven off a few feet. Did you know elephants don't have any sweat glands and that is why God gave them big ears, to fan themselves? They also then need to splash mud and water over themselves. It was a blast watching the baby elephants try to figure out how to suck water into their trunks!

It was a relaxing day although my allergies were bad for the next several days. I think it was from when the guide said he could smell elephants and we all tried to inhale deeply and then asked what they smelled like -- He said dung and we stopped sniffing after that!!

Finally after searching and searching we found a pride of lions resting under a tree in the shade. It took my loud joking around to get the male to raise his head to see what the ruckus was all about.

So when you feel your world is going wild just remember me and that I really can say "it's a jungle out there"! Have a blessed 2008!

THE END!!!!

Climb Every Mountain!!

I want to regress now to the Saturday before Christmas. I have been busy over the "holiday" but this day was a true test of my unfittness. (Rajni & I @ the start)Daran Rehmeyer, our fearless leader in Swaziland, wanted to go hiking for his birthday! Not a "hike around the block" mind you but a hike up to the top of Execution Rock, a place where many a wedding proposal takes place. Can't be too hard! Ha!!
The start was beautiful. There were the Rehmeyers (Daran & Teresa, Gabby, Danielle, Nathaniel and Joelle), Jacci (does discipleship with the cooks), Christy (oversees CarePoint education), Rajni (visiting doctor from Phoenix) and me. Please note here that even though Daran was the birthday boy and is old, I was still the oldest one attempting this daring adventure. It is in Mlilwane, a wildlife preserve and we walked by impalas, warthogs & zebras. It was warm and the incline started right away. I could see the rock they were talking about. They expected me to make it up to there? Christy and Rajni stayed back with Teresa and I for awhile. Christy said she had read to just take "little" steps when going up inclines. Christy exercises fairly regularly and was still breathing hard. I on the other hand was hardly able to breathe. I don't want you to worry, I was with a doctor (Rajni) and a nurse (Teresa). At one point on the way up (only about a third of the way up) I was huffing and puffing and Teresa was behind me when she slipped. Now I heard her say she was okay but you know the feeling when you turn right when something happens and you know in your head it's okay but your heart jumps anyway? That is what happened. On top of my breathing so hard I could hardly speak my heart jumped. Teresa was fine but I had to then sit down because my heart was beating so fast I thought I would pass out. Instead of me helping Teresa she was taking my pulse. Are we having fun yet? Shortly after this, Christy and Rajni left us behind. I kept putting one foot in front of the other and then stopping for breaths. Teresa encouraged me to go a little farther. She had done this hike many a time and was sure Daran was enjoying not having to wait for her and getting to go ahead. I also found that of the many times they had done this, she had only gotten to the top a few of those times. We found a mint plant growing out of the side of the rock on our way up (good excuse to rest and take a breath). I stopped and took photos of many a flower (you need to enjoy God's creation -- gasp!! gasp!!). This is the most I have ever in my many years, (and I've lived many) that I have felt my heart pound so hard and my lungs work so hard! I was past the point of getting to know Teresa because I could now only talk in my head. I had no extra air for outloud communication! In my head I kept reciting Philippians 4:13 (look it up) and in everything give thanks. I was trying. I decided there that Satan did not work through a snake but was alive and well in all the flies buzzing around my ears. I felt like they were taunting me to give up. I almost did about a dozen times but then after about 2 1/2 hours I made it!!! Where was the ribbon to break through, the waterfall to cool off in or the spa to get a massage? Okay the view was great. See that patch of water down the mountain? That is where we started and that is where we had to go back to -- what had I done? No helicopter to pick us up now that I have accomplished such a feat? Enjoy the pictures! (Okay the pictures will have to be uploaded next year; the internet is not cooperating!) I'm glad I did it and it's like having a baby, it was great but I don't plan to do it again any time soon.

This last photo I have here is starting down, Daran, Teresa and Christy. If I get Jacci's photos I will share a photo of me when I arrived at the top and the disshevled photo of me at the very bottoms! Don't you wish you were here?

A Swazi funeral

Sunday morning @ 5:30 AM (yes in the morning), Christy (Education director of the CarePoints), Nomty (a co-worker and our cultural guide for the day) and I went to a funeral. The sister of Gugu Precious, a teacher at Mangwaneni, Mbabane Carepoint had died. Precious was the teacher that was such a help and friend to the cook whose child had died. This makes the 3rd death since I have been here (a cook at Murray Camp Carepoint died just before Christmas).

The funeral started early and was a touch difficult to find. Not because it was dark, the sun rises @ about 4:30 am but because it was way out in the country and there are no street signs or maps. We parked the truck (Christy's vehicle) and walked in our sandals and skirts through high damp grass up the hillside where the family plots were. We turned every head at the funeral as the color of our skin reflected in the sun (needless to say we were the only white folks there). We had worn skirts but found we should have brought a covering for our head also. They were forgiving of our lack of knowledge. We watched the ceremony with respect as they spoke and sung in Siswati. The sky was blue, the hills were green and a African choir sang as they lowered the body into the grave. It actually was beautiful. They filled in the grave and stomped the soil to pack it ever so often and then mounded it with stones and dirt. I wondered about the two young men who had the task of packing that soil with their feet. Were they family members? Did the fact they were stomping over a dead body haunt them or is it just a fact of life here. When we have graveside funerals in the states, they always put the body in the ground after everyone has left so I never have thought about those kinds of things. She was only 26 and was buried next to one of her 4 children who had died earlier this year. There were many other graves on the hillside. The contrast of so many painful, withering away to nothing kind of deaths and the beauty of the land consumed my thoughts. There were no tears shed. Swazi's are strong, but you could see the pain in the eyes of Precious and other family members. Why does it have to be this way?

We went briefly to the homestead and witnessed the 3 other children putting their meager belongings into the back of a pickup truck (it all wrapped within one blanket each). We were told they were being taken to live with their father. It was not known if he had agreed or if he even knew they were coming. He was not even the father of one of them (his father was unknown). It was so sad. I pray for their safety and protection.

I'm reading Francine Rivers' book "Redeeming Love". It is a fiction story that follows the lines of Hosea and Gomer. What has had significant impact to me is the harsh childhood that plunged the character into prostitution and a lack of hope. Is that so different here? These children are often raped at young ages and thrown into situations so bleak how can they dream of a bright future. How can they see that God made them and that they are of value and worth? I'm old enough to realize I can't change it all. Many more will still die. Precious' sister did know Christ and is without pain and saddness in heaven, but how many aren't? How many get swallowed up in Satan's lies that they are nothing, worthless and there is no way out? I'm ending this year being introspective. I will not wallow in what I can't do but take steps with God's direction of what I can do. I could show respect and love by attending the funeral. I can smile and hug children and tell them they are special. I can make sure I'm not an easy mark for money (I get asked often as the new white kid on the block) because money or things won't solve the problems. I can be a person of my word, willing to get in there and work and live out my faith. I can be trusted and care about them with pure motives. I can show I'm not trying to take advantage of anyone.

In church later that morning the pastor challenged us to remember our past deliverences. God has always been there for me, through hardships & heartache & divorce. God is good! I don't understand why many things happen, but that's okay. God will get me through each day and help me see the blue skys and green hills and bright sunshine even during funerals, pain and storms. End your 2007 by thanking God for your numerous blessings, for your past deliverences and with a desire to know Him even more intimately!!!

Happy Birthday Jesus!!

I just wanted to jot a note to say I miss you all but here was my view this Christmas morning!!!
I heard a great sermon Sunday about seeking Christ! The Jews sought Christ (the shepherds); the Gentiles sought Christ (the wise men) and whosoever sought Christ (King Herod) but failed to recognize Him. It was interesting especially since the angel told the shepherds to go to the City of David, which back then was used both for Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The shepherds knew the prophesies and did not hesitate in trying to figure out the angel meant but immediately went to Bethlehem. This new year I want to know scripture better so I understand immediately what the Holy Spirit tries to communicate to me and to also persevere like the wise men who followed the star for 2 years. (Don't want to preach the sermon but it hit me and I hope it is food for thought for you.)
Happy Birthday Jesus!!! Love, hugs and friendship!!!

Come Let Us Adore Him!!

What a privelege! I got to go Friday night to the best Christmas pageant ever!! The pictures in this blog is from a little church, Christian Family Church in Mapheveni. The pastor there, LaSelette Duarte, is a sweet grandmother type who is connected with our CarePoint there. Most of the families there work in the sugar cane fields and the water they drink is from the river and quite unhealthy. The children are probably the most in need of any of our CarePoints. This said, the celebration that I attended was beyond any I have ever seen! LaSelette made all the costumes you see in the photos, I do not know where she got all the fabic but every child and young adult was in full costume!!! They had taped music that they sang to and which Bongi, the children's leader (in the blue angel costume) choreographed the parts. Mary had touching choreography to the song "Breath of Heaven" as well as Bongi and the angels to "Mary, Did You Know". They had a magnificent narrator (who I apologize I did not get a photo of) who told the story from creation, the prophesies, Zachariah and Elizabeth and on through the birth. (Again, I apologize that I do not have photos of the earlier sections, I was suffering from a migraine and did not start taking pictures until about 1/2 way through but enjoyed it just the same.) They had the young adults with modern day dialogue in both English and Siswati mixture that was extremely poigniant (like when Mary contemplated what people would say about "another unwed mother") and included Zachariah (until he was struck mute by the angel), Elizabeth and Mary, Joseph and Mary, the innkeeper and his wife, King Herod's obsession, the shepherds and the wise men. Intermixed were some traditional Swazi dancing and some festive dancing. The wise men were some comical in their lines and looking for the star. The finale was full of pagentry and waving banners and color. The joy and excitement of the season was portrayed through every person on stage. They were enjoying it as much as us in the audience. It was magnificednt!!! I wish you could have been there with us! It definately blessed my Christmas!! I hope the pictures bless you and that you enjoy your family and friends and your numerous blessings even if you, like me are away from them. P.S. Please note the adorable cows in the manger scene :)