My Inspiration

So often I get put, by some, on a pedestal for moving to Africa. Those that know me well, know that I am no different from any other Christian who hears God prompting them to do something and follows through. (Maybe I'm in Africa because I wasn't as good at hearing God's voice as I am here. . . where there are less distractions.) We are all called to trust God and obey what He has us to do during each season of our lives. I want to share with you a friend of mine who is doing just that and is blessing children halfway around the world from where she lives.

My friend is Patty Tebon. This is her 3rd trip to Swaziland. The first time she came to visit, she came to meet the sponsored child she had through Mission of Mercy at one of our CarePoints. On that trip, besides just raising the funds to come, she raised enough money for a CarePoint to have a slide & swing set. By American standards, Patty would by no means be considered rich. She just let God use her and followed through with what she felt God was nudging her to do and WOW!

God continues to bless this! Patty came out last year and brought a couple of suitcases of winter hats, gloves and blankets for the children at the CarePoint. She realized that the area, even though it is "Africa" gets cold in the winter and the children live in drafty, mud & stick homes. She also sponsored a second child with Mission of Mercy on that trip. Sponsoring a child is not an enormous monthly commitment but it is a significant one and one Patty takes seriously. She goes without cable TV or the internet so you can afford to sponsor a child. You can tell where her heart is. God keeps moving her heart for the children of Swaziland and she keeps obeying. When asked how she can "live" without having the internet, she asks "which child would you want me to give up in order to get it?"

This past year, Patty started collecting donations of blankets and letting others get involved in the ministry. She told me "God taught me this year that He is using me but I just need to get out of the way and watch Him multiply it!" She gathered over 2,300 blankets!!!!

It is one thing to collect the blankets but how do you get that many blankets over to Swaziland? For anyone who has tried to send me something in the mail, the cost has probably stopped most of you in your tracks. But God is sorting it!!! You might think to just send it with the people on teams who are coming over? Easy to say but Patty lives in Wisconsin and the rest of the team she was coming with were from North Carolina and Louisiana. But God is AMAZING and orchestrated people traveling through her area to the other states to distribute most of them and others donated money to pay for shipping and for Patty to have extra luggage on the flight!! The rest will come over later this year with the Back-To-School shipment. If you hear all the intricate details God worked out, your jaw would be left dropped open.

When Patty arrives in Swaziland, she just oozes love!!!! Her eyes light up and her arms open to give lots and lots of hugs! She was able to distribute some of her blankets herself at Moneni "Moe-nay-nee" and at Mangwaneni "Mahn-gwah-nay-nee". The children left warm with blankets and hats. Patty said "my heart when I am back in the states is still with the children in Swaziland. Americans don't realize how blessed they are!" But Patty is being faithful to what God has called her to for in this season of her life. She is raising awareness and providing for needs for the Children's Cup ministers to year round. She is an amazing, loving example of being God's hands and feet. . . and did I mention she has now sponsored her 4th Mission of Mercy child!!! Thank you Patty!!! You are an inspiration to me!!!

Love in Action!!!

Just wanted to share the story of one of our cooks who is the epitome of being God's hands and

feet!!!

Thuli Mdluli is a cook at one of our CarePoints. She has compassionate heart, and has shown this by extending care for 3 kids that don’t even belong to her.

John was abondoned by his mom, and left to his father (who is now re-married). The new wife wanted to leave him because John was not her son. The father decided to harm John, in fact he tried to kill him by throwing John in a homestead where there were fierce dogs. Momma Thuli “Two-lee” rescued him. She took the small boy to her homestead where she is also living with Phephile “Pay-pee-lay” and Muzi “Moo-zee” and Rosenna who are all double orphans.

Thuli is a volunteer cook at the CarePoint, and is taking John with her everyday. he is too young to attend the pre school class because he is only 3yrs old. The boy now flows with joy. He recently sang a song that they sing at bible clubs and he shared a Memory verse from the bible club…we are so amazed at how he can take the Word in his heart. It was cute, ,he was stammering saying 1John 16:16 “I…chose… you… to.. go… and… bear fruit “, the recovery that the Lord is bringing in the child’s life is awesome. May He be praised.

Phephile and Muzi came to stay with Thuli when they were 3 and 5 yrs old, now Phepile is 18 yrs and Muzi is 20yrs old and they are very active youth at the CarePoint. Their education is being sponsored by a nearby school. (the schools are required to leave open X number of slots for double orphaned children-and are not supposed to charge them for education)

Rosenna, (now the 4^th child) has also lost both of her parents. She is 5yrs old and Thuli rescued her from her uncle. The wife of the uncle did not like and did not want anything to do with Rosenna. She was abusing the child emotionally and physically in unthinkable ways. She would strangle her and torture her by putting a hot iron on her forehead. Even now she is still healing from the physical scars. But God is restoring her. She is now a happy child(our goal for all of these kids), and is attending our CarePoint school and bible clubs and playing with other kids and feeling the love of Christ through Mama Thuli!!

These kids are the NORM here in Swaziland. I wish we had to dig hard to find stories like this, but for now-that is not so. The PIECE of hope we cling to is that because of great women like Momma Thuli, these kids have love back in their lives. The PEACE of hope truly passes all understanding.

Birthday Away from Home!

A few things usually hit you harder than others when you are a missionary. I know my first year in the field, the fact that my birthday was now in the winter instead of the summer hit me harder than I expected. Instead of being a couple of days before the longest day of the year, it is now a couple of days before the shortest day of the year. It doesn't effect me as much anymore, I'm getting use to it. Sometimes being away from family on special days are hard.

This year I was blessed to be loved on more than I could have ever imagined even though I live on the other side of the globe. As seen in my previous post, I was thrilled to have my mom come to Swaziland for an early birthday present. It was great to get to share my life here with her and hopefully help her feel like I am closer by being able to picture my house, my friends, my work and the CarePoints I work at.

And then my birthday fell on Father's Day Sunday so I got lots of hugs and birthday greetings at HPC church in Swaziland.

And my home church, the Oasis Church, in Loganville, GA included a greeting from me in their bulletin and prayed for me during their services.

Between my home church, friends, and family I had a record number of FB posts to my wall wishing me a wonderful birthday!!! So many, I had trouble getting them all read!!! To finish my day I had two wonderful young friends, Bethany and Tamara who baked me a cake and came over and made me dinner.

I might not have my family or stateside friends with me but that did not stop me from having an amazing birthday on the other side of the world!!!!!

The Lord continues to amaze me and bless be abundantly!!! Thank all of you who sent me birthday wishes, prayers and blessings!!! And thank those of you who read my blog and let me share my life!!

I Am Blessed!!!

Sorry I did not post last month. I would like to give you a good excuse but my only argument is I have been so blessed lately I was unable to find the time! Please forgive me and not be too jealous!

Last month, my mom left the states and used her passport for the first time to come halfway around the world to experience my home and ministry in Swaziland!!!! I have long passed the life expectancy in Swaziland (33.2 yrs quoted in 2010), so for me to have a mother who is still alive was an exciting revelation for most of our staff and teachers. After my mom left, one of our staff commented that she had excepted a frail, old lady that they would have to hold out a hand to help. Another was telling someone "Her mother is soooo strong!! She is stronger than Make Sandra!" (which she is). I took pleasure in telling everyone that my mom will be 77 in July and watching mouths drop open as they said "How!" (which translated would mean "Wow", "you're kidding" or "impossible" in America).

My mom helped decorate my home, took me on a shopping trip to Nelspruit, went to our teacher's meeting to meet all the CarePoint staff, attended our office staff meeting, a missionary gathering, went on community walk in Mangwaneni, helped weed and plant flowers at my CarePoint, went to my missionary ladies bible studies, saw wild animals and went on vacation in cold, wet, yet beautiful Cape Town.

So now you know why I found no time to post. I was out of our office a lot more and was blessed with lots of hugs and sincere words of missing my presence while I was gone. It is so wonderful to feel loved and appreciated . . . and yes spoiled. No one can spoil you like your mom!!! Here are a few of the

literally hundreds of pictures we took!

Did I mention she got to meet Ambassador Earl Irving while she was here!

Missing you mom!!! Thanks for coming and sharing my life for awhile!!!!

Power Camp @ Mangwaneni

This is the fun part of my missionary work!!!

Power Camps!!!

Wednesday we had Power Camp @ Mangwaneni CarePoint!!!

And boy did we have fun!!!

We learned how powerful God is with the story of Jesus walking on the water and the disciples being scared like they saw a ghost!

They learned to keep their focus on God as He

protects them by making a visor that protects them from the sun and helps them keep their focus straight ahead.

They dug for treasure and learned Matthew 6:33 from a puppet friend. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

And they jumped and danced for joy as they celebrated how much God loves them!

For those of you who help fund power camps Thank you!!!

If you want to help fund Power Camps you can donate just $10/child at

Childrenscup.org and click on the "donate now" and choose "Kids camps".

If we work together we can change a generation to rely on God as their source of strength!!

And for those that remember my sweet friend Pepe when she was so sick, here is a picture of her and her brother. Even though she looks 8 she is now 15 years old and in grade 5! She is doing great in school and is sooooo healthy (for those that don't know she almost died in 2008)!!!

God is AMAZING!!!

I love my job!!!

Full Discloser

I have been praying about posting this blog. It is difficult to live off of the income others work so hard to earn and not be able to get a "paycheck" for the work I do. There are no merit raises or anyone who holds me totally accountable for my hours (Children's Cup would if they needed to) except for God. I try to follow the scripture in

Colossians 3:23

"Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."

So you are my bosses, per say, and I need to ask for a raise, which is not easy to do. But I love being God's hands and feet here and I want to continue working hard.

What is different than if I had a regular job and a regular boss is I feel you deserve full disclosure on how I live my life here. Am I asking for money because I live too lavishly and am reckless with my funding? I want to be honest and lay it all out there for you to decide.

I live in a nice cottage in the backyard of a larger home of other missionaries. I have running water and electricity. I do not live in traditional Swazi housing not because I do not think I could live in a cold mud hut, even with running water and electricity (although I probably couldn't) but because for a white person living here, our first concern is for safety so we look for homes that are secure. Which limits where we can live. So it is not outrageously expensive but costs about a third of what I get from my home church, The Oasis Church. The exchange rate is lower than it has been since I arrived in 2007. It is currently R6.6 to $1. Translated, for every $100, back in 2008/2009 meant 1000 Rand for me, now it means 660 Rand. Groceries and utility prices keep rising along with gas which is now about $5.30/gallon. In trying to visit & serve more of our CarePoints it uses a lot of gas. That is how I live. I rarely eat out. I bring my lunch to work everyday. I have a cellphone that is a necessity here and I buy groceries and utilities and other household items to keep my house clean and running. I take few trips although going to SA occasionally is almost a necessity but I have not been this year. I have to pay social security taxes on all my donations and so when estimated taxes are due, it is hard to make it the months it is due. I have to pay for medical insurance and doctor visits and medications. I do not have TV cable because it is a cost I would rather spend elsewhere. I tithe to the local church I attend. I have no savings except what comes in on my house rental in trying to save for the property taxes due at the end of the year. I cannot come back to the states to fundraise because honestly, I have no money for a ticket. So that is why I am blogging in an effort to raise some extra consistent monthly support.

At this point let me state that if you give regularly to my support at my home church, The Oasis church, this blog is not for you. All those at The Oasis Church need to donate to and through the church. I could not be here another day without their consistent monthly donation, but they cannot afford more and have given me permission to seek support elsewhere.

For those who are not donating that way, then hear my heart. I love being here but have no extra in my monthly budget to tune up my truck or get needed minor repairs. I have no extra to go out to eat this month, get my hair colored & cut or get a massage occasionally to relieve my neck and shoulder knots that lead to headaches. (I have had 1 in the last 4 months). I am so thankful for those of you who have given over the last several months but I am asking for you to help, if possible on a more regular basis.

I have laid this all out, not to guilt you or say that I am so sacrificial, but to be honest and open with you. This does not mean I covet your prayers and words of encouragement any less, on the contrary they sustain me and lift me up. I am asking you to pray on if God is calling you to give more regularly. I have one who donates every month and I thank her. If God leads you, great! If He does not, it will all sort out and it is okay. I am not naive to not know that things in the states are harder these days and that many of you are carrying extra burdens in one way or another. Just move if God leads you. If you need a tax deduction you can give through childrenscup.org (click on "Give now" and then on "Online Giving Form" which will list my name under designations)

or by mailing to

Children's Cup

PO Box 400

Prairieville, LA 70769

225-673-4505

If you mail please be sure to notate it is for me.

(I also have forms to email you if you would like an automatic bank draft taken)

If you do not need a tax deduction you can give directly to my PayPal account as a gift.

Thank you for letting me share my need. It is a very humbling thing to do. God is still in control and will work it all out for His glory, not for mine.

Thank you for loving me and praying for me and encouraging me!!!!