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!!!

Good Things Happening!!

I just wanted to take a moment and share about good things that are happening throughout all of Children's Cup!!! We have a new missionary on the field, Beth Young, a teacher with a lot of years in education and full of great ideas for our preschool program!! She has hit the ground running and at her first facilitator meeting (just 3 weeks after arriving), she gave out practical tools to teach the preschoolers in bite size pieces not the whole apple all at once. She gave great practical ideas to make learning lots of fun and easy. She has purchased some simple picture books for teachers to use. They will be able to turn them in and get a different set each month. As Beth told the facilitators, our preschools are going to ROCK this year!!!!

Another good thing that is happening we have several new arrivals of little bundles of joy coming this year to many of our facilitators!!! No one had a baby last year but there are around 6 or so expecting later this year. In Swaziland, you don't really let people know until late in your pregnancy, if at all, that you are expecting. But, in sharing with the facilitators the tradition of "baby showers" we are working on finding out who might need a new infant outfit in the months ahead. :) Our hope is that at May's meeting we would have cake and punch for all the facilitators and little gifts for those expecting. (One is due before then so we will give hers to her early.) Please be in prayer for all of our facilitators and for those that will be adding to their families!!! Below is one of our expectant mothers, teacher Dorah (she said it was okay to share the news)!!! She is at my Mangwaneni CarePoint and we are so excited for her!!!

Mangwaneni's youth lock-in went great. Mvutjini had their's last Friday and Makholweni had one this coming Friday. I'm glad younger people than I are doing them. I lasted until midnight at Mangwaneni's but just stole the picture below from the Mvutjini lock-in.

GLA (Global Leadership Acadamy) has started their new year with a great group of young adults, some coming from our CarePoints, who are seeking God and already sharing God's love at the local high school. Soon they will start serving at Healing Place Church and working at the CarePoints besides all their classes!!! It is exciting!

Our cook's ministry has also started off with a HALLELUJAH!!! They have had two of several prayer meetings where a few of the CarePoints gather in a central location and pray for each other, for their CarePoints and the children and youth who attend!!!!! God is moving!!! (Below are some of the Mangwaneni cooks who attended earlier this month.)

This is just a few of the pieces of a ministry that God is using to change a nation!!!! Watch out as more amazing things to happen throughout the year!!! We have a great team (only a few of which are pictured below) and we each do our part!! But in the end, to God be the glory, great things He has and will continue to do!!! Thanks to all who help support Children's Cup ministry and/or one or more of the missionaries who serve!!!!! You are helping make a difference!!!

A Different World

There are days when I might forget that I live in Africa, but recently there were few of those days!

From cooking popcorn, french fries and hot dogs in a large 3 legged pot over an open fire for the youth all night lock-in (Yes, the blurry picture is me at night, with smoke in my eyes and a crick in my back cooking! LOL!). . . .

To driving to visit CarePoints in the eastern part of the country and not only slowing down for cows in the road but yes,

a giraffe that had stopped in the middle of the road!!!

No matter which side of the world we are there are so many things that are the same; like the love of God, the playfulness of children and enjoying fellowship. But sometimes it is fun to enjoy the differences!!!

P.S. Happy birthday teacher Dorah!!!!

Update on Kholiwe

Just wanted to update you on a Kholiwe "Koe-lee-way". Last Wednesday, (Feb. 8th) she was finally discharged from the hospital. She still has to go and get her bandages changed three times a week but she is doing well. We are working hard to find her a place in school and mom is still not working. I will keep you updated. Here is a picture at the CarePoint they day they were discharged.

Kholiwe's sister (she is in the background in the green skirt) was thrilled to have her mom back! Kholiwe was also thrilled to be out of the hospital.

Other updates:

Eric, the one hurt in the accident, is recovering and is good spirits as he adjusts to life without his left hand.

My co-worker was gifted the school fees for her daughter who is in her last year of high school. She is still trusting God for the exam fees for the graduation exams that are about $300 and are due next month. God has been faithful thus far and we know He will help her find a way.

May we count our blessings when things are going well and when we are struggling!!!

"I cried out to the Lord in my suffering, and He heard me. He set me free from all my fears. " Psalm 34:6

God is good and faithful and we can be assured that even when we are going through the storms of life, we can dance and give praise because He is with us . . . . ALWAYS we have nothing to fear!

Saint Francis of Assisi

Just wanted to share an apt prayer that I came back across recently and has given me thoughts to chew on, goals to be used by God to achieve and renewed focus on what is truly important.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

(sometimes that one is tough for me)

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

It's Not Fair!!!

I know God is sovereign and that nothing happens that catches Him by surprise. But in my heart, sometimes things happen and I want to cry "It's not fair"!!!! Yesterday was one of those days.

I visited a child in the hospital, Kholiwe "Koe-lee-way". Kholiwe is 7 years old and attended our preschool in Mvutjini "Em-voo-chee-nee" last year. She had struggled regularly during the school year because when her mother was working and the neighbor could not watch her 2 year old sister, it was Kholiwe's responsibility. The facilitators worked it out so the baby sister could come with her to school on those days. And Kholiwe was able to graduate from the preschool. She is a sweet, bright child.

Last year, before the holidays, a candle in the home was left burning and it caught the bedroom on fire. All the children (Kholiwe has 4 sisters and 2 brothers) ran from the fire. Unfortunately Kholiwe's clothes had caught fire and as she ran it severely burned her stomach, back and right thigh. She has been in the hospital now for over 1 1/2 months. Her mother stays with her, sleeping on a foam pad under Kholiwe's metal crib. She has been unable to go to work because in the government hospital a caregiver must stay with the patient (child or adult) to tend to, wash, take to the toilet, feed, administer prescribed tablets, etc. It is tough to see. Kholiwe was in good spirits with a sweet smile. Her mom was positive and optimistic about the prognosis. In a room with 12 other children, (a lot of them burn victims) there were many children crying or staring with hopeless eyes and caregivers showing fatigue and a resignation to what was before them. I wanted to scream

"IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!"

Kholiwe went in for skin graft surgery this morning. If all goes well, and no infection sets in, she may be able to return home in 10 days.

Another missionary friend from another organization was working on a building project yesterday when an accident occurred and Eric, his close helper/friend's arm was caught in a brick-making machine. His lower arm had to be amputated. Eric is in good spirits and knows God has a plan through all of this. But he is a hard working laborer that has now lost one of his hands. I want to cry out

"BUT IT'S NOT FAIR!!!"

Another close co-worker thought she had school fees arranged for her child. In high school, the cost of school is often more than a year's salary of the parent (if the parent is able to have a job). It is not something that can be easily covered. She thought wrong and the school fees will not be coming. She is trusting God!!! "BUT IT'S NOT FAIR" to have to struggle so hard for your child to get an education!

Why was I born in America with so many opportunities and I look around Swaziland and see so many who struggle in survival mode, wanting a chance for their children to have an education, many who lack the knowledge to be able to get a decent paying job. My heart breaks! I am so blessed! So many say how can you make the sacrifices you do to live in Africa, away from family, from fast food, from TV, from on and on. But I heard a line in an old show "Christy" that I borrowed on DVD recently and she said "The blessings become so much greater than the sacrifices."

It isn't fair. God never said it would be. I have found that with the greatest sufferings have come the biggest miracles!!!!

Isaiah 55:8 "'My thought are completely different from yours', says the Lord, 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.'"

My God has bigger plans and bigger ideas to what is "fair". The lyrics of a song by Laura Story keeps popping in my head, time and time again " 'Cause what if Your blessing come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? And what if a thousand sleepless nights, are what it takes to draw You near? And what if the trials of this life, are Your mercies in disguise?" My God is so much bigger than my feelings of what is fair!!!!! May I have His heart of compassion!!!

May I grow more each day in in sharing His love to those that hurt!!!! May I no longer see it as unfair but as opportunities to share the love of Christ!!! May the sufferings bring an awareness of God and His love!!! In some ways it is unfair that I was born in America without the struggles. Being so blessed sometimes I miss seeing His face shining all around us!! Sometimes I take for granted all that He has made available to me. Thank you God for my numerous blessings!!! May I not take them for granted but use them to bless others!!!

Happy 2012!!!!

It is that time of year!!! A new year is born and we find ourselves reflecting and projecting. Did I accomplish anything in 2011? Did I do what I set out to do or did something totally different happen? What do I want to say this time next year about 2012? What do I want to accomplish this year?

The nice thing about Swaziland is that the "holidays" really is a holiday from work. December ends the calendar year and the school year. The government and all but retail pretty much shuts down for the end of December and beginning of January. It is a three week period to totally get away from the 24/7 job of being a missionary. Some go back to the states to see family, some travel and this year, due to circumstances I believe God orchestrated, just stay put. What you do when you have no agenda and no opportunities to escape staying put?

I am a "to do" person but God showed me how to really rest. I like check lists and He taught me these last couple of weeks to just be content to do nothing. I love the beach and I would have loved to spend this holiday at the ocean somewhere but that is not where God had me! And that is okay!! I am shocked but I am really content with having nothing significant that happened during my down time. Had unlimited quiet time with God, read some, walked some, visited with friends, slept a lot, realized how exhausted I had been and just enjoyed knowing I have a place to rest in His arms where ever I am.

So, this last day of holiday, before I go back to the Cup office tomorrow, I am taking time to reflect on 2011. And what I see is God's hand!!! One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ephesians 3:20 "Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope." He has touched the lives of so many!!! He has brought hope to those who had no hope! He has brought understanding that He is with each of us, all of us, even when we are hungery and suffer. He has shown me that I don't have to trust lists, I just have to trust Him! If I look at the facts I would have spent the year worrying!

Jan: Started new year with new staff unfamiliar with Mission of Mercy and how it works.

Feb: Had to find a new home

Mar/Apr: Overwhelming task of Biannual Progress Reports for ALL MoM registered children across Swaziland

May: My mom traveling by herself to visit me and using her passport for the first time!!!

June/July: Planning new CarePoint registrations

August: Friends in serious accident followed by me hitting a cow and doing lots of damage to my truck

Sept: Traveling to Zimbabwe with just one other person to help teach MoM staff as they launch program and find out majority of my personal funding will be cut next year.

Oct: Host a team from the states and take on new roll doing payroll.

Nov: Plan how to get back to the states to fund raise and preschool graduations with grim news of government not being able to help elementary schools next year.

Dec: Christmas parties!!!! (exhausting schedule)

Many areas to give in to worry. Where will I go? How can we do this? What can we do to strengthen the ministry? Am I really making a difference? Who am I to be here? When I gave each one to God, they all turned out to be wonderful blessings and/or opportunities for growth in my faith!!!!

I live in an adorable little place! Most all the facilitators from last year will continue this year!! Mission of Mercy has grown stronger and bigger in Swaziland and has started in Zimbabwe!!! My mom's visit was the highlight of my year and such a blessing to have her see where I live and work and just to go have some fun together!!!! A donation to fix my truck came through! I bonded with the team that I hosted and have been so encouraged by them that we will have a reunion when I am in the states in June!!!! Christmas parties were tough but more of a blessing than a burden on so many levels!!!! 2011 was a wonderful year of learning more about God, leaning more on Him and loving seeing Him in action !!!!

What will 2012 hold? Not sure? Government is struggling, school system might crumble and I am just as uncertain about my funding. But this I do know, I don't need to look at the facts!!! I need to trust and pray and obey!!! That is my goal for 2012!!! Trust . . . Pray . . . Obey!

Hopefully in all that I will get in better shape, be a better listener, be more culturally sensitive and be more generous!! But I am excited about the new year, the new challenges and the new opportunities to grow closer to Him!!! I am truly blessed to be here; to have two sons who are growing in their walk with God and to be loved by family, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ that encourage me, love me and pray for me!! I pray 2012 will hold just as much for each of you!!!

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:23-24