Please sir, may i have some bread

Fridays are hectic in Swaziland.  Especially the final Friday of the month.  It tends to be THE payday for so many, and the day that the stores are flooded with people.  After leaving the children’s cup office today, I went to our market to pick up groceries.  A young man (perhaps 10) was in the parking lot area and said “Please sir, may I have some bread”…my heart still breaks when someone so innocent asks for anything.  I said that I was going to collect groceries, but I would bring him some bread. 

Guilt and conviction flooded me as I walked back out-groceries in tow.  Yogurt, eggs, fruit and a ginger soda for charlotte(not feeling well)…and of course-bread.  As I handed him a fresh made warm loaf of bread from the bakery at the market, his eyes darted to the sacks I had just loaded in the car…as if to say “you have so much, and have only given me a loaf of bread”.  I knelt down, hugged him, invited him to come to the church and offices, and told him to make sure and head straight home(not to walk in the dark).

As I got in the car-I found myself weeping.  Perhaps it was from an emotional week(we had another child die this week, and a number of concerns/issues crop up), perhaps I was just a bit more tired than usual, or perhaps I just feel convicted all the more about what I have and others do not.  There is much more I could have done for him…and yet I sent him away.

 

Still learning and wanting to be like Jesus, but still failing and missing the mark.

 

m

Children's Cup and Mission of Mercy... a life changing and saving partnership

“Loma” (pictured above)…before and after!

Lomasontfo is a beautiful 12 year old girl full of confidence.  She is currently top of her class and reflects gratefulness for all she has.  If you were to look at Lomasontfo today you would never have realized that she almost died 3 years back.

Loma had a quick growing tumor on the left side of her jaw.  What started as a small swollen bump would soon consume the left side of her face.  A double orphan, loma lived in a mud and stick hut with older brothers and sisters who were scrambling to take care of their own children.  Many times left to fend for herself, the food served at the CarePoint became her only meal for the day.  As the tumor grew bigger her family would send her into town begging for food and money from onlookers who would take pity on her.  While the tumor was still small, Loma was discovered during a routine Children’s Cup mobile Medical Clinic at the CarePoint.  Cup medical teams looked for doctors all over Swaziland who would know how to treat this growing mass.  After months of taking Loma from doctor to doctor, it was concluded that we needed to seek medical treatment in South Africa

As Cup prepared med and visa papers to go to SA, we endured obstacle after obstacle for months.  For a time it seemed…hopeless.

As the tumor grew, we feared that she would die before we were even able to get her treatment in SA.  BUT the Lord heard our cry for help!  With the generous special medical funding from Mission of Mercy (for children with extreme medical needs) we were able to take Loma to a hospital in South Africa. 

She travled back and forth for months and when it came time to treat the tumor they ahd to remove half of her jaw and insert a metal plate to reform the jaw.  With nurse Jessie(the missionary)-she stayed at the hospital for 6 weeks with her mouth wired shut.  Frequent follow ups have yielded a positive response. 

Today, it is barely noticeable that anything is wrong.  We continue to take her yearly to South Africa with the prospect of another surgery as she grows older.

Loma was an extra mouth to feed at her home, and we watched her struggle to survive.  God put the needs of Loma on the heart of a local business lady with a husband and family.  This family from her same community saw her need and took her in as one of her own.

Lomasontfo is now receiving the love and support a child needs to thrive.  No longer looking for her next meal, and knowing the love of a family. 

She is now healthy in body, mind AND spirit.  From the start we watched an orphaned child used to being ignored and fending for her self, to a child who now knows the care and love from others.

Loma, a child who would eat everything in sight and hoard food, now knows that another meal will come again.  The Lord truly hears our cries and provides for our needs!  The Lord’s provision of His children shines bright through Loma’s life, and it is only the beginning.

Lomasontfo who was literally rescued out of hopelessness now has HOPE and a bright future!

(story by the queen of awesomeness- Nurse and Missionary “Jessie Bohannon”)

Dream Center

We are reallly excited to see construction continueing on "The Dream Center" here at Mbekelweni Swaziland. We will use this facility to conduct seminars, skills training, character workshops, introduce young people to career potentials and a church on Sundays... one more step in helping people go from Hurt to Hope!

I Am Not Forgotten House Mom

Thank you to missionaries Randy and Karen for overseeing the IANF(I am not forgotten) homes with Children’s cup in Swaziland… check out what GOD is doing there!

 

We would like to share with you about our newest “I Am Not Forgotten” home and our newest house Mom, Ntombie.

 

This new house was built this past spring and has been a safe haven for many children that needed care that they were not receiving at their homes and/or by their care givers. For some time, Ruth Dlamini was the “mother” to these beautiful little children, but she has since moved to South Africa at the Lord’s direction.

 

You may ask, where do you find a mother to “mother children who are not her own?” Only the Lord can do that!

 

As we prayed and asked the Lord for his direction on finding a new house Mom, we were also looking to see who the Lord had raised up to be a “mother” to these beautiful children. The answer was right in front of us at the Children’s Cup CarePoint where the children would eat Monday through Friday. Ntombie is one of the facilitators or teachers at the Mbeklweni CarePoint. She has been with Children’s Cup for years and has demonstrated her love for the Lord and her love for the children.                                     

 

When we asked her if she would consider being the house mom, her fist response was let me pray about it and seek the Lord. Ntombie or “Pretty Girl” which is her nickname, came back to us with a huge “YES!”. Ntombie knows the love of a mother. In conversations with her, she said her mother is one of her best friends. Even to this day if she has questions, she will call her mother and ask for insight and wisdom.

 

We are praising the Lord for his faithfulness and direction. We are thrilled that in the midst of change, our God is a personal loving Father who is intimately involved in every decision in the lives of his

children.  Psalm 23:1-3 is a beautiful expression of our Father’s love.  It reads, 

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”

 

Pictured above is Ntombie with Sibonelo, the youngest little girl,  who is full of smiles in her mommy’s arms. and Tjengisile, one of the oldest girls. After Ntombie’s first week as “mother” Tjengisile  said, “Can Ntombie be our mother forever?”

 

Please pray with us for Ntombie, that the Lord will give her strength, wisdom, and that the Lord will lead her and guide her in this new God given role as mother to these beautiful children!

 

Update from Mitch n Char - Education is key

One of our kids “Siyabonga” is 12.  He is in the 2^nd grade (pictured above with the big smile).  He wants to finish school and be a pastor

 

The other photo is of “Ncgamphalala” .  He is 9 and in the 3^rd grade.  He loves math and wants to be a teacher.  We asked if where he would be if he was not in school.  His response broke my heart. “I would be herding cows for the rest of my life”…

 

There has been so much that God is doing in Swaziland.  We are in awe that He is revealing himself in every detail-big and small.  We trust that He knows about and has the solution to what we are going to share with you and ask for your help with.

We try not to make outright appeals for folks to get involved, but we are seeing a pending desperate need arising. 

We cannot and will not comment on the government or political situation here in Swaziland.   With that, we are facing a catastrophe with the Orphaned and Vulnerable children here in Swaziland.  The government was covering their school fees (in some classes 75% of students fall into this category).

School fees bring education, education brings ideas, opportunities, and employment-and we know that anywhere in the world-that is one of the biggest keys to break the cycle of poverty.

Char and I have had a dream that we could help at least 200 kids with school fee, uniform and levy’s assistance.  Here is how that breaks down:

Primary school – around $125 for fees and $50 for uniform(schools vary, but this would be average)

Secondary school- anywhere from $300-$700 for fees alone. 

Average unemployment here is close to 50%, average wage for those working is around $140 per month(and that is considered fair-good pay). 

As you can see- people here can simply not afford to pay for their children’s education.  Most homes average 10 persons living in them(neighbors, aunties, grandmothers have all taken in neighborhood children that have lost parents)

Will you help us to help them?  Please prayerfully consider a special gift of any amount.  Go to www.childrenscup.org , select donate and our names.  ALL new funds we receive in the next 2 months will be used to help kids like Siya and Ngampa (nicknames) go to school in January(our school year runs january-november)

 

God bless you, we miss you and love you-and are SO happy that YOU are allowing us to serve here in Swaziland.

 

Mitch and Char  <><