Tuesday, March 29, 2016                              
Wednesday, March 30, 2016



On the Road Again --this time I'm heading back to Swaziland, Africa with three other ladies from our local Days for Girls Chapter (DFGs) from Snoqualmie, WA. Carol Hendricks, Jennifer Barthels and Jolene Jewett will be accompanying me.  They've all been multiple times.  This will be my second trip.  I'm anxious to return and this time in a different capacity.  The first time I went with a church mission team from Church On The Ridge in Snoqualmie  I was part of a group who was taking teaching materials to help instruct those interested in how to teach Sunday School.  This time our group will be going as a DFGs International team, taking 500+ sustainable, washable feminine hygiene kits for seven distributions.  We will be teaching the girls/women in mostly rural areas about women's health issues, menstruation, kit demonstration, kit care, safety, and hygiene. This trip will also be an exploring trip to determine if we can set up a micro enterprise which would enable a group of sewers to sew kit pieces and sell them either locally or to a larger organization who would then distribute the kits.  They would be given a reimbursement for their labor.

We are going to meet with two new groups - New Hope Center and The Luke Commission in addition to our friends in Ntfonjeni where we have visited before.  We are hoping to teach a few ladies in Ntfonjeni how to sew liners and possibly the shields. We are just trusting that God will open doors when he sees fit and help us to discern what to do through his leading.  When you trust in God it is so exciting to see what he will come up with because it is always so much bigger than we could have ever imagined! 

So the day has arrived and we had a 10 am flight on Emirates leaving SeaTac and heading to Dubai - a 14 hr flight! We had a 3 hour layover there before continuing our fight to Johannesburg, South Africa.  The second leg of our trip was 8 hrs.  We knew our flight was going to arrive around 10 pm on Wednesday so I didn't sleep on either flight.  My plan was to arrive and then sleep the night through.  Watched many movies however!

We made it with all 8 duffle bags filled with 500+kits plus a bag for each and carry-on luggage!! 

We had reservations at the Premier Hotel, close to the airport.  Musa, our favorite driver and friend, picked us up from the airport and dropped us at the hotel where he stayed as well. He will be with us for the next nine days.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Started our day off with a delicious breakfast buffet in the dining room of the hotel and then off to load up the car and head toward the South African border where we would cross into Swaziland.  The drive was around 4 hours with a stop for lunch along the way. Got Musa to pose for a shot after lunch.

Our destination was The New Hope Center (www.newhopeswaziland.com), an orphanage where the Head Mistress, Elizabeth Hynd, has been bringing up children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS and leading them to become future spiritual leaders in their country.  I don't have space to go into all they do and are because it is amazing and long but we were impressed with the set up, the organization and the behavior of the children.  She has written a book which pretty much describes her journey with this orphanage titled “A Little Child Shall Lead Them”.  Her father and grandfather were instrumental in bringing health care to Swaziland in the early 1900’s.  They became personal physicians to the King.  We were there to give a distribution to the high school girls which numbered around 18.  We were also asked to be part of their Shabbat on Friday night and present some information on respecting each other, remaining pure and STI's.  They've heard it before but coming from a different group of voices maybe makes an added impact in their lives.

 We were warmly greeted by Elizabeth and her crew plus 4-5 dogs!  Triplets on the right side of the picture. Adorable children here!

   
We were taken to our residence which was a colorful rondavel - a small round building with two bedrooms on either side of the building connected by a small kitchen area and table in the front and a bathroom in the back.  The entire Center sits on a hillside with a beautiful view of the valley.



                           

We were responsible for our meals so after getting settled in, Musa drove us to the Pik & Pak for groceries and water.  Since our distribution with the girls was tonight at 7 pm we didn't have much time to gather our food, stop by KFC for some chicken to eat in the car on the way home and get a shower before heading to the girls' residence building.  We made it back and gathered our resources and flip charts and headed to their building.

 At the last minute Carol and Jennifer suggested that I do the part of the distribution on menstruation!  Was excited to be part of the presentation for the first time. The girls were great listeners and very attentive.  After our presentation we broke up into four groups of girls with each of us leading a group.  We thought this would give us a little more personal time with 4-5 girls so if they wanted to ask questions they could.  My group had a young girl named Phoebe who was a swimmer, a ballet dancer and a writer I believe.  She had quite an outgoing personality.  Later in the evening when the girls popped corn for us and sang a song or two for us we found out that Phoebe and two other girls had been selected from Swaziland to attend an international student summit in the US in May.  One thing lead to another and when I asked where in the US, Elizabeth said she thought in MO.  Since I'm from MO I asked where in MO. I couldn't believe it when she said Warrensburg at Central MO campus.  That is where I graduated from many years ago.  What a small world this is!!

When we got back to our room we had a chance to discuss how things had gone.  I felt that the night had gone great and that they had been attentive, etc.  Carol and Jennifer seemed a little disappointed that there hadn't been the excitement that they normally see at the distributions. This was my first distribution so I didn't really have any specific expectations. Later we found out that Elizabeth pretty much supplies the girls with their feminine hygiene products and we guessed that most of these girls wouldn't be using the kits.  Even if only one of the girls used the kit however, it would have been worth the effort!  If it makes a difference in one person's life then that is what matters to us. We reminded ourselves about the verse we were memorizing while on the trip.  Hebrews 13:16 "And do not forget to do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."  It said to me that as long as we did our best and shared our knowledge with the girls God would be pleased.  We don't have to always have an excited audience.  We need to let him grow the seed and bring it to fruition and we just need to do the planting.

 Finally got to bed around 11 pm. I was wide awake at 2:30 am!  My cot had the mattress encased in plastic and every time I rolled over it made noise.  I was afraid it would wake up Jennifer!



Friday, April 1, 2016

Today is Jolene's birthday.  We surprised her upon waking up with some cards and gifts. Fun way to start the day! We had a community distribution today and this was going to be my first time talking about the kit components and kit care.  Carol and Jolene were going to a different location and doing the same thing.  We met Ngeti in the parking lot about 9:30 am.  She is on staff with New Hope and was planning on taking us to our locations so we could start around 10 am.  We ended up switching to Swazi time (which means, don’t get in a hurry, things are going to happen slowly) and stood around while Ngeti and Futhi gathered juice and Queens cake (muffins) for after our distribution.

      
After much waiting we were told that they preferred to have both groups together and we were waiting for the second group to arrive at the church location. They didn’t have transportation except their feet so we waited for them to come. We ended up having approximately 100 ladies/girls in attendance.  While we were waiting on the interpreter to arrive, Carol pulled a girl from the crowd who liked to sing and she started singing.  As she sang, others joined her.  We LOVE listening to our Swazi sisters sing!  It is one of my favorite parts of coming to Swaziland.

When the interpreter arrived Carol started her presentation and when she began showing the pieces in the kit and held up the 2 panties the crowd went wild.  Then I understood what her expectations were.  I understood why she was disappointed in the previous distribution's response. The crowd was excited about what they were about to receive.  When Jennifer asked for two volunteers to come up after her part of the presentation was finished, two came and did a great job of parroting back what they had just listened to.  This is the fun part of the presentation because obviously the girls are shy but there are always two who come forward and repeat what they have heard and seen Carol and Jennifer do.  That way we know they understand how to use and care for their new kits.  It breaks up some of the seriousness of our topic matter.

                       


Finished up with drink and food, took pictures of the groups and headed back to our residence to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our lunch. 

Our next step was to distribute to the New Hope Center Staff.  There were about 20 of them and they listened intently and then the two who volunteered to come up to the front and explain kit care and use were hilarious! Wish I had it on video.  Below is the group photo of the staff hamming it up!!

 

After the staff distribution we were graciously given a tour of the New Hope campus by Dancy. Due to the heat and humidity we returned to our lodging and showered before heading to the evening worship and family dinner where we had the opportunity to speak.  This was new for each of us and I was very nervous.  Upon our arrival we joined in with the kids who were on their feet singing worship songs accompanied by three singers, guitars and drums.  Just like home and they were singing songs we knew!  So fun! Side note about Swazi culture –boys separate themselves from the girls.  We saw this today and will probably see it again.  While singing the boys were on one side of the floor and the girls were on the other.  At dinner the tables were set up in a U pattern with the boys sitting on one side and the girls on the other.

Shabbat took place here

After 40 minutes of worship we sat down at the table and Elizabeth spoke for a few minutes.  Then two students came up and prayed and lit candles to represent Christ and Christ in us. She introduced us and Carol started speaking, I followed then Jolene and Jennifer closed.  I was shaking so badly I could hardly hold the microphone still but I got through it and thought we all did a good job.  Since this was their family night weekly service and meal together we were invited to join them.  Huge portions of food were plated for us and we enjoyed the food and their company and felt blessed to have been invited to be included in this activity.  Since we are leaving in the morning we said our goodbyes after dinner and headed back to our room.

We  were blessed by a visit from Elizabeth to our room a few minutes later who thanked us for coming and gave us some insight into Swazi culture and helped us understand a bit better about the Swaziland kingdom.  Swaziland is a kingdom with a King who sits on the throne.  He claims his nation is Christian but some westerners see it as interesting that he has 13 wives and maybe doesn’t comply with all that entails.  The Swazi people love their King and visitors do not say anything negative about him or his family.  She shared some insights with us that gave us a new perspective.  After her departure we did our final packing and went to bed.

 

Saturday, April 2, 2016

We were up early and passed by a wandering cow as we made our way to the parking lot to meet Musa.  In Swaziland cows roam freely during the fall and winter to find their own food.  They are taken back to pasture once spring and summer arrive. We frequently encountered  them, as well as goats, on the two lane roads as we drive from one location to another.

 

Several people saw us loading up and made their way to us for more final goodbyes. One of the things I love about Swaziland is the welcoming nature of the people.  They are generally very soft spoken but very inclusive with us and treat us like family.  It just makes you want to come back and see them again!

We stopped by House on Fire and had a delicious breakfast and did a little shopping along the way.  An example of how small this country is – Jolene saw a couple of young boys playing near our table since we were eating outside.  She struck up a conversation with them and realized that they were the sons of the gentleman who had worked for the John Deere tractor dealership where COTR had purchased a tractor a year ago for the Spirit and Truth Bible Church.  She saw their father with a group of men and women eating breakfast and went over to say hello. Carol then joined the hellos knowing several of the people in the group! With Carol in our group we seem to meet and connect with people everywhere we go!

We now headed to our next location, Ntfonjeni.  This is the village where Spirit and Truth Bible Church is located and where COTR has connections and their mission teams have partnered.  We had been invited to Pastor Bheki’s home to visit for a few minutes before checking into Maguga Lodge for the next few nights. Mpumie greeted us with Zoe and 3 month old Agape. 
                                                  

It was so great to see them again.  They had come to Snoqualmie last October. Their family was able to join us at the Lodge for a late dinner that we truly enjoyed. Pastor Bheki shared with us his concern for the growing problem of witchcraft.  Scary stuff!! Late to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day.  Church and then visitation at the Gule homestead.

 

Sunday, April 3, 2016

We enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast at the Lodge including the staple of this country, baked beans! We had an unfocused devotional time.  The only internet we can get is when we are in the restaurant and I want to check email when I can to see if I’ve heard from Carl or the kids.  We have a tendency to get our phones out when we are eating and sometimes are not focused on the task at hand.

Side note – there have not been electrical outlets in the bathrooms since we’ve been here.  No mirrors in the bathroom at New Hope Center and no outlets or lights over the bathroom mirror at Maguga Lodge.  I’m starting to think it must be building code. It becomes a challenge to blowdry hair without a mirror.  The conveniences we take for granted!

After breakfast we stopped by Boxers, a grocery store in Piggs Peak, to purchase food stuffs to take with us after church to the Gule Homestead. We arrived at church around 11:10 am. The service normally goes from 11-2 but today when we arrived they were still doing the 10-11 prayer service and continued until 11:40.  The actual service began then and lasted the remainder of the time with several students from the University of Swaziland preaching.  Their message was good but the more into it they got the louder it became and the interpreter would start his part before the young preacher finished his sentence.  It became very loud and confusing. The students had been at the church over the weekend to do some outreach in the community and left on a bus after the service to return to school. 

After church was over it was a very long time before we left for the Gule Homestead.  I enjoyed speaking with several people who remembered me from when I was here in June of 2014.  I enjoyed speaking with some of the children.  They are so soft spoken that I had to lean in to hear what they were asking!

The other three ladies on our team have made great friendships with many of the church people and even email and talk to them on What’s App so they had catching up to do.

The Gule Homestead is a group of homes where Pastor Bheki’s grandmother lives with her sister and other family members.  Family members live in separate small houses but may have a common cooking area.

Carol, Jennifer and Jolene had been to see them before but this was my first time.  We were invited into a small room with a bed and no other furniture.  We sat on the floor and Pastor Bheki’s Gogo sat on her bed. 

We had a great conversation with Pastor Bheki interpreting. Another lady was there who spoke about the impact Carol had on her the first time they met.  Carol had just given her a hug but it was a low time in her life and things weren’t going well for her and that hug had meant the world to her. When Jennifer met her in June of 2014 she had told this lady that Jesus loved her! Those three words changed her life.  Carol had been touched before we got there for our visit and felt the Holy Spirit prompting her to give this lady a monetary gift and after the testimony, Carol handed her an envelope which made her so happy and she ran outside to share the gift with her daughter.  We felt honored that they would allow us to visit them but they said there were no words to describe how they felt about why someone from across the ocean would want to come visit them and spend time with them.  Funny how we both felt the same way but from different perspectives! A mutual admiration society!!

                                Loved this photo of Pastor Bheki and Mpumie!  So cute.

Took pictures of everyone outside and departed to head back to our rooms.  A great friend who we are close to joined us for dinner at Maguga Lodge – Tuilani.  Had a great visit with him.

Monday, April 4, 2016

This is the day I’ve been looking forward to since we arrived! Today we went to Spirit and Truth Bible Church to teach community ladies how to sew the liners for the kits.  Our plan was to begin at 10 am but in Swaziland things don’t always happen in our time.  Most of these people have no transportation so may walk long distances while carrying their machines. Sometimes a friend who has a pick up will pick up several but they wait until that happens. 

                                

We were late getting to the church because we stopped by a phone place to purchase more phone time.  We arrived around 10:20 am and only two people had arrived. One lady came carrying her machine on her head!!  Finally got settled and machines plugged in around 11:30 am.  I gave an explanation of the material and how to measure and tear the fabric in strips.  Then proceeded to put them in groups of two to start the process.  We had three people bring their sergers that are needed for the first part of making the liners. After working for a few minutes I noticed that the quality wasn’t quite where it needed to be and tried to get the ladies to change their serger stitch but somewhere it was lost in the translation because it didn’t happen.  Later I noticed that their 9” squares had become 10.5” squares so they lost some of the footage of material that we had to trim off making them correct sizes.  I became frustrated knowing these were not DFGs standards and wouldn’t be accepted.  I didn’t want them to become frustrated and give up so we talked about these liners being the practice ones and they would only get better as we moved forward!  Mpumie will be in charge of quality control on future liners and shields so I was anxious for them to know what the expectations were.  I left 14 completed liners with them that I brought for them as examples so hopefully as they continue to sew they will use those as their measure.

We took a lunch break and thought it would be fun to treat these ladies to a typical American lunch.  so we made them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, apple and cookies!  Their reaction was not expected.  They ate the sandwiches but then asked if this is all we ate for lunch.  Didn't we have porridge?  I think they probably all had to go home and eat more to fill their tummies!

At the end of the day I gave a stack of liners that needed to be serged around the edges to Faith who owns a sewing shop and has an industrial serger.  I’m praying that they will be just what the group needs!

 

Many of the ladies who sew also have children and since you don't generally leave your children with someone else they come with you.  There is a mattress in the back of the church on the floor where the kids take a nap or lay down when they are tired.  Jolene's assignment was to take care of Agape while Mpumie was sewing.  It was a difficult task but someone had to do it!!

                               Around 4 pm we were tired and hot and ready to go home and still smiling!.

It had poured rain all day and was starting to clear off a bit. A few ladies waited for their ride home.

We headed to the Casino for dinner and wifi about 4:35 pm.  Carol was hoping to get enough power to download a few pictures to the DFGs blog that she has been trying to send out.  The buffet we tried wasn’t great and after three pictures downloaded we headed back to Maguga Lodge to sleep.  My stomach was upset!

 

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

We had a change of plans last night in our distributions today.  One of the high school groups wanted to go early this morning instead of this afternoon so we were up early – 5:30 am! Left the lodge by 6:15 for a 7:30 am distribution at Ntfonjeni HS. We ended up having one large group of around 100 girls.  I spoke about the menstruation part while Carol did her thing with the kits and safety and Jennifer spoke about hygiene and was the model for the panty shield demonstration. The girls get such a kick out of watching that part and we always get volunteers to come up and demonstrate what they’ve just seen.  Lots of laughter!

We drove on to Mswati High School where we spoke to 55 girls. Got them to sing while waiting for all of them to arrive.  Loved hearing them sing!  We had a great response from this group.

Then we were off to the primary school where we spoke to another 50 younger girls.  This group was very good and answered all my questions to them about puberty. They were a very fun group.

                 Three distributions down and we are ready to head on to our next project - a late lunch!

We finished with the primary girls early and headed for the Peak Craft Center to look for gifts and have lunch.  Lunch was probably the best meal we’ve had so far.  Virginia was the owner and remembered Carol from previous trips.  Peppered steak pot pie with fries!  We’ve had very few vegetables so far because we have to be cautious of how they’ve been washed.  Musa always asks for us and then tells us not to eat the salad! Carbs, carbs and more carbs!! The gifts I was looking for were not being sold at this time and I was a bit disappointed but will look at another store during our journey. Got back to the Lodge and had a chance to rest a little while before dinner.  My stomach was still a little queasy and decided to skip dinner for a milk shake. Will see how it all settles tonight.

The plan is to teach shields tomorrow to the Ntfonjeni ladies but I’ve very leary of starting a new piece of the kit when the quality of the liners wasn’t up to par.  No sense in adding more to their plate.  God, please give me the right words to clearly show them how to do this!

 

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Woke up at 5 am again this morning but waited until Jolene awakened before getting up.  Was at breakfast by 7:10 am so we could get on wifi to see if I’d received any messages.  One from Brad!! Wrote to all three kids and by 8 am decided to try and Face Time Brad.  Italy is on the same time as Swaziland!  Silvia answered and it was wonderful to hear her voice and see her.  Brad talked briefly but our connection became so sketchy that they couldn’t hear me so we closed her down.  Fun while it lasted.  Left the Lodge by 9 am to get to the church by 10 am. 

No one was there when we arrived so we waited until Mpumie arrived with the key to get in and get set up. After much thought I decided not to proceed with the shields but stay with the liners.  For some reason Carol had a template for the T&T liners (turn and topstitch) that don’t need to be sergered.  We salvaged many of the liners from Monday and made them into T&Ts.  Thank you Jesus!!  Faith was disappointed that we weren’t doing shields and Carol finally gave her 27 to take home with a set of instructions.  She was to bring them to Mpumie for a QC check.  Hopefully that will go well. Since there were only four ladies who showed up for today’s lesson, we finished fairly early and decided to head back to Virginia’s Place for dinner since we enjoyed it so much yesterday

She had a house or two that she rented out and took us in her car to look at it for future consideration of housing when we return.  All of us pretty much decided it was a little too rustic for our tastes and will check it off of our list for next time.

After dinner we realized we hadn’t gone by Make Simelane’s shop to pick up a skirt that she had made me between Monday and today.  She is a member of Spirit and Truth Bible Church and is a seamstress.  Every time we come to Swaziland she makes someone on the team dresses and skirts. Because I’ve never received one she decided to make me something this time!  We had to drive back toward the church area to pick it up but I was so glad we did.  She would have been so disappointed in us if we hadn’t come by.  She made me a beautiful blue and white Swazi skirt.  She made Jennifer a dress with a matching shirt for Greg!  She made Carol a bright orange skirt and Jolene had insisted that she not make her anything because she had clothes at home she had made for her that needed to be altered and she would bring them on her next trip. Again, these people are so gracious and loving toward us.

Headed back toward the Lodge after stopping to purchase more phone time and had a chance to rest a bit before heading to the Lodge restaurant for dessert!  Our favorite Apple Crumble with ice cream.  So good and they make it after you order it so it takes 45 minutes before it is served! Back to the room and to bed.  Have to be up by 6 am for an early departure.

 

Thursday, April 7, 2016

We left Maguga Lodge this morning and headed to Manzini.  We stopped by a small market place and I picked up a fun skirt! Then we stopped by the Swiss Candle shopping area where I bought a couple of things for my precious grandchildren!  I had a Deluxe Swazi Beef Burger and chips for lunch. Didn’t taste like beef???  

Musa volunteers at a CarePoint called Children’s Cup and was anxious for us to see it.  We love seeing as much as we can and agreed to go.  It was rainy and very cool today and we spoke with Jenny and Mona who were the primary responsible ones for the preschool here.  Children's cups line the step on the back porch of the pre-school with toothbrushes and toothpaste!

According to Adventures in Missions “a Care Point serves as a gathering place for the children in a given community.  Each Care Point varies in what it offers for the children, but basic reason for existence is food.  As long as there is food to be given out the children will gather.  The cooking and care giving is usually done by Gogo’s (grandmothers).  Some of the Care Points offer informal education. Some of the Care Points attempt agricultural projects, but these are complicated by the fact that the majority of the locations don’t have a water source nearby.  A few of the Care Points have very motivated “caregivers” who do their best to also provide social interaction for the children in the form of games and songs.  The number of children serviced by each Care Point varies between 30-125.  Children ages 2 and up will walk anywhere from 5-90 minutes to come to a Care Point and eat.”

We continued on to The Luke Commission commonly called TLC. Upon arriving we said goodbye to Musa as he headed to the airport to pick up our next team member for the duration of our stay in Swaziland, Libby Daghlian.  She is the Global Alliance Director with DFGs International who lives in Uganda.  We had the chance to meet her first in Issaquah while she was in the US for a training session earlier this year. She is planning to be our spokesperson when it comes to expertise in Micro Enterprises and helping figure out what players need to be involved from the International level to help secure financing. We felt so fortunate to have her with us. Upon arrival we met Brian who we had been skyping with us while still at home.  Nice to put a face to a name. We also met his wife Missy who was in charge of our housing, food, etc. Our accommodations are in homes located on a nearby golf course.  We are in two separate homes however and they are a drive away from each other. If we can avoid this on our next trip it would be beneficial.  It split us up in a way that causes fewer meals together, no devotion time together and no time after work hours for chatting to update what we had done or seen during the day.  Teams need to stay together if at all possible!! I completely understand however that this was the accommodations that they were able to provide for us at the time and we were most grateful for the luxury of them.  We briefly got to meet Echo, the founder and CEO of TLC and will get to spend more time with her on Saturday.

Brian led us through a 2 hr orientation of what was expected from us and what we could expect from TLC during our stay.  Each room had a small refrigerator and our breakfast was already in our rooms.  Yogurt, milk, fruit, cereal, and coffee.  They will deliver our evening meal to us and we could have them do our laundry as well if we had any.  They will pick us up each morning and bring us to the Miracle Campus and will take us home in the evening.  He talked to us about the Swazi people and how we needed to treat them – no favorites! He talked about their culture and how TLC fit into it.  I need to stop at this point and explain what TLC is all about.

     "The Luke Commission has come "into its own" in Swaziland, recognized as a leading mobile medical team and openly appreciated by both the governments of the US and the Kingdom of Swaziland.
     Operating since 2005 under the direction of Dr. Harry and Echo (PAC) VanderWal, the Luke Commission (TLC) takes free health care and hope to the most isolated and underserved populations, in partnership with the Swazi people and the Ministry of Health.
     Swazis who live in remote areas are the poor, the elderly, the children and the ill.  Often those who are sickest return to their rural homesteads to seek final care from relatives.
     This is where TLC intercedes.  Mobile hospital outreach sites are set up in outermost parts of this small country, whose population is fighting for its very existence.  HIV/AIDS has taken the  lives of countless Swazis and left one-fifth of the children as orphans.  Delaying orphanhood.  That has become one of the main aims. TLC.
     Patients are tested, counseled and linked to treatment for HIV/AIDS.  Those suspected of having TB are x-rayed and started on medications.
     Voluntary medical male circumcisions are performed in an on-site 11 bed operating room.  The Luke Commission circumcises more men and boys on average in one day than all the rest of Swaziland health care facilities combined.  Studies show the HIV transmission rate is cut by 60% in circumcised males.  More and more evidence is indicating that the lack of male circumcision is one of the primary reasons the HIV prevalence rate is so high.
     Nurses and counselors travel back to the rural communities to check newly-circumcised men and boys to make sure they are healing properly, to answer questions, and to provide HIV prevention education.
     At the mobile hospital sites, school children are treated for skin and intestinal problems.  The young people are fitted with new shoes.  Extensive edutainment is offered to all the children.
     Handicapped persona are analyzed by TLC medical personnel and given bush wheelchairs, made by Personal Energy Transportation ministry, or traditional-type wheelchairs from Free Wheelchair Mission.  The PET and FWM wheelchairs are assembled by TLC staff on-site to fit the persons receiving them.
     Follow-up treatment for the patients with HIV, chronic disease, complex medical cases, and various cancers is offered.  Those with poor eyesight receive vision services and glasses if needed.  TLC also offers a ophthalmic surgical program primarily focusing on removal of cataracts.
     Pack4ets of medications are distributed by the thousands everyday, each prescribed by a doctor with instructions on usage in SiSwati.
     Psychosocial and grief counseling is available to all patients.
     Faith based activities (prayer and scripture booklets) are available if the patient desires.  The provision of care is not dependent on participation.  However, we are respectful of the Swazi belief structure in which the physical and spiritual are intertwined.
     The Luke Commission team of nearly 100 treated more than 61,000 patients in 2015.  Rural communities, with little or no health care services, willingly embrace TLC's compassionate approach.  The former deputy prime minister of Swaziland and members of the US embassy in Swaziland and the US government have publicly declared the effectiveness and dedication of The Luke Commission and given overwhelming support to the comprehensive, compassionate platform.  In February, 2013, supports in the US and Canada donated funds to purchase 30 acres of prime land in Swaziland aptly named the Miracle Campus.  TLC's headquarters are now in Sidvokodvo."

As we were finishing our orientation, Musa arrived with Libby.  We hugged all around and took off for our house assignment.  Jolene and I were together and Carol, Jennifer and Libby were together.  We were able to spend the first evening together with all five of us enjoying a wonderful chicken salad dinner together with homemade rolls!  Yum.. When we were finished we called Brian and he picked us up to take us back to our place.  To bed because we have a very early wake up call at 4 am in the morning! 


Friday, April 8, 2016 

Jolene and I were up at 4:15 am and had a quick breakfast of cereal, yogurt and bread.  We prayed together while waiting for our ride to the Miracle Campus.  We arrived while the entire group had already assembled in a large circle and were reading scripture and praying before our departure.  We all loaded up in the two 22 passenger buses and were on our way toward Ntfonjeni area, about a 2 hour ride.  We were pretty quiet as we traveled, looking out the window as we watched others begin their day.  We saw many school children walking on the highway to school.  People here walk everywhere.  Finally we turned off the highway and headed down a very long, red dirt road full of hills, rutted with deep ruts and wondering how these vehicles manage on rain slickened roads.  We eventually arrived at Heresform School.  The trailers and truck begin to unload and as bees around a hive, everyone began to take things off the truck with instructions about the room number to take them.  Someone in the group had already made the rounds, looking at each of the classrooms vacated by students for the day, in order for this medical clinic to take over and turn them into an eye exam room, a registration room, a prayer and counseling room, an surgery room for male circumcisions, a blood draw room, a pre-op and post-op room, until all of the spaces were completed and filled with the correct boxes of supplies.

 

 

Early in the day people start gathering and lining up to get in the registration line.  This is Room 1 and from there they are directed to their next location.

Children gather in huge groups.  The boys listen to a recruiter about getting a circumcision and if they volunteer then parents are called for permission and the long procedure begins.

 

We were assigned to go to the trailer which contained hundreds of pairs of shoes.  It was our job today to hand out each child coming through our line (grades 1-7) a pair of shoes.  A very generous shoe company in the US donated shoes for distribution in Swaziland and forbids any mention of their name in pictures or on social media but you may know who they are!  There happened to be about 8 students with Teen Ministries there today as well who helped us.  Two people stationed themselves in the shoe trailer while the rest of us stationed ourselves at the trailer's ramp bottom and waited for the line of children to come.  They started at another location being measured for their shoe size which was written on their wrist in marker and then formed a line at our station.  We yelled out to the people in the trailer what size shoe we needed and they threw us the correct size.  The child tried it on for size and either it fit or we threw back the incorrect size and yelled out another size.  This went on until all of the children were served which was around 5 pm.  We maybe served 600 boys and girls.



At noon we took a break and headed to Room 2 where we'd left our backpacks.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were made before we left the MC by staff in the kitchen and now tasted so good.  There were bins of chips, cookies and apples as well as coolers of water where we filled our water bottles.  Brian met us and wanted to take us on a tour of each classroom  This is such an amazing organization and it is difficult to describe how it all fits together so smoothly.  Everyone has a job to do and does it.  They teach volunteers to do whatever job is needed and trust that they will fill it.  It almost took our breath away when Brian took us into the surgery room.  There we had to suit up in scrubs, footies, mask and head covering before entering the surgery area but once there we saw six beds each separated with screens.  Six boys were laid out in varying stages of readiness to be circumcised.  The one female Swazi surgeon would go to the first boy and do the surgery and start the sutures which were finished up by a nurse while the doctor changed gloves and moved to the next boy in line.  One of the nurse told us that there were 200 steps to completing this surgery.  The boys are recruited at the beginning of the day by staff and those who volunteer have to get permission from a parent so they are contacted.  There is a pre-op room where they go to get vitals taken, explanation again of what is going to happen and the benefits. Then the boy is taken to surgery when a spot opens up.  After surgery, they go to the post-op room where they are watched and given instructions for care.  A nurse follows up in 2 days and 7 days.  All of the boys are driven home by a driver from TLC.  They don't walk home.  Today they completed 55 circumcisions!  This country has been and continues to be devastated by HIV/AIDS. The HIV transmission rate is cut by 60% in males that are circumcised.  It is not typical to have newborn males circumcised.  47% of females between the ages of 18-50 are infected with HIV/AIDS.

                    Carol, Libby, Jennifer, Jolene and Pat at the end of the day  - tired but happy!

Later in the afternoon we sate in the break room and spoke at some length with Jan, Echo's mother who lives here and works with TLC.  She was telling us about the miracles that are happening every day on the Miracle Campus.  Things happen at each Outreach M, W, F.  Two teams are now being formed which will allow one group to stay and restock while the other group is out in the field.  Next day they will switch.  We got up at 4:15 am leaving the MC at 5:50 am and returned at 9:15 pm.  They told us that today was an early return day! They don't leave the Outreach until every person has been served so they may stay until midnight not arriving back to base until 2-4 am!!  Long days of serving.  These folks have been called to do this.  These people have to be so committed to doing this and making this their life.  There are many folks here internationally that have committed to being here for 1-2 years.  Some of the nurses we spoke with have been here 3-5 years and love it.  There are also many Swazis making up the 120 member staff team.  Many live on Campus throughout the week and return to their village on the weekends.   Just amazing!!
It has been a long day - so I'm going to bed!  It's 10:30 pm

 

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Up early at 6 am for a 7:30 am pick up.  Brian was right on time.  After picking up Jennifer, Carol and Libby we headed to the Miracle Campus.  Staff was completing their job of setting up chairs for the staff in preparation for the DFGs distribution today which Libby presented.  As soon as everyone was seated, the Swazis stood up and started singing - men on one side of the isle and women on the other.  After 15 minutes of singing, Brian came up and introduced Echo.  She started by saying she was still on the fence about this project (DFGs) and under no circumstances were any of them to sell the kits they were about to receive.  They were to use them or give them away to someone who could use them.  Libby then got up and had each of us introduced ourselves.  She proceeded with the distribution, talking about DFGs, reproduction systems and anatomy of men and women. She did such a great job.

 

Echo spoke again afterwards and was very strong in her message to the men that they were the head of their homestead and it was their responsibility to bring changes there.  One of the men had said the women shouldn't be bathing in the river during their periods and that is when she said it was there business to make a safe place in their homestead for that to be taken are of away from their other water sources.  In Swaziland the men are in control of decision making and she was putting this responsibility back on them.  The thought went through my mind about how much respect they must have for this educated white woman to listen to her.  The group seemed very happy with their kits.  One of the men came up to me and asked where he could get more.  He knew of others who needed them.  After getting their picture as a group we gathered to debrief about the distribution. 

 

Soon we met with Brian and Echo again.  Now that they had seen our presentation and had a better idea of what we were about and we had been on two Outreach days and had a clearer understanding of what they were about,  it was time to get to the reason of our visit --would they be willing to distribute kits and deliver the education piece that DFGs offers.  It was affirmative!  Echo was willing to do the education piece and distribute but they didn't have the finances to purchase the number of kits they needed.  30,000-60,000!!  Libby stepped up in the conversation and said that would be DFGs job to find the needed financing.  Echo runs her business at TLC by making sure everyone has the tools they need before doing their jobs.  In this case she wanted to make sure enough kits were in the warehouse before they started handing any out.  What they do for one they have to be able to do for all, so the kits have to be in-house before they will start.  We talked about several options including purchasing the 30,000 kits from Zuberi in New York who make the kits and then we would get sewers in place to continue to replace the kits as needed.  If Leah from DFGs can find yearly corporate sponsors that would be amazing and help us get this project put in place.  We have months to go to finalize but we all felt like the ball was starting to roll.  We agree to look at 2017 for the start.

After our meeting Brian took us on a tour of the Miracle Campus in a golf cart.  Great way to get around this 30 acre property.

 

 

He also showed us the additional 70 acres they had acquired that was a beautiful piece of farmland running next to the river that they would use for crops.  Makes more jobs and allows food to be used for their consumption.  He showed us the warehouses that hold a mechanic shop to repair and maintain their vehicles, a wood shop that allows them to make many of their tables and shelves upon shelves for holding all of their medical supplies, wheelchairs and other necessary supplies.

 

The main warehouse building houses offices, space for meetings and a beautiful kitchen where they have a chef.  He and his team make meals ever day that they deliver to each team member's residence.  After long days they don't want their team members to have to prepare meals when they return from an Outreach so now they find their meals have been delivered when they return home.  They also have housecleaning service and laundry service taken care of for them.  It is just amazing how all the pieces of this community work together.

 

 

 

 

After returning from the tour we had dinner with Julie Anderson from Timbali Crafts (www.timbalicrafts.org)  Carol has known Julie for several years and we invited her to visit with us about having her 104 sewing ladies sew for us and make liners, shields, and bags.  These ladies feed about 2500 children a day.  That means hauling water and wood and cooking over a fire.  They do this despite hardship in their own lives.  Many are widowed or have been abandoned and are caring for up to 10 children: some are single others and some are grandmothers (Gogos) taking care of grandchildren and many care for orphans not having any parents.  Julie felt this was something that her ladies would want to do .  We gave her several kits and plan on doing a distribution with them when we return in the fall.  We will also plan on sewing days with them to teach them how to sew the kits.  We were all so excited and the Lord keeps opening doors!  Headed home after the meeting.  Church is tomorrow at Potter's Wheel and the Sunday here is a day of rest!  Staff stay home and rest!!

 

Sunday, April 10, 2016

 

The nurses, Rebecca and Tiffany, picked us up today at 8 am for church.  We headed to Potter's Wheel which was abut 45 minutes away.  We had a nice chat along the way and arrived at church at 8:50 for the 9 am service.  The church was about the size of Church on the Ridge and it was full.  We were all surprised to see Dr. Harry on stage singing with the Worship team, while Echo was playing the keyboard, one of their triplets was playing the drums and Jan was playing the electric string base!  The Worship team was very energetic and full of joy.  They lead us for about 40 minutes before a guest pastor from the UK spoke.  Pastor Paul Hudson was funny and had a great message.  Services here in Swaziland that I've seen last a very long time!!  What a joy it was to see Musa after church and visit with him for a few minutes before he caught a bus to go home.

The nurses took us to a Lodge/Restaurant down the lane from the Silver Shop.  It was probably the best meal we've had to date.  It was served hot and the presentation was delightful.  Chicken breasts with caramelized onions over mashed potatoes and salad.

 

 



 

A nice surprise when we arrived was seeing Stan and Sue Drew, missionaries to Swaziland that I had met once at COTR and that Carol knew much better.  They were visiting with two ladies that we were introduced to.  One had been here for 18 months from Texas and we found out on their way out of the restaurant that she was a sewing teacher! Another connection for possibly making components of our kits.  God just keeps opening doors for us.  We are so grateful.  Rebecca and Tiffany shared with us their story about arriving to TLC and we felt blessed and inspired by their stories.  You can just see God's hand in everything that surrounded them.

Libby was interested in stopping at Timbali Crafts on the way home.  Rebecca told us that there was a bin of Timbali Crafts at the MC. So we stopped by there before going back to the house.  We had a chance to look at many crafts and select what we wanted to purchase.  I chose some placemats.  These ladies sew an assortment of things.  Purses, cosmetic bags, computer covers, headbands, aprons, American doll clothes, market bags, etc.  Something for everyone.

 

Libby, Jennifer, Pat and Carol chilling at the warehouse before heading home.

                   

Temps had warmed up considerably and we all felt like a cold drink so Rebecca dropped us off at the Golf Course Club House and instead of Cokes we ended up with dessert overlooking the river and pool outside.

After chatting awhile we decided to head back to our respective houses and walked the cobblestoned street.  Since it was sticky out and know we have another early morning wake up call because we are going on another Outreach tomorrow, we showered and laid clothes out for the morning.

 

Monday, April 11, 2016

Up again today at 4 am for our 5 am pick up.  Had time to eat some yogurt, cereal and bread with jam before the car arrived.  For some reason our driver didn’t pick us up until 5:40 am and Jolene and I were getting a little concerned.  By the time we arrived to the MC the group was already boarding the busses.  Our location this time was in Luve and it was just about 1 ½ hours away, very near the Friday location.  This allows the nurses to check the boys’ circumcisions from last Friday.  After unloading we were assigned (Jolene and I) to do registration for girls, age 5-10.  They had been given an eye exam and their reward for that was receiving a pink stuffed bear.  They came to us after their screening and we entered a lot of information into an ipad.  Then we took a photo of them full length and then a close up face shot.  Later we were told that one of the pictures would go to their sponsor family.  I was leary about this assignment because I’m not the most tech savvy person and was afraid it would take me forever to figure out the different screens for entering all of this information and then downloading each photo separately.  After four entries I was feeling pretty good about it and loved working with the children.

After doing this for an hour or so, Jennifer came out of the room she was working in and asked me to take her place so she could go to the restroom and get some lunch.  I moved to her place and my new job was to take registration info for patients getting their blood drawn. Swazi names are sometimes long and not phonetic so I had some interesting names to figure out but all of those I served were gracious and spelled out those names I had trouble with.  I worked with Amanda, Echo’s sister-in-law, who drew the blood.  I would hold the first vial after it was full and gently rotate the vial while she was drawing the second one.  She would then take it to the blood machine to have it tested to determine whether or not this person had HIV or diabetes.  One nurse in the room was also doing birth control implants for those women seeking it.  I had never heard of it but it is a matchstick-sized rod that is inserted in the upper arm and lasts up to three years!  I spent the rest of the afternoon with Amanda and really enjoyed this job. 

Around 4 pm I took off for a break – water and snacks! The room had become very warm and I just needed to get away for a few minutes and our line of people had stopped. The rest of our team was serving in different capacities.  Jolene was still inputting info for the girls and then boys after their eye screening.  Carol was serving in the Male Circumcision surgery room until she felt like she no longer wanted to continue and then she joined Jennifer and Libby at the shoe give away trailer. That is where I found them after my break.  After all the shoes were given out and we had no more customers we headed back to Room 2.  We just chatted and waited for the day to end for the majority of patients.  It was getting dark and we just waited until we were told that it was okay to start boarding the bus. It has been a long day but such a fulfilling one. Left the school around 8 pm and returned back to campus around 10 pm.

Jolene and I found a delicious dinner at our residence of crepes, ground beef mixture with carrots and onions, sliced tomatoes, greens, cucumbers and creamed spinach.  It was very late dinner for me but so tasty.  Can’t believe this is our last night in Swaziland!

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Today we started the long journey home. Our pick up time was 6:30 am in order to get us to Mbabane to meet our shuttle by 8 am.  Sky World Transportation took us to Johannesburg stopping for gas around 10 am and arriving at the airport at noon.  Our flight didn’t leave until 10:20 pm and Emirates wouldn’t let us check our bags until 3 hours before our flight left so we found carts to haul our luggage around the airport for 9 hours. 

Our first order of business was lunch and we had a nice meal before pushing our carts around to find stores that looked interesting to shop in.  After a quick supper around 7:30 pm we headed to check in.  All of us got boarding passes for both legs of our flight except Carol.  She would have to get her Dubai to Seattle pass after landing in Dubai with our 1 hour layover time.  It all worked out and we were at our boarding gate with time to spare.  Most of us were looking forward to coming home.  I think Jolene left her heart in Swaziland again and would have preferred to stay on at TLC.  I hope that she will consider that desire of her heart and listen to what the Lord is calling her to do and be
obedient to it if that is what he is telling her.

I wanted to include a few of the precious faces of the next generation of Swazi people.  These children are counting on the HIV/AIDS epidemic to be brought under control so their lives can be a new normal.  So many are without parents and living either with their Gogo or possibly other family members and sometimes living on their own.  As shy as they can be they still will surround you and love to be hugged! What a privilege to be here.

 

The home coming from a trip like this is very interesting.  You can't put into words what you've just experienced and for the most part others want to know how your trip went but really don't want to know all the details.  It is difficult to share with others how and why your life has changed because of a trip like this.  All of the little things that happened where you know God had his hand in it just causes you to pause.  We prayed for his will to be done on this trip.  I can look back now and see how big he was in the connections he caused to happen, the detail to his plan that he allowed us to see, the grace and forgiveness that abounded in our team, the Swazi people who enveloped us with love, joy and warmth and welcomed us.  Do they love so easily because they have so little that gets in the way? What can I learn from them? 

It is also a challenge when you take four women who are completely different on a two week trip together.  We had to live with each other, pray with each other, forgive each other, love each other and put up with each other on occasion.  We learned new things about each person and what makes them tick.  I learned who likes to sing.  I learned who likes Coke and French fries.  I learned who likes to shop.  I learned who is uncomfortable about getting up in front of a group to speak.  I learned about who loves working with children more than adults.  I learned the importance of keeping the team together and what good leadership should look like.  I learned who is strong in building connections with other people.  I learned who are the rule followers and who like to break the rules.  I learned who is afraid of bugs and cows!  I learned that I can be stretched to speak in front of groups about bodily functions but also about what the God of the Universe's plan is for keeping pure before marriage and the implications of not doing so especially in Swaziland.  I learned that the resources God has blessed me with are to be used in the service of others.  I was reminded daily that God blessed me with parents who love the Lord and have shown me through my life what servanthood looks like.  Thanks be to God who brought us home safely, who stretched each of us, who gave us so much reason to trust in him and who loved us through it all!!