Buyi

Every Thursday we work at the Life care centre. Each week looks different, but each day spent with the staff and families challenges me to seek the Lord and walk in his grace. The families and individuals we've met over the past few weeks have really touched me, especially Buyi. 

Ten mins after we arrived at the center a woman walked into the gate really upset. The three of us were the only staff at the centre, because there was a funeral that morning. This woman was so upset. She was crying so hard, she couldn't catch her breath. We invited her to sit down and talk to us, and to see if we could help her. She explained to us that earlier in the morning she came back from walking her kids to school to find all of her belongings in her front yard. Her entire house was cleared by painters and land workers, because the owner of the house has decided to move back in. She and her three kids have been there for 12 years, and she was kicked out with no warning. The owner didn't tell her anything about it, he just expected her to leave. All of her stuff was tossed out on the ground and she was told to never come back. She has three kids, and no where to go. She is completely on her own. Two of the kids are her boys, but the little girl is her sisters daughter. Her sister passed away a few years ago, and she has been caring for her little girl since. Her sister was her last family member in the area. The more she explained things the harder it got to keep from crying. So, the three of us just cried with her, and listen to her. It was so hard. We didn't know what we could do to help. We had to wait for Penny and Prince to get back to the centre before we could do anything for her. It was only our third time there, so we had no idea what to do. Once they got back they called her, and helped her get in contact with the right people, and helped her every way they could. 

I don't know how much help we were, but I am thankful that we were there to listen to her and care for her in a time where she felt so alone. We just listened to her, and prayed with her. We sat with her and agreed with her that what was happening to her wasn't right. Eventually she had to leave and pick her kids up from school, but when she left she seemed to feel better. As I walked her to the gate, she said that we were the first people to sit with her and just listen to her heart. It seemed like she was satisfied with someone simply hearing her out.  She gave me a huge hug, and I cried as she left. It was so hard to know what to do. I wish I could have just fixed the problem, but it was out of my control. I didn't have the right answers and I didn't know exactly what to do, but I did my best to love her the every way I knew how. I sat with her and cried with her. I listened to her and agreed with her that this isn't the way God intended life to be. The only thing I had to offer her seemed so small, but after she left I knew God used our time together. The only thing I could give her was what God offers me daily... his love and his attention. 

Please pray for Buyi and her family. I have not seen her since our meeting that one morning, but I am confident that we were see her again in our time at the center. I hope to develop a relationship with her and her children. 

Some new pics from a recent game ride...

I plan on writing more about this amazing weekend I had staying with the Slabbert family on the Nambiti game reserve. It was an incredible weekend, and I can't wait to share all my stories with you. We went on three game rides in our time, and we were really blessed to see the amazing animals we did. Check out some photos we got from the weekend! 

A little closer look... 

Hippo yawning... So awesome
It was right next to us! 
It is so rare to see Cheetahs and we saw 3! 
Check out the colors! 

Hippos! The baby is so cute :)

A beautiful sound...

I wanted to share a short video clip of some girls who visit the Ukukhanya Life Care Center (ULCC) everyday to practice their music. There beautiful voices really touched me, and I had to share this with all of you. 

Please pray for these girls and the relationships we have developed with them. We hope to spend quality time with them and support them in every way possible. 

Interview with Penny

I loved what Erika from Beam Africa shared with our team in an interview James did with her, so I decided to do something similar with Penny and Prince at Ukukhanya. The Lord has creatively brought the Ukukhanya team together. Their amazing story is encouraging and motivating. The responses to the questions are Penny's. There are also fairly specific prayer requests at the end of the interview. I hope this helps you learn more about the people we have fallen in love with over the past few weeks! Enjoy...

1. How did Ukukhanya Start?

I have done AIDS work in America since my husband passed in 1993 from AIDS.  I moved to Kansas and opened a group home called “Someplace Else.” We housed 5 people at a time.  During the 90's with AIDS, the turnover was great.  From 1994-99 it was about 50 residents.  I also began a homeless shelter in our community, working with all the churches in the area, uniting the body of Christ to care for the homeless.
      

 I had come to Africa in 2001 (but not Durban) and in 2003 fall I got a call from Pastor Prince Sithole from Good News Ministries (I had founded New Jerusalem Missions in 1992 for AIDS work).  There was an article about New Jerusalem in a publication called Power for Living, from America.  When I came over in 2001, somehow Pastor Prince was working at place sorting donated clothes when he saw it at the bottom of a clothing bin.... he put it in his pocket to read later.  When he read it he said, “She is trying to do the same thing in America; remodel an old building (we were remodeling our OLD hospital building at the time) to use care for people with AIDS, as I am trying to do in Ntuzuma.” So he invited me over.

I came with a team of 3 others from a discipleship training school we ran, and we spent a week here in Feb of 2004.  In summer of 2004, I brought a team over and we worked for 3 weeks.  From there relationship developed. Ntuzuma got in my heart, and the sick here...since I believe this is my calling, and it wasn't needed right then in America (although I see the need coming back). I began bringing teams or coming myself 2x a year.  In 2007 when I brought a team, the ministry was practically dead. We did an AIDS campaign to serve the community and those sick, so we rented a tent and chairs, invited officials, and had l650 or so people.  We named it Ukukhanya AIDS AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, as Prince got the word Ukukhanya and the scripture John 1:1-5.

     I came back in November of 2007, because the Lord had been telling me to help start a hospice.  I came over with the intent to spend 2 -3 years pioneering here.  I could see that I needed to live here to really help, so I reversed my travelling and live here now (keeping home and ministry back in America) and go home about 2x a year for about 3 months total.

     I moved over the spring of 2008.  Good News was no longer a ministry, Prince laid the church down and we became Ukukhanya Life Care Centre, with a new board, and new Not for Profit status.  It is a combination of both of our visions for people with AIDS.  

    As for the homeless shelter, the Lord had me start it as an Outreach of New Jerusalem and then prepare to stay on the board but turn the actual running over to the community when it is strong enough.  I am sure that is the plan here.

2. What is the vision God’s given you for the Care Centre?

• The vision is to show the Love of Jesus to people affected by AIDS and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ by providing physical, emotional, and spiritual support.
• We will do this with home-based care, being the hands and feet of Jesus and eyes to find the sick.
• Develop a hospice (having trouble owning land, so currently planning on readying 6 rooms and then eventually l2 to care for those with nobody to care for them or patients whose family need a respite for a while.)  A place people can be loved, kept clean, and die or live in dignity.  Some will just need to get stabilized, others will pass here.
  We will love them and nurture them and care for them through home-based care workers who we will need to hire (for about Rl400 a caregiver, and a need for 5) to do 24/7 care.  Nutrition and Nurture is what we offer, we will need to network with area hospitals, clinics and volunteer doctors for the medical care.
• In Africa you can't help the sick and not the kids left behind.
  We will try and have a feeding scheme, monthly food parcels for families waiting for grants, and a program where an AUNTIE can go and check on children living on their own, and bring them in for fellowship, help with homework and life skills (like washing), and a hot meal and prayer.  If money and workforce allows this can expand.

3. Where do you see God moving currently?

Currently we see God brining us sick babies with tired gogo's (grandmothers) or sick moms.  We want to get our doors open, and find out what it takes to foster these babies until they’re stabilized and able to live among family. We see the government grant process taking so long and people waiting so hungry and in need of food parcels. Also when you have no money it is hard to get transport to the social department etc.

4. What have been some challenges in the ministry?

·      The biggest obstacle we have is financing, waiting for our NPO authorization (it has been approved for about 3 months waiting for someone to do the paperwork and mail)....we can run finances through New Jerusalem Missions from the states as we are a 501c3 tax exempt. So start up funds have been our biggest obstacle.

·      We have had a problem with lack of integrity in the leadership, that is gone now, but there are still remnants we have to deal with.  We are trying to have a new start and build afresh.  I feel a good team has come forward.

·      We need vehicles and more people to drive.

5. How can we be praying for the ministry, the staff, and families?

·      Remodeling money for the first wing of 6 rooms, and a bathroom and redoing existing bathrooms and kitchens.

·      For our team to not grow weary.  They are supported, need support for home-based caregivers (but been cleaning up there too).

·      Safety

·      Paperwork to come through

·      Focus as need comes up and we get sidetracked.

·      Balance of teams

·      Churches to become involved

·      Committed monthly support

·      The team to learn how to minister His Love in word and deed

·      More of His Presence

·      The tools we need i.e.: landline, file cabinets that lock, vehicles, 2, one for me to drive and one to transport patients and pick up supplies here

·      Long term committed laborers

·      To continually be led by Him and hear daily what to do

·      Funds for emergency cases to go to hospital and help when there is no money to bury.

Pictures of our Flat...

One benfit of our flat is that Ali and I have our own rooms. We felt it was important for us to have our own space. It is nice to have a place to recharge our batteries and spend time apart from each other. 

This is a picture of our kitchen. We have a full kitchen! Our cupboards are full of donated dishes, mugs, and cups. I am still blown away that it only took three days. 

On the right is a picture of our living room. Not much to say here :)

This is a picture of our flat from the outside. Pretty stellar huh? I dig! 

God Provides!!!

Oh my goodness this post is getting out to all of you so late. PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I feel like this post is too good to pass up. The Lord is so good and provides in so many creative ways! This story is so encouraging to me. It’s late, but a good one…

In an earlier post I shared about the Slabbert family, and how much of a blessing they’ve been to our team. We met the Slabbert family when our little team of three moved back to Durban at the beginning of March. Ali and I stayed in their son Michael’s flat that is just off their house. As much as we would have loved to stay with them for the remainder of the year, we knew we couldn’t crash in Michael’s flat forever. Our hesitation to leave this family and the lovely accommodations they provided was used greatly by the Lord! We couldn’t pull out of the Slabbert home, and as a result the perfect flat has fallen into our laps!

When we moved to Durban Ryan had accommodation immediately with Gary and Cheryl. The Price family had their granny flat open up recently and offered it to Ryan for the year. Housing for Ali and I was not so simple. We searched for weeks for housing that was in a safe area, close to campus, and affordable. It was quite challenging to find anything within our price range that was close to Ryan. We are sharing a car, so it was fairly important that we be close to him. Also, for safety reasons, we didn’t want to be too far off on our own. We finally made the decision to go with a flat that was close to campus, but wasn’t ideal. I was hesitant to sign the lease and move forward, but I wasn’t sure why. I guess it just didn’t feel right. The next day (the day before we would sign the lease), Gary calls us all excited because he discovered that a flat that was right across the street from their house was available! We called the owners and visited that day. We took one look at the small house and signed the papers! Our little home was exactly what we prayed for. It was the cheapest place we looked at, the closest to Ryan, and in one of the safest areas in Durban!

On top of providing the ideal housing situation for us, the Lord provided everything we needed to furnish the flat. The Slabbert family was so incredibly helpful in the process. Not only did the Slabbert family donate several pieces of furniture from their home, but also Mandy contacted dozens of people asking them if they would be willing to donate anything from dishtowels to beds! She spent days looking for people who would be willing to help meet our needs. Within 3 days we had everything we needed, and more! 3 DAYS!! We are incredibly thankful for Mandy and her family.

It is amazing to walk into our home everyday and know that we are where we are because people are generous. We are living in South Africa because people are joyfully giving!  Everything is our home is donated! Not only has the Lord used everyone to provide for our practical needs but for our emotional and spiritual needs as well (that includes all of you). I am humbled to wake up every morning and know that I am able to live because of what God has provided through the joyful giving of others. The Lord continues to humble me! From the second I started raising support over a year ago, to this very moment, the Lord has blown me away with his provision. He has literally used hundreds to send me and sustain me. Thank you for your generosity. Your faithfulness enables me to give myself to the students here in Durban, for the glory of God and His Kingdom!

It’s incredible to watch the Lord provide. I thank God daily, for the blessings his given me in all of you. 

A light in the Darkness...

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare it to you: God is the light; in him there is no darkness." 

Ukukhanya means "light in the darkness" in Zulu. It's also the name of the life care centre our team will be working with once a week for the next 7 months! Thank you for praying with the Durban team as we've tried to find our place in the community.We have waited for the Lord to open doors and bring us exactly where he wants us. It's been a long process, but the Lord has provided, yet again! 

Ukukhanya is an AIDS hospice that is currently in its development stage. The center was founded by a local pastor name Prince and an American woman named Penny Dugan (Picture of the team with Penny on the right). The two were brought together in the most amazing way! I plan to share their story in more detail in my next prayer letter, but do briefly want to share about the amazing organization God has brought us to! The two have worked for over a year together to develop the center. God's given them great vision, and their dreams for the Centre are incredible. They simply desire to serve and love the people of Ntuzuma as Christ would. They are slowly establishing themselves in the township by visiting families and caring for those who are sick and need assistance. They pray daily that they are a light in the community. We are deeply blessed to serve with the care center, and be a part of what God is doing in Ntuzuma. 

Please pray for our time and for the relationships we are going to build over the year. We hope to establish a strong partnership with Ukukhanya, so that future STINT teams and summer project teams can serve in Ntuzuma. 

The Lord is moving in mighty ways and providing for us daily. Thank you so much for your prayers! Isn't it amazing to watch the Lord provide?! I am excited to share more stories with you about our time at the life care centre in the future! 

God Bless

Sorry for the delay!

I hope all of you are keeping well, and experiencing the Lords presence daily! 

I wanted to send out an apology for not updating my blog over the past few weeks, and for the delay on 

my April Prayer Letter. I plan to send out proper updates over the next week. There are a lot of 

exciting things happening and I am excited to share all that God is doing! The summer project team 

has arrived in Durban and the Lord is moving in mighty ways. It's a privilege to watch the 

Lord work. I am so excited to finish these updates and share in all of this with you! 

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! I hope you are enjoying your spring!