Mail Call

This is the mailboxes in Vuvulane where we go to get our mail. Getting mail is an exciting event since it isn't often that we anything in our box.  For the last 8 weeks we haven't received any mail whatsoever. Finally we asked the Postmaster about our mail. We found out that there was a big problem. The master key for all the Vuvulane mail boxes was broken and they couldn't access any of the boxes to deliver any mail. They finally fixed it and we are now getting mail again. 

P.S. We love getting mail and would love to hear from you if you have a moment to write us.

Ian and Jenn Stephens

PO Box 96

Vuvulane L310

Swaziland, AFRICA

The Pied Piper

Do you know who the Pied Piper is?  Shhh, don't tell, but it's Ian! Everywhere Ian goes, behind follows a group of kids.

Ian is gathering the kids together to sing some songs. 

Mgldzangcunu

Ian is the star player in this pick-up game of futbol. 

Maphivini Children's Program

 Please continue to pray that Ian will be a godly role model and mentor for all these kids who look up to him so much. Also pray that God will reveal His Father's heart through the love that Ian has for the children. May they come to know God because of the influence that Ian has had/is having in their lives.

Red...juicy...edible...

Watermelon! 

We just had our Christmas party for the Chips children which was a blast for everyone.  

There were balloons, food, and lots of watermelon.

 The children had never seen watermelon before and weren't quite sure about it. Jenn and Cebile had to eat a couple of large pieces to show that watermelon was safe to eat.

 Once the kids started tasting the watermelon, it was a big hit! 

Everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly!

And a snake named Monica

Do snakes chase you?  Do snakes snore? What do you do if a snake comes inside your house?

These and more were all questions asked of Thea, the snake lady, at the snake demonstration that was held in Maphiveni this week. Thea clarified what was a snake myth and what was true about snakes. She also told us that there were 7 deadly snakes here in Swaziland and what to do if you got bit.

 Thea also brought her friend Monica, an 8 year old Indian Python (see pictures) so that we could all feel a snake. Ian was quite taken with Monica. Oh, and the answers to those questions; snakes do not snore, they do not chase you, and if one comes into your house-leave it alone and it will leave on it's own.  It was a very helpful and informative demonstration... now hopefully we won't see any more snakes!

Life in Swaziland: Mgidzangcanu

 Mgidzangcanu is another settlement near Vulvulane. We have been involved in HIV testing, some children's programs and other interactions with the people here. The kids in this settlement just love Ian.

Wash Day for Jabu

Laundry anyone? This is how the Swazi people do their laundry. 

Popodvo (age 7)
We have been able to screen Popodvo for HIV and get him enrolled in the government funded HIV ART (anti-retroviral therapy) program, provide transportation for his doctor's visits, help purchase medication and provide some supplemental clothing and food. 

Candy (our friend from the US doing a rapid HIV screening test when she was here in September)

The kids love play time

Even here in Mgidangcanu, kids have secret meetings plotting many adventures. 

Lions and Snakes, oh My!

Recently, we had heard rumors that there was a lion loose in the area after escaping from a game reserve in South Africa. A little on guard we thought it was a good story. However, come to find out, yes the lion had escaped from the game reserve South Africa and had been roaming this area for a year before he was caught and placed in a game reserve here in Swaziland. Certainly, nothing dire to worry about. Sometimes the important details get lost in the translation. 

Then, Thanksgiving weekend, there was a large green snake, about 2 meters long, that came out of the cane fields and went up into one of the mango trees in our yard. The local people all said it was a green mamba which is a very dangerous snake. So we called the security company to ask them to come and remove it. Two hours later, quite a crowd had gathered to look at the snake but no help had arrived.

There is a lady who lives in Simunya, they call her Thea, the snake lady, who finally came to look at the snake.  She said he had a poisonous bite but very rarely attacks. Her advise was leave it alone, take pictures, have a large gin and tonic and after a few days he would disappear. It was not a green mamba but a boomslanger! Security did eventually come and remove him and now he is back in the cane fields. 

I did not take pictures as I forgot!  Thea, the snake lady, will come back to Maphiveni on December 10th to do a presentation about snakes; Swazi myths about snakes, what snakes are poisonous, and how to deal with a snake bite. 

Project: Mushrooms!

What do mushrooms make you think of? Something to eat? Poisonous fungi that grows in the yard?

Do Mushrooms and Hope belong in the same sentence?  

Oyster Mushrooms

They do now! 

This past week we took a group of people from Maphiveni to a workshop on how to grow Oyster Mushrooms. The workshop was very informative and helpful. Our next step is to visit several homesteads that are growing mushrooms to see how they run their operation. Then we will be able to launch another micro-industry community project in Maphiveni, Project: Mushrooms!

At the workshop, preparing to start. 

Project: Mushrooms! will provide the training and skills necessary to grow Oyster Mushrooms which the people can then sell earning money to help provide the essential needs for their families. This bountiful crop also gives a sense of hope and a different kind of future to look forward too. 

Our instructor, Wanda, explains the hanging bags used to grow the mushrooms. 

Thank you for your generous support that allows us to be able to change the lives of the Maphiveni residents in a very real and practical way. 

Life in Swaziland: Maphiveni

In order to give you a better idea of what we do on a daily basis and a glimpse into the Swazi culture and people, we are going to start a series called Life in Swaziland. We will share photos and stories about all the communities we serve, activities and work we do, and show you the beautiful people that we interact with. Enjoy.

Maphiveni, pronounced 'map-a-vein-i' is one of the settlements nearby where we spend a lot of time. This settlement is quite special to us. It is our hope to eventually build a community clinic here at Maphiveni which would provide holistic care for people with HIV and TB; including counseling, starting and refilling ARV's. Our Chips office would also be at this location along with a center where classes and micro-industries could be held. Right now, there is one micro-industry in operation here in Maphiveni, making paw-paw jam. There is a group of people from this town who are going to receive training on successfully growing mushrooms which would become the second micro-industry project here.

Jubulane (left) is translating for us. 

Every Friday night we teach a public health education class here at the Maphiveni Mercy Care Preschool. This is a good time to connect with the community and to hand out our surplus of vegetables to those in need.  Once a month we have a quiz night and hand out prizes to those who can answer correct questions about the topics we have covered in the past few weeks. There are prizes and it is always a lot of fun. 

The children here at Maphiveni Mercy Care after-school program love action songs almost as much as we do! This is one of the sites that we have done a monthly children's program. 

This sweet baby Kwaneie is 11 months old but is the size of a 2-3 month old baby. She is malnourished and possibly HIV+. She lives on a diet of watered down corn porridge. We were able to provide some temporarily formula and are coordinating with a pediatrician at the hospital to see what type of nutritional supplement we can offer the malnourished children in our area. In August of this year we lost a HIV- baby to malnutrition. Please pray for us as we provide nutritional education and seek to raise funds for our new malnutrition program. 

Jabu#1 and Vusile (age 3) are both enrolled in the Chips program. We have been able to help provide transportation and supplement the costs for Jabu#1 recent chemotherapy sessions as well as medical care/treatment for Vulsile. It is our belief that Vulsile would really benefit  from moving to Hope House (a residential rehabilitation center in Manzini, 1 and 1/2 hours away) and we are currently talking to his father about this. Vulsile's mother died of AIDS. 

This is baby Clement, who at 9 weeks old is a butterball baby. Quite a change from being fed sugar water in his first 36 hours of life. We are thankful that there was funds available to provide adequate nutrition for this sweet baby boy. 

Many Faces of Chips

Newman (on the left). We have recently employed him as our part-time gardener. He has a serious alcohol problem and just started on ARV's. We are praying that Ian and Bonginkosi (our security guard) will be the positive role models that he needs; teaching him about life, gardening, and Jesu. 

*In the three weeks that he has been in our employment, Newman hasn't had a drink! Praise God!

Rose is another Chips patient. She loves to crochet!

Make, she employs Rose. 

Swazi's use the word 'Make' which means 'mother' as a term of respect. 

Baby Clement

 
Clement at 4 weeks old

Clement was born at home in Maphiveni. When we conducted our post-natal visit on Clement he was 36 hr. old and had only received sugar water as nutrition. Funding has been provided to ensure he is receiving proper nutrition, his newborn vaccination, and HIV testing when he is 6 wks. old. We try to encourage mothers in our program to deliver at the Good Shepherd hospital. This guarentees that the baby will receive a prophylactic HIV medication that can reduce the mother to child transmission rate from 11% to 4%. We were not able to get this medication for Clement because it was not available at the local clinic.

There has been a couple of meetings with Dr. Joyce in which we have discussed the options of having a supply of medications for this purpose available at the local clinics and implimenting the latest treatments for HIV+ moms. Another thing that we have talked about is how to educate the Swazi women about the benefits of breast feeding.

However, often the expecting mothers don't want to let us know when they are going into labor because they don't have the money to deliver their babies at the hospital. It is our goal and desire to be able to have designated funds to make a hospital delivery possible for all women and to do what we can to eradicate the transmission of HIV from mom to baby.

Please pray as we try to convince these mothers to commit to a hospital delivery.

Mary and Clement

Meet Mfundo

Mfundo is a new 10 year old Chips patient. He came to live with his gogo (grandma) in Maphivini at the beginning of October. She is raising five other grandchildren.  Mfundo hasn't received any treatment prior to October when he started ARV treatment. He is very sick and now in the hospital with TB and HIV being the major problems. There is a TB hospital in Manzini so please pray for resources so we can transfer him there for more specialized treatment. It's  miracle he has survived this long, Praise Jesu. 




Update: November 17th, Mfundo went home to be with Jesus a couple days ago. It's so hard to lose another precious child. 

Thembi and her children

Thembi is a sweet gentle lady and mother of five kids. She recently became another Chips patient. Please pray for her and her kids, that God would continue to reveal Himself to them in a powerful way and that their lives would be positively changed.

CHIPS - Childrens HIV Intervention Programme in Swaziland

A video that was recently made about the CHIPS program.

Jabulani, Mary, Darren, and Teresa, our co-workers, Jabu#1, Vusile, Delsiwe (we fenced in her garden), and the Section 19 floor polish community project are all mentioned.

Siphewe

Siphewe is home from the hospital and is doing well albeit still very weak. She can't stand on her own without assistance. It is our hope to get a walking frame so that she will be more mobile.

Please continue to pray for her complete recovery and that she would come to know her true Father who cares so deeply for her. We are thankful for the progress that she has already made.

Meet Thembile

   Thembile is another new patient who came into the Chips program in September. She is a 24 years old and a mother of a two year old. In April of 2010, Thembile had a stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side. Her mother and brother take care of both her and her child. This beautiful woman spends her days lying on a plastic covered mattress on the floor of the homestead and daily deals with depression. We have been meeting and praying with her. Our prayer is that she comes to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior.
We are trying to get a wheelchair and a SiSwati Bible to give to her along with arranging for physical therapy at the Good Shepherd Hospital.

A different perspective

Our dear friend Candy just visited us for 10 days. We had a good time showing her around and introducing her to the delightful people here. She sent this letter back home to her supporters and we thought that it was nice to have a different perspective on what we do so we're sharing the letter with you.

 Hi Friends!

I left the US on Monday and got settled at Ian & Jenn's house on Thur. night.  They live in the western region of Swaziland, surrounded by lush sugar cane fields, in the middle of nowhere.

I went out with them yesterday and had a wonderful time (which means I feel at home here).  They are involved in helping get Swazi's screened for HIV and then getting them set up with the free government ART (anti-retroviral therapy) if they test positive.  The program is called CHIPS (Children's HIV Intervention Program in Swaziland). That is just the surface of what they do!  I will write more and send pics when I am back in the US on a wireless network.

Yesterday, we went to 5 areas (ave. population roughly 250 people each).  The situation here is overwhelming.  High HIV rate, Extreme unemployment, infants dying of malnutrition, vertually no mental health care for the entire country, with the added burden of refugees from Mozambique.

Ian and Jenn are working with populations that other workers were not even aware exsisted until they were place here 6 mo. ago.  The people in this area are not sure what they are going to eat from day to day.  One baby we checked on had been born about 36 hr. earlier and had only recieved sugar water. Thank Jes_s, we were able to secure testing and milk for the infant!

We spent the day, checking on sick individuals and securing testing for endangered infants/children, along the way we provided a little clothing and food where the situation was extreme - trying to ensure that 2 infants would not die of malnutrition.  Sadly, an HIV negative infant died recently due to lack of proper nutrition.

During the evening Ian & Jenn went back out to hold a meeting in one of the areas and teach on substance abuse.  Ian asked what dreams they had.  Just  getting them to think beyond food and the present cirucumstances is an act of hope.  The response was encouraging.  One area is in the infant stages of starting a microbusiness among the women.  It has sparked hope. 

As always, they share the good news wherever they go - they are a strong presence of hope and love here.  I know this because when I arrived I already had 2 "brothers" and 1 "sister" - Swazi young adults who have claimed Ian & Jenn as their very own.  One brother told me how he lost his parents and how Ian & Jenn were  sent by our Father to take their place.  We are one happy family here.  It will be difficult to leave! (which means I may return for an extended stay).

There are other programs Ian & Jenn would love to see implemented here:

1. food pantry for malnourished children
2. micro-industry in each area, led by local Swazi councils
3. literacy program
4. program for Swazi youth, focusing on  abstinance, life-skills, & Jes_s
5. securing land/building to use for garden space & resource center to house programs mentioned
6. seeing the CHIPS program expand to other unreached areas

Right now these are just dreams.  Their ultimate goal is train and empower Swazi's, to work themselves out of a job in 5 years.  To realize these goals will take financial support and asking the Father for dreams to become reality. 

Would you join us?  You can write me or talk to me when I arrive back in the US.  I will be home on Sept. 30th. I will have a video and pics to share.

I will write more later. Please ask the Father:

• Guide us to those most in need
• Open doors for HIS work
• Open hearts to HIS love
• Daily Strength
• Favor with local chiefs to buy land - meeting today

IF this has moved your heart, PLEASE respond by writing Ian & Jenn to let them know they are not alone in this work.  Letters & e-mails are very scarce here!  Ian & Jenn Stephens  piggwr4647@aol.com

Much love,

Candy

testing in Mgidzangcuno

The people of Mgidzangcunu have responded well to our presentations. About 30 people have been tested for HIV, with an infection rate of 45%.

One child, Popodvo, just broke our hearts. He is 7 years old and lives with his alcoholic gogo, grandmother, because he has no other family. Popodvo tested positive for HIV and is so malnourished along with a bad cough that could mean TB.

We will be taking him food as well as trying to get him to the hospital soon in order to start ARV treatment.
The gogo didn't want to undergo treatment at this time.
Please pray for Popodvo and his health needs. Also, lift up his gogo in prayer that she would be freed from alcohol and consent to being tested in the Lord's timing.

Moringa really does help!

A week ago we had good attendance at the public health meeting in Maphiveni. The topic that night was about the benefits of using moringa as a dietary supplement to help boost the immune system. One lady shared a great testimony.

Three months ago, when she started using moringa, she was unable to walk. After using moringa daily, she can now walk 15 minutes a day. We are sure that prayer played a huge part in her recovery.

Our first group of stable patients were treated at the Vuvalane clinic on September 15th. 12 out of the scheduled 17 kept their appointments and we will check on the ones that didn't show up.

We are pleased with the high response of attendance and willingness to participate.

The Missing (almost) Trip

Last weekend we went to the Kuger National Park to celebrate our 21st anniversary. When we arrived, the park didn't have our reservation even though we had proof that we had indeed paid. After 20 minutes of this, we started to get a little worried that we wouldn't be able to stay. The manager did find an unbooked cabin for us to stay in for the weekend. A couple days later, the manager did come by and say that they had found our payment in their banking system.

In spite of the rough start, we did have a great weekend. We saw a lot of animals, including many cute baby elephants, and went out to dinner one night (thanks to a generous gift from a friend). The cabin was clean and very comfortable.

It was a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend. We are so amazed at God's faithfulness over the years and how He's brought us to here and now. We're looking forward to see how God will continue to work through us and our marriage. Please keep us in your prayers, that we would continue to grow closer together and be used for God's glory.

treasured visits

Pastor Ken and Brenda came to visit at the beginning of Sept, soon after he returned from Europe. We were so encouraged by their visit and had a good time sharing what God has done and is doing. They gave a lot of good advice and helped us gain a different perspective on several things. Ideas for various micro-industries were flowing when they were here.

There was good news about Pastor Dlamini, he is doing well, though his wife, Siphewe, is sick. Please pray for her. The Hope School children are all doing well. Praise God!

Several days later Pastor Ken called with an offer of money to start a day care. So we found an abandoned community kitchen in Macethuka (the Swazi spelling of Matatuga) that would be ideal. The day care would be such a blessing to the families around as most of the women spend all days working in the field for $3 (US equivilant) a day. We will meet with the people who oversee the bulding.

Pastor Ken, Brenda and the congregation of Mbabane chapel has been so encouraging and supportive. We're so thankful to have them in our lives.

We are looking forward to the visit of our friend Candy, from the States. She will arrive in Mbabane on Sept 16 and will stay over a week.

Please pray for these patients

There is always a mixture of joy and sadness as we work among the people. Here are a few updates on some people that we have mentioned before as well as a few new people that need prayer over the last couple of weeks. Patients who are stable are being transferred to the Vulvulane clinic. We continue to pay the bus fare for them and moniter them to make sure that they go to their appointments and get medication refills.

Jabu #2: Her baby died from malnutrition. He was only 6 months old.  Jabu is doing better and is finally on the ARV's. However, she is experiencing some liver problems from the ARV's. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Nochlembo: She was only 32 months old and died from HIV and pneumonia. Now she is with Jesus.

Siphewe: This is the 9 year old girl that we made the night call on, going through the maize field. She's been suffering from severe asthma and is HIV+, was in the hospital, out for a few days, and then went back into the hospital. She is not doing well; very sick with meningitis. Please lift her up in your prayers as she is alone in the hospital and must be very afraid.

Elizabeth: She is a mother of six children and was very sick with HIV, though in complete denial. Through the power of prayer she went to the hospital on Sept 1 to start ARV's. To God be the glory!

Jabu #1: She is doing ok, has good days and bad days. There are times she isn't able to go to the hospital for her chemo treatments when she doesn't feel good. Jabu#1 had met another woman with the same type of cancer but who is dying. Now Jabu #1 is very thankful to be on treatment and wants to continue with treatment.

Maria: Her surgery went well and she is out of the hospital and is recovering very nicely.

Baby Lato: She is officially HIV+. There was a lot of mix up with her blood work, but that is now straightened out and she is receiving food aid. This will allow her to receive proper nutrition.

Vusile: He is doing well and loves scooting around on the baby walker that we found for him. He has gone to one doctor who ordered more x-rays and tests to be done.  He now gets proper nutrition.

Vusile

Chips keeps growing

Chips just went into Mambaweni, a small settlement with about 50 people. This settlement has 10 Chips patients.

Also, we recently visited Mgldzangcunu, another settlement that Chips has moved into, and met the community police.  However at that time the overseer was sick and the rural health motivator wasn't available, but we estimate that there are about 200 families that reside in this settlement.
We later went back and did a presentation about Chips and the services we offer.  It went well and there were a lot of good questions. We will return on September 15th to start HIV testing.

The first presentation in Khomba didn't go as well as we had hoped, so we did have a second presentation which went well. 16 people came back for testing.

Another big change is that Chips was able to get an office space in Tambankulu. This is 'across the river' and more accessable to the communities than where our office was previously. It is exciting to have the room for a food pantry and clothes closet (along with donations to help start both, from a couple of generous people).  Our hope is that the people will begin to see us as more approachable since we are now working with and among them.

There are an additional 12 villages near the office that we will be going to visit over the next couple of months. Please pray for open hearts among the leaders/government in the communities to allow Chips to come and bring much needed help to their people.

House Calls at Night

The other night Jabulane came to our home with the news that we needed to make a house call to check on a sick girl.
Since there was no vehicle access to the girl's home, we started walking. The three of us had no light and had to cross a maize field in the dark. There we are stumbling over ourselves and tripping over the stalks.
Can you picture us as we were traipsing across the field?
Talk about the blind leading the blind!
Thankfully we did make it there and back in one piece.

Good Shepherd Hospital and the minibus

  We recently went and toured Good Shepherd Hospital, which is about 45 minutes away. This is the hospital where we send all of the CHIPS patients for treatment and appointments. It was nice to finally be able to go meet the doctors, nurses, and staff.  Jabulani gave us the grand tour of the hospital including the mortuary.  We loved visiting the children's' ward and were privileged to hear what a blessing CHIPS is to the staff and how well we look after our patients.  Both Jabulani and Mary help out in whatever way they can when they are there including counselling patients. We are thankful for the staff

  As mentioned in a previous post, the minibus that we use to transport CHIPS patients back and forth to the hospital is in the shop. There is a lot of work that has to be done on the minibus, including replacing the shock absorbers and working on the brakes. The need for transportation hasn't stopped since the vehicle is out of commission so we have had to make more trips in our small vehicle and have had to hire another minibus on occasion. 

Weekly we transport 26 patients to and from Good Shepherd Hospital using the minibus and send another 10 on public transport. The patients have to go for checkup appointments to ensure they are still taking the ARV's medication as prescribed. Once a patient has tested HIV+, s/he will have to take ARV's for life. They have to visit with the nurse before being able to refill their prescriptions.  If someone stops taking ARV's, that is what usually causes their death. 

Additionally we transport sick patients who need to be admitted to the hospital providing that there are beds available. We take all the moms-to-be who are ready to deliver their babies to the hospital as well. 

As you can see, transportation is a big part of the work that we do on a daily basis. Please pray that our minibus will be fixed and that the Lord will provide the means to pay for the repair costs. 

Moses in the Bullrushes

This month's topic for the Children's ministry is 'Moses in the Bullrushes' and we continue to visit one settlement per week, for a total of 4 weeks, before picking a different story and going to each settlement again.

The attendance at Section 19 has dropped off and there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm/interest on behalf of those who come to participate.  We decided to try and change up the format, including more games, in order to get more participation. It's a hard line to walk because we don't want the kids to just show up expecting candy.  Please pray that God's word wouldn't return void but that it would impact the hearts of all the children and their parents who hear it through these Children's ministry programs.

Last week, on August 10, we had 32 children in attendance at the Matatuka Children's ministry program. The program went very well and there was a lot of participation. Praise the Lord for the turnout and open hearts!

A few updates and prayer requests

A couple of updates:

Maria is recovering well from her surgery and is still at the hospital.

Jabu is on week 4 of her treatment and is fairly well. She was sick last week but seems to have recovered.

Vusile is doing fine and was quite the happy boy the last time we saw him.

Khomba: We have tested over 40 people at this settlement for HIV. About half have tested positive for HIV and we have been busy transporting patients to the Good Shepherd Hospital and getting them started on ARV's. The   stable patients have been transfered to the clinic in Vulvulane for care. That transition has been going well.

Crossroads is on hold until September 11 as the children are on a school break.

Maphiveni: This past Friday we started our public health meetings in Maphiveni. There were 8 people in attendance and we were able to discuss obstacles they have blocking them from reaching their dreams/goals for life.

Baby Lato is about 9 months old and isn't doing well. She is HIV+ and was just recently approved for food aid. Please pray that the treatments would work and that she wouldn't suffer the effects of malnutrition.

Another prayer request is for Jabu #2 (there are a lot of Jabu's around here). She is sick with HIV and needs treatment, but is having a hard time to admit to her friends and neighbors that she is HIV+ in order to get treatment. Jabu #2 has many children that she is having a hard time providing for.

The minibus that Chips uses, to transport patients to and from the hospital, is in the shop needing a lot of repairs. Please pray that this would be fixed quickly and within our budget. It's been difficult to be without a large vehicle and we have had to get creative with our transportation needs.

We thank you for your prayers on these matters and would love to hear how we can pray for you.
Drop us a line at piggwr4647[at]aol.com and tell us your prayer requests.

"759,000 Swazis Are Very Poor"

A report was recently published by the United Nations Complementary Country Analysis in the Swaziland Post detailing the extreme levels of poverty found in Swaziland.

According to this report there are 759,000 Swazis, out of a population of 1.1 million, who are living below the poverty line. There are several causes for this dire situation; skewed wealth distribution, rampant HIV/AIDS, stagnant employment opportunities, and wide-spread food insecurity.

Swaziland "has the highest HIV prevalence in the world" and "without an intervention there are fears that the scourge could seriously erode Swaziland human capital base".

A big concern is the food shortage that affects about 1/4 of the population especially children. "At least 29 per cent of children under the age of five are showing signs of stunting which is an indication of malnutrition over an extended period". Drought, increasing food costs and unusable land have all contributed to this problem.

Most of the population lives in rural areas and "of these rural areas according to the UN, 75 per cent lives in poverty compared to 49 per cent of the urban population". Severe poverty especially affects women and female-run households because of limited income opportunities.

There is a great need for viable solutions that address the multitude of hardships that the Swazi people face on a daily basis.

Magagula, Mduduzi. "759,000 Swazis Are Very Poor." The Swaziland Post. June 2010.
          

And people are lining up!

Chips has received the green light to set up a care point in two more settlements, Khomba and Mgldzangcunu.  We were planning to do a presentation about Chips and what Chips can provide in each of those settlements but it looks like we may not need to do that after all. Potential patients in Khomba have already been calling us and already we took the first patient to get started on ARV's this week.

Last week, when we were at the Vuvulane care point to check in and see if they will need help, there was a number of people who expressed interest in being tested at the Mgldzangcunu care point. Maybe all we need to do is just show up and God will bring people to us.

Speaking of the Vuvulane care point, they won't be needing our assistance as they already have some food sources. We will just visit once in a while to interact with the children there. Also, Mr. George, a teacher at the school in Vuvulane, wants to start/teach a Crossroads class as an after school club. We are awaiting word to see if he will need help with that class. There could potentially be 30 plus students in attendance.

The Sugar Corporation gave us permission to make use of an office in Tambankulu starting in August. Currently this office is being used by researchers who are researching the benefits of Moringa.  Having this office will be such a blessing as we have quickly outgrown the room at the church that we were using. It will also be closer to the communities that we serve. 

Maphivene Children's Program

The children love to come to our Children's Program in Maphivene. Our translator, Abraham, is such a big help. 

There is always a lesson. In July we've been teaching about the Good Samaritan to each settlement. 

We sing songs including: The Lord's Army, Father Abraham, and Onward Christian Soldiers. The kids love to sing and do the motions along with the songs. 

Even the parents like to come and join us in the fun. They are so grateful to see their children being loved, having fun and being taught God's truths. 

Smiles like these are what keep us going. It is our desire that each of these precious children (and their parents) come to a saving knowledge of the one true God. Every of these little ones are so precious to God and to us. We're thankful to have been giving the opportunity to work with these children.

"Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God." Luke 18:16

Floor polish=hope

This is the Women's Support group in Section 19 as they make floor polish. 

Giving out instructions. 

This floor polish does equal hope for these women. Now they will have a marketable trade and business that will be able to provide basic necessities for their children with the money that is earned. 

Everyone pitches in. 

The finished product.

A moment of prayer filled with gratefulness. 

Thank you for your support that translates directly into hope and changed way of life. Did you know that something like floor polish could be used in such a way to impact a whole village?
Please join us in praying that this floor polish business would open these women's hearts to knowing that God is the provider of all things and begin to trust Him for everything.

Meet Jabu and Maria

Jabu is a young lady who has cancer.  She had been going to chemo treatment for a while and then stopped about 4-5 months ago because she didn't want to continue the treatments. Jabu now wants to go back and start the treatments again.  This is where we look to the God of the impossible, because it's difficult to get back onto treatments after one has stopped and this much time has passed. Not only that, there is a long waiting list for people to even get this kind of treatment and there's a shortage of drugs available. Please join us in praying that Jabu would see God as her ultimate healer and that she would come to trust Him in this situation.

Maria is another young woman who has health problems. She has a mass on her uterus and isn't sure how she wants to approach treatment options. Maria wants to pursue medical treatment but also wants to consult with the local juju, witchdoctor, for a magic pill. We are praying that God becomes very real to her in this time and that she would be freed from the bondage of an empty religion that offers false answers.

Situations like this would be very discouraging if we didn't know the God of the universe personally and know that it's His truth that sets the captives free. All we can do is pray and continue to offer the hope of gospel.

Please continue to pray for us as well since this is not a battle of flesh and blood, but a spiritual battle that we are fighting.

Something smells funny

The road from the house to the tarred main road is about 4 miles of dirt. The road was graded on Sunday and was then sprayed with this stuff.  It smelt very weird and finally we figured it out what it was; a form of molasses.  The molasses fills the holes in the road and keeps the dust down. However, the downside is that it corrodes your car if you don't clean it off. 

We are often blessed with gifts from the people.  When they have little, they love to share. Last weekend, we were given 30 green mealies (white corn on the cob) that you roast over an open fire. We never refuse any gift, it is special when given from the heart. This week we received tomatoes. When our garden has produce ready, we plan on sharing the fruits with those around us. 

There have been a couple of praises that has happened in the last couple of days. The first is that we were able to get Vusile an appointment in Mbabane for his dislocated shoulder. The appointment is set for August. 

Secondly, we (Chips) received the green light for expanding into two new settlements. We will be doing a presentation about Chips in Khumba and Mgldzangcunu in the upcoming weeks. Additionally, all the stable Chips patients will be transfered over a 4 month period to the care of the Vuvulane clinic. This will free up additional resources to address the more critical needs of new patients. There are a couple meetings that we have lined up for this next week; to see if the Vuvulane care point needs our help and how we could help, and to see if we can set up another Crossroads training in Vuvulane. 

Children's ministry updates

We have several praise reports of recent happenings and we want to stop and thank God for them. 

Last week, our children's program in Khomba was awesome!!  It is so wonderful and humbling to watch the Lord move in the hearts of the mothers; they are so thankful for us being there and loving their children. We told them that we are doing what the Lord has told us to do. In return, the women blessed us by giving an abundance of fruits. Today we will be at Section 19 doing a children's program there. Each week, on Tuesday, we go to a different section with our wonderful translator, Abraham. His love for the children and willingness to translate is such a blessing to us.  This month we will be teaching a lesson about The Good Samaritan.  Thank you for your prayers for the children's ministry!

There are now 25 youth attending the Crossroads class every Saturday. Please continue to pray that God would use these lessons to not only teach the youth wise life-style choices but also to reveal Himself as the true Father who cares so deeply for them. 

Another Chips patient, Michael, went to be with the Lord last week. He was 36 and had AIDS. We're thankful that he knew Jesus as his Savior before he died. 

Lato, a 9 month old girl, is in need of prayer.  She is HIV + but is not on antiretroviral (ARV) medication. Lato is only about 12 lbs and isn't reaching her milestones. This baby girl is also showing signs of malnutrition. We are trying to get a regular baby milk supply in place for her, since her mother doesn't have the financial means to do so.  

God has blessed us with you, our wonderful ministry partners. Your prayers and financial gifts sustain us and allow us to take the life-changing message of hope and salvation to the precious people of Swaziland. 

Moringa, Floor Polish, and Chickens

   Have you heard of Moringa? It is a diet supplement that is easy to grow and helps boost the immune system. You can grind it, eat the leaves raw, or put them into a crockpot. It does have a slightly bitter taste to it. We have been distributing 10 moringa seeds per household so they can grow a nutritional addition to their diet.

Jabulane (our coworker counting moringa seeds)

   Last week was the launch of the Section 19 community project to produce floor polish. The Woman's Support Group opportunity will provide several things for the women of Section 19, a marketable trade skill and much needed income to provide basic necessities for their children. We are excited to see how God will use this micro-industry!

  God has opened another door for us. We have been given the use of a building every Friday evening to teach the people of Maphiveni about mother to child transmission, TB, and abstinence. Jabulane and Mary will be teaching with us. This will be our first adult teaching series, please pray that it would go well.  

  Chips is set to expand into two new sections on August 1. There will be an additional 600 families served by Chips in these two areas. We will be going to a meeting to get the final go-ahead on July 6. Please pray that God would continue to open doors and work out all the details. There is such a real need for Chips in these sections as people are dying because help, medicine, and proper nutrition are not available.  

  Speaking of expansion, we are looking to find a place in the community(s) to house the Chips office. Right now we are working out of a room at the church but are quickly outgrowing the space.  

 This woman, Delsiwe, is a Chips patient and was so grateful when we were able to put a fence around her garden so the chickens couldn't keep destroying it. Now her garden is thriving and she delights in sharing her produce with all her neighbors, including us!