Hi everyone!
Thank you for praying for me and the team. Without your prayers, we would not have been able to do much of anything. Because you prayed, we were able to accomplish much for the Lord. James 5:16 tells us that "The effective prayer of a righteous person can accomplish great things." Many of you prayed for us and so we were enabled to go forth in God's strength. We are so glad to be home. I missed my family. Each of them somehow communicated to me their prayer and desire to see me home safely.
It was a great thing to see our group become so cohesive as we met obstacle after obstacle, never losing sight of our greater vision: to further the kingdom of God. For this we traveled over 10,000 miles, jostled along dirt roads, and hiked up hills into the homes of those in need. "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave Him up for all of us- - how will be not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:31-32
We are grateful to you for walking with us on our spiritual journey to South Africa and Swaziland. Thank you for sharing your love throughout as you have read this blog and prayed. Your contribution to this endeavor enables the work of the kingdom to proceed. God Bless!
Sam
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Home Sweet Home!
After 21 hours of flying time, we're home, safe and sound! It seems like we were gone a long time and yet it went by super fast!! I think we all could have spent more time with the children at New Life. They all touched our hearts in a big way!!
Thank you all for your prayers, as well as your financial support! You made it possible for us to minister to the people in Swaziland!! We are so grateful for the opportunity to serve God and to represent CBC as the Swaziland 2008 team!! Can't wait to share with you more about our short term mission trip!!
Siyabonga!
Penny
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
OOPS -- This is for Tuesday
Hi this is Amanda again. We were so tired yesterday that we forgot to put this entry in. So today I am acting like as if it was on Tuesday. I wanted to add that my dad (Todd) and I wrote the other one before this or under this if you scroll down.
Today was the last day that we got to see the kids at Pastor Solomon's School. We were supposed to leave the School at about 11:00 but we had stayed there even longer then we wished to. This was mainly because first, we really, really, really wanted to get more of the library done so that they would have at least part or 1/10th of a library. So the guys worked on the shelves while the girls worked on all the book stuff like alphabetizing and sorting. Once we got our shelves in there, and filled it with books, Pastor Gary had something to say to the teachers.
He told them that they were his hero, and that they are helping the least of these like how it says in Matthew 25:31-46 about how God will separate everyone like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep in his right and put the goat in his left hand. God will praise the sheep for helping the "least of these". Pastor Gary told the teachers that he imagines them as one of those sheep. One of those sheep who will be praised for helping these kids even after we leave.
After this we didn't want to leave. I personally wanted to see the kids and stay with them, but we had to go. So, we left 3 hours late. While driving, we passed by a sign that said, "High High-Jacking risk". That got me soooo scared. Not only that but, the air was so smoky because there were many fires on the side of the highway. After we passed that area, it started to get dark. It got harder and harder to see the van in front of us. This was because of two reasons. First off, it was getting dark, and second, the cars going the opposite direction were right next to our lane. I was sooo scared because the cars looked like they were going to hit us. One last thing that shook me up was that we went in the opposite lane at least 3 times to passs slow cars/trucks!!! I thought that my dad was going crazy!!! I thought that we were going to get hit by the cars that were going the opposite lane then us!!!. Of course we are alright now so that says that my dad knew what he was doing. So Cya in a couple of days!!!
-Amanda
Today was the last day that we got to see the kids at Pastor Solomon's School. We were supposed to leave the School at about 11:00 but we had stayed there even longer then we wished to. This was mainly because first, we really, really, really wanted to get more of the library done so that they would have at least part or 1/10th of a library. So the guys worked on the shelves while the girls worked on all the book stuff like alphabetizing and sorting. Once we got our shelves in there, and filled it with books, Pastor Gary had something to say to the teachers.
He told them that they were his hero, and that they are helping the least of these like how it says in Matthew 25:31-46 about how God will separate everyone like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep in his right and put the goat in his left hand. God will praise the sheep for helping the "least of these". Pastor Gary told the teachers that he imagines them as one of those sheep. One of those sheep who will be praised for helping these kids even after we leave.
After this we didn't want to leave. I personally wanted to see the kids and stay with them, but we had to go. So, we left 3 hours late. While driving, we passed by a sign that said, "High High-Jacking risk". That got me soooo scared. Not only that but, the air was so smoky because there were many fires on the side of the highway. After we passed that area, it started to get dark. It got harder and harder to see the van in front of us. This was because of two reasons. First off, it was getting dark, and second, the cars going the opposite direction were right next to our lane. I was sooo scared because the cars looked like they were going to hit us. One last thing that shook me up was that we went in the opposite lane at least 3 times to passs slow cars/trucks!!! I thought that my dad was going crazy!!! I thought that we were going to get hit by the cars that were going the opposite lane then us!!!. Of course we are alright now so that says that my dad knew what he was doing. So Cya in a couple of days!!!
-Amanda
OOPS -- This was what we did Monday
Hi all,
Todd wanted to post this message to y'all but wasn't able to log in correctly, so here I am now!
Monday, we got to go to Pastor Chomba's Hope House. It was a lot of fun! We got to get dirty playing in the dirt! (in other words we worked in the garden) There is a lot to do in the garden. We planted new seedlings as well as weeded and watered. We also dug new trenches for more plants to grow in. While half of the team was doing the gardening, the other half was taking the kernels off of the maize that had been drying since May. While you may be thinking that that is an easy task, it is not, and we have the raw thumbs and cuts to prove it. The day was a beautiful day and we talked story and listened to music as we sat on Pastor Chomba's porch while taking off the kernels of corn. Maggie (Pastor Chomba's wife) made us a delicious lunch then we all went to home visitations. Because of our supporters, we were able to buy food for 5 families that have a difficult time putting food on their tables. We were able to pray with the families and they were very blessed and thankful, but we were so blessed by their kindness and hospitality. In Swaziland, the people are so friendly, it reminds me of when I am back home in Hawaii where people wave to you even if they do not know them and they invite you in to talk story. Before we said our goodbyes to Pastor Chomba and his family, we had a wonderful prayer time with many blessings all around. You could really feel God's presence there.
Todd wanted to post this message to y'all but wasn't able to log in correctly, so here I am now!
Monday, we got to go to Pastor Chomba's Hope House. It was a lot of fun! We got to get dirty playing in the dirt! (in other words we worked in the garden) There is a lot to do in the garden. We planted new seedlings as well as weeded and watered. We also dug new trenches for more plants to grow in. While half of the team was doing the gardening, the other half was taking the kernels off of the maize that had been drying since May. While you may be thinking that that is an easy task, it is not, and we have the raw thumbs and cuts to prove it. The day was a beautiful day and we talked story and listened to music as we sat on Pastor Chomba's porch while taking off the kernels of corn. Maggie (Pastor Chomba's wife) made us a delicious lunch then we all went to home visitations. Because of our supporters, we were able to buy food for 5 families that have a difficult time putting food on their tables. We were able to pray with the families and they were very blessed and thankful, but we were so blessed by their kindness and hospitality. In Swaziland, the people are so friendly, it reminds me of when I am back home in Hawaii where people wave to you even if they do not know them and they invite you in to talk story. Before we said our goodbyes to Pastor Chomba and his family, we had a wonderful prayer time with many blessings all around. You could really feel God's presence there.
This is what I saw all day today...
j/k
But we did go to the Pilanesberg Game Reserve and saw lots of different animals. We also had a great tour guide who shared a wealth of knowledge about all the animals. More pictures and video to come as we share them upon our return.
We are leaving tomorrow 7pm Joburg time return 1pm on Friday into LAX. Please pray for us!!
See you all soon!
Seiji
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Hope House
Hi everyone, this is Steph. Our time here in Swaziland has been amazing so far. It has definitely been a rollercoaster of a ride so far, both physically and emotionally. But one hug, smile, or word from the kids makes it all worth it. I wish you could all see how happy and grateful the kids here are after receiving the quilts, socks, toys and most of all the attention and love we have been giving them.
On Saturday, we had the privelege of working with Pastor Chomba of Hope House Orphanage. Every Saturday he has a "Soup Kitchen" type outreach at his church and feeds about 200 kids lunch. These families and kids walk from what we would consider really far distances just to have a small meal. We were able to serve the long, never ending line of kids. There were so many kids that the ones towards the end of the line had to wait for other kids to finish, so they could use their plate!
After the soup kitchen, Pastor Chomba and one of the boys that stays with him, Colane, took us on a couple home visitations. We visited homesteads, which is like a mini community of single room homes that all belong to the same family of many generations. It was amazing to see their homes made out of sticks, rocks, mud and cow manuere. The first family that we visited was very warm and welcoming. There were so many of us, that we could no fit into their house, so they brought out all their benches outside so we could sit while we talked and prayed with them. The grandfather, several small children and a younger woman were there. We asked them if they had any prayer requests, and the grandfather requested prayer for his knees. We gathered around him and layed hands on him, and asked the Lord for healing. As I prayed for the man, Colane was interpretting it into Siswati. It was cool hearing my prayer in another language. The younger woman shared that she was a new Christian, and asked that we pray for her to grow in her walk with God. After praying for her, Rosie shared with the woman that she too was a new Christian, and encouraged her to keep seeking Him.
The next homestead we visited also had many small children, and a few younger women. We didn't see too many men around. We squeezed into their tiny house and we noticed that none of the kids had shoes or jackets on, and it was freezing outside. They told us that they were all sick and not feeling well. As we were praying for them, you could feel the presence of God in the room. After we finished praying for them, my mom (Penny), remembered that she had some extra quilts left over from New Life in the car. We were able to give each child a quilt, and as we were driving away, they were all standing outside with their quilts wrapped around them waving goodbye to us. We were wondering what we were going to do with the extra quilts, but God knew all along that they would be the ones to recieve them.
Today (Sunday), half of us went to Pastor Solomon's church, and half of us went to Pastor Chomba's church. I was among the group that attended Pastor Chomba's church, and let me tell you, those people know how to worship the Lord with their whole heart and soul. The way they sing and dance for the Lord is amazing. The air was thick with the presence of the Holy Spirit as people were speaking in tongues, receiving words from God and just moving in the Spirit. Pastor Chomba is also a very dynamic speaker to say the least. He really gets fired up for God. When you talk with him in person he is very calm and gentle, but when he gets up to the pulpit, his energy and style of preaching are the complete opposite.
After church, we were able to hand out the quilts to the children at Hope House Orphanage. They were so grateful and happy. Pastor Chomba asked the kids if anyone wanted to say anything to us, and one boy prayed for us. It was really moving to hear him pray for us and thank God for us. Even though we are the ones giving to these kids, we get soo much more in return.
When we headed back into town, we went to the grocery store to buy food for the families we visited in the homesteads. We bought rice, cooking oil, beans, peanut butter, bread, apples, sugar, salt, and some cookies. I never knew you could have so much fun grocery shopping! I guess its because it is for people who need it and we know how much of a blessing it will be to them.
Tomorrow we are going back to Hope House to work with Pastor Chomba again and deliver the groceries to the families. Sorry this is soo long! I could talk all day about what God has been doing here in Swaziland! It is sad that our time here is coming to an end soon. Pray that the Lord would bless Hope House Orphanage and the surrounding community, and that we would be able to touch more lives and be a living Jesus to the people of Swaziland!
Because of Him, Steph
On Saturday, we had the privelege of working with Pastor Chomba of Hope House Orphanage. Every Saturday he has a "Soup Kitchen" type outreach at his church and feeds about 200 kids lunch. These families and kids walk from what we would consider really far distances just to have a small meal. We were able to serve the long, never ending line of kids. There were so many kids that the ones towards the end of the line had to wait for other kids to finish, so they could use their plate!
After the soup kitchen, Pastor Chomba and one of the boys that stays with him, Colane, took us on a couple home visitations. We visited homesteads, which is like a mini community of single room homes that all belong to the same family of many generations. It was amazing to see their homes made out of sticks, rocks, mud and cow manuere. The first family that we visited was very warm and welcoming. There were so many of us, that we could no fit into their house, so they brought out all their benches outside so we could sit while we talked and prayed with them. The grandfather, several small children and a younger woman were there. We asked them if they had any prayer requests, and the grandfather requested prayer for his knees. We gathered around him and layed hands on him, and asked the Lord for healing. As I prayed for the man, Colane was interpretting it into Siswati. It was cool hearing my prayer in another language. The younger woman shared that she was a new Christian, and asked that we pray for her to grow in her walk with God. After praying for her, Rosie shared with the woman that she too was a new Christian, and encouraged her to keep seeking Him.
The next homestead we visited also had many small children, and a few younger women. We didn't see too many men around. We squeezed into their tiny house and we noticed that none of the kids had shoes or jackets on, and it was freezing outside. They told us that they were all sick and not feeling well. As we were praying for them, you could feel the presence of God in the room. After we finished praying for them, my mom (Penny), remembered that she had some extra quilts left over from New Life in the car. We were able to give each child a quilt, and as we were driving away, they were all standing outside with their quilts wrapped around them waving goodbye to us. We were wondering what we were going to do with the extra quilts, but God knew all along that they would be the ones to recieve them.
Today (Sunday), half of us went to Pastor Solomon's church, and half of us went to Pastor Chomba's church. I was among the group that attended Pastor Chomba's church, and let me tell you, those people know how to worship the Lord with their whole heart and soul. The way they sing and dance for the Lord is amazing. The air was thick with the presence of the Holy Spirit as people were speaking in tongues, receiving words from God and just moving in the Spirit. Pastor Chomba is also a very dynamic speaker to say the least. He really gets fired up for God. When you talk with him in person he is very calm and gentle, but when he gets up to the pulpit, his energy and style of preaching are the complete opposite.
After church, we were able to hand out the quilts to the children at Hope House Orphanage. They were so grateful and happy. Pastor Chomba asked the kids if anyone wanted to say anything to us, and one boy prayed for us. It was really moving to hear him pray for us and thank God for us. Even though we are the ones giving to these kids, we get soo much more in return.
When we headed back into town, we went to the grocery store to buy food for the families we visited in the homesteads. We bought rice, cooking oil, beans, peanut butter, bread, apples, sugar, salt, and some cookies. I never knew you could have so much fun grocery shopping! I guess its because it is for people who need it and we know how much of a blessing it will be to them.
Tomorrow we are going back to Hope House to work with Pastor Chomba again and deliver the groceries to the families. Sorry this is soo long! I could talk all day about what God has been doing here in Swaziland! It is sad that our time here is coming to an end soon. Pray that the Lord would bless Hope House Orphanage and the surrounding community, and that we would be able to touch more lives and be a living Jesus to the people of Swaziland!
Because of Him, Steph
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Hear Us From Heaven
Hi, it's me again!! I just wanted to share with you some lyrics from a dance (body worship) that some of the older girls at New Life performed to yesterday. I was so moved by what the girls did I could have bawled my eyes out!! (Russ keeps laughing at me cuz I seem to be crying an awful lot, but it's tears of joy that keep flowing when I see God's love in the children's lives!). It was incredible and one of the highlights of the trip for me so far!! Steph found the song and lyrics online.
Hear Us From Heaven
Lord, hear our cry
Come heal our land
Breathe life into these dry and thirsty souls
Lord, hear our prayer
Forgive our sin
And as we call on your name
Would you make this a place
for your glory to dwell.
Open the blind eyes
Unlock the deaf ears
Come to your people
As we draw near.
Hear us from heaven
Touch our generation
We are your people
Crying out in desperation
These children in Africa are God's children and they need our help. I am so thankful to God that I can be used by Him to serve these children. I'm praying that God's precious love and His perfect peace will cover them and protect them always! Please continue to pray for the children at New Life School and Hope House Orphanage, as well as for the team as we continue serving the Lord!!
Siyabonga,
Penny
Hear Us From Heaven
Lord, hear our cry
Come heal our land
Breathe life into these dry and thirsty souls
Lord, hear our prayer
Forgive our sin
And as we call on your name
Would you make this a place
for your glory to dwell.
Open the blind eyes
Unlock the deaf ears
Come to your people
As we draw near.
Hear us from heaven
Touch our generation
We are your people
Crying out in desperation
These children in Africa are God's children and they need our help. I am so thankful to God that I can be used by Him to serve these children. I'm praying that God's precious love and His perfect peace will cover them and protect them always! Please continue to pray for the children at New Life School and Hope House Orphanage, as well as for the team as we continue serving the Lord!!
Siyabonga,
Penny
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