Missionary-Blogs 5

Fana 1981 - 10 November 2009

Rehmeyer Family — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:45:00 -0800

The young man we spoke about in the last update passed away on November 10. We visited him on Friday, prayed with him and tried to teach his family how to care for him. One thing Teresa stressed to them was how important it was that he continue drinking. He had already stopped eating because of the sores in his throat and mouth. On Saturday we got a call that his family had called and he had stopped drinking as well. Jabulani put him in the CHIPS khombi and took him to Good Shepherd Hospital in Siteki. He was admitted.
We got the call on Tuesday that he had died.
He was slated to start on ART (Anti Retro-viral Treatment) on Thursday.
It is a shame that most men (and plenty of women as well) will live in denial until they are too weak to even respond to treatment. At that point HIV really is a death sentence.
Our hope and prayer is that even for those who choose to ignore the situation (and maybe the obvious), we will still have the opportunity to minister and demonstrate Christ's love to them and their family in an obvious way.

Is The Quarantine Really Over?!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:36:00 -0800

Apparently the quarantine is coming to an end officially on the 25th. Already the oppressive mood that has been hanging over Kyiv these past few weeks seems lighter. There are only a few stragglers on the streets and food service staff who are still wearing masks. This is a welcome change. I stood in line at McDonald's today and watched the cashier adjust and touch the nose and mouth part of his face mask about six times before he handed food to his customer. That grosses me out. Masks have got to be more unsanitary then just not wearing them at all.

Today I was waiting for the metro and an elderly lady stood next to me and started coughing. Immediately everyone around her backed away and I was the only one left standing next to her. She was highly embarrassed and started to fumble in her purse and took out a bottle of water. She then said to me in Ukrainian, "I don't have the flu! I just have something in my throat and need some water." I smiled at her to try and make her comfortable.

Yes, I am glad this whole thing is over!

Gcinile

Patrick Conti — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:39:00 -0800

So Karl and I had some visitors this past week. Nhlanhla and Gcinile spent the night at our home after some family problems forced them out of a relatives house for the night. Nhlanhla went to school and left Gcinile in the care of Karl and I. It was an interesting adventure. Karl and I are not schooled in the finer arts of taking care of two year olds. Anyhow, she's a cutie and they've got a bright future ahead of them...i believe that and because our God is faithful!

He Who Began a Good Work in You...

Susan Rodgers — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:05:00 -0800

Two blogs in one sitting! I guess I'm making up for lost time. :-)

I've just read through some of my old blog posts. It's interesting to read and remember the different things I was going through as I wrote. Part of me is like, "Who is this goody-two-shoes?" when I read some of my own words. Lord knows I'm sincere, and the more vulnerable posts taken straight out of my journal entries are about as real as one can get.

I read and see a girl who wants to try so hard to live for Jesus that she forgets to simply abide let Him live through her. She's learning to surrender her will to His and follow His agenda. Sometimes she can be a slow learner!

I'm just thankful the Lord loves me, no matter what. I still have a lot to learn. I choose to rest in this truth:

"He Who Began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it." Philippians 1:6

I'll keep blogging, sharing lessons I'm learning in hopes that perhaps someone else can glean a little truth and encouragement. That makes it all worthwhile.

HPC-Swaziland Interns

Susan Rodgers — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:43:00 -0800

See these four beautiful people? Their names are Paul, Tamara, Tyrone, and Karl. They are HPC Swaziland’s 2009 interns. Their last day was this past Friday. Yesterday they shared at church about their experiences as interns, and how their lives have been changed.

Ben and I are so proud of them, and we love them each so much.

Please pray for them, now, as they seek God about their future. Please pray that they’ll keep the faith and always live for Jesus. Pray that the seed deposited in them will multiply and flourish for the Kingdom of God.

God, please bless Paul, Tamara, Tye, and Karl!

National Blog Posting Month

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:28:00 -0800

Been at a friend's house most of the day so here's my photo of the day in place of writing anything!

Grandma's Brag

Barb — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:47:00 -0800

My daughter sent me some pictures that made me very proud. She and her husband, Daniel, had completed a 'little project' for their son (my grandson) Alejandro. They built him a bed!! And it's beautiful! I am really really impressed and I can't help telling everyone how proud I am. I'm sure that Alejandro will enjoy this great bed!

And of course, I also want to take the opportunity to show you how beautiful my grandchildren are - and how much they are growing!! Alejandro is now 3 years old and Eliana is 1 1/2 and looks just like her big brother. Aren't they just the cutest? And, that's not all! There's going to be another little one joining their family in May. Grandma gets to keep on bragging! :-)

Blessed

Barb — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:04:00 -0800

This week I have been multiply blessed. An e-mail from a friend reminded me of one of those blessings. My friend had mentioned the Needlework Guild in Toronto who gather homemade articles by the thousands to give to various organizations and helping agencies. It made me think with appreciation of all the work so many women do with their hands to bless others. And it reminded me of a lovely visit I had this week with one such woman in the village of Milestii Noi.
I and my colleagues were hosting some visitors from Holland whose agency provides financial support for many of the projects that we run here in Moldova. We took them with us to see some of the work and projects that they are funding. We went to visit the village of Razeni, where one of our student teams was helping the Baptist church in their new church construction project. The pastor was showing us around and telling us about his vision for this church and for the churches he is seeking to plant in the surrounding villages. The two Dutch brothers who were with us were interested to see some of the projects that their agency was supporting. One of those projects is the regular delivery of food parcels to elderly people who are struggling to get by. The situation of seniors in Moldova is incredibly difficult and those who don't have children or family to care for them are sometimes in the most shocking and horrendous living conditions.

We went together - four of us and the pastor - to visit sister Sophia and to deliver a food parcel to her. This lady is a Christian sister, a widow who lives all alone in a small village where there are only a handful of believers. They meet in various homes and sometimes in her home. She is very lonely as her 4 children all live elsewhere in Europe - places where there are jobs to be had.

In this particular case, her living situation was not all that bad, but that's not to say she was not in need. But she was not a needy person, per se, in the sense that, from the moment we walked in , this delightful faith-filled lady was giving to us who had come to give to her! As soon as we walked in she greeted us with a huge smile, and pulled out the table and chairs and started putting food on the table. We sat down together and had a meal and tea with her while asking about her family and her life in the village. She was delighted to tell us her story and answer our questions and tell us about what she does with her time. The Dutch brother asked if she reads the Bible every day and she answered in the affirmative and that then she spends time making things each day, such as the round chair pads we were sitting on. She jumped up to go to the other room and came back with a whole bag full of little slippers that she had made. Each one of us was given a pair for ourselves and for our family members. Our visiting Dutch friend has 3 children at home and she found slippers for all of them and for his wife. He mentioned that that day was his daughter's birthday and the pastor said that sister Sophia had just celebrated her birthday recently so we should sing happy birthday. I admitted that my birthday was to be in 2 days and so we all stood and sang the Moldovan version of the happy birthday song for Naomi and Sophia and for me. Sophia was still asking people who else they needed slippers for as we went out the door and I was able to restrain myself from mentioning my grandchildren, as she had already been so generous.
It was a wonderful visit to a dear lonely sister in Christ and we came away feeling very blessed and knowing that she felt blessed to have had us visit her! My feet right now are warm and cozy in the slippers that she gave me - a pair that she chose for me that fit me perfectly!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:48:00 -0800

Today was sunny for the first time in I don't know how long! I took this photo during the last week when we had somewhat dry skies!

Bridges and Roads

noreply@blogger.com (Marg and Jake Hoogland) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:17:00 -0800

We have lived in this community for 3 and a half years and have seen the condition of the road ebb and flow with the seasons. This spring , it is at its worst.

Year #1 was a series of community blockades that restricted our movement and led to many frustrating times trying to obtain permission to come and go through the neighbouring community. Thanks to their diligent blockading, the road in our community stayed in relatively good shape.

Year #2 brought increased traffic since many of the local farmers increased their rice production, the farming was more mechanized, and more people were working land further into the jungle. That meant more road traffic and our poor roads were eaten away by the heavy rice trucks. Also, the logging company moved on and the little maintenance that was done ceased.

Year #3 – a new gravel (rock) road to within three kilometres of the gate. But more problems with those three kilometres. No one was maintaining the road. People were moving the rice while the roads were wet. The dry season was wetter than normal so the road never dried out. The result was a very rough path, full of pot holes.

Of course, there is always talk of fixing the road and of installing bridges. This spring it happened. One new bridge and four culverts have been installed in the three kilometres leading to the main road. After a couple of weeks the road grader arrived and started to raise the road. As is normal, it has now broken down and is in for repairs. The local government says that it doesn’t have the money for the repairs so one of the farmers from Taruma has lent them 4000 bolivianos so that the grader can be fixed. He and his family own three chacos and have soy ready to be harvested so he sees the need for a better road.

It would cost about $1000US to put gravel on the road in Patujusal 2. Each land owner would pay about $70.00 -- about what one would receive for 2 fanagas (360 kilos) of rice. Most farmers have over 5 hectares of land mechanized and should get between 18 and 25 fanagas per hectare for a total of 90 to 245 fanagas. It would take only 2 fanagas to gravel the road but the majority decided that they would rather not gravel the road but instead, wait for a year or so to see if the local government – or someone else – will do it for them. You can imagine what the road will look like next year!

We hear that they will asphalt the first 45 kilometers in 2010. Should we count on it?