Christmas Morning

Shash, the boys and I celebrate Christmas in 95 degree weather.

mud vehicles...a hippo and a bakkie...

For those of you who are thinking, "why are those pictures so small?", the answer is because I am still in Blogger 101. If you know how to make big pictures...congratulations! Pat yourself on the back and buy yourself a round on me!! If these pictures are too small for you see, google up magnifyingglass.com For those of you who think these pictures are just the right size, quit sucking up...I KNOW they're too small!!!

The safari...camping our way across the continent...

The team at Victoria Falls in Zambia.

Jenna & the fam. Beautiful vistas.

Lungile and Andisewe help with the sheema. The little ones eat it by the plateful.

Sam the nutty professor...

The ministry of presence....

Everyday it wasn't pouring we would play games with the children. Sam and Joe were each involved in a small group.

Joe helps in the lapa (kitchen) and Luba and I lead a small group...

The Schoolhouse

The inside and outside of Mercy Ministries School in Lusaka, Zambia.

Children taking care of children...

Home at Last!

Merry Christmas! The weary sojourners are home! (by the way, did you know that the Swahili word for journey is ‘safari’?) We traveled thousands and thousands of miles, went through multiple border crossings, took a ferry across the great Zambezi River (twice)- which is full of crocodiles and hippos, and the ultimate third world experience. We put up our tents every night in
the dark and mostly in torrential downpours, drove through hundreds
of miles of pot-holed roads, passing through the great Botswana
rainforests where elephants were right at the side of the road. We
dodged donkeys, goats, people, cattle and donkey pulled carts, while negotiating two lane ‘highway’ for over 6,000 miles.
It rained 19 days in a row; thunder, lightening and mud, mud, mud! My four wheel drive bakkie was a God-send! I know it sounds like a disaster, but it was quite wonderful! A true African adventure!

Our destination, Lusaka, Zambia, was wonderful and filled with beautiful people. They were kind, loving and joyful. It was a pleasure to spend a week with a couple hundred children who were waiting for us everyday as we drove the muddy, slippery miles out to Mercy Ministries, a school for orphans. Of the 326 students enrolled in this fees-free school (all education in Africa costs the student) over 200 hundred of them are orphans. Mercy Ministries is an independent Christian school run by a Zambian couple who gave up nearly everything to move to the country and build a facility that would take care of the poorest or the poor. They claim as the back bone of their ministry the verse in James, “Religion that God accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep one from becoming polluted by the world.” (1:27) What an deep unspeakable blessing to see who and how God is using all over the world. We need but join Him where He’s already at work!

I will let the photographs speak for themselves, but I do want to mention that we had the opportunity to lead 31 teenagers into a personal understanding of what it means to have Christ be the Lord in your life- God’s people, living in God’s place, under God’s rule. There were probably another 50-100 little ones who made a decision to love Jesus with all their heart, mind, soul and strength that day, but I was busy with the teens…you know me...I love those young adults. The students I spent most of my time with were 4th and 5th graders…however, they were 15, 16 and 17 years old, mostly illiterate having been orphaned at a young age. AIDS and malaria are the primary life stealers in Zambia. School is a privilege that few get to exercise.

As one of the top ten poorest countries in the world, you would expect that the living would be inexpensive and the people would receive an abundance of help from charitable organizations, however, the reverse is true. The cost of living is completely unacceptable and quite formidable for the common laborer. A gallon of gas is 9 dollars (US) and a can of tuna, 4. The rich and the poor are separated by a great divide that can only be crossed by organizations who are willing to spend about 3 or 4 times what it would cost to send field workers into most other countries. The unemployment rate is 76% which makes people desperate, so crime is very high, although we never felt unsafe. Everyday the children in the school eat a corn meal mush called Sheema. It is the only meal they get in a day, unless they make a dinner of mangos that fall off one of the many trees. Dorothy, the director of Mercy Ministries, said that most of the children don’t get meat even once a month. Clearly, malnutrition is a chief contributor to the child mortality rate. (Side note: Isn’t it interesting that the Jews call the greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.”the Shema. It is the foundation of their faith. That which sustains them daily…)


I had one young tag along friend nearly every day. It was a 15 year old girl named Justina. She was an orphan and spent most of her time working in the fields to try to earn some money for her grandmother, with whom she lived. Have you ever eaten Chinese food and about an hour later you’re so thirsty for water you could turn a hose on and just gulp like you’ll never get a drink again? That was Justina, only she craved hugs…loving touch. A constant similarity among orphaned children, and is it any wonder; they can not get enough love. Smiles, hugs, ruffled hair, high fives, kisses, or just holding hands, the children at Mercy Ministries School were thirsty! But don’t mistake their hunger and need for physical touch as a billboard for depression. These children were beautiful and full of life, evidenced in their singing, dancing and laughing. I was fed by Justina everyday. Friendship, love and laughter; that’s a steady diet I could get used to!

The MCM/Rock team functioned together beautifully! There were 23 of us (4 were under the age of 10) and not a whiner in the midst! Sam and Joe made some great friends over the past 3 weeks and solidified friendships that had already taken root. They both took part leading small groups plus Joe took a teaching element one day and Sam was in charge of the younger children’s games with Abbi, another team member. I was constantly amazed as I watched the boys work clearly within their areas of God given strength; Sam in one on one relationships, talking deeply and richly with individual younger children, and Joe with the oldest kids, or the adults working for the ministry, hanging out, shooting the breeze.

Trip Highlight: Watching our young team members rise to the occasion and step up to the plate to share God’s love in a completely foreign community, language barrier and all. I am so proud of our team kids!
Trip challenge: Jenna had to fly home about a week before our trip ended. She was Sam and Joe’s best friend here and saying goodbye was emotional and hard. They miss her GREATLY! (as do I). ‘Good-bye’ seems to be our middle name lately…Jehovah knows.

Finally- THANK YOU for the prayers! We had a safe journey, my car still runs (although it’s going in for a bit of work), God blessed the ministry efforts and we are different for having gone. Your prayers sustained me through the exhaustion of the drive, the frustrations of inefficient governments and the bleary-eyed early mornings after another stormy night in a tent (that’s right- we slept in tents 18 of the 20 nights…in the rain…but for those of you who know me, the rain and tent camping are 2 of my favorite things so I was in heaven…just tired.)

New prayer request: I came home to a broken computer and the internet is, ONCE AGAIN, down. Thank God for Tom and Patty who live a few doors down and whose internet is working just fine! Tylyn is trying, long distance, to work me through the computer issues.

Dec. 23rd was about 98 degrees here. Hot and humid! Marsha Harmon (my old ministry partner and spiritual twin, from San Diego) is visiting for a few days so we put up a tree, did some baking and tried to create some holiday cheer…we were successful…but it still seems weird to be drinking lemonade and fanning myself on the back porch as the boys are watching Chevy Chases’ Christmas Vacation with the indoor fans at full power! Christmas in Africa is an upside down experience. Commercailism is incredibly low. Everybody goes to church on Christmas morning and it’s easier to focus on the real meaning of Christmas. Still, there’s no Christmas like a Christmas spent with your family… next year…next year. ☺

On the Road Again

Friday, Nov. 30, the boys and I leave for Zambia. We're accustomed to long road trips and have been pining for the asphalt, so a four day trip 'into Africa' (as the South Africans say) will be a welcome holiday expedition. We're traveling to Lusaka (google up a map!) and will be working at a World Vision school for orphans for 7 days and then we'll travel back home via Chobe National Park in Botswana (google).
Prayer requests:
Safety as we travel.
No 'big game encounters' closer than 50 meters.
no shortage of breath mints and deodorant.
but really..........
pray for an indelible experience that changes us for ever towards greater Kingdom encounters!

I love you all. I'll be off the radar for 3 weeks. Tylyn, Bethany and Travis...take care of one another! Family: take care of Tylyn, Bethany and Travis. Friends: ditto family. XXOO

JEHOVAH KNOWS!!!!

I forgot to attach this photo below. :) techno meh

That ain't no turkey!

Look closer. That is a delicacy in this neck of the woods; pig's head. Now, I've heard tale that people eat everything including the 'oink', but being a vegetarian, this was a sight I could have lived without.
No, this was not our Thanksgiving dinner. This was Jenna's 20th birthday dinner, a great celebratory feast prepared by Nosipho, Mqokeleli's wife. You bet Jenna ate some! Saying 'no thank you' is not an option!

I think I have...uh...an appointment, yeah, that's it, an appointment on my birthday. Sorry I won't be able to make the other white meat shindig.

Thanksgiving in South Africa

The photo is actually from a few weeks ago when Sam, Joe and I had Lubabalo, Becky, Heather and the boys new big sister, Jenna, over for squash and gourd cutting. I was too busy on Thanksgiving day to snap a few pics! Still, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Only four, count them, four turkeys to choose from at the local market. Which would be fine except for the fact that they were all the size of big chickens...with one exception. I put the 21 pound cellophane wrapped, poorly plucked, bird into my 'trolley' and began the search for pumpkin. Which was fruitless, no pun intended. But I did find pumpkin's South African cousin, butternut squash...in baby food jars. 16 Jars later I had enough for 2 pies. Stuffing isn't common here, but bread is, so 4 loaves later, dried and diced, my Stovetop simulation was perfect. Becky (a US intern) made an apple pie and the sweet potato casserole. It was unbelievably delicious! Jibs (the American mom of the Oefinger family) made mountains of mashed potatoes and everybody else brought a little something so we had the American Abundance that spells Thanksgiving!

Sixteen of us gathered together after working in the communities with Hospice, or at the TB/HIV Hospital, serving soup after discipleship or pulling office hours at the MCM Coffee House. We said grace and were eating by 8PM. Sam was blessed to have Madison Spina, the 6th grade daughter of Vince and Didi Spina, keep him company for the evening. 8 year old Mason had a ball with Gage and Jud Oefinger. The Spina's are good friends of one of my dearest friends, Michelle Brinnon; Michelle made some connections and we were blessed to have Americans we had just met on Wednesday join us for serving soup and feasting festivities!

Interesting enough- When we all went around the table to say what we were thankful for, the common theme, other than God's abounding love, was the fact that there was an abundance of food on the table. We had all just come from a community where one meal a day is blessing, even if it's just a bologna and butter sandwich. As each of us reflected on the many reasons we have to be thankful, our gravy stained empty plates were a strong reminder of God's provision, and for that we are most Thankful.

This was my 3rd Thanksgiving day without my best friend, my husband, Ty and the first without my mother in law, Vi, and their first together in 3 years. It was also difficult, no, different , to be away from Tylyn, Bethany and Travis this year. But they were together with their grandpa Jay, and uncle Mark, and then they went over to their Grandma and Grandpa Hixon's in Manteca to be with all of our wonderful family there. So, as lonely as I was for them, Jehovah knows and He holds them in the palm of His hand, cradling them with tender loving care, the 'mother love' of God. As a hen (or turkey if you will) pulls her chicks in under her wing to provide comfort and nurture, like only a mother can.

And I'm thankful for all of the prayer support and financial support from you, my extended spiritual family in America. I miss your laughter and your hugs. We've been out of internet at the house for 4 days now (my family can blow through 3 gigs in a dozen days) which means we can only email sporadically and can't use the Vonage line at all. Ahhhhh.the joys of living in a developing country. :)

Sam, Joey, Lubabalo and Andisiwe are waiting until the small groups all dismiss before they can begin handing out bologna and butter sandwiches. 'Small Group', by the way, is a misnomer, the kids are split into age groups and range from 150 in a group to 20. Sometimes less, sometimes more. You can pray for our small group leaders who are 15-23 years old and faithfully attend every week, rain or shine! Most of the leaders have only been in relationship with Christ for a year or two themselves.
In the summer Nosipho, Pastor Mqokeleli's wife, begins to make bologna and butter sandwiches because soup is too hot to cook and too hot to serve! The children also enjoy a 'gatorade' type drink. Feeding the children is always organized chaos, yet no child ever complains about what's being served or the size of their portion. They are always grateful, always smiling.

Two beautiful Xhosa little ones wait in line with 200 other children to get a small portion of soup and a piece of bread. Some children sit down outside the community center and gobble it right down. Others carry it home for the family to share. For many it is the only nutritious meal they've had in days. Continue to pray for MCM's soup manufacturing warehouse where we hope to be producing soup for up to 5,000 children a day beginning in January 2008.

Sonstraal TB/HIV Hospital

Photo: Some of the kids at the hospital and an American friend who was helping out for a day, Jenny (a friend of Patty's). Sonstraal Hospital is located in Paarl East (the colored community) and is a home for about 100 TB/HIV patients. Some are multi-drug resistant TB patients. They are in a special ward where we are discouraged from going, however, there are a few patients who come from that side to sit with us and see what we're all about. They are supposed to wear face masks, but that's so uncomfortable, offensive and claustrophobic that none do. I completely trust that God has called me to Sonstraal for this season and He will protect me...I mean really, I myself no longer live but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20) and Christ physically loved (that means touching) the sick and diseased. Without a doubt, those who have been in the hospital for months and months have not had human contact, i.e., a hug, for months and months. Having lost Ty 2 1/2 years ago, I know it's like to not get a hug as regularly as I was used to (or needed). Honestly, what would Jesus do? He would hug them. Tylyn's key question- Why would Jesus do it? Answer: Because God is love.
There are about 20 children presently at the hospital. The numbers change every day. Some patients leave because they are ready to go home and continue treatments and meds from the comfort of their homes, others die, and there is always an influx of new patients. The little ones are mostly between one and four years old. Several have a TB/Spinal Meningitis/HIV combination. They are the hardest ones to pass by in the cribs. The others are getting well (God gave children amazing resilience) and love to see us coming.
As do the women. Three colored women from Lighthouse Church in Paarl East , Patty Gay and myself visit the hospital 2x a week for only a couple of hours at a time. The female patients, who at first were skeptical and resistant to hanging out with us, now sit on the stoop waiting before we get there. We craft with them, or play a game and then tie in a Bible lesson and a testimony about God's activity in our lives, as well as encourage them towards good physical and spiritual health. The women speak mostly Afrikaans but they understand a lot of my English, thanks to "The Young and the Restless." A favorite 'soapie' over here. We sing songs and dance a little...well, the volunteers dance...the women mostly watch, tap their feet and sing along.
You may be saying to yourself, 'funny, Laura, I don't remember you ever saying that your intention was to go work in a hospital with women and children'. And you would be right...that was not my intention. However, you will remember me saying that "God is calling me to SA, and although I'll be working with the discipleship programs in Paarl East and Mbekweni, God will tell me what I'm really supposed to be doing once I'm there."
And, yes, I am still working with the discipleship program. Greg Oefinger and I just plotted out our curriculum, events and short term teams strategies (concerning discipleship) for 2008! Developing some young leadership in Paarl East will be the number one priority this year so that when the community center/sports complex and the Butterfly House (an HIV/AIDS day care center) open we will be prepared to staff it with volunteers/disciplers who love God and love others.

passport shot.......

Hmmmm.......We're traveling to Zambia in a month so we needed to send away our passports to get Visa's. A.) Pray our passports get returned in time. B.) Pray there is no car trouble and we don't get eaten by lions in Chobe National Park in Botswana....no...really.

A New Pet For Travis

Travis, look what you're getting for Christmas! I'll send him (or her...couldn't quite tell) back with Marsha Harmon (Shashi) who's coming to visit us for Christmas!

Yeah!!!!! With Sam's help I uploaded a photo! (simple pleasures) Aren't these some stylin' guys. School doesn't start for them for another 2 months but they are ready now. Sometimes they walk around the house in their uniforms and stand up when I enter a room just for the fun of it....really, they're not bored at all. (Just kidding! Joey would not appreciate that comment if he thought for a minute someone might believe it! ) Now I'll try a photo on my own.

MOM BLOG; A CURRENT AFFAIR

If Ty could see me now...and maybe he does....I'm blogging, honey. Or am I? I suppose I'll have to log off and then try to log back in and see if anything sticks before I break out the celebratory Fresca and congratulate myself. Due to weak internet capabilities and inspired by my cousin-in-law in Texas, I've decided to merge onto the internet highway and putz in the slow lane for a season.

The boys and I are doing great. No kidding. Though, life here is quiet. I suppose I was accustomed to the houseful of the boy's friends and my high school students, the noise of my life. My baby brother dropping in to game with the guys, the mid-night drop in's of Trav's buddies, Bethany knitting (quiet regular ticks...pearl two) in a corner of the living room while Reno circles the dining room table looking and grunting for his lost sheep. Tylyn trying out a latest instrument he found at a thrift shop or composing a long hair sonata. I never took that noise for granted knowing that in an instant it can all change.

And change it did. We hear new noises. Loud talking (I didn't think it was possible to be louder than my home) in the Mbekweni community centers. Pots clanging, kids laughing, dogs barking, clicking , clucking and rolling of 'r's. Different bird calls, wind howling through un-insulated houses, taxi's held together with duct tape rumbling quickly through the crowded streets. I love the new noises, but miss the sounds of my two older boys sparring and laughing.

The sights are also new. The smells. Even the touch, the texture of life here is different. It must change us, slowly, like a retainer worn only at night and only when your mother insists. And the change will make us beautiful, to Him at least.