Swaziland

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Location: Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States

Not content with the ordinary. Searching for the supernatural.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Sauni Update 2

Aloha to all!

Just a quick note to let you know that the computer is still not fixed but i hope it will be by today and allow me to show the kids at he school tomorrow. I have really felt this to be an important thing as it is the only thing they can see and know us... the pen-pal program will work, but all the people will benefit from knowing just who it is that is praying for them and seeking to build a relationship with them. Please pray with me as the tech fixes it.

I have been ever blessed by my friends here in Swazi both new and old! I have a home away from home and many close friends..... To my AFAC teammates, you are missed and asked about quite regularly! Wendy has asked about Carolyn and wants her to know she has made a new skirt.... i will take a pic for you:) and Tipho still cant understand why Jeannie Carolyn and Justin didn’t make the journey with me, since you are her friends! Many kids have asked about Doris and wonder when she will come back to teach them new things. Keo, Bongani is still wearing your boots! He is very proud of them! Bronwen & Keo, Gcebile is excited to see what happens with the fruit trees! Several kids asked about their "football" friend Andy! You made some lasting memories with them they shall not soon forget! Tyne and Bronwen, I delivered the last of the toothbrushes... and the kids couldn’t believe I remembered them! They were so happy! Trent, I gave Ncaniywe the picture of her with your hat and she was so excited! She thought she looked "cool"...........

Continue to pray for safety as I return and for health... the weather now is very rainy and yucky cold.... sort like home in winter when it doesn’t let up and is cold. But I have many things still yet to do and many quotations to get before I go so pray I get it all done in time... God has allowed me to accomplish much and I am grateful for his sustenance! I have much to do still before I return, so keep lifting!

Anyhow, I must go, I will write again perhaps tomorrow, my last day in town...

Blessings!
Saun

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Sauni's Update, October 1, 2006

Sauni went back to visit Swaziland during our Fall Break in October. Here is her first update.

Aloha to ALL! Just wanted to give you an update about some of the research... Things are progressing well and I have been able to collect a good amount of information to help KCN-WNA.. God is amazing and is helping me wot accomplish a great deal! I have met with the Pastor and Principal and have secured a great deal of information.

At present ..there are some urgent needs - the stream has completely dried up and there is absolutely NO WATER except for about a mile or so away. Apparantly this happens each spring and it is not certain if there will be more until the heavy rains come.... making the well a huge and pressing need! I have found a way to get us access to meeting this need and would like you to pray over this matter...

The lord directed me to a man at a revival service who works with the ministry of Ed. and he is willing to help me take a letter directly to the people who can help. I think if we are able invest in a deposit they could begin and jump the que which would mean that they could get it started. However we are looking at $1426 in USD for the depost and then the estimates would follow for the rest.... It is apparant that the cost is cheaper than it would be outside the government. so It would be less than the previous quote .... which was about $4300 USD but doesnt include the piping needed to get the whole campus acces to water. that would be a bit more... all in all the whole project would cost less than the outside and would not exceed more than a US total of $10,000 as far as I can tell . anyhow, please make this a matter of prayer!

For myself... I have gotten the "cold-flu" as the Swazi's say and would greatly apprectiate your prayers as the weather is rainy and hot and rainy and hot... this wreaks havoc on my physical body and I would greatly covet your prayers for health in my muscles as well.

I distributed the toothbrushes today and the kids were so surpised to see me again! Many were very grateful and happy to receive such a gift! so thanks to those who helped with the donations! Many blessings to you all!

I just picked up the large box today from Manzini -Matsapha Airport.... It was a bit battered but thanks to an excellent tape job (Tx- Pastor Joy) it made it! I was a bit concerned since the last time i was in that airport we had "bribery issues" but once again the Lord did his business and all was well..... I am so blessed!

I will distribute the care packages later in the week to the kids... but i told them today i had something very special for htem and they are very excited to find out what it is! I meet with the teachers tomorrow to discuss the penpal program... but the principal is very favorable with the idea and was very happy to see our presentations! (Tx- Amy!) It was even discussed that maybe the church would like to get involved with this.... So I will look into this further upon return... The people here are very grateful for the love we are extending them and I have been apporached by several people who are outstanded by the gesture we are making.

The revival services were for several outlining churches of the African Evangelical Church and many of them came to tell me how very happy they were to hear that an American had come back to serve their people. they are excited to see how we are going to bridge these two communities. I had 3 different pastors introduce themselves to me offering any help they could... one of them in the one in the Min. of Ed. i spoke of. anyhow.... the lord is at work!

I have enjoyed getting to know Pastor Daniel and have discovered he is shy but really has a heart for the lord. Based on our discussions I have come to realize he wasnt "in the loop" of information on the previous journey. I find him to be quite a prayerful man. He has a great vision for his church and community. I am excited to see how we can come along side them to help it to fruition.

I have been extended a great opportunity and I continue to seek the Lords wisdom and guidance as he leads me.... it is quite an awesome responsibility and I find at times a bit overwhelmed.... but as the Holy Spirit has fallen on me several times in revival and worship, i am reminded that it is Him who givbes me strength and he is the equipper for such an unworthy vessel as myself. So I continue to walk it out.....

I just picked up the large box today from Manzini -Matsapha Airport.... It was a bit battered but thanks to an excellent tape job (Tx- Pastor Joy) it made it! I was a bit concerned since the last time i was in that airport we had "bribery issues" but once again the Lord did his business and all was well..... I am so blessed!

I will distribute the care packages later in the week to the kids... but i told them today i had something very special for htem and they are very excited to find out what it is! I meet with the teachers tomorrow to discuss the penpal program... but the principal is very favorable with the idea and was very happy to see our presentations! (Tx- Amy!) It was even discussed that maybe the church would like to get involved with this.... So I will look into this further upon return... The people here are very grateful for the love we are extending them and I have been apporached by several people who are outstanded by the gesture we are making.

The revival services were for several outlining churches of the African Evangelical Church and many of them came to tell me how very happy they were to hear that an American had come back to serve their people. they are excited to see how we are going to bridge these two communities. I had 3 different pastors introduce themselves to me offering any help they could... one of them in the one in the Min. of Ed. i spoke of. anyhow.... the lord is at work!

I have enjoyed getting to know Pastor Daniel and have discovered he is shy but really has a heart for the lord. Based on our discussions I have come to realize he wasnt "in the loop" of information on the previous journey. I find him to be quite a prayerful man. He has a great vision for his church and community. I am excited to see how we can come along side them to help it to fruition.

I have been extended a great opportunity and I continue to seek the Lords wisdom and guidance as he leads me.... it is quite an awesome responsibility and I find at times a bit overwhelmed.... but as the Holy Spirit has fallen on me several times in revival and worship, i am reminded that it is Him who givbes me strength and he is the equipper for such an unworthy vessel as myself. So I continue to walk it out.....

I seek your prayer support and ask for you to prayerfully address the WATER concern in your time with the Lord. May he lead you as he sees fit.

I look forward to hearing from you and will report back as soon as I can.....Many blessings, Saun

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Swazi Update 2

Aloha all. I stopped by to give an update while picking up water this evening. The past couple of days have been hard on me - emotionally and physically. We have a team of 14 people and while it is clear to see why God placed each person on the team, there have been some personality and communication issues. I have been doing my best to try and foresee problems before they happen, but that is just not entirely possible.
Sunday was our day off. We were supposed to go to an engagement party at the church from 10am-11am and then stay for church. Last week church was from 11am-1:15pm or so, but there were a lot of formalities so we figured this week it should also end between 1pm-1:30pm. Some of our team members get a bit antsy if they do not have a scheduled activity, so I scheduled an activity and asked who wanted to go. Everyone wanted to go, but we only had enough transportation for 12 of us. Two people agreed to take a cab and skip church so that the other 12 could go. We were supposed to meet them at the culteral center around 3:15pm.
Well, it turned out that the engagement party started at 10am, combined with the church service at 11am. The service lasted until shortly after 2pm and then they were going to have a dinner. Some people wanted to stay, some people wanted to go. It was quite the headache. I went with the majority of the group, but felt torn because I knew the people wanted us to stay for the dinner. I knew I did the right thing to keep peace in the group, but it was difficult to do.
Heidi has appointed me as the Worksite Manager for the past few days. She has not been able to be out at the site much and the team felt they needed a "go to" person. They were burning fields today which was made it a bit more difficult to breathe. Between the smoke and the sun, my body is yelling at me tonight.
I did get to work in a classroom today. The first grade teacher was not in, so I was kind of appointed to take her place. Talk about overwhelming! There were over 40 children in that classroom and they spoke very limited English. In many ways it was sweet. They wanted to touch my skin and hold my hand. Unfortunately, since there were over 40 of them, it meant that they were trampling over one another and some of them were getting hurt. I had to leave the classroom to get help because I was worried that someone might get really hurt. God was gracious and we made it through the day pretty well. We counted, did addition, a bit of reading from their si-Swati books, English animals and their sounds, rhythm activites, songs and games outside. Wow!
I sawed wood today for the new chairs. It gave Bruce a good laugh. He told me that I could autograph the board I cut, but he didn't offer to let me cut any more! hehe I also helped measure for the new fruit trees that we are going to plant.
I think the highlight of my day came in the morning when we saw them pass the fruit out to the children. We all chipped in to buy enough fruit for the entire school and they passed it out at lunch today. Not only was it great to watch the children with their fruit, but they were washing their hands with soap before they lined up to eat it. I actually had tears in my eyes, silly me. It was nice to see some immediate "fruit" if you will from our work.
The building is coming up nicely. It is only about 2 blocks from being as tall as I am. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they finished the walls by the end of this week. We may get to see this home finished. That would be wonderful.
Thank you for keeping me (and the team) in your prayers. I am sure that they are the fuel that keep me going some days. This is probably the hardest Mission Trip I have ever been on, but I learning so much. The lessons have not always been fun, but I believe they are necessary for my growth. Pray that I resist the temptation to withdraw and instead face these lessons head on. Pray that I am open to being used however God may want to use me throughout the rest of this trip.
Thank you all so much. I will write more later.

--
Be Blessed,
Jeannie

Swazi Update

We were sent home from the worksite today because the cement needs more time to dry before they can start constructing the walls. Our vocational training team has now visited each classroom to teach hygiene. I did the initial training with our group on Sunday night. Next time we should probably train the team on these things before we come to the actual mission field. I was surprised at how many questions people had.
The classes went well according to the reports I received. Even the teachers even learned a few things. The science teacher asked, "You mean we have to use soap and not only water?" Yes, I did say the science teacher. I was glad we taught the class.
Today I did my first HIV teaching. I met with the Community Health Educators and some of the neighborhood women. A few men also showed up for the meeting which surprised me because up to this point only women have come to the classes we have offered during the day. I wasn't sure what they already knew and wanted to be careful to show respect while I taught them. Thankfully, Brenda showed up to interpret for me. I explained what HIV was and why you get sick when you have it. We talked a little bit about how it is spread and how important it is to keep yourself away from sickness if you have it. Most of their questions surrounded the medicines and how they work. A few of them asked things like, "Can you get it from kissing? Can you get it from tears?" I don't know how much new information I gave them, but they thanked me when I was finished. I was a little surprised that no one asked me questions about sexual transmission, but then again, it was a group of about 25 people so it may not have been a comfortable situation.
Yesterday, before I had to go back to the campground and play nurse, we visited a couple of schools to learn about the orphans and see how Advocates for Africa's Children might be able to help. The first school we visited was almost all orphans. A pastor and his wife have been running the school by faith, trusting that God will provide the money when it is required. We took pictures of the orphan children and are hoping to be able to find some people who will sponsor the children - or a class - or the school. :-)
The problem of orphans here is overwhelming. People's homes are full and there are still children with no home.
The one thing I have not had a lot of opportunity to do is pray with the people of Swaziland. I was blessed to address some encouraging words to a gathering of Pastors which was well received. But I long to pray individually with the people. With 6 of our team already falling sick, I have had plenty of opportunity to pray with them, however! :-)
The internet cafe is getting full and I need to get moving anyway. Thanks for your emails. I will update you all with more information soon.
By the way, I am putting all of these emails on my website as well. www.jeanniehughes.com


--
Be Blessed,
Jeannie

Finally in Africa!

I am running errands with Heidi today so she does not have to walk around town alone. She has print out a number of things, so I thought I would send out another update.

The place we are staying reminds me a lot of Powers Hall at Iowa Campgrounds. Only you don't have to go into the basement to get to the bathrooms. There is not much wildlife here, only domesticated animals. Lots of cows and goats. In fact, they roam free and there have already been a few times when we had to convince a bull that the road was for us and not them. There are also no snakes this time of year. They are all in hybernation. You can guess how disappointed I am about that!
It has been rather chilly here, but today is flat out cold. You can see you breathe outside. I would guess it is close to freezing. Who knew Africa got so cold? Especially being so close to the same lattitude as Hawaii.
The work site is not too bad. They already have a school and church there. The children have to use latrines, but they do have a toilet for the adults. The trick is that you have to fill buckets with water and carry them to the toilet so you can wash everything down after you are finished. The property is set up to have running water, but their water pump is broken. That is doubly bad because when it works, it pumps the water into a filter of sorts so it is safe for the children to use for drinking and washing their hands. The principal is supposed to be getting a price quote for the new pump so we can try and get donations toward it.
Today, a few of us will meet with the Minister of Social Wellfare and the Minister of Public Health. They will escort us to see AIDS hospitals and clinics in this part of Swaziland. Tomorrow we will meet some of the orphans who are the worst off and take pictures of them. We will create profiles and see if we can get people to sponsor them. Sauni is planning to speak with the various authorities about possible adoption options from the USA. Then on Wednesday I am to meet with the Public Health Workers around the village where we are working to train them on sanitation practices. All the while, our construction team is working on the structure of the Children's Home. The foundation is complete and they poured cement for the floor today. Things are right on schedule.
All in all things are going well. I have a little girl Tipo (pronounced Depo) who has decided I am her friend. She sought me out in church yesterday and stayed by my side most of the time we were there. One of her older sisters also spent quite a bit of time talking to me. She wants to take music lessons, but it made me laugh because she already has such a beautiful voice. Tipo is actually an AIDS orphan. Both of her parents and older brother have died from AIDS. She was tested a few months ago when this family adopted her, but must be tested once more before they confirm that she is free of HIV. I thought this family seemed relatively well off and then when I returned to the Conference Center Carolynn informed me that they were part of the chief's family. That explained a lot. It appears that we are meeting a number of significant people in Swaziland. It seems weird to be rubbing elbows with people who carry so much authority in this place.
The church service was good yesterday, but there wasn't much of an opportunity to pray with people. They dismissed the service in SiSwati so we didn't even know that it was over until people started getting up and leaving. hehe. Then we were taken to another room where we ate with some of the "men of standing" in the church. The women and children stayed outside while we ate, but I brought Tipo in with me. I put enough food on my plate for both of us to eat and gave her a spoon. She was thrilled. I didn't plan on purposely making an exception. I just didn't realize that the women and children were not going to be eating with us. Her dad nodded his approval and no one else complained. The food was not bad. We did not drink the juice, but everything else was well cooked and none of us got sick from it. They served chicken and rice, beans, carrots, beef stew and pumpkin. Most of us thought the pumpkin was sweet potato with a somewhat different flavor. The men laughed at us and told us it was not sweet potato, but pumpkin.
I think that is all I know for now. We have taken many pictures, but I don't know that we will be able to upload them until we return. Let me know if you have any specific questions about what things are like here.


--
Be Blessed,
Jeannie

Swaziland Detour

Aloha to all of you from Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur is beautiful, although rather hot and humid. Actually the first day we were here was not too bad, felt kind of like Hawaii during Huricane season with no trade winds. Last night, however, we went out after it had been raining for a few hours. I believe I was complete soaked through in less than 15 minutes. Such a pleasant feeling - NOT! hehe
The people here have been amazing. The men at Malaysian Airlines were not very nice, but everyone else we met has been great. In fact, we may have Sauni - AKA, Angelina Jolie - married off to a cute conciere here at the hotel. Hehe. He has an Indian name that I can not spell - starts with a G and ends with th, but his "catholic" name is Bobbie. You may all now share in the razzing of Sauni. When we told him we were going to Africa to help with AIDS orphans, he looked at Sauni and told her that she looked like Angelina Jolie. A moment we will never forget, I am sure. There have been many of those that I will put on my personal blog, for those who want to take the time to read more in depth about our adventures.
In case I did not clarify, the reason we were not able to fly out had to do with our luggage. We were told that Malaysian Airlines allowed 2 checked bags at 20kg per person and that if we joined their frequent flier program we could take 30kg per person. We packed everything accordingly. We were taking clothing, vocational training supplies and sanitary supplies (soap, toothbrushes, etc.) When we tried to check in, they told us that the packing limit was 20kg total per person, not per bag and that we would have to come up with $6000 in order to check in or find a way to get rid of our luggage. By the time they gave us that information it was almost midnight and they were ready to close. We all agreed that we would have to sacrifice the donated items in order to get to Africa, but we also knew that we could not accomplish it in the 5 minutes that the man was providing us. He refused to hold the flight while we emptied our luggage. So we went back to our hotel - thankfully they allowed us to stay in the rooms we had already paid for earlier in the day - and slept for a few hours hoping a solution would present itself.
We all went through a phase of panic, wondering what to do and how to find help. Then peace began to settle in. We found an angel by the name of Eddie who worked both as a Travel Agent and for the Government Charity Organization. He arranged for us to stay at a hotel in town, transportation back and forth and our new airline tickets. He is also arranging for us to visit an orphanage here in Kuala Lumpur and arranging for someone to pick up our donated items. We are all working our luggage down to 20 kg.
There have been problems. Out of the 6 of us stranded in Kuala Lumpur, 4 of us have chronic illness or pain of some sort, so you can imagine with the stress of all that happened, we had a few rough moments where our bodies didn't want to cooperate, but everything has evened out. Carolynn has even been able to stabilize her sugar levels. Never have I been at a point in my life where I felt so vulnerable and not in contol. Lacking sleep in a foreign country with no place to stay and very little money. Not to mention the stress of missing prescheduled meetings and not being able to meet up with the rest of the team broke each of us I think. And I am glad. We were forced into a situation where we had to wait on God and trust Him to provide what we needed. We have prayed together many times and although our first prayer of being allowed on Malaysia airlines was not answered the way we might have hoped, every prayer since then has.
We have met with many people who have served us as angels and helped us get what was needed. There is so much more to say on the subject, but I realize I have been rambling for a long time. I will blog more later, but my 20 ringets are about all used up.
Please keep us in our prayers, but know that God is doing some amazing things amongst our team both in Swaziland and Kuala Lumpur. Those who would not have considered themselves leaders on this trip are stepping up to the plate in Africa and those who would have been considered leaders are learning how to live with one another in a situation where they have little control over anything other than their attitude and prayer time. Hhmmm, I think I can see God working in that. :-)
I will talk to you all later. Thank you for your prayers. If all goes well, we will be flying out at 1am Wed. morning for Johannesburg Africa.

Trouble - Please Pray

We are stuck in KualaLumpur and people are sick discouraged and tired. We need a miracle. Pray for a way to get out of here to Africa. Right not it looks like we will not be able to get out until Wednesday and Heidi has a governmental meeting tomorrow morning. Not to mention the extra funds that are being required as we stay in Kuala Lumpur. We are doing pretty well, but some health issues have come up with a member of our team who is diabetic and we need God to intervene. Pray that, like the disciples, God will work the miracles we need to continue to move forward.

Safely in KL

I will write more later as the bus is about to leave, but we are safely in Kuala Lumpur and will be flying to Johannesburg and then South Africa in the next 12 hours or so. Just a quick note to let you know that we are all safely on our way. Love you guys and I will write more soon!
--

Swaziland Prep

Aloha all. I know that it has been a while since I have updated you on
what is happening with the trip to Swaziland. Unfortunately my health has
been acting up just enough this spring to keep me from doing the extras.
Nothing serious, thankfully.

We are planning to depart for Swaziland, Africa on June 15 and return to
Honolulu on July 17. We have chosen the church who will host the first
Children's Home, have contractors in place and things are moving right
along.

I have been quite blessed that with investing very little time
fundraising, I have seen $3,800 come in. I am so blessed! The original
amount required was $4,050. I still have $500-$1,000 in incidental
expenses like my passport, medical insurance and other misc items that
must be taken care of when you are out of the country for a month. :-)
But God has been so gracious to provide so far that I am convinced that he
will continue to do so. For those of you who have already made donations,
but have not received a Thank You card, I promise that I will have one out
soon. The donations were sent to my home church and I have not yet
received the full list of donors.

Obviously, I won't turn down more donations if that is what God asks you
to do, but that is not the purpose of this email. It is time to gather
together a prayer team of those who will be committed to praying for me
and the trip.

Let me know if you want to be on my prayer team and I will send out the
first email with specific requests next week. I am convinced that it will
be the power of God alone to pull Swaziland out of the crisis they are
currently in. And what better way to feed that power than through the
prayers of His people.

Thank you all for your encouragement as I go. I am blessed to have you.


Be Blessed!
Jeannie Hughes

Okay, I am going . . .

For those of you who had not already guessed as much, I have decided to go
to Swaziland. I am still learning what that will entail. I know that we
are going to try and spend a day or two at a Compassion site in one of the
surrounding countries when we first arrive since one of our goals is to
prepare Swaziland for Compassion International to be able to come in. We
will also be laying the groundwork for orphanages in a number of villages.
Some of this will be relational and involve personal ministry to the
orphaned children and church members and some will be practical. We are
hoping to have a couple of construction savvy people join our team. My
building skills are less than par, during our building project in Mexico I
spent a lot of time mixing water and sand in a wheelbarrow to make cement.
They didn't trust me with tools. :-)

I have started a page on my website http://jeanniehughes.com/Missions.html
specifically to keep people informed and updated regarding the trip (and
possible future endeavors in Thailand), so bookmark this page if you are
interested in knowning more because I don't want to keep spamming you.
:-)

I will send out (and post on the website above) a proper donation letter
around the first of the year.

First Prez Honolulu and Pastor Dan are supporting and sending out this
team, but we are raising money on our own. Emmanuel Naz (the church I
grew up in) has agreed to "sponsor" me by collecting donations to cover my
expenses. This way your donations are tax deductable and I have a better
accountability trail. If you really want to know more about that
confusing stuff, let me know.

Thanks for all your prayers!
Jeannie

Swaziland Nov. 22, 2005

I have a prayer request. Tonight I was asked to pray about going to Africa for the month of July. Yes, the entire month. We would be going to Swaziland to help set the stage for building orphanages and hopefully get Compassion International into the area. I was asked not only to go, but to be on the planning committee. (This may have something to do with my Compassion link.)
You can imagine that there are about a lot of reasons why this would be difficult to do - most of them green. But if this is part of what God wants for me, He will provide.
Please pray with me on this. They tease me because I am already on Hydroxychloriquine for my Lupus and that is an anti-malaria med. Heidi says my body is already prepared to go. (Then she tells me about the other shots I would have to get.)
We have not nailed down the specifics of what we would be doing in Swaziland, although the pastor we would be working with did email us some ideas to begin with. I think Heidi is wanting me to work with logistics involving Compassion International preparation and child evangelism through music, drama and puppets.
As you know, I have a heart for those touched by HIV and AIDS and this is an area that has been devestated by this disease. I know it is hard to believe, but there are families there that are being run by 6 and 7 year old children because the adults in their families have been killed off by AIDS. Some of these children are infected themselves and some are not.
I have also been asked to help out with building orphanages in Thailand. Somehow, someone, somewhere got it into their head that I would be good with orphanages. I have had three different people, representing three different orphanage projects approach me in the past year.
I have longed to do this kind of work for a long time but honestly, I am a bit afraid of how I would make a living. How do I pay for medical insurance and rent if I am off on Mission Trips? Isn't it a bummer to "grow up" and realize that you have to somehow find the balance between following your heart and responsibility?! :-)
As I look over this list, I see people who represent all the major stages of my life; childhood, college, Kansas City life, Iowa life and Hawaii life. Most, if not all, have become family along the way. (Okay, those of you who are really lucky where stuck with me as family when I was born!) Please pray with me for this now - and for my parents who may be going into panic attacks as they read this letter. :-)
I will send out an update soon.
Love,
Jeannie