He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.
2009 has been for us in many ways a frustrating and difficult year, but we have constantly seen and felt the presence of God sustaining us and encouraging us.
During the last few months we have been involved in a gospel mission to a township near Mthatha and we have seen God moving at times in very special ways, and the church has seen many people get saved. Last week a young woman was saved and after wards a word was given that God wanted to touch people who were crying over their families. This lady came forward crying out for a situation between her and her step brother. As she came forward it was obvious God was touching her in a real way, we spent many minutes praying for her asking only for God to bless her and her family. That night her step brother contacted her and for the first time in ages things between them were good and the brother invited her to go over and see his family. She knew God had moved. Unbeknown to us the woman also had a severe chronic respiratory problem, and 3 days later she attended the chest clinic for a routine check up, and had an x-ray taken. She handed this x-ray to the doctor and while she waited for him to check it went and sat back down. The doctor checked the x-ray and then said “whose x-ray is this?” She replied that it was hers, and the doctor asked what she was doing there as she clearly had no chest problem. She told him she had been attending the clinic for a long time and that one of her lungs was as good as useless due to disease. The doctor re checked the x-ray and the patient details and said “ok let’s examine you.” The examination found no problem whatsoever and she was told she didn’t need to attend again. The doctor was scratching his head after examining the patients notes not knowing what could have happened, but the lady knew exactly what had happened. Our God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.
By now we expected to be giving testimonies about the children in the children’s village as well. When we came here we knew that we had some hard work to do to get the building done and to go through all the various bureaucratic processes in order to be ready to open and also that sometimes things were harder to get going quickly in Africa, but really our belief was that we would be up and running at least by now. We have this year completed the first phase of building and can be ready to open at short notice for 12 children initially but we are still being delayed by Social Development. In truth after originally being asked by Social Development to do the project, they and one manager in particular have become very awkward to deal with. They have communicated very poorly with us, though we have tried to get their advice at every step along the way. They have now come out with additional requirements, just when we are poised to open. These requirements should have come to us 2 years or more ago. Their behaviour has been such that we are forced to review our approach to avoid them causing further delays. We are still confident of going ahead within a few months but we need to work out exactly how we do that. Please pray for ourselves and Trustees of the charity to have wisdom in working out exactly how to go forward.
As a family we obviously went through a few things during the year. Perhaps the hardest thing we went through during the year was the death of our close friend Michael Mgcotyelwa in october. Michael was a Chief and a Pastor, and was a leader with a servant heart, he was a friend and an inspiration to us both and we miss him loads. We were also victims of crime 3 times and were near victims on a couple of other occasions! Obviously the shooting was very traumatic and for quite a few weeks after we felt like it was going to happen again any moment. Things are no longer so bad in that way, but Zoliswa in particular still struggles with fears about continuing to stay here. Unfortunately we are unable to say for sure it won’t happen again. South Africa has the second highest murder rate in the world, and our city has the worst crime record in this province. Whatever the risks we both want to be where God wants us to be, but we are asking to be sure about that at this time and both of us feel the need to keep seeking God for strong direction at this time. Please pray that He would speak clearly to us.
One thing that is clear is that needs in the villages where we have built the Children’s Village are just as great as ever. There are at least 650 orphans and vulnerable children among 3,200 dwellings. Though the people have a greater willingness to take other people’s kids than in our own culture, they are overloaded, and there are many serious problems among these orphans including abuse and neglect, and we do know this Children’s Village can make a dramatic difference in their lives.
One child whose life we have been quite closely involved in is Themba*. This little boy who is nearly seven nearly died around 18 months ago. He is HIV positive and had TB at the time and ended up in hospital with severe malnutrition. His mother had died 6 months before and the auntie who had been looking after him was doing her best and trying to give him a good diet, but they were so poor and it was difficult, and really because of his diseases he needed a much better diet than they were able to give him. When we first met him he had no energy and would just sit while others played and for months we never saw him smile. We helped the auntie to get him admitted to hospital. The nurses there did a good job and bit by bit he recovered strength. But it took 4 months and during that time he was about 30km away from his aunt. We would give his aunt money to visit but she had other family issues including the death of her daughter following pregnancy and a small grandchild to care for, and could only manage to visit once a week. He was over 60km from us but we visited once or twice every week. Our efforts seemed really small but over the months they helped to give a life line to a boy who was feeling abandoned and felt like giving up. We used to take our own kids to visit and today they are very good friends, and he has been to stay with us. Siyakha was the first one I saw who could make Themba smile. When he was in hospital we would tell him what day we would next be going to visit and he would tell the nurses on that day ‘my dad is coming today!’. Eventually he was discharged back to another aunt who could give more attention, but there were real fears he would become malnourished again. We assisted by giving monthly food parcels (amounting to £30 month maximum) consisting of a lot of protein and vitamin foods that he had been lacking. His aunt did a good job with him and bit by bit we have seen him transformed. Today he is a very happy energetic boy with a ready smile and a ready laugh. Though he does get a bit breathless on exertion. We have attached a photo for you to see. We believe the nurses and the aunt played the most significant role but that our part also was vital. Our pain is that there are so many like this with real needs whose lives can be transformed and it feels hard that this Children’s Village is taking so long to start, when we and the local community know it can make a real difference. They like us are desperate for it to start.
So as we come to the close of 2009 we are more convinced than ever of the difference this Children’s Village can make in young children’s lives, and frustrated that it is taking us so long to start it. We thank God for keeping us safe and giving us many reasons to rejoice even in what has been a difficult year. And we wait to hear His voice for direction on how we take things forward. We would like to thank Margaret and the Charity Trustees and also our churches in UK and SA – Rainbow and AVOAC for all their support. We also thank all our friends and family and supporters who have lifted us up in prayer, given money to the project and encouraged us when things have seemed hard, and to any who have just been interested in what we are doing. Also special thanks to the life boat crew. Love Clive and Zoliswa
P.S we are in the UK from 4th dec till 5th jan and can be contacted on 07745990329, look forward to seeing everyone.
*Themba means hope and is not his real name.