Medical Team Visits Malema

Since we last spoke with you through the wondrous world of cyberspace, our team has completed another successful bush clinic, a trip to the downtown Manzini market, and a walk through a fellow TLC staffer’s homestead. (For those of you wondering…Phyllis rested peacefully through her sedative and is now on onto naming the Vanderwal’s dog, BUT we love her dearly and she’s a great team leader!)

The third clinic was held on Friday and was located in Malema. While this trek wasn’t climbing up walls of mountain, it was about 2 hrs of riding in a child’s toy popper. (Picture the clear dome as the bus, and the little balls inside us…I’ll give you a minute…there ya go…be glad we walked off the bus as the hands and feet of Jesus…not ourselves yesterday.) Anyway, it turned out very well as God provided around 450 people for us to serve. We completed 205 HIV tests with 30 teeth pulled, and handed out clothing, shoes, and toys to all the youth. What a joy it was to cloth these children during their winter (and this day it was sweat-shirt cold). To provide brand-new clothing, shoes, and gently used toys to these much deserving kids was such a gift to us. Funny how the blessings we receive when we act as the hands and feet of Christ is often more than we feel we give…glad that joy is cyclical.

This afternoon we took a stroll through the Manzini downtown market. A myriad of wooden stands with plastic “roof’s” took up a corner block of the shopping area. It was a great time!

We ended the day by taking a walk around one of The Luke Commission’s staff’s homesteads. His sister died recently and this morning at dawn was the funeral…Harry and Echo took us with them to bring him and his family food and offer their love and support. It was another dose of reality for all of us, as often we begin to feel comfortable amongst a new culture and way of living, forgetting how blessed our USA is…thank you God for all that we’ve been given…we’ve done nothing to deserve our life.

Well, it is time for us to head in…Harry and Echo and the boys are needing rest as are we….until later…