Let Us Look to God

Here is a new posting from Kylee

Where do you receive your sense of self-worth? Is your self-worth, your value, built on your ability to please others or on the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ? So often we can find ourselves looking for our significance in our accomplishments, relationships, or our work instead of in God alone. Looking into the Bible we find so much about who we are according to God and we can begin to truly see ourselves as God sees us. As believers in Christ we read that we are God's children (1 John 3:1), Christ's friend (John 15:14-15), part of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), chosen by God (Eph.1:4), forgiven and justified by God (Rom. 5:1), and totally accepted by God (Rom. 15:7) just to name a few. How great is God's love for us that He loved us while we were still sinners! He created us in His image and His love for us is indisputable. Our value, our true identity, is found in Him. No relationship or occupation or hobby or amount of wealth or type of achievement or ministry involvement can satisfy us or determine our real self-worth. It is Christ alone.

This past Wednesday evening I started to lead the house mothers in their cell group at Hawane through an excellent Christian book called The Search For Significance by Robert McGee. I'm so excited about what God is going to teach us during the next several weeks as we look into God's Word to study His answers- justification, reconciliation, propitiation, and regeneration- to the false beliefs we often hold about ourselves. Some lies from the enemy we believe are:

- I must meet certain standards in order to feel good about myself.
- I must be approved (accepted) by certain others to feel good about myself.
- Those who fail are unworthy of love and deserve to be punished.
- I am what I am. I cannot change. I am hopeless.

May we all saturate ourselves with God's truth so we might accept and live according to who we truly are in Him. Then we can serve Him with confidence and lead others in living the abundant life Christ came to give us (John 10:10).

The mothers and aunts here pour themselves out to love the children in their homes. I am learning much about a real life of faith and sacrifice by interacting with them. A couple weeks ago, Pastor Kevin directed them to submit suggestions of topics for me to teach them about as he wanted us to implement a training session on Monday mornings after the staff's regular meeting. Although many different ideas came forth from the group, the #1 desired topic to learn about was spiritual growth. I just smiled as I realized the most important thing to them is growing in the Lord.

May we allow their desire to be a challenge to us and may we lay aside whatever needs to be in order to first seek to know God so we can grow in Him. " 'You are my witnesses,' declares the LORD, 'and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.'" (Isa. 43:10).

What we do for the least of these, we do for Him

I saw Jesus the other day. She was an old lady who was sick and alone at her homestead without food or running water. She had no children and her husband was gone. Pain was covering her eyes and her frame was thin. Her clothes and her body were covered in dirt and she struggled to walk steadily. She came out of her bed to greet us as I took in my surroundings. Two mud and grass huts, many chickens, trash scattered on the ground, a few hungry dogs…"I have pain in my heart" she confessed in SiSwati as she explained she used to attend the church at Hawane but due to her sickness she could no longer walk the short distance to the church. She shared how she longed to attend church and has been unable to for 2 years. I thought to myself "I think we brought church to her today" and suggested we sing a worship song in SiSwati.



I then watched as the body of Christ poured out God's love in some incredible ways at her homestead. The group of us who came to minister to the community consisted of about 12 people from various countries including England, Ireland, Scotland, USA, Ghana, Swaziland, and Zambia. Pastor Augustin and the nurse at Hawane Farm led the way and before I knew it some of us were helping this precious lady bathe, some were doing some much needed cleaning in her home, bringing her food, dressing her in new clothes, washing her dishes, fetching her water from the creek, hand-washing her clothes and hanging them on the line, providing a clean mattress for her to sleep, tidying up her yard, committing to drive her to church Sunday, giving her medicine, sharing the truth of God's Word with her, and praying for her. Tears came to my eyes as I soaked in the beauty of the body of Christ loving others with the same love Christ gave to us (John 15:12). In Matthew 25:35, 40 Jesus tells us that what we do for the least of these, including those who are sick and those who are hungry, we do for Him.



I was overwhelmed to realize that from her property I could clearly see the very house I am staying in at Hawane Farm- a place where I have plenty to eat, enough clothes, and running water. During the cleaning of this dear lady's home, someone discovered a couple strange items that looked like a bird's nest. When she was asked what these items were she responded by saying they were given to her by someone in the community to help make her bad dreams go away. I shared with her that Jesus Christ is the only answer for her and that having these items goes against God's Word (Exodus 20:3-4). God's Spirit moved in her heart and she agreed to have these items burned. Praise God! Before we left she thanked us and said that she is feeling better already. Yes, I think I saw Jesus the other day and what a privilege it is to serve Him.

Posted by Kylee Malhotra

Kylee Celebrates a Birthday in Swaziland

It's going great here in Swaziland. Though the 3rd construction team left last Tuesday, the investment they made into the kingdom of God will be bearing fruit well into the future.

I have been given my assigned responsibilities while I am here. At this point they include: counseling the kids and house mothers, training the mothers in counseling and budgeting, leading a cell group for teenage girls at Hawane, helping start CLC Hawane's Sunday school for the kids, doing office work for the CLC project, and helping start and lead a Hawane youth group for the teenage boys and girls on the farm. God is so good and He is faithful to lead each of us into His will.

I celebrated my birthday this past Wednesday and my roommates (an American young lady & 2 young ladies from Ireland) surprised me that morning by putting up a "Happy Birthday Kylee" sign with balloons on the wall across from my bedroom. One roommate even left me a card. It was so sweet. Throughout the day I received surprise birthday cards from the children at Hawane and that night in cell group they even had a cake to celebrate. The body of Christ is family wherever you are. It is a beautiful thing.

The next evening I had a birthday party and invited some of the other long-term missionaries on the farm and the teenage girls from the cell group. We just had fun and taught them some "American" dances like the chicken dance, the Macerena, YMCA, and the hokey pokey. The Lord has put on my heart to teach the girls in the cell group about who we are in Christ. May they live in the freedom of knowing our gracious Hevenly Father and the joy of living out who they are in God's eyes. God has a unique purpose for each of these children regardless of the circumstances that led them here. "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." (Psalm 68:5).

Thursday I accompanied Pastor Augustin, the nurse here, and the other volunteers to their weekly clinic/outreach out in the surrounding community. People who live in the nearby homesteads walk to the clinic to reveive basic medical treatment. Each individual is prayed for and ministered to by the volunteers. God did some amazing things including delivering a lady from evil spirits, softening the heart of a young man with AIDS who recently tried to commit suicide to make the decision to come to church Sunday at Hawane, encouraging widows to continue in the way of the Lord, and pouring out His love on multiple orphan children. We serve an awesome God!

Construction Team 3 Returns Home to Dayton

After 10 days in Swaziland and 4 days of travel, our third construction team returned home to Dayton this morning. This group of 10 men spent their time in Swaziland painting Pastor Augustin's home and rennovating a building that will become one of two children's homes on the Hawane CLC property. In addition to their work on the site, the men also assisted a family on a local homestead; continiuing work that was origianlly started by the men of Team 1.

Team 3 was greeted at the airport by family and friends, including members of the first two construction teams, and extended stay traveler, Heidi Miller. We are all anxious to hear their stories and see updates of the work at the jobsite. Be sure to check the blog for new photos in coming days.

To everyone that lifted these men up in prayer, or shared an encouraging word or deed with their families or supported them financially - THANK YOU! You enabled them to experience an important chapter in their lives. You are loved and appreciated!

Love One Another

We received a message this morning from Kylee, updating us on the work of the team and sharing some of what they have been experiencing:

Hello! The last few days has been very eventful.

Let's see Saturday the team and I went to Makaya, a game reserve, and we saw the beautiful animals God has created. We were able to see elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses, and zebras up close. We even had an elephant's trunk touching the front of our vehicle. It was amazing to see the beauty and wonder of what God has made.

On Sunday we went to both church services (at Potter's Wheel and Hawane CLC). At the end of the Hawane CLC service the whole congregation walked down the road to the new site that the CLC teams have been building. The church structure is there and the brick walls just need to be put up. The pastor's home is very close to being finished as it is getting the final coats of colored paint. The orphan home that team 3 has been diligently working on is very close to being finished as well. The rooms are in place, the tile is there, and the walls are being painted. Exciting stuff! The widow and her children who will be living in this home on the Hawane CLC property have just recently come to stay at Hawane Farm until they are able to move in. It should not be too much longer. It was a great site to see the whole Hawane CLC congregation walk down to the new site and pray with Pastor Kevin to dedicate the new church to the Lord.

Sunday after the service we went to have lunch and visit with Pastor Stan Drew and his wife, Sue. It was wonderful! They are also from the States and with the Assemblies of God. Afterwards the team went out to fit in some shopping. There were some interesting shops and the Lord lead me to pray with one of the ladies working at a shop. She explained that her husband left her 12 years ago to go work in South Africa and she has been alone with her children ever since. She shared she was a Christian and asked if I would like to share a Scripture with her. She handed me a copy of her New Testament and I read 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 to her to encourage her that all that we see in this world is temporary. Eternity is what matters in life. May we all have an eternal perspective each day in the midst of whatever circumstance we find ourselves.

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.


Yesterday evening we were able to visit the Mbabane hospital and it was a moving experience for each of us. We went to the childrens' ward and loved on the kids and their families and prayed for them. There is such need there. I found myself in a room with children in cribs who had been abandoned and left in horrible places. They are now in the hospital and this does not give them any opportunity to play or receive much affection. It is heartbreaking and I believe the very heart of God can be found by loving on these kids. May God's love shine through each and every aspect of the body of Christ here in Swaziland.

On the way back from the hospital some of the men from the team saw a fire about to overtake a house alongside the road. We stopped and God used the team to put out the fire and protect this widow's house. She shared she has a lot of trouble walking and has no children. She was very concerned about what she was going to do. I believe God prompted the men to help this woman as they did not even know the whole situation. God is amazing….

While this team, as well as our previous construction teams, has been sent to Swaziland to build structures, their most important work has been to be the hands and feet of Christ to the people of Swaziland and to share God's love through word and action. Visiting homesteads, worshipping with local citizens, working along side community residents, spending time with children in the hospital, stopping on the ride home to put out a fire - these are acts that manifest our love for God and His love for His people. Praise God that these men have had the chance to do more than just build a house!

I John 4:7-11

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.

My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

In an Instant

Here in the United States, we live in a culture of "instant"; instant gratification, instant communication, instant access, instant connections, instant recognition - the list goes on and on. We have become very accustomed to getting what we want, when we want it and when we can't get something instantly, we can become anxious, frustrated, angry or disillusioned. The practice of "being still" is becoming harder and harder to master.

Last December I traveled with the exploratory team to Swaziland. I knew God had called me to go on the trip, but I really didn't understand why. Still, I was confident of His prompting and so I went. Upon arriving, I "instantly" realized that, while there were many adjectives that could describe life in this third world country (both good and bad) "instant" was not one of them!

I realized something else as well - when you put yourself in a situation where you are diligently seeking God; when your focus is continuously placed on discerning His will; when you pray and expect to hear from God; when you earnestly seek His guidance; when you offer yourself to God and allow Him to use you.... He shows up! There is nothing better than knowing that you are in God's presence.

This morning at church I had the opportunity to talk with a couple of the other women who's husbands are currently in Swaziland serving on our third construction team. While they were excited that these men were serving God halfway around the world and while they knew that God has called these men to serve, these wives were a bit anxious that they had not had contact with their husbands for several days. Earlier in the week, we received a couple of e-mails and brief phone calls. There was something comforting in being able to make contact and get "instant" feedback. Not hearing from the team since Wednesday gives us a sense of disconnectedness and uncertainty about what is going on.

It is in moments likes these that we should turn to God. This is when our trust in Him needs to be unleashed. It is during times of testing that our faith really grows. Perhaps the hardest thing to do when we feel a lack of control in a situation is to yeild to God, and yet that is exactly what He calls us to do.

Psalms 46:10 commands us to "Cease striving (let go, relax, be still) and know that I am God". To those families who have a loved one serving in missions, I urge you to "be still". Take those feelings of loneliness, concern, anxiety and disconnectedness and give them over to God. Experience the peace and power that is found in His presence and be assured that He is watching over our husbands and daughter as they serve Him in obedience. Trust Him to not only care for them, but to care for you. Use this time of separation as a time to draw nearer to God. I am confident that if you seek Him, you shall find Him..... in an instant!

~ Donna

Reaching the Community: An Entry from Kylee

Entry: 9.10.08

The team is working hard at the job site to get a lot done today in the orphans home and the plumbing in the pastor's home. The pastor and his family have chosen the colors of paint for the walls in their new home and soon color will be on the walls. It's exciting to see this transformation! We all had the privilege of going to dinner at Pastor Augustine and Elizabeth's house (in town) yesterday. To sum it all up I would say it was amazing and Elizabeth truly has the gift of hospitality. We were able to try some real Swazi food. Good stuff! I am looking forward to when they live just down the street from Hawane Farm. I will plan to visit them, especially around dinner time!

Half of the guys on the team went out into the community yesterday with Pastor Augustin for homestead visits. They seem to definitely have been impacted by that experience. The other half of the team will go out into the community today and then Thursday everyone will join together to go out for some ministry to the people in the surrounding homesteads. We expect this to be an awesome experience and for God to work in powerful ways.

This morning during the team's devotional time the following Scripture was shared:

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. " - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

We were encouraged to practice these words no matter the circumstances around us. Thanksgiving and prayer are powerful weapons to fight against the enemy's schemes and to stay focused on God's plans.