Subscribe to RSS Subscribe to Comments

Stewart 5

Arthur:Melissa:ArthurPaul:Iain:Mairin

You can read this one with your kids…

October 28th 2006 Posted in Kids, Melissa, South Africa

We live in the beautiful country of South Africa. In the spring time the Jakaranda trees bloom and drop purple flowers all over. We have so many Jakarandas in our neighborhood that the street looks like a purple carpet. Its summer time now and also the rainy season. In the winter it is cold and very dry, but still sunny and no rain at all. In the summer it is sunny and hot, but many days in the afternoon and evening it gets windy and then the dark clouds come in and it rains to cool everything down. The rain sounds nice on the tin roofs of the houses.

Its been fun having our friends The Ramages here in South Africa with us! Arthur, Iain and Mairin love playing at Pangani with Josh,


Koby and Karis. They especially like to sleep over at each other’s house and go swimming at the pool.

Arthur Paul (8) also likes to read books and play xbox. He is waiting for me to buy him the 5th book in the Harry Potter series. He and his dad just beat the “hard planet” on Star Wars Battlefront and are now on the Death Star level.



Iain (5) likes to play xbox or games on the PBS kids website and play with his toys, he is having fun tying things up recently! He and his friends also like to pretend play that they are the character they are wearing on their t-shirt. For example, when Iain wears his tiger shirt he’s a tiger and when he wears his Batman shirt he plays batman. Mairin (2) likes to play with baby dolls and other toys and watch DVD’s like Little Einsteins and Polly Pocket. Mairin is also learning how to use the toilet. She likes to wear her Dora and Hello Kitty panties☺

Our family moved from California to South Africa to help people learn about more about Jesus and His love. Sometimes we talk about Jesus and other times we act like Jesus- loving and helping the people God brings into our lives. Three years ago God brought a family into our lives. Their names are Jonas, Valrey and Motlope. Jonas is a groundskeeper at the housing complex where we used to live. Valrey works as a house cleaner. Valrey has not worked for the last month because she has been very sick. She was in the hospital for 3 days. Valrey and her daughter Motlope have a very bad disease called AIDS. This disease makes your body very weak and you catch colds easily. Because your body is weak you can’t fight the cold like a normal healthy person can. Even when you take medicine for the cold it takes a very long time for your body to get better. After lots and lots of colds your body gets so weak that it can’t fight anymore and you die. We are praying that God would heal them from this terrible disease.

We are praying that God will make a way for them to get a special medicine called ARV. This medicine helps their bodies fight the colds so that they don’t get weak and it helps them to stay healthy. In January Valrey would like to start a business near her home. She wants to build a small stand and sell clothes to her neighbors so they don’t have to travel as far to the shopping mall to buy their clothes. Valrey would also like her daughter Motlope, 3 years old, to go to preschool. We are praying that God would help Jonas and Valrey get the money they need to start the business and pay for Motlope to go to preschool. You can pray for Jonas, Valrey and Motlope too. You can also pray for our family as we love and serve them by driving to them to the hospital and waiting many hours with them until it is their turn to see the doctor.

I’m sure that Jonas, Valrey and Motlope would love it if you would draw them a picture and send it to them in the mail. You can send it to our address and we will give it to them!



106 Emily Hobhouse Ave.
Pretoria North 0182
South Africa

If you want to learn more about HIV/AIDS in South Africa go to: http://www.aids.org.za/hiv.htm

http://www.talkingwithkids.org/aids.html

Comments(0)

A New Name

October 17th 2006 Posted in Culture, Melissa, South Africa

A month ago Jonas, Valrey and Itumele came to our house for dinner. I finally remembered to call their daughter Itumele “Musima” which is her second name - the name Jonas and Valrey use. It was then that Valrey told us she was taking Itumele Musima to meet Valrey’s father’s family so that they could give her a new name. Why? So that she wouldn’t be sick anymore. I don’t understand enough myself to really explain it fully, but it has to do with the respect they give to their ancestors and the hope they have that their ancestors would be able to help 3 year old Itumele Musima.

The weekend they had planned to go, Valrey was too sick to travel. She went to the doctor the next week and found out that she and Itumele Musima are HIV+. Our family has been trying to help them on this shadowy path they find themselves on.

Why, Valrey wonders, does she have it, but her husband does not? Growing up she did just what her parents told her. She stayed home and read. She didn’t go out and drink like the other girls did. She only had one boyfriend before Jonas. She and Jonas both tested negative for HIV before they were married. She won’t tell her mom or her sister her status because she is afraid that her mom will be mad and that the family will treat her differently.

Jonas has always been a hard worker. With his ever-present smile and good natured demeanor, he stands beside Valrey and Itumele. Right now, Valrey is so sick that she is taking a month off of her job as a domestic worker. So, after working all day at his job as a groundskeeper, Jonas does the ironing for Valrey so she won’t lose a client. He told me, proudly, that he is cooking now too!

Last week they saw Valrey’s father’s family. His sister (her aunt) gave Itumele Musima a new name. She is now called Lucia Motlope.

Friday I went with Valrey and Motlope to the clinic for a follow-up appointment. The nurse called the lab for Valrey’s test results. She does not have TB, but her CD4 count is 16. I’ve only been learning about CD4 counts in the last few weeks…a normal count is between 500 and 1500. Once you get down below 200 you are eligible for anti-retroviral treatment (ART).

I picked Valrey up this morning so that she could use our washer to do her laundry. She could barely walk 5 feet before she slowed down to catch her breath. Arthur and I prayed for Valrey and Motlope today. We asked the God of Wonders, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, our Creator and Healer to remove their sickness. We asked for a miracle. We know that He has the power to change their status from positive to negative. We trust Him to care for His children.

I’m asking God to give Valrey and Motlope new names. Names that will be a testimony to His grace and power in their lives.

Comments(0)

Celebrities

October 16th 2006 Posted in Arthur, Culture, God

I saw this article about Bono and Oprah “shopping” to fight AIDS in Africa. Sounds a little goofy, maybe even inappropriate. Of all things, shopping for a cause? But it’s also brilliant. You’re going to shop, right? So why not benefit something worthy? And, Oprah, Bono, and a whole lot of other celebrities are using their influence and money to make a difference.

You can write them off, but what are YOU doing?

Comments(0)

Military Intelligence

October 10th 2006 Posted in Arthur, Culture

You know that old thing about military intelligence being a contradiction in terms? Well, seems that the army actually agrees! I read this article on yahoo today and remembered why I am a pacifist. Apparently, the army wasn’t meeting their recruitung quotas, so they lowerd their entrance standard. I’m sure we’ll win every war now. Because we have less-qualified soldiers, but more of them. We’ll just overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers.



After you read the article, come back and comment. I would definitely like to compare thoughts on this quote from the article…



In a written statement, the Army said good test scores do not necessarily equate to quality soldiers. Test-taking ability, the Army


said, does not measure loyalty, duty, honor, integrity or courage.

So, loyalty, duty, honor, integrity, and courage make a good soldier. What do you think makes a good soldier?

Compare this to what you think makes a good person.

Now, how do you reconcile the difference between the two?

Comments(0)