Mike Buckles, Partners in Action's Director of Operations, recently had his first visit to our Bulembu, Swaziland, project. Although he had many moments of reflection, he was particularly moved by a thought of a new edition to his family thousands of miles away, his grandson, Ethan. We do take it for granted how blessed we and our children are and the endless opportunities we have in life. Sometimes we all need a little reminder.
In the middle of my first night in Bulembu, I was awakened by the sound of rain falling. The sound of God's tears watering the thirsty soil of Swaziland.
Grandpa Mike in Bulembu.
Half a world away, in the arid desert of Arizona, that same God was in the process of breathing life into the tiny lungs of my son's first son – Ethan. This small child embodies the hope of the passing on of our family's name; the promise of a bright future; the dreams of a better world; the love of family and friends. He stands as the inheritor of the accumulated faith of all the generations of the family God. All this represented in the precious gift of new life – a son!
What lies before my grandson Ethan is a treasure chest filled with possibilities. He is being born into a world of privilege and of endless expectations. There is no limit to Ethan's future in a world of plenty. In his world:
He will be embraced by the love of family to three generations.
He will be born free to pursue anything his mind can dream.
He will enjoy access to the vast abundance of God's world.
He will be welcomed into a safe community.
He will be afforded access to education to the highest level.
He will be given the best health care available anywhere.
He will be a blessing to his parents.
In the night, as I ponder the wonder and promise of Ethan and his future, the rain continues to fall; the tears of a God of endless love. Tears falling on a land where babies like Ethan are being born into a far different world. A world where:
There is a breakdown in family structure due to HIV/AIDS.
There is little to no hope of achieving any dreams.
There is limited assess to the abundant treasures of God's world.
There are few communities to offer safety.
There is no expectation of gaining any level of education.
There is a high likelihood of an early death.
There is no blessing in the birth of another hungry child.
Yet the falling rain also reminds me that new life, wherever it is found, is to be nourished; a precious treasure from the God of Life. Just as seeds sprout in the moist soil after the rain, new vision and hope is sprouting up in the tiny hamlet of Bulembu. God is watering a new garden of promise and hope in this thirsty land.
Bulembu is family
Bulembu is community
Bulembu is abundance
Bulembu is safety
Bulembu is hope
Bulembu is a future
Bulembu is blessing
Someday I hope that I can bring Ethan to see what God has planted and cultivated here. I long to show him what God has given into the caring hands of His people to manage and grow. I expect someday to introduce Ethan to young Swazi leaders who, like himself, can shoulder the responsibilities of leading their world into a brighter future. I want him to see that God cares for all of His children equally and wants to use each of us to embody His love and caring. I want Ethan to understand that he is an important part of God's plan to replace hopelessness with the promise of a bright future . . . that they may have life, and life to the fullest.
Bulembu is a dream that is becoming a reality. Bulembu is a treasure, a place of hope, a gift from God to all children born on this rainy night.
Thank you Lord for . . . . .
New life,
Faith,
Hope,
Love,
Your Son and our seal for eternity.
Amen
Suubi Child Development Center Showcases Highlights of 2007
by Ezra Simon Ssemwanga
We are very blessed to usher in yet another wonderful year with the Suubi Child Development Center in Uganda, Africa. We are very grateful for everyone's generosity with their support and prayers for the children at Suubi over the past year. Here are some highlights of 2007 we would like to share with you!
The enrollment at Suubi rose from 186 children in 2006 to 237 children at the end of 2007. We hope to support 275 children this coming year. Through spiritual guidance and counseling, our children have continued to be well behaved, obedient, and God-fearing. We also continue to give our children the best education they deserve using the limited resources at our disposal. We also have improved our
co-curricular activities like football, netball, and volleyball and have formed a gospel choir and Bible study group for the children.
One of our greatest challenges this year was the drastic increase of the cost of food. Despite the increase, we have done well providing two light and two full meals during the weekdays. On Saturdays, the children get additional rice and greens to supplement their meals. Sunday is their big meal day of the week including meat twice a month. The children also get milk tea with either bananas or cassava (shrubby, tropical, perennial plant) chips. Lunch is usually sweet potatoes, cassava, or bananas with rice.
As far as the children's health in 2007, we thank God that we did not have many serious illnesses. We are very appreciative of the matrons and a local doctor who frequently visited our children and not just when they were sick, but also for preventative visits.
We are truly grateful for your support and prayers. Although we have many needs for the upcoming year, we want to focus on expressing our gratitude and sincere thanks to everyone who believes in Suubi and has it in their hearts to help these children have a chance at life. We are making a difference.
All you need as evidence is seeing a smile on one of the children's faces where it once didn't exist. Thank you again. Merry Christmas!
The BBC has put together another moving pictorial - this time of orphaned children celebrating Christmas in South Africa. Although the children's situation is sad, we support orphanages where the children are not as lucky as the ones here. We are blessed that even though the children we support will never experience Christmas as our children do, the most important thing is shared between us – the celebration of Christ's life. This truly is a time of year to reflect and be thankful for the riches that have been bestowed upon us. It's also a time to remember that it is our responsibility to give back.
Rare Celebration BBC News website attends a Christmas party put on for orphaned and impoverished children in South Africa.
A pre-Christmas lunch at the Masibambisane Centre, south of Johannesburg, is a rare celebration for the children, ranging from one to 18 years, who come here regularly after school or in the holidays for meals, clothes, and educational support.
Many are orphans, casualties of the HIV epidemic. Others are destitute because their parents are ill or unemployed.
Stigma Masibambisane was set up with a grant from pop star Sir Elton John to help children affected by HIV/AIDS.
"So much has been done to put money into HIV/AIDS, but there is still a shocking transmission rate," says centre coordinator Velile Dhlamini (left).
Children are seldom willing to talk about why their parents were ill.
"When you hear the family history, you put two and two together. But it still carries a stigma – you can't just disclose."
Poorest homes
The centre, run by Johannesburg Child Welfare in the suburb of Eldorado Park, serves mostly children from the shantytowns in the surrounding area.
These are among South Africa's poorest urban areas.
"As soon as you go there you start smelling the poverty," Velile says.
Care workers from the centre assess children's home circumstances to find out who needs help. They also help relatives to apply for maintenance grants from the government.
Granny's help
Mathibiso, 10, (centre) lives in Slovo Park squatter settlement with her grandmother who looks after six children.
"I have been coming to the centre since I was seven – they give me clothes and toys and stationery for school," she says.
South African culture puts a responsibility on grandparents to look after orphaned grandchildren – a crushing burden as AIDS devastates the generation of today's parents. Child welfare staff tell of one elderly woman looking after 18 youngsters.
Living alone
Claudia, 13, lives alone in the shack where she used to live with her mother.
"My mother died in June last year – she had been taking care of me. I started getting help from the centre in August. All the food I eat comes from here. The most important thing they do is to take us to school and pay school fees for us."
Staff say it's not unusual to find teenagers living alone, or even being the main caregiver for younger siblings after parents have died.
Tight funds
"Everybody needs a Christmas," says Heather Kersten (right), fund developer for Johannesburg Child Welfare.
But she adds that the party was only possible thanks to a donation of cooked food by one business, a casino. The centre battles to meet its everyday needs.
"We have a 9.5m rand ($1.5m) shortfall," Heather says. "Especially because of AIDS – so many charities have opened for orphans, all fighting for pieces of the same cake, and the cake is only so big."
Trauma
Behind the smiles, the scars of bereavement and neglect have yet to heal.
"We haven't had the kind of intensive counselling that would take out the anger that children have," Velile explains.
"We'd like to move in that direction, but the resources aren't there."
Masibambisane is trying to get professional counsellors to volunteer a few hours each week to work one-on-one with the children.
Helping people
Thina, 11, lives with his grown-up sister in Kliptown, and comes to Masibambisane regularly.
"They help me with school. I like to play, and I like it because they give me food."
We are so grateful for the opportunity the Lord has given us to serve the people of Romania. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing the lives of others blessed by random acts of kindness. It's opening doors for us to speak into many lives. We are looking forward to 2008 to see what God will do!
A special thank you to all the volunteers that came to give of their time in 2007 - we so appreciate your help. Also, to all of our supporters who help make all of this possible. We are truly thankful for your heart towards us!
Bless you and Merry Christmas to you and yours from us and ours!
Shirley Zimbeck, a missionary who just spent a year in Malaysia, took some time to reflect on her journey. Shirley witnessed miracles and heartache - her experience was life altering. The one constant presence was God and her deep faith and belief in Him that enabled her to stand by her commitment to spread His word. Below captures her last thoughts as she boarded her plane to fly back to the United States.
As I took my seat on the plane, I looked out the window for one last look at a country I would be leaving, not knowing if I would ever come back. In some ways, it seemed such a short time - my stay in Malaysia, my home. One year, an eternity, a heartbreak to leave. I have an incredible heart for the hurting and the poor. All those little faces peering at you, curious about who you are. Hardest of all, were the faces of some of the ones I managed to link with and give some hope. It was heartbreaking to see their faces when I left. It was like I could see their disappointment, a hope of something lost that is reflective in the following poem:
The tears I cried in Malaysia, only took a moment in time,
They reached a heavenly God, who knew my name, my heart, His word I did proclaim, going forth, not void, to its destination, I was never alone; He was always near, His truth, His rod and staff, Malaysia in my heart, those tears I cried for you, is yours to keep, Put them deep within your soil, so that the harvest will be great.
Thank you for all of your support and have a very Blessed Christmas!
The Fight Continues to Slow the AIDS Rate by MSNBC
You have read numerous articles in our past newsletters about the horrendous devastation that is left behind in the wake of AIDS. MSNBC has a few featured articles addressing the many challenges surrounding the disease including a lead article that deals with stopping HIV at birth which is near to our hearts.
We are trying to achieve the same goal through our clinic in Bulembu, Swaziland. By providing pregnant mothers with an AIDS strategy that includes nutritional, medicinal, and prenatal care, we can drastically reduce the chances a child will contract AIDS. In fact, when implemented properly and with a Caesarean delivery, the chance of AIDS being transmitted to a child is only 3%!
This program has been available for some time, but due to the inability to maintain consistent administration of the process, success has been limited; however, with our vision for Bulembu, we can manage the entire process because the mothers will live very near to the hospital. For more information, please call Mike Buckles at 480-882-0800.
He will be embraced by the love of family to three generations.
Yet the falling rain also reminds me that new life, wherever it is found, is to be nourished; a precious treasure from the God of Life. Just as seeds sprout in the moist soil after the rain, new vision and hope is sprouting up in the tiny hamlet of Bulembu. God is watering a new garden of promise and hope in this thirsty land. 
Someday I hope that I can bring Ethan to see what God has planted and cultivated here. I long to show him what God has given into the caring hands of His people to manage and grow. I expect someday to introduce Ethan to young Swazi leaders who, like himself, can shoulder the responsibilities of leading their world into a brighter future. I want him to see that God cares for all of His children equally and wants to use each of us to embody His love and caring. I want Ethan to understand that he is an important part of God's plan to replace hopelessness with the promise of a bright future . . . that they may have life, and life to the fullest.
We are very blessed to usher in yet another wonderful year with the Suubi Child Development Center in Uganda, Africa. We are very grateful for everyone's generosity with their support and prayers for the children at Suubi over the past year. Here are some highlights of 2007 we would like to share with you!
One of our greatest challenges this year was the drastic increase of the cost of food. Despite the increase, we have done well providing two light and two full meals during the weekdays. On Saturdays, the children get additional rice and greens to supplement their meals. Sunday is their big meal day of the week including meat twice a month. The children also get milk tea with either bananas or cassava (shrubby, tropical, perennial plant) chips. Lunch is usually sweet potatoes, cassava, or bananas with rice. 
As far as the children's health in 2007, we thank God that we did not have many serious illnesses. We are very appreciative of the matrons and a local doctor who frequently visited our children and not just when they were sick, but also for preventative visits. 
Rare Celebration
Stigma
The centre, run by Johannesburg Child Welfare in the suburb of Eldorado Park, serves mostly children from the shantytowns in the surrounding area. 
Mathibiso, 10, (centre) lives in Slovo Park squatter settlement with her grandmother who looks after six children. 
Claudia, 13, lives alone in the shack where she used to live with her mother. 
"Everybody needs a Christmas," says Heather Kersten (right), fund developer for Johannesburg Child Welfare. 
Behind the smiles, the scars of bereavement and neglect have yet to heal. 
Thina, 11, lives with his grown-up sister in Kliptown, and comes to Masibambisane regularly. 
Shirley Zimbeck, a missionary who just spent a year in Malaysia, took some time to reflect on her journey. Shirley witnessed miracles and heartache - her experience was life altering. The one constant presence was God and her deep faith and belief in Him that enabled her to stand by her commitment to spread His word. Below captures her last thoughts as she boarded her plane to fly back to the United States.
As I took my seat on the plane, I looked out the window for one last look at a country I would be leaving, not knowing if I would ever come back. In some ways, it seemed such a short time - my stay in Malaysia, my home. One year, an eternity, a heartbreak to leave. I have an incredible heart for the hurting and the poor. All those little faces peering at you, curious about who you are. Hardest of all, were the faces of some of the ones I managed to link with and give some hope. It was heartbreaking to see their faces when I left. It was like I could see their disappointment, a hope of something lost that is reflective in the following poem:
Thank you for all of your support and have a very Blessed Christmas!
We are trying to achieve the same goal through our clinic in Bulembu, Swaziland. By providing pregnant mothers with an AIDS strategy that includes nutritional, medicinal, and prenatal care, we can drastically reduce the chances a child will contract AIDS. In fact, when implemented properly and with a Caesarean delivery, the chance of AIDS being transmitted to a child is only 3%! 
