Servant hearted Clever. Always helping out, whether it be with cars or kids

To update you as of Jan 21:
Clever was able to identify 1 of the thugs a couple of days after the incident. He coincidently saw him in Mamelodi Township walking right near where the event took place. The Police detectives went into this guy’s home and found a few of Clever’s stolen possessions. They were unable to apprehend him but are aware of his full identity and are pursuing him. Clever returned home to Zimbabwe to sort out his papers (permits/licenses’ etc.) God really showed him great favor as he got it all sorted out. No small task in Zimbabwe! He has since returned to Swaziland to prepare for the team arriving next month.

The vehicle is not recovered and very likely will not be. Hi-jackings like this are unfortunatly fairly common in South Africa. Signs like this are seen along the road side. The event happened a week before we were about to sell it to acquire the additional funds needed for our new vehicle. Clever had lined up the sale and was sorting out the transfer of ownership. But we take comfort in the fact that God is sovereign over all things including this dilemma we find ourselves in. It is just another opportunity to stretch our faith and trust in Him for provision.  He is able.

(L) The AR bus that was hi-jacked. (R) Clever driving the bus

I wanted to share some of Clever’s words, from an email today, with you, so you know how to pray for him and this situation;

“As far as I am concerned, I am doing great. I am now getting back in the gear of prayer since I arrived in Swaziland.  It’s peaceful here and no one is after me. When I was still in South Africa, I was still traumatized thinking about the event every day. I lacked trust, toward every South African male. I kept thinking that they are all thugs. I am sorry for this, God will forgive me. My mind is just thinking about the bus as you know that it was my favorite. I was treating it like my son. The way it was taken from my hands! It ripped my heart; it was something which I was treasuring so much. I had just committed everything in God’s hand he knows why this happened and he is the one who has a better and a good reason for this. My question to God was what have I done so much to deserve this? We are serving you with this bus but you take it away? What does this mean? I felt the Lord saying this message to me, ‘you are a victim of my purpose.”
Again I asked God what this means. “We served Mamelodi and the whole community spreading your Word, investing into this community and the very same community today is stealing from us.”

I felt that God wants us to love this community more. The same thing happened to Jesus. He came to serve and save his own people and the very same people rejected him, accused him and even killed him.

What a mighty God we serve. He wants to use us in this town regardless of being abused or robbed. Thus are my feelings for now. And I am praying for those thugs that they may see God in their lives.”

We are still so grateful that Clever and Noah are alive and well and we ask that folks continue to pray for and encourage them.
As far as the bus goes, we are approximately $8,000 away from our goal to purchase the new one. We ask that you pray with us, give sacrificially and generously. No gift is too small… or too big.  Together let’s see how God moves through us.

Thanksgiving is a great American Holiday! I love the idea of arriving at the end of the year and reflecting on all we are thankful for. This year we started a family tradition of reading out our “Jehovah Jireh List”. We have a list of things that God has provided for, and on Thanksgiving morning along with pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin smoothies we read and give thanks for the amazing ways we have been blessed this year. There are loads of things from; brand new $150 hiking boots from the thrift store for $7.99, to the over 20 folks that gave us the additional funding needed, making it possible to go to work in Africa for 3 and a half months. We have been so ridiculously blessed! And now; due this coming January, a baby girl. I once was called one of God’s favorites. Yeah, I believe it’s true.

As we approach the end of this year and think about giving I challenge you to reflect on what has been given to you this year. And how are you responding in gratitude for the lavish generosity from our great God? As you give this year end… give of yourself. Not just a little bit here and there but in a way that you feel yourself becoming a part of what you are giving to. We have some beautiful giving opportunities this end of year and we invite you to become a part of the blessing of God in the lives of others.
1. Support a yearlong volunteer. Why not invest in the growth and service of another as they serve the Lord in difficult places. And you get to follow along with them as they share their year through our blogs. Click here to find out more.
2. Join the team giving towards getting a much needed reliable vehicle in Africa. Make an impact in a practical way and give to a desperate need that makes all our ministry possible. Click here to find out more.
3. Share with your friends and family about AR and what God is doing through this small ministry with a big heart. Be an advocate. While you may not be able to give in a way that you would like to, perhaps you can connect others to this vision and therefore still play an important part.

Prayer-
Give thanks with us for the ministry done this year in people’s lives. We thank God for the volunteers who grew this year and gave so selflessly of themselves. For the orphans and widows loved in Swaziland, and for the many people impacted through the various relationships and acts of love through AR.

For those interested in supporting us; we are looking for additional monthly supporters to come alongside us as we enter into the New Year. Contact me if you want to know more.
allan@africarevolution.org

May you be filled with increasing gratitude as you celebrate the coming of our Savior, Merry Christmas!
Allan, Annie, Judah and Baby Girl

p.s. check out some of our volunteers blogs to see and read about how God has been working through AR. Click Here

Last Words
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2Corinthians 5:20&21)

Re-Entry is often one of the most difficult things about missions.  It starts off with the celebration of completing a mission and the joy of returning home to friends and family who are excited to hear the stories and have you back in their lives. But after a few gatherings and a couple of trips to the grocery store you begin to feel this uneasiness.  Why are people talking about TV and movies all the time? No I didn’t catch the “big game” on Saturday.  How can everything at the store always be on SALE? And please stop giving me so many choices of cereal.  Do we really need 3 aisle of cereal? (If you answered yes, you may need to keep reading and check yo self)

 It’s the reverse culture shock that gets me.

I’m in South Africa right now and I’m in a part of South Africa that is very western. It’s got many similar conveniences but somehow, is very different. I met a friend for breakfast at a mall and grabbed a cup of coffee from McDonalds. Yet it’s not the same. There is something different about the US, something so very different. From the moment I step off the plane stateside, I feel these invisible hands slide over my shoulders; massaging and seducing me to let my guard down.  What is it?

 I believe there is a spirit of comfort, consumerism and an addiction to entertainment that reigns in the U.S. and it’s got its roots deep in our hearts. I don’t believe comfort, convenience, money or “stuff” is intrinsically wrong, but somehow we have given in to its ruthless demands and allowed it to reign in our hearts and lives.

My prayer for our family, as we go back, is that we are free from the grip of the Matrix. That we are lucid and sober to the realities we have experienced here in Africa. My prayer is that we keep our priorities straight and that we continue to be a voice to set the captives free.

So most recently; we had a fantastic time of De-brief with our team on the North Coast of South Africa (Balito Bay) and despite the 7hrs on the side of the road broken down, we ended up having 4 great days, resting, reflecting and preparing our team for a new chapter in their lives. We have also had a few days to spend with family here in South Africa and we will be sad to go.

Prayer Requests:

1. Travel.
Annie is almost 8 months prego and really feeling done. We have an 18hr flight and desperately need some relief thrown in there.

2. Transition.
(see above)

3. Support.
We have to get back on the support raising trail. With #2 joining us in January we are in need of additional family supporters who will come alongside us in the Lord’s work.

Love from

Annie, Allan, Judah and the Bump.

This last week has been just great! What an amazing way to end off the year. Amy and I were both telling Allan that we thought it was the best week of the year when he reminded us that that was only because it was a week built off of the entire year. It wouldn’t have been as special  had we not experienced all of the previous experiences. Very true.

So Tuesday and Wednesday we went to Potter’s Wheel, our home church, for a morning of prayer, worship, and teaching. They were really great encouraging and refreshing times for the entire team, and also the entire church I think. Everyone had just been feeling tired and worn down, which is why they decided on holding these services, specifically for everyone involved in the various ministries of the church. It was great.

Thursday the team went to visit Allan’s friend Julie’s ministry in Manzini. Julie works with AIM and she helps run a program that allows women in rural communities to sew handbags and then Julie sells them. The women then receive a salary based on the amount of bags they have sewn for the month. The income provided by this project is a major blessing to women – especially since they are able to sew the bags at home which means they can still take care of their house and children while supporting the family. The bags that these ladies make are super cute – and I may or may not have bought some to take home…

On Friday Jane, the on Farm nurse, had asked our team if we would help her with a “Gogo party” that she was putting on. Pretty much what that means is 8 Gogos (Grannies) and 2 Mkhulus (Grandpas) came over to the Farm and we treated them to breakfast, a foot spa (with toe nail painting!), some games, and lunch. I have to say – it was one of my favorite times yet. It was such a blessing to be able to rub the feet of these gogos who are so often forgotten about by their children and their communities. It was funny, because the power was out (hello rainy season!), and we were upset because we wanted to play a music dvd for the gogos while they were doing the foot spa. But since we had no power, we opted to sing to them as we did their feet, every siSwati song that we knew! The Lord obviously wanted it to be that way because it turned out that was the highlight for the gogos! They were all so impressed hearing these white girls singing in their language. They laughed and laughed. I just love them.

Friday night we celebrated our year of youth with all of the Farm youth and TCMI students. We had all the kids over to our backyard for s’mores – which turned into a bunch of kids just popping chocolate and marshmallows in their mouths versus actually making s’mores. But it was fun! We cranked some tunes inside the house and after a few minutes the party turned inside – to a dance off! The girls took one side of the living room and the boys took the other. It was hilarious!  And of course all of these kids are crazy dancers. Personally, I didn’t stand much of a chance in the dance off, but they clapped for my trying anyways.

At the end of the night we gathered everyone and took turns giving some speeches, first the leaders, and then the youth. One of the guys said, “You guys will leave wounds in our hearts – because you are leaving, but you are now our family.” You can probably imagine that it got pretty emotional. After speeches the evening was done, but all of us leaders made a receiving line by the door and hugged each kid on the way out. As we got to the end of the line the song “I’m coming home” came on and yes, I know it’s lame, but I was tearing up! What he said was true – we have become family. In my speech I told them that I loved each one of them, but what I thought about later was that, it’s not even that I just love each of them. I actually LIKE each one of them! I enjoy their company so much! And I’m going to miss them terribly.

Saturday we again assisted Jane with another party on the Farm, this time for a few orphaned kids from the community. It was really cute and fun with games, food, face painting, etc. I think the kids really enjoyed it.

One of the kids, Siyabonga (which means “we thank you”), had such a sad story. He was 7 years old but Dudu, one of the community workers who came to help, told me that he takes care of a small baby. His mom spends her time out drinking and is rarely home, and his gogo works in a salon in Mbabane, so she isn’t home a lot of the time either. Many times he doesn’t even go to school because he stays home to take care of the baby. How can such a small child take care of a baby? Fortunately, Siyabonga has good women like Dudu and Patricia looking out for him. They will often cook meals for him and look out for him when no adults are around. Lots of kids in Swaziland aren’t that lucky.

After knowing his story I was especially excited to watch him playing and enjoying himself at the party – and after the face painting he looked more like a tiger than a little boy! I again felt blessed to be a part of blessing others.

Saturday evening I was invited over to my house family to celebrate my sister Ncami’s 15th birthday! When I got there I realized it was a little more than a family celebration – 2 other Farm families were there as well as a few random extra Farm people. We enjoyed ourselves greatly, eating, chatting, and of course ending the evening with watching a football match on t.v. I was also invited to spend the night so of course I stayed up late with my sisters chatting and being silly. Though the whole evening was great, I couldn’t help but also feel sad. This family has become my own. I am theirs. It’s going to be so hard to say goodbye.

All in all, it’s been a great, but sad, week. Honestly, I’m not ready to leave. The time has gone by so fast, it feels like I was just at home last weekend! Yes, of course I’m excited to see all my Canadian loved ones, but I can’t help but mourn about leaving my Swazi ones. I love them. And I hope that someday we will meet again, but if not on this earth, I know we will in heaven.

This past week I have made some of the best memories that I have made all year long. It has been incredibly busy but I have enjoyed each and every moment of it. It will be hard to keep this post short as so much has happened!
Some of the highlights:
Last Saturday we were asked to plan an event for 160 kids from ages 2-13 from 9:00am until 2:00pm. Naturally, we were overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do with 160 who didn’t even speak our language! It turned out to be great though. We split into 10 different groups and ran 10 stations and had some of the older kids on the farm and some TCMI students help us out with our groups and translating. They all did a fantastic job!

This past Monday was really special. I was given a generous amount of money from close family friends of mine and was told to do what I wanted with it with the people on the farm. I had a lot of time to think about it. I started thinking about planning another talent show and have a BBQ with them, or to throw a youth party, we were also about to use the money to take the youth out to a Swaziland national soccer game but the plan fell through. We didn’t end up using the money on the kids but on the house parents. These house parents are incredible. They have sacrificed their time, money, and their lives to look after orphan kids in their country. They work so hard and never complain. And every team that comes in puts events on for the kids.. so we decided, it was time to bless the house parents who go highly unnoticed. We took them out to a nice restaurant for lunch and dessert and they LOVED it! Most of the house parents had never even been to a sit-down restaurant before and didn’t know how to order off a menu. They were all so incredibly grateful for the outing and have been talking about how wonderful it was all week. It is such a God thing that those other plans fell through.. I think the Lord wanted the house parents to be treated, to get off the farm and have a break from all of their hard work. Thank you so much to my friends who provided the finances for this event, it is SO much appreciated!!

Tuesday and Wednesday morning we had what we called a “Soaking Service” at my church at Potter’s Wheel. Basically a number of people from the church gathered together to worship God, listen to a to pastor’s give a word and bow down before the Lord in prayer. What was so neat was that it was a totally spirit lead event.. there wasn’t a specific schedule, we just cried out to God and waited to see what he would do. And God showed up. It was an extremely refreshing time for me personally and it reminded me of the Love of the Father and how I need to trust in Him with all of my heart. I have been also continually reminded of the importance of prayer. The book that we are reading this month is called “You See Bones, I see an Army” by Floyd McClung (amazing book that I recommend to everyone.) There was a portion in the book that really stuck me, that I want to share.
“A young man in Bible school offered to help a well-known preacher years ago when he was ministering on the streets of New York City. The man of God asked him how much time he spent in prayer. The young student estimated about 20 minutes per day. The preacher told him ‘go back for a month and pray for 2 hours a day, every day for 30 days. When you’ve done that, come back. Come back and I might consider turning you loose on the streets where there is murder, rape, violence and danger. If I sent you out now on 20 minutes per day I’d be sending a soldier into battle without any weapons, and you would get killed.”

Friday morning we had a gogo and mukhulu (grandma and grandpa) party. We had ten of them come. When they got there in the morning we and breakfast and did prayer and worship with them. After that we played games with them and gave them foot spas. It was such a neat experience. The gogo’s loved getting their feet massaged and their toenails painted. The game that we played with them required them to answer questions about themselves. One of the questions was “what is your favourite childhood memory?” One of the gogo’s said that she didn’t have any good childhood memories, all she could remember was beatings. But she said “but today is my best memory because today I feel like a child!” Amazing. At the end of the party we handed out gifts of clothes, food, matches, soap, candles, basic necessities. They were so excited!! They kept saying “thank you for Christmas!” And they all said that they hope that they stay alive until next year so they can come back for the party again. Haha. What amazing people who we can learn so much from!
Saturday morning we had an orphan party – six kids from the community came. We played games with them, ate with them, did face painting and crafts. It was a lot of fun but hearing their stories was really hard. One of the little boys is seven years old (but looks like he is no older than five.) We were told that every night his mom gets drunk so he is left to care for his one month old sibling all by himself. He doesn’t go to school all that much because he has a baby to care for who his mom has neglected. He has a grandpa but he is never there. He sleeps under a table. Two of the other girls are both HIV positive and although their grandmothers take good care of them and they are loved, their grandmothers are in a position where they have a choice – to buy food or ARV’s. They choose to buy ARV’s which leaves them with nothing to eat. When I saw them open up their gifts I had tears in my eyes seeing the smiles on their faces and the joy in their eyes. Their stories break my heart. I think I need to spend some extra time praying for the community of Hawane and for the country of Swaziland.
Friday evening we had a final youth event at the girls house – a party with a bonfire and a freakin’ amazing dance party! We taught the kids how to make s’mores. They loved it. But most of them were to impatient to roast the marshmallows so they at them plain or else completely BLACK! Haha. And the highlight of the evening was the dancing, in our living room and kitchen! Man, those kids can dance! At the end of the evening we all made goodbye speeches to the kids. I had to keep mine short because I was nearing tears. And some of the kids also made speeches to us. One of the boys said “when you guys leave we will be left with wounded hearts because you guys are our family now.” I love those kids with all of my heart. And the reality of saying goodbye is becoming more real every day. Coming to do missions for a year is really beneficial in the way that you can really invest in people’s lives and build strong relationships but it also makes it harder on us and on the kids…

We leave for Durban on Tuesday for 3 days of debrief and then we are going to come back to the farm for a week and then it is goodbye Swaziland. Only a week and a half left in this country that has become my temporary home. I am excited about coming home but goodbyes are never easy..

There are people in this world who serve the Lord with hardly any recognition for their good works.  Who work hard 24 hours a day and rarely get told that they are doing a wonderful job.  Who do what they do because they know it pleases the Lord and that is all that matters to them.  At the Hawane farm, the house parents are these people.  Each of the volunteers adopted a house family for the year and spends time with them.  We spend our Monday evenings with them, eating dinner, playing games and just hanging out. We have spent almost a year getting to know them and every day we see more and more how they are true servants of the Lord Jesus, building his Kingdom by caring for the orphans of Swaziland. 

            The AR team was given a generous amount of money to use for the people on the farm and were told that we could bless them in whatever way we saw fit.  We thought about it for quite a few months, throwing ideas back and forth to each other.  We thought about having a talent show and braai (bbq) with the youth, or having everyone over for a nice meal, we even considered bringing the youth to a national Swaziland vs the Congo soccer game. But all of those plans weren’t meant to be.

            So many visitors that come to Hawane plan youth events for the kids, games days for the kids, and soccer tournaments for the kids but rarely does anyone come here and do anything for the caregivers of those kids. In the end we decided to indirectly bless the kids by blessing the parents.   

 It was a blessing that all of our plans to use the money on the kids fell through because it was the Lord’s plan for us to use that money to treat the house parents; to encourage them, and to thank them for all they have done for us throughout the year and all that they do each and every day for the kids.

            So last week Monday we took all of the house parents to a nice restaurant in Swaziland where they were able to order a nice meal and a dessert.  Taking someone out to eat may seem like a fairly small thing to do for them but this was not a small thing in the eyes of the house parents.  Most of them had never been to a real restaurant before, and didn’t know how to go about ordering off of the menu.  The only place that they ever go, if they go out, is KFC, (KFC is a big deal out here) but even that is a rare occasion.  A lot of them were overwhelmed but it was such an amazing experience for them and they were so grateful.  It is also a rare occasion for them to ever leave the farm or to get a break from their kids and all of the other work that keeps them busy all day, every day.  They LOVED their meals and we all ate until we were FULL.  Seeing their excited and smiling faces was such a blessing to us as volunteers.

            After the meal they all thanked us 100 times over and went on and on about how much they enjoyed it. 

            It was such a small thing that didn’t take a whole lot of planning but to the house parents it was an unforgettable experience.  It was a day that said to them “you are doing a wonderful job and we appreciate you.” 

It was a blessing for them, but also for us to give back to them in a small way for all of the things that they are doing here.  Praise the Lord for these people; I know that God will bless them and that he has a special reward in heaven for each one of them.  

It is amazing how far a small gift goes here. If you are considering giving a charitable donation this Christmas, consider giving to AR, that we might continue making a personal impact in Southern Africa.

We’ve been busy these days – but it’s been nice! Even though we’re coming to the end of our time here at Hawane the days are full of things to do.

Saturday we, the volunteers, hosted a group of 160 Sunday School kids from our community church as well as a partner church. The ages ranged from 2-13, with most kids falling around the age of 5 or 6. It was quite the crazy day!

We started out the day with some of the Farm’s youth and TCMI students leading the kids in praise and worship, and then followed by a ginormous icebreaker of Simon Says, led by me.  We set up different stations of games, stories, drama, and bible learning and divided the kids into teams, about 16 kids per volunteer. Each station lasted about 10 minutes and then we would whistle for everyone to rotate stations. It worked great! The kids arrived around 9am and we finished up the program with a short word from Clever about the love of God at 12:30. Then – it was time to feed the masses! But even that went very smooth and orderly. The whole day was fantastic. It was great to demonstrate God’s love to those precious, beautiful little kids just by playing with them and loving on them with our own hands and feet.

Monday we made plans to take out all the house mothers and fathers of the orphan homes on the Farm for a nice lunch at Timbali Lodge in Ezulwini, the swanky part of Swaziland. Each of us volunteers has adopted a home, and thus a mother (and sometimes father), over the last year, so this was our way of thanking them for all their hospitality and love – and also to let them know how much we love and appreciate them! It was so much fun.

All of the house moms dressed in their best and we had a great time chatting, trying to decide what to order, and of course eating (dessert included!). We have grown to have close connections with our house moms, but we don’t get to spend a lot of time with them on the Farm, so it was nice to have the afternoon just to enjoy each others company – away from work! It was obvious that the moms also really appreciated the time off work and away from the Farm, and to be recognized for all of their hard, hard, work! You see, when teams come in they often put on nice events for the Farm kids, which makes sense, but the moms are mostly left in the background. For that reason the day was extra special, to them, and to us.  I very much enjoyed seeing the moms relax and enjoy – the day will go down as one of my favorite memories from our year.

One other special thing happened today, Tuesday, during hospital ministry. I met a princess! Yes, that’s right – a real genuine princess. One of the elderly ladies I prayed for in the hospital was a sister to the King, same mother and same father, which is a big deal here in Swaziland since the Kings all have many wives. The Princess’s daughter was there visiting her and she explained this all to me. When she left she even addressed her mother as Princess! I felt quite honored to have had the opportunity to pray for a Swazi Princess.

The hospital was also special today because we didn’t have a translator for most of the time so I went around, mostly by myself, just talking and praying with people. Oddly, all of the women I visited could speak English! Which is quite rare at the hospital. It was a very encouraging visit and I really enjoyed chatting with the patients and hearing their stories. Today was also our last hospital visit – I guess it’s good that it was a memorable one. I will miss our hospital visits.

We continue to wind down our time here at the Farm and also our time as a part of this internship. It’s bitter sweet. I feel that each of us has developed some level of wings over the course of this year, and each of us is also getting anxious for the opportunity to stretch them, to try them out, and see if we will fly. God knows that we will. And when our wings fail us, He will be there to catch us.

What!?! A whole month and half has gone by since we left the US and arrived! We have loved being here in Swaziland. Despite the incredible vehicle struggles (more on that later), we are so enjoying every opportunity to dive into ministry here. So along with our team we have had these amazing opportunities to serve people by;  teaching English, Math and computer classes, leading bible studies, devotions, youth group,  preaching (at Emafini, the Addiction center), hospital visitation, prison ministry and even digging ditches. We have been able to visit in the community.. and just yesterday from 7am-10pm we joined the Luke Commission doing rural medical missions. I have seen the incredible value of volunteers and the power of partnerships. I am constantly amazed at our servant team. Their flexibility, their teachable hearts and the clarity they have on why they are doing what they are doing is awesome . We hope you can see some of this in the picture gallery above and in their blogs.

Annie is over 6 months pregnant and being a real trooper. She is loving being around the team. Even though she doesn’t get to be as involved in all the ministry opportunities, she still manages to take good care of us all. Judah really loves this place. Kids paradise for sure! He loves all the orphan kids around him and they treat him like a king (…unfortunately sometimes. They want to carry him everywhere!)  He is also extremely spoiled by the volunteers who fulfill his every whim and fancy.  As for myself; I find I am thriving in the chaos and unpredictability of Africa. Every challenge is an opportunity and every opportunity a new way to depend on the Lord and see Him show up. This includes breakdowns, postponed meetings and last second sermon prep.  I most love our time with our volunteers. We have meals together, devotions , serve together and generally do life together. There is a beautiful passion in them to give their lives away to others. They are selfless, generous and humble. It’s an honor for us to disciple them and build into their lives as they build into others here in Swaziland.

Sharing a need:
I have realized that the most vital tool in our ministry is a reliable vehicle. Our current vehicle which has been a wonderful work horse is quickly dying (20+years old.) Last night, on our way back from medical missions, we were coming through the mountains with the whole team falling asleep from a long day of serving. As we meandered down the steep mountain side through a thick fog we suddenly lost all power, the lights, engine and breaks died on us. We drifted to the edge of the road between the rocky mountain face and huge sugarcane trucks barreling down past us. We got everyone out of the bus. James waved his cell phone wildly in the fog to alert traffic we were there while Clever put on his MacGyver hat and crawled under the bus and eventually solved the power problem. To say the least it was a dangerous situation to be in.  Unfortunately we have been in similar situations to this one, at least 5 times in the last month.  Like I said, a reliable vehicle is the most vital weapon we need in our arsenal and we are requesting folks to join us in raising the funds for a new one.  Together we all can easily raise the funds that will allow our teams to do medical missions, visit orphans and widows in the community and do food distribution etc, etc.  My request of you is to pray and give. Click Here to find out more!
Prayer for

1. A new reliable vehicle for our staff and teams.
2. Annie in her pregnancy. For the right name for our baby girl due on Jan 2^nd!
3. The 2011 Vision Year team that they finish strong and for the 2012 Vision Year team as they prepare themselves for a year in Africa!

 Thanks to everyone who remembers us, prays for us and our work.  We would love to hear updates from each of you and would love to pray for you through whatever life circumstances you are growing through.

Much love, Allan, Annie Judah and Bump

Last Words “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” –Gal 6:9

Throughout the past year our team has enjoyed the opportunity of working with The Luke Commission on many occasions. The Luke Commission (TLC) is a medical missions organization that specializes in bringing mobile medicine to rural communities across Swaziland. Harry and Echo VanderWal, the founders and directors of TLC, run the mission along with a fleet of national staff and their four sons.

Working with The Luke Commission has been a favorite for the whole team. There’s just something about leaving the farm at 6:30 am, with cooler stocked full of PB and J, not knowing whether you’ll be back at 8:00 pm or 3:00 am the next morning – TLC won’t leave until every patient at the clinic has been seen. It’s always a long day, that’s for sure! But the atmosphere at TLC is always worth the work. Everyone does their part and works hard – with smiles on their faces! Truly, being a part of The Luke Commission feels more like being a part of a family than anything.

There were always a variety of jobs available for us to do at any given clinic. The first station we were trained on was Triage – blood pressure, blood sugar, and HIV testing. This is where Amy and I most enjoyed being – but it’s not for the faint of heart! Most of the day would be spent poking fingers – old gogos and little kids weren’t usually happy about it either. Our team also worked at the eyeglasses station. There they spent the day using eye charts and finding the corresponding glasses to improve the vision of gogos and younger adults alike. Another station was clothing distribution – where we took in the school children and sent them home with a new item of clothing. One clinic we were also able to hand out Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child boxes to a huge group of students. That was a special day.

Overall I can say that working with The Luke Commission was a huge blessing to our team. The clinics were always something we looked forward to. And looking back on the long days, and nights, we spent working with TLC I know that we will always cherish the memories of the thankful gogos, mothers, and smiling children that we met at every clinic. I know the whole team is so thankful for these opportunities that we had.