Children: The Heart of Live in Love

Next time you think your chair is uncomfortable...

These are the chairs from the school near Maphiveni. Ouch! Fortunately some of the men who work at Christian Family Church are building new seats and backs for the chairs. They are also painting them bright colors. Stay tuned for an updated photo of the new chairs!

Live in Love: Meet Thobile

She has the heart of a warrior and a beautiful smile. Her body, however, is wasting away, as fragile as a baby bird. She has HIV/AIDS, multi-drug resistant TB, malnutrition, and pain in her legs that make it difficult to walk. She has been in the hospital twice in the past 3 weeks. When we visited her during the most recent admission the sight was almost too much to bear. The hospital ward was so crowded we found Thobile lying on the floor, under another patient’s bed.

Her mother sat faithfully on the cold, hard floor next to her, where she also slept each night. Thobile was shivering, breathing hard, had high fever, could not walk and weighed less than we had ever seen. We knelt down beside her, leaning in under the bed above her. Then we realized she was reaching up to us. Not with her arms or her head, but with her beautiful smile, shining through her darkness for a moment to convey her joy and love at seeing us, of us simply being there with her. That’s the thing about choosing to Live in Love. It doesn’t matter what you can or can’t do. It doesn’t matter if you’re sick or healthy, rich or poor. What does matter is being there, reaching out with a simple smile in the midst of pain and suffering to ensure someone knows how much you appreciate them, how much you love them. Thobile did not speak that night but her smile said more than any words could. Take a moment today and smile. Really smile. A genuine meaningful smile. It’s another simple way to Live in Love.

A few days later, Thobile was off the floor and on a small cot. Her pain had decreased, her fever was down, and her smile was strong.

Photography Trip Scheduled

On September 11th, Syndy will be traveling to Swaziland for a 12 day visit with Lori, LaSalette and the Rehymeyers. The list of photographic requests is long but the visit will be filled with energy and excitement. We will be sure to post updates and all our favorite 'pics' later in September when Syndy returns. If you have anything small and lightweight that you'd like delivered, please send it to Heartworks Inc. 150 E. St. Charles Rd. Carol Stream, IL 60188. All deliverable items need to be at the office by Wednesday, September 3rd.

Photo's from Lori and Kay - 1st Week in Swazi

Lori with a little guyKay teaching Bible study at a Care Point
One of the housemothers--8 toddlers in her care--can you imagine?!LaSalette... sporting her new Live in Love t-shirt imprinted with "Born to Feed" on the back