Swazi Reality: Home

Welcome to this first post in a series about the day to day reality of life in a squatter community in rural Swaziland.

Love in Action: Betty the Quilting B, Part 2

Love in Action: The Quilting B, Part 2

TV News Coverage:
http://www.wgrz.com/video/default.aspx?mid=880653512

Last year Live in Love introduced Betty Miller who makes quilts for vulnerable children including 100 quilts for orphans in Kenya (check out the blog post). This year has been no exception.Along with her regular quilting projects, Betty once again joyfully accepted a special quilting mission: the children of Swaziland. Betty’s hands are skilled to make the quilts, but her heart is as much, if not more, a part of the process. She is not satisfied to simply make a bunch of quilts. Oh, no, Betty thoughtfully selects the material. With the children in mind she chooses beautiful colors and patterns, some for boys and some for girls. Each quilt Betty handmakes is unique in color and design. Betty crafts each quilt with gentleness, kindness, and love.When Syndy arrived in Swaziland her bags were heavy and packed full with Betty’s quilts. One bag was ready to bust at the seams! It was so important for the quilts to get to the children that many other items were left in the states, including items requested by missionaries, most of Syndy’s clothes, and all of her shoes. (Thankfully, Syndy and Lori where the same size.) With some sleep, a shower, and a meal, 12 hours after Syndy’s arrival Live in Love hit the road and headed for the pediatric ward at Good Shepherd Hospital in Siteki near the Mozambique border. The percentage of children at Good Shepherd who are HIV+ is staggering. It never drops below 70% and the majority of the time it is 90%. In addition to HIV, many of the children have burns, are severely malnourished, and some are abandoned.The quilts were received with an abundance of smiles, thank you’s, and disbelief that the quilts now belonged to the children, that the quilts were for the children to keep. One young girl spent the rest of the morning strolling around the ward, clasping her new quilt around her shoulders like the elegant cape of a princess. There was no doubt how special she felt.
On a personal note, I can not express fully how honored I was to carry the quilts into the ward on Betty’s behalf. I wanted her to be there to personally select a quilt for each child. I imagine her gently laying a quilt upon a sleeping baby then wrapping a quilt around another child, covering them with her warmth and love.
Betty reaches across the miles, sewing love in the hearts of children. I am thankful to know her and to be a tiny part of her ministry to children in need. Thank you, Betty, for all you do.
If you are interested in donating quilting supplies to Betty's Love in Action Quilting Project, please contact us for additional information at LILBlog@aol.com. The average cost of supplies per quilt is approximately $10 if everything is purchased on sale. Each quilt requires 2 yards of print fabric, 2 yards of matching solid fabric and 2 yards of batting plus the necessary thread, yarn and ribbon for completion. Betty does not accept cash donations for her quilting project but she gladly accepts donations of cotton fabric, thread, batting and gift cards for Joanne Fabrics. Fabric donations must be cotton or poly-cotton blends that are child appropriate. Please NO patriotic patterns or symbolism.

Meet Lomasontfo

Lomasontfo is like other 9 year old girls. She likes the color pink, likes stickers, and likes to jump rope with her friends. One thing that makes her different is the large vascular growth on the side of her face. She has had this for many months and despite hospitalizations in Mbabane, Swaziland, and Pretoria, South Africa, the cyst has not decreased in size. So, Tuesday morning, she is returning to Pretoria. Lori with Live in Love will be there with her to help her settle in, adjust to being in hospital again, and cope with difficult procedures and being away from the community she knows.

Lomasontfo is representative of many children in Swaziland and Africa. She is an orphan and although she stays with a few older sisters, they have babies and consider Lomasontfo an outsider because she has a different father.

While in Pretoria the doctors will continue their work on decreasing the cyst. The biggest challenge comes from the significant vascularity of the growth. This means they can not cut into it as they would not be able to stop the bleeding and Lomasontfo would not survive. The days ahead may be hard but the “L” team is on it and we’re pretty tough – that’s Lomansontfo, Lori, and Live in Love. Please keep her, the doctors, and those caring for her in thought and prayer. I will post updates this week so please check back.

Word from the Frontline

Thank you friends for all your prayers and financial support during the past many months while Lori has been getting set up at her new home in Tambankulu Swaziland. I just returned from a 2 week trip there and want to let everyone know first hand that she is doing great! My trip was wonderful and humbling as always and it was amazing to see the work that Lori has begun in this small Kingdom.Over the next several days, I'll be posting stories and pictures from my trip so that you can all share in the mission that God has called Lori to. During my stay with Lori, we visited 6 different Care Points, 2 of the 6 hospitals in the country, the local elementary school run by the Christian Family Church where Lori has plugged in, and 2 countries. We put over 500km on her new 'old' car and enjoyed countless hours of laughing, sharing, praying and at times, even a tear or two.
Please check back often and read about our Excellent Adventures in Swaziland. To be continued soon... Syndy

Photo Tour Update

It’s day 7 of the Live in Love Photo Tour 2008. Syndy’s cameras are smoking with over 1600 photos and there are 5 days to go. We have traveled to many rural communities, bumping and jostling down dirt roads that were more holes, rocks, and ruts than actually road. We have been a few feet from the Mozambique border. We have seen children smiling with a sparkle in their eyes, wrapped in their new quilts made by "Gogo" Betty. We have seen children so malnourished they are literally starving to death. We have been hugged and thanked. We have had small children grab our hands and hold on tight, wanting nothing more than safe and comforting touch. We have seen poverty, illness, tears. We have seen thankfulness, love, and hope.

Please continue to pray for Syndy while she is traveling, for her safety, health, and return home. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for Syndy’s photos.

A common sight in Swaziland

Limited clothes… and if you find something to drink, grab it, don’t wait.

A note from Lori...

As I begin my 4th month in Swaziland it is difficult to put words to all I have seen and experienced. I am still adjusting to a vastly different culture and socio-economic environment. The poverty, illness, malnutrition, and abuse are, at times, overwhelming. But love is alive here. I often find it in the eyes of a mother comforting her child or in the grasp of a child’s hand in mine.

Live in Love is making strides with the development of the Children’s HIV Intervention Program in Swaziland (CHIPS) in partnership with our good friend Teresa Rehmeyer (view earlier posts about Teresa and check out the blog at http://www.rehmeyers.blogspot.com/). This program will provide access to HIV testing and treatment as well as individual and community support for children and their caregivers. During a 4 hour clinic in the Maphiveni area in August, Teresa saw 64 children. One-third of these children were identified as needing to be tested for HIV simply from current symptoms and limited family history. This does not include the many children who are HIV positive but are not yet symptomatic. There are at least 300 children in the Maphiveni community and Maphiveni is 1 of 7 communities we will reach with this program. You can do the math.

There are more Live in Love programs and projects in the works and we look forward to sharing them with you as they grow.

Thank you for continuing this support journey with Live in Love as we serve the children of Swaziland. Thank you for your support prayerfully, financially, and with words of encouragement. To continue to assist the children in rural Swaziland we need your help. Tax-deductible donations may be mailed to Heartworks, Attn: S. Miller, 150 St. Charles Rd, Carol Stream, IL 60188. Please write Live in Love on the memo line. Prayer is most welcome anytime and anywhere. Encouraging words may be sent to the above address or e-mailed to lorilil@hotmail.com.

Yes, love is alive here… an ideal place to Live in Love.

Live in Love. Everyday.
Choose it. Live it. Do it.
Lori