Rubbing off . . .

When I was a little girl, my grandmother’s house had white washed exterior walls and a courtyard with a fence that was also whitewashed. When my sister and I played in the courtyard the whitewash would rub off on our clothes. In fact, it seemed like just hanging out near the whitewash would cause it to rub off on us. We were pretty oblivious to the influence of the whitewash on our clothes while we were busy playing. It wasn’t until we came inside and were away from the courtyard that we noticed how the whitewash had affected us.

Isn’t how it is with things that rub off, good or bad? It’s not very often that we try to get something on us, it just happens. That is what happened to me last month in Swaziland.

Shelley, Patti and I just returned to Piet Retief and the home of our friends the van Wyngaards. We spent 5 days in the South African Cape teaching and talking about solar cooking and pasteurizing water using WAPI’s. The weather was cooperative and we actually cooked Mealie Pup perfectly, starting from cold water. Only an African woman knows what a big deal that is. Even though this area has sporadic sun in the summer, we determined that with just 100 days of sun per year (a very reasonable estimate), a family could save $1600 Rand by using solar instead of parafin or electricity, school fees for several children. Thanks to Grahamstown and Kirstenbosch Rotary clubs for hosting us and working to see that the introduction of this technology is helpful and sustainable.

Laura - 27 February 2010

Sorry for the delay in posting. We have no internet access to update, and can send updates only when Arnau travels here and then back to his home in South Africa.  This week has been one of traveling to see people of the Shiselweni region of Southern Swaziland. Jeanet, a wonderful young pharmacist serving a one year missionary commitment with the Home Based Care project, and I have visited some of the more difficult clients. We have a 2 wheel drive Nissan Pickup, referred to here as a “Baakie”, to reach clients further out. With Jeanet’s careful driving, we have gone mud bogging on clay roads, driven over roads with grass growing several feet high and no longer visible, and up hills with no roads to park, climb through barbed wire and then hike on foot to the homesteads of clients. I don’t know how, but only by the grace of God we have not become stuck and stranded in the mud! One very precious man we visited, John, is single, in his seventies, and living on his own far out of town. He has a serious leg ulcer that has been in various stages of healing for several years. Jeanet, since she arrived in January has been going out to visit and do dressing changes twice a week. I have been able to visit him twice, and will see him again on Monday before I leave. He has a very small homestead but a beautiful garden that he is out in and tending to each time we arrive. He does this while on crutches, due to his wound and previously having his toes on that foot amputated as a result of his injury. Bamboo grows dense around his yard to serve as a hedge, and he as woven a fence with the reeds to direct the path in. He grows his own fruit, squash, corn and chickens so that he is self sustaining, but this also puts him in danger as neighbors know of his gardening skills and want to steal from him. On Thursday I took my Polaroid camera with me, and took a picture of my teammate Patti and I with John as a gift to him. The look on his face, of pure amazement, as he watched the picture develop was priceless. He had never seen a picture of himself, much less one that magically appeared before his eyes. The last two days we have had a good bit of rain, but it falls hard for a short period of time. The paths become quite muddy, so I pray they will be passable on Monday, and we will reach John one last time before I leave.

Half our team departed for South Africa yesterday, and Jeanet went home to South Africa for the weekend to see her mom for her birthday. Kristen and I stayed on and went out on “local” visits with 2 caregivers, Jabu and Maria. We used local transportation, a small van called a Combie. They are much narrower that a 9 passenger van in America, and are marked for 16 passengers. The one we travelled in had 18 passengers. The combies only travel on the tar roads, which are limited in the country. We had to walk quite a bit and wait quite a while before one stopped to pick us up. It cost 4 rand (about .60 US) each way. When we got off, we walked several more miles on clay roads and paths to see our clients. The Caregivers are a generous and dedicated bunch. It requires a great commitment to their neighbors to continually and joyfully serve. As we walked the paths, they sang with such beautiful voices.  On our return to the church, Maria gave Jabu a 25kg bag of beans to take with us. She effortlessly placed it upon her head to carry. Kristen and I tried. I could hold it for maybe 3 seconds, without using my hands to hold it, and had a sore neck to show for it.

Missing eveyone at home. Give Camden a kiss for me! Love you all,

Laura

Quick Swaziland update

We have a quick minute with internet access to update the blog.


Shelley, Patti and I left Laura and Kristen in Swaziland as we head to South Africa to work with two Rotary Clubs and do solar cooking training.

Not nearly enough time to tell about our time with the wonderful, selfless, sacrificial caregivers. More stories will come as time and internet access is available. The highlight perhaps, was the graduation of 42 new caregivers and the opportunity to wash the feet of the leadership team. Words cannot describe how I felt washing off the dust from miles of walking down dirt roads and goat trails to in hopes of visiting a stroke or AIDS victim. So humbling. Such an honor.

Pictures to follow. Pray for Kristen and Laura as they visit more clients and ready the store room with medical supplies. Pray for us as we have to opportunity to help people from black townships learn to save money and access safe water.

Wendi

February 2010 - Laura Clark

The Swazi countryside is beautiful and green. This side of the country has rolling hills and small mountains covered with trees. It actually reminds us a lot of the foothills of Fresno when they are at their greenest in early spring, on a clear day, just after the rain. The weather has been warm, but tolerable. After a first day of rain, we have had sunny weather. Mornings are “misty” just like Fresno fog, but it burns off and clears up by 10, leading to a gorgeous day. The sunsets are just BEAUTIFUL! Today will be a day of organizing supplies into the storage container, and then going out on my first visit with the caregivers. I’m excited and looking forward to it. Missing everyone at home, but so glad to be here.