It's Winter here in Swaziland and I thought to prove it I would show you a picture of myself in my house - yes with winter coat, scarf and all! Our fireplace is no longer working but it was a blessing while it lasted! It might be hard to believe that I'm in Africa and it's cold, but Swaziland has all 4 seasons.

A team from Northern Ireland comes annually and holds a soccer tournament for the community. This year there were about 750 in attendance. Much fun was had by all and the prizes for 2nd and 3rd place were live chickens. The grand prize was a goat! You can see the winning team from White City with their goat below. :) It's not everyday that you see a goat going as a grand prize for a soccer tournament. Things like this remind me that I'm in Africa. :)

one of the prize chickens...

I recently had the opportunity to visit a homestead in a rural area in Swaziland about 2 hours from where I live and work. The children were precious. It was a blessing for me to spend some time with them accompanied other Swazis from the ministry here. We shared Christ, prayed with them, passed on some donations of food, including rice packets. My eyes are opened to how the majority of the people of Swaziland live in poverty. Often many children to care for in each home and parents are absent many times through death, unavailable due to sickeness or abandonment. What a joy it is to bring the hope that God brings to people. He is a Father to the fatherless. The invitation is open to anyone who wants to be His child.

And I can't leave out a recent celebration for some good friends' engagement here in Swaziland. Musa asked Waheedah to marry him and we threw a surprise engagement party immediately afterwards. It was a nice evening. Congratulations guys!!!

So much else has been going on that I hope to update you on in the near future. For now I'll end with some song lyrics I recently wrote. I pray they encourage you.

Make It Beautiful

It's not about me, it's all about you
Forgive me for licing with my focus on me
I want to be Your vessel to a lost and dying world
To be used by You, that is my desire
Give me Your heart Lord
Ignite in me that holy fire
How You chose me I do not understand
Take my life Lord, I surrender to Your hand

You are the Potter, I am the clay
Help me to live out the words that You say
My life is Yours, oh Lord
have Your own way
Shape me, mold me, purify me and restore me
Here's all I am, my one request
Make it beautiful

Lovely in Your sight, set aside for a purpose
Shining brightly in Your light
May I be a piece of pottery to be used everyday
Not on a shelf hidden away
I want the world to see You in me
To be part of Your master plan
Be glorified in all that I am

Praise God! My camera is back in action! So, I've been looking forward to sharing with you an update of the last few weeks in pictures. :)

In May, Potter's Wheel, my home church, had a mother daughter tea which was hosted by the women's ministry. It was suggested that if we did not have a biological mother or daughter we could adopt one. I was blessed by adopting a teenager who is so precious to me and who is a single orphan. She was my "adoptive" daughter for the day and I was also "adopted" by a sweet friend who works at the men's Teen Challenge rehab center. It was a time of encouraging each other and coming together as women in the body of Christ.

my Canadian roomates & I

my adoptive daughter & I

At the end of May we went to pick up my friend Waheedah (from my home church in the States) from the Johannesburg airport. She is marrying a Swazi friend, Musa, from the ministry here in Swaziland. Many of us were anticipating her arrival and it's great to have her here with us now as they prepare for their wedding in September.

Musa & Waheedah - finally both in Swaziland!!!

On Saturday June 11th Potter's Wheel Church hosted a Fun Day for the orphan care center where I live and serve. All the cell groups of Potter's Wheel adopted one family from the children's homes at Hawane Farm. It was a day filled marked by seeing the body of Christ reach out to care for orphans and widows. Much fun, competition, and laughter was had by all!

The children opened us that morning with singing...

On Friday June 17h I had the honor of serving at The Great Ability Group, an outreach to people with disabilities from the rural areas. In Swaziland people with diabilities are often neglected, mistreated, and ignored. It's a joy to reach out to these precious people that most of society has forgotten. We pick them up from the community and bring them to Hawane Farm where they participate in praise & worship, prayer, physical therapy, fun, and free lunch. I was humbled and moved to participate in reaching out to those who God loves so much.

2 guests of the Great Ability Group & I

The Great Ability Group, Nurse Nokthula, & I

Time seems to be flying by! Honestly, it's hard for me to realize it's almost July. Here in Swaziland we are now in Winter and where I stay at Hawane it gets quite cold, especially at night. I'm thankful for my hot water bottle and loads of blankets I snuggle during the night. :)

I realize I typically give updates on what ministry work or outreach I've been involved in, including counseling and mentoring the ministry children, house mothers, and LifeSkills students. While I love to share what's going on here, I feel the need to include some personal reflections in this post.

What's life like for me in Swaziland, Africa? I'm constantly reminded of how blessed I am as I encounter life stories of the people here. I've always had a roof over my head, warm clothes, plenty of food, safe drinking water, people who care about me and express love to me, a safe place to call home, a mother and a father, good health, an education, and friends and family who support me. Many of the children and adults I work with do not have or have not experienced these blessings that, for the most part, I've taken for granted my whole life. When working with the ministry's children who have been orphaned and are vulnerable my heart sinks in my chest to hear of their backgrounds of physical and sexual abuse. I'm beginning to think more young girls than not have been raped or molested before they reach adulthood. It's hard to imagine how these crimes go on day after day. The results are girls and boys who are left with damaged souls, poor self-images, distrust in people, and silent voices.

A project that is before me currently is to meet with each one of the nearly 50 children at the orphan care center to obtain a life story from them. The story will be from their point of view but will include social welfare records and other credible reports. Each child will then receive a copy of their story from me to keep. My prayer is that these precious children will begin putting a voice to their pain and that God will bring beauty from ashes. Nothing is impossible for Him. He is the Healer. He is love. He has come to bind up the brokenhearted. What a joy it is for me to see God repairing brokenness, healing hearts, restoring lives. God can truly bring good out of bad situations. He's doing it around the world one life at a time.

Our God has sent me to comfort all those who are sad.
He wants me to help those in Zion who are filled with sorrow.
I will put beautiful crowns on their heads
in place of ashes.
I will anoint them with oil to give them gladness
instead of sorrow.
I will give them a spirit of praise
in place of a spirit of sadness.
They will be like oak trees that are strong and straight.
The Lord himself will plant them in the land.
That will show how glorious he is. - Isaiah 61:2,3

I'd like to share some excerpts of my journey so far in Swaziland with you. In these 8 months I have learned so much, been stretched to truly live by faith, been blessed by the people I serve and work with. God has brought people from around the world (currently people with God's missions heart from England, Canada, Zambia, Korea) to live on Hawane Farm where I stay and to share His love with the orphans and widows here.

The counseling I've been involved in here is going well. God has given me a new direction to focus on training and equipping the house mothers (often widows who are caring for the orphaned and vulnerable children of the ministry) with basic counseling skils. This will enable the mothers to then be available to the children in their homes - many of these children have experienced trauma, abuse, and loss. For me it's a testimony to see the house mothers growing in their confidence, in learning new skills, and in their ability to communicate within the ministry. Having worked with this same group of amazing Swazi women in 2008, I can see first-hand their growth spiritually and emotionally. These hard-working ladies are raising the next generation of Swazis who will lead this nation to be the pulpit to Africa. God is using Swaziland to bring transformation to all of Africa. This nation that is predicted to become extinct due to the AIDS pandemic will instead live and declare the works of the Lord. What a testimony to the world it will be!

I also have the privilege of working with Teen Challenge Ministry Institute (TCMI) students. Recently one of them preached in our morning daily chapel and I afterwards I wrote the following in my journal:

This morning in chapel Sibosiso (one of the young adult Bible school students from Hawane Farm, the orphan care center where I live) shared his testimony. He powerfully explained how he was a well-known alcoholic, drug addict, and drug dealer in the very community we reside in. He said he was the kind of person people would look at once, not want anything to do with, and move on. He was rejected by the community members and thought of as worthless. This morning he testified of how he met Jesus and his life was transformed. Today he studies in the Teen Challenge Ministry Institute an d frequently preaches with power. He encourages others to follow God, accept His forgiveness, and to live for His purposes. He also attends Hawane CLC church and participates in community outreach.

When I hear stories like this from the lives of the Swazi people I work with my heart is touched and I find myself praising God for showing up in people's lives as only He can do. As Sibosiso encouraged us this morning people may have disqualified you or discarded you but God wants to use you. There's no limit to what God can do in and through one life!

Some highlights from the last few weeks serving in Swaziland...

During a recent trip to the government hospital to visit those who are sick, I had the privilege of leading 2 girls who accepted Jesus & decided to begin a relationship with God. Both girls shared that they had never heard of Jesus before. We (myself and the Teen Challenge Ministry Institute students I work with) found Nosippo, a 12-year-old girl who was suffering from severe malnutrition, laying on the dirty hospital floor with just a towel over half of her body. Her eyes with empty of hope as she shared that her family experiences poverty and often doesn't have enough food. After she listened to the gospel - how God loves her SO much and has a purpose for her life- and prayed, inviting Christ into her heart, she was smiling and reading the Bible we gave her. She's such a precious girl and a future leader in Swaziland.

The TCMI student ministry team and I at the hospital (rules prohibit pictures being taken inside)




Lavumisa, Swaziland -Last week I spent 3 days in Lavumisa, the location of the ministry's newest church plant and orphan homes. I was asked to accompany a Teen Challenge missions team that was here from Oklahoma. This team was from a girls' adolescent Teen Challenge, a drug treatment center. It was a joy to serve them in practical ways (cooking meals, praying, accompanying them in the community) during there time here. Our 3 days in Lavumisa was complete with powerful times of worship and prayer for this village with the highest rate of HIV infection in the world, visits to community members' homesteads for encouragement and prayer, and taking outdoor showers inside a shack made of tarps :) We even had a little visitor one night - a rat that had made it's way out of the team leader's mattress during the middle of night to make an appearance. :) TIA - "This is Africa" is a common saying here among missionaries...

An old
bridge at Lavumisa
(community members walk across this daily)

Me on the bridge (walking across is a little scary, tests your faith:)

The Teen Challenge Oklahoma Team and I (we all made it across!)

Building the orphan homes by the church (using sand bags)

Our youngest little helper

ok.. youngest AND cutest volunteerVisiting homesteads in Lavumisa

homestead visit with the team
children playing in the river at Lavumisa (it's super hot there, not surprising to have temps over 100 degrees F)
Support volunteers and I with Pastor Sabelo
CLC Lavumisa

I'm honored to be involved in assisting in leading the women's Bible study at Hawane CLC Church. Many women from the rural community walk far distances to attend this meeting every Tuesday morning. It's exciting for me to see them growing in their faith and in their handling the Word. Now, some have even begin to preach to us, sharing the message! Praise God! Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations, including teaching them to obey everything he commanded. What a blessing to see this happening before my eyes!


THANK YOU for making a difference through your prayers, encouragement, and support! Together we are making disciples in Swaziland and seeing people's lives by changed through God's power!

"Recent pic from a homestead visit in the community. The 7 month oldbaby boy was abandoned by his parents & his grandmother (to my right)is caring for him along with about 16 other children"

Christmas & New Year's here was great this year. On Christmas Day every year all the centers in the ministry I work for (men's drug rehab center, women's center, and the children's homes from the orphan care center) gather together for a lunchtime celebration of the Lord's birth. It's a time of many presentations of songs, skits (the kids did a really cute birth of Jesus play), testimonies, and dances. I'm sorry I don't have more pics to share. I think I was lost in the moment. I did manage to get a few pics from Christmastime.

I took one of the teenage girls out before Christmas
to check on her & give her an opportunity to share what's on her heart.
She's an amazing young woman whose desire to is to preach God's Word.

Waheedah & I on Christmas at Hawane CLC

One of the teenage girls & I on Christmas

A group of friends & I on Christmas Day
(in this photo 2 Finnish, 1 Zimbawawe, 2 Americans, 1 Canadian, 1 Swazi)

To recap on a few recent events - I had the opportunity to lead a week of teachings in December with the children from the orphan care center where I work. They are just wrapping up their summer holiday break from school (we have opposite seasons than the States). It was an awesome time of interacting with the children in groups according to their ages. I taught groups on feelings/grief, self-esteem, and career planning for the teenagers. My prayer is that these trainings minister to them and that they come away with healthier coping skills for dealing with their feelings (many of them have been abused, neglected, and going through grief/loss) and with an understanding of who God says they are. The most important thing about you is not who YOU say you are or who SOMEONE ELSE says you are. No, the most important thing about you is who GOD says you are. That's who you really are. The groups participated in various activities, including designing posters to help illustrate what they had learned.

The teenage girls & I

Participated in a cookie bake activity in
one of the children's homes

Me with some of the kids :)

Teaching the younger kids about God's love for them
(it was so cute- when I explained that God says they are friends of God, one boy
started loudly singing the popular song "I am a friend of God")

The teenage boys & I

Teaching the kids of feelings
(they're also proud of their Feelings Books)

Me with the youngest group
(they're proud of the Feelings Books they made:)

Teaching one of the 6-year-olds

What a joy it is to be involved in sowing seeds of God's truth and His unending love into the lives of these precious kids. I know God's Word does not return void. It will accomplish the purposes it is sent to. How could God be speaking to you about imparting His Word into the lives of others?
May He guide us every day, every step. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Commit your way to him and he will direct your path." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Remembering Bernadette, the friend You gave

"Father God,

Thank You for the time you gave me on this earth with my dear friend Bernadette. She was a precious gift from You. Today (November 3rd) she would have turned 37 years old. You blessed her with 36 precious years of life and she became special to so many people. Her belief in You was evident and she taught me many things. She taught me that people appreciate it when you take interest in the details of their lives. Bernadette was so good at that. She frequently asked me about how things were going and brought up things I was surprised she recalled. She shared God’s love and care with me. She listened to my joys and sorrows. She gave encouragement and even loving correction. She is a true sister in Christ. One day we will rejoice together in Your presence, God, for all eternity. I look forward to dancing around the throne with her!

Thank You for allowing me the opportunity to be there with her during her time in hospice. I praise You for Your perfect timing… even though I had planned to be in Swaziland, Africa for missions work at that time You arranged it for me to be with Bernadette during the last months of her life on earth. What an honor and privilege. You are good Lord and Your love endures forever!

Love Your daughter,

Kylee"

"Time seems to be flying by! This weekend I'll have been in Africa for1 month already. I want to share some pics with you so you can get anidea of some of my surroundings. I hope to share more soon. (Pics are not easy to upload here so someone from the USA is posting this forme:)"

This is my new home, currently living at the girls halfway house onHawane Farm, the orphan care center

another one of my house

Some of the other volunteers and I currently serving in the ministry -one from Scotland & 2 from Canada

Hawane Farm, the orphan care center I stay in

Landscape of Hawane

A precious boy & I (he was abandoned and left tolive w/ the dogs, he was rescued & is now living with the ministry,he's doing very well and can now walk!)

This is the newest member of Hawane Farm

I’ve made it to Swaziland, Africa and I’ve been adjusting to life here once again. Having spent 5 months here previously seems to be helping me to get back into the swing of things. Driving on the other side of the road (left side) and sitting on the other side of the car (right side), living on a farm with 50 orphaned children, attending a wonderful church - Potter’s Wheel Church, and working with many new (and some familiar) ministry staff and volunteers are beginning to become familiar. Even waking up at 5am to teenagers already cleaning the house and singing is starting to seem normal. :)

I’m settling into my home, the girls halfway house, on Hawane Farm. Both teenage orphaned girls who are being cared for by the ministry and young adult female Teen Challenge Life Skills School students live with me. My role is to care for them, provide discipline when needed, provide mentoring and counseling, and oversee the daily living tasks of the house. So far it’s been great and the girls are nice to work with. Many of them have such heartbreaking backgrounds and amazing testimonies of what God has done in their lives. It’s a joy to be with them.

A new 11-year-old boy, Bandile, has arrived on Hawane Farm (part of Lighthouse Care Centre & Challenge Ministries) to be cared for here. He was referred to us by the teacher of the pre-school on the Hawane CLC church property and worked out through social welfare. This boy is a double orphan as both of his parents have died from AIDS. This precious boy is HIV positive, has cerebral palsy, is developmentally challenged and he does not regularly speak. He was being cared for by his 77-year-old grandmother who is going blind and was struggling to give him his tablets to treat HIV. Bandile came to us last week malnourished and, though he is 11, he is the size of a 7-year-old boy. He is able to walk, though not normally. So far he is adjusting well to being on the farm and around all the other children, including Mandhla, a 12-year-old boy who also has cerebral palsy. They have become instant friends and brothers as they live in the same house. So, this Bandile is almost always smiling and playing with the other children. He is attending the home school here on Hawane Farm which is being taught by a long-term missionary from England.

I’m reminded of God our Creator. Psalm 139:13-14,15,16- says “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place…. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

God has created each one of us. He has such an exquisite plan for every life. I am just so thankful that part of God’s plan for Bandile was to bring him here to be with us in the ministry. What a joy to see these abused and abandoned children rescued and brought into a loving environment where they are fed physically and spiritually!