Team Reports
1/9/10
Most of the team arrives home on Saturday around noon...family and freinds will welcome them home and they will begin the next part of the journey...watching God keep His promise to work in us His good and perfect will. Thank you, again, for supporting this team in love and prayer. They will be reporting to the Chapel Hill congregation on Sunday, Jan. 24. Please join us if you are able!
Sheila
Well here we are...ready to depart the Johannesburg airport for our 16.5 hour flight to Atlanta. Yikes! James is with us also, but is headed to his destination of Liberia to be reunited with some of his family. We are excited for the adventure that lies ahead for him.
Our time in Kruger was wonderful. After 3 park drives, the team is loaded down with great memories and tons of pictures of elephants, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, lot of monkeys and impalas. It is a beautiful park (bigger than the size of Swaziland) and it was just what the team needed
We had a special dinner last night and a much needed time of debriefing this morning over flapjacks and coffee. Though we experienced this trip together, it was sweet to hear from each one as to how exactly God worked in them.
We are getting the call to start boarding the plane, so I am signing off. We will be with you soon!!
Love to you all.
Your Swaziland Team
Sheila
Well here we are...ready to depart the Johannesburg airport for our 16.5 hour flight to Atlanta. Yikes! James is with us also, but is headed to his destination of Liberia to be reunited with some of his family. We are excited for the adventure that lies ahead for him.
Our time in Kruger was wonderful. After 3 park drives, the team is loaded down with great memories and tons of pictures of elephants, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, lot of monkeys and impalas. It is a beautiful park (bigger than the size of Swaziland) and it was just what the team needed
We had a special dinner last night and a much needed time of debriefing this morning over flapjacks and coffee. Though we experienced this trip together, it was sweet to hear from each one as to how exactly God worked in them.
We are getting the call to start boarding the plane, so I am signing off. We will be with you soon!!
Love to you all.
Your Swaziland Team
1/5/2010
Greetings from Swaziland.
This is our team’s final night on the farm and we are all saddened at the thought of leaving. It has been a magical time with these amazing children. The team has given 100% in everything they have done. They truly poured all of themselves into this experience, never missing an opportunity to really experience life on the farm.
VBS was a sweet success, with children singing praises to God, making fun crafts (10 Commandment windsocks, picture frames, beaded necklaces, etc.) along with sack races, water balloon tosses and never ending rounds of hugs.
In the afternoon we worked diligently to complete many projects. Here’s just a sample:
- We sewed 26 book bags and new curtains for the school
- We fixed half a dozen children’s beds
- Fixed 6 laundry lines that were drastically sagging.
- Hung 1 large chalk board and 2 bulletin boards
- Repaired school computers
- Weeded and planted large garden to include lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, bell peppers, spinach and cabbage
- Cut and installed new shelf in kitchen cabinet
- Fertilized all fruit trees on the farm
- And the list goes on and on…
You would be proud of this team. We have processed much together and have grown closer because of it. God has shown His glory each and every day and we all feel blessed to have been part of this experience.
The weather changed drastically two days ago when the skies brought us lots of rain including an amazing thunderstorm (Scott captured some amazing photos!) Tomorrow we leave for Krueger and are also excited for a little R&R. We will try and get one more e-mail out before we head back home. We miss all our family and friends and are so grateful for all your continued prayers and support. Keep it up, especially tomorrow morning as we leave this precious place.
Much love to each of you…
The Swaziland Team
God is good!
We could not ask for more...thanks be to God.
Sheila, Director of Missions at Chapel Hill
Sheila, Director of Missions at Chapel Hill
01/01/10
Greetings from Swaziland! We are all doing well, very hot and a little tired, but are having a wonderful time. God is indeed at work in this beautiful part of his world. The team has been busy caring out our VBS class in the mornings and working on a wide variety of farm projects in the afternoons. For those of us tasking outside, we have to move in shifts as the heat and humidity does make it difficult to be out for more than an hour or two at a time. The children continue to enjoy having us here and Peter and Mary Jean appreciate the “extra hands’ on the farm. It is truly amazing to each and every one of us how much they have accomplished in this place.
I have asked each person on the team to put together a few sentences (Highlights) to share with all of you. I wish it could be more, but there simply are not enough hours in the day to share ALL of what they would like. So… here ya go:
Rich and Audrey: We are especially enjoying the beauty of the area and the hospitality of Peter and Mary Jean. New Years Eve was a special highlight. The children entertained us with dancing and singing. Chris and John (our ACTS hosts) made a BBQ of chicken and lamb complete with a “Bree table set up” along with a fire for roasting marshmallows which quickly became a very sticky affair.
Emily J: Working with the youngest children during VBS. Emily J has enjoyed watching the children open up a little bit more each day. It is a blessing to see their smiling faces in the morning. She as also thrilled to see all the children (mostly boys) “perform” their traditional Swazi dances last night.
Charlene: The children on the farm have been blessing her socks off! Spending New Years under the stars with this fabulous team and the Kopps watching the children dance and sing for us is a special memory that she will cherish. God is at work here.
Scott: I have been blessed to be with these children. You can see some of God’s greatest gifts in them. Pray for us that we survive the heat.
Laura: I am enjoying the children and their laughter and never ending energy and enthusiasm. The beauty of this place is overwhelming. I have also been working on a sewing project in the afternoons making book bags for the children.
Tony: I have had a moment of clarity; Psalm 116:12-14 has new meaning.
Emily W: I am really enjoying the time with the kids whether it is working in the garden or walking down to the river. I have also had some great conversations with the children. While on the river walk, one of the kids (Mukelego) asked me what I wanted to do when I grow up. I told him, “a teacher” and he said I should stay in this place to teach. It was very sweet. Thanks for your prayers.
James: The most wonderful experience with the children is that their lively activities do not show any regret regarding their past conditions. They seem to be filled with lots of hope for the future.
Patti: Hard to know where to start. I am very proud of this team. All working really hard. It is sweet to know that many of the children remember us from Chapel Hill being with them two years ago. They have asked specifically about others on that team along with what we had shared with them when we were here. How wonderful to know our work is not in vain. Too many other highlights to list. New Years Eve was one I will NEVER forget and experiencing this with my daughter leaves me filling overwhelmed. God is so good!
That’s all for now. As I am closing up, God is showing off with an incredible lighting show. There is some thunder accompanied by many of nature’s critters chiming in. Good night to all of you back home. Please continue praying for us and life here on the farm.
Love, the Swaziland Team.
12/30/2009
What fun to get this report...it only deepens my gratitude for the privilege we have in supporting Peter and Mary Jean. Thank you for praying for the team, and lets remember their supportive (and sacrificing) familes here at home too! Sheila, Director of Missions at Chapel Hill
Well here we are, just 2 full days into our VBS here at the farm and things are going great! The team is bonding nicely and the children are incredibly receptive to us being with them.
As you may know we are working from a curriculum that outlines five important ideals in knowing God better. They are: Know God, Talk to God, Love God, Share about God and finally Work for God. Along with great story time and creative crafts we are teaching them eight new songs. It has not been entirely clear whether or not they fully understood them, until this afternoon when we were with the children playing and you could hear them singing these songs. It was simply precious. We are also busy in the afternoons with a growing list of farm projects that Rich Shaw has been coordinating. I believe he is in his element. We got a lot started today, that we will finish up tomorrow and then on to something new.
The team received their official “orientation” from Peter and Mary Jean Kopp along with the farm tour yesterday. What these two people have created in this space would amaze you. Every single process is perfectly orientated and orchestrated. Each thing affects the next and so on. The idea of “self sustaining” in nearly perfected here. We learned a lot and will be anxious to share more when we return.
In other news, the weather here is very hot and humid and some of us are suffering from pesky bug bites. Nothing drastic, but mildly annoying (we were contemplating playing “connect the dots” on Emily Jacobsen’s legs). The farm is beautiful, lush and full of growing vegetables, chickens/eggs and cattle. We even had front row seats in watching 13 piglets begin born last night. Pretty cool.
That’s all for now. Time to close and get some rest. Please continue praying for the team. We love you all and know that we are having a wonderful time here in Swaziland.
~ The Swaziland Team
God is good!
Well here we are, just 2 full days into our VBS here at the farm and things are going great! The team is bonding nicely and the children are incredibly receptive to us being with them.
As you may know we are working from a curriculum that outlines five important ideals in knowing God better. They are: Know God, Talk to God, Love God, Share about God and finally Work for God. Along with great story time and creative crafts we are teaching them eight new songs. It has not been entirely clear whether or not they fully understood them, until this afternoon when we were with the children playing and you could hear them singing these songs. It was simply precious. We are also busy in the afternoons with a growing list of farm projects that Rich Shaw has been coordinating. I believe he is in his element. We got a lot started today, that we will finish up tomorrow and then on to something new.
The team received their official “orientation” from Peter and Mary Jean Kopp along with the farm tour yesterday. What these two people have created in this space would amaze you. Every single process is perfectly orientated and orchestrated. Each thing affects the next and so on. The idea of “self sustaining” in nearly perfected here. We learned a lot and will be anxious to share more when we return.
In other news, the weather here is very hot and humid and some of us are suffering from pesky bug bites. Nothing drastic, but mildly annoying (we were contemplating playing “connect the dots” on Emily Jacobsen’s legs). The farm is beautiful, lush and full of growing vegetables, chickens/eggs and cattle. We even had front row seats in watching 13 piglets begin born last night. Pretty cool.
That’s all for now. Time to close and get some rest. Please continue praying for the team. We love you all and know that we are having a wonderful time here in Swaziland.
~ The Swaziland Team
God is good!
12/28/09
Hallelujah! The team is at the farm...this message today:
After 2 long days of traveling we are excited to report that we have finally made it to the farm at 6pm thins evening. The team is in great health and even better spirits.
As I am typing this quick message to you, we have a team working on dinner dishes, another figuring out rooms, mattresses, suitcases, and still another team getting us ready for our first morning of VBS. Talk about hitting the ground running! Peter and Mary Jean are excited for us to be here along with 30-some very enthusiastic children. For Patti it was a thrill to see all the beautiful faces she remembers from 2 years ago. All older, but still healthy and thriving. For the rest of the team, it was fun to see there faces light up when the children ran to meet us as.
More updates to come. Need to sign off as there is much that still needs to get done before tomorrow. Love to you all. Thank you for your continued prayers to all of us.
From the Swaziland Team
After 2 long days of traveling we are excited to report that we have finally made it to the farm at 6pm thins evening. The team is in great health and even better spirits.
As I am typing this quick message to you, we have a team working on dinner dishes, another figuring out rooms, mattresses, suitcases, and still another team getting us ready for our first morning of VBS. Talk about hitting the ground running! Peter and Mary Jean are excited for us to be here along with 30-some very enthusiastic children. For Patti it was a thrill to see all the beautiful faces she remembers from 2 years ago. All older, but still healthy and thriving. For the rest of the team, it was fun to see there faces light up when the children ran to meet us as.
More updates to come. Need to sign off as there is much that still needs to get done before tomorrow. Love to you all. Thank you for your continued prayers to all of us.
From the Swaziland Team