Finding Comfort In God's Holiness

God spoke to our family about his holiness through this great video called "What Do I Know Of Holy" by Addison Road. Psalm 99:2-5, 9 says "Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name-He is holy. The King is mighty, He loves justice-you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, FOR THE LORD OUR GOD IS HOLY".

God's holiness can bring us comfort. As we go through our daily lives are we allowing God to touch our faces and look into our eyes? When he touches our faces and looks into our eyes, have we opened ourselves up and been so transparent that he fully knows us? As we praise and worship Him for his holiness, we are lifted from the mire of sin. As we believe in Him, we are made holy and we can trust in Him completely. It is really incredible to think that all creation knows His name.

It's a Small World

God has an amazing way of connecting those in His family together. A year ago Caleb's youth pastor from Woodmen Valley Chapel, Brian Carlson, was able to go to Swaziland and see the state of the country. One of the people he met was Jumbo Gerber, who is a missionary from South Africa working in Swaziland with a group called Adventures in Missions (AIM). Jumbo and his wife, Kriek are missionairies with AIM. Adventure in Missions and The Luke Commission, which is the medical missions group we are going on our missions trip with, have been working together at a number of carepoints. Adventures in Missions is also the organization which heads up The World Race. We were blessed to have 4 World Racers live in our basement this last Fall. It's great to see how God fits all of the pieces of His body together to further His kingdom. Here is link to the news from the Gerber's and some pictures of one of the first clinics they held: http://jumbogerber.myadventures.org/?filename=first-clinic

Giving and Receiving

Acts 4:32, 34 "All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had….There were no needy people among them."

We can't believe that today is 4 weeks until we leave on our trip! In one of our recent blogs, we talked about how God has been providing. God continues to bring in support daily and we are blown away by His amazing provision, even in ways that we couldn't have imagined. God has provided over $5000 in support through 26 supporters (families and individuals) that we know about. We just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has given donations and supported this trip. We know that many of you have given sacrificially. It has been a blessing to see a few people give who we know are raising funds of their own for missions. We have also been blessed to see our nephew Joshua, who is a junior in high school, break all of the stereotypes of a self-centered teenager and gave his hard earned money in an incredible way. Our families and friends have been very supportive in many ways. Some fellow bloggers have given, which considering that we've never met personally, is incredibly special. Our church Woodmen Valley Chapel has given a wonderful gift toward this trip with The Luke Commission. The nurses at St. Francis Medical Center, the hospital where Andy works, have set up a locker to be a "piggy-bank" to give donations for the trip. Just like the church in Acts, people have been sharing from everything they have to support something God has arranged. It has been awesome to see how God has provided for this work. Thank You God for this incredible gift!

On other items, it will be an intense last month. School is ending with lots of the end-of school activities these next few weeks. I have to work for the last 14 days before the trip as well as 14 days after. Hannah has basketball camps up to the day we leave, and Caleb will be training for cross country. We are asking for prayer that we would continue to grow closer to each other and to God during this time. Also pray that we would recognize the enemy's attacks and would be strong physically and spiritually. We are also very thankful that God provided us with many wonderful skirts for Wendy and the girls through the Goodwill and ARC thrift stores. Culturally the females need to wear skirts in Swaziland, and that's not something Wendy, Hannah, and Rachel wear very often. Everyone is extremely excited for the next four weeks to go by and to start on our trip. Thanks again for everything!

Luke Commission update

Wendy and I wanted to fill everyone in on the latest from the Luke Commission. God continues to do such amazing things through their ministry and work in Swaziland. We also have a HUGE praise - we have two young guys willing to watch our house and dog while we are gone! Thanks so much to Craig and Teddi Domann for their willingness to share their interns with us. We are in awe at how God continues to provide for us over and over in so many ways. We are also so thankful for so many of you that continue to give so generously towards this missions trip. Thank you God for all you are doing, as you prepare us to go to Swaziland. Here's the latest from the Luke Commission.

On the Road Again with The Luke Commission

Writing from Africa always puts a different slant on what needs to be said to friends and supporters in North America.

The sights and sighs of Swaziland seep into our pores. The strangeness of another culture quickly gives way to the tasks and opportunities of each day.

All who pray and give and work for The Luke Commission can rejoice! The VanderWals and their team are out in the bush once again, treating beloved Swazis who do not have regular medical care and telling them about this man Jesus who became God in the flesh to suffer as they do.

TLC's letter of support from the Ministry of Health was signed 18 hours before the first clinic was scheduled to begin. How's that for God's omnipotent timing. That's behind us now, but sometimes it's good to look back even a few days...

The trailers had been loaded just waiting.

Medicines had been purchased, box after box delivered to the Manzini home base, then repackaged and labeled with instructions for usage in SiSwati. Medical supplies had been organized by Harry and Echo, anticipating what they might encounter in all the corners of Swaziland.

New brightly-colored clothes had been unloaded from one of three containers, sorted, and packed into tubs for boys and girls of all ages. Hundreds of shoes collected last year by a large church in Ohio were arranged for easy fitting. Handmade wraps and blankets had been set aside for the very young and very old.

Eyeglasses had been inventoried and those seldom used replaced by more common lenses and frames. This reshuffling took hours before 3,500 eyeglasses were stacked on carts and rolled onto the trailers.

Bibles and thousands of SiSwati tracts had been prepared for transport. Lunches and water had been packed for The Luke Commission team.

The two vans that pull all these supplies and carry 12 to 15 adults and 4 children had been serviced and new tires added. Yes, we continue to pray for new vehicles but trust God to keep the old on the road until then.

And then... the prayers and faith of Swazis and Americans alike were answered. As Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord."

All systems were go for The Luke Commission 2009. We hit the tar road - and before long the dirty road.

At the first clinic almost 500 patients received treatments and medications, 120 (half the adult patients) voluntarily tested for HIV, 100 were fitted for eyeglasses, and 800 children were dressed in new clothes and shoes. It's just a beginning, but oh what a beginning it was.

One grandpa mkhulu said to Echo: "We do not understand. You forsake everything - your family, your country, your wealth - to come to a country you do not know. You work under blazing African sun. We do not understand. We would not do that."

Unfortunately, more Swazis are testing positive for HIV than before. The HIV rate for pregnant women has risen. Leaders here tell us the rate is especially high among young men and women. The ravages of the disease surround us.

"It's a silent war," Harry noted. It is difficult to admit one has AIDS even when it's obvious physically. Often, HIV/AIDS is talked about in the third person. Meanwhile, family members are dying.

Consequently, The Luke Commission affords as much privacy as possible to those testing for HIV, even in the bush. (We'll expand this in the next update.)

Eight high schoolers and their teachers from a large public high school in California observed and assisted at one clinic. "I will never again complain about having nothing to wear," said one teenage girl, as she fitted shoes on a small child with dusty, scabbed bare feet.

One male teacher with two sons at home noted, "I've never dressed little girls before, but I'm learning fast. Look at their sweet faces."

Swazi children are shy and often do not smile while they are being treated medically or offered new clothes. But the instant the youngsters rejoin their friends and families, they leap and laugh and raise their hands with glee. Hallelujah moments abound in Swaziland, as does profound sadness.

A volunteer nurse from the northern Idaho, working with The Luke Commission this month, had tears in her eyes when a beautiful 18-year-old Swazi girl tested positive for HIV. "She has to go home tonight and consider her life. She was crying, and I wondered what she was thinking, what dreams were being shattered..."

Visiting the nearby Manzini hospital regularly brings us face to face with impending death. Those still in their right minds readily accept our prayers even in English and cannot wait to read the SiSwati tracts.

Mothers sit by their sick babies day after day, watching them grow weaker and weaker as their cries shrink to tiny meows. New mothers are grateful for soft baby clothes, and injured children who may spend days in traction welcome the toys. Suffering and hope intermingle, and the human race groans for deliverance.

That deliverance takes on many faces when we trust in God. For instance, 1 Thessalonians 1:10 encourages us "to wait for His son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come."

As we long for Jesus' return, might we all be about the Father's business wherever he has planted us.

Love in Jesus,
Janet Tuinstra for Harry and Echo and The Luke Commission everywhere