Bezaleel Report December 2008

Dear friends,

Who would believe such a report? A global financial crisis, huge fluctuations in the oil price, and particular to us in South Africa the ANC government in turmoil. In a matter of a few short months situations have come to a head. Scripture tells us that we are not of this world but in it and that God is with us. Jesus also tells us that in the last days certain events will happen but we are not to be anxious because He is with us.

During Sukkoth we erected a booth and ate our meals in it everyday and studied the word of God together with the children regarding the feasts and the implications for us today. On the Sunday night Salvador and Dianne joined us and Salvador shared scripture with us. Through the study of the feast and in light of the present situation the Lord encouraged us. Firstly, home here is only temporary, like the booth because our citizenship is in heaven and as we pass through this world He will provide the necessary shelter, food and drink for us. Secondly, we are reminded that our conduct must be that of citizens of the kingdom and as much of what we take for granted collapses around us and fear and uncertainty is the order of the day our hope and peace rests in Him and as the darkness encroaches all around the world our light must shine brighter and brighter as the dawn of the day. Thirdly, Jesus promised that if we thirst we are to come to Him and He will give us the Holy Spirit. For this we give God praise. He is our hope and not the world around us.

Since our last newsletter our household at Bezaleel has had very full days, and looking back we thank the Lord for the strength, provision, goodness and joy He showers us with.

Regarding home schooling we’ve had a really productive year with one of our primary goals to have the children reading well at their level and have a good grasp of language by laying a good foundation. Thoko and Masesi have English as a second language with Thoko at 13 years reading English for two years and Masesi at 13 years for eight months and both doing well. Reading for us is a priority and a joy because God has chosen to communicate with us through the written word, His Son and creation and we want the children to be able to grow in God through personal reading of the word. This separates us from the rest of creation. Illiteracy in my mind is a tragedy and sets one up for control by other people. In today’s world it is a tremendous privilege to be able to read well. Walter at 12 years is the only one unable to read and we need to be creative in finding ways to expose him to information so that his world does not become too small.

Music of course is hectic but what rewards. Lizzie playing piano, flute, recorder and treble recorder with theory; Thabo, recorder and theory; Ruth playing piano and Ernest guitar. Next year Lizzie, Thoko, Masesi, Rosie and Precious will be going to singing classes and hopefully Rosie to ballet to help with her CP. Her limp is becoming more pronounced as the tendon shortens.( Hopefully with all the time spent in the car waiting for the children I might get some more newsletters out.) Lizzie and Ruth won a trophy for a piano duet, Lizzie won the junior J S Bach trophy with recorder and she received honours for her UNISA pre grade 1 piano practical exam. All the children won trophies at their music school prize giving. Another exiting event was a music CD recording by Lizzie, Thabo, Awie and Elsa their teacher. If you would like a copy please mail me at bezaleel@saol.com and I will send you one in the new year.

The last few months have been very stressful with some serious health problems with the children. Ruth became very ill and her pead insisted she be hospitalized as she was severely dehydrated. The hospital turned us away because we didn’t have the funds to admit her. They even refused to put her on a drip for 24 hours which we would have been able to cover. I took her home and by God’s grace she recovered. Walter was admitted to casualty in the Johannesburg General Hospital with severe pain in the hip. The diagnosis shifted from TB of the hip to cancer of the hip to finally after a biopsy a hemangioma which is an abnormal growth of blood vessels with blood clots. The trip to the hospital was an hour each way every day and we were all grateful when he returned home after a spontaneous recovery with no treatment being administered.

Masesi became very ill with TB and we quarantined her in our home for two weeks while the TB was active as the risk to our family was less than to her foster mom on the informal settlement who also cares for children under the age of five with cramped living space and poor ventilation. She has finally stopped coughing and put on good weight. Walter then developed an aggressive pneumonia which saw his CD4 plummet to 200, his viral load rise and a loss of 4kg, about 12% of his body weight. We cared for him at home and he is well now with his weight slowly climbing. Big Themba developed a lump in his neck and the pathologist performed a fine needle aspiration. No fungal or bacterial infection was found and after a 7 week wait no TB was found. The abscess broke open and formed a sinus cavity which has been leaking for weeks. Everything in SA comes to a stand still over the December period and we need to wait until the New Year to see how we proceed further. In it all God is our strength because He has called us and is faithful to us.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and may the Lord bless you all.

Allen and Sue