Bezaleel Newsletter – January 2009

January 2009

Dear friends<

The other morning, really early, I was on the veranda praying, when five African Hoopoe birds landed on the grass and began to probe the ground for food. It had just rained the previous evening and the ground was soft, yielding plenty of food for them. The scripture immediately came to mind in Matthew 6:25 and 26 regarding the birds and how they, without effort or anxiety, are fully provided for by the Lord and the admonition by Jesus is, if this is so for the birds we should not be anxious regarding our needs because we are worth much more than they.

I share this with you in light of a request we have of you to prayerfully bring to the Lord with us the sale of the house we live in. Over the month of December, as a matter of urgency, the necessity for the house to be sold in the medium term has been reiterated. We are not in a position to do so and ask for prayer. We are very grateful to the owners for the time we have lived in the house as it more than adequately meets our needs. Our concern is that the owners will have fair recompense for their house as they have so generously made it available for God’s work. What the Lord’s plans are regarding our future we do not know, but we cast ourselves on His wisdom and what He regards as best for us.

Another far more urgent request for prayer is for Little Themba. At the end of 2006 Little Themba came into our care as a result of the persistent pressure his pediatrician put on his dad for him to be placed into care. Little Themba’s mother had died the previous year and although his dad had full-time employment and was on a medical aid and thus all Little Themba’s ARV’s were covered by the medical aid, his dad was not ensuring that Little Themba was getting his medication and the woman who was caring for him gave him one meal a day. Little Themba became very ill with severe stomatitis and was hospitalized. That is where I met him and he came home to live with us.

Over the last two years Little Themba has blossomed. His CD4 count has normalized and his viral load became undetectable, he gained weight and grew a little taller. (He is very small, and at the age of six wears clothes for a 4-5 yr old.) Little Themba’s dad lost his job and his medical aid and we were able to include him on a program our Pediatrician is involved in which covers the cost of his treatment.

Little Themba went with his dad on the 22^nd of December for a two week holiday and has not returned. We are unable to reach his dad on his cell phone and we have no fixed address of his. Little Themba’s ARV’s he had with him will be finished by tomorrow (he had a month’s supply) which places him in a very grave situation unless his dad has arranged for treatment elsewhere. I empathise with the father in the parable of the prodigal son regarding his watchfulness for his son when he went away (Luke16:20). The children miss Little Themba and we are deeply concerned for him and prayerfully bear him in our hearts, watchful with hope for his return or some news of him. The last time I saw him he was walking away alongside his dad, straining to look back at me until I was out of his sight. We are grateful for your prayers for him.

During the holidays the children had a wonderful time. We were given a portable plastic pool, quite large, that the children spent hours in. What a blessing, as we had some really hot days. We also spent a day at a dam in a nearby town with Salvador, Dianne and Clayton joining us. They played some cricket with the children and when it was Dianne’s turn to bat, the bat and its handle parted company, narrowly missing one of the children’s heads. Needless to say that was the end of the game and I suggest nobody mess with Dianne when she has a cricket bat in her hands.Last week Dianne and I took the children to the bird sanctuary nearby. We saw a lot of birdlife, my favourite the Black Heron with its yellow feet, huge carp jumping out the water and crabs clinging to the rocks along the edge of the dam and beautiful fauna and flora.

Our daughter is expecting her first child and Rosie (8 years old) asked me when she has a baby will it be brown. I said it depended whether her husband is brown then it will be, but if her husband is cream then the baby could be brown, cream or coloured. “Coloured!” she exclaimed.” I mean light brown,” I said. “Oh,” she said in relief.

We started school today and we were all glad to have Masesi back.  Four year-old Herman who lives down the road from us with his grandmother started school with us today. His mother died last year and he is HIV+ and on ART. Rosie started ballet today and her disability was quite obvious. I can see by what they do that it is going to be very beneficial for her in many ways. Lizzie received a distinction for her pre-grade1 theory exam for piano from UNISA. This is the first formal exam she has written in her life.

During December we received a visit from people in the AIDS council representing the council covering nine towns outside the city of Johannesburg. They brought along with them a number of young African Americans on a visit to South Africa on a fact finding mission regarding HIV/AIDS and the country’s response to it, as they are finding an increase in the infection rate among African Americans in their communities. I then attended a breakfast with them, other organizations in the Townships and the Deputy Major. I left the meeting deeply disturbed by the embrace of traditional medicine with its mysticism and the direction they are moving in regard to their approach to the pandemic. Speaking with a pathologist last year we discussed the reality of four new infections for every person starting treatment. In the light of this the discussions amounted to a futile attempt of grabbing at straws. Please pray that we do not lose heart or weary in well-doing but that our strength comes from the Lord for each one of us across the globe as we all endeavor to faithfully serve Him where He has called us to.

We must work the works of Him who sent Me and be busy with His business while it is daylight; night is coming on, when no man can work.As long as I’m in the world, I am the world’s Light. (John 9:4-5)

Thank you for your care

Allen and Sue