Zulu

Part of the preparations we could do before our trip to Seed of Hope was to try to learn a few phrases in Zulu.  With the help of a Zulu-English translation app and some YouTube videos, I managed to figure out a couple of simple words to say in greeting to our new Zulu friends.  Let me tell you how glad I am that this was placed on my heart.  Of course my pronunciation was like an English girl trying to speak Zulu, that goes without saying; but the looks on their faces when I walked in and greeted them with a smile and a robust "Sawubona" (hello) was priceless!  Right away, shy faces lit up in wide grins (and sometimes hilarious laughter hehe) and my greeting was returned and a friendship begun with one simple word.  For me, this little thing is a huge answer to prayer, as I am so shy and am TERRIBLE at making small talk!  But even my sad attempts at the language has led to conversations, more new words and phrases, and now they are (mostly) rolling off my tongue with relative ease and I can greet the people not as a stranger but as a friend.

I want to tell you a little about the people at Seed of Hope.  We have met most of the staff there, and a  few of the people from Bhekulwandle as well.  They remind me a lot of you at home- very warm, very caring and compassionate and totally in love with Jesus.  Being with them makes my heart so full!  And they are just like us too in that they have children to care for, health issues to struggle with, bills to pay and jobs to attend to.  But they also have this passion for the work being done here in this community that is so contagious.  Their involvement with the Zulu community is so all encompassing- the holistic development of the individual and the community as a whole, centred on biblical principles with the gospel as the cornerstone of all they do.  Because of this, the people grow in their sense of worth in God's eyes, knowing that they are loved by Him.  These are universal principles which can be applied in any community in any part of the world!

We are still learning and have much, much more to see and experience so please bear with us as we try to capture it all and relate it to you.  Right now I want to introduce you to my new friend, Zama.
She is one of the leaders of the Health Care program, and her job is to be a support to families and individuals facing a myriad of health related issues, from HIV/AIDS support to nutrition counselling and prenatal care among others.  She has these eyes that absolutely sparkle, and when she smiles at you, you can't help but smile back.  And I absolutely LOVE her!  Julia and I had the privilege of treating two of the ladies to coffee yesterday and we learned about these women's own personal stories (or as much as you can during an hour at the coffee shop).  These women have stories that are difficult to hear and yet they shine with God's love.  They are passionate about their work at Seed of Hope and they LOVE their community.  What an inspiration!  I could write for days about this but I better save more for later.  In the meantime, please pray for Zama and Jabu, and all the other staff at Seed of Hope.


On a personal note- I'd like to thank my prayer partners for pulling double duty these last few days.  I have been suffering with a migraine for about 3 days since we landed.  I suspect it was the change in altitude over the three flights, and it has not been good.  But God is faithful and the pain has subsided so that I'm feeling more like my old self.  Thank you for praying!
Or as the Zulu would say... "sanibonga!" (Thank you all) ;)

Ngiyakuthanda (I love you ❤️)

Angela