Emmanuel Christian Fellowship – McGregor, TX

We have a few folks who are wanting to be baptized this Sunday.  Anyone else who wants to be baptized may also join in the service.  Bring dark shorts and t-shirt, towel, and other necessaries.  It is always a great time for the ECF family!!!

For a season…we are adjusting the times for “The Pool”.  Start time remains at 7:00pm on Tuesdays, but we’ll stop the music, turn off the lights and depart from the premises at Midnight.  So, you’ll have a good 5 hours of quality soaking time!  Drink Up!!!

Traday has her own blog/website now that she’s joined the World Race. She will be posting her thoughts and updates here:

traceycaufield.theworldrace.org
(I will add this to the “links” section of the website)

Also, Mike asked me to announce that all giving to Traday should be routed through her website and Adventures in Missions (AIM). Simply go to her website and click the Support Us! link on the left-hand side of her page. It will direct you to a page where you can send funds online (via credit card) or get information on how/where to send a check by mail. Please begin doing this now instead of sending your Traday-specific donations to VMI.

For those who plan to send a check, I’ve gone ahead and copied the information (below) from the website. Be sure to note on the check that it is intended to support Tracey Caufield.

Adventures In Missions
P.O. Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470

Thanks!
D. Taylor

For those of you who use iTunes and are interested in learning how to burn a CD of any of our podcasted sermons, I have updated the instructions (under the podcast tab) to include this information.

If you are unable to create your own CDs, see Craig Bennett for a copy of past sermons.

–D. Taylor

Here is another update from Traday. The photos and captions were emailed to us over the weekend. You can click on each photo to view a larger version of that picture. Enjoy!

Some kids and I at the G-42 care-point in Nsoko.

These are the 3 sisters of little Mcolisi, our baby that we took care of.

This is some of the World Racers about to load back up on the kombi. The guy in the orange shirt is the assistant to the driver who opens/closes the doors for people getting on/off, who recruits people to ride their bus instead of another and this guy and the driver were our person drivers when we were down in Nsoko.

This is me coming out of what they call the Bee Hive down in Nsoko. This is located at Nisela Safiris. Yes, you actually have to bend all the way down to get in and out of these things. On the inside of the one we stayed in there were 4 twin size beds, a latern, and a little fire pit. It was pretty cool, but it was hot like all get out inside. There was absolutely no ventilation, but we survived throughout the night with all kinds of bites on us because we left the door open hoping to get some cooler air.

This is what the whole Bee Hive looks like on the outside. The picture with me in it was at night. And this particular one’s door is way shorter than the one I was in. Everyone in my room (2 other girls) could bend down to get in, but in the others, you actually had to get on your hands and knees to crawl inside it. Awesome!!!

This is a pic of a little girl who is carrying her brother. the women who have children here carry them on their backs with a towel or some form of long cloth wrapped around them to hold the child. this tiny little girl is no older than 4 or 5 years old and is already having to be a mother to her little brother. her brother is no older than 2 years old. this was in Nsoko at the G-42 care-point.

These are some kids at a different care-point down in Nsoko. I don’t know what the names of some of these care-points are called…but they are the ones that we ministered in on a day to day basis for about 3 weeks.

Alexis Black and I were in charge of getting an icebreaker together for the business seminar that we put on for the women of the care-points. I’ve only seen this game on the screen that plays the same thing over and over and over as I sat and waited to see the doctor back in october…but I got the idea of what was going on. so the women and teams together were split into two groups. I made two mazes out of the tables and chairs that were at this place and we handed them each a balloon. The object of the game was to walk in a train like way keeping the balloon in the middle of them and not letting them fall to the ground. They had so much fun. For the Americans who were intermingled with these African ladies, it was somewhat awkward at first, but it was all fun.

I included this picture because some of us noticed that throughout this day, these women held on to their balloons like they were treasures. All throughout the seminar they held on to their balloons. If someone dropped it to the floor their attention would be broken in order to pick the balloon back up. I thought to myself…wow!! Balloons are nothing…and yet these women are holding on to them like this.

This is the team house that I’m staying in. The top window on the right is the room I was staying in. the view from the balcony is awesome!!! The city and mountains are in the distance and you can also watch the sun set behind the mountains…it’s amazing the beauty that God has created. But this is the house here in Manzini.

This little boy was among students numbering somewhere between 120-150 primary school children who were dismissed from school to go and find fire wood. They walked on the side of the main highway for a good 1.5 miles where the bush and thorns are. Some of these kids didn’t have shoes, some had sandals, some actually had shoes. on this highway all kinds of traffic passes by very fast…semi trucks, cars, pick ups, vans, kombis…all kinds. They barely get over to give the kids room…but this is life for them. The guy with his hand on his head is Pastor Gift. He and I were walking from the G-42 construction site back to the G-42 care-point, which is about a mile or so.

This guy is laying bricks at the G-42 construction site. It’s amazing how they do things with out much machinery involved. When they need a big hole dug, they break out the shovels and pick axes…which was the case here. They did have a machine to mix the cement though.

The G-42 construction site…..these are the guys who are shoveling the sand for the cement, digging the trenches for the walls and foundation, and laying the bricks. This day was plenty hot. Notice what their wearing. Some of these guys have on toboggans. A lot of the Swazi people wear thick long sleeves, coats, and toboggans like it’s cold or the winter time here. I can’t see how they do it!! I understand that sleeves will keep you from being burned, but why must they be so thick and fleece-like…I’ll never understand this. hahaha!!!

(click the images above to see larger photos)

[Tuesday, March 4th]

Hello Family.I’m sitting here at the Nazarene Hospital with some of the world racers. Now it’s about 7am.

This morning I was awaken by Jeanette, a world racer whose team I’ve been a part of for the last month. It was about 5:30-5:45am. She came in and told me that last night, Mcolisi, our 6 week old tiny baby boy that we were taking care of stopped breathing and died. Two of the FYM (First Year Missionaries) girls were taking care of him through the night because there had to be someone with him 24 hours a day. He was to be there for 3 weeks being nursed back to full health and so we were all going to have a turn in being here with him.On the inside I do not feel angry or overly grieved about it. Mcolisi’s no longer in pain, he’s no longer struggling to breathe, he’s no longer starving and fighting fever after fever, he’s no longer in a world of sin, darkness, and perversity. No, I’m not grieved, but my heart is sad for my team…for all the aunts and uncles. We all loved Mcolisi as our own, but at the same time we all trusted and put him in God’s hands. He knows best. In no way am I saying God killed this boy, not at all. Only I’m saying that perhaps in His grace and mercy He came in the night for this tiny one. I can only imagine what Mcolisi saw when the Lord came to get him. I imagine there were angels dancing, songs of celebration being sang, laughter and peace and abundant joy. So I rejoice for Mcolisi!To be honest, when Jeanette told me all of this this morning, it was a sigh of relief because I knew he was no longer hurting in his little body. The hardest thing for me while he was with us was knowing that he was struggling to survive and was in pain. His tiny, tiny body would struggle day and night and now he’s free. Freedom for Mcolisi!!So I thank the Lord for all of this. As for my team, at this initial point, I’m sure we have been taught something. None of this has been in vain and all of this has been for a very important reason. Perhaps in a day or two or more, who knows, as we sit in the presence of God and let Him speak to us and wash over us and hold us, we will come to see the importance of all of these events. From finding Mcolisi, to caring for him as our own, to gathering his brothers and sisters together, to bringing him first to the Lord and then to the doctor until his final breath, and finally to the Lord coming in Glory to get this baby boy.God bless our team, God bless the doctors, God bless any and everyone of you who prayed for Mcolisi, everyone who gave of their time in prayer and thoughts for this boy…whatever you’ve done…God Bless!!!In the beginning we made the choice to trust God in this and we still do. Now we are to take our next steps and as we do, I trust that the Lord will lead us by His Holy Spirit.Today we will travel back to Nsoko to take the body of the baby and the certificate of death to the mother. There are two of the team already down there who, with Pastor Gift, are notifying the mother of her child’s passing. Please continue to pray for this mother and her 4 remaining children. The mother is terribly sick…too sick to care for her children and almost too sick to care for herself. The reality is that she’s on the verge of death herself. Her children are ages 3, 5, 7, and 12.Thanks Family!!!Love you all!! ~~Makhosazana~~~~Traday~~

[Monday, March 3]

Hey everyone!!

How’s it going??? Well hopefully I’ll get the pictures to upload to this email so that you can see what has been happening here. The internet is running extremely slow here at the internet café…but maybe it won’t be too big of an issue. So here goes… We were in Nsoko from February 7 thru February 29. It was a great few weeks there!! I got the privilege to teach some kids ages 3-5 a couple of days at the Joyela care-point. Well really it was because there was no teacher to teach them…but it was a great experience nonetheless. During the stay in Nsoko we held a couple of ‘seminars’…one being a teaching seminar and the other being a business seminar. In these we taught the teachers how to be teachers and we taught and encouraged the mothers and grandmothers to look beyond the day that they’re living in and to think about the week…to think about the month. These women are just trying to survive the day and to have food for the little ones. And so our message was to help empower them to help themselves by the crafts that they are skilled in. Most of them know how to make something…grass placemats and rugs, different weave type items, etc. They have skill, but they have never been given the challenge or encouragement to do these things and make money. They never believed they could until we presented to them in very simple terms that it could be done. So hopefully they don’t lose their hope and joy in this endeavor. In this business meeting Jeanette (a world racer and I) got to pray with each woman individually. This was such an honor!!! We prayed for the most part blessings and favor over them and whatever else the Spirit of God led us to pray. Amazing!!! Yall, be very grateful for personal vehicles. There have been all kinds of crazy things that have gone on in the kombis (public transportation). But it’s all good. I’m still alive and single!! Ha Ha Ha!! Kombis are little V W vans that pack on as many people as possible in order to make maximum money. It can be a scary situation sometimes…but after we actually make it to our destination, it’s fun to sit and talk about how crazy a ride that was. There have been drunk men on the buses that pass around the Marula talking loud, singing, trying to hold a conversation with us…crazy. One day there were five men spread out across the street dancing and singing and hollering…completely drunk. The kombi jammed the brakes, but we were so packed on there that no one hardly moved.I think the kombie is made for a maximum of 16 people, but there have been 19 to 22 people on there…CRAZY!!! Anyways, this little one…the little baby that we’ve been taking care of…his name is Mcolisi. He’s still sick. Traci and Crystal…two world racers took him to the hospital today to see the nutritionist to see if he would have to stay so that he could be nourished to a healthy weight. If that is the case someone would have to stay with the baby all day and night to see to him. None of us wanted this, but our concern is to see that this baby is healthy. He has become like our own child. He has two uncles and 8 aunts. We pray for him constantly. We speak life into him and bless him as we hold and feed him. He’s such a tiny baby, but we all trust God with his life. When I think about the future of this child…how he will grow into a young boy, a young man, a grown man, and an old man, it’s so awesome to know that we as foreigners have been a part of this baby’s life. We all love him as if he were our own and I’m sure it will be tough to part with him as our time comes to leave this place. But as we said, we trust God with his life. Alrighty y’all…i’ve been informed that some of the racers and myself will be doing a revival tonight and so i’m going to have to cut it short. FLEXIBILITY…that’s what it’s all about. Tomorrow hopefully the pictures will come. I love you all!!Will talk to you again!!!Blessings!! ~~Makhosazana~~~~Traday~~