Emmanuel Christian Fellowship – McGregor, TX

Before departing The World Race Training Camp in Gainsville last week, I had the chance to hook-up with Jumbo, whom I had met while in Swaziland.  A monster of a man, but totally sold out to God’s work in Swazi.  I inquired about Pastor Gift and how he was doing.  Jumbo responded with tired irritation (it helps to hear this in a passionate South African accent)….”the man of God needs reliable transportation!  The ministry suffers when he is afoot!  We just spent $2,000 on his car and they didn’t fix it.  The mechanics say they’ve done all they can do!  To replace the engine is more than the car is worth!”  I asked, “So, what needs to happen?”  Jumbo, “He needs another car!”  Me, “How much?”  Jumbo, “About $7,000 to $8,000 gets him something reliable and trustworthy!”

I emailed Seth Barnes of AIM and he confirms the need.  I’m asking us to go to prayer on this, respond if you can and spread the word to anyone and everyone who has a heart for what God is doing with the Nsoko orphans.  Jumbo lives in Swazi and works with Pastor Gift, he knows the needs and what is for real.  This is urgent and necessary!

Please direct your funds to:  Every Tribe International – POB 176 – McGregor, TX 76657

(If you want to wire funds for this, email me and I’ll get you the wiring instructions)  mpaschall@nalerinsurance.com

Thank You!

Mike

Here is the video that Traday created and showed on 8/3/08.  It was too long to stream via YouTube, so I’ve just made it available to download.  It is about 60MB so it may take a few minutes.  Enjoy!

Traday’s Video – The Journey Begins

Numbers from THE WORLD RACE office just arrived and Traday still needs to raise $1,300 in support for her cost while on the race. Please continue to pray and respond as the Lord directs concerning taking care of this need. You may give your funds to ECF or go directly to Traday’s website and donate there! Of course, all gifts are tax deductible! Thanks!!!

ECF Elders

hey there yall!!!

we’ll we’ve made it to central america!!! we arrived yesterday morning. we left madrid, spain and the inevitable happened…i got the spoiled, bratty little kid who sits behind you being loud and kicking your seat the whole way…10-11 hours of flight. i spoke with this girl’s father as calmly as i could and told him that she was kicking my seat. after him not understanding english and me using sign/body language…he told her to stop, but she’s the type of girl who gets her way and the parents are the type of parents who spare the rod. i could tell that immediately.

i had been up way too many hours before this flight and my patience was hanging on by a thread. i wanted nothing but sleep. it was impossible with this little girl kicking the seat, beating on the fold-out tray behind my seat, and laying on the floor with her feet kicking mine. i was all kinds of irritated…horribly, horribly irritated. it took everything in me to remain Christ-like.

there was an open seat by Krystal, a girl on my team, and i went and sat by her. i was able to almost immediately go to sleep and stay there without any interruptions. but i didn’t get there until almost 7 hours into the flight. all is well though. we made it to bogota, columbia and as tired as i still was i didn’t sleep. we made it there about 9pm and we had an 11 hour layover. so all the time we had in the airport was overnight. the majority of the squad went to sleep. i couldn’t go to sleep in peace knowing that most of the squad (25 of us) were asleep. i had the fear that everyone would be on the back side of dreamland when it was time to get up at 6:45am…so i stayed awake all night while the others slept. there were only about 3 of us who stayed awake.

all night i listened to music, prayed, read, drew, talked to people…mostly the security guards who patrolled all night, watched the people work/clean, took pictures of some of the squad who went to sleep, and waited for the squad to start waking up. it was 5am before some of them started to wake up.

finally 6:45 came for our squad meeting so that we would know what to do and where to go. our plane left at 9:35-9:45am…something like that. but we had to make all the necessary preparations so early because we were such a big group. we finally made it through all the check points, bag checks, body searches…craziness. 2 hours after the plane got in the air we were in costa rica…a beautiful country from the air. last night was my first night to spend and i slept so good….finally. i’m on a top bunk in a room with space for 16 girls at the YWAM San Jose Base. I’ve already met some nice people. we’re praying now as to what the Lord would have us do individually. we will meet back as teams and share what God’s telling us and then we’ll find out what the ministry opportunities are in a few days.

tomorrow some are talking about going to the beach. there are opportunities for other things like waterfalls, visiting volcanos, and one other thing…can’t remember. so we’re taking a few days to relax and to just be with God, and to get adjusted to this time-zone.

our transition was pretty cool getting here to central america. we were in 3 countries and 2 continents in 1 day…south africa, zurich, swizerland and madrid spain. most of the group had to go on to madrid but there were 8 of us who actually got to explore zurich for 3 hours. i was one of those who got to explore. it was amazingly beautiful!!! madrid was amazing as well…i loved it there!!!

so anyways, all is well…i went through a 2-3 day bout of diarrhea in Badplaas, South Africa…but i’m good now. the food is great here in central america. we haven’t been out much yet, but it’s soon to come. there’s a mad-crazy rumor going around that there is a Wal-Mart somewhere around here. i’ll let you all know what’s going on as i can. thanks so much for your prayers, you support and your love!! i love you all!!

~~traday~~
)

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

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~~

Sanibonani!!! (Greetings!!!)

Things are going good!!! Been down in Nsoko with Alexis and Emily Black and with Team Ignite of the World Racers. There were 6 care-points that we got to visit last Friday. During these visits we were to be praying and listening to the Holy Spirit as to which care point we would serve at the care-point I chose to serve at is called Joyela. It’s pretty cool! I was clueless the first day, but have kind of taken charge. The teacher there has pretty much given me these kids…ages 2-5. There are 21 total, but each day there may be 14-18 that attend, at least so far. But, it’s all good.

These care-point are pretty much a small brick building…if it’s one of the better ones. There is dirt and rocks everywhere. Every part of you gets covered in dirt being here. The bandana I had on my head was brown, where it should have been white and none of the kids had touched my head. But this is life here. We Americans are quite privileged…it definitely opens your eyes as to how much we are really blessed!!!

A Swazi lady, not a Gogo (grandmother), gave me my Saswati name Monday! It’s: Makhosazana. It means: Girl of the Nation. I told Pastor Gift, a Swazi about it and he said the literal translation is: Princess. So that’s pretty cool. The students address me as: Auntie. But I think they address anyone who is in a type of teacher role this…not quite sure. The weather has been great! It’s been hot, but some cold spells have been coming through and making the day and especially the nights quite pleasurable and even cold…and its summertime. We’ve been sleeping in tents down in Nsoko and the lions have been keeping us up roaring and doing all night. We are sleeping pretty close to them. The first night many of us woke up thinking they were right outside our tents. The second night we knew they weren’t there, but they still kept us up. We went on safari and saw some cool animals. I hope to send ya’ll pics soon of what all I’m getting to see and experience. The people for the most part are very nice and the children are starving for love and affection, for pure touch and hope.

The Gogo’s at the Joyela care-point are very nice as well. They all got together at the end of the day (Wednesday), just before my bus came to pick me up and they asked me would I pray for them. It was such an honor for me to have the opportunity to pray with them.

Monday, Albertine, the main lady running this care point told me that it hadn’t rained in a long time. At the end of this day, I asked the teacher and Albertine if I could pray for them. They said yes and in this prayer I asked the Lord to send rain. Later that day, talking to Alexis Black, one of my team-mate, she prayed for the same thing at her care point. There was no rain that day or Tuesday, but Tuesday night around 9:30pm, it began to rain and it rained all night until about 4:30am. This was at the Nasela Campgrounds where we were in our tents and I was hoping that it was also raining at the Joyela care-point. The next day (Wednesday) everywhere was mud from the down-pours, even at Joyela!! I believe God answered our prayers.

Albertine called me to the side where it was just her and I to show me how they cook the rice for the children. In this alone time I asked her, did it rain a lot here? She said, ‘yes it did.’ And I told her, “God sent His rain here.” And she laughed and smiled and said, “Yes He did.” This is the day that I was asked to pray for all the Gogo’s that I was talking about earlier in this message. Perhaps Albertine told them about the day I prayed for rain…and because it rained, maybe this brought them some hope that God is really there. I don’t know, but they did not leave early as they had before, but they waited so that they could receive.

Things are good!! I am looking forward to seeing the things God is going to unfold in these people and in this area and at this care-point…at all the care-points. So, this is the latest update…I could probably be here for a couple more hours telling you what’s going on here…the experiences and things. But in time I’ll get to. Hope everyone is doing fantabulous!!!

Love you all!!!

~~Traday~~

)

After being awake for 48 hours in my journey home from Swaziland, I’ve about recovered and sleep patterns are back to my irregular normal. The trip was maybe the best ministry experience ever for me. I loved every minute of it. The Blacks are an amazing ministry unit. Everyone has their own role, with their own passion and purpose. I’ve known them a long time, but they’ve gone to another place in their anointing. It was an honor to witness first-hand what they’re doing in Swaziland. I really encourage you to check out Gary & Lisa’s blogs. There is nothing easy about what they do. But, they’re happy and living it out…fully alive…focused…on target. Orphans are the primary focus for the Blacks. Gary and Lisa also facilitate and coordinate for teams stationed is Swaziland who are affiliated with G42 / The World Race and Adventures in Missions. Rarely is there a dull moment.

If you’ve got a heart for orphans in Africa…click on these links: Breathe Africa, Children’s Hope Chest, Saints Coffee. I met the men who run these ministries. They’re the real deal. Each are on the ground making sure that what you give actually gets to the belly of a kid. I saw it for myself.

Traday didn’t come home with me. It would have required harnessing her in ropes and hauling her in a wheel-barrel to get her to come back. The woman is dialed in big time! It was instant love with the Blacks and she is family. Please remember to pray for them all and thank you for the financial support you send Traday’s way. She is doing the Kingdom. It is her dream…it is her passion. She smiles a lot! It’s all good!!!

While I’m camped here, I found out while in Africa that Lisa needs to have surgery. I visited the local hospital in Swaziland and that is not an acceptable option for her…nor would it be for you either. We need to get her back to the states for proper care. I have talked to a doctor buddy of mine in Waco who is willing to do the procedure for her on a gratis basis (which is an amazing blessing!) The actual hospital expenses are expected to be somewhere between $7,000-$10,000. Patti and I are planning to facilitate her recovery while she is here. Airfare has been arranged so I’m putting this out there for prayer and response if God lays something on your heart. I’m willing to discuss this with anyone who has questions. If you want to contribute….make your check payable to: VineLife Ministries International – POB 176 – McGregor, TX 76657. We’ll make sure that Gary and Lisa get the funds.

The address above also works for your gifts to Traday Caufield!

Next week, Andrew Shearman will be here for 3 meetings. Some of you have never been exposed to Andrew’s ministry. I’ve asked him to do his sermon series on the 42 Generation! It is his passion and life message. I promise you that you will love this guy! He has been like a father to me for many years. He has always been a good friend and trusted advisor. Patti, my kids and I love him very much! Please make every attempt to avail yourself to the whole experience of worship and spiritual download. It is my understanding that Nursury and Children’s activities are being arranged. CHECK THE CALENDAR PAGE FOR MEETING TIMES!

CLICK HERE!