Check out my Spring newsletter as I serve God and the body of Christ in Swaziland!
The Lord has been up to some great things. It’s amazing how much He loves us and takes care of us. So glad to be the daughter of the King of kings!
Swazi Bush Nurse
there are no ordinary moments
Siyabonga……one of my beloved kids from Makholweni Carepoint on one of our many weekly hospital runs.
ALL MY FOUNTAINS….
A great new song we sang at church here in Colorado.
How amazing that our fountains are found in Him!
Raining down on us Lord!
Strong like a river Your love is running through….
Soak Him in!
Isaiah 41:17-20
“The poor and homeless are desperate for water,
their tongues parched and no water to be found.
But I’m there to be found,
I’m there for them,
and I,
God of Israel,
will not leave them thirsty.
I’ll open up rivers for them on the barren hills,
spout fountains in the valleys.
I’ll turn the baked-clay badlands into a cool pond,
the waterless waste into splashing creeks.
I’ll plant the red cedar in that treeless wasteland,
also acacia,
myrtle,
and olive.
I’ll place the cypress in the desert,
with plenty of oaks and pines.
Everyone will see this.
No one can miss it
— unavoidable,
indisputable evidence That I,
God,
personally did this.
It’s created and signed by The Holy of Israel.
Recent pictures of Asandi, a child we did a video on. Isn’t she looking beautiful?
Check out her story: http://vimeo.com/21825753
A snap shot of bush nursing....
Check out this story I wrote about a clinic I had at a rural carepoint.
Deep love for these kids doesn’t even began to describe my feeling for them.
Yet, He loves them extravagantly and provides for them…..
the Father to the fatherless.
Deep love for these kids doesn’t even began to describe my feeling for them.
Yet, He loves them extravagantly and provides for them…..
the Father to the fatherless.
(from our missionary Jessie Bohannon)
It was a picturesque African landscape. Rolling mountains with contrasting patches of green grass and thorn bushes growing in the rich red African soil. The sky was dark with clouds, rain heavily misting over a thirsty land, howling wind slicing into every corner. And beautiful African children, walking 45 minutes up the mountain from school to receive a warm meal to fill their hungry tummies.
They came up in small groups huddled around one another, their tattered clothes pulled up around their necks, arms wrapped around their chests in an attempt to keep warm and ward off the rain. Most barefoot, they slid around finding footing in the slick red mud as they climbed up to the carepoint – a refuge of warm food, dry shelter, and loving people who would care for them.
We, the Children’s Cup Medical team, also made our journey that day driving through the rolling mountains and misting rain to visit these beloved children in one of the most remote Swaziland Children’s Cup locations. Our simple mobile clinic was set up in the classroom. Boxes filled with medical supplies were set out, the medicine packaged ready to be given to those coming through clinic. In the corner two chairs and a table were placed for the nurse and children to talk about their coughs, stomach aches, and ringworm.
Seeking warmth we watched as the children carried their steaming bowls of rice to dry and warm places. The classroom soon filled with the sound of coughing children. The children waited for clinic in wet clothes, their bodies shivering at an attempt to create some warmth. We were moved with compassion for the children and desired to do all we could to help them.
One of the simplest yet impactful medications we hand out in clinic is Tylenol. You see, Tylenol is an easy commodity found in every American bathroom cabinet or is as close as the local corner drug store. Not so in Swaziland. With cost of living many times covering only basic daily necessities, having something like Tylenol in the house can become a luxury. Many parents and their children will endure headache, fever, and pain from lack of availability of Tylenol.
Knowing we didn’t have enough Tylenol packed on this rainy clinic day for everyone, yet knowing the desperate need, we gave it freely, asking the Lord to multiply our medicine for these children. We saw all the children who came that day, and every child received the medicine they needed. God truly provides all our needs! When we put our concerns and trust in the Lord the miraculous happens. It is only by dependency on Him that He can make an impact through us in ways we don’t realize!
I will say of the LORD He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Psalms 91:2
This is so true…..
yet I believe these women are richer than you think……
YOU’RE BLESSED…
when you’re at the end of your rope.
With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
YOU’RE BLESSED…
when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you.
Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
YOU’RE BLESSED…
when you’re content with just who you are
—no more, no less.
That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners
of everything that can’t be bought.
YOU’RE BLESSED…
when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God.
He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
YOU’RE BLESSED…
when you care.
At the moment of being ‘care-full,’
you find yourselves cared for.
YOU’RE BLESSED…
when you get your inside world
—your mind and heart—
put right.
Then you can see God in the outside world.
YOU’RE BLESSED…
when you can show people how to cooperate
instead of compete or fight.
That’s when you discover who you really are,
and your place in God’s family.
YOU’RE BLESSED…
when your commitment to God provokes persecution.
The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
MATTHEW 5:3-10
The Message
Here are some pics from my week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Children’s Cup offices are here plus many of my friends I’ve lived in Swaziland with at one time or another.
LOVED being with them. They are amazing people!
TREES OF GOODNESS
January 2012 Newsletter
Greetings to you from snowy Colorado! I have had the blessing to be with my family for the Christmas season and as the heat of summer is rising in Swaziland, I am cuddled up in snowy Colorado. It has been a year and a half since I’ve been on American soil. It’s been wonderful staying at my parent’s house, hanging out with my sister, brother-in-law and their beautiful boy, and have a visit from my grandparents from California. In January I took a trip to Louisiana to visit the Children’s Cup office and got see many of my friends that I’ve served along side of in Swaziland. I’ve also been able to see many of you and have enjoyed hearing your stories!
This time in America has come as a much needed season of rest. In this last year I’ve seen over 2,200 kids in clinic, became the Medical Director of Swaziland with Children’s Cup, had mono for 3 weeks, was admitted to the hospital for an infection that has healed, and watched my dear friend and co-worker Nkosilathi die in the hospital in November.
Nkosilathi was a Zimbabwean nurse who worked with me for the first 2 years I lived in Swaziland. He taught me everything I know about nursing in Africa, how to speak the language and build relationships with those we serve. Although for the last year he was no longer with me but at a clinic for children with HIV, we kept in touch. A week before he died, Thabo, Nkosilathi and I went to Mozambique where we saw over 200 kids at the Children’s Cup carepoints. When we got back he caught pneumonia and I watched him die in the hospital within 4 days time. He was a dear friend and I look forward to seeing him again in Heaven. He left behind a wife and 2 children. He lived passionately for the children in Swaziland and will be greatly missed.
As difficult as it is having lost Nkosilathi, within a week’s time of him dying the Lord gave me 3 African volunteer nurses. These nurses, all who work at various clinics in Swaziland, desire to use their nursing skills to serve others and rallied around me when I needed them the most. Every clinic but one until the end of the year was covered by one of these nurses. While I’m in the USA on holiday these nurses are assisting me in taking care of the children at the carepoints by doing a couple of clinics and making home visits. In February we are hiring someone as an HIV counselor so that we can go deeper in knowledge and relationships with anyone who’s affected by HIV.
In November I became the Medical Director as a missionary family transitioned to ministry in America. And we currently have a missionary nurse in the process of raising support to come work with me in Swaziland. Wow- Within a months time 3 African nurses started volunteering with me, I’ve got a new HIV counselor, and a missionary nurse is on her way to Swaziland. THE LORD HAS HEARD MY CRIES AND ANSWERED!
And finally, as I have been in Swaziland for over 3 ½ years I’m looking forward to attending a Missionary Intensive with Heartstreams Resourcesin Pennsylvania from February 7 to 21. During these 2 weeks I’ll debrief about the different experiences I’ve had and continue to build up life skills to continue to serve the Lord in Swaziland. I’ll then be leaving for Swaziland on February 24. So I’d like to THANK YOU for your continued prayer support and care! It makes a great difference in this battle that we are in. The glory of the Lord truly is our rear guard and He hears our cries! May you also know the Lord’s goodness and presence! I praise God for all of you!
Until all worship,
Jessie Bohannon
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to LOOSE the CHAINS of INJUSTICE
and UNTIE the CORDS of the YOKE,
to SET the OPPRESSED FREE
and BREAK every YOKE?
Is it not to SHARE your FOOD with the HUNGRY
and to PROVIDE the poor WANDERER with SHELTER—
when you see the NAKED, to CLOTHE them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will BREAK FORTH LIKE THE DAWN,
and your HEALING will quickly APPEAR;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the GLORY of the LORD will be your REAR GUARD.
Then you will CALL,
and the LORD will ANSWER;
you will CRY for HELP,
and He will say:
Here am I.
If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you SPEND YOURSELVES in behalf of the HUNGRY
and SATISFY the NEEDS of the OPPRESSED,
then your LIGHT will rise in the DARKNESS,
and your NIGHT will become like the NOONDAY.
The LORD will guide you always;
He will SATISFY your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will STRENGTHEN your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:6-9
Check out this new video from Children’s Cup! This story book was written by one of our kids from a Swaziland CarePoint. It’s an amazing kids eye view of how they feel loved and cared for by our passionate teachers.
I even show up in the book! They talk about the nurse who loves them and healed their hurting eyes. When I first saw it I was brought to tears. I love our kids and feel privileged to serve them!
