Amber Kottwitz, Africa
First Year Missionary
 
Amber Kottwitz,

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Wrecked for the Ordinary
Seth Barnes' Blog
Adventures In Missions

Lethiwe Will Be Missed
(5/6/2008)
Market Ministry
(4/27/2008)
The Twins
(4/20/2008)
Carnival!
(4/14/2008)
The Emmanuel Orphanage
(4/7/2008)
Precious's Story
(3/24/2008)
My Hospital Buddies
(3/3/2008)
Mbane Hospital
(2/16/2008)
In Memory of Mlamuli
(2/11/2008)
The Neglected
(2/4/2008)



7/2007
9/2007
10/2007
11/2007
12/2007
1/2008
2/2008
3/2008
4/2008
5/2008


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Lethiwe Will Be Missed



The Mbabane Government hospital has been a little difficult the past couple of weeks.  Melissa and I found out that Lethiwe passed away about two weeks ago from respiration complications.  One of the caregivers from the orphanage was watching Lethiwe when she died.  It was the same care giver who was watching the baby that got burned and also watching a baby at the orphanage when he died.  This caregiver has had quite a few tragedies happen in the last couple of weeks.  It was a relief to hear that she no longer works at the orphanage anymore.   Phumzile who usually watches Lethiwe told us that she thought Lethiwe died because of the caregiver's carelessness.  You never know what really happens because you here different stories from everyone.  It is just so frustrating because she was doing better and gaining weight and out of nowhere she dies.  Lethiwe's twin Ndomiso was discharged and is now staying at the orphanage with his older sister who is about four years old.  Her name is Nobuhle and she is very ornery.  Anytime another child is near her she hits them, but she warms up to Melissa and me quite well.  She likes to be held and loved on.  I think she is scared and not sure what to think of the orphanage.  I pray for God's protection and safety over them and that God will send his comfort and love to Ndomiso and Nobuhle. 

 


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Market Ministry



I visited Denise (one of my teammates) at her ministry last week. She started a bible study with some ladies who work at a culture market in Ezulwini. She prepares a bible study for them during the week then afterwards spends time with them at the market. Some of the ladies have taught her how to bead and make necklaces that they sell. She has come very close to them and cares deeply about them. We hear her talk about them all the time so it was nice to meet them all. They meet under a tree right in front of the market at noon to have worship and bible study. I stayed for the bible study and was amazed at how they listened so intently and the questions they had at the end. They are so hungry for God's word. Denise wanted to bless them with a special meal and a service so on Saturday our team cooked them tacos and Mexican rice. I think they thought it was a little weird but they enjoyed it. During the service some tourists came to the market and were looking at the shops. I could see that many of the ladies were contemplating on going back to there shop. Some ended up staying and others left. For those that stayed this is a big sacrifice for them. This is the only income for many of them and they have children at home to feed so it makes it very difficult for them to provide for there children when they do not get any customers. There are about 75 shops right next to each other where they all pretty much sell the same thing so once those tourist pass there shop they won't be coming back to buy anything.

Prayer Request: Winter is quickly approaching Swaziland which means there won't be as many tourists coming by. Please pray that God will provide for all the needs of the ladies and keep them warm.


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The Twins



A couple weeks back a pair of twins was admitted to the hospital. Their father was there to care for them which is very unusual to have a father taking on that role. While the babies were getting treated in the children's ward their mother was dying of AIDS in the women's ward. We went to visit and pray with her a few times but unfortunately she did not make it. Then the father was clueless on how to care for the babies so he opted out. Phumzile, a lady who works at the Emmanuel Orphanage was at the hospital taking care of one of the sick babies from the orphanage. She saw the situation in which the twins were in and contacted the director of the orphanage to see if they could take in two more babies. Phumzile has been looking after the twins now for about a month. We go and visit her and the twins quite often sometimes giving her a break to go into town while we care for the twins. The twins' names are Ndomiso and Lethiwe a little boy and girl. They are about three months old and are malnourished. There have been many times when I have been worried about them. One time in particular was about two weeks ago Lethiwe was extremely sick. She was so pale that many people thought she was my baby. Her nostrils were flaring just grasping for breath and her heart was beating out of her chest. She would try to scream but could only let out a whimper. Looking at her in misery reminded me of Mlamuli. I honestly didn't think she was going to make it. Before we left we prayed for Lethiwe and that God would heal her little lifeless body. When we came back a couple days later she was recovering and regaining her strength. Praise the Lord.

Prayer Request:

Phumzile has now been at the hospital for over two months looking after sick babies. From talking to many of the moms at the hospital it is a hard place to stay for a lengthy amount of time. Babies crying all throughout the night and cockroaches crawling all over you as you sleep on the hard floor. Let's just say she can't wait to return to the orphanage and also most of all to go and see her own children. Also yesterday another one of the children from the orphanage was admitted into the hospital. One of the caregivers was giving him a bath and accidentally put him in boiling hot water. I'm not sure how that happened. We went to see him yesterday while he was getting the dressings put on his burn. He is bandaged from his waist to his toes. The poor little guy was screaming from the excruciating pain. Melissa and I have been having our concerns about the orphanage lately. We have talked to the Director several times and know that she truly cares for these kids. It is just hard to find caregivers that have that same compassionate heart towards the children.


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Carnival!



On Saturday we had a carnival in a rural area where about 150 kids showed up.  The kids were broken up into teams where they went to the different stations.  I helped with the bobbing for apples station.  There was also face painting, ring toss, sweet walk, balloon animals, necklace making, and a big blown up castle for the kids to jump in.  They had a lot of fun.  Then Katie and Erin shared the story of Jesus with all the kids and prayed with them.  They told the children that God loved them very much and wants them to enjoy this carnival and wants them to have food to satisfy their bellies.  There were hot dogs and popsicles for the kids to eat.  We weren't planning on that many kids and weren't sure if there would be enough food but God provided and everyone got a hotdog to munch on.  Praise him!  Afterwards we had a slip and slide for the kids and they went crazy and had a blast. We were able to love on the kids and share God's love with them all day.  It really went over great.

 

 

This was the line for the jumping castle, the kids couldn't get enough of it.

 

 

 

 

Here was my station, bobbing for apples. The older kids loved this one. 

 

 

Below is the slip and slide that we made them.  This was new to them but they caught on quick.

 


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The Emmanuel Orphanage



A lady at the hospital told us about an orphanage that she worked at.  She said that they needed help and wanted us to come.  The next day Abby and Melissa went with me to look for this orphanage that was somewhere in Mbabane.  We didn't get very good directions so we stopped at the post office and the post office worker knew directions for us to get there.  What a blessing.  When we got there and talked to the gogo in charge we realized this was a different orphanage.  This is kind of crazy because we didn't know of any orphanages in Swaziland. The gogo recognized us from the hospital.  She had been there with one of the children from the orphanage.  We talked for a little while and then got directions to the other orphanage which was surprisingly up the road.  By this time we had made a couple of phone calls to Phumzile asking about directions when a car pulled over on the side of the road towards us.  It was the director of the orphanage who came to pick us up.  She picked us up and took us to her house which was up the road.  Then she took us to the orphanage which was quite a ways away. It still amazes me that she lived down the road from the other orphanage.  We would have never found it if she hadn't picked us up.  God was definitely with us and guiding us that day. 

            Since then we have continued to visit the Emmanuel Orphanage.  We try to go at least once a week.  They have thirty some kids from the age of two months to sixteen years.  This orphanage only takes children who have been a victim of some form of abuse.  The orphanage is in a rural area on a mountain with a magnificent view.  It is a big house and has a big yard for the kids to play.  There are four caregivers at the home who care for the children.  They also tend to the cooking, laundry, and cleaning.  From the time we have spent there it seems as though they do not have much time to spend with the children.  All the kids just run wild outside without supervision even the toddlers.  The babies are always soaked through their clothes and need to be changed.  So they need some extra hands.  We have talked to the director a couple times and her compassionate heart is evident.  She truly cares for these kids but is only one person and cannot do it all herself.  She has been having problems with the caregivers that she has hired.  Things have gone missing and it is just a job to some of them.  There is no one to spend time with each of the kids and just show them love and attention.  Melissa and I go about once a week but it is so hard with just the two of us because there are still so many of them.  The kids fight for attention and hang all over us.  These kids just want some love and affection.

 


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Precious's Story



 About two weeks ago we went to South Africa for a prayer weekend.  It was nice to get away and spend time in prayer for the people we are ministering to.  We also got the opportunity to go back to Atteridgeville and visit the people we ministered to last semester.  We met up with a young lady named Precious, who one of our teammates Chelsea would visit in the hospital.  Precious had a premature baby and was in the hospital for awhile waiting for her baby to gain weight.  Chelsea led Precious to know Christ a couple months ago and we introduced her to Magdalene, a friend who worked at a daycare in Atteridgeville.  Precious's husband stopped coming to see her and at the beginning of the year Precious's baby died.  She was left with nowhere to go so Magdalene let her live with her and her family and paid for the burial of Precious's baby.  A couple weeks ago Precious's husband wanted to take her back home.  Magdalene didn't trust him to take Precious alone so his brother went with.  On their way home he took her to stay with this lady and said he had to pick up something and would be back the following day to take her home.  A week later he told her the same thing and didn't come back again.  The lady that was with Precious was told to make sure she didn't go anywhere.  Precious was locked in and was scared of what they might do to her.  After awhile the lady found compassion for her and told her where the keys are kept when the men are gone.  Precious escaped after being kidnapped for three weeks.  She had only a few things with her and no money because they had taken all of it.  She didn't know where to go so she went back to Magdalene.  They contacted the police and told them what had happened and got a hold of Precious's Uncle who is coming to take her home.  Precious was tested for HIV and it was positive.  She is having a hard time going through this and is very scared.  Please pray for her she is a new Christian and has already been through horrific trials and is going home for the first time as a Christian back to her family and friends.  A simple prayer for her could change so much.      

Precious is on the far left and that is Magdalene on the right.  Magdalene invited us over to her house to visit.

 

 


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My Hospital Buddies



 

These are some of my friends at the hospital from the abandon baby's room that I spend quite a bit of time with.  The three older children are all handicapped in some way.  I was talking to a lady named Phamuzile who is physically handicapped and is in a wheel chair.  She is thirty four years old and has been living at the hospital her whole life.  Children who are handicapped have a hard time getting adopted.

 

There is Sphiwe who has been at the hospital nearly her whole life.  She was abandon as a baby and is about eleven years old now.  She doesn't talk but she can understand when someone is speaking to her in SiSwati.  Sphiwe loves to walk around and visit people in the hospital.  She has to have someone walk with her when leaving the abandon baby room so that she won't wander off.  Once she leaves that room it is hard to get her to go back.

 

Then there is Mxcolisi who is about eight.  He is severely autistic and has a deformed foot that doesn't allow him to walk.  He was found on a bus by himself so they brought him to the hospital.  He doesn't talk and seems to understand little when trying to communicate with him.  One thing that he does respond to is touch and affection. 

 

Sikhanyisiwe is about six years old and is absolutely precious.  She always has a smile on her face and loves getting attention.  Her mother abandon her because she found new love in a man that didn't want Sikhanyisiwe. 

 

This is Mgazi.  Mgazi is nine months and had been at the hospital her whole life.  She was found naked in a squatty or a toilet that is low to the ground.  She was recently taken to a home similar to an orphanage with two other little ones from the hospital.  They would have a better chance at being adopted and it is a better place to live rather than the hospital. 

   

 

We usually spend the mornings in the abandon baby room helping out in any way that they will let us and loving on the kids.  We always help feed them when we are there.  We also spend time in the cubicles visiting with the kids and there mothers.  We have been making a coloring page for the kids with a verse in SiSwati at the bottom.  Right now we are going through the seven days of creation.  It has opened up a lot of conversations to share the gospel with the mothers.  The children and the mothers enjoy coloring them.  Sometimes the mothers will take them from their child and color it themselves.

 

This is Sandiso. He was bitten by a dangerous snake and it got infected.  He usually has it wrapped in dressing that is supposed to get changed daily but the nurses only change it about once a week.  He was bitten on the arm but it had also affected his leg to the point that he couldn't walk.   About a week ago he was able to walk using a stick as a cane.  Now he is doing better and is able to walk on his own.  His grandma stays at the hospital to care for him.

 

These two boys had broken legs from falling out of a tree and couldn't leave there bed for a month.   We would play cards with them and bring crafts for them to work on.  Every time we would come their faces would light up. They would hang there art work proudly above their beds.  Sikhanyiso is the one on the right and he was able to go home yesterday.  The other boy's name is Sicelo and he and his mother thought they were going to be able to go home a week ago but the doctor took an x-ray and that showed his leg was not healing properly. 

 

 

Please pray for my buddies!


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Mbane Hospital



Melissa and I went back to the hospital to continue our ministry there.  It was hard at first because the last time we went was the day Mlamuli died.  At first we didn't really know what to do since we had spent so much time with Mlamuli before.  We started bringing crafts for the children to do and played some card games with them.  Which has helped us to build relationships with the children's moms in the different cubicles.  There are four cubicles filled with about 6 to 10 kids in each with at least one mom/caregiver for each child.  The moms will sleep on the floor by their child's bed at night and during the day depending if they got any sleep that night.  Most of the children have been there for about a month already.  For some reason they keep them at the hospital for a long time.  I am not sure why.  It has been a little difficult to talk to the mothers since we only speak a little SiSwati but luckily there is usually at least one person in each room that speaks English.  They are also eager to teach us SiSwati.  Maybe I will be fluent by the time I get back.  :) 

I also wanted to say thank you for all of your comments especially from last week.  It was a tough week and I needed to hear those words of comfort.  Thank you. 

 

 


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In Memory of Mlamuli



I have been spending quite a bit of my time at the hospital this last week. There is this little abandon baby boy who is severely malnourished (I have wrote about him before). His name is Mlamuli Shongwe and he has been at the hospital since January 2, 2008. Some good samaritans found him locked in a house by himself and brought him to the abandon baby room at the hospital. The hired caregivers didn't know how old he was for sure but they think he was about two or three years old. He looked like he was about 6 months because he was so small. He weighed about 11.5 lbs. and was 68.5 cm long. The first time we saw him was about three weeks ago and he had a big bloated belly but he would smile when I played with him. He would let you hold him but he didn't like to be touched other than that. I would rub his head and he would get mad at me and hit or scratch me. The poor little guy wasn't used to it. When we went to see him on Tuesday morning he had not been feeling well and had an IV hooked up to him. He had been vomiting and had diarrhea. When we went back on Thursday morning Mlamuli was crying and holding his arms out for me to pick him up. His bed was soaked and there was diarrhea all over so I wrapped him in a blanket and held him. He continued to cry for an hour and would reach for any drink or food. I asked the nurse if there was any food for him and she said he had been vomiting and had diarrhea so they weren't giving him anything. I told her he was thirsty and asked if he could have something to drink. She brought back some type of milk substance for him to drink and told me she was supposed to get off at 6:00am and that it was the other caregivers were supposed to feed them. Mlamuli drank all of it he was so thirsty and dehydrated. The doctor came to see him and asked me about him and was not happy about Mlamuli's condition. He asked the day time caregiver if he was getting his feedings in the night and she said yes even though she had no clue. The doctor and nurses were forgetting about him since he was in the abandon baby room where the children don't need medical attention. The doctor gave orders for them to move him to a room with the other sick children so the nurses and doctors won't forget about him. Let me give you a picture of the hospital it is rundown and dingy and they have a serious cockroach problem. The nurses and caregivers don't like white people hanging around because they think we are making sure they are doing there job right and were nagging. Having been a CNA I know all about the families who think there family member is the only one in your care. Well I was on the other side last week. After seeing the condition that Mlamuli was in Melissa and I went everyday to make sure he was getting cared for. We would leave for the hospital at 6:30 am and get back at 5:00 pm. We even talked to the doctor and the head nurse about staying the night to make sure he was getting his feedings. But they told us that would not be a good idea as far as our health and safety and the doctor assured us that he would specifically tell the nurses to feed Mlamuli throughout the night. After making a fuss about him to the doctor they started to do more for him. He got oxygen because he was having trouble breathing on his own. He also got a feeding tube because he was not eating or drinking anything. The head nurse would come and check on him and brought a chair for us to sit by his bed. Mlamuli would only sleep for a couple minutes then he would wake up and cry so we were shocked to come in Saturday morning to find him asleep. I thought maybe the nurses had given him some medicine that would make him sleep. His breathing looked very difficult for him even with the oxygen and he had a high fever of 41 degrees Celsius but his little feet were cold and clammy. We mentioned all of this to the doctor but he didn't seem to be too worried about it. Me and Melissa took turns sitting by him, putting a cool wash cloth on his head, and flicking the cockroaches off his bed. I was sitting next to Mlamuli's bed as he slept and was praying for him that God would heal his little body. I took out my bible and read some Psalms when I turned to look at him I noticed he wasn't breathing so I told Melissa and checked again then ran to get the nurse tears falling down my face I told the nurse and she followed me to his bed and shook her head and wrapped him in his blanket and brought him to a different room. We just broke down crying right in the room in front of six other sick children and there moms who were starring at us. Melissa and I really had hope that he would get better. I knew he was in bad shape but I honestly didn't think he was going to die. It also makes me mad because this little boy was in the hospital for over a month and he should have been helped along time ago. They just forgot about him. He had no one to fight for him to get cared for until it was too late. I wish I would have seen this before. It has been hard because I know God brought Melissa and I in his life for a reason but I don't understand why he didn't heal him. I had prayed so many times that he would bring healing to him but he didn't. I know God is faithful and even though I don't know what his plan is I still need to trust him, but it still hurts so much. God had broken my heart for Mlamuli and I loved him very much caring for him like he was my own. It has been hard the last couple of days I can't stop thinking about him. Please remember to pray for the orphans and that God will bring someone into their lives that can provide and care for them.


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The Neglected



    I checked out some more ministry sights last week.  I went to a care point that is run by 17 gogos (grandmas) who volunteer.  They provide breakfast and lunch for the children who are not able to bring anything.  They have about 25-30 kids who are there all day and about another 100 kids who receive breakfast and come from school to receive lunch.  While we were there visiting, the kids would flock to us just desperate for love and attention.  This care point is for children who have lost at least one parent or if the child is in a vulnerable situation such as their parents are neglecting them. They have some elderly people who come for lunch and those who physically can't make it to the care point will send someone to pick them up some food.  This care point is partially funded by the government as far as the food and school fees for each of the children.  The sad thing is that they only give them pop (it is similar to plain grits) and beans for food.  The gogos have planted  garden so that they can offer more than just pop and beans.  As far as school fees goes they provide less than 30% of how much it costs for each child to go to school.  Again the gogos pick up the slack and go around do fund raising and trying  to get supporters to help a child go to school.  For the kids who don't get supported the gogos teach them some of the basics.  I was amazed at how much they do for these kids to give them a chance at school and life. 

    We also checked out SACRO Drop Off Center which is affiliated with Salvation Army.  There goal is to get the kids off the streets and in school.  When a child comes they go to the child's  home to assess their need and if the child needs their help they provide two meals for them and have them stay at the center during the day to keep them off the street.  They work on getting each child there supported so that they can go to school.  The children that get supported to go to school come to the center after school to get help with their homework.  The workers there keep up with the kids and meet with their teachers if it is needed.   For the children who do not get supported they have some informal teaching, which is  again just the basics.

    Both ministry sights are similar but the need for places like these is great. We went to the hospital to do some team ministry and I met a lady named Pamela who is dying of AIDS.  She told me that she had three children who were living by themselves.  The oldest one was twenty-one and was taking care of the other two but didn't have the money for them to go to school and barely had enough money for food.   I told her about SACRO and how they might be able to help her children.  Next time that her kids come to visit she was going to tell them about it.  I sat with her for awhile and prayed with her and read some Psalms.  She knows she is dying  and is scared that her kids will be left without any help.  This is what so many Swazi people are facing.  I just pray that God will provide for their needs and for the little ones who are without parents who are sent to live with relatives who can't afford to care for another child.  So many children are in this position.



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