Happy New Year to all our friends and family around the world!
2020 was a strange/difficult year for all of us, there is no doubt. There was plenty about it that was very hard for our family, but lots to celebrate also!
Katie married Dan Pfaff in a small wedding in DeKalb, IL in October. Not in the beautiful little chapel with all their family and friends like they had envisioned and planned, but surrounded by the family that was nearby and with Steve and me watching from her Aunt Julie’s cellphone. The officiant was our friend Dave Jacobson who we met while he led teams from his former church to Swaziland. What a blessing to have him living nearby and able to perform the ceremony, bringing a little bit of the Swazi connection to the wedding. Dan and Katie are happy and together and we are so thankful for Dan and his love for our Katie Girl.
Maggie married Muzi Gamedze in a small but beautiful wedding here in Swaziland in November. He and his daughter Lisa (3 yrs old) have been part of our lives for a couple of years and we are so happy to add them to our family! Being grandparents is lots of fun and we are enjoying having them living close by.
Ellie is finishing up her last year of high school and thinking about what the future may hold for her. She is a fantastic auntie to Lisa and big sister to Mumu, planning crafts and games and being the ‘fun’ one around our house!
Mumu is doing well. We have been pretty vigilant about keeping her out of public places throughout this pandemic but I don’t think she minds too much. She is a homebody like her mama. 🙂 We are in the process of getting her a new wheelchair, since the one she has had for a while has reached it’s limit of expanding to fit her. We were also able to purchase a van with a wheelchair lift to make traveling with her easier and more comfortable. Hopefully we will be able to get the wheelchair, and do a little traveling this year!
The respite home for kids within our Labaligugu ministry is open and going strong, although it has been nothing like what we had planned. Due to COVID, we are pretty much keeping the staff of three ladies and the four children staying there quarantined on site. A couple of us staff come and go to deliver groceries and necessities but try to keep our distance and limit our time inside the home. The families of the kids there are happy to have someplace safe and secure for their kids during this uncertain time and everyone seems to be thriving in the home. Thanks to generous donors, we were able to purchase a Christmas tree and some gifts and a TV and DVD player! We are looking forward to the day that we can have some play therapy, physical therapy, school assignments, parties and visitors. Until then, please pray for continued health and happiness for everyone at Umukelwe Home.
Of course, like everyone else, we have dealt with great loss this past year. Steve’s daddy passed away after having been ill for a couple of years now. He was able to fly to the States for a few weeks to be with his sisters and to meet Katie’s new husband, before making it back home to Eswatini just in time for Maggie’s wedding. Muzi also lost his beloved Granny just a couple of weeks after their wedding. We are so glad she was able to be there for their special day. She will be greatly missed in the life of his family and so many others’.
Ministry looked very different this past year as care points were shut down for a while, or only allowed to provide food, but no gathering of children. We miss our co-workers and the kids but are thankful for having so many staff members who live in the communities where we work that have been able to keep in touch with specific needs and maintain relationships. We are hopeful that this year will see us gradually opening the carepoints back up to meeting more needs than physical hunger.
COVID-19 seems to be on the rise again here in Eswatini/Swaziland with numbers of active cases rising dramatically in the last couple of weeks. We have not heard much about when/if any vaccine will be available here.
