Anti-retroviral treatment

News from Frank and Ruthie:

Jane is on ARV’s and was on TB treatment for some time. She had an itchy rash on her face and body. When Lorancia (nurse) checked her medications, she discovered some had expired! The workers threw them away and advised her to return to the clinic. She had no food so we left her a parcel and some money and a Bible. She was very grateful. Her daughter had just returned from school and we noticed she was wearing a torn school sweater (jersey as they are called here). We took her size and later bought a new one for her and gave it to the careworker, Lindiwe.

Zodwa has been on ARV’s since 2009. She has 3 children, for whom she receives child grants. These grants are very small (R350 equalling approximately $23 at the current exchange). Her husband left her, but has returned, but he is not on ARV’s. He obviously has been infected and this makes it difficult, if not impossible, for his wife to recover.

IMG_5635

One day in Mahushu we visited the poorest section. Most of the homes were shacks. There are some pictures (probably sent separately as some readers cannot open our newsletter when pics are attached). Nomsa was one of these patients. She had a one room, wooden shack that she shared with her three children. Her husband left her when he found she was on ARV’s. He has since returned and he works for Bongani Hospital, so their situation will improve. They have bricks in the yard, so they are preparing to build a new home. However he also is not on ARV’s. The nurses told us that the men seem to show signs of HIV much later than the women. They feel the men have likely infected their wives, but then because they are not yet sick, they blame the wives for being unfaithful.

Please help Senzo

Senzo Sibiya is a 24 years old young man.  Who was one of Masoyi Home Based Care clients; Senzo was one of the children who stayed at the Khayalethu 3 center when it was still an orphanage, after his mother passed away back in 2002. He spent his childhood days and nearly most of his teenage years at the center, until the day the center was closed.

Since the closing of the center, he has been switching locations, but God have seen him through, even though he has been through hard times in his life. He has however managed to pass his grade 12. After completing his grade 12, there was nothing much he can do than to just stay at home and roam around the streets, since he had no one to help him further his studies, and there is nothing much he can do.

By the grace of God, his life just turned around when someone offered to help him further his studies. On one Sunday, he received a call from one of his late Mother’s friends to come to her house. She asked him what is it that he wants to study for, and told her he wanted to study Media. After a long conversation with her; fortunate enough, she offered to help him with his studies. To which; he went and enrolled on a college (Boston City Campus, Arcadia campus in Pretoria). The course was supposed to be for three years.

He did his first and second year. However, on his third and last year of studying, he was not able to continue, due to financial problems. The reason of the problem be, that the woman who was helping him, was now no longer affording to pay for his tuition fees, since she had recently retired (She was working as a school teacher). So it was now quite expensive for her, since she also has her own child who is still at school.

Since Senzo was already staying at Pretoria, now has to come back home, since he had no one to help on his studies and pay the rent where he was staying.

Since January 2016, he has been home, “jobless and hopeless about his future” he said.  He added “It’s a terrifying feeling for me because it seems as if my past life is coming back to haunt me. I only pray to God that he hears my prayers and touch someone to help me complete my studies, so I can able get a job and assist at home.”

His tuition fee is estimated to US$3,000; and his rent is estimated to US$1,000; for the whole year.

If you are willing to assist Senzo complete his studies, please do contact us at masoyi.hbc@gmail.com or call (+27) 13 798 3596 / (+27) 71 549 6223

Your help with be much appreciated.

Celebrating Ma Flo’s 60th Birthday

…which is today!  Ma Flo, we salute you, and remember you with thankfulness on this special day.

More news from Frank and Ruthie Wey

I bought mats from Trifina. She is trying to make a living and the nurses with me loved her work, so they each got a mat and Trifina earned some money. I also bought a unique work of plastic art from another Gogo, who is trying to make a living making useful products from scraps of plastic.

 Makeshift loom, 2016

We just have no idea how blessed we are and how easy our lives are compared to these precious people. Please keep them all in your prayers.

Since we arrived, I have been privileged to pray for a deaf girl, and grandma with a broken leg, a child who had demonic visions every night, a seriously depressed woman and many other people with AIDS, TB, cancer and other ailments. The Lord helped me to lead 2 people to Him. This is the greatest blessing.

We have also been able to buy 200 Holy Bibles, provide cash for transportation to clinics and hospitals, provide funds for orphan support groups and food for the sick and elderly as well as tools for a worker at K2 who had his stolen. This was only possible because of your generosity. We are able to bless people because you have been a blessing. Thank you so much.

Extract from Frank & Ruthie’s News

We visited another stroke victim in Jerusalem named Thomas. This man lived alone and could slowly shuffle along. He could speak but found it quite difficult to find words. We spent a long time with him, as the nurses were so incredibly patient listening to him. When they discovered how far he had to walk down a mountain to get water, they went into his small house and got his water containers. We got in the car and drove to K3. It was a very hot day, as just about every day has been here since November. There is a bore hole there that is working efficiently thanks to Ed Kulbacko. They proceeded to rinse the buckets with a soapy cloth and then picked up dirt (sand) and scrubbed the buckets thoroughly inside and out (all this with the sun beating down on them and temps near 100+). They then rinsed the buckets and filled them with water. We drove back to the bottom of the small mountain and they put the buckets on their heads and carried them up to his home.

Water delivery, 2016

I was so very impressed with the love they showed. These ladies do this sort of thing every day while Frank and I are only here for 3 months. They receive little, if any, compensation and they too have families to support. May God bless them richly.

Good News For The Sibiya Family

Today I had a chance to go and have a look on the house that is being built for the Sibiya family at Mphatseni, on the Mahushu trust. It is almost complete, just need some painting and some work on the floor. It is a 3 room house.

On this family, there is a single Mother staying with her children and grandchildren. They have no source of income, whatsoever. Even worse, they all do not have identity documents.

The family is currently sleeping on a ‘shack house’, which is not in a good condition, and they are struggling during rainy days.

Masoyi Home Based Care Project, with the help of The Cove church, from the USA; is building this house for them, as well as a toilet, since they do not have a toilet (See pictures).

And as I have mentioned above that they have no source of income, that means it is not easy for them to have food, hence they often rely on neighbours for such. We then, from last year December started providing them with a food parcel, from St Luke’s and St Paul’s church, from UK (England).

Moving on

Ellay, one of our temporary workers, who has been helping with data inputting, has been offered work at LoveLife, who support the youth of this country.  May God bless you, Ellay, and may you bring hope to those you work with.

Work Resume

Masoyi Home Based Care Project, will offially resume work for 2016 on the 6th of January.

We wish you a very blessed New Year. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and trust you are having yourself a wonderful New Year as well.

We are looking forward on working together to uplift the Masoyi community.

Frank and Ruthie Wey

Frank and Ruthie are preparing to visit Masoyi again in February, and have written to their supporters.  This is extracted from their letter:

Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus,

In James 2:15-17 we are told, “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” In addition to obeying this directive we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in bringing as many souls as possible into the family of God.

We will be going back to Masoyi in early February. Once again we feel a great urgency to bring souls into the Kingdom. In the past we have been privileged to introduce many people to Jesus and see them take Him as their Lord and Savior. We have also seen His healing hand touch their bodies and their minds and bring restoration to them.

Ruthie&Frank Wey

Before we go out into the community each day, we ask the Lord to only put people in our path whose hearts He has already prepared. He has honored that prayer continually over the last 14 years that we have been going there. Even in stores, game parks, gas stations, clinics, and on the streets, He has put people in front of us who have taken Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Lord has proven to us again and again that He is ever faithful to His Word. Hallelujah!

We will again be visiting the sick, the dying, the poor, the orphans, the widows and everyone the Lord puts before us. We ask that you pray for us. Ruthie and I need the courage and boldness to speak the name of Jesus and exercise the authority He has given us with everyone we meet, no matter where we are or what we are doing.

… we are asking for your prayers and any support you can offer these people during the time we will be there…. Last year we were able to provide food to the sick and dying, to orphans and to the volunteer workers. Additionally we used the donations you provided to buy school uniforms, to purchase and distribute around 500 Holy Bibles, to have windows and roofs and doors repaired or installed. We set up a food bank at a local food warehouse with $4000. It has been used for food for orphans and other vulnerable children. We left Jabulile (a very capable worker with a calling for children) in charge of the funds. Finally, we brought over 100 pounds of children’s clothing but we were limited due to weight restrictions on our luggage. This year we are working with the Schenectady City Mission to send pallets of 400-500 pounds directly to the Masoyi Home Based Care compound.

 If anyone feels led to help with buying Holy Bibles, food, a pallet of clothes or whatever is the greatest need of the day, you can mail a check to Bethel Full Gospel Church (3669 Guilderland Ave, Schenectady, NY 12306) and put “Wey- South Africa” in the memo line and it will be wired to us. You can send it directly to our home address if you prefer and our daughter will deposit it for us. If you want to specify exactly how it is to be spent, just tell us and we will make certain it is used for whatever you choose.

Once again we will send a monthly letter detailing the events of each month we spend there. It will give you a good idea of what we are doing and the areas we need your prayers. It gets a little intimidating to keep going back each year, but the Lord gives us the strength and the will. Ruthie and I thank you from the depths of our hearts. You are truly a blessing to us.

May we be kept humble,

Frank and Ruthie Wey