Yesterday we were part of bringing a gift to a lovely woman named Nonlhanlha. Her name is pronounced noan-slan-sla and it means 'fortunate'.  

I met Nonlhanlha a few weeks ago when our ministry partners Simanga and Mxolisi suggested we pay her a visit. She is a very soft spoken, gentle-spirited woman. She sits on a mat on the ground outside her tiny hut most days, watching the busy activity on her homestead. Nonlhanlha is HIV positive. A little over a year ago she suffered a stroke which paralyzed the right side of her body. She can not walk or fully use her hands. Her speech and eyesight are very limited. A few months ago neighbors pulled her out of her mud/stick hut when it caught on fire. Can you imagine? Laying in your hut, knowing it was on fire and not being able to get yourself to safety? No...neither can I.  Nonlhanlha now lives on her brother's homestead who moved here from South Africa to watch over her. There are a few other relatives, women and young children, also living on the homestead. This is where I first met her a few weeks ago. She was surprised to see us, but pleased to have visitors. We spent some time just talking with her and her brother. Nonlhanla shared that she felt far away from God because she is unable to get herself to church. She expressed some fear that because she isn't attending church, that God no longer sees her or pays attention to her. Through the ministry partners, I did everything I could to assure this dear woman that God does see her and that he loves her with an unfailing love. I tried to convince her that she could commune with God from right where she was sitting. I asked her if she had any favorite songs that she remembered from her church going days. She sang a few verses of a beautiful song as Mxolisi and Simanga joined in with their deep,smooth voices. What a holy moment!  We prayed with her. When I opened the Bible to read some Scripture with her, her face and eyes absolutely came to life! This woman was hungry for the Word. She closed her eyes and took in every morsel as though it was feeding her deep within. After I closed the Book ,I asked her if she had a Bible? She told me that she did have a Bible, but after her stroke she has a very difficult time reading it. As she was telling us this, again, I could see that hunger in her eyes. As we walked away from her homestead that day, I started praying to God to help us find a way to get the Word back into Nonlhanlha's hands and heart. In the past we have had a couple talking Bibles, solar powered devices which play the entire New Testament in (this case) SiSwati. How could we get one to Nonlhanlha? After some asking around here on the ground and even some research on the Internet it seemed that finding one of these things may be a bit more complicated then I would have hoped.

Then, this past weekend a team from the States arrived. After their orientation to the ministry and to the area of Nsoko, a few of us were casually chatting. The majority of the team members are nurses, here to do medical care and run free clinics. As we discussed what the days ahead might look like for their team, one of the members says: "We also brought along five talking Bibles in SiSwati." God had answered my prayer that started weeks ago. Nonlhanlha would have a way to feed on the Word every day!

So...back to yesterday...