Catalyst eSwatini 2018: Growing (Pains & Gains) Part 2

Our Dear Friends & Family, 

We hope you & your loved ones had a wonderful Christmas!  As we exit 2018 tonight, we wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year!!  We pray your cross-over into 2019 will be safe & Blessed!!

We thank you so much for your love to us throughout this year!  We are so thankful for your relationship with us! We couldn't have made it without you!!   

Part of our growing pains in 2018 revolved around partner relationships. When we started Catalyst (back in Feb. 2017), some people close to us didn’t understand why we wanted to do this.  Actually, some told us we shouldn't start it at all!  And w/out getting into many details, this year their feelings became apparent, resulting in them breaking relationship with us.  

For us this was the hardest part of 2018.  Actually, I’ll (Dennis) will be super honest:  This was my hardest year in ministry, and even of my Christian life.  There were times Zwa &I felt so broken, that we thought about pitching it all in, quitting ministry, & moving back to the USA. We tried to work things out but to no avail.  In the midst of all this it was even hard to even know what to say (to anyone).  Of course your flesh wants to defend itself, and there were times I (Dennis) did that…But as time went on we really felt called to just shut our mouths, & by all means trust God, & seek His Love and Healing for our hearts.  So yeah were ready to shut the door on 2018, and asking God for a new season in 2019!    

Thankful for our relationship w/ Sport For Christ!!!

So Much to be Thankful For!!!

Now let me shift a bit!  I wanted to be as super honest as I could above, but I also want to Praise the Lord, for all the good things relationally in 2018!  We are super thankful for our growing & new relationships that we have!!  As written about before, this year we really worked a lot with Adventures In Missions (AIM) eSwatini.  Whether it was through the SLA Friday's trainings, or working with Sport For Christ, we worked often & hard alongside our brothers & sisters @ AIM!  We are so thankful to be in partnership with them!  

Dennis had the privilege to speak @ SFC end of year camp this month! 

Another new part of partnership with AIM in 2018 saw the resurrection of the Pastors Fellowship Ministry!  This was something that was built and developed while we were on staff with AIM from 2004-2011.  This year I was part of a great team that kicked it off again!  We had 3 meetings in 2018. Some of our goals are: to be a safe place, a listening ear, a conduit of God's love and encouragement, & to foster unity amongst the men & women who serve the Lord!

Our 3rd & last meeting of the year. 

AIM donated a new pair of shoes to each pastor!  

The 3 meetings all went very well and we really feel the Lord rebuilding this ministry! In our last meeting we had about 45/50 pastors total.  Many of the pastors are those who work directly with AIM leading a church at one of their 35 Care Points.  However, our meetings are open to any pastor looking to grow in this fellowship!  Going forward we have 4 quarterly meetings planned for next year as well as a couple different types of events.  AIM eSwatini provides the funding to serve the pastors a great meal, as well as transport money, and in providing the venue.  In our final gathering they also donated a brand new pair of shoes to each pastor -  A HUGE Blessing!   

Will you please keep this Pastors Fellowship in prayer?  
1)  That God would use our team to build unity within these pastors!  We want to create an atmosphere of a safe place, where the pastors feel free & can be open, vulnerable & encourage one another.  
2)  That God would use us to speak into each others lives.  In our meetings we have a time where one of our team shares a challenge, preaching to the preachers if you will.  In our first 3 meetings we have felt led by the Lord to share some challenging stuff. Topics like jealousy, etc.  Please pray that the LORD will continue to lead us in what to share with His servants!  

I think that we will close out Part 2 here. In our next post we will share about Catalyst 's relationship with Mafutseni Emmanuel Weslyan Church.  We will also be sending out an email regarding the highlights of our Compassionate Ministry. Again, Happy New Year!!

We really Appreciate Your LOVE to us through your prayers and financial support!!  May 2019 be a year that we all know Jesus's love deeper, & reflect Him in greater measure!  May God Bless you all in Abundance!

Dennis, Zwakele, Thandeka & Busani 

Catalyst eSwatini 2018: Growing (Pains & Gains) Part 1

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14

Our Dear Friends & Family, 

Firstly, our family would love to wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Recently I (Dennis) had a bit of the holiday blues.  I was super busy & very stressed.  A friend lovingly reminded me: "This is the season of Immanuel! God With Us!" God Himself, the King of Kings & Lord of Lord's, humbled himself and walked this earth as one of us!  Because of His great love for us, Jesus died on the cross, so that all who receive Him might live eternally, forgiven, & free from sin!  Amen! We truly have so much to be thankful for & so much to celebrate!    

Taken 23 DEC 2018

We often pray for you all, our dear support team!  Our prayer (for all of us in this season) is that the Lord would continue to refresh us in this awesome truth of Immanuel!  May He encourage us all that HE IS WITH US, & active in our lives.  And, may He continue to renew us in His amazing LOVE!  

We really hope that you have a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Saviour!  After we post this online, we will take a few days off.  We don't have any big plans, except to spend Christmas Day in Timbutini with Zwakele's mom, and then to rest a little.    

We are really looking forward to a break this week.  We have been incredibly busy up until this point.  And to be honest, 2018 has been a tough year. As we have continued to build Catalyst eSwatini,   there have been many challenges (some pretty painful).  But there has also been some great things happening as well!  It's been a year of growing for us, learning lessons both painful and encouraging.  That's why we have entitled this post "Growing (Pains & Gains)."     

Let me start with something that has been both awesome & challenging! One of our favorite aspects of 2018 has been the Hospital Visitation Ministry. Our labor @ the Mbabane Govt. Hospital is purely to show the Love and Mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ!  We go nearly every Thursday afternoon and spend a couple hours visiting the children's ward.  We have been working in the hospital for years, but have been consistent (nearly every Thursday) for the past 4 years! The highlight of 2018 has been in developing a great group working as a team in this ministry.  One of Catalyst's Core Values is "Creative Collaboration."  Our heart is to foster unity, and work with others in the Body of Christ.  We just believe that through partnership, by serving one another & serving alongside one another, we can do so much more for Christ's Kingdom!  

Part of the Hospital Team around September.
Powerful Partnership! #BetterTogether 

At the beginning of 2018 we were individuals from 5 different organizations ministering at the hospital.  Praise God we have seen huge fruit in this ministry! Again, the goal is to be a conduit of God's love and mercy to those whom are suffering.  To use a famously spoken term, we want to be "Jesus with skin on."  Unfortunately, challenges did come as well.  About halfway through the year one of the 5 organizations decided to part ways with the rest of us.  I can't really say much specifically, other than it was like an "organization politics" kind of issue.  It was an unfortunate & painful split, and we tried not to let it happen, but the other party could see no other direction.  Thankfully, those of us from the 4 other organizations continued on in this ministry until now. 

Entrance to the Children's Ward @ Mbabane Govt. Hospital

Zwakele & I's personal conviction is that we do not really take pictures in the Hospital Ministry.  We really want to preserve people's dignity.  The pic below shows the newborn cubicle but you can't really see anyone specifically.  We do have a picture w/ a mother and her child (who wanted us to take her picture).  But even with her consent, I don't personally feel comfortable posting it online.  We will share it in a private email to our supporters @ a later time.   

Cubicle #1 The Section for the Newborns

We really want to say a huge "THANK YOU!!!" to those of you who have supported us financially and prayerfully this year.  It is because of your prayers and giving that we were able to consistently reach out in the hospital!  We don't go empty handed on Thursday's.  We always take practical items, as well as fun things and sweets as gifts for the mothers & children.  We could not have done this weekly expense if it wasn't for your support to us!  Thank you so much!  Again, our only agenda is to display JESUS.  And we have seen much fruit! People have responded because we have been consistently present.  Whether its being a listening ear, giving a hug, praying for/with them, giving out those small gifts, or just sitting & spending time with someone who is suffering.  It has been a real privilege to serve Christ in this place!  

Part of the growth we have seen this year in this ministry:  1) Having a Bigger Consistent Team.  This has been awesome to have people from the 4 different organizations serving together.  We are usually not less than 5/6 people and sometimes as large as 10!  This is a hard ministry at times, & there are 5 rooms of patients to visit.  Having a bigger group really helps in so many ways!           
2) Follow Up.  While we may not be able to visit any other day than Thursday, we have been able to do more follow up on other days.  Meaning we are able to call or text with the child's caregiver - check in, see how they are doing, pray with them, encourage them etc.  We especially try to do this with situations where the child & caregiver have been admitted for a long period of time.  

Will you please pray with us regarding this ministry?  

1) Please pray for continued spiritual unity on our team!  

2) Please also pray that we can maintain our great team and even expand it!  We want to be used by the Lord to encourage His Body to be involved in compassion ministry like this that exalts Jesus!   

3) We also want to see growth in doing more follow up in 2019!  

4) Please also pray for the hearts of those on the team.  We want to be so full of Jesus as we minister.  There are so many tough and dire situations that these precious children face as patients.  Unless God does a miracle many do not make it.  Of course we do first plead with God for supernatural healing!  And Praise God, we have seen kids healed and go home!  Sadly, we have also seen many children we knew pass away this year!  Please pray that no matter the situation we face,that we would walk with the Holy Spirit, speak His words, do what he wants us to do.  As God pours into us we want to pour out to others!  

5) Please also pray if you would be able to contribute to this specific ministry.  Simply put, if we have more resources we can do more. 

I think we will close Part 1 here.  I have already written a lot!  Thank you so much for your LOVE to our family as we serve Jesus here in eSwatini!  We would not be here without YOU!  

May The LORD Bless you & your families greatly this Holiday Season! Merry Christmas! 

Dennis, Zwakele, Thandeka & Busani Brock

 

ADJUSTING to the "NEW NORMAL" Part 2

Our Dear Friends & Family,

We hope that you are doing well!  We are so thankful for your continued prayer and financial support as we serve the Lord here!

This post is the continuation of some of the changes we have seen in the past 5 or 6 months! 
As we stated before, there has been a lot of change around here lately...

A Nation Celebrates & Changes it's Name!  

On the 19th & 20th of April Swaziland celebrated 50 years of independence as a nation as well as the 50th birthday of our King, His Majesty King Mswati III.  During the celebrations the King announced that this nation would no longer be known as "Swaziland."  From now on this beautiful country would be called "eSwatini." Swaziland was the name appointed by the English as they colonized this region, and so the King wanted to bring even the name of this land into Independence.  "eSwatini" basically & literally means "the place of the Swati (people)."  Many other African countries had already changed their names soon after they achieved independence. A few of these are: Zambia, Zimbabwe, & Lesotho.  So, being 50 years post colonization it was the right time to make this change!     

New & Deeper Partnerships       

AIM (Adventures In Missions)  

I (Dennis) started my journey here in eSwatini working under AIM back in 2004.  I served with them for 7 years, leaving midway through 2011.  We left on good terms, and have remained friends with them.  In the past few years AIM has grown so much, having nearly 100 employees here.  For the past couple of years I've spent a couple days a week volunteering & working with a group of young people called "Shepherds," as well as the Life Coaches from their Sports Ministry.  The Shepherds are the young Swazi's who do the discipleship teaching @ AIM's 35 Neighborhood Care Points.  The Shepherd's are also part of a larger program AIM runs called "SLA," aka the Swaziland Leadership Academy.  The goal of the SLA program to keep developing these young people as they continue to serve @ the care points.  In March a team of us started a program that focuses and goes deeper with that development goal.  We don't have an illustrious name, we simply call it "SLA Fridays!"         

From Left: Xolani, Dennis, & Sebe 3 of the SLA Friday Leaders

We split the Shepherds into two groups according to the year they joined AIM/SLA.  Every Friday our leadership team (of 6 great people!) meets with one of the two groups to facilitate the Friday program.  We have a time of worship & devotion, small group mentoring, and a time we call "Focus," which is a teaching of a self leadership principle.  The goal is to be a training resource for these young leaders, an advocate, a listening ear, & to encourage them to continue in their service to Jesus & their communities.  Its a lot of work, for every Friday of execution it takes at least 1 or 2 full days of preparation. So for me 3 of my 6 working days a week are spent on this partnership.  But Praise God it has been a great time so far.  There has been a lot of fruit, and this is a much needed program.  I will update some more specifics in later blogs!     


New Catalsyt eSwatini Partner:  Mafutseni EWC                                                                            In March we also started a new partnership with a church called Mafutseni Emmanuel Wesleyan Church.  Mafutseni is simply the region where the church is located, its actually "just next to" Timbutini, about a 10 minute drive from where Zwakele was born and raised.  

Pastor Mngometulu & myself

Above is a picture of the Lead Pastor of Mafutseni EWC, named Sikelela Mngometulu.  He's a great man of God, and we have known him for years.  He's actually the pastor who married Zwakele & I ten years ago!  They have rougly 60+ children they are feeding every Sunday after their worship service.  These children are either orphaned or simply come from vulnerable situations.  The church has a passion to help the people of the community and believe they should be doing this type of ministry.  Initially they had another NGO that was helping to supply some food to make this feeding possible.  Unfortunately that NGO could help no longer.  After meeting with Pastor Mngometulu we decided that we would form an initial partnership.  We are now helping to provide a large share of the food needed to feed these children every Sunday.  This happens simply because of your financial support to us! Again, because of your support we were also able to purchase 100 plates and 100 cups for them to use.  Praise God & thank you for your prayers and financial support!    

Mafutseni EWC Building

Mafutseni EWC Preschool Room & KItchen 

PLEASE PRAY WITH US                                                                                                                      Would you please keep these two partnerships in your prayers?  We desperately need the LORD'S empowerment & presence as we serve Him.  We want to really see the Lord at work in our lives, and His love, power, and service to flow out through what we are doing!  There are many challenges, much attack from the enemy, and some discouragement along the way.  But we are persevering by His Grace.  We are continually asking the Lord for a Holy Tenacity...to be resolute in our commitment to Him and not grow weary in doing good!  Thanks so much for standing with us!  More to come soon! May God bless you abundantly!    

ADJUSTING to the "NEW NORMAL" Part 1

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 

Because of the LORD'S great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;therefore I will wait for him.”  - Lamentations 3:19-24

Our dear friends and family, 

Thanks so much for standing with us in your prayers! They really do make a huge difference!  Please know that we also pray for YOU our SUPPORT TEAM regularly!  

Since you last heard from us there has been much change.  Some of the changes have been rather painful & challenging, while others are thankfully great developments!  The storms of our lives in the past 5 or 6 months have brought to my mind the above verses from Lamentations.  It can be so easy to constantly "remember my affliction." We are tempted to unhealthily focus on our challenges. Then often bitterness tries to creep into our hearts, thereby threatening to damage the wellspring of our life.

For me (Dennis), I've dealt with depression for years, both before I was a Christian and after.  Lots of people in the church are afraid to discuss depression (& many other mental health issues) because somehow we think that if we are dealing with these problems than we are "not good Christians", or that we are somehow "weak in the faith." But that's complete rubbish!  When painful storms come (because of years of struggling with depression) the tendency of my flesh is to stay focused on those painful challenges and then lose hope.  Its a familiar path my heart walked for years before knowing Jesus.  Now as a follower of Jesus part of the battle for me is to reject that familiar path.  I have to actively "call to mind" the GREAT LOVE God has for me, and stand in the truth of God's compassion for my situation - I repeatedly remind myself of God's Truth.  He is so extremely and utterly faithful to us, His children!    

So while the past six months have been challenging, and painful at times, there is much to be thankful for!  We choose as a family to constantly remind ourselves of the goodness of the Lord!  Below are some of the changes, both for prayer and for His praise!   

A pic w/ our niece "Khosi"

Health Update:  In our last email update I (Dennis) shared about my health scare over New Years.  Since then I have been seeing a heart specialist.  He has been fantastic! The first thing he did was put me on 1 medicine instead of the 4 meds the hospital had me on.  My focus has been on exercising, eating healthier, checking my blood pressure regularly, and reducing stress.  Thanks for your prayers for this!  Things are going much better these days!  In fact, my blood pressure reduced very much and is normalized, and I am now on a half dose of the 1 medication.  In March  Thandeka injured her leg while she was playing on a trampoline!  She severely sprained her right knee and the ligaments below it.  She could not put weight on her right leg for 3 weeks plus & ended up missing school for most of that time. Again, we want to thank you for your prayers!  As of today she is walking, and much to her delight :) back in school.     

 

Will you please pray for Zwakele's Mother?

Some of the challenges we've seen were unexpected and life changing.  In the past couple of months my mother in law suffered two strokes.  We thank the Lord that she is still with us!  And she is recovering.  But she is not 100% and she is not the same as before.  She now needs someone to be with her at all times.  This was a sudden change.  It's part of what I mean in our title coming to terms and adjusting to a "New Normal."  It seems like we are in a different stage of life now.  

Will you please pray for my precious mother in law Jane Dlamini?  Things are much different for her now, and its been hard on her as life took an unexpected turn.  She was a regular volunteer cook for years at AIM's Timbutini Care Point.  At this point, she is now unable to do this.  She was also used to starting fires, cooking food for herself, as well as a host of many other "regular normal life activities." For anyone its hard to come to terms with these kinds of changes.  Please pray for her recovery, and that we can continue to get her the best care as possible.  Thank you so much!

 

Welcome Vumile Dlamini

As our brother Maurice Dlamini left Catalyst Swaziland last December, we started looking for other people to help with our ministry.  In February, we welcomed our friend Vumile Dlamini to the Catalyst Family!  She was hired as our first staff member!  We have known Vumile for some years having met & served with her @ Healing Place Church.     

Vumile is a wonderful young lady and we are excited to have her serving with us @ Catalyst Swaziland!  She is passionate about the Lord and following Him.  Vumile is initially hired with us for a period of 6 months.  She then hopes to qualify for the University of Swaziland, starting her studies in August 2018.  Please keep her in your prayers so that, Lord willing, she can reach this goal for her life!    

This is then end of part 1...We will have more ministry updates in part 2.  I am excited to share with you a new ministry partner that we have developed!  Please look for that post next week!  Thanks and God Bless You!!!