Vilakati Happenings..

 Hey again! Oh how the time flies. Here were are in 2021. 

Last year we moved into our one bedroom house in April. At the end of the year we were able to expand it so that we now have 2 more bedrooms and a living room. It sure is nice to have a bedroom for the kids to sleep in and a guest bedroom! So far we've had plenty of guests to make good use of our new space. 

Mapile started assistant pastoring Big Bend Community Church at the beginning of 2020. He's been challenged by that position and has the added challenge of ministry with covid and covid restrictions. Also at the beginning of February this year Mozambique was hit with terrible cyclone Eloise, which has left Eswatini with lots of flooded areas and houses damaged. There was a flooded community near by our church in Big Bend, and Mapile has been working with the local church to provide some relief to that commuinty as many people lost their belongings in the floods. 

Mapile's gogo, Gogo Agnes, passed away in December last year. Her loss is felt immensely in the family. She helped care for so many kids, and she loved so well. One of Mapile's uncles moved into Gogo's house, and some of the kids are staying with him now. 

Gogo & the kids when I first moved here back in 2015

Simo is 4 years old, she started going to a Pre-K tutoring program at my work place! My work schedule has changed so that I work 5 half days, that way I can take Simo to work with me so that she can have some learning time. She enjoys it but it has been a big adjustment for us, and a much longer time in the car than what she's used to (the commute is just over an hour each way). 

Simo's 1st day

Nicholas turned 2 years old in January. He is so full of energy and mischeif and keeps us on our toes. He loves riding his bike outside, dancing, singing, and wrestleing with his Daddy. He's started to say so many words and sentences, and is just growing so fast. He stays home with Auntie during the days. Auntie is our nanny who's been helping us with the kids for over a year now. She is a sweet blessing to us. 

Auntie with the kiddos

Ministry in the Mbutfu Community has been so encouraging lately, especially for Mapile. We have seen young people step up and take initiative, working to start small businesses to take care of themselves and their families.This is encouraging when so many of their peers settle for drinking alcohol and hanging around rather than making efforts towards a better life. 

The community in Mbutfu has approached us abut helping to re-open a care point that has been closed for several months. We are excited about this oppotunity, not only to offer food to children who need it a few times a week, but also to work on providing more community services. 

We continue to feel so blessed. Life isn't easy, but we continue to see how God provides for us and how he meets all our needs. One of our desires this year, if travel bans and covid restrictions could allow it, is to visit my family back in the US. We are still under a partial lockdown here with businesses closing at 6pm, no travel after 8pm, and unsure regulations about border crossings. 

Prayer Requests

- We continue to need wisdom in so many situations, as well as balancing our family/work/ministry. 

- We would love to make it to the US this year but need wisdom and God's timing to figure that one out

- For extra GRACE to go about our lives in a way that honors Christ, it's easy to feel that there's too much to do and too many needs to help with, and too tired to want to sometimes. 

Praises

- We praise God for HIS continued provision in our lives. We have a 3 bedroom home that is such a blessing!

- We praise God for the health and safety He has given our family during this season

- We praise God for the work He is doing in and through Mapile's mentorship & ministry with young men

Hebrews 4: 14-16

 "So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

Life update + cute pics from the Vilakatis

Hey Everyone!

It's been awhile since I've given an update on our life. I was hoping that by this time this year I'd be going back to the US for my brother Jonathan's wedding, but the borders are still closed here and there's only repatriation flights that leave every few weeks. Although I could potentially get on one of these flights, if I did there's no telling when I would be allowed back in the country.

So, we embrace what life brings us and do the next thing. Recently a lot of our energy has been focused on a move to our little house that we built. It's one bedroom with a garage, so we've been able to use the garage as a second bedroom and fit our whole family in the house, plus quite a few guests from time to time. We moved at the end of April, and we've really enjoyed having our place, though Mapile will tell you it's not always fun owning your own place. There's lots of work for sure!
We still live close to the Bible College in a place called Ngculwini.

In other news, Mapile resigned from his job at the Bible School in April so that he can focus more on the Community Centre project, as well as other ministry down South. He still hopes to teach classes with the Bible School, and of course we keep up with our friends from Joy Mission. It has been good timing because we had to put a lot of work into our house too, and he's been more free to help with that. Recently we had a borehole drilled, so it's super exciting to have our own water supply! (Before the borehole we were having water delivered by these tanker trucks that deliver 7000 litres of water at a time)

Tanker filling our tanks

Drilling the borehole

I have been back to work at Project Canaan for a full year now. It's been a busy year where we moved to a new clinic, got a new electronic medical record system, and got 30 new babies since last year July. I learn so much at work and I enjoy keeping busy there, as there's always work to do.

Our kids are growing up fast. Simo will be 4 years old in November. She is an active girl and loves riding her scooter bike, swinging, playing on slides, and running around. She also enjoys taking care of her baby dolls/stuffed animals and tucking them in to their beds. She loves singing and dancing. Lately she especially loves time with her Daddy.
Nicholas is 18 months going on 4 years. He is active and tries to keep up with his sister. He gets into everything that he shouldn't, and loves playing in water and turning taps on. He really enjoys playing with my pots and he loves dancing to some good music.
These two are such a joy and we praise God for the privilege it is to raise them!

As far as coronavirus goes, as of yesterday there were 1826 confirmed cases, with 23 total deaths in the country so far. We are all required to wear masks in public, and even if you're in your car by yourself the police want to see you wearing that mask. Kids aren't allowed in grocery stores. Churches have recently started opening back up with precautions of wearing masks and having people sit further apart, but children aren't allowed. It's certainly a strange time. Our kids really miss getting out and they both take longer to warm up to people than they used to. We're thankful that our child caregiver lives within walking distance from our house, so even during the heightened lock-down (for a few weeks back in April/May you couldn't travel anywhere without a written letter signed by an employer or chief saying where you were going), she was able to help us with our kids and we continued working. 

 Praises
- Praise God for His continued provision for our family!
- Praise God for the good decisions some of the youth are making that Mapile has mentored
- Praise God for our good health! We try not to take our healthiness for granted!
- We praise God for the people around us that God has used to help us through this strange season.

Prayer Requests
- Pray for lots of wisdom for Mapile, as he's constantly in situations and advising people that need lots of wisdom from God
- Pray that we would continue to find good balance between work/life/ministry
- Pray that my brother Jonathan and his fiance, Sarah Porterfield (who was a friend of mine in college), have a wonderful wedding that is a great start to a new life they will make together.

If you're interested in getting our newsletter that focuses on Community Centre updates, then just send us your email address and we'll add you to our list. 

Thanks for reading! 

Hannah

Exploring the riverbed near our house

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters." - Psalm 24: 1-2

Quick Life Update from the Vilakatis

Well hello there!🙋Before I gave birth to our second born, Nicholas, someone said to me “You know 1 + 1 does not equal 2, right?” I think I’m beginning to understand more of what he was saying… that two kids is a lot of work! Where I used to have energy in the evenings to get things done, now I’m done for after the kids go to bed. All that to say let me tell you our life update now that we’re settled back into life in Eswatini... (We went to the states for May & June & sometimes I think we're still settling in!)

Mapile has been working part time at the Bible College teaching and running the library. End of October they had Pastor's Camp and Graduation was November 2. So it's been an extra busy season for him. He’s also been going down to the Mbutfu community, his hometown, about 2-3 times per week. He’s coaching a team of soccer boys, attending community meetings, and spending time with individuals in the community. These are beginning steps in starting the Community Centre that God has place on our hearts for this Community.

At a soccer tournament with the team from the community

Once we got back form the US, I got back to my job at Project Canaan’s children home. I work 3 days a week to help take care of over 250 children. I love my job because I learn so much, I work with great staff, and I’m able to use my nursing training. Not to mention that the kids are pretty great too! I also love being able to work part time so that I can still have a good chunk of time with our two little ones.

Simo just had her 3^rd birthday! The time is flying. She loves to sing & dance, jump, swim (more like splash in the kiddie pool cos she doesn’t know how to swim yet), make pancakes (or anything else in the kitchen that she’s allowed to help stir), take care of her brother, and blow bubbles. She loves eating macaroni and cheese and papaya. She’s got a really energetic and outgoing personality like her daddy. She’s really sensitive and observant, and lately has been really up & down, with complete meltdowns and then extreme sweetness. She is such a joy to us.

Nicholas just turned 10 months old. He recently started crawling, and he follows us around the house panting and squealing with excitement that he can get around. He just started cutting his first two teeth, and he eats anything in sight, edible or non-edible, but eats a lot of bananas & tiny bites of whatever we’re eating. He loves taking baths and watching his sister run around the house. He also loves his auntie who watches him while we’re working. He’s a super chill kid who doesn’t mind who is holding him, as long as he’s gotten food, rest, & a clean diaper.

Praises:

• We praise God for helping us over the last 4 years of marriage, and 3 years of being parents. The Lord has been so patient with us, and has blessed us with a great team of people to come along side us and help encourage us along the way.
• We praise God for the things he is doing in the Mbutfu Community as we prepare to open the Community Centre in God’s great timing.
• We praise God that Hannah's parents are coming to visit for Christmas 😀🎄🎄

Prayer Requests:

• Pray that God would continue to help our family as we navigate life as a family of four, jobs, and ministry. 
• Pray for us in these early days of beginning the Mbutfu Community Centre - that God would give us lots of wisdom in all the areas it's needed. 
• Also pray for the two young men who have been living with us, Skuta & Clive. Pray that God would help them to grow deep in Him, and provide a way forward for their lives that is healthy & sustainable.

If you're interested in getting our newsletter that focuses on Community Centre updates, then just send us your email address and we'll add you to our list. 

Thanks for reading, 

Hannah

We love to take walks together!

At a harvest party - Simo's a Dalmatian & her friend is Rapunzel 

Watching daddy play soccer with her friends

This is more like how she "watches" soccer

These are the two young men who have been living with us. Skuta (left side of pic)  has stayed with us since Christmas last year, and Clive (ride side) has been staying with us since August this year. 

“O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.”- Isaiah 25:1 NLT

Enjoying Each Season

We're heading to America today! We're extremely excited for this opportunity! We are going to spend 3 weeks in California, and 5 weeks in Indiana. Our plan is to continue building up partners in the journey of starting the Mbutfu Community Center, and to get a chance to visit with family and friends! We're excited for this great opportunity, and we want to make the most of it!

This has been a unique season of life. I’ve been on leave from my job at Project Canaan since the end of December, and this season of being a stay at home mom has been a sweet and challenging one at the same time. I'm learning more and more the significance of Paul’s words in
Philippians 4: 6-9:

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

One of the things that recently stood out to me about this passage is that we are encouraged not to worry, but to pray about everything... and then it shows us what to replace our worrying thoughts with: things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and excellent. It encourages me to know that God knows me, and he knows the best place for me to fix my thoughts too. I want to make sure that I'm making the most of each season that the Lord has put me in!

We also see that God has blessed us immensely in this season. We are so grateful for the gift that God gave to us - salvation through Jesus Christ, which we are specifically reminded of in this Easter season. We also praise God for the precious children He has given us. We feel so honored and thankful for the family God has given us. We're also incredibly thankful for this journey of starting the Community Center and the partnerships and supporters God has provided for us already! Indeed the Lord Jehovah Jireh, our Provider! 

How about you? What season are you meant to be making the most out of right now? 

Praises: 

- We praise God for our family
- We praise God for the opportunity to travel to the US, and for the chances we will get to speak at churches and with individuals about the Community Center.

- We praise God for the chance to visit with family! It's been two years since I've seen my brothers and their families! 

Prayer Requests: 

- Pray for us as we travel with two littles

- Pray that God would provide us with the right partnerships to help build the Community Center for His glory

- Pray that we'd make the most out of each season that God's given to us! 

Speaking of seasons, here's some pics of this latest precious season of our lives:

Recently we got to take a family weekend away to the beach in South Africa

A cool nap tent that has been useful in lots of different ways! 

Mom and Dad left at the end of March.
It was a sweet season of being together in Eswatini!

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1