Tutoring, Cows, Love, and Much More

I’m now in my 6th month of Global Leadership Academy here in Swaziland, Africa as I prepare for ministry full-time in Zimbabwe. God definitely put this internship along my path in order to do a deep work within me so I can be as prepared as possible for the journey ahead of me. I’m absolutely certain of this. I’ve had the time and solitude needed to examine areas in my walk with the Lord that need to be strengthened. What God has been showing me most of all is his great desire to be loved above all else. To put it simply, God just wants my love over everything else in this world. And He wants my love by showing complete surrender, absolute trust, faith, and obedience. And to be planted firm in these things God has to make us walk through them. It’s the only way He can truly teach us. And that’s what He’s been doing for me. And as painful as it may be sometimes, I’m so eternally grateful to Him because I know I’m being strengthened for what lies ahead. This internship is a blessing; I see God’s hand all over it.

My room in my rondavel at GLA campus has one of the best views. It looks out to surrounding mountains, a beautiful lake, and cattle grazing. One night I couldn’t quite get to sleep because there was a cow that just kept mooing. It just wouldn’t stop. I asked my roommate Goodness if she heard it and why it was being so loud. She laughed and said that the mother cow was mooing because she had lost her calf and was trying desperately to find it. I know absolutely nothing about livestock but living in Africa has me learning all kinds of new things. When the mother cow would moo then you could hear faintly in the distance the calf mooing back. The calf and mother cow did this all night and into the morning. The mother cow was in such distress because she couldn’t locate where the calf was. Later in the morning the mooing stopped and I believe she found her calf. Why I’m telling you all of this is because it got me thinking about God’s love for us. Just like the mother cow, God won’t stop calling us until we are all found. He doesn’t want any of us lost. I was brought to tears as these cows searched for each other. My roommate probably thought I was crazy crying over these cows but I was learning a much deeper lesson in all of it.

The past few months I’ve had the great opportunity to tutor with a 10 year old boy named Bongiswa at the I Am Not Forgotten Home next to GLA. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon a group of us interns go over to help some of the kids with their homework. I’m not quite sure how it happened but a few weeks into it Bongiswa asked me to help him. So we’ve been practicing spelling in English, writing skills, and math. It’s a good thing I’m helping a 10 year old because math was never my best, lol! Several weeks after tutoring Bongiswa I got interested in what his story was. Why was he at the I Am Not Forgotten Home? So I started asking him questions. Bongiswa is very quiet and sweet. But he talks when you ask him things. I asked him how many brothers and sisters he has and he told me 11! I was shocked! He started laughing. That’s a lot of siblings. He said he has 6 brothers and 5 sisters. I then asked him if he had parents and he said that he has a father. I didn’t ask him more about his family because I didn't want to bring up any hurt feelings. But I did speak with Thombie, the house mom, and she said that Bongiswa's dad had 12 children from 12 different women and that Bongiswa's mother passed away and then his father didn't want to take care of him anymore. It always breaks my heart to hear this but I know that Bongiswa has a loving home now with Thombie and the other kids. Some things I learned about Bongiswa: he is super smart, his favorite thing to do is read, he likes playing soccer, and his favorite colors are yellow, green, and white. I know this boy has such a bright future ahead of him. He's very well-mannered and smart. He's been a joy to be around.

I want to also share with you how your support money has been helping while I'm in Swaziland. You are such a blessing to many people both in Swaziland and Zimbabwe!

- With your financial help you are providing me with the preparation I need for full-time ministry in Zimbabwe. Global Leadership Academy is just the place for this.

-We have been able to help some of the young girls at Healing Place Church in Mbabane go to youth camp this summer.

-We have been able to bless the interns considerably by getting them a birthday gift when it's their birthday. This may not seem like a big deal but it definitely is. Most of the interns have never recieved a birthday present in their whole life. It's been a joy seeing them so happy and excited on their special day.

-We have been able to buy some clothing and special gifts for Sibonelo and Bongiswa.

-We have been able to pay school fees for the boy I met in Zimbabwe in December named Talent.

I want to thank you for your continued prayer and financial support. I couldn't do it without you and I'm very thankful!

Until my next post :)

Be Blessed!
Shannon


To Donate Online:
http://www.worldoutreach.org/ Click Donate and Select my Name, USA and International Cards Accepted


Or Mail Checks to:
World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

Meet Sibonelo

Meet Sibonelo. This precious little girl has stolen my heart with her affection and her sweet smile. From the first day I went to Children's Cup carepoint Mbekelweni, she hasn't let go of my hand. I carry her in my arms just about every minute, give her piggyback rides, and I look into her beautiful face as she falls asleep in my lap. Sibonelo is 3 years old and her love is contagious. I recently started asking the teachers at the carepoint more about this little girl and her story is one I just had to share.

Sibonelo is part of the "I Am Not Forgotten Home" in Mbekelweni; which is right next door to GLA campus. "I Am Not Forgotten" started in 2008 when a teacher at one of the carepoints named Mage Peggi started taking children home that had nowhere to go. She cared day after day for the orphans in her community and the amount of children she cared for kept growing and growing. The idea for orphanage homes branched out from this because her home started to not be big enough to hold all of them. God moved in the heart of a generous donor in the USA who visited Swaziland and the "I Am Not Forgotten" homes (3 in total so far) were able to be built. The Mbekeweni home was built 1 1/2 years ago and Mage Ntombie is now the caregiver at the home for 9 children ranging in ages from 3-15 years old. Ntombie has an incredible heart and is now a mother to the motherless.

When sitting down with Ntombie to find out about Sibonelo's story I could tell I was about to hear a heart-wrenching story but I had to know. Sibonelo was found as an infant at her step-grandmother's house sitting in the soil filthy and crying. She had nothing to eat so she was eating the dirt to stay alive. Sibonelo is a double orphan. Her parents abandoned her and Ntombie believes at least one of them is deceased. She was left in the care of her step go-go (grandmother) but unfortunately her step go-go didn't care about her. Sibonelo is one of the thousands of children in Swaziland that is HIV positive. Because of this, her relatives discarded her. When Children's Cup found her they took her to the hospital and she was nursed back to life and got her the medicine she needs to survive. Not only did they save her life, but they brought love back into her life. The love of Jesus. Today Sibonelo is full of life, a bundle of joy to be around! She no longer has to look for something to eat. Everyday she can come to Mbekelweni carepoint for rice and beans or porridge. At home she gets to eat eggs and bread for breakfast. I'm told she loves to be carried (I know this firsthand!), she loves sweeping the yard, playing marbles, and playing with toys and dolls.

Sibonelo has brought joy into my life. I'm blessed that I get to love on her each week. She has also really humbled me. There are so many days during the internship that my selfishness takes over; when all I want are the luxuries of the USA (things like going to the movies, going out for sushi, going thru McDonald's drive-thru, you get the jist) and then it hits me and I'm brought to tears. I remember Sibonelo, I remember the children I play with each day and how little they have compared to so many. And I pray to God that He will forgive me of my selfishness, that the joy that these little ones around me have will come into my heart and envelop me, that I can humbly be Jesus' hands and feet everyday. It's a hard thing to die to your flesh but I'm learning so much from the children around me.

I'm blessed and thankful that God has brought me here to Africa. There truly is no other place I'd rather be.

-Shannon


Donation Details

Online: http://www.worldoutreach.org Click Donate and Select my Name, USA and International Cards Accepted

Or Mail Checks to: World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

Swaziland!! GLA Happiness :)

Sawubona! (Hello in SiSwati),

Greetings from the Kingdom of Swaziland! I've now officially been in Global Leadership Academy (GLA) for 1 month! It's a great feeling and I can say that I'm very blessed. I now have a family of 21 other interns and 10 GLA staff leaders; a mix of Swazis, Congolese, Tanzanians, Zimbabweans, and ME, the one and only American intern. I'm being immersed into African culture and it's preparing me well for my ministry work that lies ahead in Zimbabwe. I can see this very clearly and I'm thankful that God is putting me through this process, as hard as it may be. The days are long and the work is hard but I will gladly do it for the Lord :)

So what is Global Leadership Academy like? It's challenging but REWARDING. For the next 10 months I will be intensely studying the Bible and what it means to be a Godly leader, I will be communicating and living with Africans every day, I will be serving in every and any capacity for the Lord at Healing Place Church Swaziland and at Children's Cup carepoints with the children. I will be part of Kitchen Krew at the campus, working in the garden, helping tutor children at the "I am Not Forgotten House", doing hospital ministry, helping lead Scripture Union and Morning Assembly at a high school near our campus, leading worship at HPC's youth called 412, helping with Kids Power Camps and HPC children's ministry called KFC (not the chicken but Kids for Christ!), and the list goes on and on..... sounds busy huh? Well it certainly is!

I've been blessed with a wonderful roommate named Goodness (see picture above). Goodness is a Swazi and she's around my age. We get along great! I'm having so much fun learning SiSwati phrases and learning SiSwati and Shona songs. I actually got to lead my first Shona song this past Friday night at HPC 412 youth. I loved being able to usher people into God's presence through worship and I was told I sounded like a true African when singing it :) Coming up I will be spending more and more time helping HPC's children's ministry and working with the children at the carepoints. I simply can't wait because as you all know Children's Ministry is my passion and my calling. I'm looking forward to the day I'm in Zimbabwe full-time helping lead Celebration Kids Ministry. I know in my heart that all of this preparation is going to be SO valuable to that ministry.

I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank all of my financial and prayer partners. I simply could not be here without you and I'm forever grateful. Your giving is changing the lives of African children; they are being VALUED, LOVED, and EMPOWERED, and most of all they are learning the love of Jesus.

As I proceed with GLA I'm asking for prayers in the following areas:

-That God would continue to do a work in all of us interns; that God would keep stretching and molding us into the Godly men and women He has called us to be.

-For physical, mental, and spiritual strength as I go through GLA.

-For peace when I'm missing friends and family in both USA and Zimbabwe.

-For my next steps into Zimbabwe full-time.

-And for my ministry financial support. I'm still in need of more monthly supporters.

God Bless!
Shannon


Donation Details:

Online: http://www.worldoutreach.org Click Donate and Select My Name. USA and International Cards Accepted.

Or Mail Checks to: World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

KidZ Ministry Equipping Conference Uganda 2012

What a great 2 weeks it's been! I just got back into Zimbabwe from trips to South Africa and Uganda where I partnered with KidZ At Heart International to train children's workers. I was very blessed to spend time with Charlotte Moore of KidZ At Heart and her sweet 4 year old daughter Ruthie in Johannesburg the first week of my trip. We spent some time seeing the sights (Nelson Mandela's house in Soweto and petting lion cubs at a lion park) and then I got to meet with some of the South African KidZ at Heart trainers. It was a precious time for me.

From Johannesburg I traveled to Kampala, Uganda to meet up with the KidZ At Heart team of 5 from the USA, Canada, and Zimbabwe. We were hosted by Micah and Grace Rwothumio of University Community Fellowship Church for 9 days. We spent a whole week putting on training workshops from 9 am-1 pm at the church for the children's workers of Kampala and surrounding areas. What an amazing time it was! I thoroughly enjoyed leading the 60+ attendees in workshops that will make their children's ministry more effective. The people of Uganda were so very grateful and some of the nicest people I have ever met. They have a hunger to learn and to serve. On the last day of the workshops the teachers brought kids from their community and did lessons based on all they had learned that week. How sweet it was seeing them applying all they had learned!

During the conference I met a very special girl named Vicky. You know how there are some people you meet that you just automatically connect with? Well, that's how it was for me and Vicky. I met her on the first day of the training. She was immediately friendly and we built a friendship from the start. Vicky just graduated high-school and leads the children's ministry at her church in Kampala. She has attended KidZ at Heart workshops in the past and is very talented when working with children. It just makes my heart smile to think about her future because I know she is going to do great things for God's kingdom. I'm SO very blessed to have her as a new friend!

Here are a few tidbits that I learned while in Uganda:

• Uganda is very different than Zimbabwe!


• Traffic in Kampala is some of the craziest I've seen.


• They have a deep red dirt all over the country.


• They have the best bananas and they make MANY different dishes with bananas.


• The people are some of the friendliest I've ever met.


• Speed bumps are on a whole other level in Kampala!


• The source of the Nile River is in Uganda (I got to take a boat ride on the Nile!).


• Uganda landscape is rolling hills and lush.


• There is actually a rainforest in Uganda (I got to go to this also).


• They have boda-bodas everywhere, which are motorcycle taxis.

On our last day in Uganda I got to visit one of Watoto's villages and their baby home which was a real treat. This is a home for abandoned babies. Watoto is doing an incredible job helping the children of Uganda.

In just 2 days I leave to go to Swaziland to start the Global Leadership Academy. I have a nervous excitement for what lies ahead!

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

God Bless,

-Shannon

Donation Details:

Online: http://www.worldoutreach.org Click Donate and Select My Name. USA and International Cards Accepted.

Or Mail Checks to: World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

A boy named Talent

I'm meeting so many wonderful children here in Zimbabwe. A few weeks ago I went with Auntie Feli to an impoverished area on the outskirts of Bulawayo. Auntie Feli helps sponsor a little girl there and she wanted me to come and meet these precious children. A special lady named Auntie Jane has really helped these kids by helping them to stay in their community even though they are all orphans. The grandparents and widows of the community have taken these kids under their wings to provide for them so they don't have to be separated from their friends and neighbors. We arrived in the afternoon to 30 expectant children excited about their Christmas party! It's very customary for the children to sing songs once you arrive and that's what they did :)

Something about this particular area and kids party really tugged on my heart. The majority of these children have HIV Aids. They have hardly anything, not even clean clothes. This party was a MAJOR blessing for them. It would be the only Christmas meal they would get (chicken and rice) and the only Christmas gifts they would get. Thinking about it breaks my heart. The kids even prepared a drama skit for us. This skit really informed me of the reality of their lives. The skit was about a young couple with a young teenage daughter. They dramatized about the young daughter being sold by her parents to a man that ended up abusing her and having HIV Aids. I was crying by the end of it because it hit me that THIS is what so many of the children here deal with.

I also met an 11 yr old boy named Talent. Something about this young boy just really spoke to my spirit. His smile was contagious and I could tell that there was something different about him. I asked Auntie Jane to tell me more about him and I found out that he was born with polio, that he's an only child that lives with his elderly grandparents, and that he also has some mental handicap issues. In my heart I knew I was meant to help sponsor Talent. At first Talent was a bit unsure about the attention I was giving him. I'm sure he was thinking "Who is this strange American woman that keeps taking pictures of me?" lol!! He warmed up to me and by the end when I was leaving he gave me a huge hug goodbye, he was SO happy! He couldn't wait to go home and show his grandparents all the goodies he got at the party.

All of the kids were very excited and happy and blessed that day. But I left even more blessed because I went and I met these wonderful children who had so much love to offer. I can't wait to go back again and again to visit with these kids and to see Talent again.

Praying you have a blessed New Year!

-Shannon

Donation Details:

Online Donations: http://www.worldoutreach.org/ Click Donate and Select my Name, International and USA cards accepted

Or Mail Checks to: World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn Fund Code #91)

Michelle

Salibonani! (Hello in Ndebele)

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas from Zimbabwe!!

It's been a great few weeks here full of Kids Christmas parties, Kids Christmas Carols, and church services. After visiting our church campus Masvingo, we also held Kids Christmas parties at 3 other locations: Simbomvu, How Mine, and Newmansford. Between all of those, we reached close to 1000 children! It was such a joy for everyone involved. I personally loved being able to teach the children many kids songs with dance motions :) And I can't wait to share more with them in Celebration Kids. I also heard that Pastor Dixon brought a powerful word in Jacksonville and over 600 kids from Zimbabwe are now sponsored through Mission of Mercy. Go God!!!

I wanted to share with you also about a girl named Michelle that really touched my heart. On Saturday evenings we always have church service at our How Mine campus. How Mine is a gold mining community we minister to. How Mine is an impoverished area where there is much oppression. The kids there crave love every chance they can get. This past Saturday I arrived early to help set-up and in walks this precious little girl who I later discovered is named Michelle. You see, she was very shy. But she immediately clung to me throughout the whole night. She came straight for me, stood beside me and held my hand. She looked at me from time to time and just smiled. I would ask her questions but she was either too shy to answer or didn't speak good English. I taught her how to play patty cake with her hands, she loved that! The littlest of things made her smile. When we did worship, she looked at me and followed my every dance move. Then after the service she came to find me straight away. You see, I didn't do much, all I did was show her attention and love and told her that Jesus loves her. But this meant the world to her.

There are so many "Michelles" out there that just need love. They need the love of Jesus. They need to feel valued and appreciated. If I can simply hold the hand of a child in need and tell them they are loved and that Jesus loves them then I feel I am doing what God has called me to do.

Will you pray about making a difference in the life of an African child? Your prayers and financial giving allow me to minister to children daily.

I am very blessed by my family, friends, and support team. I love you all!

Blessings in Christ,

Shannon

Donation Details:

Online Donations: http://worldoutreach.org/ Click Donate and Select My Name, USA and International Cards Accepted

Or Mail Checks to: World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

Masvingo!!!

I'm SO in love with Africa! It's so beautiful here, the countryside is beautiful, the people are beautiful, I feel at home here. I'm settling in well so far here in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. My Celebration Zimbabwe family is taking good care of me. On Wednesday we welcomed a team from Life Church of Omaha, Nebraska that traveled here with Dan Ohlerking of Children's Cup. The team of 15 is an awesome bunch and so super excited to be working with the kids! And we are so happy to have them here!

On Thursday we traveled to our Masvingo church campus (about 4 hours away by bus) to kick off the Kids Christmas parties. I love Masvingo! It's been 2-3 years since I was last there and it was so great to be back there with Ps Samson and the children. We held 2 Christmas parties for the children at 2 different schools, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Wow, what fun!!!! At the 2 parties we had about 675 children! Go God!! The parties were divided into different stations of the kids to rotate to. We has face-painting station (Linda, you would have been awesome here doing that!!), sack-race station, soccer station, water-slide station, dance station (that's where I was all day!), Nativity drama station, memory-verse station, and bouncy house station. These African children were SO happy and seeing there smiles was just priceless. All the kids want to give you high-fives and get their picture taken. It just brings me such joy. I feel extremely blessed to be here with the children. They mean SO much to me.

Like I said I was at the dance station all day. I must have danced for 6 hrs straight! Everyone kept saying "Where do you get the energy Shannon?", and I say it's all from God! These kids can seriously dance, I mean seriously dance! I learned some African dances and then I got the opportunity to teach the kids 2 songs with dance motions that I know. I taught them Hillsong's "Take it All" and "Mighty to Save". They are such good learners. They have such excitement for dancing and singing, I love it! Hearing them shout "Take Take Take it All" at the top of their lungs I know just makes God smile so much. And it makes my heart smile everytime I think about it. It's their new favorite song now. I even heard some of the children afterwards walking around saying "Take Take Take it All!".

It's all about Jesus. That's why we do this. The kids have fun at all the different game stations but teaching them the love of Jesus is the most important thing. After the game stations we brought all the kids together for a lesson about the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. Then all the children got presents (jumpropes and bracelets for the girls, and bouncy balls and balloons for the boys), and they then got to eat a wonderful meal of chicken, rice, and cabbage. This means so much to them. The children here will be talking about this for days!

When the day was over my feet hurt, my body was exhausted but it didn't matter. It was all worth it for the children and for Jesus! It brings me such joy! I spent the 4 hr ride home happy in my heart and ready to go back again and again.

Tonite is Ignite youth rally and tomorrow is another 2 Christmas parties for the children at Sibomvu and How Mine. So excited!!

Be Blessed!

Shannon

Donation Details:

Online Donations: http://www.worldoutreach.org/ Click Donate and Select My Name, USA & International Cards Accepted

Or Mail Checks to: World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)