Be Strong

"So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. " 1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT As we continue to live in this new environment of the virus, let us remember we are covered by the Lord Jesus Christ. And His work must go on. The text that you just read is encouraging us to stand firm let nothing move us from our foundation of our faith. We are to excel (go the second mile) in our service for the Lord. As our world is changing let us continue steadfast in our faith that God has not and does not change therefore His word does not change. "The Great Commission" that was given to us all as Christian's has not changed, may be more important now than any other time in history. We may all need to understand that the work we need to do should be done today not put off until tomorrow, the Bible says that we do not know what tomorrow brings even if there is a tomorrow. I am finally back home in Eswatini / Swaziland. My journey was good. Beginning to get things up and going again. The first thing was to get my cell up and running again, then to get "little O" in to see the Neurologist. This is the 5-year-old boy of our head teacher at our Little Lambs preschool. He fell from a tree a month ago receiving a depressed skull fracture. God was certainly with him, this was a severe injury, none of the regular doctors really knew nothing about how to help this child. Meds. for pain and some vitamins. Diane had been posting for weeks on social media the situation and need for proper medical intervention. Prayers were going up from many churches and individuals. It was not looking good at this point, but God was in control in all of this. Just a week before I returned one of our Swazi friends (Nomtebo) happen to notice the FB post and reached out to Diane, about the same time another one of our friends and ministry partners The Rocking Horse Project Rachel, also contacted Diane, although both these ladies know each other and even minister together they did not know they had both contacted Diane. Nomtebo was able to communicate perfectly with the Mother of "O" and Rachel through her connections was able to arrange an appointment with a Taiwanese Neurosurgeon. I was able to get them to the hospital for the appointment. To make this long story short, the doctor said that due to the amount of time that had elapsed since the injury, that basically the child's brain/skull fracture had healed on its own. We know that it did not heal on its own, but the Great Physician had been at work. Although there is still a slight depression in the skull no further treatment was advised. As we felt out of control during all this God was fully in control. Praises to God and thank you all that were continually praying for little “O". Our preschools are open and the and our feeding ministry is fully back up and running. As time goes on, we will be able to get the ministry back up and going. Eswatini-Swaziland like other countries has been severely affected by the virus, but all in all things are beginning to improve as time goes own, still many restrictions due to covid but we are managing. Diane will be joining me in three weeks, yippee!! Please pray for her very safe travels. Thank you all, our donors and prayer warriors during these times. Through it all God is in it and continues to bless us all. To Him we give all the praise and thankfulness. Love in Christ, Don & Diane

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !!!

Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, Jesus Christ the Lord. Luke 2:v11. What a year we have had, world pandemic, civil unrest the election mess and so much more. But in it all and through it all God has been faithful. Diane and I on the advice of our Embassy in Eswatini (Swaziland) returned to the states in late March. With so many questions all we could do in trust God, and as always, He began to lead us in how we could best continue the ministry in Africa. Although the Swazi government completely shut the country down the children and Swazi people had needs, one that impacted them most at the time was lack of food. Eswatini depends almost entirely on imports of goods, food being the primary import. With the closing of South Africa and the Swazi boarders nothing was coming into the country. With God’s lead and the help of other ministries there we were able to continue the feeding ministry. And of course, with our dedicated Swazi volunteers the children did not miss a meal, To God be the glory! (see pictures below) We have been in contact with our primary Swazi volunteer (Make Dlamini) during this time doing the best we could from afar. All in all, things are going well We are praying that in the New Year we will be able to return to full ministry, opening back up our preschools, hospice care partnership, the disabled ministry as well as the hospital ministry. Even though covid 19 is spiking in many areas Eswatini is also seeing a spike however we feel strongly it is time for Diane and I to return home and to the ministry God has given us. Of course, we will take all necessary precautions but most of all trusting God to cover us. Things remain fluid however our plans is to return to Eswatini January 16, 2021. Even though this has been a challenging year you our donors have remained so very faithful in your giving, it is beyond words to express how grateful we are. We know that you will, but we ask that you continue to pray for us and the ministry as we enter into another season and year. God Bless you all. Love in Christ, Donald and Diane

Hello 2020

Wow what 2020 has brought thus far, great floods in Europe, Australian bush fires, Floods and Landslides in Jakarta and Indonesia, Largest Earthquake in a century hit the Puerto Rican Island, Locusts swarm East Africa, Mass shootings in Germany and Thailand, Plane crashes, Volcano eruptions and the World Health concern with the Coronavirus, These are just a few bad things that has happened world wide in just Ten Weeks of the New Year. With all these things going on around us one could become discouraged, and this is a normal reaction. However let us be reminded as Christians, The Bible says; Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. Isaiah 51:11 KJV If we focus on the things going on around us we can become discouraged however we as Christians need to focus on God and His many promises , one being that a day is coming that He will Reign supreme and ALL His people will come singing and rejoicing with an Everlasting JOY! With all the “Bad News” let us continue sharing the “The Good News” of Jesus Christ. God is still on His throne and in His time will make ALL things Good. His blessings are faithful. God has continued to bless us and the ministry. The preschools have registered approximately 74 children. I say approximately because each week some come, and some go so this is an average number. We added on more feeding site and now able to provide a daily nutritious meal for the children at all our preschools. Bible Club continues to be a blessing as we begin a series called “Who is God?” We have been able to provide school uniforms to children who cannot afford them. With the donation from one of you members we were able to provide 30 Bibles to a local Swazi Church. We will soon be providing more BGR buckets to help Hospice patients. We will begin installing the wire, light fixtures and outlets at Sibusisweni Baptist Church. This will be a blessing that they will have electricity in the church. We are praying that our Grandson Brett will be able to join us again this summer for him to help us with teaching and ministry. Please be in prayer for his fund raising. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Love in Christ, Don & Diane

God's Faithfulness

Therefore, know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; Deuteronomy 7:9 NKJV As I sit here writing reflecting on this year 2019, remembering how time and time again God has shown His faithfulness it is almost overwhelming. This past year God has blessed us and the ministry beyond anything we could have imagined. God has grown the ministry and us personally in so many ways. He has blessed us beyond words, yes, we have had our ups and downs but through it all God has been faithful. We were able to dedicate the church building on 13 October, the building was packed, we had to add chairs all the way to the alter, people were standing filling the door ways, all the windows were people traying to listen, it was an amazing time of praise and worship. Our pre schools have been very productive, we held graduations the week of November 20-23, a total of 37 will be moving into the first grade. This year the children graduated with bright purple and gold caps and gowns, they were so excited, and we want to thank Angier Baptist Daycare for donating them. Relationships have grown with the communities in which we minister, we continue to have a great relationship with the government. An example is the community of Nsangweni on request of the community leaders the government granted them the funds to build a new community center. This has resulted in the building that Lil’ LAMBS preschool is occupying will now be solely used just for the preschool. Favor upon favor, as I have already stated God has blessed in so many ways that there are no words, all we can say is Thanks be to God how great is His faithfulness! Diane and I are also very grateful to you our supporters, for the prayers, encouragement, those that came over to help personally, for the financial support. God works through His people, Thank you for your faithfulness.

Everlasting Love :

“For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39) KJV To be sure our moods change, our emotions fluctuate, life is hard from time to time, but one thing for sure is that God has perfect love for us that never changes, no mater what life may throw at us God is always present and works things out for our good. The last several weeks have been very busy for us. Team visit, construction on the church and new ministry opportunities along with our “normal” ministries. God has shown His faithfulness through it all. The church building has been completed and last Sunday the first service was held, the community is amazed at what God has done in just a short time. More times than not it takes months and for the church years to complete a building project, but this project was completed in record time. Thanks to the help of Mark that came over and helped. With only a few bumps and minor bruises everything went well. Pray for this church , Sibusisweni Baptist Church ( Place Of Blessings) that God will do mighty things. A couple of our friends from Wisconsin, Patty and Bernie were here once again, they come every year On their own to give blankets and minister in any way they can, and we always have a few days together. This year as we were distributing some of the blankets, we meet a group DCOS – Disability Care Organization of Swaziland they are involved in helping the disabled. They have identified 0ver 1,400 emawati (Swazi) people that need specialty care out of those 1,400 530 are totally bedridden and require total care. The Director, Makee Mary Mbamali that has a disability herself has a heart for these folks and the need is overwhelming at times due to the lack of resources. We were inspired and felt the need to help this group in what ever way we can. One of those ways is to provide them with the BGR buckets. The supplies that are in the buckets will help care for those that are bedridden and as always, we give a Bible in the siSwati language along with the buckets. They also help train the disabled in learning a skill that will help them be somewhat independent, these include sewing, plumbing, fence making and electrical. If you would like to help in this area of our ministry you can give towards the purchase of fabric for the sewing, rolled wire for the fence making. Our Grandson Brett has once again able to come over during his summer break and help us minister, he has been a blessing not only to the Swazi people but us as well. We are humbled that God allows Diane and I to share His love in whatever ways He allows. Thank you for your financial support and prayers, it is what allows us to reach out to the children and people of Eswatini (Swaziland). It is an incredible opportunity and responsibility, to God be the glory.

Happy Easter !!

“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come see the place where the Lord lay”. Matthew 28-6. NKJV Diane and I have had the great privilege of seeing “The place where the Lord lay”. It is indeed an empty tomb! As we celebrate Our risen savior let us all be reminded of the great price that was paid for our sins, the cross (death) was the penalty the resurrection (Empty tomb) is the victory. We would like to give a big thank you to Mid-way Baptist, Raleigh, NC for allowing Diane and I to stay in the Jeremy house during our furlough. You just don’t know what a blessing it is to missionaries. We were so blessed. We would like to extend our prayers and love to Mid-way for the loss of their beloved PASTOR, our prayers for the entire church family and Pastor Staubs and family as he takes the reigns. After returning to Eswatini (Swaziland) from our short but very blessed furlough we literally hit the ground running. All the kids and adults were eagerly awaiting the start of bible clubs and adult discipleship classes to continue. We will be talking with the children who accepted Christ before we left and there will soon be a baptism before the weather gets cold. We were blessed to receive many donations during our time in the states, clothing, socks, money. The money we raised will be to build a church building for one of our ministry partners’ this is a location we have one of our preschools, bible clubs and adult studies. The “church” has struggled over the last three years to build a building. Praise the Lord God provided the funds not only for the building but donations to purchase chairs for the church, at this time they sit on dilapidated benches. Thank you to everyone who donated !! One of the Deacons (Mark) from Piney Grove is coming to oversee this project, we are so very blessed and thankful to Mark for taking time from his work and come over to help. We have been busy buying, delivering the materials for the building. May 10 we will begin construction. Diane’s bible clubs continue to grow, she had to have three clubs in one afternoon because of the number of children that wanted to come. The adult study is going well, the adults are really growing in the the Lord. Our three preschools are doing wonderful, we have 20-25 children enrolled at each one. We have purchased P-K small books for them to work with. God Is Good!! As the weather will be getting cooler at night, we have been giving out the socks and will start giving blankets this week starting at the hospital in the Pediatric ward. If you would like to know more about a visit to us please do not hesitate to contact us, individually or as a group. Diane.rambeaut.page@gmail.com we would love for you to come work with us and see first hand what God is doing through Second Mile Ministries. Love in Christ, Don & Diane Page

Happy New Year

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 ESV As we look back on 2018, we can say assuredly God did meet All our needs, as we look forward to this new year, we now that God will once again meet All our needs. 2018 was a very busy year for the ministry. New preschools, new feeding sites, new construction, new ministry partnerships with all this growth, needing to add another ministry vehicle. We were blessed with several short-term mission teams that were able to come over and work with us, one being our “home folks” from Piney Grove. Teams do involve more work for us as we prepare for their arrival but is it so very worth it, not only are they such a blessing to us but the Swazi people as well. None of this would have been possible, of course without the blessings of God, but also you our partners in the ministry. Those that prayed for us, gave even some sacrificially, and came to help. Diane and I thank God for each one of you. As we look to this new year we already have new construction planned at one of our partner preschools, we will be building a cook station/ kitchen and providing the fortified rice for the children to have a healthy meal. We are also trusting God to provide the funding needed to build a church building for a local Swazi church. This is also one of our local partners we help with preschool and provide the food for feeding the children. The church started to build (mud, stick and stone) however before they were able to complete it a storm came through and destroyed it. That was over three years ago. We have already booked one short term team and looking forward in booking more. Pray about the possibility of coming over to help and see firsthand what God is doing through your support. Just as we trusted God with 2018, we are also trusting Him in 2019. We are currently state side until February 28. This Christmas was the first in several we were able to be back with family. We are Blessed beyond words. FYI; we will be in the states until March 1, 2019. This is our first official furlough in 8 years and Christmas with family. If any one would like for Diane and I to speak to your Church of Sunday School to share what God is doing through Second Mile Ministries (Swaziland) we would be honored to come and share. Please contact us via email or facebook. Phone: Don: +268 7853 2610 Diane +268 7818 1104 Love in Christ, Don & Diane Page Please