Dear Friends and Family,

Below is a story about how God answers prayers. Nellie, one of our Children??s Cup staff has been watching and praying for twins from one of our CarePoints for over 4 years …. here is what happens when people pray …. God listens, then at the perfect time, he acts!!!

Let me introduce you to Alex and Alexinah, (in the photo above) a set of seven year old twins that would frequent one of Children’s Cup CarePoints for food. Nellie, one of our Children’s Cup staff, (in the photo above) recalls over 4 years ago when they were just 3 years old, how the children would come to the CarePoint early in the morning for food. She remembers them laying flat on the ground on their stomachs, hungry and filthy.

Alex and Alexinah are double orphans which means both of their parents have died as a result of HIV/AIDS. They have been staying with their grandmother and grandfather. The people in the community would describe the grandmother as a “drunkard”. The grandfather does what he can to provide, but there is never enough and the children are the ones who suffer.

The past few months, their attendance at the CarePoint was sporadic, and this showed up physically; the kids were looking thin and unhealthy. Nellie investigated and found out that the kids were not coming to the CarePoint because they were at home doing work around the house like fetching firewood and water, cooking and doing other chores. Something had to be done so Nellie gave us a call to see if there was room in the “I Am Not Forgotten” orphan homes for Alex and Alexinah.

Over the last 2-3 months the Lord has worked in a miraculous way and Alex and Alexinah are now staying at our newest orphan home in Mbekelweni. They arrived last week, just in time to start school in their new community with their new “brothers and sisters”. When we visited them on Tuesday, they were completely different children. They were happy, laughing, running and filled with a sense of hope. For them at this age, a roof over their heads and 3 nutritious meals a day, is something they have never experienced before. They have a bed to sleep in and they have clothes to wear. They are filled with such joy and know they are loved! Before we left, we circled up, joined hands and prayed . . . . . when we were finished, I bent down to give Alexinah a hug and she gave me a huge kiss on my cheek… one I’ll never forget.

Above is a picture of Alexinah, Ntombie (their new “Mother”) and Alex.

We thank God for answering our prayers and providing a home for Alex and Alexinah. A place where they are loved and cared for. A home where they can grow up learning about the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done for them!

Blessings,

Randy and Karen Brennan
Missionaries in Swaziland, Africa

Luke 2:11 “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord!”

Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and realize why He humbled Himself and came to the earth. The fourfold ministry of Jesus Christ was revealed by the prophet Isaiah which says in Isaiah 61: 1-2;

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”
Jesus’s ministry was the preaching of the gospel to the poor the meek and afflicted.

“He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted”
While on the earth, Jesus ministered healing to those that were spiritually and physically sick and brokenhearted.

“To proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners”
Breaking the bonds of evil and proclaiming freedom from sin and satanic dominion.

“To proclaim the year of the Lord??s favor”
Opening the spiritual eyes of the lost that they might see the light of the gospel and be saved, by God’s favor and grace!

Praying for each of you this Christmas season…. That you have received the good news of the gospel that Jesus Christ brought. That the joy of your salvation will be experienced each and every day as you live your life for Him. May the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus!

To all of our family and friends, we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Love, Randy and Karen Brennan

Below is our latest update. We have made a few changes, we hope you enjoy.

December in Swaziland means the end of the school year. We share information about CarePoint graduation, International School of Ministry graduation, and Christmas Celebrations at the CarePoints.

Next update we will share with you what is happening at all 3 ??I Am Not Forgotten?? orphan homes.

Enjoy and be blessed!

With much love,
Randy and Karen

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings in Jesus’ name! Last month we shared with you what the Lord is doing through Peggy, one of our mothers at an “I Am Not Forgotten” home. This month we would like to share with you about our newest house and newest house Mom, Ntombie.

This new house was built this past spring and has been a safe haven for many children that needed care that they were not receiving at their homes or by their care givers. For some time, Ruth Dlamini was the “mother” to these beautiful little children, but she has since moved to South Africa at the Lord’s direction.

You may ask, where do you find a mother to mother children who are not her own? Only the Lord can do that!

As we prayed and asked the Lord for his direction on finding a new house Mom, we were also looking to see who the Lord had raised up to be a “mother” to these beautiful children. The answer was right in front of us at the Children’s Cup CarePoint where the children would eat Monday through Friday. Ntombie is one of the facilitators or teachers at the Mbeklweni CarePoint. She has been with Children’s Cup for years and has demonstrated her love for the Lord and her love for the children.

When we asked her if she would consider being the house mom, her fist response was let me pray about it and seek the Lord. Ntombie or “Pretty Girl” which is her nickname, came back to us with a huge “YES!”. Ntombie knows the love of a mother. In conversations with her, she said her mother is one of her best friends. Even to this day if she has questions, she will call her mother and ask for insight and wisdom.

We are praising the Lord for his faithfulness and direction. We are thrilled that in the midst of change, our God is a personal loving Father who is intimately involved in every decision in the lives of his children. Psalm 23:1-3 is a beautiful expression of our Father’s love. It reads, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

Ntombie with Sibonelo

Above is a picture of Ntombie with Sibonelo who is full of smiles in her mommy’s arms. After Ntombie’s first week as “mother” , Tjengisile (pictured below) one of the older girls asked, “Can she be our mother forever?”

Tjengisile

Please pray with us for Ntombie, that the Lord will give her strength, wisdom, and that the Lord will lead her and guide her in this new God given role as mother to these beautiful children!

Peace and Grace,

Randy and Karen Brennan
Missionaries in Swaziland, Africa

Psalm 68:5-6: A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families….

Dear Friends and Family,

Daily I am amazed as I watch the Lord perform amazing acts of compassion, loving kindness, patience and gentleness through His people, to help rescue those children that are left abandoned, neglected oppressed and abused. His Word says in Psalm 68:5-6 that “he sets the lonely in families….” where they are loved! And here is an example….

This last week Randy and I were at “Make Peggy’s” house. “Make,” pronounced “Mah-gay” in siSwati means “mother.” Peggy is one of three mothers at our “I Am Not Forgotten” homes. These homes are temporary shelters for kids who are in desperate situations such as life threatening, physical or emotional abuse, abandonment or neglect. Sometimes children come into the home for a short period of time and are able to go back to their families once the problem has been solved. Other times, the children come and stay for a long time. That’s the situation with Rose and her brother Fernando.

Rose and Fernando June 2008

Rose and Fernando June 2008

Rose and her brother Fernando, have been living with Peggy since June 2008. Their story is heart breaking, but very common in this country. Their mother passed away because of HIV and they were living with their father in a squatter camp in Mangwaneni, Manzini. They frequented the CarePoint for food and a safe place to play with their friends. One day we found out that their father went to South Africa to find a job and left them with a “grandmother” to care for them. She was not their biological grandmother and after a short period of time she started to physically abuse them. After that, the landlord started to care for them. He would lock them in their room at night and let them out in the morning. This was for their safety and protection because there were strangers coming around the village trying to take them to Mozambique. Once we heard what was going on, we went to the police and told them what was going on and we “received custody” of the children and they have been living with Peggy ever since.

Rose and Fernando June 2011

Rose June 2011

Fernando June 2011

I can’t even imagine where these two children would be if they were not living with Peggy today. The “I Am Not Forgotten” homes are a safe place, a Christ centered loving home and an answer to prayer! It is God’s heart being lived out in His church today. Rose and Fernando are loved on by Peggy and continue to grow in their knowledge of God. They are able to attend school and are doing exceptionally well. Most importantly though, they are receiving the love of Christ which changes lives.

The Word says in James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Thank you for your prayers and support. When you give financially, your money buys things like food, toiletries, bibles, clothes because the children are constantly growing, school shoes, backpacks… and the list goes on. This would not be possible without your help! Thank you again. We love you!

Peace and grace to you!
Randy and Karen Brennan

Psalm 68:4-6 “Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds– his name is the LORD– and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families….”

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope that everyone back in the United States is enjoying “summer vacation.” June, July and August is winter in Swaziland. Our weather is a bit cold, but the rains have stopped and the sun shines nearly every day.

We continue to be in awe of what the Lord is doing in the “Mpolonjeni” area. We continue to see the Lords favor on Pastor Mbongeni Ndlovukazi as the Lord is using him to facilitate unity in the body of Christ in the Mpolonjeni area. Seven pastors from various churches and denominations gather together on a regular basis to pray, encourage one another, build one another up and grow in the Lord together.

Evangelism

EVANGELISM: Recently, these seven cooperating churches joined together for community wide revivals focusing on “Growing Spiritually and How to Serve God Effectively”. Randy was privileged to preach at Bride of Christ Church during “revivals” week. He related the journey of the New Testament believer from spiritual birth to spiritual maturity, to the journey of the children of Israel. It was a challenging teaching that compares the children of Israel’s actual journey, and how we, as New Testament believers also are on a spiritual journey. We discussed the various signs posts or markers along the way that we can use to evaluate where we are in our journey, and to really know God by experience every step of the way.

Discipleship

DISCIPLESHIP: We are about to complete the first trimester of the International School of Ministry here in Swaziland. We just completed “Supernatural Living” with Dr. A.L. Gill, “New Testament Survey” with Dr. John Amstutz, and “Praise and Worship” with Dr. LaMar Boschman. We opened up the sessions to the worship teams from the participating churches and we had a great turn out. Many people were blessed and encouraged to learn more about how to live a life of worship before the Lord.

Testimonies from the students give witness to what the Lord is doing in the lives of the students. Saneliso says the following through a text that he sent after class last Saturday: “Shalom Randy, you know attending your classes and your teachings, I have realized contains the truths I need to begin experiencing a much greater manifestation of God’s power in my life. My faith is quickened, my heart encouraged and my eyes set on the person of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Saneliso.” Saneliso was a church attender for many years and got born again 4 months ago. The Scriptures are coming alive for him as the Holy Spirit ministers to him during class.

Another student Nelson, also sent a text to me after class: “I thank God for bringing you to my life and you extending an invitation to me to be part of the ISOM program. God bless you in all your endeavors.”

The International School of Ministry is indeed a blessing to many. Praise the Lord!

Mercy Ministry

MERCY MINISTRY: Recently one of our “I Am Not Forgotten” orphan homes was blessed with a lovely donation of handmade hats and booties. The timing was perfect because we are in the middle of winter. A big thank you to those whose hearts are filled with compassion for these lovely little ones that Mother Peggy cares for!

We continue to praise the Lord for the amazing things He is doing here in Swaziland. Thank you for your continued prayers. The Kingdom of Heaven continues to advance here in the Kingdom of Swaziland.

Grace and Peace to you,
Randy and Karen Brennan

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Swaziland! We want to wish you “Happy Memorial Day” just a little bit late. As the USA enters into summer, we are entering into winter which means an occasional frost at night (5 times already!) and daytime highs of 70-80F.

The Lord is doing amazing things here in Swaziland. We wanted to give you a quick update on “discipleship” through Bride of Christ Church, “mercy ministry” at “I Am Not Forgotten” orphan homes, and lastly, “evangelism and healing” at the Government Hospital.

DISCIPLESHIP: Over the past 4 years we have been working with Pastor Mbongeni Ndlovukasi at Bride of Christ Church. We have helped build the Church building, the orphan home on the same site, and have done outreach on an ongoing basis. The church has stabilized at about 120 on a Sunday. In the last six months Bride of Christ has started cooperating with six other churches in the area. The Pastors of these seven churches have been coming together under the banner of Jesus to advance the Kingdom of God in Mpolonjeni, Swaziland. This is the unity that Jesus himself prayed for in John 17:23, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me..” This is truly amazing that seven different churches would cooperate in a discipleship program! This is unheard of in Swaziland.

Discipleship

We introduced the ISOM (International School of Ministry) discipleship curriculum to the seven pastors and they loved it. They in turn identified people in their churches that would want to participate in the program. The Pastors also told other Pastors in the area and we now have 64 students, 15 of them are Pastors! We meet every Saturday from 9am to 1pm. The curriculum is from the International School of Ministry in California. It is a 5 trimester course of study that leads to a certificate in theology after 3 trimesters and a diploma in theology after 5 trimesters. We are very excited about what the Lord is doing through this school.

MERCY MINISTRY: Ruth Dlamini has just moved her household of 11 orphans into a beautiful new house. This was made possible by the generous donations of many people back in the USA. Each child is now able to share a bedroom with three others rather than having all 11 sleeping on the floor in one room. The bathroom is attached to the house rather than down a dirt path. The kitchen is attached as well rather than being in a separate structure.

Mercy Ministry

EVANGELISM AND HEALING: Last week we took a small team of American college kids into the Government Hospital to do ministry. We gave them our testimony about the healings that we have been seeing and they were really excited to see what the Lord was doing. There was a lady sitting in her bed and indicated that she wanted to receive the Lord. So we prayed with her and she received Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Then she said that she was paralyzed and wanted to walk. We asked her if she believed that Christ was willing and able to do it and she gave a good confession that “Yes He can and He is willing.” So we began to pray for her to receive the use of her legs. As we prayed she began to move her toes, then her feet, then her legs. When we finished praying she said that she had to go to the bathroom and wanted to walk to the bathroom. She moved her legs to the side of the bed and put her weight on her legs?she was no longer paralyzed. The college students and other people in the hospital witnessed the day that “the paralyzed lady walked.” Praise the Lord as he continues to confirm his gospel message with miracles!

Thank you for your prayers. The Kingdom of Heaven continues to touch down here in Swaziland.

Grace and Peace to you,
Randy and Karen Brennan

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings to you from Swaziland!

Hospital Ministry is going well! The Lord has opened a door for us to minister at the second largest hospital in Swaziland. We will be taking the Jesus Film into the patient wards at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital with the help of Healthcare Christian Fellowship. We are looking forward to more salvations and healings in the name of Jesus!

One of our ??I Am Not Forgotten?? orphan homes will be relocating in the next two weeks to a new location in Mbeklweni that is about three times the size of the place they are in now. Through the generous giving of the Church back in the United States we are going to be able to have each child in their own bed rather than on a foam mat on the floor. Praise the Lord!

I Am Not Forgotten orphan home

Teaching at the Children??s Cup Global Leadership Academy has been a real treat. We ministered to the 23 interns there alongside Mark and Kay (our daughter and son-in-law). We had the opportunity to teach about being conformed into the likeness of Christ, the Attributes of God, and the Father Heart of God. One of the highlights was teaching about deliverance as a part of our salvation in Christ and seeing several students set free from demonic bondages that were holding them back from progressing on with the Lord. We ended our 4 week stint with a covenant meal that was the highlight of our time together.

Children’s Cup Global Leadership Academy

Winter is rapidly approaching here in Swaziland which means it??s time to pull out the hats and gloves if you have them. Thanks to a generous donation of hats, gloves and scarves our sweet little orphans at the ??I Am Not Forgotten?? home in Mpolonjeni will be able to stay warm at their mountain top home.

Donation of hats, gloves, and scarves

We would like to thank each of you for your prayers and your financial giving. Thank you for partnering with us to advance the Kingdom of God here in Swaziland! It is hard to put into words the changes that we are seeing in the lives of those we are ministering to ??.. Glory to God!

Grace and Peace,
Randy & Karen Brennan
Serving the Lord in Swaziland, Africa

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Swaziland! In this update we are going to give more testimony about what the Lord is doing in the Mbabane Government Hospital. People are making decisions to follow Christ, receiving divine healing, and the Lord has given us some insight on why healing usually comes after we are gone.

The true Gospel of Christ is being received by open hearts every week during hospital ministry. We are receiving testimony after testimony that the Good News, as portrayed in the Jesus Film, is being understood clearly for the first time by many who have been in the church for years and by many who have never set foot in a church. We are asking for a show of hands if a decision has been made to follow Christ as Lord and Savior. We are consistently seeing up to half of the patients in the wards raise their hands. Praise the Lord!

Since our last update we have witnessed two remarkable healings. A young lady of about 17 years of age was in the hospital with extreme pain in her head and a total loss of vision in both eyes. The doctors had no answers. She was unable to view the Jesus Film but listened to it intently?this is what she told us. We prayed that the Lord would remove the pain and restore her vision. This happened on a Monday. On Wednesday we returned to the ward to find her free of pain and her vision fully restored. She was scheduled to be discharged the next day! She gave all the credit for her healing to Jesus Christ! She watched the Jesus Film with her restored vision that day!

While in the children??s ward we came upon a young boy of about 8 years old and his mother. She said he was admitted because of continual seizures and an inability to walk on his own or eat any type of food. While we were talking to her he began to have a seizure. He became rigid, his eyes rolled back in his head and he began to vibrate violently. We asked the Lord to free him from this torment and restore normal function of his body so he could walk, eat and lead a normal life free of seizures. As we prayed his seizure lessened in severity and stopped. We returned 2 days later to find him standing at the foot of his bed eating a piece of chicken. His mother said he had not experienced a seizure since we had prayed and began to walk and eat the next day. She gave all the praise to Jesus the healer.

We are seeing the Lord confirm His gospel over and over with miracles of healing. However, it is rare that we witness full miraculous healings before our very eyes while we are praying. I was asking the Lord over and over why this is our experience in light of the fact that when the Lord laid hands on the sick and prayed in the gospel accounts healing came immediately. As I prayed on this I began to receive some understanding. In the Gospel accounts people were healed immediately by Christ so that they would know beyond a doubt that He was the one who healed them. It is the same today. He wants to receive all the credit for the healing so He will wait for the person who does the praying and anointing with oil to leave, so the one receiving the healing does not attribute it to some special ability of that person, but rather to Christ alone.

Be encouraged knowing that Christ heals today as he did when He walked the earth!!

Lovingly,

Randy & Karen Brennan
Serving the Lord in Swaziland, Africa

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings to you from Swaziland! In this update I would like to illustrate how the Lord has recently spoken to us about starting a new ministry of evangelism and healing here in Swaziland. The events leading up to starting the ministry and what has happened since are supernatural.

About 8 months ago the Lord began to speak to me about going into the Government Hospital in Mbabane to do ministry. Over time I shared this leading with Karen and we decided to proceed subject to added clarity from the Lord. As time passed I received leading that the Lord wanted the Jesus Film in Siswati (the language of Swaziland) shown in the hospital wards. The sense I had was that we would have a captive audience, so to speak, who could receive the Gospel visually and hear it in their native tongue or heart language. I envisioned that as the true gospel is proclaimed the Lord would confirm its validity or authenticity with signs and wonders like healing?this seems to get peoples?? attention?especially when they are in the hospital.

I shared this thinking with my dear friend, Pastor Mbongeni Ndlovukasi from Bride of Christ Church, and he said that the Lord was speaking to him about going into the hospital to evangelize and minister healing to the sick as well. He also said that there were two ladies in the church who had recently come to him regarding the same thing. One of the ladies said she had a dream that she went into the hospital to pray for the sick and that the patients were healed. After considering all of these different testimonies, we decided to present the idea to the proper authorities at the hospital to receive permission to go in to the wards and do this type of ministry.

We had no idea who to go to at the hospital for permission. I called a Pastor friend of mine who I have known for about a year. I explained to him what I felt the Lord was asking us to do and then asked him if he knew who I should talk to at the hospital and he said that the proper person was a member of his church. He said that when I go to see her, I should mention his name and that He thinks the idea is brilliant. The day I went to see the Senior Medical Officer she saw me immediately and mentioned that she had already talked to her Pastor and that she was quite happy to grant us permission to show the Jesus Film.

Hospital Ministry in Swaziland Africa

We have been going into the government hospital twice a week since February 23rd. The patients are absolutely glued to the message of the Gospel as the Jesus Film is playing in their native tongue. We ask them to make a decision to follow Christ and to go back to their communities and find a healthy church that preaches from the Bible the message of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Many are being saved and healed. One woman who was about forty years old, said that she had been going to church all her life and never heard this gospel message. She said that she had made a decision to follow Christ because of the message she had just heard. One man we prayed for was in the hospital to have both of his feet amputated because of diabetes. We saw him being discharged four days later with his feet still attached. He said the amputation was no longer necessary and that the doctors were sending him home. Praise the Lord!

Mt. 10:7-8 says, “As you go preach this message: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

Blessings,
Randy and Karen Brennan
Serving the Lord in Africa