A Martha, a little Mother Theresa, and an angel at ONLY 11 years old!

Tumi is only 11 years old and MUST clean, cook and nurse her only surviving relative. This entails emptying buckets of vomit, urine and diarrhea. (If you have a child around 11years old, can you imagine them having to do this???) At 3pm each day, Tumi excitedly waits at the door of The Mustard Seed house, wrapped in her new blanket, ready to learn about Jesus!! Her burdens seems to lift for but a short time as she smiles from ear to ear with pure anticipation A special goodness emanates from her. Then, after learning about Jesus, Tumi always insists on sweeping afterwards, and will do lunch or snack dishes.

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42, NKJV


Isn’t it true that life can get so busy with our daily obligations, with our struggles and crosses, with our worries and anxieties that it becomes almost impossible to take a few minutes out of the day just to sit at Jesus’ feet? Jesus taught us that if we want to LOVE Him, we are to keep His word and His commandments. Yet, how can we keep His word and His commandments when we do not have any time in our life to learn them, ponder them, and apply them to our lives? At 3:00pm everyday, Tumi, after serving and caring for her sick relative, falls at the feet of Jesus to learn and lean on His every word for strength. In taking time to learn and love Jesus, Jesus gives Tumi, at the young age of 11, the strength she needs to continue to love and care for others, including her sick relative. Tumi is a Martha, a Mary, a Mother Theresa, and an angel at 11.


Let us learn from Mary and Martha and also Tumi. Take time each day to just sit and ponder your love for God; think of it as a necessity because it truly is and will give you strength to continue to serve and love others like Jesus would.

The 11 year old only known as "Boy"

As we witnessed the birth of England's new prince who was today given the name George, I am reminded of how we celebrate the birth of our children, our friends children, our relatives children and on and on. Yet, not every child is brought into this world with such excitement and joy!

What about the children whose paretns curse their birth because they are poor, or the mom was raped, or the child is found to have a birth defect?. What about the children that are abandoned by their parents shortly after birth because they cannot care for them?? What about these children? The children with NO NAME, NO FAMILY, NO HOPE.


In Qwa Qwa, there are many children abandoned and left to die in the freezing cold mountainous region.

Miss Julia shares this story:

A tousled haired, unwashed, under nourished ten year old. A boy who entered the world fighting, hated by all and lives scared and defensive. He does not have a name and is only known as "Boy". When Momma Julia fell sick recently with pneumonia, "Boy"
hung around her petrified that she was going to die because most sick people in Qwa Qwa die. When Momma Julia was finally felt better, "Boy" hasn't left her side and has became her special friend.

Can you imagine not having a name? No one feeling joy at the sound of your name! Not knowing who you are or where you came from. Our name gives us belonging and dignity This the world celebrated with weekend with the birth and naming of the new little Prince of england. Because Momma Julia's new friend "Boy" does not have a real name, she and the Mustard Seed ministry will have a Naming Ceremony for Him and all those children that come to The Mustard Seed Ministry with NO NAME. All children are precious in God's sight and deserve the same celebration, belonging and dignity as the Prince of England and you and I.

God works through us and orphans who come to the Mustard Seed for help will find that they are no longer inanimate objects but to living, producing beings. God has so much in store for them! God’s plan is so perfect. We know that, without a doubt. He has always intended for all his children to have a place to call home and learn they are loved children of God!

We would be honored if you would celebrate with us when "Boy" has his Naming Ceremony.

* Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Psalms 91:14

* Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.
Ecclesiasticus 44:14


Thank you for supporting and praying for the Qwa Qwa children and the Mustard Seed Ministry.

Wrapped in the Arms of Jesus

60 blankets were purchased and given to the Qwa Qwa children this week. ( : To all of you who made this possible, thank you so very much!! You and I can snuggle up with our favorite blanket anytime and feel warm and secure. Now the Qwa Qwa children can too!!! I am sure that each child will be able to feel the Lord Wrap His Arms around them as they snuggle with their special blankets. Praising God for how He continues to care for his orphans through caring, generous people throughout the world!

Dear Lord,
With these blankets, may the Qwa Qwa children feel your arms wrapped around them, let them feel your love when they are scared, lonely, sick and hurting. Amen

The children of Qwa Qwa...

..... are shown Mercy and the love of Christ through Miss Julia and her Mustard Seed school/home with the help of Mountain Ministries. Let's keep them and the children in our thoughts and prayers. Being a missionary and ministering to the poorest of the poor can wear on a persons soul. But, through our prayers, Miss Julia and the other missionaries will find renewed strength. Also, the Qwa Qwa children are trying to survive against tough elements and many have no family to care for them. If you feel called to help at all financially, Miss Julia has a paypal account on the right side of this page. She is in need of shoes, jersys, warm clothes, stationary, paper and pencils/pens, 3 beds and sanitary products(the poor girls use leaves and plastic bags).

All are welcome in this place

Julia and the Mustard Seed minstry is under the direction and support of another non-profit organization working in Qwa Qwa called Mountain Ministries.

Mountain Ministries is a ministry situated in the mountains of Qwa-Qwa, in the Free State province of South Africa. Mountain-Ministries consists of a group of people working on a full and part time basis with “The Family Church”. They have a heart for the poor and needy and as such reach out to such people. They bring the Holy Spirt and love of Jesus to the lost, broken and forsaken

"Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest".
(Isaiah 32:15 NKJV).


This week is a week of what they call "holiday club". The Mountain Ministries missionaries come to Qwa Qwa and minister the love of Christ, run bible classes, play games and give feed all the children that come. Every child in Qwa Qwa is welcome! Mountain ministries does this for the big children twice a week with bible classes and fun. The chidlren are always so happy for the this special time. Miss Julia says of watching the children wake up knowing of this amazing day for the children: "Little brown excited faces opening big round brown eyes as another day dawns in a windy, cold Qwa Qwa. Today is Holiday Bible Club and they know they are going to eat a big plate of food and have fun,fun,fun".

If you would like to know more about this ministry that helps Miss Julia with her precious orphans, here is their website and a place to donate. http://mountain-ministries.org/

Here are wonderful pictures from "holiday club":

Registration

This is what Miss Julia cooks on to feed all the children of Qwa Qwa for holiday club.

Let's walk hand in hand

I, Julia Oconnell, came to QwaQwa four months ago and was brought to tears because of the all the orphan children wondering with no place to call home. They were all around me. I spend a good amount of time smiling inside at the love and strength of these children. They continue to teach and minister to me daily. Only Jesus could cause a well seasoned missionary like myself to be humbled.

This being said, it is my dream to build an orphanage for these such children of Qwa Qwa. The work is God's and we go where we are led. From a human perspective, this seems impossible, but Jesus always gives us what we need for His children. I have no needs as I am not interested in anything else except Jesus and his work. I don't expect these little angels to have the best materially, but they will always get the best spiritually and emotionally. They only want love and the best love is the LOVE of Christ. Through our actions, love and support, they can touch and feel the love of Christ which will give them everlasting HOPE no matter what. At the moment, I am housing 8 children until their home situations improve. Some are going to be orphans soon because of HIV and a few have abusive drunk parents. I am in contact with welfare who feels the problem is so huge and the area so poor that I must do what I can until I am a licensed foster home (to which I am in the process of doing).

We are confident that Jesus has us and his precious Qwa Qwa children in the palm of His hands. So, I will continue to do what I am called to do along with much prayer, prayer, and more prayer.

If u feel the Holy Spirit talking to your heart to be involved with the Mustarrd Seed minsitry, your prayers, support and sharing about this orphan care ministry will be a great blessing. Join us in whatever way you feel called. Jesus will let you know how he wants you to help and serve the Least of These children in Qwa Qwa South Africa. And, with your help, Jesus will shine in the hearts and minds of these beautiful children that struggle to find their purpose in life everyday. Let's walk hand in hand to help the Qwa Qwa orphans.


Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Psalm 82:3