Yvonne

Yvonne is a single other of three who works and lives in Green Farm. Lloyd, her eldest, is six, Priscilla is three, and Suzie – my little baby – is fifteen months. I first met her one day when I went to take pictures for the village. She had quickly put on her best Sunday clothes – a neon green t-shirt and a shitaengae – and gathered all her children. None of them were clean and Lloyd was covered from head to toe with dust. At the time, I had not gotten to know anybody really – only their faces



About a month ago, as I was walking into the village, I noticed that her hut was unoccupied and there was no roof. There were ashes in her hut, and every piece of wood in there was charred. I talked to her and asked what happened. From the little English that she spoke I gathered that someone had purposely burned it down and most of her food and clothing had been destroyed. I found out from Kate – the young woman who helps clean the house, and who speaks excellent English – that a jealous woman had come in the middle of the night and set fire to the hut. Yvonne has had all of her children by different men (which is very typical here by the way) and the wife of one of them took revenge into her own hands.







Despite what she had done, we felt burdened for Yvonne and wanted to help. One evening the Hamelrycks brought their dinner to her. We bought clothes for her and her children, and we gave her 25 kgs of mealy meal. We took Suzie every day for over two weeks, and gave Yvonne a ride to the doctor twice. As of last Thursday we were unable to continue helping Yvonne and Suzie. The jealousy had intensified and it was causing strife between Yvonne and the other village women. The women considered themselves in just as much need and more deserving of our help than Yvonne, and it got to the point where they resented her and kept their children from visiting with us. In the fields they would get so mad at Yvonne that she nearly quit her job. It was extremely hard for us to give up helping her, but for now it is the best for everyone. We are praying about how we can help her in the future, but it may be a week or two before it is possible. It hurts to see what jealousy can do, and how selfish people can sometimes be. Please pray that the situation will be healed quickly, and that we can find a way to help everyone without causing jealousy.







During the time the Lord provided we loved helping and were so pleased to see the good results. Suzie was improving and Yvonne and her children were eating well. We took her to church every Saturday morning. The rewards of giving of ourselves to help her were great and still are. We will continue to pray for Yvonne and her children and trust in the Lord to direct their lives.