The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Packing the Container

As we prepare for our return to South Africa and the establishment of Restoring Hope Village our plans include the shipment of a container full of materials and goods important for the work there.  You may remember about a month ago that we sent out a couple lists of things that we wanted to collect.  Two weeks ago I made the comment to Amber that we wouldn't have enough to fill the container.  Not that we didn't have a good response or a lot of things, but we've shipped a container before and we know how much can fit in those things.  I was convinced that we would be short.

Was I ever wrong!  In the last two weeks things started to pour in.  Our emails have been forwarded two or three times and people we've never met have given things for the ministry there.  The container is filling quickly and we have more than enough.  God is good.  So many have been involved and we are grateful for the willingness to give to the overwhelming need in South Africa.

The last couple weeks we have been crazy busy, running around fetching loads of donated items.  We have spent hours on the road, and as everyone in Iowa knows, the roads and weather conditions haven't been peachy.  It has been a good chance for Amber & I to spend some quality time together, although I think our kids are getting tired of being strapped into the car seats.  Meredith likes for us to tell her stories as we drive, but Drake doesn't really like anything about it.  Fortunately they have been with my family for the last week or so.

Last time we shipped we rented the container, so it arrived on the back of a semi and we had two hours to load it full.  Fortunately we had the use of a warehouse in Ankeny and we were able to prepare beforehand, loading lots of boxes on pallets.  This time everything has been collected in two storage sheds in Slater.  We hope to sort and pack a bit more efficiently, although last time was pretty amazing.  RHI owns a container that is parked at Slater Baptist Church.  The church is graciously allowing us to sort and pack in its big gym building.  You'll see in the pictures that we've taken full advantage of that, spreading our things as far as the eye can see.

Amber and Lois have arranged a great packing system.  We sort everything into piles - kitchen, clothing, toys, books, etc...  From there they are sorted and packed, all clothing into small bags and everything else into boxes, tubs, dresser drawers, cabinets, and any other open space that we can cram full.  The clothing that goes into bags is sorted by size and gender, then folded and labeled.  We then take those bags and pack them into any open crack or crevice in the container, ensuring that we use every square inch possible.

One challenge is that we have to record everything that is packed, both for our records, and for the customs manifest that must be included with the shipping documents.  Amber devised an ingenious recording plan using color coded labels, clip boards, abbreviations, and lots of other things that make sense.  So far it has worked famously.  She had to explain it to me three times and I'm still not sure I get it, but everyone else seemed to.  Maybe that says more about me than her system...

The container is now 3/4ths packed.  The remainder will be filled over the next couple days, as we attempt to be discerning as to what is most important of the remaining items.  Anything that does not fit in the container will be put in a garage sale this spring, with the proceeds going toward the establishment of Restoring Hope Village.  Over the last week we have had dozens of people help with sorting and packing.  We couldn't have come close to where we are now without their help.  It has been an enjoyable time for us to spend with everyone, especially during meals and breaks.  One day the Schwan's truck went by and Brian flagged him down.  Just because it's barely above zero doesn't mean we can't enjoy some ice cream.  Not that anyone has ever accused Brian of being impulsive.

Special thanks to the mothers of RHI's field staff, as they have done everything from packing, preparing food for the volunteers, and watching our little ones as we work.  A huge thank you to Brenda DeTar and her boys who have been there every day to help.  And to everyone else who stopped by as time permitted, we greatly appreciate your assistance.

Here are some things for which you can join us in praising our Father:

-Safety on the roads

-Generosity of those who gave

-A whole container full of good, quality, usable items

-Help from so many volunteers

-Health throughout this process

-A nice, big, warm location to sort and pack

-Mick Wenger finding us a huge discount on a lawn tractor

-The funding to ship the container

-Casey's doughnuts (see previous post)

The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Amber's Priorities

Growing up in the Midwest, crime wasn't a part of our daily routine.  Typically it didn't affect our activities, thought process, or decisions.  I remember as a child when we would leave home for a week or more without even locking our doors.  My first real experience with illegal behavior came when a crime wave struck western Ankeny, specifically in the apartments on College Ave.  I had left my book bag, complete with Greek textbooks, notes on intercultural communication, and for some unknown reason, a calculator -I say unknown because I attended Faith Baptist Bible College, a place not exactly known for producing mathematicians.  Unfortunately this bag also contained my checkbook, forcing me to go to the credit union and close my account.  That's the real extent of crime that had affected me prior to our arrival in South Africa.

South Africa is ranked highly in international crime statistics.  There was some level of culture shock for us as we became accustomed to bars over all windows, gates on all doors, 5 different locks just to enter our apartment, and ensuring cars are always secured and anything within them covered.  In fact, when I preached once I shared an illustration about fences.  The people there were shocked to learn that in the US fences were generally to keep children and dogs in, not to keep other people out.  The first night we spent in Welkom was an adventure of its own.  Amber wakes me up in the middle of the night saying breathlessly "I heard gunshots".  Of course, she wouldn't allow me to return to my dreams without me first investigating said gunshots.  After a bit of sleuthing, we located the source of these "gunshots" that oddly enough were spaced exactly 5 seconds apart.  One of the girls at the home was struggling with TB and had to use an oxygen machine to breath.  She was staying with some short-term missionaries and so was living just down the hall from us.  The hose on the machine was kinked, causing the machine to go "thump...thump" every 5 seconds or so.  We were thankful that real tragedy was averted and that we didn't get to experience crime firsthand for several months, until the copper thief incident in October that year.

After spending 18 months in South Africa, our mindset had changed to the point that locking doors and other advisable precautions were becoming second nature.  On our return to the States last fall it was a bit surprising to see so many windows without large iron bars.  Although much of our time has been spent in small-town Iowa, we still lock our car doors whenever we leave, a habit for which we have taken no small amount of grief from the local Midwesterners.  All this to build up to the latest revelation I've had about my sweet, dear wife.  Isn't it strange that you can know someone so well, for so long, and yet still be able to learn things about them?

We will be shipping a container of important supplies to South Africa.  Over the last couple weeks we have been preparing, a large part of that being driving around to pick up donated items.  Since our minivan frequently can't handle the amount of things we pick up, Slater Baptist Church has graciously allowed us to use the church van for collections.  So the other day we woke up early, bought day-old Casey's doughnuts for breakfast, and drove over to the church to get the van for a day of collecting donations.  Before our return we had a list of things we were excited to experience again.  One of those high on the list was Casey's doughnuts, although now that we've been here a few months we have resorted to day-old.  So between Huxley and Slater we partake of these delectible treats, and on arrival at the church we begin transporting all necessary gear from our minivan to the church van.  Amber then, following the habits we developed in South Africa, begins covering all valuable items left in the van.  After observing her activity for a moment, I realize that she neglected to cover the iPod and other such items, choosing instead to use my coat to cover the half empty box of day-old Casey's doughnuts.  And that's when I learned just how important those things are.

If anyone knows someone in the marketing department at Casey's, let them know that Amber would be happy to do a testimonial about their doughnuts.

The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Miscarriage

This past week has been a bit of a roller coaster for our family.  Throughout our time back in the States we have received encouragement on so many levels we can’t even begin to express our thanks to God and to those who have blessed us in so many ways.

Early in January we learned that Amber was expecting our third child.  This was cause for great excitement, and not just a little surprise.  This isn’t the first time God has proven to us He is in control.  During our preparations to move to South Africa over 3 years ago we thought we had things all figured out.  Meredith was 18 months old.  That meant we would be able to get pregnant and have the baby, all while still under corporate insurance.  Then the baby would have been about 6 months old at the time of our move to South Africa.  Everything seemed to be going according to our plan.

That’s when we found out, in early January 2007, that Amber’s pregnancy was ectopic, meaning the egg had implanted in the tube rather than the uterus.  Not only was this not a viable pregnancy but it could be potentially fatal to Amber.  Thankfully, the doctors found it early and were able to resolve the danger without surgery.

For almost a year after that we were unable to get pregnant.  God eventually chose to bless us with Drake in September 2008.  I think all parents will understand when I say it is hard to remember a time when Drake wasn’t part of our lives.  And looking back, we understand that if our initial planned pregnancy hadn’t failed, we never would have had the little guy we so intensely love.

Fast forward now to our current furlough.  Since we are in the midst of fundraising, our future is a bit uncertain.  We are confident we will be returning to South Africa soon, but don’t have a specific date.  Knowing that, we thought it advisable to delay any additional children until our return.  Of course, we’ve all heard the proverb “Man plans, God laughs.”  That’s how we felt in early January when we learned the news that we would be expecting a new arrival in August.  And we immediately began making plans for that new information.

Then last week we learned that once again, not all would be according to our plan.  Amber began to experience a few complications.  We went in for a checkup and the ultrasound could not detect a heartbeat.  Babies have a heartbeat at 18 days, according to a billboard in Des Moines.  They can usually be detected at 4-5 weeks.  According to calculations, our baby should have been about 10 weeks, but was measuring at 5 weeks.

Additional tests confirmed that Amber was indeed miscarrying.  While this was difficult news to digest, we know that God is in control.  He has demonstrated that continually and how could we doubt Him now.

As we reflect on this latest event in our life, the one thought that keeps returning is of the children of South Africa.  While unexpected, we so desired and anticipated this new addition to our family.  The disappointment we feel is only for a brief season.  Having been in Welkom for almost two years, we saw multitudes of children in desperate need.  There are children who were wanted but the parents have died.  There are more children who were never wanted and have never experienced love. 

We have learned that people are the same all over the world.  So often we have a stereotype in our minds, but as we’ve come to know and love these children we see they are no different than our own.  They have the same needs, desires, dreams, fears.  Maybe this is just an emotional response to loss, but we can’t wait to get back and meet the children God is preparing for us.  He knows all and is already making straight our paths. 

I’ve been an expectant father twice now, and the anticipation we feel for the commencement of The Village is similar.  You just know that you’ll fall desperately in love with your new little one.  And you know your life will never be the same after that child becomes a part of it.  We get the privilege of having that experience over and over again.  We hope and trust that God will bless us with another of our own, but if He never does, we still get the blessing of adding maybe dozens.  Keep praying that we can get back there soon.  God is doing amazing things.

The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Challenge: Illegal Mining

The following article is from the London Times.  It discusses illegal mining operations in South Africa.  The majority of illegal mining takes place in Welkom, as it is still the center of gold mining in the country.  The article mentions a mining accident last June that took the lives of at least 91 "ghost miners".  This is a real problem and even in our visits into the mines we have been warned about these people.

They stay underground for months at a time, many of them even losing the pigment in their skin, leading to the name "ghost miners".  The G-Hostel mentioned in this article is a place we pass almost every time we go to Thabong (the township of Welkom).  The boys from our Bible Study have told us many stories about the things that go on in the township, most of the criminal activity related to G-Hostel.  It is not uncommon for our boys to be robbed at knifepoint, the most desired plunder being cell phones, which will then be sold to the criminal syndicates, making them untraceable.  This type of criminal activity has not affected us or our ministry, but it gives a window into the culture of South Africa, and paints a picture of how desperate the situation can be for so many.

GOLD PIRATES WAGE A DIRTY, UNDERGROUND WAR

Dan McDougall  -  September 27, 2009

Imagine an existence in the bowels of the earth where, for up to eight months at a time, there is no fresh air. The temperature between the walls that close in on you is a stifling 38C. There is no day and night as you drill for gold for 12 hours a shift. At your side is a weapon to protect yourself from the authorities and your fellow miners. To extract gold, you handle mercury so toxic that it can be absorbed through the skin, attacking the kidneys and brain.

This is the life of South Africa’s gold pirates, a band of tens of thousands of unemployed men whose numbers have increased sharply in the past year with the soaring price of gold, a traditional haven for investors in a financial crisis.

They break into some of the most dangerous mines on earth, many armed with commercial explosives rammed into bottles. They will emerge months later with their muscles wasting away and their eyes sinking into their sockets.

Here in the goldfields region of South Africa’s Free State province, their prize is a lump of crudely processed gold, barely the size of your palm.

Some of it is smuggled to Switzerland and traded on to European countries, including Britain, in a black market worth £300m a year that begins with unimaginable suffering and ends on the high street.

Last week The Sunday Times gained a rare insight into the lives of the Zama Zama — literally “Let’s have a go” in Zulu — and the burgeoning illicit businesses that supply them with everything from cola and hamburgers to prostitutes up to a mile underground.

Many of the miners never resurface. In June the bodies of 91 Zama Zama were recovered from the closed 5,250ft Eland mineshaft in the former goldrush town of Welkom. The authorities believe as many as 1,000 illegal miners have died underground in the past year, killed by toxic fumes, fires and each other.

“Going under is the hardest thing you will ever do,” Masahe, an illegal gold miner, told us in a shebeen near his home in the shadow of Welkom’s No 6 mine.

“After a few days you start panicking, especially at night. You lose track of time. You start to feel crushed, imagining that the walls are collapsing into you. I would curl up into a ball beside my drill, convinced the earth was coming down on me.”

Masahe is dirty and frail and stinks of booze. But he still holds menace — and a weapon he threatens to use against us if we identify him. As we talk his heavily scarred face is contorted by hacks and coughs. He says he works for a syndicate that includes legal miners, shift managers and security guards helping illegals to operate in unsupervised areas of their mine.

It pays him about £2,500 for a four-month stint underground, a fortune in a South African township, and, according to Masahe, it is more sophisticated than most.

“A businessman in Welkom with police and mine contacts sends us down for up to six months,” he said. “With trained miners losing their jobs, we have managed to get more equipment. We steal it from the mine companies or take it at gunpoint. Now we use fake IDs and pay the shaft operators to take us down.”

Using maps and walkie-talkies, they descend a legitimate shaft. Then, Masahe says, they walk anything up to 18 miles underground to their chosen point. He sits in a pit full of boulders and crushes the stone into smaller pieces. “Sometimes I work the mercury, using chemicals on the rocks to leach out the gold flakes.”

Supplies are vital but expensive. “A loaf of bread or a bottle of Coca-Cola costs us £5, all on credit which we have to pay when we get out. A smuggled hamburger can get more than £30. Many of the transactions are made in gold. Cigarettes go for between £10 and £20 a pack of 20. Oude Meester brandy from £50 and Fish Eagle whiskey for £30. A tab of everything we eat and drink is kept on the surface.

“Women are being brought down now. They will do a round for a week, having sex with us all — they are getting very rich from the Zama. They are dressed as men and taken down the shafts in hard hats.”

Masahe claims a war is going on a mile beneath the surface of Welkom. “There are rival syndicates and battles are being fought underground. We are fighting each other to get to the richest seams. Our syndicate captured a rival and we decided by committee to take retribution. We cut him open with a blowtorch and threw his body down a shaft. There are so many bodies down there.” Other Zama Zama said the official death toll from the Eland disaster was at least double the official toll of 91: they perished after an inferno ripped through an illegal camp.

Outside Welkom more than 100 paupers’ graves bore testimony to the young men killed. Many were migrants from Mozambique and Lesotho, attracted over the border by the latest gold rush. “We have no names on our graves because we don’t exist,” Masahe says.

The fact that the men are virtually impossible to identify makes the police battle against them all the harder.

Above ground, the gold pirates are largely headquartered at G-Hostel, a sprawling, apartheid-era block of concrete chalets. During police raids there is panic everywhere as the locals hide stashes of drugs. Brothels are shuttered and Zama Zama melt into the township walls.  Reporters and photographers have been threatened with guns and told they would be shot if they persisted.

The smell of burning coal and mercury pervades the air. In the back alleyways are the smouldering remnants of small-scale chemical works used to leach out gold.

The centre of Welkom’s illegal gold mining industry, G-Hostel is a place where police officers are seldom seen. The sewer alleys provide cover for Zama Zama middlemen to run illicit operations, breaking ore and grinding the pieces to powder. It is melted at temperatures of more than 1,064C to extract the molten metal that is passed on to smugglers.

In the past four years, 1,734 men and women have been arrested in this area in connection with the Zama Zama, mainly for being part of their supply chain and processing the gold ore. The gold pirates themselves remain largely elusive.

“These guys are serious criminals,” says the police officer leading the raid. “We have seen them with AK-47 assault rifles. There is a lot of money at stake and there is an endless procession of young men willing to do this.”

With gold prices close to record highs at nearly $1,000 an ounce, the black market — which also employs children to haul ore — is expected to continue its rapid growth.

According to Anton van Achterbergh, a legal adviser at the South African Chamber of Mines, cracking down is virtually impossible. “The area between Johannesburg and Welkom is like Swiss cheese,” he said. “We’re talking about a few thousand [kilometres] of tunnels underground. Gold can be mined fairly easily so how do we stop it growing?”

The mining industry has tried to protect its interests by beefing up security measures and firing corrupt employees who supply illegal miners with food and equipment. Yet illegal gold flooding out of the country is estimated to account for up to 10% of South Africa’s exports of the metal.

Fundraising Update

Thank you all for your prayers and ongoing support.  Since our last update we have increased to $75,276.  This is over 50% of our Phase 2 goal, and we are praising God for this milestone.  Right now we are working on arranging additional meetings to share what God is doing in South Africa.  If you can help with this please contact us at louisotool@gmail.com or 712-830-1245.

The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Marriage Counseling

I don't remember this advice coming up in Counseling Class at Bible College.  Thankfully, this doesn't fit my wife, whom I love with all my heart.  The following tips come from Red Skelton, apparently.

1. Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, have a little
    beverage, good food and companionship.  She goes on 
   Tuesdays; I go on Fridays..

2. We also sleep in separate beds.  Hers is in California , and mine 

    is in Texas.                         

3. I take my wife everywhere, but she keeps finding her way back.

4. I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our 
   anniversary.  'Somewhere I haven't been in a long
   time!' she said.  So I suggested the kitchen.

5. We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops..

6. She has an electric blender, electric toaster and electric 
     bread maker.  She said 'There are too many gadgets, 
     and no place to sit down!' So I bought her an electric chair.

7. My wife told me the car wasn't running well because there 

    was water in the carburetor.  I asked where the car 

    was. She told me, 'In the lake.'

8. She got a mud pack, and looked great for two days. 

    Then the mud fell off.

9. She ran after the garbage truck, yelling, 'Am I too late for 
    the garbage?' The driver said, 'No, jump in!'

10.  Remember: Marriage is the number one cause of divorce.

11. I married Miss Right. I just didn't know her first name was Always.

12. I haven't spoken to my wife in 18 months.  I don't  like to interrupt her.

13. The last fight was my fault though..  My wife asked, 'What's on the TV?'

      I said, 'Dust!' 

Psalm 41

In the light of recent events, both in Haiti, and in our own personal ministry, I find this Scripture exceedingly appropriate.  Ironically enough, I've been reading through the Psalms, and on this day I came across Psalm 41.  Just when it seems we need it most...

"How blessed is he who considers the helpless; The Lord will deliver him in the day of trouble.  The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth...Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting."

Fundraising Update

Dear Faithful Supporters,
In the last two weeks the Lord has continued to bless.  Since our last update He has continued to provide, and our latest report shows $71,216 raised toward our initial building project.  Please pray with us that the final funding will be raised quickly and that we will be able to return to the work in South Africa.  We appreciate each person who has given.  Praise God for His amazing provision!

"How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You before the sons of men."  Psalm 31:19

Radio Interview

Thursday, January 14th, Brian Niehoff & I will be on the Maxine Sielman program. It is on Praise 940 in the Des Moines Area at both 8:00am and 5:00pm.  This is our second appearance on the program.  We trust that God will direct the conversation.  Your prayers are appreciated.

The Life & Times of Louis & Amber - Tidbits

1. Right before Thanksgiving Meredith informed me her boyfriend lives in Kansas so we could visit him when we went to Wichita for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure where she learned about boyfriends and girlfriends, but she did follow up that statement with "I have to ask you before I get married to anyone" so we're making progress. When I asked what this boy's name is, her response was "He-guy". Apparently he is He-man's brother. So it looks like I'll have a run for my money when he comes calling.

2. Drake is now walking. And he likes to wrestle other little kids, who don't exactly know how to take it. Fortunately, every other kid his age has been walking for 3 months now so he can't keep up with them. He has learned to stalk, however. He almost caught my cousin Chloe (yes, I have several dozen cousins who are the same age as my son) by distracting her, using some toys as a lure, then pouncing as soon as she got close enough.

3. We saw this road sign on our way back from Colorado. It gave us some nostalgia for South Africa, as this seems like something you would see there. Although in fairness to South Africa, they wouldn't do this because it would never work there. If they put a sign up like this around Welkom, it would soon become part of someone's house. Right after moving into the building for The Pines our co-workers took down an old Harmony Gold Company sign and took it to the dump. A few weeks later while driving by the township they noticed the same sign was the wall to someone's dwelling. Doesn't it just seem like if you are going to go to the trouble of posting this sign, couldn't you just drop some asphalt into that pothole.

4. Take a close look at those names on the two stockings on the left. Apparently, Amber has developed this strategy that the more snares she sets the more loot she'll bring in. That, or she is so favored that she needs two red furry socks just to haul it all in. Just another lesson that women will do whatever it takes...



5. While we are talking about the holidays, let me share our experience with you. Since we were in Africa last Christmas, and it looks like we'll be in Africa for many Christmas' to come (especially after this weather, eesh!), the entire Frank & Maggie O'Tool family gathered at the homestead in Carroll. And then everyone proceeded to get sick. Meredith, Drake & Caleb were all suffering during family pictures, and from the photo at left you can see Meredith continued to suffer through gift-opening time. Amber & I had a presentation scheduled at Pleasant Ridge church, so we prayed hard. Unfortunately, I didn't think through the whole process clearly. I prayed that the Lord would keep me from getting sick at least until we were done speaking. And that's just what He did. Ironically enough, the pastor preached on Prevailing Prayer. Next time I am praying that I won't get sick at all.

6. So we arrive in Carroll to find my brother Timothy hanging the family stockings. He must be in cahoots with Amber, because he is anticipating some pretty heavy duty stocking stuffers. You can see that he's using a 27 oz. hammer to drive spikes into these pretty socks. You don't want them falling off the mantle (or wall in this case) if someone decides to start dropping gold bricks in there on Christmas Eve. And the safety glasses are good thinking. Safety First in the O'Tool family.

7. Here is a picture of the family Christmas tree. It's kind of spindly-looking, I know. But our sister-in-law is the type to know about these things and she says that those cost double or triple what a normal tree costs. I thought it looked very Charles Dickens-y, as if Tiny Tim might wobble out from behind it at any moment while Bob Cratchet does Ebeneezer's laundry in the kettle. My brothers nicknamed it the "Recession Tree".

8. Meredith got to help Grandma Maggie make presents for her cousins. Although since Grandma Maggie hwears bifocals, and Meredith is threading the needle, we're not sure who is helping whom.




9. When the O'Tool & Stangl families, or anyone on the Wiedemeier side gets together, it's tough to find real estate at the dinner table.