A Tribute to DU DU:
It was February 2009. I am stationed out in a little country in Africa called Swaziland. Life expectancy is currently age 31. Due to the AIDS epidemic, Swaziland is made up of mostly grandmothers (called Go Go’s) and orphaned children.
I knew that I would fall in love with this culture. Despite the conditions they are born into, JOY and strength remains. It is truly FROM THE LORD.
One person that impacted me was a woman named Du Du, age 26. She suffered from TB and AIDS and was in very bad health conditions. She also had a little baby named Snethemb born with TB.
Two weeks ago Du Du past away. I got the news and didn’t know quite how to process. Over the last couple of weeks, memories have popped up in my mind. I only had a few with her, but one stood out the most.
I spent the day with her in the hospital with my two good friends Krystle and Jessi. It was a ‘good day‘ for Du Du. She could walk a little and drink her favorite banana smoothie. My friend Krystle had brought her a dress that we helped her slip on over her gown. 
She GLOWED!
Here is a woman two years older that I am, SUFFERING, yet had one of the most peaceful spirits. The three of us sang to her while she laid there. She kept motioning for more. She loved the sound of worship. She has a strength to hold on to life for the sake of her baby and knew that smiling was one of the only ways to enjoy the moment. She did not worry for herself but for her child.
She loved her baby.
And now Du Du is with our Father.
PRAY for the family of Du Du. Pray for her baby and his health. And pray for Swaziland: that the JOY of the LORD would consume them. Pray for the AIDS epidemic and that all could be educated on this issue to help prevent it spreading. Du Du is a face that won’t be forgotten. She has a spirit that signifies strength. Her legacy lives on in the life 
that has been replicated through her. Pray this baby, now orphaned, would grow to be the very thing that brings the sound of HOPE to a nation that is in need of that HOPE. He has a FATHER that will never let him go.
