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Friday, June 26, 2009

A Humble Walk

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

This scripture was my "theme" verse as I came to Moz four months ago.  God is always faithful to show me what is "good" and what He requires though it is not always easy - especially if it involves humbleness.  It has been my desire to be here to help others.  But truthfully, it is really me that is on the receiving end.  Today I had another chance to observe what it means to "walk humbly with your God."

After our Bible study this afternoon, Fatima asked if we could go see Emelia, another activista that did not show up for work this morning. Rumor had it that she was "not feeling well." Though it was getting late in the day, I agreed we should go.  When we arrived at her small home we found her inside attending her grown son as he lay on the cement floor.  She was trying to coax him to take some watery sustenance.  I quickly observed that his condition looked critical and he was deteriorating rapidly.  She calmly got up and greeted us though I could see a mother's heart conveyed on her face.  After some brief questions, it was evident she had no means to take him to the hospital.  She had been praying and waiting patiently for God to help her in this difficult situation.  Since he was on the verge of unconsciousness, several onlookers picked him up to carry him to my car.  But rather than hastening his limp body out to the car, Emelia stopped us midstream and asked for prayer. She wanted to commit him to the care of the One she trusted. We drove him to hospital not knowing if there would be a doctor or medical equipment available to save him.  Yet in all of this, I witnessed her humble spirit as she accepted this cup of sorrow.

I couldn't help but think back a few years ago when my own daughter was in critical condition with a skull fracture after falling several feet onto a cement floor.  Within a short time she was whisked away to a waiting helicopter that flew her to another city in another state so she could receive the best of medical attention.  A neurosurgeon waited on stand-by should surgery be imminent. While in a coma at the hospital, she began having several seizures that the medicine was not able to control.  I remember the sick feeling of panic that followed when I realized all the medical help at our disposal might not be able save her.  At the time, I wasn't ready to drink that cup.  Within three weeks, because of God's mercy, my daughter was able to walk out of the hospital on her own.  I wonder what pitfalls my walk with God might have taken had it gone the other way?

There is so much to learn along this pathway as God teaches us how to walk humbly.  Emelia's son is in God's hands and she knows there is no better place for him to be.

(Postscript:  Emelia's son died two days after I wrote this.  He had accepted Christ and is now completely healed.)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

El Shaddai





These are the happy faces of the El Shaddai children. They are working hard both in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Can you believe they are making these mud sculptures from the sand outside the school? Their sculptures are not only creative but they are useful. I watched this little artist as he demonstrated the driving ability of his new truck on the sand.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

A House Without A Door

Recently I received word from my friend Mariana that she was requesting transportation to the hospital - both good news and bad news.  The good news was that she chose not to use the traditional medicine in spite of her husband's history with witch doctors. The bad news was that it meant she was not getting better.  Last year Mariana taught a class for me in crochet for a couple of months to other women in Project Life.  I would peek in on them during one of the classes and see several women laughing and talking while creating something intricate and beautiful.  It was such a "normal" scene to my senses.  But these women were anything but normal. Each one had the AIDS virus knocking at her door.

The last time I saw Mariana she was so ill that I wondered if I would see her again.  But as I arrived her emaciated form sat patiently waiting for me outside her home.  She cautiously got up from her chair and collapsed before I could intervene. Gathering her in my arms I wasted no time taking her to the hospital, only to find a huge crowd congregating in our pathway. Patients, hospital workers and nurses were being entertained with loud drums and dancing out in the hospital's courtyard. A group from Maputo was performing an AIDS awareness program that everyone was required to watch. I took Mariana to the empty hospital waiting room and returned to the ongoing commotion. After performing a few traditional dances to the beating of loud drums, they used their theatrics to impart the important message of AIDS prevention.  I appreciated their realistic and honest scenarios of why the AIDS virus spreads so quickly in Mozambique.  A phrase they used really caught my attention, "Having AIDS is like having a house without a door." What a great visual of opportunistic diseases entering an immune-deficient body. 

There are millions who suffer around the world with a "house without a door."  It is comforting to know that love still has the last word. God is knocking at the door of many hearts and like Mariana, many are finding Him.

* * * * * * 

Looking in another door - the Green Door dedicated João Mubata's cement block house this last week.  João is a church plant leader from Monte Xiluva.  He and his wife Luisa have four children: Ruth, Miriam, Noemia, and Gerson.




Tuesday, June 2, 2009

ABC - It's Not Free




I am now taking pictures of the Ray of Light school children for child sponsorships.  Nothing can bring a smile to my face faster than the happy school children at the ROL.  What I have noticed in the three years that I have been doing this is the change in the children.  It is dramatic and heart warming.  The care and love they receive in their education is heads above the average school in Mozambique.

Since the war destroyed half of the school buildings, many students share the same government school.  Students squeeze into several shifts that begin as early as 6:45 a.m. and end as late as 10:40 p.m. Education is compulsory for only seven years. The primary session is considered "free" but only in the sense that students don't pay tuition. They pay for their uniforms, exercise books, pencils and paper. Many families can't afford these necessities since their predominant struggle is to put food on their tables. Since food is an issue, many children attend school on an empty stomach. The ratio in the primary system is 67 students to one teacher. If they can make it past the seventh year, their challenges only increase.

In the secondary school (8-12), the students have to pay fees for their tuition, uniforms, books, paper, pens, photocopying, tests, (yes, tests!) and internet use. Recently I heard on the news that the government only printed 13,000 books for 19,000 students in grade 8. Only those with money will be able to buy them. The rest of the students will have to photocopy their friend's book on their own time and at their own expense. There is no formal computer training and very few computers are available but when they can find a store with internet access, its usage is 50mt an hour (or 2.00 USD). Many of the students come and ask to use my computer because it is their only hope of completing an assignment. There is also the problem of bribing to pass a grade - both from students and teachers. It is no wonder that the majority of students drop out between their primary and secondary levels.  

I watch the activistas who serve all day in Project Life persevere with their education at night. One is in ninth grade for the third year in a row.  Another one is a mother of four children and she is now in the fourth grade. It is only in recent years that women have been encouraged to attend school.  All of this emphasizes the value of the Ray of Light's vision for a Christian education through their preschools and El Shaddai (1-12). See the pics - the children's bright smiling faces say it all.