The Bicycle Ambulance

Some of the activistas pausing for a photo after dedicating
our new bicycle ambulance to God's service in Dondo.

Our prayers are that this little cart will save a lot of lives!

If there is anything about the culture of poverty that leaves me perplexed it is the state of health care.  There is a privileged minority that own a car in Mozambique. The rest find that getting to the hospital or clinic for emergency care can be their biggest obstacle to surviving.  Many times I have visited a mud home only to find a patient so sick that crawling on their belly was their mode of transportation. It is common to see them give up hope unless a family member or kind neighbor transports them to the hospital on their back. One memory still plays heavy on my heart.  We had visited the home of a woman in Project Life.  She had been too sick to call for help and her house was off the beaten path.  It was impossible for my car to get near her house. The only means to get her to the hospital was to tie her to a bicycle so she wouldn't fall off. No checking vitals, no IVs started, no oxygen....just an overly snug fit on a metal frame over dirt roads fitted with nasty dips and huge chuck holes.  My EMT days screamed "wrong!" as I watched her disappear down the road swaying back and forth in and out of consciousness.

Out of those difficult moments the idea came to create a bicycle ambulance.  We discovered that other countries in Africa have also introduced this concept and have been successful in not only answering the needs of an incapacitated community but offering a small job for a driver. After hunting down a welder willing to build it and exploring all kinds of stores in Beira for the appropriate materials, today we brought it home!  It is shy a shade but our local seamstress is busy sewing one and we should have it installed before our plane leaves tomorrow.  Earlier today we dedicated it to God's service and are looking forward to the good use it will have in the next few months while I return to the States.  God's timing of its arrival was perfect.

Celebration of Completion - Savane Church Plant

It was very emotional yesterday to experience the dedication of the Savane church and celebrate the completion of the building. (And not too soon considering we fly out tomorrow morning!) What a joy to see answered prayer. (See before and after pics from the grass church to now!)  God is good!  It was fun to receive a live chicken from the congregation - we just need to figure out how to sneak it aboard the airplane... 

In January 2010

Yesterday's Celebration -  November 21, 2010

Worshiping in the new building

A great gift from the Savane congregation!

The Hope of Mozambique

As a fourth grader I was given an assignment by my teacher.  We were to be involved in a theoretical debate.  If a country only had enough money to invest in one social program, what would be more important...education or public health care?  Now that was an impressive assignment considering this was back in the (well, you don't need to know how many years ago...).  I remember distinctly at the time choosing health care and I was up against another individual who chose education as their platform.  Keep in mind I was a fourth grader. It made sense to me that if you don't have your health, you can't be educated.  After all, when I was sick I stayed home from school so it made total sense to me that health care was number one.  I lost the debate.

Years later I can see that it was providential that I learned that lesson. I witness daily the outcome of those that are not educated and the destruction to their lives.  In Mozambique, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the annihilation of the AIDS virus or the other dozens of poverty-related illnesses.  In one day this week we had the funeral for the husband of a woman in Project Life in the morning, in the afternoon Cindy and I stopped by the road to help a woman who was comatose and took her to the hospital, and that evening Simone's (our translator) dad died suddenly. Yet in all this darkness there is a very bright light.  It is the children.

Over 600 children are being blessed with a Christian education in the Ray of Light program in Dondo.  I have watched these children grow over the last four years and they are truly morphing into little butterflies of hope. It is very powerful to witness this change. I invite you to watch these precious children perform their songs for their parents.  They have been taught Portuguese and English (their first language is Sena) so some of the songs will be in English.  I have to admit, I can't watch this video without tears.  I lose it about the time they start singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children."  There is no debate that sponsoring these children so they can receive a good education is the best investment we can make to change the face of Mozambique.  Click on the link below and ENJOY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClZvYsG2-OI

Serving the Children

See that you do not despise one of these little ones;

 for I tell you that in heaven their angels

 always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 

(Matt. 18:10)

There is no doubt that suffering children are the blameless byproduct of impoverishment. I met little Carlota today.  She does not understand all the complexities in our grown up world.  She hasn't yet mastered her left from her right.  But what she does understand is that today she will have soup and her tummy will be full. Bless you who donate towards our soup ministry.

I met this woman in the hospital. Her twins are three months old.  She does not have enough breast milk for both of her babies so she asked our program for milk. Their need of more nourishment is apparent. Each day we get more and more requests for help and we are limited in our resources.  Would you consider donating to the nutrition program so that we can commit to helping these little ones for the duration of two years?

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water 

to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, 

that person will certainly not lose their reward.

Matthew 10: 42

For the Children

Climbing on mom's back

Sweet boy from Mt. Xiluvo

There is always chatter of excitement and dancing when food arrives and that is fun to see but what warms my heart the most is the children eating a balanced meal.  Malnutrition begins in the womb for these little ones.  I had taken a patient home from last week's Project Life food distribution because she was sweating profusely and continuously vomiting.  Concerned that we needed a detour to the hospital, I questioned what she had eaten that day. At least four or five months pregnant, she admitted she had just eaten one sweet potato. It was all she had to eat. And most likely, it was her diet the day before and the day before that. The good news was that next to her in the car were several packages of the balanced food of dried rice, soy and vegetables from Wooddale church of MN and ImpactLives.  In the next few days, she would improve tremendously as the vomiting subsided with the better nutrition.

He is determined not to miss his mouth.

On Sunday we made another food distribution to a different church plant. It is located in Mt. Xiluvo (spelled Siluvo in the town but Xiluvo on the map).  I have chosen to share just the pictures of the children with you.

Happy faces are the best!

Waiting patiently

Carrying around her sibling

It looks like soap, but it is filled with
her food from the distribution.

We always do a worship service before
the food distribution.

I was afraid to ask what she was
picking out of her hair...yikes!!

Taking it home

Waiting with mom

A Picnic at Pascoa's

When I returned in August I was surprised by the sight of Pascoa.  Her constant coughing and her low weight betrayed that she was ill.  Her responsibility of overseeing 80 children from the nutrition program out in the bairros had worn her resistence down.  She had contracted TB.

One third of the world's population carries the TB bacteria.  And of course, TB disproportionately affects people in Africa where poverty is the norm. With three million new active TB cases a year, Africa accounts for one third of the global total. And since it has the lowest detection rate in the world, most likely those stats are low.  There is also a new strain of TB that is drug-resistant and deadly.  Pascoa is our third activista in the last two years to contract TB while working in Project Life.

When the reports came back positive, Pascoa was very worried that she would lose her job as an activista.  This was devastating news to this single mother of five. It takes about two months to complete the series of medications for TB and recovery.   But we hatched a plan to encourage her. All the activistas (including myself) surprised her one day at her mud home with an "American" picnic lunch. Sandwiches and oranges, cookies and coke, our lunch even included paper plates purchased at Shoprite in Beira.  The look on her face when we came to her door was worth all the cokes in China.

We sat outside under the mango tree on esteiras (straw mats).  The neighborhood children came running at the sight of food like ants to uh....well, a picnic of course.  I had brought extra anticipating the communal affair.  Seventeen happy faces munched on food alongside Pascoa's wide grin and sparkling eyes. But I had saved the best for last.  Earlier this year I had created a video with her as the "star" along with some of the other activistas' photos in order to raise funds for a new Green Door truck.  It was the story of Pascoa's life, reflecting the lives of many women in Mozambique. My computer on my lap, they sat close around me and watched the show.  My only regret was not having my Canon to capture their expressions as their eyes absorbed the screen. In elation I reported that by the grace of God, together as a team we had raised the funds for the truck. They laughed enthusiastically over this great news.  (Naturally they all volunteered to be in the next video.)  :-)

No one wanted to leave the comfortable camaraderie under the tree until the wind shot a few unripened mangoes our way like flying golf balls. We had equally experienced the encouragement that comforting another can bring. As Anne Frank once said, "I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains."

Mutondo Church Plant Food Distribution

Today we had the great privilege of taking a food distribution to the Mutondo church plant.  ImpactLives Inc., in partnership with Wooddale Church from MN and Children's Relief International truly blessed these brothers and sisters in Christ.  I wish everyone could have been there who contributed but the best I can do is share the pictures!  Enjoy!

It was a joy to see the smiles on the faces of children.

She is one busy mom....

Children are children the world over.

Notice the swollen belly.  Malnutrition
and/or worms.

The church was so full that this lady
could only look in the window.

These are the houses the people live in at Mutondo.

We cooked up some of the food so they could eat!

The children shared a bowl in groups of four.

The women waited patiently for their share of the packages.

The children are waiting for a bowl of the food.

It is so rare to see an older woman in Moz.
I just had to take her picture.

Edmundo watches from the outside as the church held its
morning worship service.

Young people from the Dondo church helped
with the distribution.

Again, notice the swollen belly of the little guy in brown.

Sometimes the children look too serious.  It doesn't take
long to get them to smile though.

Sharing the food.

Moz women always carry everything
on their heads.

Babies watching babies.

The women put their share of food in their
capalanas and are ready to head home.

We added  8 chickens to the meal.  They did remove
the head before they cooked it!

I have always been fascinated by the way they wash
dishes.  They use dirt as their S.O.S. scrub pad.  It
is not my preferred choice but it works!

Small Snippets

I am in the middle of teaching when I glance at one of the activistas.  She is present with uniform and lesson in hand but her mind is marooned on a dismal island. It caught me by surprise as it is counter to her customary zeal. Even though we celebrate a birthday after the lesson she refuses to eat the cake. She is decisively in distress.

I pull her aside and ask if I can help.  She shakes her head while supporting her jaw and then drifts back to her thoughts.  Already missing her two front teeth, I surmise that she has a toothache.  It makes me sad that this beautiful girl with a beautiful smile lives in this tropical land where dentists are as rare as falling snow.  She finally confesses the storm that has left her adrift from the morning's activities. An internal tug-of-war has taken over her thoughts as she knows the solution will be to pull another tooth.  With so few teeth left in her mouth, her forgivable fear is not a cosmetic reason but the inability to eat meat again - another means to malnutrition.

I silently pray that God in His mercy will send skilled dentists to help in Dondo.

* * * * * * * *

I met a woman this week; we had much in common.  She was my age and she had six children.  But unlike me, her children have all died and today we have put her to rest beside her children.

* * * * * * * *

When you work in an AIDS hospice without walls then it is expected that death is inevitable. Our friend Raposo from Project Life is in the hospital for the second time this month fighting for his life.  He and his wife are regulars at our weekly Bible study in his bairro.  I have seen God heal an assortment of opportunistic diseases in the wake of the devastating AIDS virus.  Yet, I have never seen anyone healed from AIDS. It is not a respecter of persons.  It is a poster child of hopelessness.

Before I walk in the hospital to serve soup I often pull a very beautiful flower from a nearby tree. Its fragrance is strong; it reminds me of a magnolia. I often leave it in the hands of a terminally ill patient.  Its fragrance transcends the fetor of the hospital corridors; an aromatic message of hope.

But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place"  II Corinthians 2:14

Even in his weakened state, Raposo is glad to see us. It is a joy to bring Him before the throne of grace.

Update Pics

Okay...I had to add this picture.  This is a close up of the
worms we have taken out of our feet!  They start out small,
almost microscopic but continue to grow in a "sack" while
embedding themselves in our feet. But don't worry, they hurt
after a while so it is easy to figure out that you need some quick
 surgery kindly provided by our empregadas.
So far....I have had 8 taken out.  

The women are interested in the new felt boards with the
Bible studies.

Activistas teaching the Bible study with their new felts and
board.  Thanks Vision Beyond Borders for the donation
of 10 sets.  Thanks First Baptist women of Powell, WY for
cutting out thousands and thousands of the felt pieces!

Some of the activistas in their new uniforms - thanks Heidi
 and Wendi!

The Light

 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Romans 12:15

My days in Dondo slip by quickly like I am a passenger on an express train watching the landscape readily disappear from a window's misty frame.  Each day's events are dramatic and customary imitating the ebb and flow of labor pains.  I am laughing with the activistas as we walk to serve soup and within seconds I am holding a young man who is sobbing uncontrollably because his young wife with AIDS just passed away.

With his two-month-old ailing twin strapped to his back, Domingo was relieved to see us as we approached the Banco Soccoro - or emergency room. He is the guard at Pastor Jeronimo's farm.  His wife Margarida left him with three children and he was beside himself with grief.  As I held him and prayed, my tears flowed but I wanted to scream. When will this insanity that is as dark as the night give birth to the light of day? We took him home and within 24 hours performed the funeral. It was one more God-given opportunity to sow His seed of Hope.

* * * * * * *

They are a light in the land of darkness.  We attended the Savane church plant on Sunday; what a tremendous blessing to see the building closer to completion.  The door was not on, the window frames and grates weren't all in, the reboco on the walls was not completed...but they were worshiping in their new building!  There were no red ants on the floor and the breeze through the large windows was refreshing.  This larger and better building accommodated new faces.  What a joy to witness this story!  As we stood outside shaking hands after the service, I studied the new faces before me. The full side of one woman's face was black and blue; a testimony to the common tragedy of wife abuse. Cuts and patterned scars were on another woman's face revealing the past work of a witchdoctor. Old and young were there with an opportunity to harvest the Bread of Life.

THANK YOU to all of YOU who are a light in this darkness as you donate to help these projects.

People from Savane in their new church building

Worshiping in the new building

Just needs reboco, windows and door.

ImpactLives and Wooddale church from MN donated dried
 food packages.  The people are waiting for the distribution.