It is this week's hottest world news. Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate to wed at Westminster Abbey. I jumped on the opportunity to bring my friends of extreme poverty into the gala world of the rich where they would have no prior perception. We were discussing at the weekly Bible study in Project Life the reaction of Peter at the transfiguration. He had been thrown into a scenario quite foreign to his sphere of reality. From his earthly perspective, this brief moment to witness the glory and majesty of Jesus left him without a focal point to draw a correct conclusion. Before they became judgmental over Peter's ineptness, I wanted to create a colorful canvass of astonishing aristocracy and place them in the midst of it to see how they would react.
Though they had never heard of Prince William or Kate Middleton, they chattered in their tribal language consulting among themselves how to describe a wedding that cost millions of dollars. They were at a loss for words. Their eyes danced and they giggled as they discussed and imagined the feast that would be served to all the guests. Finally, I told them they were invited. How would they present themselves to the royal couple? Their eyes looked down in embarrassment. They said they would be ashamed. They had no appropriate clothing and would feel very inferior. But, piped up one man, "I would give my little bit of rice - everything I have - in order to honor them at their wedding." They all shook their heads in agreement.
I looked at my friends closely...their bodies attired with cast-a-way clothes, some even shoeless. Adorned with the dreaded AIDS virus - each day representing a fight for normalcy. Houses that continue to fall apart in the rains with no money to repair them. Their entire fortunes could not pay for one table of wedding guests.
Yet, their humble hearts to give it all away to honor the future king of England made me smile. Someday, along with Peter, they will be the ones honored at a real wedding celebration.
* * * * * *
I was delighted to find out that one of our activistas, Maria Verniz had an Easter surprise. She came to our sunrise service (4am!) and instead of going home afterward she went to the hospital and gave birth to her son. An Easter baby! We all agreed that the baby's name should be tied to Easter. She asked me to come up with the name. Anybody out there want to help me come up with an Easter name for a boy?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
A Story for Easter
I can't believe my ears. "You're joking, right?" I said to Manuel.
"No," he said. He sounded more serious than I could ever remember.
"Noemia called and you have to be at the Dondo courthouse in 10 minutes."
I am in my car ironically just passing the courthouse on my way to the Macharote Bible study. Only in the country for a week, I was anxious to be reunited with the people in Project Life. It seemed insane that I should drop everything and answer to the courts. Manuel insisted that he meet me at the courthouse. He is our best translator and what I would be facing required his expert communication skills.
Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound Him and brought him first to Annas...
The police accused me of not paying a traffic violation from two years prior. My "crime" had been to drive a vehicle with dark windows. The day in question had been my first time to drive the CRI van. It was all I could do to dodge people, carts, bikes and vehicles and navigate on the left side of the road let alone be attentive to an obscure law against add-on dark windows. After confiscating my keys and the van, the police sent me to Beira to pay the fine. Then they charged me for "parking" the van at their police station. I could hardly believe this nightmare was starting all over again.
"If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?"
The man at the courthouse explained that I needed to produce the receipt to prove I paid the fine If I couldn't I would have to pay 6x's the original fine or face a free trip to jail. Really? Two years later? My sense of justice was rising up and I realized humility was not my middle name. I muttered my discontent in English. Manuel explained to him that there had been three witnesses the day I paid the fine and he was one of them. It didn't matter. We needed the original receipt...period.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
As a missionary, all my receipts were stored in the United States for IRS purposes. It never crossed my mind I would need them here. In spite of their lack of Portuguese, my son and his wife sifted through all our receipts in the U.S. for the illusive paperwork. They found the paid parking ticket but not the traffic fine. To add to the confusion, the date marked on the court's current paperwork for the traffic fine was incorrect. The parking ticket showed it had really happened two weeks earlier!
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
Three trips later to Beira, Manuel and I sat opposite the man who held my exoneration in his hands. The day before we had taken a copy of the original carbon copy to the courts in Dondo with an official stamp by the Beira police. Even after that effort, it was not accepted by the Dondo court. They accused us of having a friend in the Beira police department that stamped the copy. They wanted the original. They even told Manuel we should just give up and pay the fine. Yet in front of us now sat the original receipt book, in the hands of the original man to whom I paid the fine. I wanted to grab it and run all the way to Dondo. He told us to return the next day. He would write a letter on my behalf and attach it to the copy of the original carbon copy of the fine.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head,. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" and they struck him in the face.....his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness...
The next day the man in Beira was not in his office so Manuel patiently returned the following day. He was handed another receipt to give the police in Dondo. This time the Dondo court had no other choice but to accept it. Manuel, Phil and Simone brought my "freedom" papers to me with huge grins on their faces. By the grace of God my name had finally been cleared.
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Note: This incident happened these last two weeks before Easter. By no means am I comparing my small suffering to what Jesus suffered for all of us but rather the incredible awareness that He was God, perfectly without sin, suffering unimaginably, yet never fought the wrong but forgave His accusers. Through this whole incident, God kept acutely reminding me of this and leaving me once again, in awe of my Savior. It was obvious God was with me in all of this. The paper my son had found gave us the date that was the key to finding the right carbon copy book in Beira. Nothing is computerized so books and books of receipts are stacked in their offices. Only by the right date they could have found what we needed. God never promises we won't go through trials, He just promises to go through them with us. Have a very blessed Easter - we have so much to rejoice about!
"No," he said. He sounded more serious than I could ever remember.
"Noemia called and you have to be at the Dondo courthouse in 10 minutes."
I am in my car ironically just passing the courthouse on my way to the Macharote Bible study. Only in the country for a week, I was anxious to be reunited with the people in Project Life. It seemed insane that I should drop everything and answer to the courts. Manuel insisted that he meet me at the courthouse. He is our best translator and what I would be facing required his expert communication skills.
Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound Him and brought him first to Annas...
The police accused me of not paying a traffic violation from two years prior. My "crime" had been to drive a vehicle with dark windows. The day in question had been my first time to drive the CRI van. It was all I could do to dodge people, carts, bikes and vehicles and navigate on the left side of the road let alone be attentive to an obscure law against add-on dark windows. After confiscating my keys and the van, the police sent me to Beira to pay the fine. Then they charged me for "parking" the van at their police station. I could hardly believe this nightmare was starting all over again.
"If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?"
The man at the courthouse explained that I needed to produce the receipt to prove I paid the fine If I couldn't I would have to pay 6x's the original fine or face a free trip to jail. Really? Two years later? My sense of justice was rising up and I realized humility was not my middle name. I muttered my discontent in English. Manuel explained to him that there had been three witnesses the day I paid the fine and he was one of them. It didn't matter. We needed the original receipt...period.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
As a missionary, all my receipts were stored in the United States for IRS purposes. It never crossed my mind I would need them here. In spite of their lack of Portuguese, my son and his wife sifted through all our receipts in the U.S. for the illusive paperwork. They found the paid parking ticket but not the traffic fine. To add to the confusion, the date marked on the court's current paperwork for the traffic fine was incorrect. The parking ticket showed it had really happened two weeks earlier!
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
Three trips later to Beira, Manuel and I sat opposite the man who held my exoneration in his hands. The day before we had taken a copy of the original carbon copy to the courts in Dondo with an official stamp by the Beira police. Even after that effort, it was not accepted by the Dondo court. They accused us of having a friend in the Beira police department that stamped the copy. They wanted the original. They even told Manuel we should just give up and pay the fine. Yet in front of us now sat the original receipt book, in the hands of the original man to whom I paid the fine. I wanted to grab it and run all the way to Dondo. He told us to return the next day. He would write a letter on my behalf and attach it to the copy of the original carbon copy of the fine.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head,. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" and they struck him in the face.....his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness...
The next day the man in Beira was not in his office so Manuel patiently returned the following day. He was handed another receipt to give the police in Dondo. This time the Dondo court had no other choice but to accept it. Manuel, Phil and Simone brought my "freedom" papers to me with huge grins on their faces. By the grace of God my name had finally been cleared.
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Note: This incident happened these last two weeks before Easter. By no means am I comparing my small suffering to what Jesus suffered for all of us but rather the incredible awareness that He was God, perfectly without sin, suffering unimaginably, yet never fought the wrong but forgave His accusers. Through this whole incident, God kept acutely reminding me of this and leaving me once again, in awe of my Savior. It was obvious God was with me in all of this. The paper my son had found gave us the date that was the key to finding the right carbon copy book in Beira. Nothing is computerized so books and books of receipts are stacked in their offices. Only by the right date they could have found what we needed. God never promises we won't go through trials, He just promises to go through them with us. Have a very blessed Easter - we have so much to rejoice about!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Snippets
Yesterday there was a line-up of people at our door looking for help. One man wanted 20 metacais to grind his corn, another needed chapa money to get to another province to help his mother who had been bitten by a snake, a woman with a baby wanted work, another man had swollen feet and barely could walk, while another just wanted food. Jesus said the poor will always be with us. It certainly is true here in Mozambique.
* * * * * * *
Simone and Benedito introduced us to some of our new neighbors today. They were rather short, a little bit furry and hanging out in the trees. (No, not Todd and Christa, they're not short!) The house we will rent is next to the forest where there are a myriad of small, African animals. Today these furry monkeys were in, well, full swing as we passed by their house. They were checking us out like any new neighbor would. I couldn't help but wonder if they would stop by with a pie or something to welcome us to the neighborhood when we move in a couple of weeks. :-) Wait, this is Africa. Most likely they will be at our door looking for pie...
* * * * * * *
One of our activistas told me a sad story. Her neighbor's wife died and left him with small children. One is a 9-month-old boy. This father leaves this baby with a very young but older sibling to fend for themselves while he is away for a few days. Often they are left without food to eat. Once, said the activista, the little brother even walked out and abandoned the 9-month-old baby. She found him with ant bites and sores all over his body and of course in need of food and water, a change of clothes and a diaper. It is no accident that this man's neighbor is one of our activistas.
* * * * * * *
Roseta is just a wisp of a woman supine on the hospital bed dying with AIDS. An all too common African affliction, we discover she hasn't eaten since yesterday and a meager meal at that. We offer her some soup as she explains her story in her tribal language. She is not from Dondo but from Gorongoza. She came here when her husband became sick but he died shortly after. We share Jesus with her and the hope that Easter brings. She claims she knows Him but I think she just knows about Him. I can see the witchcraft amulet around her neck. Another too common African affliction; one foot in the church, one foot in witchcraft. She admits her children are somewhere in the Nhamaibwe bairro caring for themselves since she has no relatives or friends in Dondo. We are grieved to learn their ages are 9, 6 and 3. We make a note to try and find them though the bairro is a large area. They will be joining the 1.6 million orphans in Mozambique.
The Bible says to speak for those who can't speak for themselves. Please pray for all of these children of poverty. It is the first step for speaking up on their behalf.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Domingos
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| Domingos in front of his house...notice how much it is leaning... |
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| This is the back of Domingos' house. Great for air conditioning....but that is about all! |
He looked like a typical eight-year-old. But he wasn't typical, nor was he eight. He actually was 15. It was hard to believe this small boy was a young man but AIDS is not kind to a growing body. I met him for the first time yesterday. Activista Fernando wanted me to see the conditions that this orphan and his grandmother called home. On the verge of collapse, their mud home looked more like a squashed version of the leaning tower of Pisa. I grabbed his hand in friendship but was shocked at the heat it radiated. Instinctively touching his head, it was apparent his fever was soaring in the dangerous zone. My motherly nurturing came out as I instructed him to put a cold, wet rag over his head and lay down. It surprised me that this teen complied. He had been wandering around with three friends scavenging for something to eat while His grandmother tended their rice field.
Many orphans like Domingos suffer the aftermath of their parents' choices. Often they are left without anything but the AIDS virus. Thankfully, we can help. They will be the first recipients to receive our newly designed Green Door house. It is small but sufficient and is made from cement. It is possible because God's people are taking the challenge to sponsor a house that can be built for $1350. Their sacrifice is going to make a difference in the quality of life for people like Domingos and his grandmother. It makes it exciting for us to begin our work! Thank you!
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