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.

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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...

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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.

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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.