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| Braxton is a missionary intern from Powell! We are thankful for all the help the interns have given us! |
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| Rosa is delighted that she has a safe cement block house! |
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| Handing over the keys. |
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| When we painted this, we thought it was bright! We asked Rosa if she liked it. She said yes! because she chose the colors. It is great to see their appreciation in having this choice in their own home. |
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| Mariana gets her keys, She is a widow who is almost completely blind from cataracts. |
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| Reece (an intern from Wyoming) was very busy making the widows laugh! |
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| The bairro leader of Macharote is talking to the crowd at the house dedication. |
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| Cars and kids in Africa go together like a horse and buggy. |
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| We bring enough treats to celebrate with the children who hang out at the work site while the Green Door houses are being built. We enjoy them so much.. |
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| Mom and baby waiting patiently for the Project Life food distribution. |
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| What a difference it has made for these people with AIDS to have been given an adequate supply of food this past year. We are thankful for the Wooddale Church of Minneapolis and Lake Point Church of Rockwall, TX. It is fun when a member of a donating church can join in the distribution. |
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| More than delighted with her bounty. PTL! |
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| I would get a headache carrying this load on my head. |
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| Life is very hard for those fighting AIDS. We are so thankful for God's people who demonstrate God's compassion to those that are suffering. These women are our sisters in the Lord. |
We celebrated again today TWO completed Green Door houses! Two widows, Rosa and Mariana's lives have just turned for the better. Our CRI interns have been a huge help in making this happen - not only working hard at the site but making these dear sweet widows laugh. Thank you God for these hard workers, thank you for the donors who heard the knock of opportunity to bless a widow, thank you that one day the home you are preparing for us has been in the making for over 2000 years! But for you who revere my name, the sun of righeousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Malachi 4: 2
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Rounding the corner in my car on the way to a Bible study, I saw my blind friend José out of the corner of my eye. I hadn't seen him since returning to Dondo. I was delighted to see that he had two other blind people by the hand, leading them down the road. I stopped and grabbed his hand through the window as he greeted me by name. His ability to recognize the sound of my car always is impressive. No longer a beggar in Beira, he has risen to be quite the business man able to care for his six children and blind wife.
We started him out selling beans in the market. With his young son's help, he grew his little business to sell other commodities. Now, he has a desire to teach other blind people how to be independent and sell in the market too. We agreed to meet at his home and discuss the possibilities of helping these new entrepreneurs.
As I arrived, I noticed the improvement of the appearance of his family. It was a contrast to the sad memories of his youngest son's death from cholera. Later, his wife bore twins; one barely able to survive. The ROL Tessa Grace Nutrition Center intervened and provided supplemental milk and counseling. Watching them chatter and toddle was happy proof they had been successful. After more discussion, José agreed to introduce me to his two potential students the following week.
Now we are going to empower Ana (22), who lost her sight only one year ago and José Franque, (46) to rise above the status quo for the visually impaired in a third-world country. Please pray for them as they accept this challenge.
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This has been an exhausting week as I have driven hundreds of kilometers for several days in different directions pursuing bamboo, palm leaves, and other resources for basket-weaving. We will begin Monday teaching over 120 patients how to make a variety of treasures to sell in the market. On our trip to Inchope (it is half-way to Zimbabwe) the husband of Emilia, our activista accompanied us to teach us how to recognize good bamboo and the proper way to cut it. It was compelling to watch his swift catana come down on the bamboo unrelenting until 4 bundles had been neatly cut and spliced. But the stories he told about the war on the long trip home were even more compelling.
Separated from Emilia, the Renamo party (the opposition party) captured him and put him in a prison camp. For four years he didn't know if Emilia was dead or alive or if she had taken on a different husband. Not only was he separated from her but to this day he has never been reunited with his parents or siblings and has no idea of their whereabouts. The atrocities he witnessed in the camp were no less gruesome than those of Sudan or Burma. I couldn't speak for about an hour after he finished his story. These are my people, not random people across the ocean in a CNN news story birthing violent injustice. Dear sweet Emilia had waited patiently, suffering through the war until he returned. I breathed a silent prayer thanking God for CRI, for the ROL, and for a chance to be part of the salve to heal a very large wound.
