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Monday, August 22, 2011

Just Plain Fun

Today was the official day for the people in Project Life to
sell their baskets.  They were very excited and so was I!

They have done an incredible job of learning quickly and
each basket they do is better than the last.

The team from New York were great buyers!  They have a
lot of souvenirs to take home to remember Mozambique.

I stopped by El Shaddai today to check out the new playground
equipment that our interns built while they were here.

The kids are having a blast playing
on this new equipment!

I think the interns did a super job in designing and putting
this together for the kids.  It is a blessing when people
come here to Moz and use their talents to help the poor
and change lives for the better!

How much love has changed the future for these children!
From those that in the name of Jesus have given $ to build
El Shaddai, and those that continue to sponsor the children,
to those that come and make the school even a better place.
Aren't these beautiful smiles a great reward?!

It was great to see my friends one more time before
I have to leave for the States.

I have taken the sponsorship photos for
five years and have seen an incredible
change in these children.  Thank you
to all of you who have loved like Jesus and
been faithful to make a difference!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Blessed to Bless Others


This New York team blessed the people in
Project Life with food this week.

Waiting in line for oil.  It was a blessing to receive corn flour,
sugar and oil. 

Ana....a sweetheart in Project Life.

I try to carry things on my head but I can't
balance it the way they do. Amazing....

This is a quadruple dedication day.  First, we dedicated
two houses in Macharote.  Jeronimo and Noemia and
the team from New York joined us.

The children sit and listen....well, maybe they are listening. :-)

With faith and hope we plant the seed of
God's love when we come into the bairros
and build houses.

We built two houses on one piece of property.  We allow
the recipient to choose their color scheme - bright and cheery!

Tomas,a janitor at the ROL, is given his
letter from his donor.  This is a powerful
connection where donor and recipient
can pray for each other.

At age 14, Benedito became an orphan like so many here
 in Mozambique. One of his younger sisters (pictured) will
live with him in his new house. He is an activista working
with Project Life and goes to school in the mornings.     

The last house we dedicated today is Simone's, my translator.
Though Simone has lost both his parents, some of his
siblings and aunt came to celebrate his new house.

Last but not least, Abe got in on the celebration too!  Jeronimo
prayed a prayer of dedication for our new GD truck.  May
God protect this little truck and its passengers.  As we were
blessed to receive it, may it be a blessing to others.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Packing to Unpack

With two weeks left before we return to the States, I am overwhelmed with the task of prioritizing - a sensation like hitting the gas and the brake pedals with one foot. In a land where there is so much deprivation, it is difficult to pinpoint the most deserving need.  In light of this, a friend recently asked me to convey one picture or experience that has touched my heart the most in the time I have been here in Mozambique. I was inarticulate to be honest. Five years of accrued memories witnessing the estate of poverty are difficult to unpack.

A few moments here have been very ordinary; not too dissimilar from life in the States. Most have been challenging and even surreal. Some have been so profoundly sad that I have held them quarantined in a private cell to insulate me from the sorrow. The truth is, it is unnecessary to go back further than yesterday to be deeply moved by my surroundings.

Yesterday morning I met with the activistas for our usual Friday morning teaching. Not all 13 were present.  One activista was in the hospital with her son in Beira.  One came in late because her son was being treated for TB. One had just buried her father-in-law the day before who had died suddenly. One buried a sister on Tuesday that I had just met at the hospital while serving soup. One had buried her brother in Beira earlier in the week.  And the most sad case, one just buried her five-year-old nephew who had been found in a septic tank after he had been missing for five days.  All this in one week and it was just an extension from the day before.

I was painting a new Green Door house in Macharote. Children attach to us like flies to honey as we go about our work making it hard not to step on little feet.  Yet off in the distance I noticed a little girl standing quietly by herself on the road watching me. There was an aura of sadness about her so I looked at her closely not only trying to detect her unusual persona but to discover why she hadn't clustered around us like the other children.  Normally I don't stop my work to seek out one child but something about her drew me to her so I put down my paintbrush. As I approached her I could see her grossly swollen feet and hands.  She may have elephantiasis, a condition brought by microscopic worms spread by mosquitos. I held her hot and swollen hand in mine and looked into her beautiful and sweet face with such sad eyes. My emotions slipped off the brakes and I started to cry. Poverty has no barriers. Composing myself so I wouldn't scare her, I prayed for her, pleading with God earnestly to heal her.*

When I leave in two weeks, I will carry a collage of these memories with me. May I unpack them in such a way that I preserve the lessons that they teach, not only for myself but for others.

(This little girl's name is Inacia and I understand that both she and her mother suffer from elephantiasis.  Please pray for this family as we seek God's wisdom on how we can help.)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Meet "Abe" - our newest CRI staff!


Finally.....one year after our supporters helped us raise the money for a new Green Door truck, it finally has arrived!!!  Meet "Abe," our 2011 4X4 Nissan diesel truck. We hardly expected a brand new truck but that is what God has provided.  Every lead of the possibility of a truck fell through this last year and we had no time to travel (and our visas would not allow it) to South Africa or Zimbabwe to look at dealerships there. We tried to work through a  missionary program that could bring in vehicles from Japan but the earthquake complicated matters and that fell through. We had contacts looking all over South Africa for 4X4 trucks but we were told that they were scarce and those that had them didn't give them up. So we waited and prayed.  With only three weeks left here in Dondo, we were beginning to think we would have to return to the States once again without purchasing a truck.  Phil discovered a truck like this a week ago in Beira but it sold before he could even inquire about it.  The dealer said he had another one in Maputo, and true to his word, he brought it to Beira today and now it is sitting in our yard!  We had exactly enough money to pay for it due to the interest that had accumulated through the year in the bank as we waited for it to arrive.  God's timing is just right and the truck will work great for our needs in the Green Door ministry. Thank you Jesus for your good gift to us and your faithfulness to provide.  Thank you supporters for helping us to raise the funds.  Thank you prayer partners for faithfully praying for one year to see this answered. May our new "Abe" be as blessed as Abraham in the Bible and be willing to go wherever he is asked to go!



Our new truck came with this license plate so we call it Abraham. 

What a blessing to have truck that is 4X4, diesel and working!

We went to a baby dedication out at the Savane church plant
on Sunday in our old truck.  This truck has carried so many
things building Green Door houses.....including children!


One of the fun things kids like to do in Moz
is ride on the bumper of our cars. We have
to watch out for them as we drive through
the bairros and shoo them off.

Agusta and Nelson, the leaders at
Savane welcomed their new little girl.
They decided to name her.....Pam.

When we are out at Savane, chickens are
often given as a gifts.

Not everyone was happy at the celebration!

Mozambique's winters may mean having
to wear a hat. Temps usually run in the
80's during the day and down in the mid
60's at night.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Bananas or Medicine?

The women in Project Life are learning a trade.

The women learn to make baskets with capulanas.  There are
a thousand uses for capulanas, so why not make baskets too?

Palm leaves make great baskets.

The men make mats that Mozambicans use to sit or sleep on.

I have been pleased to see the quality of their work.

Every Monday is basket-weaving class.
We hope to sell in the market quite soon.


In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Monday...a typically busy day so my schedule was all planned out. We were bouncing along in the car headed to the Project Life basket weaving class when I saw Melita coming down the road with four small bananas. Wondering why she was headed away from the class I stopped and greeted her. Melita is dear to my heart. Her mother and sister are witchdoctors but she has been faithful to attend the Mafarinha Bible studies. Melita shyly explained that her 6-year-old daughter had been vomiting for five days. I asked if she had taken her to the hospital. She looked down and then admitted her dilemma. Because her daughter had not eaten in five days, she had to choose between buying bananas that cost 5 meticais (or 17 cents) or pay for the consult and medicine at the hospital which also cost 5 meticais. With only 5 meticais to spend, she had chosen the bananas. It was obvious God had brought me on this road at just the right moment. I took her daughter to the hospital where she was tested and found to have severe malaria. One more day without intervention and she might not have survived. I thanked God for the opportunity to help. But my day was hardly over.

Leaving the hospital I stopped by the market to grab some bouillon for the rice needed at the basket-weaving class. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the local beggar who barely walks making his way to my car for a handout. Although I had helped him often with bread or a few coins, today I backed away and ignored him because I was in a hurry. My schedule was already stretched from teaching the activistas to meeting with an official from social action on behalf of a blind woman who needed a Green Door house. As it played out, Simone and I missed the official at social action by 15 minutes. Driving away from the social action building we witnessed a terrible accident. The local beggar was sitting in front of the entryway to the open market when a truck inadvertently ran over him. It was so sad.* It left a deep pain in my heart that I had missed an opportunity to bless him that morning. 

But life in Dondo doesn't slow down for tragedies. We left that sad scene and in a few minutes were flagged down by one of our activistas. A lady from Project Life was laboriously making her way to the hospital hoping to get there before her baby arrived. I knew she was from Macharote and had already traveled many kilometers by foot. After arriving at the hospital and praying for a safe delivery, another woman came and asked for prayer for her daughter who was struggling to deliver. Even though they didn't know us, they welcomed us into her hospital room as she writhed in pain. In these situations I am so reminded of our helplessness and God's greatness. We prayed in Jesus' name and committed her delivery to His capable hands.

By that time it was dark and past the normal hospital hours. We discovered another woman from Project Life outside shivering and crying next to the hospital building. I could hardly believe my eyes. She had become quite ill while walking on the road and had no money to visit the emergency room – the only room open for consultation at that hour. Though it only cost 2 meticais (7 cents), she didn't have it. Once again, we marveled at God's timing for that moment. As we were leaving the hospital, we noticed a small girl hanging outside the fence by the hospital. At first we were going to ignore her assuming someone knew her whereabouts. But Simone wisely asked me to go back so he could ask what she was doing. She explained that she had been there all day wondering where her mother was in the hospital. She had been too young and shy to ask anyone. Much to our surprise, she was the daughter of another Project Life patient and in the same room with Melita's daughter. Simone was able to escort her directly to her mom.

I may plan my day in Dondo, but I am thankful that God directs my steps.

*We had first thought the beggar had died but we learned this morning that he is apparently doing better than we had originally thought.