 |
| Ines went to be with the Lord this last week. |
 |
| Praying in Dondo at a Bible study with the activistas. |
 |
| Teaching by the activistas....sharing the light. |
 |
| Children come and sit in the bairros and listen to the Bible stories too. |
 |
| Magarida started out as a visitor, just coming to hear the Bible preached. Many in Moz cannot read or have access to a Bible. |
 |
| Sponsoring an activista is an eternal investment. Thank you! |
Adelaide, Inacio, Cristina, Ines....those are the names of four people who have died in Project Life since we returned in September. They aren't statistics to me. They are real people who were born in a real country where one out of four live with the AIDS virus. (Although a Brazilian missionary doctor told us that she believes one out of two in Mafarinha.)
I have often said that you can't understand the devastation of AIDS in Africa unless you walk into a cemetery in Dondo. They have 10 cemeteries to our one here in the U.S., where we live when we aren't in Moz. You can get lost in a cemetery in Dondo. The graves are side by side, mounds and mounds in a variety of sizes - baby-sized, child-sized and adult-sized. Each one represents a human being that was created in the image of God.
It would be easy to run from this darkness. I would...except for one thing. I have a light that I hold for others to see and it is a light that can't go out. It is eternal. It pierces even this darkness. Adelaide, Inacio, Cristina and Ines were introduced to this light that guided them out of the darkness. It replaced their hopelessness with hope that death itself couldn't snuff out. Thank you Jesus that you are our light.
As we begin this new year of renewed hope for the ministry in Project Life, I want to thank all of you who stepped up to support an activista (worker in Project Life). I am so pleased to report that we needed 26 sponsorships and 22 have come in. Only Maria Verniz, Emilia Chingoma, Emilia Dias and Laurinha Fernando need a second sponsor. Supporting the nationals to minister to the nationals puts us on the right path to growth and sustainability. We are blessed!
