Eva, Part II

Simone carefully pulled out the worms out
of Eva's feet today.  She cried because it
hurt as they were quite large.

Eva found new hope today. Read the
story below.

Though we have very busy schedules, Brooke and I have committed to see Eva every day to feed her, comfort her, pray with her, and just love her.  She has had a heart that has been broken beyond measure.  She is the product of betrayal from an unsafe and untrustworthy world. She refused to eat, take her medicine, take a bath or have her wounds cleaned. She had given up her will to live.

At first people said she was deaf because she wouldn't respond.  She wasn't deaf.  She just had selective hearing.  We could see that she was quite intelligent.  She meticulously copied Brooke's coloring technique with her new coloring book and crayons. Hiding within this diseased and emaciated body lived a 10-year-old girl with spirit. It was a relief to discover it one afternoon and a glimmer of hope that she might pull out of her depression.  I had brought homemade pizza for her lunch.  A treat for any 10-year-old but especially for one who was suffering from starvation. I put everything on the pizza I could think of to add vitamins and protein. I watched in disbelief as she took a bite, and then carefully, like any other 10-year-old, picked out the green olives and threw them on the ground.  Her large eyes caught mine and flashed me a huge grin. Even though her world had been so out of control, this was one thing she could control.  No green olives.  I laughed with her and gave her a hug. 

Though we have heard several versions of Eva's life history through different sources, we have come to realize that every bit of information she has given us is true.  Every person in her life has abandoned her through death or choice. It is difficult to explain to a child that has experienced such immense suffering that there is One who loves her.  Where do you begin to build that bridge?  At first, when we talked about Jesus, she would turn away.  Her wall seemed impenetrable.  What she did start to respond to was our consistency in returning.  She would gingerly get out of bed, and in spite of her pain, walk outside the hospital and wait for us on the cement.  One of the mothers attending her sick child told us that she cried one day when we were late.

We noticed today that she had finally let the nurses clean and re-bandage her wound on her leg.  She readily accepted her ARV meds. She agreed to a bath so we were able to give her a new blue dress - a size 7 though it still hung loosely around her protruding frame. We told her she looked like a princess; after all, little 10-year-olds like to be a princess. She nodded her head though perhaps not so sure what a princess really looked like.

Then as Brooke held her close, I once again explained how much God really loves her and what His Son suffered to demonstrate that love. We could tell she was completely attentive.  When we asked her if she would like Jesus in her heart, she nodded her head with determination.  So Simone cited the prayer of salvation and the most precious little voice clearly and carefully repeated everything he said.  And to add to the miracle of the moment, we heard the voice of a mother of a sick child in the next bed repeat the prayer right along with Eva.

We don't know what God has in mind for little Eva.  She is so very sick. But we are thankful for the opportunity to be here for her and for those that pray and support this ministry.  There are so many more Eva's in Africa and so many more that need God's grace and love.

Eva

This is Eva.  She is an AIDS orphan.

She is 10-years-old. But weighs so little.

Brooke and Simone help Eva to walk to use the bathroom.
Notice her swollen feet and slight frame.

Brooke is amazed at how carefully Eva
is coloring in the lines. She was imitating
Brooke's artistic abilities. :-)  Story below.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. I John 3: 16-18

She was by herself sitting on the hard cement in front of the hospital. Dirty and frail, her somber and sad eyes followed us as we shared the book of John with several mothers and sick children that were sitting and standing among the trees in the late morning sun.  Normally we were inside the corridor but the floor was being washed and the water trickling non-stop from the hospital opening blocked our entrance. Brooke caught this little girl's eyes and I could see her determination to find out more.  One of the mothers acknowledged that this little girl had been abandoned at the hospital and had not been talking, eating, or taking her medicine. Her lifeless eyes were a window into a heart that had lost all hope. As if on cue, Brooke, an adoptee herself,  was by her side communicating in the language of compassion and love. Almost instantly this little 10 year-old Mozambican black girl with arms the size of a broomstick, swollen feet and bandaged legs latched on to blonde and blue-eyed Brooke who by this time was unashamedly crying at the sight of this forlorn AIDS orphan in Africa. Laying her head in Brooke's lap, she held her hand with all the strength she had.  Her fasting of silence was over as she quietly asked Brooke if she could come live with her. As her trust grew, Brooke managed to coax her into two cups of soup though her mouth was filled with open sores. 

We bought her some juice and yogurt. Leaving Brooke and the activistas to bathe her, I carefully looked through a pile of used clothing heaped up in the open market. She had soiled her tattered clothes because she was too weak to get herself to the toilet in the hospital. I found a used coat for her since she had been shivering in the sun. Then lastly I bought some flexible flip-flops as her bloated feet were twice the size of a normal ten-year-old. 

Meanwhile, Brooke and activistas Pascao and Josefa carefully removed her soiled clothes and washed her from a bucket of cold water. She was nothing more than leathery skin and bones. Brooke cut her fingernails and toenails, scrubbed them and added some hot pink polish. They carried little Eva back to her hospital bed and propped her up against the wall for support. Brooke took out some bubbles she had brought with her and was coaxing this child that had been lost in her dissipating world to begin playing again. Weakly she started batting at the bubbles and a slight smile emerged on her gaunt face like the sun peaking through an ominous cloud after a calamitous cyclone. Having spent the better part of the afternoon and early evening with her, we finally announced we had to leave with a promise to return the next day.  Poor Eva. She cried out pitifully that she didn't want Brooke to leave; she didn't want to be alone in the hospital. She clung to Brooke with what little strength she had. 

How did you get here little one? What is your painful story that you try to hide so well in your heart but your eyes are screaming to share? We can't undo the first chapters of your life...but God has the last word dear little Eva. He will write your epilogue. Loving an AIDS orphan is part of His story and it has a happy ending.

Deb, from the Wyoming team, is teaching how to make
tortillas at the bakery.  Tortillas have few ingredients
and they are an excellent introduction into the Moz diet.

Taunya and Deb also taught how to make American biscuits.
These Mozambican men learned quickly that jam tastes pretty
good in the biscuits they made. :-)

These students will teach other Mozambicans how to make
biscuits and tortillas.

Our team from Wyoming did a great
job painting another Green Door house.

We had four teens on our team
and they were amazing! What
great kids they were to have
help these last two weeks.

Of course the children have to hang out
with us and find out what we are doing.
We played a lot of games and did some
singing on the job.

Taylor is telling Winston how to do it. :-)

Taunya joined the team from Powell, but she is from a church in
Pavillion. She was quite the worker and I think she left her
heart here in Moz.

Pastor Jon and Dave smile while they work!  Jon held a
seminar for the church plant pastors.  There is a huge need
here to mentor the pastors out in the African bush.

Even the little guys babysit.

Brooke had a lot of help.  Of course, how much help is it
when a hundred little fingers try and get into your paint?

Part of our team was doing ministry elsewhere the day they
painted - we had 9 team members in all. This house was
built for a widow who had her mud house destroyed by her
mentally ill son.

Team Powell in Action!

Having our team from Powell has been wonderful.
Pastor Jon took the opportunity to baptize two
of our team members, Deb and her daughter
Kassandra in this African river. They had never
been immersed before so Sunday they were
immersed in what turned out to be fairly shallow water!
Glad there weren't any crocodiles to join us. :-)

Today we went to two different church plants, Mutondo and

Nharutuzo out in the bush. We drove over 200 kilometers of

chuck holes, bumps, dips and sandy roads before our day ended.

The children listened attentively as the team told the
story of Christ's death in drama.

At first the children are a little bit
skeptical of us.

Brooke is teaching the children the game of duck, duck, goose.

Brooke is all smiles....she will be with us for 10 weeks!

Deb and Simone are acting out the story.  Look at the thorns
we found to use as the crown Jesus wore on the cross!

Children babysitting children.

It is kind of hard to run in a capalana!

Pastor Jon waits for his turn to run.

Sure enough, someone chooses him and off he goes.

Now its his turn to run.  But I will let you in on a secret....he
biffed it pretty bad going around the corner!

The parents listened along with children.
It was a fun morning for everyone.

The children followed Pastor Jon carrying the cross around
the mud church.

Simone and Pastor Jon were pretty animated story tellers.

Drums are always part of the singing
and dancing.

The children received a cookie, sucker, balloon, coloring
book written in Portuguese with the salvation message and
some color crayons.  What was amazing is that the parents
wanted their own coloring book and crayons too!

The church plant leader invited us to lunch. They killed the
chicken, plucked its feathers and before we knew it, a big
bowl of rice joined it on the table. Deb, Max, Brooke are on
the left, Simone is in the center and Winston and Jon are on
the right. The rest of the team is at the other church plant.
We are eating in the fellowship hall of the church. :-)

The Joys and Sorrows of Ministry

Though in the sorrow of losing one of our activistas, we were
reminded of how much we have been blessed in the project.
  We were able to dedicate three more houses this weekend
in the name of Jesus. We are now building house #14 & #15.

This is Luis receiving his key from the bairro leader. Luis is blind.
At his house dedication he gave a very moving speech. First, he spoke
 in Portuguese, and then surprised us by speaking in English
that he had obviously been practicing.  He said his grandmother had told
 him that God would one day provide a house for him...and He did! At the end
of his speech, He gave God the glory and shouted out with great gusto:
"I am no longer homeless...I have a house!"

This little one was stuffing the whole cookie in her mouth.
Like any girl, she was delighted to have discovered chocolate. :-)

Chica came to us because she had no where else to look for
help.  She moved to Dondo from Matemeu when her husband
passed away. She came because she had a sister in Dondo
 that could help her care for her five children. Then tragedy
struck again. Her sister passed away leaving her with her sister's
child. Homeless, six children and one that suffers from epilepsy,
what was the chance of survival in Mozambique?
   

But God had a plan for Chica.  A donor
in the United States read about her story
at the Children's Relief International website
and intervened on her behalf.  On Saturday,
she was presented with her own home. She
will have other difficulties in her life to face
as a widow, but having a safe home for her
family will not be one of them. Thank you
from the bottom of all of our hearts!

All of Chica's children weren't able to be at the dedication,
but it was fun interacting with the ones that were there.

These are the children in Mafarinha.  We are thankful that
we have been able to build homes in the different bairros.
The bairro leaders are great at coming to the dedications
and expressing their thankfulness for the help the Green
Door ministry has been for the people in their bairro.

I am thankful that Cindy and one of our interns,
Sandy, helped bake cookies for these 3
dedications...we baked over 500 cookies!

Braids and beads.

Francisca is our cook at El Shaddai. She
was blessed with a cement block home.
Her grin tells it all.

This week we lost another friend in the Ray of Light project. Toalha, a Project Life patient, was active in the Bible studies in the Consito bairro and also a builder with one of the two crews building the Green Door houses this year.  He personally helped build 5 of these houses. It was another sadness in the wake of Fernando's death.

On a very happy note...our team arrived from Wyoming!!  They are very tired after two days of travel and no sleep, but what a joy to have them here with us. We are looking forward to two weeks full of ministry and blessings. 

A Soldier Down

Fernando serving soup to a patient in the hospital.

Fernando Joaquim
October 15, 1987 - June 2, 2012

Noemia's call Saturday morning caught me totally off guard. I wasn't sure I heard her right though she was speaking in perfect English. One of our activistas, Fernando, had taken his life.

This was the Fernando who always had a smile for everyone. He worked hard helping those with AIDS out in the bairros. His loyalty to the hospital soup ministry was inspirational for those that worked with him. He helped oversee the renovations of the buildings for the basket ministry, coordinated the expeditions to cut palm leaves and fought the agriculture department monthly for a permit to take a small percentage of foliage from the millions of acres of African bush.

He fought hard to keep his family together after the death of his twin sister and parents. He was mother and father to his younger siblings. It is not easy to take care of a family of growing bodies on $27 a month and provide for their food, clothing, school fees and supplies. His childhood ceased to exist as he was forced to grapple the adult world. He was the poster child of an African AIDS orphan.

Fernando's was one of the first Green Door houses we built. The team that came from our town in Wyoming joyfully helped the Mozambicans put up his cement block house. It was heartening to see these orphans own their own home that no one could take away. Things seemed to be looking up for him as he announced his wedding plans for July. He had found a girl he was crazy in love with and she loved his siblings. It all looked so right. But something was terribly wrong.

We will never know exactly what happened to cause him to make a series of poor choices. One doesn't need to look far to know that Satan is crouching at anyone's doorstep to kill and destroy. In the weariness of the battle, he let his armor slip. With his defenses down, he became a target for the enemy. In the aftermath, we lost one of our soldiers.

We buried him today. It was one of the biggest funerals I have seen here in Mozambique. He had touched the lives of many. The grief of his siblings was overwhelming.

It is customary for Mozambicans to sing many songs together at a funeral. Towards the end of the funeral, as flowers were placed on the mounded burial, impromptu, five young men began singing beautifully together in a cappella harmony while the rest of us just listened. I had never seen them before so I don't know who they were, but it was a beautiful gift to the grieving and an appropriate end to a very difficult day.

(This has been a trying year for the activistas. As they are on the front line of the battlefield, they need protection and strength. We need prayer warriors.)

* * * * * * *

This last weekend the president of Mozambique landed right in the housing site that we live in, Lusalite (or now called Eco Cimento). Election year is coming up and he is making the rounds in his country. Dondo spent a lot of time getting ready for him. Things got cleaned up and fixed, pruned and readied for his presence. I couldn't help but wonder....if they knew Jesus was coming....would they be as diligent in getting ready?

* * * * * * *

We buried another woman from Project Life last week. She had fought TB and lost. We took another Project Life patient to the hospital in Beira. Her name is Elsa. She is just a skeletal wisp; fighting the end stages of AIDS. We discovered she needed blood and she couldn't afford it. Her husband recently abandoned her so her younger brother was trying valiantly to care for her. We decided we would pay the $53 the blood would cost. Then we discovered the hospital blood bank was dried up. We were told we could give our blood and they could exchange our blood for her type when it came in. We opted to do that but since it was going to take up to five hours and it was already late in the day, we had to come up with another idea. They suggested we find two people we could pay to give blood. It takes two Mozambicans to give a pint of blood because they are not healthy enough for one person to give that much blood. With the help of her brother, we managed to find two people who did not have AIDS willing to give blood for a reasonable amount. We were thankful for that. As we were leaving Elsa, I noticed that in spite of her deathly ill frame and countenance, someone had taken the time that day to paint her nails chartreuse green. My first reaction was wondering why her brother would waste money on nail polish when she needed food to eat, medicine to buy, and a host of other things. My judgmental spirit raised its ugly head until God cut me off at the pass. As we were heading home, my translator quietly said to me, “By the way, did you know it is Elsa's birthday today?”

It gave me a renewed perspective on brotherly love.