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| Julia is showing off the baskets made by the people in Project Life. They are getting more professional looking and they are ready to sell their baskets in more venues. |
Basket Ministry Update
We use palm leaves that we cut from the African bush for our
baskets. Saturday I took “Abe” the Green
Door truck and a crew out past Mafambisse and Matua to drop them off so they
could spend the day cutting the leaves. Now if anyone knows me, they know that
I have no sense of direction and a memory like a sieve. I can hide my own
Easter eggs and the hunt could go on for years. I say that because going out in
the bush on what really are more foot paths then roads can be quite challenging.
One landmark looks exactly like the next out in the bush if you are a green
horn like me. Usually I have had Fernando to show me the way but since his
death, these road trips for the basket ministry are solo once the crew is
dropped off. But I really am never alone.
I know that God is with me and He knows my situation.
I studied diligently going into the bush for every turn,
bump, chuck hole and stump to identify on the way back. However, the road in
never looks like the road out. As I left the crew, I noticed two women with huge
sacks balanced on their heads and a larger sack on their backs walking the path. Normally, we never pick up people we don’t
know. I drove past the women but I kept
hearing God telling me to pick them up!
That feeling did not go away as my car kept going. Finally, I stopped.
The women caught up and thanked me several times for the ride. As we rode
along, I came to a crossroads. Trying to figure out which one to take, I
naturally (true to form) took the wrong path. The women pounded on my window
from the back of the pickup. Realizing
my cluelessness, they guided me all the way out to the Beira-Zimbabwe highway
where I was able to make my way home.
I spent yesterday looking for more vendors for our baskets
in Beira. One vendor outside of Club Nautica by the beach took 9 baskets and a
gift shop near the university is interested in coming to Dondo to see our
little production in order to approve them for her shop. Please pray that God
will open more doors for the baskets to be sold.
Project Life Update
It is typical for us to ask for prayer requests after we
teach the Bible study out in the bairros.
When you suffer from the AIDS virus, the requests for healings for a
variety of illnesses are ever present. So when one woman in Bairro Vinte e Cinco
started to voice her request, it startled me when she started sobbing before
she could get out the first word.
Finally, under composure, she shared something that stunned me even more
than her outburst.
With great pain she explained her loneliness because
everyone in her family has abandoned her. Not because of her virus, not because
they died or moved away, but because they accused her of being a witch. Another
woman chimed in that she too was undergoing the same trial with her family. I
looked at these women in complete surprise because they had been coming to our
Bible studies for quite a long time and had professed Christ as their Savior.
What was even more troubling, is that the week before I had been confronted
with the same issue with another elderly woman in the Macharote bairro. More
than just accusing her, her children had beaten her viciously three times. Apparently the daughter-in-law had not been
able to get pregnant so they accused their mother of casting a spell by using
her dead husband’s spirit to prevent the conception.
In 2011, 16 women were killed in Marromeu, accused of witchcraft. This incident was not the first in Mozambique and most likely not the last. Were these women witches? Closer to the truth according to newspaper articles is that there is another word for this tragedy and one that hits closer to home – Elder Abuse. If you don’t want to care for your elderly mother because she is unable to provide for herself, or you don’t want to deal with one who suffers from AIDS because of the time and expense involved, it is convenient to accuse her of being a witch. She can be ostracized, abused and possibly killed. In a land bequeathed in witchcraft, it is difficult to protect the innocent.
Please pray for these widows as they confront even another battle
in their lives.
Green Door Update
It has been our desire to protect the rights of the women and
children, orphans and the blind that receive our Green Door houses. For eight
months we have tried to connect with an organization in Maputo for training for
these rights but it has become a dead end. Today in Beira I met with the Director
of Social Action for Women of the Sofala Province to discuss our situation. This
meeting has to be one of the highlights of my week. I couldn’t believe it when
I walked into his office and discovered that he is blind! He is a highly
intelligent man who is quite accomplished with his Braille. We discussed the
issues at hand but afterwards I couldn’t help but ask him about his life. Every
blind person I have met in Mozambique has been a beggar on the streets. Here
was a man who was in a very enviable position for someone without a handicap,
let alone blind.
His name is José and he was born and raised in Moz. He
attended a blind school in Beira apparently with financial help. He then went
on to college in a normal environment because he had been equipped with the
tools he needed to succeed. He demonstrated his Braille machine and his
computer with special software that enables him to produce reports or send
email. It really was quite impressive.
His is definitely a success story. What better person to be
in his position than one who struggled and worked hard to succeed and who
understands the challenges of the handicapped. He also is a great example that
lives can be changed for the better.
José was also happy to hear of the houses you (the donors)
have built for the blind in Dondo. You are changing lives for the better
because of your generosity. Who knows the plans that God has for these lives
you have touched!
