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| These fathers are receiving a gift on Sunday from the church. |
This last week I spent some of my time gathering information
for potential recipients to receive a CRI* Green Door house. We like to let the donor choose their
recipients so they can pray for them and really understand that what they are
doing really changes lives. It is not always logistical or practical for donors
to be on the field they have partnered with so we try our best to help them be
here in spirit. So I have the privilege
of listening to those in need of housing, writing down their stories, and
sharing with potential donors.
I probably interviewed around 15 women this last week, mostly
from Project Life, our AIDS hospice. All
of them single by death or divorce. As I listened to them, a pattern in their
stories emerged. They married young,
perhaps at 14 or 15. They had at best a primary education and no vocational
training. They had several children with 90% losing one or several children
before they were of age. The men in
their lives often gave them the AIDS virus, then died or abandoned them. It was paradigm for the paucity of prosperity, i.e. extreme poverty.
Today when I walked out in the bairros meeting with those in
PL, two different women shared with me through tears that they had husbands. But it
was more negative than positive. One husband cheats on his wife with other mistresses
so they take every opportunity to mock his wife. The other woman’s
husband has made an ultimatum with her – get rid of the children or he will
leave.
Ironically, this last Sunday at the Dondo Baptist church was
“Father’s Day.” I listened to the
heart’s cry of the women as they addressed the men through speaking and a skit.
How they desperately want the men in their lives to be the man that God calls
them to be. They don’t want to be a man’s possession. So often women in
Mozambique are considered property; something that can easily be discarded when
life gets complicated. I just was reading a blog from a friend who champions
for animal welfare. My eye caught a comment that he was making on Facebook. He
was talking about “those creeps that
“own” their dog instead of “love” their dog…an egotistical possession instead
of a precious friend.” If that is
true for dogs….how much better a man should treat the woman that God has given
him! How different things could be if the men would love their wives like
Christ loved the church.
I noticed that even though there were more than 300 people
at the church, only 25 of them (that included my husband, Cindy’s husband and
Jeronimo) were fathers. A
disproportionate amount compared to the women and children. The lack of men taking responsibility as
fathers and husbands is not a new phenomenon.
In the United States, we too have the case of the disappearing
father. One out of three homes is
without a father.
Even though these women don’t have men in their lives to
love and cherish them, God gives us that opportunity to fill in the gap. Through
programs like Green Door or Project Life, Tessa Grace, and the Medical clinic,
we really can help change their lives for the better. With the nine church
plants that have been started through the Ray of Light project, and programs
like SPARKS, we can bring change to the men in Mozambique by introducing them
to the One that can change poverty of the heart, mind and soul.
Please, would you commit to praying for the men of
Mozambique?
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| Have you ever seen such a small coconut? These grow on a very tall tree in our yard. The children come and climb the tree to eat these little coconuts because they are hungry! It is dangerous for them to be up there and sometimes I bribe them with an apple or cookie to keep them on the ground. |
