Hungry People... Seeking the Bread of Life

Sunday morning in a little mud church in a village... where most are very poor.... and there is no clean water.....and where medical help is miles away. The Sunday Service brings people together....to crowd together on hard wooden benches..... to hear the WORD of GOD amidst the back and forth of tending to toddlers and infants.....

Sunday morning is a time of joy..... of singing as a choir...... of dancing to songs of praise...... of 'hearing' the WORD of GOD because few people can read. Sunday morning is a time to offer coins to a building fund for a cement block church....... a church that will have more benches.... and windows with screens..... and a latrine nearby.......

The Story of Joseph (the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat) is preached as the story of forgiveness of a man who wept, when many years after being wronged by his brothers, was reunited with them under God-planned circumstances. The analogy was to the civil war of the 90's in Mozambique when people saw family slaughtered..... What does the WORD say about forgiveness ...... about living your life without the weight of such justifiable anger?

In a village where over-the-counter drugs are unheard of, people stood and asked for prayer for toothaches, bad feet, lots of asthma, tumors, fever, abscesses, headaches..... so many babies have sores on their heads.....AIDS is just an everyday occurrence, so it barely gets mentioned.

Before dismissal the pastor addressed the issue of listening to the WORD with reverence......... coming to church is NOT about just singing and dancing...... but the learning the WORD of the Living God Almighty. ..... The church is growing - young adults are sharing with their neighbors about Jesus Christ....... He stressed that people must come to church to worship God and learn the WORD .. not to sing and dance with friends.

With no clocks or electricity the Service began later than scheduled...... and with no food to eat, there was no rush to get home for lunch...... Hungry people..... Seeking the Bread of Life they sit on hard benches for 4 hours in a little mud church in sub-Saharan Africa.

The day was very humbling...... very humbling indeed.
Blessings,
Lou

Lou Peryea is a short term missionary visiting us at the Ray of Light. This is Lou's third year working with the poor, orphans and widows.

2 Church's... one distribution... many fed

As I entered the courtyard of the church you could hear the singing and sounds of joy coming from within the walls of the church. The words of this song was sung in one of several tribal languages, "We will meet him when we die." Many faces showing the gratefulness of knowing that for one more month there will be food in their homes during this time of famine. The voices were from the patients of Project Life. Project Life is one of the several projects of the Ray of Light Ministry that Children's Relief International helps support for people with AIDS. Pam Johnson from Wyoming has been a driving force in helping gather funding for this project to help a 100+ families with food, medicines and daily soup for those who are in the hospital dying.

Pastor Jeronimo's wife, Noemia stood tall with a smile and announced, "we have been blessed one more time, we have brother's who have come to visit us and bring us food." And then shared from James that every perfect gift is from above and it is God who has provided the food. All who were present heard the truth spoken and I pray that their faith was increased.

Zack Farrar new to Children's Relief International as part time staff serving at the Nutrition Center gave the message on the Triumphal Procession. He painted the picture of The triumphal procession, I could see the parade as he told the story of generals leading, then the enemies captured and beaten with the carts of plunder, followed by white bulls to be sacrificed, priest with incense spreading the smell of a sweet victory and then the king dressed in purple and white.

The story told was about the Romans, but our triumphal procession is with Jesus. We are always being led in victory, He leads us in life victorious over death. We are the one's who are responsible to share the victory message of Christ. The sweet smell of victory for the romans is the same sweet smell of sharing Jesus with those who don't know.

We have become the ambassadors for the poor, the widows and the orphans here in Mozambique. The food that was given was a combination of the rice from Wooddale church in Minnesota and
Lake Point church in Rockwall, Texas provided corn meal, oil and sugar. It was the work of these two churchs that will sustain life for one more month. One more month to speak the name of Jesus into their lives. One more month to sing praises of a risen King and to celebrate that His mercy endures forever.

If you would like to be part of Children's Relief International Food Pantry, or the Soup ministry please visit, www.childrensrelief.org to make a donation. There you will find also information about the other projects and ministries here at the Ray of Light in Dondo, Mozambique. Starting Monday, Pam Johnson will be assisting in the development of Basket Making for the Activista's of Project Life. The goal will be to help these workers become self-sustaining with their business to increase their salaries and to be a witness to the community of reaping and sowing.

Thank you for your prayers and support for us at Children's Relief International. We are taking Christ to the community and wherever He went, lives were changed.

Obedience,
kathy

The blind leading the blind

There are many ways each day I am humbled by living here working with the Ray of Light Project and Children's Relief International. This week was another profound moment of looking at the conditions of where I live and those who are strong and survive.

At the church plant in Maffarhina we had a distribution of the rice that was donated from the Wooddale church in Minnesota. I may mention it often and you must realize that without this food coming here many many many people would have gone without food this season. The crops have suffered because of the lack of rain and therefore so does the community. I love how God knows exactly how things need to line up, for His people to see His hand in their lives by the Hunger Initiative gift coming at the perfect time.

This distribition was for the blind of this area. I waited and watched as the blind came through the gates to receive their food. 68 names were on the list but many more came to watch first hand the blessing happen. Because the blind recipients really had no idea of what the context of food they would be receiving, many did not bring any kind of bag to retrieve to take home their share. But those who planned ahead with their bags offered to help the others. When a name was called out and there was no reply they would starting calling for that person to rise to attention and be noticed. There were family members to help, neighbors and the blind helping the blind.

I watched as their faces beamed with the light of joy even though their eyes could not see their providers. Their hearts rejoicing at the fact that the devil had lost again and they would indeed have meals for another month. They responded with singing and one elderly woman got up and did her best to dance for the King of blessing.

Many of the blind who came before us were victims of poor nutrition during childhood and of the war. They were full of joy even before their tummy's were full of food. As they all prepared to leave some of the blind were assisting each other in their line to walk out of the gates of the compound.

I never know who is more blessed at the end of the day, those we encounter, me or God. I thank God daily for His plan for me to be here. Thank you to all of you who make this happen in every respect.

Kindred Spirits

I met Fatima for the first time in 2007 in a small village town at the Centro Emissor church in Mozambique. I had only attended church there a few times before faces were becoming familar to me and people were starting to recognize me each week. It wasn't too long and I felt comfortable enough to dance out into the church and worship with the ladies. They were not acustomed to visitors of my kind coming around and I certainly was not accustomed to participating in this type of worship. But I loved it! The passion and the singing and dancing, the freedom to move and enjoy worship was exciting. My heart danced before the Lord with glee.

Fatima and I became friends instantly. I told her that if she lived in America that we would be best friends. We had kindred spirits. Of course that was in English and she didn't understand a word of it and she laughed until our belly's hurt. From that day on a realtionship had been established that would devolpe into a desire to pray for her and her family regularly.

My time had come to an end that season in 2007 and I was going to be leaving soon so I went to say good-bye to everyone and especially to Fatima. I stopped by her house and she ran out to the car to say hello. But this time I would have my translator tell her that I was going home the next day. She just looked down and wouldn't look at me. I told her that I was praying that God would allow me to come back. I told her that I loved her and I wanted her to know how much God loved her too. I took her by the face and had her look into my eyes so she could see that I was serious with my words. Fatima has experienced many disappointments in her life and this could be just another one. God has blessed me for 6 years now of going back to the small village church where I am now a proud member of Centro Emissor.

On Friday May 27th, 2011, Fatima's youngest son died of complications. I got the call on Saturday morning that the funeral would be at 2pm that afternoon. At first I was stunned at the thought of how this baby that was so strong and fat could have died? I was deeply saddened for my friend. I was angry with myself that I couldn't speak the Portuguese words that I wanted to speak into her life the sorrow I felt for her losing a son.

We arrived at her home and the usual custom had already begun to take place. The men were cutting boards for the small casket just big enough to hold the child and his belongings and lining it with a white linen. We walked in the house and there lying on the floor was her only son covered with a blanket and she beside him covered in a grieving cloth. Her head covered, her body covered, her desire to cover her pain so as to not show the depth of her grief. The room was filled with women sitting on the floor beside her singing quietly songs of comfort. Some women would often have to pause because their reality was that this could be her son too. 50% of the babies die here before they reach the age of 5, this is a hard reality.

The song that will resonate with me for a long time was sung in Portuguese. The words are," Jesus is passing through here and when He passes everything changes. The sadness will go away and He brings joy and happiness."

We all walked to the cemetary for the burial and I stood back as her son was put into the ground praying that God would comfort her soul. The message given by our leader Zito was clear about knowing who Christ is so that one day we too will spend eternity with him.

I had a brief moment to embrace Fatima and tell her that "God knows our sorrows and when we are sad. That her son is waiting for her in heaven and that one day she will see him again."
How does a mother do this? I don't know the pain and the suffering that goes along with this. All over the world there are mother's and father's who have met this pain. Their only hope of surviving is their trust in Jesus.

Ecclesiastes3:1-4 To every thing there is a season, a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance

There are so many faces and no names. I see many people who need help everyday. And it is my heart’s desire to reach out to each person that the Lord puts before me.

I have a story about a man who I don’t know his name. And this is a man who God did not put before me but, He placed before a worker in our project. His story goes like this.

One day an unknown man walked into the project and his body was swollen very large. He had an unusual look to him and it was hard for him to walk because he was so bloated. He came asking for help as many do everyday. Some days the lines are long of people coming to ask for food, for money, for work and almost every time the needs are urgent. And many many times there is not enough to help.

This man with no name came looking for food and it was apparent that he was sick. He had heard there was food at the church and he came to see if they would help.
We offered him some rice and for several weeks he would come back for more rice. Now 2 months later, he is better. His body is no longer swollen, he can walk without pain and he feels stronger. He is one of the many who have received the rice. He came and his body was fed as well as his soul. Many are coming to know Jesus because of this rice.

The rice that I talk about was a gift of 1 Million meals from the Wooddale church in Eden Prairie, Mn. We have been using this food to feed the sick and the dying. We have been using this food for our schools, our church plants, our workers, the community of blind people, area orphanages, the Red Cross and the government has even received some rice.

There is a famine in this area again this year. The rains came when they shouldn’t have and they didn’t come when they should have. The crops have suffered and so do the people.

From one man or woman's idea, a birthing of feeding hundreds became a reality to save lives. We are taking Christ to the community with your help. Thank you for your obedience, God is glorified.

3 Days .... 3 Thoughts... 3 Looks

We have arrived safe, of sound mind and healthy! There is something good in everything.. and we can find giving thanks in every situation helps us see beyond what we think is not so good. We had a computer and some cell phones stolen in transit from our bags. Thank You Lord for the things that have made it, primarily our medications for malaria and my crazy pills. Val doesn't like for me to call them crazy pills, so we call them necessary medications. But to tell you the truth, I'm crazy if I don't have them.
Yesterday we went into town and the first thing we saw that struck my attention was the number of funerals. We must have passed 6 or 7 funerals and hundreds of people on the way to the cemetary. I forget when I am in the states the depth of the stench of death here. One of our friends died of malaria recently, a teacher at the pre-school leaving behind a 10 year old boy as an orphan.
The number of beggars here is so overwhelming. The blind, the crippled, the mentally ill, I cry out to God, "Who am I supposed to give to here God?" I saw a woman who had leporsy at the market, should it be her? A small boy with no legs moving around on his hands? Is this the one?
At last God, You have spoken to me...."This boy is the one." A young boy, with the life of Jesus in his eyes, one who I met and spoke last year, with a blind man who could have been his father. I called for Val.... "do you have any coins?" We gave a small offering that was returned with a huge smile and a "thank you mother" in such a sweet sweet voice. I told him, "we will see you another day ok?" We both left each other knowing that God has answered our prayer. He supplied what we both needed for today, to hear His voice.

Hunger Initiative 2010

One year ago this month a friend of mine wrote an email to me here in Mozambique to ask if I would be interested in working on a project together to deliver a million meals to our Ray of Light project here in Dondo. Now, let me ask you my friends, "What do you think was my answer?" Of course I jumped up in down inside and very calmly responded by stating, "Well, I believe that would be a tremendous blessing to our project here." From that moment on hundreds of emails, personal visits to the Wooddale church, and encouraging our friends and loved ones here in Mozambique that there will be relief come the rainy season.

The anticipation and excitement of this project coming to fruition has been quite a journey with God. It took slightly over 4,000 volunteers to pack the food and a total of 9 months for the first container to arrive. But I have to tell you that just like our God always does, it arrived just in time! The transporting company ran into problems with the World Cup Soccer games but it was divinely scheduled to come into the hands of the recipients just when it was supposed to. I love how God works in this way. We get all up in arms with ourselves and our schedules and what should happen and when it should happen and all along God has His plan. And of course my friends it is perfect. It is perfect in time and with whom shall receive the blessing.

The very first distribution was for the poorest of poor with AIDS in Project Life and then we delivered boxes to two poor church plants in the bush, Savane and Centro Emissor. Centro Emissor being the church that Val and I attend! Woooo Hooooo! We have scheduled deliveries for our 12 other church plants and other groups such as the Association of the Blind, YWAM, the pre-school and our private school here ElShaddi and many more opportunities to bless the poor with food. But here is the real deal, this was the first of 4 containers coming with 285,000 meals so really we are getting.... ta da.... drum roll please......
1,140,000 meals!

It was such a blast being able to give food to our beloved church family at Centro Emissor. We started with a message on the faithfulness of God and then had a meal for each person. Now keep in mind that every person who will be gifted this food has their name on a pre-determined list developed by the leader of the project or church. We gave a short teaching on how to prepare the bags of rice and how to make it stretch to last. It was so sweet to watch each person, adult and child listen very closely to all of the instructions. This made me wonder, "what are they thinking? How are they perceiving this food? Did this come just in time because the money had run out? Were they relieved that they could pay their rent this month because of the gift? Did they believe our teaching of the nutrition in the packets and how this could help their bodies become stronger?" Only God really knows.

Living life here is a wonderful journey of love. Jesus taught us to love God first and to love others next. His word tells us also that the poor will always be with us and that we are commanded to take care of the poor, the widows and the orphans. Thank You Wooddale church for your love being like the love of Jesus in helping the poor, the orphan and the widows. We have them all here everywhere. I encounter each of these everyday in my inner circle of friends. Thank You Wooddale for your time and commitment to make this happen all in the name and love of our King and Savior Jesus Christ!

SLAM! BAM! KAPOW!

I finally met Superman. You know, the guy that runs to the nearest phone booth, turns into the masked man and flies to rescue the city and fight for justice.

Superman works for us at CRI, and he is a Mozambican. He is every employer’s dream of a worker and every parent’s dream of a son. His name is Ercylio and he just turned 23 last Tuesday.

I remember the first time I met Ercylio in 2006, he was a tall, lanky kid that played sports and didn’t shower before coming to church. He was looking for a relationship with one of the young ladies in our church and was finding that church was something that he would have to attend to see his girlfriend. This turned out to be a wonderful change of life for him. He found a personal relationship with Jesus, a new purpose in life and has become a man of integrity and a leader of this community.

Just a few short 5 years, he has completed high school and is in his first year of university. In 2009 we had a doctor visit from America and could see the potential in this young man and chose to sponsor a scholarship to the University. This is a dream for many young men in Mozambique, but others will never experience because of the poverty here.

Why Ercylio is so special to me is that he sees his own journey in life as a blessing and wants the same hope for other young men. He currently is coaching a Handball Team of young men. This team has so much more going for them than just playing handball. Ercylio mentors them in how to live for Jesus by being the example. He prays with them before and after each game. He spends time with each of them to speak into their lives about how to be a man. Many of these young men do not have fathers in their homes. He gives part of his own salary to them when there are needs like paying for a month of school. He has been found to buy clothes for some and provides drinks and sometimes cookies on different occasions. He just loves them like Jesus.

There are now 22 young boys on the team and more want to be in his inner circle. They all love who Ercylio is and want to be mentored by him because they see someone they can trust.

Ercylio’s dream is to be able to start a sponsorship program for his team to take classes at Young Africa a Vo-Tec school down the road from here. He wants for them to have computer classes so they can start a computer business of repairing and teaching others how to use computers. Interesting isn’t it? To own a computer here is only for the very privileged or even being able to use one is not common. In America 2nd graders are now learning how to use computers and in many homes children much younger are playing games.

Ercylio has placed himself behind others, which has put him in front. He no longer has a girlfriend but his love is helping other young men become the best that they can be.

Another interesting and amazing thing about this young man Superman, is he has been asked to play Handball in the African Olympics in 2011. I didn’t know how really good he was at this game. He never boasts about his abilities because it wouldn’t be a good example to others. There are only two men in Mozambique that have been asked to be on this team. The other blessing is that he already knows the other handball player and they play well together. So in June and July of 2011 we will have to do our work without Ercylio here in Mozambique but we will be praying for his success on the Olympic Team. This is such an honor for us all here at CRI to have this fine young man working for us.

I can’t explain all of the things he does for us at CRI to make our jobs easier on a daily basis. He is our voice here and I am privileged to have this season in life with this young man.

Matthew 25:20, 21 “The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!”


Waiting your turn

The Wooddale team has arrived for their annual Mozambique short-term mission trip. This is the 4th year that I have been able to be around when the team has arrived and done their work of serving the poorest of the poor in Mozambique.

The day after each team arrives we take a day that we call, "Cultural Learning Day" and Val and I drive the team around to each of the project sites to meet all of our workers and to experience the vision of Pastor Jeronimo coming to fruition. First we go to ElShaddi and see the progress of the school building and 3 large classrooms of exuberant children coming to total attention as we walk into the classroom ready to greet us. Once they have said their good morning in Portuguese, they go on to sing a song or two just to capture our hearts just a tiny bit more. There is a library now and it's supply of books are growing each year. The first time I came to visit in 2006, the main building was only 3 rows high in the building process and now, WOW, it is completed and we are ready to move on to the next building. The plan is that eventually with donors and enough funds we will build a campus with classrooms for grades K-12, a kitchen, a sanctuary and a cafeteria. So we continue to pray for all this to come in our near future here.

After a short visit across the road to the teaching farm our next stop is the Ray of Light pre-school in Mafarhinia. The smile on these children can not be compared to the children of the village or the children in public schools. There is just a significant difference between the privileged to be educated and light and dark when Jesus is taught in school. One day the children learned that they should pray before they eat and the next day a parent came to the school to say that evening as they began to eat the meal of rice the child began crying and crying. No one could figure out what the problem was. So they stopped eating their meal and calmed the child to have him speak. He told them that they needed to pray before eating, he proceeded to lead the prayer for the meal and they continued on. This family now prays before meals thanking God for their food. In the two pictures can you tell which picture is of a student of our private Christian School ElShaddi?

In this same area but across the street is our pre-school kitchen where a hot bowl of porridge is prepared each day. The Mafarhinia church, the newly remodeled Tessa Grace Nutrition center and our medical clinic that was started by a woman from my church at Maranatha Bible in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A picture of Robin Perry hangs on the wall to commemorate her work in Mozambique. A strong woman remembered by those who live in the area of the clinic and by those who loved her for her love for the children.

As I stood in the clinic waiting for the team to take their Mozambican led tour, I took a seat and watched the people waiting for their turn to be seen. In the waiting room, on one side of the room sits 45 spaces made up of a combination of chairs and benches. And on the other side where I sat, there are 10 benches. The clinic each month sees between 2,000 and 2,500 people by one nurse and two days a week for 4 hours a doctor comes in for those who need a higher level of medical attention. The left side of the room was full. Each time a person walks out of the examining room, they see the pharmacists and receive the medication for a minimal costs. Then the next person would get up and go to wait on a bench in the hallway by the nurses office for their turn. As each seat emptied, everyone would move over one seat at a time to find their place in order to see the nurse. Some days you can wait almost the entire day and not see a nurse or a doctor because time runs out. So you have to come back the next day. I sat there watching as each person moved to the next seat and wondered, "What are the thoughts going through their minds right now?" They have to move 45 times to get to the first seat. No one budges and those who are too sick to sit in the seat lay on the veranda outside while a family member takes a seat to keep their place.

All of the medications are donated by Americans. Sometimes we have enough for the month and sometimes we run out. There is never enough money to deal with all that we have to do here. Antibiotics, milk for babies, vitamins, gloves, nutritional supplements, tylenol and the list goes on. We need it all each month to serve just a few of the many who are sick and dying.

There is more to the project tour and someday I will share about that too but for today I just wanted to tell you about waiting here in Africa to see a nurse at our medical clinic. One dream of one lady that serves many.

Are you waiting for something? Are you in a hurry today? Slow down, take a moment, think and pray for our friends here in Mozambique.

"If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother." Deuteronomy 15:7

Obedience.... Kathy (BigMamma)

First Class Flight?

I have always wanted to fly first class to know just what it is why people pay all those extra dollars for comfort. Well, I didn't get to fly first class with all of the frills but what I did get blessed with was a whole section of empty seats! I had a full row to lay down and lift my feet for the long flight between Atlanta and Joberg. This is the part of my work in Africa that starts out with a long difficult flight and 3 days to get there. But, I am always blessed. Blessed to know that where I am going is just where I am supposed to be at this time of year.

The first part of July I was surprised with a middle of the night call from my kids saying, "Mom! Grandma is really sick and you need to come home!" After two days of phone calls between the hospital and a very short conversation with Dad telling me,"honey just hurry home!" I began the process of going home. This is not an easy or quick task but again, God is in everything. I was home in 3 days.

Every hour after that first hour of hearing about Mom being sick, I was in prayer about God allowing me to see her again and to hear her voice. I prayed each hour of each day until I walked into her hospital room. What I walked into was a figure laying on the bed before me. Tubes going in and out of her body all over the place and her face not recognizable. I remember seeing a friend of mine die and she looking this same way. My first thought was, "Thank You God for letting me see her alive."

I took her hand and whispered to her, "Mom, I'm home." She opened her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek. Was this going to be the end? Did I come home to walk with Dad and my siblings through the process of her death and funeral? What God had planned of course was something even more than what I could have hoped for or imagined because what I saw was not good. Many times we let our eyes judge what the truth is and what is going to happen. But God........

Each moment after taking her hand in mine was a miracle. The doctors were amazed at her recovery. The nurses made comments on how quickly she was coming around and how determined she was to get well. I know this recovery had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the God that I serve. My family and I watched the grace and mercy of our Lord fall upon Mom as she recovered, entered rehab and then return home with a walker in a month's time. Now she's preparing to strengthen her body enough to go one last trip to Arizona for the winter. We all are rejoicing at an extension to her life.

This blog is not so much about Mom and her recovery but more about my God. My God who is bigger than any problem we have, my God who can do all things, my God who has a plan for it all and who is in control of it all. My God who has more grace and mercy for each one of us than what we can muster up with all of our might. I am so blessed to serve this God. When people ask me what I am doing, I just can't keep inside of me the burning way down deep in my soul about the love I have for this God I adore and glorify. He has been good to me, in the good and in the bad times He has been with me each breath of the journey and season. He has had His hand in it all. I am blessed beyond belief. Even when I don't recognize what He is doing, I know that it was God that has designed this beautiful life for me and for you.

He is always always always right on time, in His time to make all things perfect and for His glory. We may not understand it now and maybe never, but we are His and he will never forsake us or leave us.

To conclude I would suggest that you too look for a First Class Flight. But this first class flight would be your journey through life with Jesus being your pilot. Doesn't this sound corny? Well, maybe it is but you get the point. Your life will be a first class life when you allow Jesus to be the guide. As I said, He will never leave you nor forsake you. Life has it's trials and it is not always easy and sometimes there are seasons of down right difficulty. But the good news is you don't have to go through that season alone. If you haven't already, accept Jesus as your Savior.

Hey, Maranatha is a great church and they would love to have you step inside of the walls of their worship center. Get loved on by some really great folks and hear the word of God spoken in truth and with a challenge.

If you have questions or concerns about your life or those you love let me know. I want to pray for you. I have time ya know?
Blessings to you all. May God multiply your blessings as you follow Him with courage and confidence to do His work.

obedience, Big Mamma

This week I had the, should I call it an opportunity (?) to drive THE most dangerous road in the world. The road between Dondo and Maputo was at one time considered to be the most dangerous road in the world because of the bombs that were planted during the civil war here in Mozambique. By the looks of the road, the bombs left sink holes in a stretch of about 50 miles. Oh my goodness, we were thrown from side to side in the car trying to avoid the holes and then when we hit them, what a trip! No wonder the tires and cars do not last a long time around here.

A fun thing to do along the way is to stop and buy produce from the villages that have small plots of land to farm. When you slow down people rush to the side of the car to sell their goods. Tomatoes, tangerines, cukes, lettuce, onions, green beans, pinneapple, carrots and a bunch more. We end up buying more than we need always because we are captured by the smiles on their faces and can't resist buying from them. I love how God each day puts people before us. I love how He speaks to me about caring for others and loving my neighbor.

Do you know your neighbor? Do you love your neighbor?

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. -
Leviticus 19:18

Watch the video.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TY5Ifu0AII

June 29th.. a Day to Remember

June 29th 2010

I like to quote Pastor Jeronimo now and then when it seem appropriate. Today he said, "Every man or woman's dream is to own his own house." This became a reality today for a woman by the name of Domingas.

Domingas is a sweet soul. She is the quiet type in your church that does all of behind the scenes work. She never complains about what she is asked to do, and many times she will go ahead of you and get things done without you asking. She takes crying children and holds them until they have been comforted or she will take a baby from the arms of a young mother so she can dance and sing for worship or at celebrations. Domingas is a gem a one of a kind.

But Domingas has a part of her life that not many know about. Her husband was abusive and divorced her several years ago leaving her with 6 children. He did allow her to rent the home she was living in because she had no where else to go. And while she lived there he would come and taunt her when he was drunk yelling at her to "get out! This is my house!" Life has not always been easy for Domingas but you wouldn't know it. She is always the first to start a song of praise to God for His goodness. She walked in faith that one day things would change.

A few months ago during the rainy season half of the house she was living in literally melted to the ground. The house had to be evacuated, and this left she and her children homeless. I don't know where she has been living since that time, until today.

Word got back to the states to Val and I that her home was destroyed and she was homeless. It is hard to for me to imagine living in a mud house to begin with but now, without a home? Domingas has always had a special place in my heart. I love her character, I love who she is. I put the word out and along with Domingas we prayed for an answer.

I let people know she was needing assistance. I told her story to others. I spoke the truth about the situation. And as only God would have it. The Holy Spirit spoke to a family to help her. God spoke and they obeyed. Isn't this what God asks of us? To obey Him? When we obey He is glorified.

A mud house costs $900. A small price to pay for someone to have a safe place, a dream come true, a refuge from life and a place to glorify the Lord for His goodness.

Please consider obedience at all costs. You will never be the same.

If you love Me, keep My commandments —John 14:15

He Gives and He Takes Away

Blessed be the Name of the Lord. Blessed be His Name.

Last weekend we were privileged to attend and participate in the baby dedication of one of our dear workers, Maria. If you have followed my blogs in the past, my description of a baby dedication is a time full of singing and dancing, gift giving, a short message to the mother's and then for food and drink. A typical food and drink would be a fried doughnut like bread in a
criss-cross fashion and a drink called "Maheou."

I remember the first time I was offered Maheou at the first dedication I attended. I asked one of the other Brazilian missionaries if this was safe to drink. She just made this awful face and said, "God knows. He will protect us." I was thinking, "well, am I going to die here from drinking this stuff?" It smelled really really bad, and if you know me personally you know I can't smell anything unless it is really really bad! So when it came for my drink to be poured, at that time I only knew a couple of words and thankfully one of them was, "pouco pouco" which means a little bit. So I drank a teeny tiny bit and was able to not offend the mother and her family for not refusing. That was 4 years ago. Today at any given baby dedication you can now find, Orange or Strawberry Fanta, thank you Lord!

Maria's dedication had even more of an endearment for Val and I. Maria asked us to name the baby! Val and I wrestled for a couple of minutes and then Maria said, "she must have the name of a woman from the bible." Well, that made it easier and almost unanimously we said, "Esther" It is pronounced so beautifully here. (Essteir) I love the language here, I pray I can one day speak it fluently.

The "dedication" of the baby process, is that women's ministry leaders and closest friends go into the house to pray and dedicate the child to God. After the prayer of dedication, then the child is brought outside into the sunlight to show for the first time. Someone gives a short message of encouragement and then the dancing begins with a loud shout for joy to the Lord. Not only was I privileged to come, but I dedicated the baby and then gave a short message of encouragement. Prov. 22:6
I wanted to speak to the ladies that we as Mother's have a tremendous responsibility in raising our children. They watch what we do, they follow what we do. We will make many mistakes and that is why all of us must help each other. We need to help keep each other accountable before the Lord and walk along side of each other to fill in the gap. We must take our children to church and teach them about Jesus and never take them to the witchdoctor. It doesn't matter what the traditions are, we must keep our eyes on Jesus because He is the only way. The blessings of our families come from Him. This is a day I will never forget and a child which I will always hold dear to my heart.

While I was speaking to the women and children, there was a stir amongst some of the ladies. So many people were crowded around me I couldn't see what was going on but a few of the ladies left. Afterwards we got word that a new baby had died during the dedication of life. This baby was the child of a boy whose father is the chief of witchdoctors in the Dondo area where we live. The mother was a niece to one of our other workers. The young mother had been living with the boy's family and they wanted the baby to be in line to be a dedicated witchdoctor. Since the baby died, the girl was put out. There was a ritual service for the dead baby the next day.

In the next 48 hours 4 people died within our project. Life is so fragile here. Have you thanked God for another day of life today?

Please Read These Words......
Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

Without Clothes and Daily Food

Every morning at 7am we start our work day with a staff meeting. We have 12-14 workers each day come into our gathering room to pray, sing and receive their instruction for the day. Many of our ladies are very shy and do not say much when asked a question but when it is time to pray and sing, they can really belt it out! I love this about them, their relationship with the Lord and honoring Him in worship.

We have been going through the book of James and this morning we looked at james 2:14-24 about Faith and Deeds. We focused on later part of verse 22, "and his faith was made complete by what he did." Pastor Todd challenged each one of us to do something for someone else today and to bless some one with either clothes or food. When our workers were asked if they had someone in mind who they were going to bless, this was hard for them. Their thinking for some, was "I already have so little, what do I have to give?" But the challenged remain and they all came up with a name of their next person to bless. We didn't want to know, God already knew.

Val and I have already many on our list to help, it is just finding the time to meet privately with each family. Last year I visited a woman and gave her a bag of clothing and that night she was robbed. We have a chance of putting people at risk when we give so we have to be so discreet about our helping.

As we sat in the car in the village next to us some children walked by all smiles, dirty, their clothing falling off of them because they are so worn and torn, I said to Val, "it is not even clothes what they need here even with the condition of their clothes that we see but it is food that is the matter of importance." So many die here each year, month and even week due to malnutrition. It is the food, and yet food is so temporary. Yes we will give food, and we will even give clothes but more importantly we will give them a hope. And with that hope there can come change.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." Isa 40:31

The Devil Lost Again!

The sound of singing could be heard from the gate walking into the courtyard of the church today. The Texas team offered a gift to the Food Pantry so it was distribution day today. 100 families in the project received 10kg of farhina, 1 liter of oil, 1kg of sugar and 3 kg. of beans. This should keep a family of 4-6 supplemented for about a month. Have you ever thought about how much food you eat in a month? There are so many times I can't even remember what I ate from one meal to the next or if I ate all day non-stop. Eating is so much different here in Africa, it is so much less, sometimes it is not at all.

I sat near the back watching the dancing and singing along with the tunes in 2 different languages. When the announcement had been made that the donors of the gift were sitting in the back, the Texans stood up and there was a loud roar of clapping and yelling. It made the tears well up in my eyes as they again started singing praises to the Lord for sending the Texas team to help them survive another month.

The women and men who received the food all have AIDS. They are victims of this disease. They are all without work and many times rejected because of their sickness. Many of them will not live until next year because of malaria or typhoid or pneumonia.
I have been told about 7 out of 10 people here have AIDS. I saw more men, women and children with AIDS today than you will see in a life time in America.

The last song of the morning before the food was hand delivered by the Texas team was, "The devil has lost again!"

Keep praying for us here in Mozambique. If you would like to help feed the poor, widows and orphans donate to our Food Pantry through Children's Relief International.

"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." Isaiah 58:10

Val gets to have all of the fun! For the last week I have been sick with malaria and she got to go out to the bush, drive on really the most craziest roads ever and got to put the truck into 4 wheel drive and splash through mud and drive fast to beat the clock. She gets to do all of the fun stuff when I am sick. But I am on my feet again and we are on the run once again.

We are part of the privileged people who find our work to be fulfilling, rewarding and worthy of our time. God has been so good to us both to bring us to work together here in Mozambique. Even though she did try to kill me 2 years ago when I was sick with malaria then since that time she has proven to really be a great friend and nurse on the field. My work would be impossible without her here. We enjoy the work, we love our people here and it has been a blast walking in this season with Valerie.

I am thankful that God saw fit for us to meet here and together journey the sandy soil of Mozambique searching for the hand of God by being the hands and feet of Jesus.

No one has greater love [no one has shown stronger affection] than to lay down (give up) his own life for his friends. John 15: 13

Springs of Living Water

Our first team has arrived and they are off to drill wells of clean water for our friends here in Mozambique. This team is not an ordinary team but a team of rough and tough Texans with a focus of getting clean water into a place where not only will they provide a water that is healthy but they are also providing the word of the Gospel.

This is the second time this team has come into the area to drill water wells. The vision of this team is to train and build a team here in Mozambique to eventually take over this business so that it can become a self sustaining business. There are many NGO organizations in this area that are willing to pay to have wells drilled for their sights as well as the government having an interest in clean water.

Kudo's to the Texan's for their hard work, tough backs and spirit of delivering more than just water.

8 who are Great!

Living in a third world country it is a must that you use young men in the city to watch your car, carry your bags and just be a body guard like when shopping. These young men are all over the place desiring to be chosen as the one to help to earn coins to pay for their school, food, clothes or their family. I love how God puts these certain young men into my life to help, minister and to love.

There are 8 fella's that we use on a regular basis.

Joaquim and Fei Fei are the two teens that we use when we are in the center of the city buying food and fruits at the open market, having a cup of coffee, exchanging money or just shopping for whatever the needs are for the day. When we saw them for the first time this year they both had grown a head taller than what I remembered from last year and they looked worn and torn. Their smiles were big and it was obvious they were glad the Americans had returned. They wanted to know how our families were and if we were in good health. They practiced their English and we our Portuguese, now that is a challenge!

We shop at Shop-Rite for groceries like cheese, yogurt, frozen chickens, peanut butter and Coke Lite. All of these American type so called needs. We are so spoiled in America when it comes to our food and what is available. Did you know that 80% of the world is dying from lack of food, and the other 20% is dying from too much? This is crazy! I see the starving while I live here half the year and as soon as I walk into the United States I have to brace myself for obesity!

Monterrio and Jose' are the two men who help us at this store. Jose' is about 28-30 years old, tall, deaf and dumb but has a way of communicating! His joy is overflowing each time he sees us and he squeals with excitement when we are getting out of our cars. Hugs and hand shakes of welcome are his gift, he has a language of love and never says a word. Monterrio, is a very small man in structure with birth defects. And he too is full of excitement when we drive into the parking lot. They both help us park the car, direct traffic for us to get in and out, push our cart, helps us pack the bags of food and then escorts us out to the car protecting us from beggars and thieves.

Monterrio'a handicap is a short stump on his left side and his right side has an arm that stops before his elbow with 3 fingers. Each time we bag groceries I watch him in amazement at how he manages to get this done. He lives about 15 klms from where we live in Dondo so after bagging our food he always wants a ride home and we accommodate him. One day last year he wanted us to see the mud house he was building by himself! It was amazing! Seriously, I stood there with my mouth hanging wide open at what he had accomplished with one half arm and a stump. We gave him a little money for a door to help and yet today, he still does not have a door and it is cold at night. While we were shopping today, he asked for some corn meal to take home, how do I say no to this? Isn't this what supporters want me to do with what they give me?

Then we have Johnny and another man who is deaf and dumb and no one knows his name that I have found. These two men watch and wash our car at the beach. Johnny is crippled and uses one crutch but he can scatter to our car in a split second when he sees us approaching from a far and he too with this enormous toothless smile. Both guys take good care of us, helping us park and get back out onto the busy road.

And finally the two guys that I see first when we come into the country and who we see very last, Tomias and Antonio. These two young men are married and have families. They work as porters at the airport. I always look for them when I walk into the airport, they are waving and smiling, wanting to help with our bags. Having other Americans come in to stay with us on a frequent basis, I get to see these two fella's often as well. I tell them the days I am going to be at the airport and they wait for us and have a parking place ready to keep the cars, wash them and I even give them the keys and let them clean the inside.

I find myself thinking about how fortunate I am to know each one of these guys and a little about their lives and their stories. Knowing them has changed my life. I know that they have been placed before me to serve them, to help them, to mentor them, to speak the name of Jesus to them and to be an example of the light to them. There are boys and beggars everywhere here, I could have chosen hundreds of others but God had these 8 fella's for me to love. They are part of my ministry. They have become part of my life. They are a basic need for me when I am in town. I love to bless them with more than what other's do. I love to bless them so their quality of life can be better for a bit of time. These 8 are great!

"If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother." Deuteronomy 15:7

Batman!!! POW! BAM! BOOM!!!!

Each day I believe that the people that God puts before me is for a purpose. Maybe to shine my light, the speak life into their hearts, to minister or encourage and some to just bring into my life to love as family.

Back in 2007 I spent 6 months in Mozambique finding my way around the culture, around the land and becoming part of what God called me to here. During this time I spent many days visiting with the children at the pre-school in a near by village. The village population is about 19,000 people and spans a rather large area with mud houses and several small markets throughout. The interesting thing about this particular village is that an estimated 7-8,000 people in this village are witchdoctors. This makes for a very dark culture.

Sitting right in the middle of all of this darkness is our Ray of Light Pre-school. Each day I would try to visit the children at the school and build relationship with the future generation of leaders being developed. This is when I met Batman. So you asked, “how did he get the name Batman?” This little fella would run up to me each time I came to the school and he would woo me with his smile and his Batman t-shirt. It became more of I wanting to visit Batman, than anything else. He definitely had stolen my heart. His smile, and hugs were just exactly what I needed to get my grandbaby fix.

I didn’t think about it at first, but then realized that everyday I saw him, he had on this Batman shirt. I thought, doesn’t he have any other shirt than this one shirt? You know, I really didn’t understand what living in poverty meant. Batman had on this shirt every time I saw him because this was the shirt he had. This was it. That’s all. No other shirt was good enough to wear to school. I sobbed at the thought of this precious child having only one shirt for school and my grandchildren having a closet and boxes stored of clothes that they owned.

This little guy is learning about Jesus at our Pre-school. God put Flavio (Batman) and now his entire family before me to love, encourage, pray with and become their Big Mamma. Flavio now has several outfits, his mother has a bible, she is going to school at night and they are all learning English. We sit together at church as a family on Sunday nights and this is good.

Today Flavio, his mother and brother, Aquila came to show me his school papers and how well he is doing in school. It was a moment for a grandmother to be proud. I encouraged him with his schoolwork and pointed out how great his artwork was. He smiled. I don't have much Portuguese yet, but a smile and a hug, and kisses can go a long way here. I love Flavio and how God put him in front of me one day a few years ago. I am happy I can watch him grow into a man step by step.

"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11

Things just change

We have been in Mozambique now for 5 days and it seems like a month. It has been a pure delight to see the faces of those we love and work with in the Project. Val and I both knew that coming back we would have to face the fact that Zaira would not be here and we were not looking forward to going to her house but we had to. We needed to see, and smell, and touch the things that belonged to her. We needed to see the children and love on them like they know we can and most importantly we needed to grieve with Zito her husband. We needed to take another step of closing the door on that season in our lives and move on with this family in hand.

As we drove up to the house the spirit of a woman living there was gone. All of the busyness of washing clothes, and gardening, going to the well for water, all of the paths that Zaria would take were missing. I walked around the house to where we had planted a papaya tree last year to make tea for malaria. It was growing but the tea would be too late. Where the corn once was grown was a small field of weeds and small trees starting to come up. The living fence was in disarray and was becoming overgrown. The stand that we had built for her business to earn extra money to save for vitamins for her fragile daughter Noemia was empty and all of the food was gone. The path to the well was overgrown as it was not used as frequently as she would go to the well for water and baths each day. That was an empty feeling for me. I walked around and tears filled my eyes tumbling down my cheeks again asking, "God why?" It doesn't take me long to remember that God doesn't make mistakes and this was part of His plan. I know that Zaira is dancing in heaven and waiting for us all to come and meet her someday. She wins, she went first to be with the Lord.

Val knows this feeling of losing a spouse to death. We walked to the car at the end of our visit and turned back to the house and looked and said, "things change when people die." We both left feeling like we are about to embark on a new season. We are encouraged with what God is going to do.