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