Our Girls?

You hear alot from us about "our boys"!  As the parents of sons and parents/mentors/cheerleaders of our nine interns, our lives are full of "all things male."   Male voices singing, bouncing basketballs, broken windows from overzealous soccer players in our yard, boys dorm type pranks,  advice giving on girls and relationships and choosing a mate.   Our interns are not permitted to date while participating with us in the program, but that doesn't stop them from thinking ahead! :)

We've noticed, however, that BECAUSE we have 9 handsome, gifted, EMPLOYED young men at our house, the "stop bys" to our house for any reason under the sun by young ladies is increasing.  In our 25 de Junho ministry, the number of young ladies who attend on Sunday FAR outnumbers the young men.  Some of these young ladies are quite forward, verbally expressing their interest in one or other of the boys.

  Even just a little farther outside of the city of Maputo, in our Agostinho Neto location which is very rural, the ministry is almost entirely young men.  Young women are busy working at home.  They often tend to be less forward and much more timid around young men.  Still, we need to reach them.

The question is always in our thinking, what do we do to reach and teach these young women, even if their intentions for coming are only focused on the young men in our midst?

At this point, Lynne and Mary are the only women, grounded in their faith, here to work with these young women and Mary's effectiveness is somewhat limited by the fact that her language skills are still very basic, she works another full time job and has small children at home.  

Well, we pray ALOT, especially Lynne, for wisdom and a keen intuition and look for opportunities to "go deeper" with the young women the Holy Spirit points out to us.  To give us a heart for those we are to pour our lives into.

This is Martinha, 20 years old, she is a student at the Institute of Technology, studying to be an accountant.  We met Martinha through her mother who works at a local store Lynne discovered while exploring the neighborhood two years ago.  Lynne and Martinha's mother quickly struck up a friendship when they discovered they are both followers of Jesus!  Martinha's mother is a single mom who works seven days a week and worries about her young adult children.  The church they were trying to attend was very far away from their house and she was eager for Martinha to get involved with our ministry.  Martinha is also a believer in Jesus.

Katia is another young lady who just recently came to faith, though she has been attending church regularly for the past 9 months or so.  She is just about to complete the first discipleship course.  She is a high school graduate and preparing to take the entrance exam for university.

In the last two weeks, God has given Lynne some great opportunities to get to know these girls better.  

Will you pray for them to go deeper in their faith and become passionate followers of Jesus?  Will you pray for more of the girls in our ministry to come to faith in Jesus?

Will you also pray with us for another young woman(American, Brazilian, Mozambican, Portuguese) to work alongside us, helping and mentoring these young women, maybe even starting up an internship program for them as well?   As a "icing on the cake" kind of request,  will you also pray with us that this young woman would already have a basic understanding and ability to converse in Portuguese?  We believe nothing is too hard for God and He DESIRES to give us "icing on our cake" when we come to Him in faith, deeply desiring for these young ladies to bring glory to Him with their lives.

These young people are the future of Mozambique!

25 de Junho

I spoke to my neighbor on Thursday, "Feliz Dia de Independencia, Joana"("happy independence day, Joana"), to which she replied "Estamos livres!"  ("We are free!") 

25 de Junho is both the name of our town and the date of Mozambique's Independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975 after a decade long war for their freedom.  Below are some photos of our town.  

Men wheel these pushcarts around all day, laden with a variety of things.
25 de Junho Market area
A view from in front of our house
The flag of Mozambique
Neighbor boys
Hot, fresh bread daily...carried and sold from a plastic tub on top of the head.
All that and carry a baby too?

A random sweet old man!

Six Years!

June 4th marked 6 years in Mozambique!  We thought we would celebrate by sharing some of our "firsts" photos!

Our first week in Mozambique, staying at Oasis guesthouse.  All the boys did for the first week is catch lizards and get filthy every day!  They were 6 and 9 years old.

Our first trip to the beach!

Our first pets, Jack Russell Terriers, Max and Fudge.

Our first house and chance to do yard work.  As seminary students, up to this point, we had only lived in apartments.

Our first Thanksgiving.  We celebrated with our British, Brazilian and Mozambican friends.

Our first church family, in front of our first meeting site, the primary school in Djuba.

Our first Christmas program.  Can you find the "branca"(white girl)?

The first church owned land in Djuba.  Clearing it by hand.

After the land was cleared, our first church "building", a giant blue and white tent.

First signs of falling in love with a beautiful people.

Answered prayers!

Thank you for praying for Felix and Mary, the Rwandese couple who have come to work with us.  they have both completed the residency process and are now free to settle and work with us in Mozambique!  God is so good!

CONFIRMED!!

With our friends, Terri and Reid at Silver Spur restaurant.
Andrew in English class

Often, a battle rages in my mind and I find myself crying out to God, aloud, when I'm alone...the battle usually centers around fear or loss or fear of loss and the pain that comes with that.

On my trip to Nairobi this past week, I was hit hard.  FEAR and the pain that comes with LOSS.

I am a fearful person.  Maybe you could call it my "thorn in the flesh".  So, boarding a plane ALONE to another country is a fearsome thing. 

 The first time I had to do this, I was a 19 year old college student.  I had never been on a plane before and was expecting to be flying with friends to the Philippines, but due to a mix up, found myself traveling ALONE from KC to Dallas and then on to LAX where I would meet up with my friends.  I remember telling the trip leader, Mr. Ken Liles, on the phone, "I can't do this!  I've never even flown before."  

I still hear two voices every time I have to fly alone.  Mr Ken Liles:  "I have faith in you.  You can do this!"  My husband:  "Being brave isn't the absence of fear; it's facing your fears, and you are the bravest woman I know!"

So, on Friday I boarded a plane for Nairobi to see my first-born.  I knew that when I got there, I would have to get in a taxi with a stranger.  I knew that while I was there, I'd have to get in a car and drive in some of the world's worst traffic to "places unknown."  I have a terrible sense of direction!

All of  this wasn't the most difficult part, though.  As someone who VOWED she would never send her children to boarding school, I faced another battle:  once again having to leave my fiercely loved 15 year old at boarding school on Tuesday and that inevitable "hole in your heart" kind of loss.

  You might say I had developed a bit of an attitude about Rift Valley Academy.   As if they were holding my son hostage.  I was looking for any excuse to not send him back there next year!  

Monday night, terribly exhausted from my emotional battle, I gave up and cried out to God, "God, if this is REALLY your plan for Andrew's life, I'm asking you to give me some confirmation, because I just want him home with us."  At that moment, any choice would have been preferable to boarding school.

Tuesday morning, Andrew asked me to go to classes with him.  Mother with a bad attitude meeting teachers!  I feel like a liar when I have to hide my feelings!

First period English class:  A brand new teacher.  I expected the students to take advantage of her, misbehave, be uncooperative.  She told them they were going to do a project and asked for immediate participation.  Brave girl to do this on her first day!  I didn't expect to see what I saw:  kids with their hands up, interacting, showing excitement about "A Tale of Two Cities."  HMMM!

Second period Algebra class:  The teacher made a special effort to talk to me.  This is Andrew's most challenging class. He wanted to make sure I knew he was committed to helping Andrew through.

Third period Bible class:  The class was studying, verse by verse, John chapter 11.  The story of Lazarus.  Once again I saw a passionate teacher and passionate students.  They were interacting, their insights were AMAZING, they were being challenged to live their faith when Satan tried to get them to question God's goodness or God's power.

Add those three experiences in with my observation of my 15 year old son as a respectful, loving, caring individual...

mix it all together and you have a mom who left there crying tears of joy, not sadness.  Her cries to God had been answered. 

 CONFIRMED!  Rift Valley Academy is the most AMAZING school I've ever seen!  CONFIRMED!  God is working out a wonderful plan in Andrew's life.  I can't wait to watch it unfold.

Finally! Some Help!

Meet our friends: Felix, Mary, Angel and Angelo!



We have enjoyed getting to know them over the past year and a half since Christian Academy introduced us, said that we were neighbors and suggested we carpool.



Felix and Mary are Rwandese refugees who came to Mozambique seeking a new life for their family. Once they learned we were starting a church, they have been on board, even when their lack of Portuguese severely limited what they understood. They host a weekly prayer meeting in their tiny home and have established a sweet relationship with our interns. They have struggled to eek out a living, but we have seen their love for the Lord and their perserverance. Several months back, Felix began working for MozOvos and the relationship continued to grow.



For more than a year, we've had our eyes open and have been praying for a solid, trustworthy couple to help us in the administration of the internship. We never really considered Felix and Mary until a few weeks ago, when the Lord began to work in their hearts and ours simultaneously. Felix was hoping to be able to participate with the guys in their weekly soul care studies and meetings. We began to recognize that their Portuguese skills have dramatically impoved and that they would be a natural fit for this ministry. We are so grateful to God for sending them our way.



Will you please pray for us that Felix will be able to complete the very lengthy process of establishing residency in this country? Will you pray for good communication skills and a relationship of mutual encouragement and accountability?



We have high hopes for this young family!

Easter Sunday

Happy Birthday MozOvos

Today, we celebrate the 1st anniversary of MozOvos, our egg farm!!!!  Here are some before and after pics!
This was what the land looked like when we started.  Just a snake infested, overgrown mess.
The building was in terrible shape.
Alot of blood, sweat and tears later....
This is MozOvos today!  An established part of the community with a beautiful, well cared for piece of property.
A very nice building to house up to 5,000 hens!

Producing nearly 200 dozen eggs daily which are selling just as fast as "our ladies" can produce them to restaurants, bakeries, stores and even the U.S. Marines!
These are the people who make it all happen!  9 interns, several employees from the community, 2 drivers, a manager and administrative assistant.  Oh, and the veterinarian just happened to be here today, so he's in the picture too!  We celebrated how God has provided for all of us in different ways through MozOvos.  Our internship ministry will one day very soon, God willing, be completely funded by MozOvos.  Manager Bule and all our community workers depend on MozOvos for their livelihood!  WE are pleased and happy and all of us gathered around today to thank God for all He has done.

Thankful

We always share our ministry life with you, so this week, I thought I'd share the more personal side of our life with you.

Recently, my friend did a blog post of all her simple gifts; small things that give her joy. She unknowingly inspired me to keep track of every small or big thing that I am thankful for. So, this week, I kept a record of every thankful thought that came to my mind and found that I had a GREAT week, remembering my blessings and praising God for each one. I'm posting a few below. They are in completely random order. Some of them have pictures, some do not. Needless to say, this list is just a drop in the bucket. I hope that YOUwill be inspired to count your good gifts this week!

So, I'm thankful for:

my son Stephen who is so funny and "quirky", even when he sleeps! Yes, he really IS sleeping in this picture.

Laughter, fun and good food with friends.

Creativity! The kids had so much fun doing a graffiti wall in Andrew and Stephen's room on Friday night.

Do the numbers ring a bell with anyone?

Having my oldest son home from boarding school and hearing about the last term. Here he is with another one of our blessings, his good friend Reid.

The wonderful husband God gave me. We're coming up on 18 years of marriage next week and each year is better than the one before.

Dr. Grimbeek, the South African doctor who is making it possible for Stephen to have straight teeth!

New glasses so I can enjoy reading once again!

My neighbor ladies, Lidia, Laurinda and Joana! It's taken some time, and alot of hard work, but they are opening up to friendship with a white girl!

My friend Pam who is so good at remembering birthdays and anniversaries. Something I admire since I'm so bad at it! THANKS FOR THE CARD, PAM J.!!!!

Crazy, wonderful sons who love each other!

Amazing friends to "do life" with. This is my bible study group. We were celebrating a birthday.

They bring me so much laughter and joy.

Precious little girls who give me hugs and draw me pictures and stuff.

Andrew's amazing dorm parents, Nathan and Stacey. This is Stacey, his "mom away from mom".

COOL STUFF!

It's definitely been one of the biggest challenges of our lives but also one of the biggest blessings as well! The International Internship in Missions had it's first birthday in February. MozOvos, the egg business created to sustain the internship, will have it's first birthday on April 1st. When we get discouraged, all we have to do is LOOK BACK! God has done some amazing things in this year! The business has been a huge learning experience for us all, but we are seeing more and more eggs every day. We are becoming quite an "operation" as we supply eggs for many bakeries, cafes and restaurants in Maputo as well as to the U.S. Marines guarding the Embassy!

Here are the guys, counting eggs. The guy in the tie? Well, hens still need to eat on Sundays! It was Sunday morning and it was his turn to preach!

The other cool thing about our lives is helping these 9 interns find, define and then use the gifts God has given them. The fruit of this is lives being transformed. Not just their lives, but lives of those who need Jesus all around us. We are amazed every time one of these nine stand up to preach. We are amazed when we see young men they have been playing soccer with start to articulate their faith to their peers. We are amazed when we see the children in the sunday school class able to repeat almost WORD FOR WORD the bible story from the week before and what it means for them. Below is Luis who is very gifted with children. He teaches the bible story in a very simple and clear way and then gives the children a chance to tell the story in their own words. With him is one of the children, taking their turn to tell the story of Jesus calming the storm.