Children’s Relief International

you know, i just love life here. in so many ways, on so many levels. it is just good. God keeps loving me in different ways and through different people. 

this week was Mozambique's independence day. the whole project closes and people celebrate. we use this day to sleep in, have morning devotions and worship as a team. it is a slow start to a good day. but this year had a different start. a better start.

i had just jumped in the shower when i was told that some boys were outside waiting for me. so i finished and threw on some clothes thinking it was boys looking for work. (a typical happening.) but when i looked out the window, i saw a group of boys that are not only familiar but the ones i call my nephews! and they were carrying instruments and singing! 

i went outside to greet them. what a joy to see these boys faces. they are all happy, glowing and giving me hugs! i asked them to keep singing. vicente was leading the group in songs that he had written. yes - this was the boys' band from the church. the harmonies were beautiful, the drum beat contagious and words powerful about worshipping our God & no other. i could barely keep my eyes dry.

after a few songs, they expained that they came to offer their hands to work. they need money for their band, and the BIble explains that hands are for working. so here they were. did i have some work? 

with their instruments they had brought a bucket. my car was next to the bucket. what was my thought? yep - you got it. they could wash my car AND THEN i though they could come back on saturdays to do the same each week. so we got some soap, brushes, rags & water and the boys cleaned. and i mean they cleaned. it was awesome! sparkly clean - inside & out! 

i said thank you, prayed with them and off they went to another house. 

guess what? saturday came and guess who was at my house? that's right - the boys' band. it was a sleep in morning again so they waited until they heard me moving around. i went out to greet them and sure enough the songs started. wow - i love the music they sing. i love the music they play. i love that they love to be at my house. i love them! 

as we were singing the interns that are here showed up for brunch. we all listened until vicente started playing a familiar song - blessed be your name! a song taught by a team a couple of years ago and is still sung in the village. we all joined in and worshipped together. then a couple more worship songs in english were shared. it was a powerful time. right in my driveway. it filled my soul. 

what a great way to start the day! i praised God for these young boys' lives and they way they were choosing to serve God during their free time. i praised God for the way they are learning to serve for God's glory. what an example to me.

thank you Jesus for sending these boys to fill me up and show me Your love for me.

trust you are well and you see Jesus' way of loving YOU!

peace - j

how did you worship in church today? i worshipped with the people of Mafarinha and we danced! it was a joyful time. the people come in slowly but within 30 minutes of starting, the church was full. and guess what song we started the worship time with????? yes - you who know guessed - acuma wacita! there is noone nowhere like Jesus! this is absolutely my favorite song. we sing it in senna - the local language and we dance all together. it is in true celebration and praise that we sing LOUDLY that no where we walk, no where we turn around, no where we search can we ever find anyone like Jesus. 

this is true. this is real. this is what we have. JESUS.

at church, the month of may is the month of the family. this sunday was for the youth & children. what a great day to visit this church. the children and youth were asked to sit up at the front and all together. they were joined in spirit and song as they presented a song for the entire church talking about all needs to be for God's glory. isn't that the truth. if you are doing something that won't be glorifying to God, don't do it. 

then the sunday school classes got up and shared their Bible verse for the week. there is power in the Word of God. to see the people up front, speaking from memory the scriptures of the Bible - it showed me that they WANT to learn. they crave to know the Truth. they are growing and learning about Jesus. 

then the message was from ephesians 6 in the Bible. there were 3 points. i am going to share them as they hit close to home. 

first - children are from God. they are a blessing. as parents, we need to honor God by how we take care of our children and teach them to walk in the way of Jesus. as children, we need to seek God and His wisdom for how to live by going to church, reading the Bible and obeying our parents.

second - when we are serving others - which we need to always be in the mindset of serving - we need to serve from our hearts - and wholeheartedly as we are serving the Lord Jesus himself. do not serve from our minds or just in action but with our hearts. 

this point really struck me. i have been training teams that the purpose of their trip is to come & serve the poor. i have been preparing to accept the teams by learning about serving them. we at CRI are creating mission & vision statements about serving and how Christ commands us to serve each other. this is the key to life. serving. whoever and wherever. i need to have a heart of service in every step that i make.

and third - there are two forces in this world. one of satan and one of God. which am i am serving? which am i living for? do i recognize that satan is wanting to beat me and tear me down? do we all see that he is trying to destroy our children's lives? we cannot let him take over our lives. we have to choose to fight with Jesus and through His strength everyday.

he ended by reminding us to PRAY. always and without ceasing. 

today, this was directly what i needed to hear. i needed to remember the priorities, see the big and winning God and know that the children are so important for tomorrow. 

after the message, all of the youth & children were asked to come up front for a special prayer. it was moving and powerful. the children felt the power and were empowered. i could see it & feel it. then i was asked to pray to close and bless the meal they were having after the service. what an honor! i could barely make it through. the power of praying for the children - wow. my eyes were filled and my voice quivered. 

God hears our prayers. He waits for us to prayer. He commands us to pray. do you pray? can you remember to pray for the kids in mafarinha the next time you do? they are pretty special and important. 

i sat in church and felt filled up. God was with us. 

i had a rough 10 days being back. all that could break, broke BUT God was with me every step and this service reminded me that every detail is important to God. every detail HE is a part of. everything HE does teaches and shows me more about His love. and this makes me love Him more.

thanks for listening today. i hope you are enjoying God and seeing His love in all you do. 

~j

yes - i am home and feel it. my whole being is at peace and content. i have had the best week of welcoming that anyone could expect. it started with the morning with rita, natalia and marilena visiting me. they are the maids for us. they gave BIG hugs and asked all about my family, my holidays and my journey back. they had heard i had been sick and had literally been praying for me during my flights. their prayers were answered as i arrived safe and sound. 

the beauty around is unbelieveable. everything is plush and green. with all of the rain, i guess the rice fields are overwhelming and providing so much food for the nationals. it is truly a blessing. the trees are FULL and the blossoms are fragrant and colorful. the grass is long and the flies are plenty. everything in life is such a mix isn't it. 

all of my baggage arrived, only 2 bags, but nothing was broken, customs didn't want anything and now it is all unpacked. i fortunately don't have to bring much out here anymore. my home is full.

i added a sunset picture from last year. it depicts that beauty i see daily in nature. God's land. He is so creative and thoughtful in all of his creation. i have more time here to see it and feel it and notice it - even think about it. it hasn't been super hot either so that helps with noticing too. 

the first days or even week are so full to me. i get to see people and ask about the holidays. i get to hug people and ask about their families. they all want to know about all of you and how the Lord blessed you at Christmas and for the new year. they are joyful for they have been given a new year, another year of life. for this they are grateful. 

a few have died since i was here in november. more than i really wanted to know. some mothers, some fathers, some babies and some brothers. death is such a regular thing here. it reminds me to live for today and make sure i am making the right choices to follow Jesus because tomorrow might not come. the people here need hope. they need to know that it is okay to die because after there is heaven. BUT you have to choose before you die. you have to choose life in Jesus BEFORE you die. did you know that? 

i can live today because i know that if i die, i will be in heaven and made whole. i do not have to worry or be afraid of dying because i have Jesus. this is what the people are starting to hear more and more about. they are starting to care more about this too as their loved ones are dying. so many people are sick. the hospitals are not a good place. the medical care is not a helpful thing. people know they will die. but do they have hope? 

this is what i feel is real to live and share this year - Hope. the Hope that is in Jesus. the Hope that is eternal life. He is really our Hope.

this will be another year of growing and learning. thanks for walking with me. and remember YOU are welcome to dondo anytime.

peace to you - j

yes - i am home and feel it. my whole being is at peace and content. i have had the best week of welcoming that anyone could expect. it started with the morning with rita, natalia and marilena visiting me. they are the maids for us. they gave BIG hugs and asked all about my family, my holidays and my journey back. they had heard i had been sick and had literally been praying for me during my flights. their prayers were answered as i arrived safe and sound. 

the beauty around is unbelieveable. everything is plush and green. with all of the rain, i guess the rice fields are overwhelming and providing so much food for the nationals. it is truly a blessing. the trees are FULL and the blossoms are fragrant and colorful. the grass is long and the flies are plenty. everything in life is such a mix isn't it. 

all of my baggage arrived, only 2 bags, but nothing was broken, customs didn't want anything and now it is all unpacked. i fortunately don't have to bring much out here anymore. my home is full.

i added a sunset picture from last year. it depicts that beauty i see daily in nature. God's land. He is so creative and thoughtful in all of his creation. i have more time here to see it and feel it and notice it - even think about it. it hasn't been super hot either so that helps with noticing too. 

the first days or even week are so full to me. i get to see people and ask about the holidays. i get to hug people and ask about their families. they all want to know about all of you and how the Lord blessed you at Christmas and for the new year. they are joyful for they have been given a new year, another year of life. for this they are grateful. 

a few have died since i was here in november. more than i really wanted to know. some mothers, some fathers, some babies and some brothers. death is such a regular thing here. it reminds me to live for today and make sure i am making the right choices to follow Jesus because tomorrow might not come. the people here need hope. they need to know that it is okay to die because after there is heaven. BUT you have to choose before you die. you have to choose life in Jesus BEFORE you die. did you know that? 

i can live today because i know that if i die, i will be in heaven and made whole. i do not have to worry or be afraid of dying because i have Jesus. this is what the people are starting to hear more and more about. they are starting to care more about this too as their loved ones are dying. so many people are sick. the hospitals are not a good place. the medical care is not a helpful thing. people know they will die. but do they have hope? 

this is what i feel is real to live and share this year - Hope. the Hope that is in Jesus. the Hope that is eternal life. He is really our Hope.

this will be another year of growing and learning. thanks for walking with me. and remember YOU are welcome to dondo anytime.

peace to you - j

first and second grade have started at el shaddai - the primary school. we have 41 first graders and 18 second graders already enrolled. we have about 20 or so more wanting to register this week. the first week was just completed. 

as with any school, there is the beginning of the year meeting where parents, government officials, reps from the community, visitors, etc come to hear the news for the year. this meeting was yesterday, saturday the 2nd. we explained about the schedule, the lessons and about the new transportation we are offering. it was a typical meeting in one sense. the parents had questions about the hours of school and when holidays would be but the funniest questions were about the bus and the bus stops! hilarious! i was laughing on the inside. it is just like parents anywhere. they want the stops close to their house! 

we also did a 'lesson' with them. it was an english lesson teaching them the basic greetings. guess who was the teacher? yep - you guessed it. me. it was really fun. i had made up a small paper with the words on it to give them to take away. we explained that we want our children to have the best and most of their education. we know that english is the language of the world and want our children to have more opportunities because they can speak english. the parents all agreed. i have to admit too that i did it all in portuguese...whew! that was a feat. 

there were LOTS of parents there. we were happy because we thought there might not be many because in the morning, there was lots of rain. but that didn't stop the parents. AND we heard after, with the government official being there opening us, giving us their blessings and saying that we are in this together, the parents found out we are legit! they had been wondering and now the word is out. we are official and the parents can trust us. this was good news. 

so it was a FUN and exciting beg of the year meeting. what will happen this year, we don't know but we will LOVE your prayers and support. we are low in funding, LOW for the school. the children pay a fee but it is small. if you are into education and want to help - any amount is helpful. just send to cri or donate on-line. 

yippee for el shaddai. more children will be educated and learn about Jesus AND grow up with skills that will really help them through life.

today i went to church. it was comforting to walk in with the voices singing, the musicians playing and see all the familiar faces. the first song i heard was 'acuma' - this IS my favorite song and i love to dance and sing it. if you remember from last year it says - there is noone, nowhere like Jesus. so powerful and fun to sing. it was definitely a welcome back. 

as the service continued, a few of my favorite litte friends came to greet me and wanted to stay close by. i got out my pen & paper and they began to draw and smile and draw and hug and draw and just be next to me. i again was so comforted. 

after service is sunday school. usually i do not stay but i today i was staying because i had a meeting after with all of the staff of the project. so i looked around and saw some of my women friends in one class. i joined in. the class was being taught by evelina, one of the preschool teachers. she was teaching about the importance of prayer. no matter what is happening in our life, we need to pray. pray when we walk. pray when we get water. pray when we are cooking. pray when we are washing our clothes. pray when we are with our children. pray, pray, pray. 

the class was listening intently as she continued. some times are lives do not have problems. we are not sick. we have food. no one has died in our families. but we still need to be praying. always. give praise at these times because we don't know when they will change. then when the times change and life is difficult, we are already in communion with God and will be easily able to continue to talk with Him about our problems. we cannot wait for the problems to happen and then call out to Him. we have to pray now. 

she also included that praying keeps our minds and bodies on the road with God. we are not deciding or leaning on our own but are taking God with us. 

she asked the class, 'do you understand?'. there was silence. she said 'okay. if you won't respond, i will say it again.' so she did. we then got in discussion about praying with each other when we see each other. stop and take time to pray. or for each other - as you are walking pass someone's home or workplace - pray for them. we all agreed we are family and prayer works. 

each week, each class has a memory verse. for this class, for today it is matthew 26:41 and yes we memorized it and yes i memorized in portuguese. 

it says, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. the spirit is wiling but the body is weak."

is your body weak? mine is. my thoughts, ideas and desires always take hold first. hopefully i don't act on them always but give them to God first. He can and will help my desires become His. He will guide and provide. He will hear me when i call out to him.

it was an important reminder as i start this year. we gotta pray!  

we waited until the end of the year to celebrated the normal october 12th teacher day. we wanted to be able to relax and enjoy the day without having to think about planning or prepping for the classroom. so on november 3rd - we loaded up 4 cars and 1 bus and brought 48 people to the savane beach! aaaahhhh - the beach and a gorgeous beach at that...! we had a perfect day of blue sky & hot temperatures - just the type of day to make you jump into the ocean.

a church plant visit. this is one of my favorite things. it keeps me grounded and humbled and loving mozambique more and more. this is real africa. 

just recently i went to mutondo with one of the teams. we went on sunday for a sunday service. the team was divided into groups to teach and share with different ages. the men were teaching a Bible study about growing as a Godly man. they were very serious and into reading through the scriptures. powerful.

the children were in a LARGE circle - playing a hot potato game, singing 'God is so good' in portuguese and english and then a large game of chasing bubbles. the kids were just looking and listening and copying and smiling. awesome.

the women were the best though! so serious yet making jokes and trying to be casual as they were learning about hygiene! this is so interesting. they really haven't been taught much prior to this - they wash in the river, maybe have soap but don't understand the reasoning behind it all. after they received sample soaps and toothbrushs they were prepared to try it out in their daily routine. 

the people are hungry to learn. learn anything. about life, about relationships, about people, about music...but mostly about Jesus. they see His love in our visits. 

the church service is so powerful! there is always dancing, singing and praising God. the offering is brought joyfully up to the front to give over to the Lord. the kids are all singing and packing in the place. the joy on the faces is breathtaking. the people have nothing but they are content. they are eager to just live and learn.

so humbling for me. so eye-opening to me. so revealing to me about our Lord and Savior who wants so to live to serve Him and love Him and share His love with others. this is what they teach me at the church plants. honest, raw and free love. just love.

this is a simple blog - i will add some pictures for you to get the jist. i hope you can catch a glimpse of what my words are saying. j

the wedding is never just the day. it always includes days before and after. and as i said, i have 3 parts of this story - so here is the third.

sunday morning, the 7th - kathy was leaving today. what a mixed day! happy for the married couple and sad that my partner in teams was leaving. we had a great church service dancing in celebration with kathy for all the work she did and the relationships she had built. she was in the front just beaming and crying all at once. it was a site of beauty.

so edmundo and helena wanted to see her before she took off to the airport, so we headed over to their motel and spent about 15 minutes together. it was so powerful! edmundo committed to taking care of his new wife and needing his family to support him (me his sister and kathy his mother-in-law -kathy had adopted the girls last year since they are motherless). he asked us to pray and that he would be the head and make good decisions. we asked for prayer for our work next year and the teams that are planning to come. it was a sweet time. 

we then dropped them off at their home to hook up and celebrate with family before they leave dondo. and kathy & i were off to the airport. i could write a bunch of stuff about the leaving but that is a tough one - how do you write that your sister, friend, teammate and accountability is leaving? i can't. just know that i was sad yet trusting God in His timing of her leaving before the end of the year. (miss you kathy!!!)

monday brought many things including helping edmundo and helena home. they wanted more time to be away but edmundo had a test that kept him focused on school this week and the family was still calling & asking for time with them.

the best day came on wedesday of this week! their true honeymoon! there is an amazing beach here called savane! it is beautiful, resortlike and peaceful. i drove the new couple there and on the way we got to watch some wild monkeys play and eat. we stopped and just watched - it was soooo cool! what a fun thing to see on the drive for your honeymoon.

friday came all too quickly and i drove back to bring them home but i went a bit early to at least see the beach. aaaahhhh - i LOVE this place - the beach is awesome. they were all packed and ready and so happy. you could see the rest, love and glow in their eyes reflecting their new life together. i was so - so - proud i guess. looking at my brother knowing that he loves her, will do all he can to be obedient and raise a godly family and keep a godly home. i am so impressed and encouraged and challenged to look for that in a mate for myself. he is a good example.

saturday will end this time of celebration with the opening of the gifts. they waited for a/to return and b/for me to not have visitors so i could join in. i headed over to find SO many gifts - wow! people really showed their love for this couple. edmundo said to vicente, our nephew, see if you wait and get married the right way at the right time and save yourself for your wife, God will honor you and bless you with many, many people that care about you and want to celebrate with you. yes. that is a true lesson.  

guess what? the opening is similar to the time of opening in the states. you get many, many, many types of one thing! in this case, they got many glasses - like 100! oh my gosh! it was hilarious. we started guessing the contents before opening...so funny. they then started to mark certain glasses for christmas gifts! it was great. i was dying laughing because it is the same with us! although here they can't return and exchange. :) so i picked out some glasses i liked and they wrote my name on it and they will save for my birthday - so funny - edmundo & i were just laughing about this yesterday again.

lunch had been prepared so we ate together and just talked about the beautiful day of the wedding, the dancing, the ceremony, the people, the food, the everything! what a nice day and way to wrap up this celebration...my brother, his wife, our nephew and a cousin - only. personal and family.

i am so grateful for have family here. God knew what and who i needed to take care of me, to connect with, to support and love - both ways. He is so personal and loving and never wants us to feel alone - no matter where in the world we are.

i ask now that you keep edmundo and helena in your prayers as they start this journey. they have big dreams and the Lord has big plans! amen.  

so 5 a.m. is pretty early - but the sun was up and shining -helping us get out of bed. helena jumped in the shower rehearsing her vows as she prepared for this big day. off we were then to bring the bride and her dress to her matron of honors house. on the way, we picked up the flower girls and the hairdresser. so cool to have the salon come to us. yes - another similarity, she was having a pedicure & manicure AND her hair done - all in the 3 hrs before the ceremony. 

off we went to start transporting stuff from the church and edmundo's house to the reception site - we would be cooking the meal at the location of the reception to save a few dollars. we had 4 cars going back and forth transporting. unbelieveable. all got there - the food and coal was about 4 hours late due to some miscommunication so we weren't sure how the afternoon would turn out but....God answered in the 11th hour once again.

so in order to have enough cars, i had to take a run to the airport in beira to bring dr. neves for a flight and then i could use his car for the week. so at 7:30 i headed out of the mix for 1 hr...amazing...that drive seemed so long that day. but i got back loaded up the aunties who were going to cook, stopped to get dish soap, bread for breakfast and soap for handwashing and headed back to the reception site. 

now it is 9:30 and the ceremony at the registration office starts at 10! sharp...government time is strickly by the clock - 10 a.m. is 10 a.m. so i ran home, threw on my wedding clothes, grabbed the flowers for helena and made it to the office at 10:07 while helena literally waited in the car until i haded her the flowers and could walk out of the car.....whew!!! made it. 

this ceremony officially marries them and registers them in the goverment books. it is serious yet the official was very kind and said some good & encouraging words to the new couple. they exchanged rings & kisses and walked out as husband and wife. aaaahhhhh - we clapped and cheered.

a quick stop at the town center for some pictures and a few extra kisses before heading to the church for the ceremony between the couple and the Lord. we were only about 15 minutes off schedule which is unheard of here....so great since the day was starting to get pretty hot - had a breeze but the sun was pouring down.

wow - if you could have only seen the ceremony. smiles, banners, singing, dancing and a surprise solo by helena for edmundo. he was doing everything he could to hold back the tears. it was beautiful. and they were smiling the whole ceremony - so different from other weddings, or most weddings here. now mr & mrs edmundo reich are announced and officially, officially married. amen.

they greeted all the guests and smiled for family pics then loaded up the cars. i had all the aunties and grandmas with me...pretty cool to ride with them (and i had air conditioned...so much better :) we drove in a procession, honking our horns and driving slowly to show everyone we had a new married couple in the car. 

the destination - cajual. a resturant up the road with beautful grounds, swimming pool and playground for the kids. we decided to change the order of the events due to the late arrival of the food. it worked out perfectly. we gave the gifts.

this is one traditional i wish we could get people to do in the states. each group of people (like from the preschools, the church, bride's family, groom's family, etc.) present their gifts together! they sing a song and dance the gifts right up to the couple. it is super cool! and so much fun!! i have video of some of it if you are interested in seeing some of the fun.

the food was now ready. all were served a full plate of food -full! such good & traditional food. we had been concerned that there might not be enough but it was like the 2 fish and 5 loaves - ALL got served big plates and there was some left over. what a blessing! God really met the need. 

how about some dancing now??? LOVED it! so much fun and simple. we all were dancing and singing. fun.

you know - it was now about 5 and people were ready to head back - so we started the carpooling back and forth to dondo (about a 20 minute drive each way.) we loaded up the stuff, extra food and allllllll the people. i returned the aunties to the place of stay and headed back for more. by the time i was back, all that was left was the bride & groom! what a treat - i got to bring them to their destination. such an honor. i started the day bringing helena to get dressed and now get to drive them away married. 

you know - i wasn't even tired by the end of the day. i was so pumped and blessed that i couldn't think of anything but the work God is going to do in their lives in the years ahead. it was such a blessing to be a part of this day but even more so to be a part of the work that will be happening. 

you might think that is it - but no - the next week brings more stories too - the week of the tests and honeymoon.

if you have been traveling with me these past few years, then you have heard about edmundo. yes - he is my brother and his family has brought me in as their own. so you can imagine how HUGE this wedding was for me! and i have to say - it was AWESOME! i am so excited for him and his new wife helena. they are on a new journey, ordained by the Lord with big dreams, real hopes and great experiences to look forward to in life together. 

i will tell you right now that this blog might be a bit long. so grab a coffee and chair OR prepare to read in phases. the wedding was not only on saturday but the week before and the week after. mabye i will write about the week up to the wedding, then the wedding and then the week after - will that be helpful to you readers? 

okay - the week before. mind you, we have been planning for this day ever since i met edmundo back in 2004 BUT the real planning started when they were officially engaged on August 4th. but this is the week. the week. 

family started arriving on monday. i met so many family members i could hardly keep them all straight. edmundo's dad had 3 wives - not at the same time but throughout his life...this brings like 17 siblings! and they actually look alike. i could easily pick out my other brothers and sisters. even though both of edmundo's parents have died, he has 2 grandmothers and LOTS of aunts & uncles - i LOVE them all! they are super sweet and took me right in...trying to speak to me in sena even...yikes - i was trying to communicate in portuguese and got no where - BUT we could smile and hug! always a good communicator. 

on tuesday edmundo needed to buy an oven - he had gotten some money and i thought why not wait to buy when we aren't so busy - but come to find out - his sister tina was baking the cake at his house and needed an oven! by the time the cake was finished, she had made 26 cakes in all!!!! oh my gosh!. 

then wednesday, vicente (edmundo's nephew - ie. my nephew too) wanted to take me to beira to meet his dad - another brother who is hardly ever here since he is a truck driver. we got to the house and he had just left BUT we were able to pick up the goat he had brought to give for the reception. so we tied it up and put it in the back of the surf - totoya surf that is - not really meant for animals...but it fit. so off we went in search for cake ingredients. can you believe we want to 4 stores to find powdered sugar???!! thankfully i did know that many places and we were only short 4 bags of the 18 bags that we needed. whew. and every now and again a LOUD baaaahhhhhh came out from the back reminding us of the traveler we would be happily eating in just a few short days. yummy. 

in the midst of all the wedding planning, i also had to prepare for alan & melody's visit (my boss and pres of CRI). not too tough but just another thing. so thursday was really spent prepping the house for them.  we were also trying to create, in our heads, the decorations for the church - since this was kathy & my responnsibility...

i love that 11th hour bit! God so meets us right where we are and exactly when we need it. amazing! i LOVE how He loves us and works at our pace, knowing exactly what and when - wow! love that and Him!

now it is friday. the day before. just like in america there is a HUGE list of things to do in those last hours. the first call was to bring helena her veil and headpiece to the hair dresser. then getting youth to blow about 500 balloons to use for decorations. then talking with edmundo and hearing the calm in his voice while watching the gigantic smile on his face. he is ready. amen. this is going to be great.

kathy and marisa (brazilian) started setting up the church. so simple and elegant it will be. fresh plants and flowers from the lusalite housing complex - where i live. in the afternoon, we left to go and find which beautiful flowers we could cut and pull to put in the big pots at the church - kind of an adventure but amazing in all the natural beauty. helena couldn't find any fresh flowers in beira so we said we would take care of it. guess what we found? fresh plumeria from the tree! they were beautiful and smelled good to. - gorgeous!

friday night was the typical night before - rehearsal. the groom was in casual clothes and the bride was in curlers making jokes, practicing the vows and walking each step over and over until they knew it exactly. same. same. same. 

you know. i got the best gift for the evening. the bride! she wanted to come and rest at my house and just sleep without any people calling her or needing her. the dress was at my house and she could just take it in the morning with her. perfect. so after some dinner and a bowl of ice cream - her favorite - i tucked her in, said a prayer and off to her dreams she went. this was at about 9:30. who thought 5 a.m. would come soooo soon????

today i was driving to the airport again and noticed many things. i thought it could be an interesting blog update. so here i go.

it is a thirty minute drive to the airport and these are just a FEW of things i saw.

a family of five, plus a few extras, pulling a cart - big like what we put behind a car to haul motorcross bikes for example. the cart was stuffed high with household items. i was thinking, it is moving day! this family must be moving to a new house, zone, area or something. what a job. i have moved many times and almost always had to rent a u-haul, had several friends over to help load it up and then drive somewhere...this family was 'driving' themselves. and it was hot today. i continue to think about them tonight.

straight ahead i saw a shadow under a tree. i wasn't sure what it was at first. i saw a large load on a bike stopped on the side of the road. the shadow i saw was a man taking a lunch break. he was riding his bike with this large load, delivering it somewhere. it was about 1:30 in the afternoon, a typical time for a lunch break. he had bread and something to drink. it got my mind to thinking. we in america would stop at mac's and grab a burger during our lunch break. here this man brought his lunch. it was intriguing to my mind.

on the exit ramp to airport road was a man in a wheelchair pulling himself up the ramp. it was hot today and the sun was blazing. there was even a haze in the air due to the heat. wow - that was a lot of work i thought as he went up the rent.

tomas and antonio are my guys that help me at the airport with all the teams and their luggage. as usual they greeted us today and were ready to wash our cars while we waiting for the couple coming in. (this is the best - they clean inside and out!) first thing tomas asks me is 'did you go to church today?' oh my gosh. i could not believe it - i had stayed home to have my own 'church' and listen to a pastor from america. all year i have been encouraging him and asking HIM about going to church and for the past 2 months he hasn't missed a sunday. now he is asking me about going and i missed. as i was heading into the airport to see the visitors, his last words were - 'don't stay out of church anymore.' - it was great! i was so convicted and realized, again, that life here is about relationship. God is working, always. 

mickey is the other guy we have gotten to know at the airport. he shines shoes and is handicapped. a happy guy and always wanting to chat for a bit. today he was sharing stories from the Bible that he had been studying and heard about in church. he was showing us in his Bible. it was also great. i LOVE having these conversations with the people i have gotten to know in the community. 

the plane has now landed and we are up on the second floor out on the balcony ready to wave at the visitors. all of a sudden we heard a 'psssstttt' - a man was trying to call out to the plane. he was saying 'it is my brother! it is my brother!' he was so excited to see his brother walking off the plane. what joy he gave me. who knows when he saw his brother last. who knows the family situation. but now, tonight, they are together. aaahhh. family.

after eating a meal with the new visitors, it was time for the drive back. many, many people were on the road. it is sunday night and all are out & about. it really isn't the best time to be driving but as usual we prayed for safety and headed home. we were about 2/3 of the way home and who did we see? the man in the wheelchair heading back! it was unbelieveable. kathy and i both gasped. it had been 4 fours earlier that we saw him struggling up the ramp and now he was hopefully almost home. 

wow. life is so hard here. everything is a challenge and physically trying but people persevere because that is the life they know. this is an example to me. God knows all the details and plans and ways. difficult and easy. He knows! He is willing walk with us and join us in this life. He is just waiting for us to ask.

i am not sure what you think of my stories but i trust they challenge you as they have challenged me. peace with you today - j.

even though i am really tired and it is almost 11, i have to write about today. it was a great day and really depicts a typical day for me as the team leader here. i hope you will enjoy - you might have to read in shifts but it is truly from ONE day. 

the morning started with an early shower and then a wake-up call for the first team member to get up. it stayed quiet for awhile but slowly and surely, all 6 women in my house were up. with a knock at the door, i met the outdoor work, chico, he needed the keys for the storage room with the tools. then rita arrived and we chatted about lunch for the day, the chores needing to be done and the funny story about her being locked out of my house yesterday. we laughed and came up with a plan so that wouldn't happen again. then the two temporary workers came to wash the bunches of clothes left from the last team AND half of the clothes from this team. whew - the workers were set.

7:45 - we were at kathy's ready for morning prayer. we start together in prayer, giving up our activities, fears, anxieties and excitement to the Lord. and off we go. for the first day of project activities for this team from the Lord of Life Lutheran Church in MN - 12 in all.

8:30 - all have started their work - 7 are painting, 2 are teaching music and english, 2 are at the daycare playing with kids and 1 is visitng women in our project life program. so i am off to trade back cars with jeronimo (he gave us a bigger car yesterday for driving to beira since one of our car's is broken). then back to church to meet with noemia finalizing the plans for the rest of this week for this team. 

10:30 time for me to drive to beira to exchange money (this team is buying LOADS of stuff and needed more money exchanged :) AND buy more paint. off i go - 30 minute drive and i am there. head to exchange place - literally a desk in the back of a store but a place where i am becoming friends with the changers wife. a women who is muslim but is open and wants to talk about life - i am thankful my portuguese is better so i can actually talk with her more intelligently.  now with LOADS in my bag, i am off to the paint store to find they are short the paint i need but have some to start with - more will come in on thursday so i will try to get back there then. 

11:45 - driving back to dondo to help transport the team after a morning's work - only to my surprise - my car starts to shake - like it is going to die but doesn't. we have been having trouble with the carborator and now it is definitely struggling - only a few kilometers away - maybe 10 to go and i don't know if i will make it. so the prayers begin and so does my guessing "i think THIS might help" or "maybe THIS" or "THIS" - iaiaiaiaiai - oh my gosh - just a few more paces......

12:25 - aaahhhhhh back at my house with a big sigh...the car made it and the team had all piled into the other car to ride 'mozambican' style. (11 in a toyota hylux! gotta love it). off to the hospital to pick up those serving soup for project life and back for lunch. 

1:15 - 'pull out the pocketbook - Esau, the wood guy is here!' oooohhhhhing and aaaahhhhhing began - once again, he has brought amazing pieces of art and the americans are ready to spend - and spend they did - 30 minutes later most of the wood was bought and orders were being placed for more! very exciting. esau has a new baby and we know we are helping his family survive by LOVING his wood products and wanting to take them back for family and friends!

2:00 time to pull away and head to the church for the afternoon activities. this day is always the craziest and toughest...the team is anxious to start their teaching and the nationals are on their own time schedule. i am thinking about space, tables, supplies and translators - will we have enough? will the lessons be understood? will the americans stop being nervous and just enjoy? will we make it to tomorrow? 

oh my gosh!

3:00 all is in full swing! and some! God is soooo good and personal and amazing! let me put the picture into a perspective of numbers. 12 people involved in 8 different activities with 7 different translators and 45 mozambicans plus all the people at the hospital and the ones in the village being seen by those walking in the village for cultural learning. 

i was in bliss! just one hour before i wasn't sure what it would look like. i wasn't sure what i would see. now i see women learning to knit, others learning to sew. some boys learning keyboard. some kids learning woodworking while others learned to make paper boxes and still others worked on their handwriting. and now i hear laughing, singing, music, questions, translating and whatever noise is made when hearts are content and relationships are being made! only a God thing. He is so personal and cares about each detail. 

3:30 - details need to be prepared for tomorrow - more supplies bought, helpers arranged and money given. aaaahhhhh - plans. i love to have plans completed.

3:45 - kathy and i  head to the corner for a pineapple fanta/soda and to debrief.  i had to reflect on what happened, what are we doing next and what does this team need. right on the corner by the bus stop with lots of people walking by taking care of their business too. a relaxed moment. a fulfilling moment. and of course with kathy - a moment to laugh! 

5:00 - classes are done for the day, cars are loaded up and all i can hear is chatter, chatter, chatter! the first day was a success! everyone LOVED it and had a great time! i love the chatter - it is good chatter with stories and memories and laughter! 

it would be nice if this was the end of the day - but not yet - 5 more hours!

6:00 after a few snacks, dividing up the money from the exchange and drinking some water - out the door we go to church - it is tuesday night praying meeting. 2 of the team members are sharing their life stories. it is the sisters sharing tonight - 16 & 18 yr olds. we starting with singing "acuma wacita" - you have heard about this song. and now we are all dancing! i LOVE this song!! 

then sam gets up to share about doing the right thing because it is what God wants. then hannah gets up to share about dealing with depression and that God was her only hope. powerful stories bringing tears to many eyes and silence in a room that usually has chatter. God used both of their stories to touch many tonight.

7:15 - church is AWESOME! one of the best services i have been too. you see at prayer meeting here - you actually get together - 2 x 2 and pray! you share requests and then pray. after helping the americans connect with mozambicans, kathy and i were left to pray together WITH luisa! a 10 year old that has a true compassion and love for Jesus. i think i wrote about her mom, julia, once before. luisa asked for prayer for a Bible, for her mom's health and for school supplies. she has nothing. THEN she prayed for me! i asked for prayer because i was tired and had lots of visitors - she prayed that i would get my force from God and have patience with the visitors and know it was the work i was suppose to do! amazing - from a 10 yr. old! the whole time she was praying, she was calling out to 'father, father, father'! it was exactly what i neede tonight. her prayers - for strength. 

8:15 - time to head home. and the chatter continued! people were just jazzed from the day. we heated up the soup, sat around the table and reflected on the day. what great stories had to share. everyone wanted to hear everything. so much geniune interest and care. 

9:00 - flips & flops! all wanted to share about their highs and lows. no matter how tired they were - they wanted to share and did i hear some amazing things. i cant' put them into words for you. people just really shared their hearts and what God is showing them. they shared how they struggled and are trying find some answers to their many questions. they want to know all the people's names and about their families. they want to grow and change and be who God wants them to be. 

this is why i do this job. this is why i am here. this is my joy and strength each day. the visitors and their open hearts. 

10:00 the house is widing down  - night showers are going, final stories are shared and hugs are given. it is time to sleep. for me too.

this is a typical day. for real.  i hope you can feel a piece of my life. i hope you can see where i need prayer. i hope you desire to come and see all God is doing and want to join in. i hope you will continue to walk with me.

boa noite my friends! good evening and may you walk each day knowing YOU are doing what God wants you to do.

peace - j

today i knew was going to be full of more emotion. many things were happening back to back and i knew i would need the Lord's strength for the day because the feelings from saturday were still strong and lingering.

first church. since the teens had just spent the last three days with the teens, they were all spread out around the church within their retreat groups and their new friends. it was so cool to see the americans in moz. clothes, hair in braids and worshipping together! they had learned songs in sena (the dialect language) and portuguese. they had learned the actions and dances to go with the songs. the kids were worshipping together. loved it!

then pastor todd preached. he is the youth leader of this group. i have to add that todd didn't know he was preaching until we arrived at church...good thing he just been the keynote speaker at the youth retreat and had some messages prepared. and a strong message it was! wow. i needed to hear, the church needed to hear and the teens needed to hear it again. who will we choose? to be a friend of the world or a friend of God's. you cannot be both. no middle ground. no in-betweens. choose.

after the sermon, there was a report from the youth retreat. they recited the retreat theme "all for the glory of God". they spelled out 'J-E-S-U-S'. a couple of kids shared their testimonies about what they had learned and then two different groups came up to share the song they made up from the retreat's theme verse. the verse was I Corinthians 10:31 "so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." each group had their own song! it was awesome. our teens were up there too singing in portuguese and glorifying God! i was in chills and tears as i watched the language barrier be broken and the connection the kids had because of their love for Jesus - in both languages and cultures! wow. i have sooo much i can learn from teens, these teens. 

you know. there is a song we sing here that is everyone's favorite. it is actually sung in many countries in africa in their own dialect. it is my personal favorite and always the teams love it too. today in church we sang it. it was great. allllll of this group was able to sing it, in dialect and dance together worshipping our Lord! i want to share the words with you, in dialect. someday - maybe you can sing it too, here with me!

'acuna wacaita sa djessu (3x), acuna acuna

chua chua to manha

to manha, manha tosse

to tenderera, tenderera tosse

to tsaca, tsaca tosse

acuna, acuna, acuna'

it says - there is no equal to Jesus anyway. where you walk, where you look around, even low down, there is noone like Jesus. POWERFUL! 

now it is time to leave church, get the team's bags and head to the airport. this is usually a sad time - saying goodbye! today was especially tough for me because i had grown to love these kids like they were my neices and nephews. they were GREAT kids and are learning so much that will, or can, change their entire lives. words were spoken, hugs were given and many, many tears were shed. it was definitely a sad time. 

no reason to wipe the tears though because now we were heading to the funeral of rita's mom. because of the hour, the actual funeral was done but we were able to go to the house and give condolences to the family.very difficult. there were many people there, many. the family alll sit together and then the visitors walk through and shake each hand and offer simple words of encouragement. 

when i saw rita i knew i wanted to hug her and hold her. i knew i wanted to just sit with her. and so i did. i held her and she cried and weeped. as probably 80 people came through and shook her hand, i held the other one. her boy, erikes, sat next to me playing with a small toy not understanding why his mom is so sad (he is 3) but he sat close and leaned against me. 

as i wrote before, rita and me are sisters. we live daily together. walking our lives together. she is family. my heart hurt. my words were few. what do you say. 

i stayed for awhile and took erike with me as i talked with other people there. he wanted to just stay close and so i held him. then this part of the ceremony ended. the family was just going to stay now and eat and grieve together. 

you know i wish i could say that the day was over and i could go home to cry but it wasn't. it never is. there is always something else. and today, it was a baby dedication. a baby and mom are alive and well after a very difficult birth and life threatening month. it is Esau's baby girl's dedication to the Lord. Esau is the one who makes all the amazing black wood objects that get brought back to the states for gifts and memories. he is here with every team offering his art for purchase and the teams ohhh and ahhh over his work. he is a true artist and today - he is celebrating his first daughter's life! 

priscilla is her name and she IS beautiful. there must have been 75 people at this party. 4 different churches represented and many family members. we were singing and dancing praising God for life - both of the lives of priscilla and her mom. much reason to dance. again - it is all about giving glory to God! life is all about Him.

at this point, i can barely keep my head up, let alone speak in portuguese - so we said our goodbyes, loved on the new baby girl and headed home. the drive was slow but close. 

kathy and i shared a few m & m peanuts that the team had brought and reflected on what the teens had taught us. we planned for the next team and we talked about next year. we laughed and cried and then i got back in my car and drove down to my house.

my home was silent but peaceful.

my head and heart were full.

my eyes hit the pillow and slept soundly until...

7:00 a.m. knock, knock, knock. - it is monday morning. 

so many things happened in the past three days. i barely know what to write or where to begin. my heart is full of grief, pain, joy and peace. i will begin with saturday. 

3 to 4 days a week, someone will be knocking at my door at 7 a.m. to tell me something, give me something or ask for something. it is normal and expected. most of the time i can help in someway OR appreciate the gift or the news. but this saturday, i was sad. i received a phone call first. it was rita's uncle. i thought he was giving me an update on rita because on friday, she was sick with a high fever and couldnt' come to work. but no! he was calling to ask for help - rita's mom had died. 

he had called me on friday but on the phone, i can't hear well and struggle with my portugues so i didn't hear him when he said her mom had died on friday. so saturday as he was telling me he had called, the phone call from friday made sense. (this is rita's mom's brother - i call him uncle (tio). 

i was still. he asked to come over. i said yes. when he arrived he told me she had died at 11:45 a.m. on friday. i gasped. i had been at the hospital at 11:30. oh my gosh. unbelieveable. rita said her mom was waiting to see me again before she let go. i am not sure about this BUT it was shocking - the timing of my visit and the timing of her death. 

we don't know if rita's mom accepted Jesus as her Savior and Lord but we know she heard the truth and possibly chose to accept Him into her heart. We will have to wait to see in heaven. 

thank you for all your prayers for rita and her family. she is struggling and very sad. 

after hearing this news, i had to try to grasp the celebration that was going to happen for the team's last day. siince this group was a youth group, they had spent the last three days at a retreat for the youth from the church. it started on weds. and was ending saturday with a special mozambican lunch, dancing and gift giving. the teens here wanted to celebrate and thank the americans teen for coming and sharing their lives with them.

the whole celebration was in traditional mozambican style with handwashing, eating without utensils a special rice, dancing traditional dances with drums and each teen receiving a gift especially picked for them. it was a JOY! all the kids, 50 in all, had a GREAT time at this retreat. it will be a retreat that NONE of the kids, americans or mozambicans will forget. 

you might think this day is over. but no - another big event was happening. the engagement party of edmundo and helena! many of you will know that edmundo is my brother here. he is the younger brother i didnt' have in american but have here. so this day is very important and special to me. i was a part of the planning and praying and preparation. i was so excited! and edmundo was so nervous! it was great!!

after a quick change into more party style clothes, from the retreat clothes, and driving like a mad woman because we were already 1 hour late - we arrived to see edmundo sitting with his best man and family waiting for helena to walk out of her house. 

wow - she was beautful! she was radiant actually and glowing because her dream was coming true. she would get to be promised to edmundo for life. we all shed a few tears of joy and peace as they joined together. 

the ceremony started with worship - praising God for who He is and all He is doing. then introductions of family members and friends that were there in attendance.  then the giving of the rings! here - the ring is put on the right hand to wear until the wedding day. attached you will find some pictures showing the glow in both of their faces. 

we prayed together and officially announced the engagement and commitment of marriage for edmundo and helena! it was completely joyful! i can't write how happy i am for these two people. they love Jesus. they love each other. and they will be true examples for other youung people here in Dondo.

so now you might think the day is over. but not yet. remember i still have a team at my house packing and getting ready to leave. so off i went back home to them sitting down for dinner. aaaahhh - it is nice to have youth leaders that can help prepare dinner. :) (and actually, i believe the teens did the cooking :) 

it was not time for the final evening with the team. this usually is done with cessitos and sure enough - at 8:00 they were here with us. we had a time of reflection and review about the past 3 weeks. we laughed, at popcorn and prayed together. it was wonderful.

cessitos then left as they were a part of all the activities from the day as well and had more things to do at their house as well.

but our night was not over yet. the teens all spoke, to both kathy and me, thanks and gratefulness for how we had helped them during their trip. it was powerful to hear 15 - 18 yr olds share from their hearts and thank me. i was deelpy touched. God knew i needed to hear these words after this day of emotion. 

we then sat together for about 45 minutes singing worship songs! wow! all praise and glory to God! He is why we are here. He is why we know each other. He is why we are on this earth even. He is worthy of praise. no matter how tired or emotional or sad or or or or we are. He is the reason for life.

so - now saturday is over. only half of the weekend is finished. j 

this day was full of things. all day i kept saying "i have to write a blog about today'. i have repeated that phrase for 24 hrs and now will write it. i know it might get long but i want to write down alllll that happened in one day.

it started actually the night before with a phone call from my maid's (rita) uncle. he said that rita's mom had died. we knew she was sick and so i wasn't surprised but still sad for rita. then friday morning, rita called. her mom hadn't died but had had a stroke and had spent the night in the hospital. rita wouldn't be in to work of course and i asked if i could come and see her mom. yes - of course she said so i was out the door. (the team was already all sorted and on their way for the day - amen)

rita and i had a conversation prior about her mom's salvation. rita's mom did not know Jesus yet. she had tried to share with her but mom didn't want to hear. i suggested we have the women's leader come and talk to her but it hadn't happened yet. so on my way to the hospital, i stopped at the church to get marilene - a brazilian missionary working here with project life. everyday marilene is at the hospital praying and caring for dying people. marilene and i walked to the hospital singing 'Lord, pass by here. Lord pass by here." we held hands and were praying the whole walk.

we arrived at the hospital and i was met with open arms to hold rita. she was very sad and upset. we hugged and i told her i loved her and was praying for her. i met her 3 sisters and then went to see her mom. 

wow. her breathing was labored, she couldn't move, her eyes were shut and then - her breathing paused. we all held our breath until the next deep, loud breath came out. this went on for about 15 minutes. then marilene asked if she could pray with mom. yes, yes, please they said. so in marilene's compassionate and convicting way she gently went to mom's ear and prayed. she told her Jesus loved her, He had a plan for her and He was here with us. marilene then began to pray with all of us and the whole room filled with peace and joy as we prayed to the Heavenly, healing Father.

i felt helpless. i held rita and we just were silent. we decided to walk outside for a bit. rita and i were talking with one of her sisters and i explained how rita and i are the same age and our mom's are only 6 months apart. her sister then said we were twins! rita and i laughed loudly! we started to talk about our 'similarities' - skin color, looks, family, names, etc....funny because NONE of it was the same - we even said i was fat and rita was thin BUT we agreed we were twins in our hearts! we just hugged and smiled - holding back the tears. 

i then left and said i would return later in the day. 

as i was walking out, i saw helena! (one of my sister's from the church) she was walking a 'funny' walk and smiling. i asked what was wrong. she showed me a skin allergy she was having and her whole body itched....hence the 'funny' walk. she started to scratch and scratch and so i grabbed her hand to help her stop. i said i would walk with her to find the doctor, our doctor - dr. neves. he was there and i knew if i coulld find him he could help both rita's mom and helena. so i paged him and sure enough he came out. he told helena she had to get a shot in her behind first and then take some pills. he said he would go to see rita's mom. amen for dr. neves.

i walked with helena, holding her hand so not to scratch, and went to the nurse's office. i said i would wait outside but she said NO - come with me! so i went in and squeezed her hand as she got the shot - the whole time me and the nurse were laughing outloud! 

i need to let you know that it is only 10 in the morning at this point. on with the story. (take a coffee break if you need. :) 

now i had to head back to the church because julieta was waiting for me. a women in our church who needed a place to keep her rice. her husband had been beating her and with other women and taking her rice. i said i had a garage that she could keep her rice in until she needed it. so - i grabbed felix and edmundo to go to her house - i knew there were 4 bags but didn't know they were 100 kilos each! it took 4 people on each bag to get them into my truck. off to my house to load into the garage. 

you know there are many little things happening along side all of these bigger things, right? like text messages about supplies needed for the teams, arrangements for translators, fresh food being bought at the market, getting water from the pump at the farm...the regular daily things. 

now it is about 11:30 and i want to go back and see rita's mom. only one sister is there at this point so i sit down to talk with her for a bit. dr. neves hadn't been to see her yet so i paged him to see if he had time. 2 minutes later i hear him coming down the hall. he reads her charts, checks her heart & lungs and immediately orders antiobiotics and oxygen. aaaahhhhh relief. i thanked him and sat with them for a few more minutes.

finally it is time for lunch. ate lunch, checked in with the team and chatted with kathy about some of the joys and struggles with the days. took a few deep breaths and took time to take a brief nap...aaaaahhhhhh relief again. it was only 20 minutes as my phone started to send messages and team members came home but at least i rested my eyes and head.

now it was 4:00. i wanted to check on rita's mom one last time. as i got there i saw lots and lots of family. i wasn't sure if this was good or bad. rita gave me a hug and greeted me. she was running a fever and very sad. i asked what we could do and her uncle explained that she needed to sleep and the stress was causing the fever. i prayed with rita and asked God to fill her up with Him.

i then felt a huge presence of God with me and He was telling me to pray, with all of them. i asked the family and they said yes. i explained i would pray in english- praying in another language is a difficult thing so i haven't got that down yet but i know God hears our prayers in any language. 

as i started to pray, her mom's breathing got heavier and heavier. it was drowning out my prayer. i was a bit taken back and felt the power of satan trying to take hold of this family and rita's mom. it was awful. i kept praying and praying, not wanting to stop or let satan have any power in the room. as soon as i stopped, mom stopped too. it felt....heavy and ugly and demonic. yuck! 

i decided then that i wanted to go over and pray directly into her mom's ear. i wanted to touch her with love and prayed that Jesus would flow from me to her. as i touched her and got close she became calm. her breathing was steady. her noises were gone and her heart was beating evenly. i felt one with her. i felt Jesus was with us directly touching us together. i felt peace.

the family thanked me for calling dr. neves and i asked them to thank God. He had sent help and wanted us to see Him in this situation. i said my goodbyes and gave hugs and left. the team was finished for the day and needed some rides home.  

you know - i could share about the evening too. some great things happened but i will leave it at this for now. when i know more news about rita's mom, i will let you know. in the meantime, please pray for the family - God knows the details.

thanks for reading this long story. i pray you feel a bit of what life is like here. 

peace. j