Children’s Relief International

a conference is always about the food and housing. this one was no exception. before we went, i was asking 'where are we going to sleep?' i wanted to know what i needed to bring. noemia said, 'well, i don't know we will see.' until we got there we did not know. we knew of housing in the town but also heard it was a 20 minute drive away so we weren't sure what that would look like. well, if you read my part 1, you know that the drive was not an easy one...so driving it at night was out of the question. 

other options were a/pastors house - a small 8x10 room (there were 7 of us in total) b/the sleeping room with the women (we didn't have mats) c/the bus or d/our van. after weighing our options (we were 3) and the brazilians weighing theirs (they were 4), we 3 decided on our van. we laid out the back seat and put back the front seat and had almost 3 'laying' spaces. we decided each night we could rotate and all get the privilege of enjoying each space. so - we did. and each morning we woke up thankful for a place to sleep. even if it was just for a few hours each night.  - remember the waking up at 4 from part 2????

each morning mariazinha would wait for us to get out of the van and show our faces. she was waiting with water - hot water for our baths. all the other women had to fetch their own but she wanted to serve us. it makes me smile and brings tears to my eyes as i write this. the women there, especially mariazinha wanted to serve us. they enjoy serving and showed us so much hospitality. it was a blessing i will never forget. 

the water was hot, the bath house clean and the sun shining. it was a fresh feeling and i was clean. aaahhhh. oh - and looking at the mountains! what a way to start each day. 

the first day bread had to be brought up from the town. this was not easy and took awhile. the tea was ready but no bread for breakfast. what did the women do? worship! they started the service and worshipped until the bread arrived. wow. and they were truly hungry. they don't have extra weight to 'tie' them over each meal. but they worshipped. that bread tasted so good - let me tell you. just from knowing the work it took to get it to us.

now - the weather the first three days was HOT! 100 degrees and 100% humidity. i was dripping in sweat all day. but no electricity, there was no way to keep water cold AND there was no drinking water. we had brought some but thought we would be able to buy some....and we did but not like we expected. the first day, we sent word down the hill to bring water with the bread. the next day, some were leaving to go shopping and we sent money for more water. the next day we had some left over from the day before and drank it sparingly. you know what the Lord did? he sent boys to us selling semi-cool cokes! wow - i don't remember being so happy to see a coke bottle. aaaahhhhh - it had been cold but by the time the boys got it up the hill - only the middle part was cool - so i drank fast to get to the middle.....pineapple fanta!!! refreshing on a hot day.

the food! they had prepared a feast each meal. rice, chicken stew & salad one meal. another was rice, beans and cabbage! another was rice, fried chicken and fries! alllllll were so tasty, hot and filling. this was FRESH food and you could taste the difference. so sweet. i could have eaten a whole head of cabbage. our plates were all full. the big pots lasted for each meal - all had plenty and were full. this was a blessing. 

blessings! on the way home christa, jen and i were saying all the things that God gave us through the weekend. if you go back through the writings, i am sure you will see all the ways God blessed us. i am in awe. i am full. the women's conference again was refreshment and spiritually filling. 

noemia spoke the first night and gave an opening meditation. she said that we might have been expecting electricity, a church building, a market and different things but this is what God had for us. He knew this was the way for this year. He knew what each one of us needed. we all need to have less distractions. we all need to be ready to hear from Him this weekend. we all need to be ready to learn. He knew this is what we needed to learn. 

i stepped back and said 'yes, thank you Lord. i needed just this. time in the mountains with other sisters to worship and praise You. thank you Jesus.'

every morning at 4 the women were up and starting their day. with 200 women, they had to start early to get the water, warm up the water, take baths, wash clothes and eat by 8. even though this was an early start, the 'alarm' was powerful. worship! they started to wake up the group by singing and praising God, first thing! i could not even be grumpy because it was beautiful and a full sound with all the women singing. 

the theme for the weekend was "Christian women serving the Lord". the verse was 

Psalm 100:2 'Worship the Lord with gladness, come before Him with joyful songs.'

by 9 the services were started each morning. the speaker was a missionary from zambia who had moved to tete (a province in moz) about 8 years ago. she was a beautiful lady and spoke english - which was a treat for me. but she was a powerful speaker. each message was strong and right to the hearts of us women. 

thursday night the keynote speaker started with psalm 86:8-11 - it is about asking the Lord to teach us and share us His way because there is none like Him. 

friday's meditation by one of the leaders of one of the churches shared about being the light of the world. even though our days are full we are to be a light in the middle of it all. all day we are to serve the Lord and each one of us is responsible to serve.

friday's keynote talked to the women specifically about sex and being a wife. it was not quite as interesting to me but i know the women needed to hear it. noemia even looked at me and asked if i wanted her to translate for christa since she is married and needed to hear about this....i nodded my head with glee. 

saturday's message was from james 1:22 - 26 - don't just listen to what the Bible says but do it - let your actions show that you know Jesus and that you believe in Him. 

each message was translated into a few languages. it was spoken in the dialect from tete then translated into sena then into portuguese for us not from moz and then i tried my best to translate into english for the christa and jen. at first i thought oh no - this will be so difficult and tiring. but actually it helped me focus and learn. i wanted to get the right scriptures and the points of what was being taught. i wanted to learn too and this helped me so much. 

we were being challenged in how we live our lives. we being questioned if what we hear in church we show in our daily lives. we were being called to be Christ-like in all we did. 

in between each section of the meetings, there was always singing! and that means drums and dancing too! wow - these women can dance and dance some more...!!! it does not stop. they were teaching each other new dance steps and new choruses in different dialects. they were learning alongside each other. no matter how hot or hungry we were, we danced and praised the Lord. it was a good testimony to me - to always be worshipping. 

one big part of this conference is that each church dances for the others. there were about 6 churches each day that danced. each church has its own capulana and its own chosen songs and steps. it is a big deal! the meeting area is filled when a church is performing. many are going up and 'blessing' them by waving a capulana over their heads and yelling 'woooowhooooo'. such a time of rejoicing! 

our church, dondo, had the most women this year. when we came in - it was an entrance! this is the year for the 50th anniversary of the baptist convention so we had on the special 50th anniversary capulanas and t-shirts. and yes i wore the outfit but no i did not dance...are you kidding? i would have had started to learn those steps when i was 12 to be able to move my body like that now. it is majestic, fast and rhythmic. 

the last service on sunday is a special one. there is one last group to perform. it is a combo group of women. some from each church. they had practiced throughout the weekend and came together to share in the last song. they each wore the capulana from their church and danced one of the dances from our church - a hard one that everyone loved. it was so powerful to see these women join together. to show 'estamos junto' - we are together. i get tears each time they are together. i know the work it takes for each one to come. i know the work they leave behind for their families. i know their dedication to learn more about the Lord and grow as a godly woman. 

one last thing i want to share about the message i heard. it was an added blessing. 

since sunday is a service for the community, the congregation that regularly meets joined us. they had a special presentation - the kids! they entered with a song and special dance. they were singing in dialect so i had to ask what they were singing - "Jesus said, let the little children come to me." it brought me to tears. they were the example. they are the hope of the future of mozambique. they are coming to Jesus. 

the women sing and worship through everything. they have faith that is a true example to me of letting God take care of our needs. they saw God provide for all to come to this conference. they worshipped Him. they love Jesus. 

who loves that sound of that? i am sure if you are a woman, you will love it - others ie men - might not BUT i have some stories to tell you that i believe will make you LOVE this women's conferences. 

i will just say right now, i know this could be such a long email. so i will write some of the stories here and continue on with more stories on my blog - http://www.childrensrelief.org/blogs/janine

if you have been on this journey with me for awhile, i am sure you remember that past three years of stories about the women's conferences. they are times that i will never forget and times that help me grow more each year. 

this year we were off to machipanda. it is the city right before the zimbabwe border so about 4 hours drive. for our ladies of the church, this was an expensive conference. not only did they have to pay for their annual capulana and conference fees, they had to pay 500 mets for transportation alone. ($20)  with the monthly salary being $30 per month - this seemed like a feat that would only stretch each one's faith and show God's power. 

as suggested by the leaders, the women started early to save a bit each month and try to find extra ways to earn money. we set up a 'work program' so-to-speak. the first 20 women to ask, were given work around the project to earn their way. it was great! the women were willing and eager to work because going to this conference is the highlight each year in their lives. 

others found work outside the project and paid bit by bit over the past 6 months so they were able to go. 

thursday was the departure date. 7 a.m. was the meeting time to load up, get organized and be ready to pull away by 8. we had rented a bus, a huge bus and all 46 women that registered were on it! ready, excited and anxious to see what the Lord had for them at the conference. 

despite what you might think about 'time' here in moz, we pulled out at 8:10! it was a beautiful sight. heads peeking out and voices calling out - the bus was a singing caravan! i drove a car behind and all the way - all 4 hours - we saw heads turn toward the bus as it passed - 'what was that?' was the look on their faces...i know - it was SINGING! the whole way the women were rejoicing and praising the Lord! 

in my car, i had 2 other americans (christa & jen) and 3 mozambicans (artina - the seamstress, mariazinha - the director of el shaddai and zaira - the wife of zito). after about 30 minutes - jen grabbed the guitar we were carrying and off we went - worshipping in 3 different languages - sena, portuguese and english! it gave me chills and tears. this was powerful! we must have sang for an hour. you would have thought we had 10 women in our car alone. it was beautiful! we sang acuna - no one like Jesus, Deus é ta bom - God is so good and many more. i cannot explain the sound - next you will have to join us. :) 

along the journey, we stopped at different sites to pick up women from our sister churches and our church plants. spots on the bus had been reserved for them and they were at the stop ready to join this caravan. it added to the joy as other sisters joined us to head to this weekend of meeting God. 

as with any road trip, after awhile (like 2.5 hours) you have to stop, stretch your legs and buy some snacks. same here. we stopped in chimoio and all the ladies jumped out. they had brought some food - cakes, rice, salads, etc to eat on the journey but all needed some cold drinks and fresh bananas. aaaahhh - nothing like an orange fanta ICY cold to slam down after driving in the hot sun at 98 degrees. oh it felt good to get out and stretch. now we were ready for the last 1.5 hours. 

you have to try and imagine here the view - we are heading into the mountains. it is hazy from the heat yet you can feel the altitude changing. the sun is SUPER hot but the view is amazing - flowers blooming, green on the foothills and mud homes painted in colors of orange & brown - i was IN heaven. i can explain the beauty. God was loving me in personal ways right then and there. my favorite colors. scenes similar to my home in colorado. yet i was with my sisters, my mozambican sisters. i felt so loved. 

so - we get to the turn off - machipanda to the right. all dirt and winding road from here on - where is this church??? we got a bit misdirected but finally found our way and were a bit in shock. the road was steep, rocky and narrow. the buildings we passed were far and few between. the church? where was it? the bus was here, the pastor greeted us but we could not see the church. okay. we will see it later i thought. 

we started to unload and heard that the church was too small to hold us so the people had built sort of grass and plastic roofing type of tent structure to hold all of us. it was big and had enough room for all - this will be the meeting hall, the sleeping hall and the singing hall - all in one!

as i looked around i saw that the church had planned for us! there were not 2 but 4 bathrooms 'stalls', a huge kitchen area and plenty of space for the women to hang out their clothes for drying as they were washed. there was a near by river for bathing and a watering spot to fetch water. the church was prepared - for as noemia puts it - a real experience in africa. no running water, no electricity and no cement structures BUT we were well taken care of - with yummy meals, hot water for baths and so much worship & dancing to the point that i didn't realize how much i needed a break from my conveniences to really be able to hear God speak to me. i was blessed. i was filled up. i was loved.

i had a week this month that was unusually difficult for me. i faced families & friends that were suffering after loved ones had died, all three unnecessarily. in a country that is already struggling with true hunger and poverty, i find myself asking what is God showing us here? what I am suppose to be learning? this post is coming with sadness and info that will share some sad things about mozambique. my prayer is that as you read it, you will be more on your knees for this country, this project and these people - my family and friends. 

the first was a 16 yr old girl niece of Mariazinha - our director at El Shaddai. she was 8 months pregnant. on wednesday, the week before, she had gone into early labor. the baby died - not sure of all the reasons why. she, was at home and after 24hrs, the family brought her to the hospital because she was really sick. she had gotten malaria in the midst of this difficult delivery, and also was seriously infected after the delivery. the doctors did all they could do but it was too late. with this 16 year having AIDS, an infection and malaria, there was no hope. the doctor explained that if the family had come in the same day of the loss of the baby, they would have been able to help her. she died. 

the sadness for me: because there is so much fear and unknown with the medical doctors, the people choose to wait and wait and go to the witch-doctors instead of seeking medical help that could save them. this grieves me for the family and for all the people here. they have no hope for good health.

the second was a 22 yr old boy, the son of the owner of the restaurant in dondo - yeya - this is where we eat our sunday meals. he was out with friends on the holiday weekend. they were at a party. 8 of them piled into a car the size of a honda toyota and drove off - right into a tree. 3 were killed instantly including this son. all were drunk. all were partying. all were not thinking clearly. the funeral was so sad. many, many people were there - including a couple from the accident that survived. i cannot even try to imagine what was going through their heads. this family did not know Jesus. this family is now seeking some truth - why their son?

the sadness for me: holiday weekends are the same in every country. we think we are okay to drink and drive. young people believe it will not be them. here in moz, alcohol is cheap and easy for all to get. it is encouraged because this country went for so long without hope that people only live for today. they have no hope in tomorrow.

the third is a bit more deep and surreal. a 40 something year old woman, an aunt to judite, our accountant for the project and my friend. she aunt was feeling sick but now sure what it was. as is typical, they called for a witch-doctor to come and check on her. when the witch-doctor arrived, he fainted. on the spot. all stepped back and were scared. they called for more witch-doctors to come. when the others arrived, they would not enter the room with her aunt. they said the demons were too strong and all were afraid. right then her aunt died. the medical doctor checked her and could not find anything physical reason for her death. all were in awe. what just happened? the evil spirits wanted her - that is what was said.

the sadness for me: Jesus IS the real spirit and one that saves. here in moz, many still have not heard about Jesus. they do not know His healing power and His plan for each one's life. there is no hope for healing or eternal life.  

hope. do you have hope? do you know true Hope? the One Hope? 

every part of this project shares the Hope each and every day. Jesus' love for each child, woman and man is shown and offered. these three deaths might still have happened even if they had had Hope but now they are gone and it is too late. after death, there is nothing we can do. we have to choose the One Hope now - we have to choose Jesus and the eternal life He offers. 

i know all of these families and walk with them everyday. judite & mariazinha know Jesus and grieve for their family members. they long for all to accept Jesus. come along and pray with me for these sisters of mine. we KNOW Jesus is the one and only way to everlasting life. i do not want to waste any more time of keeping the truth inside of me - i want to share it. and out loud i will tell about the True Hope - the One who is the healer and lover of all. this is what i believe God wanted me to learn. 

Wow - the summer is past and more people have passed through my life here in Mozambique.  I again have to say how blessed I am. I want to write to you about the 5 'interns' that spent their summer here at the Ray of Light Project.

They came willing, ready, energized and open. They left filled, changed, stronger and humbled by all the things that God showed them here in Moz. They are people that I wish you all could meet - Alicia, Curt, Dan, Laura & Paul. They taught me & others more than expected because they came to serve the Lord first and foremost. They were examples of putting others before themselves, of serving despite tiredness, time of day or feelings and of willingness to do whatever was asked of them. They are the future. They are the next generation. They are more neices and nephews for me.

They were all involved in different areas of the project. Alicia taught with the junior high vo-tech program. Curt taught the kids in 1st and 2nd grade at El Shaddai. Dan built houses with Green Door. Laura led the paint crews at 3 different sites. Paul worked at the clinic as a nurse. AND they all played, loved and hung out in ALL areas of the project.

I know that if you talked with any of them, they would all have a different story to tell you. They might share about playing soccer with the church team or going on a weekend visit in the interior to one of the church plants or teaching the hokey pokey to 80 children. They might start speaking to you in portuguese or singing in the local dialect of sena. They might even begin to bless you personally by getting you a cup of coffee, making a grilled cheese or washing the dishes for the 4th time this week.

As it was getting close to their departure, they led a special service. They started with a candlelit room and reading scripture - sharing about Jesus -  the Bread of life, the Redeemer, the Shepherd. Then they proceeded to wash our feet, gently and purposefully with hands of love - the same as Jesus would serve & love.

I was touched and blessed. I felt Jesus telling me right then that He loves me so much. He has purpose in all that is happening around me in Mozambique and that He has sent these 5 to be an example to me.

They have all headed home now - to Minnesota, Washington, Indiana and Ireland. They are all back in school finishing up their last years in college. I miss them here. The people and children of the project miss them too. They all left a piece of their heart here.

I don't know the future for them. I pray they will return here or continue to serve the Lord somewhere in the world in a similar capacity that they served here. I will be praying for them specifically and thanking the Lord for sending them to work here this summer.

one of my favorite parts about living in dondo, is that as i pass by the streets i see different people i know - students from el shaddai, teachers from the preschool, the nurse from the clinic, women from the church, brazilian missionaries, my nephews from the boys' band and the list goes on. sometimes i will stop and chat. sometimes i will wave and say 'ola!'. sometimes i will give them a lift or set-up a time to meet for a longer length of time. whatever the case. it is home because of the people.

the other day i was sitting at the bank waiting for a visitor to pull money from the atm. as i sat in the car i heard zito and zaira (with her baby straped to her back) pass by on their bikes yelling 'auntie janine - ola!' they are the leaders at the centro emissor church plant about 10 minutes up the road. zaira was on her way to the weekly women's meeting and zito was helping her carry things that she will need for the meeting.

at the same moment i see domingos on his bike. he is the leader of the mafarinha church plant just on the other side of the vila. he and zito exchanged greetings and zito yells that he will be right back. within minutes zito and domingos are turning their bikes around to greet each other on the side of the road. 

this got my attention and got me thinking. these are the leaders of our church plants. these are the leaders taking the people to the next level in our community. these both are leaders with families, with education, but more importantly a desire to serve the Lord. they are meeting on the side of the road to touch base, check in and encourage one another.

what a sight. the two bikes making a turn-around loop to meet up with each other. i loved the image i saw - can you see what i am talking about? can you imagine stopping on the side of the road to chat with fellow workers to greet, encourage and check in? the timing was perfect. they were both passing and took the time needed.

this gave me encouragement too. when i am passing on the road and i see someone, i need to do an internal check-in - do i need to give encouragement? do i need to stop right now to see this person? do they need to talk with me? 

when passing on the road, the timing is perfect. i pray i will notice when i need to stop.

i 

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

sundays are always days for dancing, singing and celebrations. it is a day to celebrate all the love that Jesus has for each of us. first let's start at church.

if you know anything about me, you know i LOVE to celebrate birthdays! and yes, i celebrate and encourage all to celebrate the whole month long. i had the same feelings when it came to our national leader's birthday. and a great celebration was had by all! Pastor Jeronimo's birthday fell on a sunday this year. it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate both a Godly leader and a fellow brother's special day all together as a church community. the church took full advantage of this and made November 12th - Pastor's Day at the dondo baptist church. 

the excitement was in the air and the surprises were many. jeronimo knew he was going to be celebrated but didn't know the degree it would happen. 

as the congregation began to gather at the church, i noticed the women coming in their church capulana....oops....i forgot...off to my house i went to change my clothes. i definitely wanted to be in the women's dress for this celebration day. the church began to fill up. kids, men, women and all the young adults. all wanted to be a part to say thanks to pastor jeronimo.

there was a guest speaker, a pastor from beira who has been close friends with jeronimo for many, many years. he spoke of funny stories, spiritual mentoring and historic events from their pastoring years. he spoke of future hopes and dreams they both have for their congregations and people of mozambique to know Jesus. it was an inspiring 1 hour sermon. (you can read into the length of it as you may...:)

then the partying began. the different departments of the church and the closest church plants had prepared a dance and gift to present to pastor jeronimo. starting with the children, jeronimo was given songs of thanks, dances of support and gifts of love specific to his interests. 

wow - i was in awe. it was powerful to watch the people that he is teaching and walking alongside give thanks to him. he is their leader and they wanted him to know how much they appreciate him and his service. he of course joined in with the dancing and laughed out loud in pure delight with his people, his congregation, his flock.

the last group to present was of course the most interesting and probably the most entertaining. the group of missionaries! yes - we lined up at the back door and danced & sang to the front to offer our thanks and love to our leader and pastor. no dancing wasn't in step and the singing was quiet but all of us went together to show our support. (those in the audience were pretending to old cameras and video equipment showing the role we usually play in church - super funny.)

a great leader and lover of Jesus. pastor jeronimo is a good example of being obedient to God's calling and showing Jesus in his daily walk. i was honored to be a part of this birthday celebration - which of course lasted all day long including a lunch with the missionaries AND an evening service having cake, sandwiches and cokes with those who attended church. it was an all day event and all felt celebrated with pastor jeronimo.

i thought this was a good story to share for a few reasons. one - we need to honor and celebrate our leaders. be thankful for the work they do and how they help us do our work. two - i want you to see more similarities with the people of mozambique and celebrating birthdays is similar in all countries. and three - this is a month of a very special birthday - the birthday of our Lord and Savior - Jesus. 

i trust and pray you will celebrate, this whole month, the birth of Jesus. not the christmas of the world but the birth of the One who loves us so much and cares for each of us and the lives we lead.

may your Christmas month be full of JOY, PEACE and HOPE!

peace and blessings to you - janine

who doesn't like to see kids graduate? to celebrate this accomplishment with them? to see the faces of proud parents for all their children are learning? to hear kids sing songs, at the top of their lungs, about all that they learned in school this year? 

i am not positive but i believe everyone would enjoy this day at the ray of light project. 

it all starts at the beginning of the month with children practicing dance steps and learning the words to the songs. day in and day out you can hear the music playing. you know exactly when the chorus is because this is when the children are the loudest...they obviously learned this part first. :) 

the prep continues into the week of graduation with teachers, missionaries, friends and more friends preparing the materials to decorate the church. wow! i don't thing i have seen that many cut-out flowers and butterflies in ages...all bright and beautiful. 

then there is the day before graduation. this is the preschool party. all the kids come dressed in beautiful clothes and smiling faces as they know today they will party. and i mean party. the music is blasting and the children begin to dance. and they dance for 3 hours! on-stop singing and dancing....a site to behold....can't get that picture out of my head, or the songs! 

at the party, the kids had a big lunch and all received a bag of goodies. some goodies from oriental trading company which a team brought in this year. the kids loved their party bags.

aahhh finally it is saturday, graduation day. the church starts to fill up early as all the parents want to be close to see their child dance. i thought the day before the kids were dressed up but no - graduation day is the true day of dress-up. the children are beautiful and the parents are proud. 

the ceremony is full of fun. the best being each class getting up to the front and a/saying their Bible verse by memory and b/singing their 2 songs, with actions, about something they learned this year. one song was about the vowel sounds with each vowel standing for a value from the Bible. another was learning to count in english. and another was about growing up as a seed and loving Jesus more each day. wow! i am still smiling from listening to those kids. awesome!

then - it is time to hand out the certificates. (you see, they don't have kindergarten in the public school. so our oldest class is actually kindergarten. so these kids will now go to the first grade next year.) as each kid's name is announced, the parents came up, gave the certificate and a hug to the child. then the parents stood with the kids and said a prayer together to 'send' them off to primary school. it was very touching with 70 kids in the front each with a parent joining them.  

what is always needed at a graduation? you guessed it - cake! there was a very large cake with lots of cokes and all enjoyed.  

what a beautiful day. noemia said this week is her favorite time in the year because it shows the fruit of the work. we spend the whole year teaching teachers, buying materials, meeting with parents, attending to the kids' needs and teaching, teaching, teaching. on this day, graduation, we see only the kids! they tell all. they are the evidence of all the work of both our hands and our hearts. and yes, they learned! they are prepared both educationally and spiritually.  amen.

hi. haven't really got into this yet as it was a bit of work to get started but i hope to write regularly and keep you up to speed. please be patient.

this will be short as i am headed off to sleep. i have a team of 10 here and each night we share highs and lows from day. it is an interesting time. this team is being very honest about their struggles and being vulnerable to share their real feelings. 

today - everyone started pretty low. it is very hot, it is the second week and we are all just tired. each person shared about this slow start. but THEN we shared our highs and do you know - each person ended the day with amazing stories of joy, peace and laughter! it was pretty awesome. 

one women shared how she was bummed that she ran out of paint, wanted a/c and just wanted her comforts of home during the morning time. THEN as you went to a small church in the bush this afternoon, she was sitting and listening to the ladies singing, watched the mango trees sway and felt a cool breeze. as this was happening, the Lord filled her up and she was able to share with the women about what God is doing in her life. aaahhhh she said, "God met me where i was. it was so cool." 

she is here with her 17 yr. old daughter. they are having a great time and really learning about another culture. abby, her daughter, is teaching about puppets to the vo-tech kids and LOVING building relationship with them. she shared she is said that we in america worry so much about all our 'stuff' and here they are so happy with nothing....she couldn't finish as she was in tears.

this was only two of the people who shared tonight. i wish i could share more. but tonight i am full. please pray for the team as they finish this week. they are building relationships, seeing God at work and stretching their hearts with many, many people who need to have the Hope that only Jesus gives.

thanks for reading. for tonight - tchau and God's blessings to you - j

hello from dondo on a sunny, and not too hot saturday! my first entry on the blog and i am trusting this writings will be encouraging and inspiring to you.

what do i write? what do you want to hear? every day i am amazed at what i see. passing by on the side of the road i might see friends arm in arm, kids laughing out loud, busses half tipping over because of all the stuff on top, bikes loaded down with packs of coal or students walking to school in their school uniforms putting out their hand for a lift. take your pick - you will see it all.

the life here is really different. lots of time for interactions with other people. everywhere you go.  i enjoy this. as i pass, i see students i know from the vo-tech program that are in my handwriting class. they yell out 'Tia Janine' and i have to stop. i want to hear about their day at school, where they are going and if they are practicing their handwriting.

i will also see many, many preschoolers along the road - after school of course. they are yelling 'tia, tia, tia' (auntie) and waving so fast & hard they almost tip over. it brings a smile to my face as they remind me of the joy of the people and that children are learning here...learning so much. aaahhhh - the children. they are always waving. i remember a girl back in 2003 that was visiting on a team, millie. she said 'don't forget to wave. that might be all we have with each other. we can't speak the language, or give them the food they need or heal their bodies, but we can wave. don't forget.' this has stuck with me and sometimes slows my driving down as i have to take time to wave to that child yelling from the side of the road.

then i see friends that are brazilians, missionaries here too, walking to the church for their music class. i stop to ask if they want a lift and chat all the way to the church about the happenings of the day. they help me a lot with my portuguese. they speak slowly and use new words to help me learn more words. it is funny as i stumble through the sentences feeling like i am 4 years old. we all laugh together and they keep trying to help me more.

i have realized i miss some things by driving to the schools. the time to chat with those that are walking. time to hear about the sick family member, the new baby that was born or to practice my portuguese. time to just breath in the air and watch the trees bloom - which is happening now because it is spring!

i have many benefits too with my car of course. including getting to help those who are tired after a long day's work, giving a child their first ride in a car as i take them home after church, taking the pregnant woman to the hospital for delivery - hoping her water doesnt' break in the car - or purchasing pounds of rice, flour, soap, noodles, butter and sugar for the meals at the preschool.

as i am writing my first entry for this new blog and thinking about you, the reader, i wonder if i can truly explain some parts of life here. the differences but also the similarities. is it intriguing, calling you maybeto be one to come & visit? can you get a glimpse of life in mozambique? this is my hope. 

i will write more again soon. there are always be more stories. this next week is the national baptist women's conference and yes - i am going. many, many women are going to the bush from thursday - sunday. i am not sure about the accommodations but i was told to bring a plate, cup, blanket, mat, pillow, snacks and anything else i think i might need because there won't be much there except for ladies dancing! i am ready and up for it - anything in the bush - i love visiting the real africa, as noemia calls it. i will write when i get back.

>blessings for today - janine