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Subject: Here we go!
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Author:
Marie
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Date Posted: 08:26:45 09/29/07 Sat
Welp, today is Tuesday July 3rd and tomorrow morning at 5am Shantell and I hit the road with a team of 10 others from the church we’re working with, in order to travel the final leg of our journey, Mission : Mozambique . Located on the Southeast coast of Africa and about 1,000 km from the island nation of Madagascar (please tell me you’ve seen the movie), it is the poorest nation in the world (according to Pastor Harry ). If it is no longer officially the poorest nation in the world it remains one of the poorest. They have the most extreme climates of either droughts or flooding and malaria is very bad there. Thankfully, though, it is winter now and the mosquitoes won’t be as bad, although we’ve been told that they’re pretty relentless any time of year. We are going to Chokwan, Mashishe, Inhambane (pronunciation: unknown), all very rural areas of the country, Mashishe being the most rural. We’ll be working and living among Portuguese speaking Muslims and traditional ethnic people, as well as those who follow no religion in particular but just live life. We’ll be doing pretty much the same stuff we did in Swaziland so check that e-mail if you want a recap. (so crazy that that was almost two months ago!)
The other day I read in Proverbs 24:32-- “I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw,” and given the amount of time we’ve been here and the true journey it’s been, I think that verse fits quite nicely….but there’s still more to be gleaned. Also, the border post can be very difficult, we’ve been told, b/c Mozambique ’s government is really corrupt. They can make us sit for hours if they want b/c we won’t bribe them to get through the border. We’re also bringing two trailers full of clothing and canned goods for the people and the border guards really like to hassle us for that (both just b/c they can, and also b/c many people come to the border claiming their goods are for humanitarian work, when in actuality they sell them when they make it across). Knowing all of th is, please pray accordingly for us.
Now, what have we been up to since I last wrote? I can hardly remember when that was… Actually, we’ve done a ton of low-key stuff b/c the strike has still been on. It actually just ended July 1st with the government and union officials in a deadlock! The union had to accept the final offer of a 7.5% wage increase…..no one is really happy. The whole reason they went on strike (and spent an entire month off of work w/ no pay!) was to get their annual 6% increase doubled to 12% but they only ended up with 7.5%. Basically, the government goes on getting boatloads of cash while the people get nothing. Percentages put me to sleep, though, so let’s talk about something else.
Shantell and I went to a huge game park again and we saw lions, elephants, zebras, giraffes, buffalo etc. etc. up close and personal— everything you see on the National Geographic baby! I have roughly 1 billion photos. We also went to Amangwe Village , this incredible safe haven for poor, ill and neglected people of all ages. The facilities were amazing and it’s actually a place I would consider working at full time. We also visited a bunch of orphanages. The kids there are just starved for love and attention.
In the midst of other ministry activities such as home visits and leading “junior youth” meetings too, our latest endeavor has been VBS, which finishes tomorrow. We planned this fun Treasure Island theme and miraculously it came together out of nothingness. Let me explain: a low key past three weeks all of a sudden picked up and we left for Monguzi—a very poor, rural area in south Africa close to the border of Mozambique—in order to work with a little church there. While we were gone the Pastor’s wife made us a huge homemade treasure chest and all this great islandy stuff. It really created an awesome atmosphere for the kids—one the two of us could never have done during this crunch time. God is so cool, how He just cares about the little stuff.
Monguzi was amazing too. We had three full days of activities planned. The church building was too remotely located for people to walk back and forth for three days so about 120 people camped out for two nights to be with us! They rolled out their straw mats, hung their little satchels and suitcases in nearby trees and cooked over an open fire with two HUGE black cauldrons. The first night’s church service they said, “We were very much beginning to feel neglected and forgotten. But clearly, if you came all the way from America we are not neglected.” (!!!) so amazing. We also camped out and cooked over an open fire under a dark, cloudless sky and full moon (it gets dark at 5pm here b/c its winter) —it was gorgeous!! It was literally a three day s lumber party w/ over 100 people. Also, I was given the chance to preach again, which was an awesome experience. Amazingly the next night’s sermon that followed mine lined up perfectly with what I preached on! That, of course, was a crazy new experience for me. I could go on forever about the kids too but let’s just say they’re neglected, numerous, poor and beautiful and oh so curious.
Please pray for these people as well for several reasons: they have almost no bibles in their language (Zulu) so they’re still so uneducated about all things pertaining to the Lord, it’s culturally expected that at 16 girls become breeding machines so there are tons of kids w/ no fathers and so many young mothers and promiscuous teens, very poor rural education keeps kids in secondary school until they’re in their 20’s (we met a 24 year old who was in 12th grade!), and they’re experiencing any and all effects of poverty—malnutrition and no medical attention included.
New experience after new experience keeps coming our way and it’s really been such an adventure. We’re no longer the new cats on the scene b/c a Malaysian pastor William Vun and his wife came to town for a few days. They’re great, and it’s been kinda strange and nice to not be the one observed through every bite of dinner!
Also, I’m not normally a super-spiritual person but many of you may have realized that July 7th, 2007 (7/7/07) is coming up this Saturday. Given the number sequence, Christian TV stations and churches have been talking about how, since the Bible is loaded with seven references, really significant happenings are supposed to occur on this day (such as fulfillment of some long lost deep desires/prayer, healings etc). I’m doing my best to believe that God’s gonna do some awesome stuff on that day when we’re in Mozambique so I hope you do too. Fast, pray, don’t hold back; whatever you’ve been hoping and believing God for may just be loosed in the heavens on that day!
Hope you all are enjoying long summer nights and barbecues. And I apologize that this e-mail isn’t nearly as entertaining as it could be. Just give me a pity laugh or two okay? I will attempt to write when I return from Mozambique and then I will see all of you either sooner or later back in the States (sans Brianna who is in Germany )! Do me a favor and work on your tan for me b/c I’m certainly not getting one here!
Ps. I ate sheep stomach lining at an Indian wedding about a month ago….yum?
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