what a week

An amazing week we had. The gifts you all gave us through your prayer enabled this team to have an incredible effect in the people of Xai-Xai, Mozambique. We all want to thank you for sending us, from Xai-Xai to Atlanta. We are heading back tomorrow; please pray for our long journey back home.

Day of Smiles

The morning started before the sun rose with Zac and Todd being the only two on the beach that early. As they got back to the house the others were beginning to get ready for the day ahead. We were scheduled to return to the village from the day prior but before we did that, Todd had us stop at 2 partially completed wells in the outlying area. We were also able to get a great team picture in the African landscape.  This gave us a great view at the processes involved with picking a spot to drill and how much work actually goes into making the well start to finish.

After the first part of the morning, we made it back to Bungane (Boo-Gawn-Ee), the village from yesterday, where we had been hoping to see the villagers hit fresh water. On the way back things were much more relaxed and God had definitely instilled a sense of peace with our return. As we pulled up, the same joy we had left them with greeted us. We made our way through the village as if were coming home, visiting everyone we had seen before with the same enthusiasm.

Soon after we arrived, the well-workers had begun pumping clear water. The women immediately grabbed containers and lined up, waiting for the water to be given to them. After all the containers had been topped off there was water to spare.

In an awesome moment, the villagers gathered together and were able to capture them celebrating shouting “thank you, 12stone”! All the while the children; played games, braided hair, taught us games of their own, gave us hugs, smiles and thanks to 12stone for the help. What an amazing gift the Lord gave us today Dennis, Danni, Allen, Zac, Todd, Danielle, and Tiffany felt so small in the presence of God’s provision. We thank you all for your prayers, and sending us to represent 12stone. The relationships we made were shown in the smiles we gave each other that transcend any language barrier. 

Watching Danielle sit still and smile while the little children played with her hair.  Next, turning my head to see Dennis helping the well team finish pack- up the tools.  Followed by watching Zac teach the young boys how to play a game of “red-light, green-light”.  Tiffany was learning to play a native game being taught by a young woman, and Danni was getting her hair braided by some of the young girls.  All going on while Allen was playing soccer with the young men.  I took photos, and sat back in the dirt under a shaded tree with a young boy sitting by my side, praying thanks to the Lord for what he had given us.

-----Todd  (oh yea, thanks also to veggie tails for yesterday’s “promise land” reference as well)

Washed by the water

Today started off for Zac, Todd, Danni, and Tiffany, with an early morning trip to the beach. It was amazing; Tiffany has the pictures to prove it! Zac couldn’t fight the temptation to go for a run, Todd sat and listened to the waves, Danni wrote in her journal. (Danielle and Allan stayed back at the guest house and enjoyed a little extra sleep)

As we traveled to the “well-site” the sky was an amazing color of blue, the kind you see in postcards. I had an overwhelming feeling that God had something amazing in store for us. And He did. We arrived at a well site that 12stone provided for, World Hope found; a place where the many villagers were displaced due to a flood. They had no place to get water freely but had to actually pay for any water they needed, and if they had no money, they didn’t have water.

When we arrived, the area around the well-site was surrounded by villagers as they helped the WHI people drill. God used the people of 12stone along with WHI to give the gift of water to many of His thirsty children.

They all took a break to greet us, singing songs that told us “you are welcome” and “God bless you all for bringing us this gift”. All of us were very overwhelmed, but knew the Lord brought us here to share in the celebration of love only He can give. Tomorrow we are privileged with the opportunity to return to same village to witness the completion of the well. That’s correct; God brought us to a spot in Mozambique to leave a mark for Him for a village that moved away from a river to find a “promised land”. (Joshua 1)

We all are sleeping tonight eager with anticipation for what is to come. We want to thank you all for the prayers you’re sending our way. Please keep them coming…

-Todd

the little village in the middle of nowhere

We joke about being in the middle of nowhere sometimes back home in rural Georgia, but today, we really were in the middle of nowhere... with people who have nothing... the forgotten ones. We thought we saw poverty yesterday, [and we did] but, today we saw poorer still.

The village was called Chibuto. It was 2 ½ hours into the bush from Xai-Xai. (We’re beginning to realize how wealthy Xai-Xai is for the area.) After an hour of bumpy African road, we veered off into insanely bumpy non-road trails that led us to the village. We were greeted by a receiving line and singing and dancing. Africans have such inspiring and sacrificial hospitality.

Our purpose for going to Chibuto today was World Hope’s cattle multiplication project. This long term project provides a group with cattle that they contractually raise up and multiply and then pass on to another group. Today was a day of paying foreword. One group of five families received eleven cows four years ago. They now had thirty cows, even after some had died. Rs had passed, it was time for the group to pass on their blessing to the next group - five families in the Chibuto village. They signed contracts saying that in four years, they would also pass on eleven cows the next group that World Hope picked. (Dennis said that he noticed most of the people could not write, and were only signing an “x” on the contract.)

Cattle are so important in African culture. They are basically used as savings accounts, as food, and as dowries for marriages, so a blessing like this for a village is huge. It makes it so important for World Hope to tell the people they help their motive and reason for their work.

Aside from the cattle multiplication project part of the day, we women (Tiffany, Danielle, and Danni) had a chance to the break off and talk to the women, while the men spoke with the men of the village. We had a chance to hear some of their testimonies, share songs, and stories, and we prayed with them. They expressed their need for a well and a church building. We expressed to them that though we could not personally afford to provide those things for them immediately, that we would pray for them and that they should pray for these things. We expressed the power of prayer and the faithfulness of God’s provision that we have personally seen in our lives. The women loved hearing us sing (even though it was only the three of us and Danielle was the only worship leader of us!) and said that the others who stayed at home missed out on this special day! They said that they thought they would never see Americans in their village.

The men said that they discussed various things about Christianity with the villagers. Each of the men was able to share their testimony with the men of the village, and Todd told them the story of the church we came from… 12Stone. The village men had questions about their tribal traditions and how they fit (or if they fit all) in with Christianity. There is a tradition where they sacrifice a cow to remember their passed away fathers, and some good advice about honoring your father “in the present” was given by the World Hope leader, Daniel. On the way home Daniel received a gift from the village for his service (a live chicken!!). Zac, Todd, and Danielle (not so much Danielle, mostly Zac) took turns carrying the gift along the 2 and ½ hour [bumpy] ride back to our wonderful guest house.

I (Tiffany) feel like today I made some friends with some of these women and girls that I will always remember. There was one little girl, Olivia, that Dani and I befriended. I was thinking about her on the car ride back… that this girl would probably not have any of the opportunities that I have. Healthcare, education, and comfort would never be an option for her. The only hope that she has is Christ. And that might just be the only thing that she really needs.

-Tiffany

PS: we will be more posting pictures when we get back in the states where internet is more reliable.

Our first well dedication

Today was our first well dedication. We went to the village of Chimondzo. Before we went to the village we got to meet the staff of World Hope International here in Mozambique. They are giving us the privilege of going to visit the Cattle project. So, look forward to reading about that tomorrow!

Now back to today!

When we drove up to the village, I could see women running to gather near us to start singing and dancing and just welcoming us. The smiles on their faces gave me such a wonderful feeling that God was definitely present in this small village. When we stepped out of the car, we were greeted by the leaders of Chimondzo with handshakes and smiles of thanks. We were then seated in front of the village. The leaders introduced themselves to us along with the people who were in charge of taking care of the well in making sure that the well continues to provide clean water. We also had the chance of introducing ourselves to them, and giving them thanks for having us there to celebrate what God has done in this community. Some of the villagers stood up and thanked us for helping to provide for the well. After one lady thanked us, she started to sing and dance and motioned us to come join her in dancing as well. Our group had so much fun dancing and laughing with the community.  Soon after, we were separated into three different groups. Allen, Zac, and Danielle went with the children. Todd and Dennis went with the men. Tiffany and I went with the women.

With the children, they were able to play games and pass out candy. Zac drew animals in the sand with a stick, and the kids were able to tell them what they were. The men shared their testimonies and their walk with Jesus. When we arrived at the village, Todd told me that Tiffany and I would be separated with the women. I felt very uncomfortable about the situation I was about to be put in, but I remembered about the meeting we had last night. We talked about how we needed to step out of our comfort zone so that God could work through us. So, I knew this was God’s way of telling me to just go with it. When we got separated to talk with the women, our translator, Isa, was able to help us with what we should start out talking about. We first asked them about their life, and how the well has changed their life. They told us that they had to travel about 5 hours to get water, and that the village has become a closer community. We soon were able to share with them about our testimonies. Sharing my testimony is not something I do very often, and sharing with these women was definitely a stretch for both of us considering the language barrier that we had. Both of our testimonies included how prayer was an important part of our lives. I remember telling them that we should always continue to keep asking, keep searching, keep knocking because He will answer and provide for our needs. A couple of the women stood up and thanked us for helping to provide for the well. They then broke out into song and dance again, and Tiffany and I joined them. They also asked us to show them one of our dances.
Tiffany: What is a simple dance we can show them? The electric slide?
Danni: I know! The chicken dance!
So, yes friends and family. The ladies of Chimondzo know how to do the chicken dance. It was a lot of fun, and the ladies really enjoyed learning something new. Once we showed them a new dance, they also asked us to sing some of our songs. We sang “How Great is our God” and “Amazing Grace”. Fortunately, it felt very comfortable and we managed to stay in tune! We had the joy and privilege to also pray over some individual prayers. Most of the ladies that were able to come up asked for us to pray over their body pains such as body aches, chest pains, shoulder pains, and much more. After a while we ended up gathering as one group and praying over the whole group.

When everyone was done with their groups, we reformed in the center of the village and were told we’d be dedicating the well. The people of the village chose me to cut the ceremonial cord! This was an awesome moment where we were able to witness the gratitude and joy that they had longed to share with us. Afterwards, we were able to to sing two of our songs that we sing in America. We sang "Our God is an Awesome God" and "Hallelujah". They seemed to have really enjoyed that!

Then, we were treated with lunch provided by the villagers: goat guts, papaya, cassava, rice and cool refreshing orange Fanta from the bottle. We all shared our thanks to the villagers and were saddened by limited time together.  

-Danni

We saw monkeys!

We had our first full day in Xai-Xai today. It was great to have a little bit of a Sabbath, even if it was a cold and rainy one. After a breakfast at the Lehman’s home, we headed to a local church. When we opened the doors of our cars in the church yard, we could already hear their singing! It took my breath away… the sound of their voices was so powerful. At one point they sang “How Great Thou Art” in shon-gon. The fame of the Lord is always amazing to me. The reach of his hand is limitless.

During the day, we got to meet and get to know a younger missionary couple (Lindi and Zach with their 1 ½ year old son Isaac) that lives in an apartment at the Lehman’s home. They’ve been here waiting to be transferred to northern Mozambique for a few months. It was insightful to talk to them since they remind me of some of my friends at home, and it’s evident that there will be great work done through them.

We had lunch at a restaurant on the beach that we traveled to via the bumpiest road in Africa (at least in my limited experience). Todd, Danielle, and I had “prawns” (aka shrimp – not what we call prawns in the States) that were great! On the way home from the restaurant, Zac Allen, Dennis, Danielle, and Todd saw SEVEN MONKEYS! (Danni and I were jealous because we were in another car.)

When we got back from the restaurant, some vendors met us at the Lehman’s gate to sell us souvenirs. We found out from Nurse Sue that one of them, Stephen, was working very hard to educate himself and uses some of the money he makes on souvenirs for bus rides to school. Later in the day, Danielle, Danni, Zac, Allen, and I went to the beach to explore some.

Also, the power has been going off and on all day in Xai-Xai because they are working on power lines, so we almost thought we wouldn’t get the blog posted tonight.

I’m so excited for what is in for our team as we head to villages this week and see how the 100Wells project is affecting people’s lives!

-Tiffany

It's raining...

We finally made it here in Xai-Xai at the Lehman’s. It started at 7am in Johannesburg where we were able to have some breakfast before a one hour plane ride to Maputo. From there we were picked up by two of World Hope International’s drivers, Daniel and Andre.

As we left the city I was in the back of one of the Land Rovers able to see the extent of poverty throughout Mozambique; hills of trash, broken cars and masses of people shopping alongside the road. This continued for miles until we finally reached the city limits, where the trees and grass leveled out, replacing the toppled walls of brick and stretching out as far as I could see. Half way through the three hour drive out to Xai-Xai we stopped to eat in a small café. We were treated to a variety of sandwiches which were a nice midday snack that didn’t seem as foreign as some of us had expected. Soon we were on our way and I found myself fighting off sleep despite the shaky roads. And in what people are saying is extremely out of character for this time of year, rain began to fall. (Zac)

Although it is winter here, we were surprised to see that it is raining. It has been raining here for two weeks now, and the rain season was not supposed to be here till October. (Todd says he prayed for it)  It is a little unusual for the rain to be as early as it is, but it’s never a bad thing! We hope to have a few days where we can go watch the sunrise at the beach, and hope that there are no sharks in the water! Tomorrow we look forward to spending day at church!

Thank you all for your support. We love you, and know that we are doing well!

(Please note that our internet is slow, but we will do our very best to upload an entry every night.)

Danni and Zac

We made it to Africa!

We just landed in Johannesburg, South Africa a couple of hours ago and had dinner. Keep us in your prayers tomorrow morning as we travel to Mozambique!

Good night!

Getting ready.

The team is meeting in 45 minutes at the church to head to the airport. After so much preparation, many
trials, and anxious anticipation, it is amazing that this day has finally come! Lord, use in ways that only You can, and keep us in your mighty hand. Here we go!

Final Preparations!

We had our final meeting earlier tonight. The excitement grows every hour because the next time our team meets again will be in 3 days at 12 Stone getting in a van heading towards the airport. It has definitely been a blessing to see how God has worked in each of our lives over the last 6 or 7 months. From being provided the needs to go financially to trusting God in our daily lives to fight off the evil that is trying so hard to prevent us from going. All honor and glory goes to Him!

Thank you to all of our friends and family who have supported us financially and prayerfully. We have been blessed to know that we have your love and support through all of this.

Prayer needs:
-Safety for Danielle Williams as she travels back from the middle school mission trip in New York on Tuesday.
-That the Lord will take away any concerns or worries that we may have for this trip.
-For all of our safety in the next few days, and as we travel to and from Africa.
-Protection and guidance for Dennis Myers and his family while he is away.
-For Todd Sheppard, his wife, son, and baby-to-be :)
-That we are healthy and strong before and while we are there so that we can serve and do what He has called us to do.
-That we will be stretched in the time that we spend with His sons and daughters in Mozambique.
-That God continues to prepare our hearts and minds in the next few days.
-Protection over this team from the things that prevent us from doing His work.

Our Team

Back row: Tiffany Forrester, Dennis Myers, Todd Sheppard, Danni Estanislao

Front row: Allen Brown, Zachary Lovelace 

(We will also be joined with Danielle Williams)

We were fortunate enough to meet Jason and Rachel Helm and their two children (Tristan, 4 years old and Jocelyne, 6 1/2 months old) who have been serving in Mozambique for the last ten years. They are back in America for the next 3 months as they travel across the country to share their experience and testimony with others. They were on the road traveling, and they happened to stay for the weekend at the Sheppard's on the same weekend we were going to have our last meeting. It was a true blessing from God to hear from the Helm family and their experience in Mozambique. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to travel and share.

Danni