July 20– Ronilynn

Our last day of ministry began with another unexpected twist, no running water!  We were left to complete morning hygiene with bottled water, still feeling a sense of gratitude in that after all that we’ve seen this week. 

First on our schedule was a visit to the Orphanage in Xai Xai that is currently home to 41 (including children and several handicapped adults, ages of 2yr-32yr).  The team was looking forward to spending quality time with them, planting seeds of love that would hopefully bring a glimpse of hope in their uncertain and often tumultuous lives.  After speaking with the temporary Director about the general policies and structure of the orphanage, we dispersed into the dusty courtyard shaded by one lone tree. 

Some of us were making crafts with them, others were providing pedicures to tiny toes and many were playing games all the while giving desperately needed hugs and gentle touches of affection.  The general consensus of the team was that while these children were being provided their basic needs more adequately than those in the rural communities, they most definitely lack in spiritual formation, community and familial bonds. 

After sharing lunch at a local bodega with a few of our favorite translators, we headed off to visit our brothers and sisters in Christ at the Bible College in Xai Xai.  We were barely out of the vans when our ears picked up the melodious sounds of their worship that beckoned us to join in.  A gathering of approximately 70 people (pastors, future pastors, their wives and children) filled the cinder block meeting hall and they greeted us with great warmth and sincerity.  Sabrina led us in a beautiful time of worship, Victoria shared scripture and her testimony (which the Senior Pastor said was “very powerful”) and Ryan spoke with great passion as he delivered a no-nonsense message on the gospel as only a southern gentleman could.  Before leaving the Bible College some went to visit the farm (which helps to feed the students and their families) while others ministered in prayer or met with leaders to delve deeper into the unique challenges of this community. 

Our day draws to an end as we ponder our visit here, the impact that we may have had in an area that is in desperate need of God’s truth and love to be revealed to the hearts of the precious men and women here.  Some hungry, some thirsty, many both; who will be the ones to give them the TRUE bread and water of life in the days come?...              

Quotes of the Day:

“I’m not really into wet chicken.”

“I actually didn’t enjoy that long of a plane ride.”

July 19 - Julisa Myers

Our well dedication ceremonies ended yesterday, but we had the day to visit a village that took part in the “Cattle Project”. This project is basically an initiative to help communities become self-sustaining…they are given one bull and a few heifers and can breed them, then pass the offspring to another community member. This community received their first cattle in 2005.

We noticed that this initiative brought the community together. We all agree that this was the most-developed “village” that we have visited so far. The bulls and heifers have provided food, resources, and fertilizer for crops. The fertilizer, and well (drilled by World Hope, 2007) have both been used to create a beautiful garden that the community tends together. The Africans talked to us through one long musical. Instead of walking us through the garden, they danced us through the garden. The words to the songs were along the lines of “ Come see our garden, walk along it and admire our produce.” (Alex and Steffan recorded us dancing with the women through the garden, maybe the footage will be shown in service one day!)

One of our translators was so impressed, that she decided to buy a few lettuce heads.

We broke into two groups (men and women separate), like the days before. Sabrina shared her testimony with the women, and I (Julisa) felt that God really spoke through her story. Several of the women also shared their testimony, and then Tracy shared the gospel. Although the conversation ended “rough”, we believe God will use our words.

The men started into fruitful conversation immediately. Ryan noticed the prominence of the Wesleyan church in the community… the pastor is a strong, influential leader with Wesleyan training. An African man stated, “ Even though we live far away, we have similarities.” Ryan brought some truth with the aid of Alex and Steffan. From what I overhead, there was honest conversation, rather than fluff.

In other news:

Rachel, a missionary here, made us chocolate chip cookies…I am sure it won’t surprise their wives, but Alex and Ryan ate more cookies than the rest of us combined ;) They also did the dishes… Is that surprising? Alex claims to be a “dish-doer, and a clean person”

Steffan is excited that he learned the new word “aquatard”…Robyn, is his love of sophisticated words typical? (Steffan also used the word equivocal in conversation last night…)

Roni made friends with a little boy today, and left him with her scarf. Her love for the children is evident… Victoria agrees J

Currently, Sabrina is teaching our friend, Daniel, how to play the guitar…she got ‘dem gifts 

Tracy is praying hard and leading well!

And Dad, I am watching out for mom J  

Our prayers for the community we visited:

Pray for leadership, and influencers to raise up in the community…also pray against witchcraft and baby dedication to demons.

*** Sorry no pics today, Internet is being a little funky.  Tomorrow we hope!! ***

July 18 - Steffan Snodgrass

Today started out with a visit to one of the wells actually being drilled. It was messy, loud, and fascinating. They've got a pretty sophisticated process, with skilled World Hope workers directing the action, as well as members of the community helping keep the critical systems clear of mud and water. 

We also got to view the hand-dug well that this new one will replace, as well as the labor-intensive process of getting water from it. In the midst of that, our group had our first real moment of shame today.

Sabrina had a moment at the drill site out of view of all us and the translators, and experienced one of her biggest fears about going on a missions trip: that she would be left behind in a foreign country. 

Fortunately, she was not actually abandoned, and in reality was quite safe with the company of the World Hope workers!  We only went about a hundred yards away, and did come back after about a few minutes but Sabrina had to overcome a fear she had and actually handled it very well!!

But most importantly, today featured one of Sabrina's high points for the week. She got to lead a huge group of the village women and children in worship with her guitar. They sang songs like "Our God," "Break Every Chain," and "How He Loves Us." And she gave a guitar lesson to several of the interpreters, one of whom is a HUGE Chris Tomlin fan. They had been very interested in learning from her all week. Tracy felt that many of these villagers were standoffish until the music kind of broke the ice, at which point conversations began happening.

Marcia had an opportunity to share the gospel with a large group of women. About 35 women and children professed faith in Jesus in response to her talk (watch out PK - she knows how to preach!!). Julisa was very nervous for her mom having to preach, but she did AWESOME!. After praying, the villagers talked very genuinely about what their lives would be like now that they had Jesus in their hearts. The mood was very celebratory, and Roni demonstrated the rejoicing in heaven with a tribal yell, which was entertaining to all.

Ryan and I sat down with the men of the village at their insistence. We were conversational with them and had a long talk about the gospel. They had some mistaken beliefs about the nature of sin and salvation, but we used the evangecube to walk them through the gospel, and even had a guy tell it back to us. By the time our talk was over, the gospel was shared probably three or four times. Several of them stood up to receive Christ.

Both Tracy and Julisa had sweet little girls who adored them, and stuck by their sides for much of the day.

The day was capped off with a full meal of authentic Afri-Mex Kudu Tacos prepared for us by Jason and Rachel.

We are looking forward to tomorrow, when we'll get to see one of World Hope's cattle projects.

------------------------'

Quotes of the Day:

"Are those REAL coughs? Cause they sound real." 

Tracy, to the gecko: "Get out of this house! Go!"

Sabrina's options when abandoned among foreigners: 1) Hide in the car, 2) play dead, 3) get in the fetal position.

I didn't get to beat the ground with a bush today.

I feel like the Kudu is one step away from a unicorn. If it spoke to me in the forest, I would follow it.

July 17 - Roy Watson

This Tuesday in Mozambique opened with another beautiful sunrise over the Indian Ocean for some of us. For the others, we awoke to a fairly good night’s sleep after such an amazing first day on the field for all of us. Departure from our host home was around 8:30am.

After an hour ride down the main highways of Xai Xai, we took a right turn, leaving civilization. Thirty minutes later, a bumpy dirt road lead us to a small “school” that we had the opportunity to tour. This school consisted of three grass huts with nothing but a chalkboard. Across the street we had the privilege to watch children as young as 4 years old carrying jugs full of water on their heads. They warmed up to us once they saw the sight of candy. They went on their way with pocketful’s of Tootsie Rolls and Sweet Tarts.

Another short drive into the bush brought us to the Village of “Ghanjan“. The community welcomed us with song and dance, as we gathered around the well to cut the ribbon and pump the water. Marcia Myers had the honor of cutting the ribbon and drinking from the well with the locals.

Many dances and songs were prepared for their unique guests. A few of these songs required involvement from the ladies of the group. Afterwards, the women of the west shared the sacred dance also known as, “The Cupid Shuffle.”

Following the ceremony, the women of the village and the women of our group gathered together to share stories of our lives in America and to also learn what life is like in Africa. Ryan Britt led all of the men of the village in a huge spectrum of conversational topics. It was a huge blessing that those conversations led to the chance for the gospel story to be shared twice to the men. One elderly man in particular told us that that was the first time he had ever heard that story.

The women had the opportunity to pray over several of the women in the community. Many of these women live with several health problems and asked for prayers of healing. It was an intense spiritual experience for all of us. The amount of sickness and darkness that exist in these villages is incredibly heartbreaking.

The community graciously provided lunch for all of us and then we were on our way. 

A storm has rolled in with rain and heavy winds. The power has been flickering on and off. We sat down for a delicious dinner in the dark with our host.

The rumor is that tomorrow we get to experience a well being drilled.

Thank for your continued prayers as we are away. The people of 12Stone are dearly loved in these communities.

Funny Quotes of the Day:

“Can I be your husband’s second wife?” –woman villager

July 16 - Victoria Ramos

It started with a well, but it soon became apparent that this trip is about so much more. In the morning we visited the World Hope International office, got our itinerary and met the translators that will be helping us throughout the trip. After a drive filled with naps and Chris Tomlin praise music (our drivers favorite singer) we arrived at the site for the wells we were dedicating.

The team was greeted by a crowd of smiling faces that consisted of government officials, local pastors, and numerous families. We were quickly ushered under a canopy with chairs and tables overlooking the hundreds of villagers to watch performances and listen to speeches. If you could characterize the community in one word it would be joy and that challenged us. Even though the people in the village lack clean water, electricity, and even homes in some cases they find their joy in their families and hopefully one day God.

Even though we didn’t see mass conversions, miracles, or things you typically expect to happen in Africa we were drawn back to Ecclesiastes chapter 3 “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.” We are excited about the rest of our trip and look forward to what God is going to do.

Funny Quotes

 

She’s like, “You tall American watch me with this bucket”

“Jesus is a big deal, pay attention.” 

July 15, 2012

Good evening from your Mozambique team! Thank you for supporting us, your prayers got us here safely, around 4:00pm. God is good. We arrived in Johannesburg safely last night! The 15-hour flight was delayed two hours, but we all managed to get sleep (a few of us more than others).

We stepped off our plane and were welcomed with winter weather. We decided nothing is more relaxing than a T-shirt and shorts in 30 degree weather! (Joking, of course). The hotel we stayed in overnight was luxurious, and had heat ☺ In the morning, we had an early breakfast and headed to the airport. Obtaining boarding passes proved difficult, but God got us to the gate just in time! We walked to our gate and rode a bus to the door of our plane. After our air travel, we still had a 4-hour car trip before arriving to the Lehman’s house. This is the gracious, missionary family that we are staying with for the week. Breathing in African air and surrounded by the Indian Ocean, we made our way to the Lehman’s house. From our car windows we observed the African culture, which included burning sugar cane, red dirt, vacant houses, young children carrying even younger children (playing with toys that we would consider “trash”), and women balancing enormous loads on their heads. Finally, we made it to our destination! Another missionary couple, Jason and Rachel, greeted us and helped us settle in. We then ate dinner as a team after a short beach walk. We are so blessed to be in a nice house that provides all we need, with some African decorations.

Thank you for your prayers, we will go to our first well dedication tomorrow! Shaqwimbo ashime kate kees! (God bless you!) Famous quote from today: “ Alex, if you get me a cup of coffee, I will give your left foot a massage…” “I thought khani mambo (English translation, “Thank you”) meant can you mambo? Because I can mambo!” (Then proceeds to mambo)