Esperança=Hope

Maybe like me you read the news and become saddened by the headlines. Murder, abuse, scandal: evil. Lots of it. It seems that sometimes the only "good news" is that the Spurs won. That's depressing. I would guess that a lot of Christians just shake their heads at "this sinful place" and assure themselves that the rapture will happen soon and we won't have to endure this anymore. Maybe. I would concur that these world events along with this list of evil things fit the end times scenarios given in the Bible. But I don't believe that shaking our heads while looking at the sky for our escape is the right thing either. So I have been in Mozambique for several months with on and off internet availability. When I do have internet access, the news headlines are overwhelming. When you go from being in America, to being away and then looking back in, it's a while new and huge culture shock. This isn't life as it was supposed to be. It's the curse of sin. Satan loves chaos, pain and evil. But, guess what, he is not the winner. He has been defeated! If you read the letters from the apostle Paul, he had a lot to say about the situation we Christians find ourselves in today; How we should conduct ourselves. And it doesn't have anything to do with hiding out, ignoring what's going on or pretending that it's normal. "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents...for it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake." Phil 1:27-30 Over and over he challenges the church to be strong. To persevere. To endure hardships as a good soldier, we get the picture. Let's keep reminding ourselves of that! We have Hope. The greatest Hope and His name is Jesus. A friend spent some time in Asia and said that whenever she met a Christian she knew it before they even said it. All she had to do was look at their faces and you could see the hope. That's beautiful. But if we know Jesus, we have that hope too! This madness is not the ultimate reality for us. God came as a baby. He lived among us to know us. So that we could relate and so that we could know that He understands! I am reminded of my favorite Christmas hymn: 1. Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. 2. Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone; by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne. Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus By: Charles Wesley So what? Here is my challenge to me and anyone else willing to take it: Don't be afraid to do what is right or to stand out. But I didn't say it first, God did. Just read the book of Joshua. If something is wrong, say it. Don't get pushed into popular opinion. I also say this because it's a prayer of mine. I have not said things when I know I should have but I resolve to be a better ambassador for Christ when it comes to that. And we might suffer, we probably will. But I bet it's going to be worth it when we stand before God, in heaven, about to face eternity, and hear those glorious words, "well done good and faithful servant." That would be way better than receiving approval from mere humans in this temporary life on earth And maybe I don't fully understand all of these things . I'm sure that what I read in the headlines doesn't even scratch the surface of everything that is really going on. It's a bit overwhelming. What can I do? What can we as the church do? I know where I need to start and it's on my knees. I need Him to help me know what I am dealing with. I want Him to give me His heart for His people. The "bad" ones and the "good" ones. And then I want Him to give me a job. How do I combat this madness? Who are the people that I can show hope to? I could sit here and say, "man, I'm so glad that I got out of that place!" But I can't. That's home. Those are people who God loves. Some are throwing their lives away and some are having their lives thrown away. It's a mess. And if we wouldn't consider ourselves to be in one of those categories, it is ONLY by the grace of God! And we should be doing all we can to show God's love and to help bring redemption to those who are in those categories, it's our job! "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

Christmas In Mozambique

This is how the Christmas Eve service goes... It starts at 9pm. We walk into a mostly dark building, the only light is two small flashlights on the podium by the pastor. We sing and dance, it might be a little more energetic than regular church, but that changes the later it gets. Someone might start snoring and then the boys laugh and someone wakes the culprit up. The kids fall asleep on the back rows but get woken up every few minutes and told they can sleep at home but this is church. People get up and give praise reports. At a certain point, anyone wanting prayer for healing will go to the front and kneel and everyone prays for them. We sing some more. Ashlynn and I sang "Silent Night" in English. I guess they all thought that wasn't a good song since you can't play the drums or dance to it, but they had been asking us to sing for a long time and what better time to sing than at Jesus birthday celebration! The service goes all night with more singing and preaching, all in Makua and a little bit of Portuguese. The back rows quickly fill up with sprawled out, sleeping children. At 4 am, right around dusk, the service ends and everyone goes home to take a nap.

 On Christmas Day we slept in a little bit, until about 5:30. Ashlynn and I made some baked oatmeal, a traditional Amish dish but neither Ashlyn nor Brenda had tasted it before. Funny how a different breakfast makes it feel like a holiday. We listened to some Christmas music to distract ourselves from the fact that it was starting to get hot outside. At 9am, the Christmas service started. We sang and danced, this time Ashlynn and I each had a little girl on our laps, or holding our hands. They small kids come and go, but sometimes they line up or fight over who gets to sit on our laps. It makes me feel loved when I was the one who was supposed to come to make them feel loved. I guess we both win from this arrangement.

After church we took toys to the kids houses. I was surprised to see baby Daniel sitting up. He was only 2 months old when he came and since September he has doubled in size and is now sitting up. Joanna, the helper at that house has a little baby also, his name is Cristiano, he was born a month ago and was there also. My heart was completely content to hold him and watch all the kids excitedly receive their gifts. It was also special because they have so little so presents are a big deal. It was a different and special Christmas. None of the usual Christmas traditions were involved in this day but we still celebrated the same person who is the same as He was on that first Christmas 2000 years ago. It is because of Him that we live and move and have our being and I cannot thank God enough for giving us the most wonderful gift of a Savior. "...you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.' All this took place to fulfill what The Lord had spoken by the prophet: "behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which means God is with us." Matthew 1:21-23

Take Another Little Piece of My Heart

I know I probably shouldn't have favorites, but there will always be those kids who have a very special place in my heart. Maybe its their personality, maybe its the look in their eyes. Maybe its just God saying that they need me to be their fan.
There is one family here in particular who have that special place. Two of the boys are brothers and the other two are their nephews but they are raised as one family unit. The older two are seven(Momade) and nine(Dinis) and the younger two are twins and they are four(Pedro and Pedrito). That could be part of the reason they are so special to me.

The older two are kind of free spirits and you could say they are troublemakers without stretching the truth at all. They like to play and are a little rough around the edges. They are simply adorable with a confidence around the other kids but a shyness around adults.

Yesterday was the day for them to come get fitted for uniforms and only one of them came. I guess the other doesn't want to go to school and it was kind of brushed off. I saw him at the center and I told him that he needed to come get fitted for his uniform. I waited and hoped that he would come. Maybe a little encouragement from a friend would help convince him. (This morning I learned that I had told Momade to come and he is the one who actually came yesterday, Oh well. I think it was the sincerity of my plea that God honored.)
Today the house mother showed up with Dinis to get fitted for his uniform. I couldn't hide my happiness that he had come. He folded his arms and looked a little uncomfortable as he waited, maybe thinking that this wasn't a good idea, he would lose some freedom if he went to school. But he now has a uniform in the works and Atemani is a very good tailor, so he will be stylish in that uniform.
After the fitting he walked out to where the mother was waiting with two of the pastors, Alberto and Fred. Alberto looked at Dinis and asked why he didn't want to go to school, who knows, he might be president someday. Atemani, the tailor, continued by saying that going to school and getting an education would open up a lot of opportunities for him. And then Fred said that it seems like a big thing but that God is bigger and can do anything. He seemed to be really listening to these men and had a sheepish smile, probably wondering why they cared for him but really soaking up the attention at the same time.

I do hope he will continue to listen to these men. My heart was overwhelmed with the goodness of God in allowing me to be here to encourage the kids, and to see others investing in their lives as well. God loves all His children and its our job to be encouragers to each other. I know that I wouldn't be where I am today without the investment of many others into my life.