One Thousand Words of Mozambique: Week 2

Day 8: 1/18/17
This was the first day in Mozambique it stopped raining. I was inside coloring when I heard little giggles and looked outside to see this little guy and his two brothers. This is Arink! Arink looooves to dance and do cartwheels so when he asked me to join, I gleefully obliged. Today was the first day I came in contact with someone other than my team mates; don’t get me wrong, I like my team, but none of them are quite as cute and infectiously joyful as Arink. We also played soccer and threw the frisbee with Arink’s older brothers, Serge and Alsin. Today was a good day; it was the first time I felt real joy since hitting the field. 

Day 9: 1/19/17
First day of children’s ministry! Right up my alley! Part of Africa on Fire’s ministry is community outreach and development. Once a week, the compound is opened to all of the kids in the village. And believe me when I say “all of the kids in the village” I mean ALLLLL of the kids in the village. The final headcount of the day was over 175. The day consisted of awakened high-fives, friendly waves returned by apprehensive stares, red light green light, trampoline bouncing, toe nail painting, dance parties, head shoulders knees and toes, a few fresh outfits for the kiddos, and a big ‘ol plate of rice and beans for the kiddos. 

Day 10: 1/20/17
First day of village ministry! Not so much right up my alley haha. I was a little apprehensive and maybe-sorta-kinda a tad bit fearful going into ministry. We were told that voodoo and witchcraft were commonly practiced in the neighboring village, as they are in many parts of Africa. Pretty unaware of spiritual warfare as a whole, it was easy for me to feel out of my depth during village ministry. At face value, parading through the village praying for those we encountered seemed (and felt) shallow and lacking in the “personal relationship building” department, but it was an incredible opportunity to grow in my dependence on the Holy Spirit for direction and discernment- a spiritual discipline I am relatively new to. At one of the houses, we prayed for a man and his family. When approached by our team, he was very welcoming and gentle, displaying a genuine curiosity and interest in why we were there. When asked for a specific prayer request, he mentioned that there was no peace in his household. As one of our teammates shared Phil4:4-7, the man excitedly scribbled the reference into the ground with his finger, both to commit it to memory and mark his property in the name of Jesus. The same man would later come to church the next Sunday and put his faith in Jesus for the first time, along with his wife and two children. He shook our hands after the service and beamed with a joy and a peace you just knew came from the Lord. The Lord brought this man and his family into the Kingdom and used their faith to remind me of His faithfulness and blessings for those who are obedient. After today, I wasn’t quite as fearful of village ministry anymore; I actually looked forward to it. 

Day 11: 1/21/17

In search of a picture to sum up how I was holding up against the living conditions of Deep Wells and God’s Mags this month, I stumbled across this baby and found it appropriate. The bugs are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They are bigger and grosser and somehow way faster than the bugs in Texas and I hate it. On the plus side, I am 10x tougher than I was at the beginning of the month, I now know how to effectively dodge and weave my way out of a camel spider’s path, and have conquered my aversion to Deet bug spray (because apparently it’s needed in Africa.) Also, I got to bust out my Finding Nemo bandaids and that’s what I might have been most excited about. 

Day 12: 1/22/17

Sunday Funday for sure! Remember the man I mentioned from day 10 who wrote Phil4:4-7 in the dirt? This was the day he came to church and gave his life to Christ. By now, both teams were becoming more accustomed to African church and how it’s run and organized. After church, Pastor Artur, our ministry host, drive all of us an hour and a half for some good ‘ol KFC. Even though it had only been 12 days since American food, I swear it felt 12 months. You wouldn’t believe the giddiness that coursed through all of us as we pulled into the parking lot. Tab and I shared way too much chicken and I got an ice cream. And I was pumped about it. 

After returning to the compound that afternoon, a few of us took some pictures together. The three women in the picture above have been my support system on the Race so far. Right next to me is Becky! Becky is on God’s Mags and fills my days with ridiculous stories, tons of giggles, and an insane amount of joy. Then you’ve got Tabitha. Tab is one of my squad leaders and she stayed with our two teams for the first month. Tab is an incredible demonstration of the grace of God and a drive to serve and love and please Him regardless of where we come from. At training camp, Tab boldly shared her testimony, encouraging me and so many others to tell our stories- even the ugly pieces of them. All the way on the right is Katie. She has been my other half on field. I look at my relationship with Katie and my mind is blown by the Lord’s wisdom and foresight. We and our stories are very similar and the Lord has greatly used her as a vehicle I of encouragement, wisdom, and joy. 

Day 13: 1/23/17

Travel day number 6 in 2 weeks for Deep Wells and God’s Mags! This time, we were headed to Zavala, a small town on the southeast coast of Mozambique to help rebuild a church and do village ministry. After turning off the main road, we traveled on the dirt one in the top picture for a solid 30 minutes. The guy in the red hat is Antonio, our ministry host’s nephew and one of the young men that works with Africa on Fire. The next picture is of my teammate and dear friend, Baileigh. Baileigh understands my affinity for funny gifs and baby videos, dance parties to Twenty One Pilots with me, and knows the condition of my heart without me having to say anything. She’s a gem. Because Zavala had a more tropical climate from being on the coast, we had access to a lot of fresh coconuts, pineapples, and mangos! 

Day 14: 1/24/17
“Scheduled ministry” didn’t go quite as expected in Zavala. Intending to help rebuild the church in the morning, we all woke up at 6am only to be treated with excellent hospitality as we sat under a tree and hung out haha. Though we were ready and more than willing to help, the men from the village knew African construction better than we did and made plenty of progress without our help. After several attempts to offer any kind of assistance, Pastor Artur (ministry host) offered to take us to the beach so we could see and swim in the Indian Ocean. That good lookin’ group of people in the water is my team, Deep Wells! Left to right: Tyler (Minnesota), Katy (Texas), Levi (Florida), Jackie (Philly), Bill (Philly), and Baileigh (Texas). This will be my tightest-knit community group I will be with for (typically) the first four months or so of my Race.