The last days of Africa were filled with many impactful moments.
After my time in Backdoor, South Africa, we headed over the border yet again to Mozambique.
Our contact over there was through the ministry of Iris. This was started through Roland and Heidi Baker (an amazing book you should read…Always Enough by Heidi and Roland Baker). This ministry focuses on taking care of the orphans. They have started a couple of orphanages in Mozambique and it has carried over into S. Africa. Their impact there has been tremendous! Their heart, compassion, and obedience are huge and the miracles they have seen and done through God are even greater! So it was a great honor to be able to head over there and be involved with this ministry.
When we were first told about our options Lynne presented the need of Don. He is a widow from the states who has been in Africa for about six months and is at one of the bases of the Iris ministry. This particular place, called the Benjamin Project took in orphan boys who have grown up in an Iris orphanage and are now young men (early to middle twenties). Because of being institutionalized since childhood many have become dependent on the system. This home has 13 men that are still finishing school (due to the Civil War)and the vision is to equip them for independence through getting employment and establishing the right situation to get married and raise a family. Don is there to guide and mentor these young men.
When we met Don, he was overwhelmed! There was an abundant amount of jobs to be done, and he was at the end of his ropes emotionally, spiritually and physically. It was amazing to see the needs and jump right in. The thing that popped out during the week was that our team was able to utilize our gifting and passions to bless Don. And in turn we received blessings because we were serving in our elements.
Traci jumped in with excitement at being able to use her love for cooking. She helped with organizing and cooking amazing meals all week, which ministered to Don (a bachelor) through his stomach and to his spirit. J There was a physical and emotional improvement to Don’s appearance just after the weeks of being there…quite astounding. We were also certainly blessed to reap the benefits of her skills too! She even took on the huge task of cooking a duck… which defiantly turned into a gourmet meal.
Megan and Krystal baked to their hearts content. The homemade goodies were just what the doctor ordered. Cookies and brownies, oh my! They were also awesome side kicks for painting and jumping in on other odd jobs, what an amazing help they were to and Molly and I!
Traday’s eyes immediately went to the patched up, unpainted living room wall. Her vision was orange and she immediately went to action to turn the eye sore into a masterpiece. It was fun to see her as she mixed the colors to get the perfect result. It certainly turned the living room into a homier and beautiful environment. She was also a trooper. Working alongside the guys in physical labor she glowed as she carried bricks and trimmed trees. She defiantly utilized her gifting and dove into diverse ways of serving.
The moment I saw Molly her eyes were beaming. She was ecstatic to conquer “the wall”. Don‘s vision to have a wall map of his area came to fruition. Molly’s knack and eye for scaling out the map was impressive. She tackled it with precision and ease. It turned out amazing!!! Now Don can pray over the areas and post on “the map” where he has been able to do his Jesus film ministry. It certainly was a dream that came true for him…thanks Molly!
Seth used his multi skills in many ways. His muscles were used many times as he tackled the hard labor jobs of digging, and moving cement blocks. He spent many days in the hot sun laboring in love. His knack for future planning was an essential for Don. They worked together and Seth helped plan a budget, future goals and visions for the project and Don’s personal life. This brought amazing support for Don who otherwise gets a little side tracked and overwhelmed. It was a blessing for him to get things in order (I defiantly know how he feels J ). Seth was also a trooper when he came down with a 36 hr bug. It seemed to attack every part of his body. Praise God it wasn’t Malaria (which is always a strong option), he was a regular fixture on the couch for a couple of days but he quickly returned to the work scene with vigor and strength.
Aaron’s heart of servant hood was his pillar of strength. He became my amazing sidekick on the “office” project. His carpenter skills were defiantly stretched and developed during this time. He jumped into starting and finishing many jobs that needed completion. He was defiantly there and willing to be of service at any time. His second language of Spanish (similair to Portuguese) seemed to be such an asset as he dove into communicating with the guys. His heart for relationships and disciplining was seen throughout the day as he was able to hang out and work among some of them. I know that these relationships played a huge life changing impact on him and vice versa. It was encouraging to see him walking in his elements of passion.
When the list of to do things was presented, my eyes went automatically to the “office”. At the time it wasn’t but a storage room. Everything and its brother were thrown in there. But the need was clear…Don needed a space of his own …a haven …a room that had organization and would spur him onto doing the business side of running the project…his own spiritual domain. My decorative mode kicked in along with episodes of Trading Spaces, Design on a Dime and other TLC programs running through my head. My vision was clear but could it be done with Africa standards and materials?
We cleared, cleaned, painted (double coats…ahh!), and constructed. Meg and Krystle tackled the first round of painting with me and Aaron was my carpenter. He did a great job taking on the vision of the built in desk and back wall shelves. I was in my glory as the room started to take form. I had to breathe deeply and allow things to happen at their own pace. Even though we didn’t get everything done (the back shelves for storage) it turned out amazingly.
I don’t think Don cared about anything but the room being cleared and blue being apart of the vision. He quickly took comfort in it (even when it wasn’t finished and fell asleep at his new desk). But he shared in even more excitement as the furniture, curtains, pictures and lamp were moved in, to complete the vision of his own office study. The satisfaction for me was to see it come to completion. I truly was in my element as I took something that was disastrous and turned it into something comfortable, warm and beautiful.
The rest of our days were filled with visits of the Iris orphanages, Jesus film ministry nights, church services ,relationship building opportunities, and stolen iPods(which were returned but that is a whole other story). It was a pack filled week and a half but it defiantly was an impactful one! Over and over again we felt the huge appreciation from Don. His burden began to be lifted and his spirit became light. It was so encouraging to know that these weeks made a difference for him and also for us.
The body of Christ defiantly was edifying, lifting, serving and encouraging during this time. It was certainly a privilege to be apart of that.
