Part One(written at the beginning of the month)
This is reality. The life I am living right now is not a dream, the rest of the world is not frozen in time. Sometimes it feels that way, sometimes I feel so disconnected from the rest of the world and what is happening. sometimes that is a bad thing and sometimes thats a good thing.
The last 2 weeks on the race have been unusual to say the least(11/26-12/6). There has been no official ministry happening. We got a few free days at the end of the month to relax before travel and then we traveled….for 7 days. For 2 of those days we stayed put en transit. All by bus or the local van transports. Our logistics did an amazing job working everything out and dealing with the craziness of border patrol, drivers, and lodging when things didn't work out as planned. We crossed 2 borders, from Tanzania to Malawi, and then into Mozambique. We stayed at a wonderful lodge in Malawi that had a pool and coffee. when we finally got into Mozambique my team and another had to drive from the top to the bottom of the country. We soon discovered that they have laws against buses driving at night, in fact we stayed at an empty “hotel”(more like a deserted building with locks on the door) due to this. we spent the day in Tete because when we got in around 10pm there was no room on the 3am bus, the next available one. So we left at 4am the next morning drove all day took a little break from 11:30pm and 4am, ya know because you cant drive at that time of night. Finally we made it into Maputo our ministry site around 10am, where we loaded our stuff into the back of a truck, climbed in with it and drove off to Beacon of Hope our home for the month. I already love it here, we have a few days to rest which is good because on our 2nd day here I got sick. I went to the clinic and discovered I have Malaria! I caught it really early so I barely felt any of the symptoms.
Time did not really exist for a few days, the rest of the world was forgotten. We seemed in limbo as we traveled from country to country to country. Even our first days here seemed detached. Slowly I am reentering the real world, I have talked to friends and family from back home, and received some sore muscles from hard work. Ministry is always different then what you expected. Never think that you know what your getting into, a great thing to keep in mind. I thought we would work really hard this month. So far yes we have worked hard, but not as often as I thought and not doing what I thought we would. So far I have loved getting to know the people who live at Beacon of Hope with us. Life is simple and laid back. Beacon of Hope is not in full operation right now, they are on a break so to speak. So we have been welcomed into the leisurely life along with them, enjoying the sunshine and rain. Working in the mornings and eating mangos at break time.
Part two
Its the end of the month, my birthday and Christmas have passed and both events were celebrated with friends, food and laughs. since I wrote about the beginning of the month we have done close to the same things. Work a little, go into town, hang out at the house and try and work on our Indian visas.
This last month has been opposite from my expectations going into it. I have been tested in how I handle a variety of situations. Some have been stressful, others heartbreaking or frustrating. I have gotten to see how much or little I pursue God when there is no set ministry that involves hours at church or praying for people. I have learned the importance of having time in the word of God and spending time in community with believes either talking about spiritual matter or just encouraging them.
this month I have fallen in love with a little buy named Popino and will miss him terribly. I have really enjoyed spending time with the another team this month that included two of my past team members and our married couple. this month in Mozambique has been full of lessons, ones that have been hard to learn sometimes, about being humble and a servant. That a smile and wave can warm the heart and teach someone to love much more than words of correction and pointing out their wrongs can.
Remember “Be completely humble and gentle; patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:2,3
