Hello again everyone!! I’m sorry I haven’t been blogging as much this past month as I used to, but hopefully I will get back into the swing of things again. I really enjoy blogging and keeping you guys in the loop on what’s new in my life and what God’s been teaching me, but I found that once I get out of a habit, for whatever reason, it’s very hard for me to get back into it. So hopefully this blog will reset the tone for my blogging frequency.
I am currently in Chambo, Mozambique (just outside of Beira, the 2nd largest city) where my team has been for almost the past week. It’s crazy to think that we are in Month 7 of the Race!! These past couple months have been a little frustrating as far as ministry goes as I’ve struggled with feeling like I’m not doing much or making too much of a difference. Ultimately I know it’s not about me or my efforts, but I would like to feel that God is using me to impact the communities we are working in more. I just need to trust that God is accomplishing His purposes regardless of how I’m feeling.
This month though has been so encouraging thus far! My team is working alongside another team (Blessed Longing) at a boy’s home. The home (which is called Kedesh) was started by an American, John, who came to Mozambique back in the 90’s looking for a way that God could use him to share the love of Christ with the people here. He started this home with the purpose of bringing boys who are orphaned or have been left by their parents and providing a home for them to grow up in. Along the way, John teaches them practical life skills such as construction, gardening, cooking, plumbing, electrical work, etc. as well as teaching them the love of Christ. His goal is to raise these boys in a way that will not only create a drive for them to submit their lives to the Lord, but also give them a chance to find work and make a living after they finish their schooling. It’s a beautiful vision and one that I have thoroughly enjoyed working with already.
Basically my team is just living life with these boys and getting to know their stories and sharing/showing them the love of Christ in whatever way we can (big or small). There are currently 24 (maybe 25) boys living here and we each were given a boy to really engage with during our time here. Not that we aren’t allowed to interact with the other boys (in fact, we mostly interact in group settings anyway), but it’s a way for the boys to feel like they are engaged and loved in a personal way and that someone really cares for them.
My boy is Steni. Steni and I connected even before I was given his name. He is 16 years old and has been living at Kedesh for a while now. He is a very polite boy who is easy to talk to and is a hard worker. Each boy has a chore that he needs to do for the day. The chores change from month to month and this month, Steni is in charge of preparing lunch. Each morning (around 6:30) we go out to the garden and pick greens. Then we bring them back and chop them up finely before we steam them in a pot. During this time, we talk a lot about anything and everything. Steni loves to teach me the languages that he speaks (Portuguese and Sena). He is a very good teacher and is very patient with me as I struggle through it. He also loves soccer and so we talk a lot about our favorite players/teams. He wants to be a translator when he gets older and translate between Portuguese and English. I know he would do very well in that as he already speaks very good English.
After preparing lunch, Steni then works with Manuel who helps him with his schoolwork and then after lunch, Steni goes to school for the afternoon. Steni is currently in 7th grade and he enjoys social science and history. Just the other day, he taught me some of the history of Mozambique, which was very interesting. He is a very smart kid and enjoys learning. I’m grateful for what God is already doing in our relationship and I hope He will continue to grow us closer together.
So yea, that’s basically what our month is looking like. This month has been teaching me a lot that ministry isn’t just something I do; it’s a lifestyle. And that’s what we’ve been doing…living life in a way that reflects what God has done in our lives’. I pray that my view of ministry will continue to grow towards that mindset. And I pray that God will open up avenues for me to engage in more spiritual conversation with Steni. Thanks for all your support and prayers!! Love you all! My team has also gained another girl, Chelsea Ellis, so if you can keep her in your prayers as well as the rest of my teammates, that’d be much appreciated!
