Life is Beautiful

Cesar

2012-01-24T10:05:00.001+02:00

Just before Christmas, I was on my way to a regular house
visit. We were taking one of our Masana boys to visit his family for the first time in years. Little did we know that visit was going to change Cesars life forever. We sat down and were greeted by a grandmother.She had come down from the North of Mozambique to help with funeral arrangements. 3 days before we arrived, Cesars mother had died.
A 16 year old child is not supposed to hear that he has lost
his mother. Cesar sat quietly and still as he took in the news. Not only had he lost his mother but he was not the oldest boy in Mozambique, he is now the man of the house. With 3 younger siblings to look after, he had some huge decisions to make.

Cesar only cried when we got back into the car. I sat with him for a few minutes, only able to comfort him through my own tears as I wept with him.

He stayed with us at Masana for a night or two while he mourned the loss of his mother and dealt with the pain and disappointment of
not going home sooner. Cesar chose to return home and stay in his mother’s house. His younger siblings will be going to live in a center. For children in these types of situations I am so grateful that centers exist.
Cesar has no intention of leaving his mothers house. He is terrified that if he leaves his aunt will sell the house. No matter how much we spoke to him about the things we can do to make sure that didn’t
happen, he didn’t trust the system. He doesn’t trust people and their word enough. He needs to stay there on his own to make sure that house stays in his family, even if that means struggling for food and living on his own.
This past week we spoke with him about his plans, he is still very excited to go back to school. Praise the Lord for that. We met some
incredible neighbours who are helping out and looking after him as much as they possibly can. Although I don’t think it’s a wise option for a 16 year old to be living alone, looking after a house, I also admire his determination to do whatever it takes to make sure this house is there for him and his siblings.

Cesars story has rocked my world. Visiting these children’s families are not always happy reunions. This little kid is fighting for a life
at home again. Without a family. I am so thankful for neighbours who have chosen to be his family.

David, another prodigal son returns home.

2011-10-24T22:23:00.003+02:00

David had been on the streets for 3 years. Some boys get to visit their families while they live on the streets, this was not the case for David. Our visit to his home was his first since he had run away.

David decided on the day of our visit that he didn't want to just visit his family but he wanted to stay there. He packed his little bag with his few items of clothes and other odds and ends he had collected. He was ready to go home.

His house is about 2 hours out of the city- in a very remote village. I wasn't sure that he was going to remember how to get there.

When we arrived at his aunts place, we sat under a tree waiting for Luis to give the introductions. It was a very unusual thing for a couple of white people to be in the area.

He introduced us one by one... "I am Luis, this is Sarah and Lauren and of course you know this young man sitting with us. "

She looked at David and shook her head. She didnot recognise him. Just as Luis began to explain who he was she realised who she was looking at. David's aunt jumped up and hugged him, shouting with such joy and emotion. As she ran away to call the other family David began to cry.

His aunt cried. We all cried together. Such joy. To David's family, he was lost, maybe dead. They had no idea. They had, had no contact with him for 3 years. And now he is home.

Moments like that will stay with me forever. Shouts and cries of such immense joy can't be described. I wish I could accurately paint the picture of what a real, modern day prodigal son returning looks like. This stuff didn't just happen in Biblical time. I am getting to see it happen now!

Life is BEAUTIFUL!

Catching up.

2011-10-12T21:28:00.002+02:00

There is so much happening at the moment that I have barely had time to blog. So bare with me as I update you on all the latest happenings...

First of all. My BEAUTIFUL friend Sarah is back from 7 months of cancer treatment. I cannot begin to explain how wonderful it is to have her home.

We have 3 boys in our 1 month transition phase. They will be living with us for the month of October, then will be heading home. Our other 3 boys are thriving in school and life and are just the most incredible boys. I love them. I also love having a full house. More boys means more kids going home to their families!

One of our boys at home decided that we should spend one night a week and pray together as a family. Tonight they led worship and a time of prayer. It was one of the most beautiful moments I have had here. How amazing that these boys are seeing the importance and power of prayer and choosing to pray more.

I am so blown away at God constant provision and hand over Masana. He has been so faithful over the last few years. He has been so good to us!

“He does not weep who does not see”

2011-08-30T20:28:00.004+02:00

I think crying is great. I think it really is so good for you. I cry alot on house visits. I find myself shedding tears of joy with parents and family members who have welcomed their son home. Today, was different.

I visited a family of a boy who has become a very important part of my growth and understanding of these boys. He is an older boy who I struggled to connect with and even love a few months ago. Over time, God started to open my eyes. Somehow he softened my heart and I started to spend time with and really try to understand this boy. He is a hard kid, with many many stories of how life on the streets is not easy. Being one of the older ones, he lives his day to day life bullying little kids to what he wants.

Over the past few weeks, I have really seen a change in him. He has become someone I really look forward to seeing every day.

Today we visited his family.

His aunt and sister live only a two minute walk away from Masana. We are practically neighbours. As they sat and shared their story about the day he left and about how they were desperate to have him home, I saw more pain than I could bare. The hearts of his aunt and sister were broken for this lost child.

Tears streamed from their faces throughout our time there. Pai, sat very still and quiet.

Finally as I began to pray for the family, I broke down in my own stream of tears. My heart breaking, at that moment, more than I have felt in a long time. As Luis squeezed my shoulder and carried on my prayer he motioned for me to look over. Pai, our hard, emotionless Pai, crying with no shame. For a long time we all just sat and cried. It was a beautiful moment where everyone was unashamed and open.

This time our tears were not tears of joy but tears for a broken family and a hurting son.

I am praying with all of my heart that this was the beginning of Pai's journey home. Today he finally saw just how much his family loved him. I hope this is not the last time. “He does not weep who does not see”. Pai has finally seen and out of that has wept. What a beautiful moment to be a part of.

Cooking and cleaning, an attitude worth changing.

2011-08-18T20:43:00.004+02:00

A few years ago, I was so against the idea of a woman cooking and cleaning for her family. I hated the expectation that when a man came home, he needed to be cared for, looked after. It was never my intention or dream to stay at home and look after the kids and house while my husband went out to work all day. Not because I needed a job or wanted to work all the time, but because I wanted to break the mould of what woman should be. I think especially in Christian circles, the idea of submission and the role of woman has become so warped and messed up.

Little did I know… God was going to flip my ideas and perceptions around, and now I want to change those warped ideas.

The past few months have been an amazing transformation for me. Woman in Mozambique are expected to work and serve all the time. It is their responsibility to cook food, look after the children and serve their husbands and any other male figures around them. When I moved here I decided that I needed to embrace all that comes with Mozambique. And so began my journey of submission, service and housework. J

A few months down the line I could not imagine anything else. One of my favourite things to do is cook a good meal for my little family. Keeping the house clean is hard work, but I have been amazed at the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with the finished product. Sure, my boys cook meals, Ian is awesome and cooks dinner too. Some days I am too exhausted to clean our huge house but the point is my heart has changed. My attitude towards all these task has completely changed. Its awesome!

I find it the greatest joy and privilege to be able to serve my family in this way. It’s a gift that I can give to them. This is my role and responsibility. I really believe that part of my calling and plan in Mozambique is to serve and care for my family. The one I have now, and the one I will have one day.

Pope John Paul II says this about family,

“To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others.”

I think this has become such a reality to me over the past few months. As we serve and love each other, we find joy.

So grateful for finding this new love and passion for being a “home maker”, for serving my family and in general being a bit of a mom.

What makes you think you are any better than them?

2011-07-27T22:18:00.002+02:00

This is the sentence that God seems to have been reminding me of on a daily basis.

I posted a blog a while back about the harsh realities of life on the streets. Something that I have really struggled with since then, is loving the older boys at Masana. I struggled to pour tea for and clean wounds of the boys knowing full well that the night before they probably bullied, beat, raped or molested one of the younger kids. Every day was a struggle for me. I prayed so hard, asking God to change those boys. I struggled to love these boys and see them how God saw them. I prayed that God would open my eyes to how He saw them.

Little did I know God was going to change me. He was instead going to open my eyes to how He saw me.

This is what God reminded me of. I felt like all He did was ask me one, simple question.

“What makes you think that you are any better than them?”

The truth is. Im not. What these boys do is not excusable. But Im no better than them. Im the same as them. My sin, the things I struggle with seem far less extreme and horrific. But really, we are all sinful. We all have stood at the cross and hurled rocks and mocked Jesus. We are all broken and fallen people. But still. God choses to love us. Despite my sin. Despite those boys sins.

Since I have come back from Durban I have seen God work miracles. He has changed my view of myself. I am not better than any one of those boys. My mindset has changed and never in my life would I have expected to have such an overwhelming love for these boys. My heart breaks for them. Sure, I am always going to be angry about what they do. That will never be ok with me. But for the first time, I feel like I love those boys, just as much as I love the cute little Pai’s and Chico’s that have been so easy for me to love.

This was one of the greatest lessons that I could have learnt. I am just the same as the child living on the streets of Maputo.

He is HOPE.

2011-07-05T21:53:00.007+02:00

Some days, I am completely overwhelmed by the thought of my boys sleeping on the street. I feel like every now and then God opens up my eyes to the reality of the street. Those nights, like tonight are full of tears and prayers and cries to God.

I know the boys choose this life. I know that every single one of our boys has a way out of this, but unfortunately for them they are blinded to that. Instead, they choose life on the street. I know the dangers on the street. I have seen the injuries that they get when living on the street. I can only imagine the loneliness that comes with living on the street.

These are just babies. Children, dealing with things that most of us couldnever even imagine in our life times. While these boys are living on the street , a lot of them don’t have hope, they stop dreaming. Part of what God has called me to do here is to hope and dream for them until they catch on to it and start doing it themselves. Today I struggled. I looked at the boys at Masana, my little babies, and lacked faith and hope. (This is not something I easily admit to as “HOPE” is my word. Its who I am. Its what I stand for. It’s what God is.

But tonight, as I cried for myboys outside, God reminded me of howmuch He has done here. He IS HOPE. Yes, tonight the boys will still sleep on the street. The danger is still there. But tomorrow, when they walk through that gate. They walk into a house of hope. A place where they are encouraged to dream about their futures. A place where we have seen God renew hope and inspire dreams over and over again.

My tears are a reminder of how much God loves these little boys. Every single one of them. This is how much my heart breaks for them. Imagine how much their Father in heaven’s is breaking.

" May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you."
Psalm 33:22

Paulo- HOME at last

2011-06-24T08:35:00.001+02:00

After a very grueling trip of 3am arrivals, walking for 6 hours and crossing rivers at midnight, Luis and Paulo arrived home. Little Paulo did really well on his trip home. People are not very sensitive and like to stare and laugh when he is having seizures. Being on a taxi for over 10 hours, alot of comments were made about him.

I woke Paulo up at about 5am to get ready. He bounced out of bed and ran to put on his new clothes. He danced around the room after he put every new item on. He put on his back pack and cap and told us this is what he would look like when he goes back to school. As we walked to the car I reminded him that as he leaves his old clothes behind. He leaves old Paulo behind. Paulo was a street child. Flavio is the name his parents gave him. Flavio has a home and a family.

Saying goodbye to these boys is always bitter sweet. I find complete joy in the thought that they are returning home. Prodigal son’s being welcomed back. At the same time though, after getting to know these boys its always hard to say goodbye.

His mom is anxious of getting him back in school and back on medication. She had no idea her son had been living on the street all this time. Praise the Lord that she has accepted him home. In 3 months time when I visit Flavio I am praying that he will be settled in at home, healthy and going to school.

My heart is a little sore that my little Paulo is not in Maputo any more but I am rejoicing that Paulo has become Flavio again.

Paulo returns home

2011-06-15T17:33:00.003+02:00

A few days ago I was sitting at Masana with little Paulo. He was asking me if I could give him medicine to take his sickness away. As he asked that he went into another seizure. As I sat with him and waited for yet another seizure to pass I looked up at Luis with tears in my eyes. I didn’t have to ask anything. He knew. He walked straight up to Paulo and asked if we could go visit his grandmother. Half and hour later we were on the way. Paulo had multiple seizures on the way, more than usual. I wonder if the stress and excitement could trigger them off.

Paulo, or Flavio as his family know him will be moving back home to his mother on Friday. He has been staying with us for the last few days. He is one of the most wonderful kids I have met. I am really going to struggle to say goodbye to him. The past few days we have spent a lot of time together. When I leave for more than an hour at a time, I get welcomed home by him running and jumping on me telling me how much he missed me.

Luis and Paulo will be getting on a bus and travelling to his mothers home on Friday morning. He is so excited! He tells me that he is going home at least 3 times a day and has the biggest smile on his face as we talk about his trip to Inhambane to go home.

Please pray for them as they are on this long bus ride. Pray that his mother accepts him home and get’s him back on the medication he needs. Thank the Lord for another precious child who will be returning home to live with his family. God is good!

Paulo, a life on the streets with epilepsy.

2011-06-08T19:55:00.003+02:00

The longer I stay in Mozambique, the more I realise how much I am fascinated with the medical issues and histories of the boys that we work with. The past few days we have been dealing with a boy who has a type of epilepsy. His seizures happen multiple times a day and are fairly mild compared to most epileptic seizures we think of. His seizures are called Absence (pronounced ab-sawntz) seizures. Absence seizures are brief episodes of staring. There is no warning before a seizure, he is completely alert immediately afterward, and has no memory of the seizure. He just carry's on playing cards. Little Paulo doest just stare but also has throws his hands in the air and convulses for a few seconds.

Its really hard for me to watch this little kid have his seizures. I gave him a spoon to drink his hot tea with this morning but out of frustration he grabbed his cup and, of course, had a seizure. Hot tea flying everywhere. My heart breaks at the thought of this sweet boy being on the street, crossing roads and alone.

We are looking into what medicine is available for him but before we can give that to him he needs to be at home. He needs to have supervision and needs to take his medication regularly.

Please pray that we can get Paulo home to his family. Pray that he makes the right decisions, chooses home and leaves his life on the streets. I am praying that we figure out how to help him while he is on the streets too.

Little Pai.

2011-05-25T18:33:00.006+02:00

Meet little Pai.

This gorgeous little boy is only 9 years old. He doesn't really know why he left the street. A friend of his arrived at his house and asked if wanted to visit the streets. They left and neither of them have returned home. Little Pai is known for spending is nights on the streets drinking hard liquor. He is 9.

Over the past few months we have really started to notice the effects of his night time alcohol binges. He is a beautiful little kid who I have gotten very close to over the past few months. He really try's very hard to act tough but will always come and sit close and will never say no to a little cuddle from "Mana Laurena". His tears and affection remind us daily that he is just a little boy.

Pai is doing so well in school at Masana. This year he learnt how to read and write the entire alphabet. If given a piece of paper and a pencil he will copy everything in sight. What ever words he can find. He loves to learn.

Lately Pai has been on my heart. I find myself struggling to sleep thinking of him on the streets. The thought of this little 9 year old dealing with the horrific things that I know goes on in the streets brings me to tears most nights. This is not how it is supposed to be for this little guy.

But the reality is that the longer Pai stays on the street the harder it will be for him to leave.

God has broken my heart for this little boy. I can't get him off my mind.

I'm not sure what He has in store for little Pai, but I know street life is not in God's plan.

Please pray for me as we work with this little boy. He is a joy. He is an incredible little boy that needs to leave his life on the street. Pray with me as I figure out my role in getting him back home. Pray for him to make the right decisions. Pray for his protection as he sleeps on the streets tonight.

After Dinner Prayers

2011-05-15T19:32:00.002+02:00

Tonight was one of those nights where we were all feeling really tired and a little sick. I woke up today feeling like I was getting a cold and was really in no mood to be outside with 5 loud and boisterous teenage boys. After dinner the most beautiful thing happened. A moment I will never forget.

One of the boys stopped us from clearing the table and asked if we could all pray together. Our boys all got around and started praying. Each one of them. There prayers were beautiful and heart felt. They prayed for us and for the sickness and tiredness in our house. They prayed for Sarah in America and the thanked God for changing their lives and asked Him to keep guiding them where ever they go.

I once again, had to hold back the tears. My instant reaction to my flu was to take medicine and stay in bed. My boys first reaction... Prayer.

God continues to blow me away with moments like this. Precious moments where He opens our eyes and let's us see a little bit of the amazing work that He is doing in the lives of these boys.

Overwhelmed with Love

2011-04-30T20:50:00.004+02:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a very average day that turned into one of the most memorable nights. As we got into the car to go out for dinner Edson put his hand on my shoulder and asked me if I was happy, if my heart was exploding with joy. I looked at him and at that moment it really did. I had my family in the car with me to celebrate my birthday.

Sitting down waiting for our meal Joseffa (Tilfo) and I got talking about God, fear and life in general. As he spoke to me about all these things, about what he felt like God was telling me and about things that he had learnt growing up, I was overwhelmed with love for this boy.

I couldn't hold back the tears. 6 months ago Tilfo was living on the streets. Now he is part of our family and most of all part of Gods family. I could never put into words the significance of that moment. I looked at each of the boys. Each chosen, hand picked by God to live with us. Watching them grow up into young men, passionate about life, God and of course soccer has been a blessing an honour and a privilege. These boys have been chosen by God... They are going to change the world they live in because they each have an incredible story to tell. One about love and redemption and a Father greater than any other.

I cant wait to see what God has planned for these incredible boys!

An honest moment.

2011-03-27T18:12:00.001+02:00

Never in my life have I felt more fulfilled and at peace with who I am and where I am. I knew that God had some adventures planned for me but I could never have imagined that this was the life that he had prepared for me. Sure, its not always easy. There are moments every day where I wonder what I’m doing and why God chose me for the job. But over all, this is beautiful. I have been blessed with an amazing family here who I love more and more every day. I get to be a part of and incredible program that focuses on reuniting families and restoring hope. This is what God has allowed me to be a part of.

Since I have left school I have been living off of others generosity. My life as a missionary depends on other people. I have been incredibly blessed over the years to have met people who have supported my passion to serve and love the poor wherever God may call me. I am overwhelmed by the financial and prayer support that my friends and family all over the world have given me over the years.

This year has been a difficult year financially. Over the months I have cut back on as much added expenses I could, including things like much needed Portuguese lessons. The idea of going through some financial difficulties is not something that had scared me before. I have been through times like this before. It’s the nature of what I do. I live with what I have got. Unfortunately this time, things are a little more serious. Really, to put it simply, in just over 3 months my support will no longer be sufficient for me to carry on with my work here in Maputo. If I do not manage to get more support in monthly I will have to leave Maputo. I know God has called me here. I know that He has placed this passion in my heart and I know that I have never felt more at home but I have to face the reality.

Please would you consider giving toward my work here in Mozambique. If you are not able to help financially and are the praying type… Then all the prayers would be appreciated.. Or… just tell people about the work that is going on in Mozambique. Maybe as you talk you will find someone who is willing to get involved.

Posts like this are not easy. Its hard to tell it like it is with out making people feel guilty. This is not a guilt trip. Its just my reality. And my reality is that I have to ask for money.

If you do need more info about the project, on how to pray or how to give please email me on lolnixon@gmail.com or send me a facebook message.

Our growing family!

2011-02-15T21:45:00.003+02:00

Our family has once again grown. This past weekend, Jossefa (otherwise known as Nedved or Tilfo) moved in with us. Tilfo is an amazing young man who has walked a difficult road. He is an orphan of both parents and ended up living in a childrens center. He was then taken to go and live with and uncle which he struggled to live with. It was from there that he ended up on the streets of Maputo. Last week Tilfo was living on the street with very few dreams for his future. This week he has a family and a home and we will be trying to get him registered for school. Please pray with us as he makes this transition.

This is our family. It’s a little unusual but its beautiful. God is doing amazing things both in the lives of these boys and in our lives. As we decided to take one more boy in to live with us, it once again struck me how much God is providing for us and trusting us as we walk this road. Although our heart is for the kids living on the street to return to their families, there are always special cases where that is not able to happen. And for our 3 boys, Edson, Felix and Tilfo this was the case. They are all different with different stories but the one thing that they have in common is that God placed each of them on our hearts and in our home.

It’s a privilege to be able to take care of these boys. As we watch them learn and grow and turn into young men our prayer is that they would know the heart of their Father. If you are someone who prays... Pray with us. These boys are growing and learning every day. They are adjusting and changing. May Jesus always be at the center of that. I hope and pray that our home will be a place where each child will find God.

The last few weeks.

2011-02-08T18:58:00.003+02:00

I have had a great few weeks here in Maputo. These are a few of my favourite photos from the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Feeling on top of the world after a great walk with Claire

Caramel, marshmellow and Flake Pancake

Wild Horses

Beautiful Views with AFRICA shaped clouds

Ian and Felix at the pool at Macaneta

Gorgeous Chico

Edson full of sand at Bilene

Serious Chico

Finding God in the Swimming Pool.

2011-01-21T22:23:00.004+02:00

Both my boys are back at home. What joy they bring to the house!!! Felix has been visiting his grandmother all holiday and I have had to hold my self back from asking my housemates if he can just come home early. We all waited patiently for his time to come home. Finally the day has come!

Today had been a very long and tiring day with school registrations not going as smoothly as we had hoped, shopping in the markets and a late night last night. By the time I had gotten home I was tired and rather grumpy. I had retreated to my room for some quiet time and a little time with God even though the boys had just gotten home. I needed to feel Gods spirit pour over me and I figured that would happen in the silence of my room. I was really struggling to concentrate and was very frustrated that in the time that I needed a little refreshing Jesus seemed to just not want to show up. So, I gave up and went outside to hang out with Felix and Edson. It was there that I found Jesus and the out pouring of His spirit that I needed.

The 3 of us spent some time in the little kids pool my mom had given to me for Christmas. It wasnt planned but naturally when 2 boys see a girl standing next to a pool- she has GOT to go in. We splashed around and laughed and screamed for a while. We lay and laughed at Felix's ridculous comments about sleeping in the water. It was beautiful.

There was a moment where I looked up and watched these boys play and saw the face of Jesus. It wasnt a quiet, serene moment but rather a chaotic and fun moment. Sometimes we meet God in the quietness of our rooms or in worship sessions and church services... Sometimes He is in the laughter of kids playing or in the noise of a childish game. In the midst of all that chaos of water splashing, laughter and screams I looked up and realised that this was a HOLY moment. God was there.

I will never forget the beauty of that moment. How awesome that just by stepping out and spending time with a couple of kids, I can meet and be refreshed by my creator.

2011

2011-01-01T12:17:00.001+02:00

2010 was a year full of change, adventure, love, laughter and a whole lot of ups and downs. It was a beautiful collage of moments that God had specifically planned for me. 2011 is finally here. I am so excited. I know God has got some big plans in store for me. I am excited to see Him move and to see people come to know who He is.

I hope that 2011 is a life changing year for You as you seek out Gods purpose for you life. I pray that God takes you on adventures beyond your wildest dreams and that through every moment, good and bad, you will see God and the Hope and Love that He brings.

Beautiful lives celebrated

2010-12-27T11:18:00.000+02:00

I am determined to live life to the full. I am desperate to use every day, ever opportunity to make a difference in the world around me. I don’t want to go through life chasing after things that don’t matter. Often that’s easier said than done. I want to have adventures and see the world, I want to serve my King and creator and enjoy each and every road He takes me on. Sometimes my choices seem unconventional and sometimes foolish. I know people often look at me and shake their heads… “When will she ever get a real job, get a degree and grow up?” Maybe I am unconventional and maybe even foolish.. But rather foolish and having the adventure of my life following and serving God than a life full of comfort and selfish wants. Life is so short. The past few months I have been reminded of that over and over again. I have been reminded that it is only God who knows how long we have here. There have been 4 people who have died in the past year or so that have made profound impact on my life. And for that I will be forever grateful. Death is a part of life. Sometimes it just happens way to soon. A lot of the times death comes and we are not ready for it, sometimes a life well lived and a disease ridden body makes death a welcome and almost comforting experience.

Let me share some of the amazing lessons I learnt from 2 incredible woman in my life.

Hazy was an amazing woman who I loved from the moment I met her. I didn’t actually spend a lot of time with her. She was my friend Vanessa’s grandmother. I loved hearing about the great times Vanessa had with Hazy. They were as close as a mother and daughter can be. It was beautiful. Hazy lived life beautifully. She loved God and loved her family desperately. The short time that I got to spend with Hazy impacted me in ways that I could never explain. Hazy had cancer but through the time that I knew her she never stopped smiling. I never saw her when she got very sick but Im sure that even though there was no smile on her face, somehow who she was still smiled, still oozed passion and joy. She made it a priority to spend time with her family, no matter what. She was more involved in her grandchildren’s lives than most parents are. I hope one day I can be like that with my family. I hope that one of my greatest passions in life will always be my family, no matter where I was or how I was feeling. What a beautiful woman Hazy was. She lived a life full of adventure. There was never a dull moment with her. And I am sure as she continues her adventure she is with God, laughing and worshipping with that some joy and passion that I caught a glimpse of when I spent time with her.
Vanessa. My dear friend Vanessa passed away late this year. I was in Mozambique and arrived in Durban and heard of her death. Vanessa was a fisherwoman. She spent days working late into the night working on the boats in Durban harbor to make sure her children ate and were healthy and safe. I used to go and spend time with her down there when she was taking break. She had a hard life. Thins were not easy for her. Life had dealt out some tough cards for her. But she was making the best of it and taking it all in her stride, growing and drawing closer to God every day. Every time I would ask her how she was she would respond with these words “Aaaah Lauren, Im good. I cant complain. God is alive and so am I”. Vanessa was the hardest worker I have ever met. She was the strongest woman I have ever known. She knew what it meant to trust God. Vanessa also knew my little kid Lucky who lived on the street. She cried with me when he went missing and rejoiced with me when he returned home. My life was changed the night I met Vanessa. She let me into her world and her life with no reservations. We prayed together laughed together and cried together. She had some rough times. Harder than anyone I know. I don’t know how she got through it. Never once did I hear her get angry with or curse God. She would always praise God for the little she had. She never complained because no matter how little there was, there was always something good for her to thank God for. An incredibly brave and strong woman who I hope and pray that I will become like one day. If I can have half of her strength and character I would be a very lucky woman.
She died too young. But I thank God for the impact she made while she was here. And I rejoice because she is now without pain and hardship. She is worshipping her Heavenly father.

Saying goodbye is never easy and I feel like over the past year I have said goodbye too many times. But I am grateful for having so many amazing people in my life who have challenged and inspired me.

Joy

2010-11-17T22:25:00.006+02:00

I recently had a group of visitors from Durban visiting for a couple of days. It was so great to have a little piece of home here. Great to have someone see what I am involved in but mostly it was great to have my eyes opened again. As I was taking them around the house, introducing them to the staff and kids and sharing stories about the kids, I was reminded about how much God has done. Every now and then I get pretty emotional about what God has done here. I am intotal awe. My friend Yallo said this a short time before he died "It's just an honour to be part of what He is doing, really... You could be anywhere, doing anything but He has chosen you to be here." God has chosen me to be apart of these amazing stories. That quote is the perfect explanation of what I am feeling at the moment. Its and HONOUR to be a part of this.

This is Manuel.

He had lived on the streets for just over 18months. He ran away from home when someone stole the business thatManuel was looking after for a friend. Every since I have known him he has been very quiet and often looked a little down. Manuel was the name he gave himself on the streets. His family know him as Biltom. He was not very out spoken and I seldom heard him laugh. Manuel was reintegrated a few weeks ago. Yesterday we got to visit him and take him his new clothes. From the moment he got in the car, we could see that Manuel was no longer as we knew him.

Manuel spent the afternoon joking and laughing with us and his family. He had a twinkle in his eye and a joy that seemed to just bubble over. It was one of the most amazing things for me to experience. He was a different kid. He was exactly where he was supposed to be and he was exactly who he was supposed to be. Biltom - A joyful teenager living with his family loving life not Manuel a young street child merely surviving life.

I wish that everyone could understand the joy that I feel when I see these kids back with their families. There is nothing like it in the world. I am completely overwhelmed at the moment. Brought to tears most nights I journal about it. This is the God that I serve. A God of Hope and a God that brings JOY.

Hope gained, Hope lost.

2010-10-16T23:25:00.002+02:00

If you know me at all you will know that one of the most important things in my life is to inspire people with Hope. Hope is everything to me. I struggle to imagine a life with out hope. Is a life without hope really a life at all? There is a quote that I read once that really came alive for me today. “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope” Today was full of moments of great joy and hope. Moments where I struggled to hold back my tears because of the abundance of hope in family. But that same day that same family brought that quote to life for me. When people lose that Hope, something inside of them lets go of life. A little piece of you dies with out that hope alive in you.

Today we got to go visit Luis. I have heard about Luis’s story about how he had ended up on the street and had was eager to see him again after he was reintegrated about a month ago. We arrived at his house and were welcomed by all sorts of family members. Luis’ grandmother prayed for us as we arrived and shortly after cried as she explained how thankful she was to us for bringing Luis home to them. There was an amazing and overwhelming sense of hope in that moment and in the moments to come. When a child is reintegrated they usually get a bag full of new clothes a mat and blanket to take home to their families. Luis started to unpack his new clothes and show his family. I watched as his grandmothers eyes teared up again. As she hugged each of us she sobbed in gratitude. Her grandson was home. I remember sitting back and thinking that no body else in the world will ever get to understand the beauty of this moment like we see it now. How blessed and privileged I am to be able to be a part of this.

After a feast of prawns, chicken, rice and salad we started walking back to catch the ferry home. Luis’ mother asked her son to walk ahead with Sarah and I so she could speak with Luis alone. As we walked on ahead still overwhelmed by the love and hope that fulled that home, behind us a broken woman shared her hopelessness to our co-worker Luis. By the time the 3 of us were on the ferry heading back to Maputo. Our coworker shared with us that Luis’s mother was HIV positive. She had never told anyone before. She had lost all hope. She wanted to build Luis a house next to hers so that when she died he would have a place to stay. She is a healthy and beautiful looking woman yet she was living her life with out hope. Waiting to die. A life with out hope is no life at all. The news of this came like a punch in the stomach to me. To have experienced the extreme love and hope in Luis’ home and then to hear that his own mother felt none of that hope in her own life. She was living with this huge secret, a secret of a virus which is vary rarely spoken about in this country. A secret which has drained all hope from who she is.

I cried on the ferry ride home. I cried for a woman who is HIV positive. I cried for her son who has just been welcomed home into family. But most of all I cried because I saw what it was like to live with out hope.

Tea on the roof in a house full of hope.

2010-10-06T09:34:00.000+02:00

For alot of people in my area the call of the Mosque means time to pray... For me, it means its time for tea. 5:00pm is around the time the Mosque prayer call starts. Its my favourite time of day. Everyday at this time Sarahand I make tea in our tea pot, put it on our colourful tray and head up onto the roof.

I love this time for a few reason. The first is that its home time for most people. My spot on the roof provides for a great viewing point for "people watching"- on of my best things to do.

Its also my time with Sarah. My time to vent, cry, laugh and even just sit in the comfort of each

others silence. I love and need those times. Just to be able to sit and drink tea with an amazing friend every day is a huge blessing...And then some days Paito joins us. We have"story timewith Paito".

Paito is an amazing kid. He has been living on the street since 2007. He has the greatest sense of humour and dances and sings while he washes the cars. He has great fun while he works to save money for things like new shoes. Paito joins us for tea most days and tells us stories.. Sometimes they are stories about how and why he ended up on the street. Most times they are stories that sound something that came out of Aesops Fables. He is also really great at correcting me with my horrific portuguese grammer and loves learning English. Story time with Paito is an amazing time of day. I have so much time for Paito and am very excited to see what God has in store for him.

This is the entrance to our house. Sarah recently bought the "hope" sign. I love it. One thing that I love and stand for, the one thing that I want to give to people, to inspire in people is Hope... God has given me the most amazing privilege of working in a place where the heart of what we do is just that... Hope. God is doing some incredible things in this house. He is stretching me and growing me more than I could imagine. Kids lives are being changed. Families are being brought back together because of an amazing God that we serve. A God of love and joy and peace.. A God of hope.

From Maputo to Berlin

2010-09-16T12:47:00.000+02:00

So... Here is a quick little update on my journey from Maputo, Mozambique to Berlin, Germany.

I cried my eyes out on the plane to JHB. I think the airhostess thought I was crazy. She asked if I was leaving forever and when I told her that I was only leaving Maputo for 2 weeks she looked very confused. I realised on the plane how tired I was of leaving Maputo. I was overwhelmed at the thought of leaving my new home. But I get to go back this time. In 2 weeks I go back home to Maputo!
JHB-CAIRO
After aa long flight next to a man who spoke about sci-fi books and politics within science fiction I was SO ready to get off the plane... I think I would love Egypt. 4 hours in the airport gave me a taste of an amazing culture I am very eager to explore.
CAIRO-BERLIN
4 hour flight with very special attention from the egyptian flight attendent. Very funny. Egyptian men are not the most subtle with their flirtation tactics.
BERLIN
I am confused at the trains and buses and how they work. So many rules about where you can walk, how you walk and THE CARS COME FROM THE WRONG WAY!
Its a beautiful city that I cant wait to explore. I think i might have to rent a bike with a basket on the front and ride around.

Will update more soon... Such a blessing to be here.

Jesus Lord of Heaven

2010-08-28T22:37:00.000+02:00

Phil Wickham is one of my favourite artists. I love this song.

Jesus Lord of heaven, oh I do not deserve
the grace that you have given,
and the promise of Your word
Lord I stand in wonder,
of the sacrifice You made
Mercy beyond measure,
my debt You freely paid

Your love is deeper, than any ocean
higher than the heavens reaches,
beyond the stars in the sky
Jesus Your love has no bounds
Jesus Your love has no bounds
Jesus Your love has no bounds
Jesus Your love has no bounds

Lucky

2010-07-22T21:45:00.000+02:00

I will never forget the pain that I felt when I heard that Lucky (who I have blogged about previously) had gotten into a strangers car and had not been seen for over a week. 4 weeks later I had given up hope. Who was going to look for a street child? The chances of us finding Lucky were getting slimmer and slimmer. I was broken. Every night I dreamt of men taking Lucky. My dreams were vivid and real. The nightmares never stopped during those weeks. Maybe it was a good thing because they woke me up and forced me to pray. To pray against human traffickers, to pray for Lucky and kids like him and to pray that God would do some miracles.

A day never went by that I didn’t think about my boy Lucky. My days were filled with ministry time and awesome moments with the kids in Addington. But after I had dropped those kids off I couldn’t help but drive through the roads where Lucky used to hang out, or sleep. Each night, imagining he would run up to my car like he used to. He never did.

2 nights before world cup was going to end I got the best phone call of my life.
I will never forget the joy that I felt when I heard Lucky’s voice on the other end of the line. He was back in Durban. My boy was safe. Very thin and looking very tired from his experience working in phoenix. (Lucky was picked up and made to work all day packing oranges among other things with very little or no food or pay) My child was basically used as slave labour… But he was safe.

The next day we spend the day chatting about what he had been through. I cried with him as he shared stories from his time in Phoenix and stories from while he was on the street. I laughed with him as he told me about all the funny things him and his friends did to keep themselves busy. I dreamed with him as we spoke about him going back home and getting into school. I rejoiced with him as he got his first set of brand new clothes. Lucky in new clothes, a new smile and a new hope. Lucky was no longer a hopeless street child, He was a boy with a bright future, full of hopes and dreams.

And now as I write this Lucky is no longer living on the streets but is living with his family on a farm far away from the city. Far away from the life he once led. The phrase “bitter sweet” is the perfect explanation of my feelings right now. I am overjoyed because Lucky is home with family. Although my heart breaks at the thought that the day I dropped Lucky off in his new clothes and shoes might be the last time I see Lucky ever again. But I have to trust that God, who began a good work in him will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

A hardened street child, softened by the love of Christ, returns home to His family as a man of God. Praise the Lord for what He has done in Lucky’s life.

2010-05-15T20:03:00.000+02:00

Check this link out...
Its all about whats happening in Mozambique. My beautiful friend Sarah is one of the missionaries that is involved with Masana and Kunhymela House..

Look how AMAZING God is.
http://sarah-n-africa.blogspot.com/2010/05/masanas-new-home.html

A painful picture

2010-04-21T12:36:00.000+02:00

Today for the first time in a long time I was far from being proud of my country. In fact I was maybe –dare I say- disappointed and embarrassed by it. As I write that I’m crying. Crying for my country, crying for my friends and crying for a generation that seems to be unchanged by our histories experiences and challenges.

The past few days have been a painful picture of the reality of an apartheid south Africa infused into what should be a free south Africa. I watched as a good friend of mine was treated differently to me because he was black. He was treated like an uneducated criminal. No racist comments were made but even in the silence, I, an outsider in the conversation saw the grenades that were hurtled across the room. Grenades of inequality and separation. Grenades that our grandparents handed to us proudly. I wanted to fight. I wanted to shout. But I waited for my friend to throw the first punch. He didn’t. Not even one comment. Just a quite smile, hiding the brokenness.

This morning a man walked into the office. Reeking of life on the streets and a few nights drowned out by alcohol this man rattled off his story. The usual. “My mother is sick, I have been robbed, I need money and food.” My answer also the usual. “Sir there is a soup kitchen up the road, please head up there to get some food.” The response I got was one that made me want to once again throw punches. This man, a homeless hitch hiker, desperate for food and clothes, so caught up in his anger and prejudice that even in his weakest moment he wouldn’t go to eat at the soup kitchen because the people around him didn’t look like him.
His grenades were hard and direct. He spat angry lines like a machine gun out to hurt and destroy. I had never seen anger like I saw in the eyes of that man. I was about to ask him to leave the office when a colleague of mine walked in. She is black. He got up. Looked at me in the eye and hissed more lies and anger at me and walked out.

I was broken. Shaken to the core. Mostly because this man is a part of the country that I am supposed to be so proud of. My country a place where diversity is celebrated but a place filled with people who are proudly passing that kind of destructive behavior on to their children. I am proud of my country. Proud of the people that have fought for its freedom and the equality of EVERYONE. But I saw these past few days how people are holding onto a destructive past. Some people are holding on silently. Others are shouting it. They are passing grenades down to their children.
That is not the country that I am proud of. In those moments I was ashamed that we had let our history seep into today’s thinking.

When will it stop..

Well, it stops with me. I choose not to let racism and hatred be apart of who I am. I choose to fight for equality, justice and freedom. I choose to fight for my beautiful country.
I choose Jesus. A man who see's no colour, class or race. A man who's life was about love and justice.

Two men, 1 boy and 1 Skeptic heart

2010-04-07T19:23:00.000+02:00

God does things in His timing.
God teaches us lessons when we least expect it.
That's another reason why I think God is So incredible.
Let me explain…

A couple of weeks ago I was in Maputo. It was late and I was incredibly tired and rather emotional about leaving the next day. Over all- not the time that I wanted to be dealing with God, His lessons and people begging outside my front door. But… As God does, He flipped my world upside down- whether I was ready for it or not… He was doing it.

Sandro and I were sitting on the front steps outside Kunhymela House when a man-lets call him Pedro- came to the gate asking for Ian- one of the Kunhymela House volunteers. I went inside to find him but by the time I had gotten back Sandro was handing him 10mets for a chapa ride home. Pedro lifted his child off his shoulders, where he was sleeping, to accept the small amount of money Sandro gave to him. It was then that we noticed that his child was not just tired but weak. Weak because he hadn’t eaten for the whole day. My heart broke but skepticism kicked in. My instant reaction was not to turn to get more money or even food it was to judge this guys motive.
Sandro on the other hand, was already looking in his wallet for money to give him. There was not even a moment of doubt or skepticism in his mind. I watched as he took another 10mets out. This would have what most of us would have given. (Kind of like giving your change to the guy who is begging at the robot).
But Sandro hesitated.
And this was when God flipped my world upside down.
He put the 10 mets back and pulled out 200 mets.A moment clearly led by God.
Sandro in all his humbleness mumbled something along the lines of “It’s not much, but at least tonight your child will sleep with a full belly”.
Pedro a grown man moved to tears. As Sandro moved to hug him, Pedro said something that shook me to the core. Through his sobs he said “No one has ever trusted me enough to give me money like this. No one trusted that this money would be used to feed my child.”

After I got to pray for Pedro on the streets of Maputo we both cried like babies. Unable to carry the pain that we felt. Pain that Pedro carries everyday. Unable to comprehend the hand of God, His timing and the leading of His spirit.

Who am I to judge another mans motives? Should I give money to every man who asks? Probably not. But, If we are walking close enough to God to hear His whisper and feel His nudge maybe next time 10mets wont be enough.
Maybe we will be changing someone’s life because we chose to TRUST them with 200mets.

A boy called Lucky

2010-02-24T08:53:00.000+02:00

Street ministry in Durban is one of the most challenging ministries I have ever been apart of. The focus on our Tuesday night walks through the city is to pray for the city and chat with the people we come into contact with. Generally these are prostitutes, street children and the homeless.
There are some times where people are so open, they see the need for change and prayer and are excited to accept the invite to come to the office in the morning so they can be helped. Others see us as a major threat to business and life as they know it.

Last night I watched a pimp hit the prostitute that worked for him because she was interested in what we had to say about God. 5 minutes before that a girl in the middle of a conversation about life and God, got up and into a car with a man who wanted a prostitute for a few hours.

I was broken. I was walking through the city really battling to see the light. There was a heavy and dark presence around the city. I felt like I was losing a battle. But a little boy called lucky reminded me about what the truth was.

I met Lucky a few weeks ago. He lives on the street. He told me that he had learnt that he is a child of God, and that’s how he needs to act. Lucky since becoming a Christian has stopped sniffing glue, looks after himself (you would not think this child lived on the street any more) and most importantly he leads people to God. He at 14 years old is going to people on the streets of Durban and tells them of the hope that our God brings.

He is passionate about God. He dreams about going back to school, and becoming a pilot. He is changing Durban. But he still lives on the streets.

Lucky and I have become great friends. He has taken me to where he sleeps at night, where he hides out when the police are "cleaning up the city". He is an incredible kid who has made a significant impact on my life. But he's still on the street.
Next week we are going to get his birth certificate so we can get him into a school. But ultimately we need a home and financing for this kid..

God is big. He is faithful. Lucky taught me that. So please keep praying for all this stuff to come through for lucky and for the other kids that are choosing to leave the streets.

Make me worthy

2010-02-10T09:52:00.000+02:00

For a while now I have been trying to figure out what makes a person great. What is it that makes people step out and make a significant difference in the world? How does one go from doing something ordinary to doing something great?

If you know anything about me, you will know that I am SO desperate to make a difference in this world. I want to know that I have significantly impacted the people that I have come into contact with.

I want to do something great, something meaningful and something out of the ordinary. Why? Because I really believe that I can. For the simple reason that I serve a radical and extraordinary God. A God who doesn’t settle on the ordinary and how life is.

But. If I’m honest with myself I am still caught in the ordinary.

I read this quote from Mother Teresa that blew my mind! She is one of my greatest inspirations- she got it. She got what it means to live a great life. Not because she wanted to be great. But because by serving the people around us, by making them great, by seeing the people around us as better than us we can change the world.

"Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those people throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy."

This is huge. She asked God to make her worthy to serve the poor. She saw herself as being unworthy of serving such incredible people. People who God has a special love for. I think If I can get my mind to this place. Where I am constantly seeing myself as unworthy. Not because I want to feel sorry for myself, but because it reminds me to ask God to make me worthy of serving such incredible people. It stops me from looking down on the poor and needy. Thinking I have all the answers.

Maybe that’s the key to being great. Its leaving a legacy that is purely about God and others. Its a legacy that points back to the privilege it is to serve God, to serve His people.

He will use me to change the world.

But only because of Him am I worthy to spend time with and work with the poor.

WE HAVE A HOUSE!

2010-01-25T08:00:00.000+02:00

Kunhymela House is no longer just a name but is an actual place! We HAVE a house!

God has been amazing in leading the team back in Mozambique to the perfect house for the ministry. Our two bedroom flat was a little small for the 4 team members and the children in and out there all day.

We have been praying for a long time for a house in the right area to begin our projects and programs that we have been dreaming about for so many months.

Here is is! I am so excited to get there to see this beautiful place. This will not only be home to the Kunhymela House team. It is going to be a place where we work with children that have been living on the streets of Maputo. It is safe space that these kids can come and be loved. In some cases if need be there will be short term accomodation for the kids, but ultimately this is a house that will assist the team in successfully reintegrating kids into their own homes and communities.

The Kunhymela House team is moving in, painting and getting organised. If you have any contacts who can help in furnishing this place. Please please let us know!!!

In the mean time I keep serving and following God here in Durban. Enjoying my time with my family and friends and working in my beautiful city.But am SO excited for my friends in Mozambique who are faithfully trusting and serving God as they work with the kids in the city in Maputo.

Why don't the newscasters cry

2010-01-14T13:46:00.001+02:00

This is a very similar post to one that I posted last year. But its something that God seems to be doing in me again and I hope that He starts to do the same in you.

Been spending alot of time reading articles about Africa. I dream of exploring my continent more. I get excited about the possibility of that becoming a reality. I get caught up in the beauty of my country and continent though. Maybe I choose that.
This week though I have been overwhelmed with the horrific stories that cover the pages in the newspapers. I think sometimes God just opens up our eyes a little more to whats really going on. There is a song by Jack Johnson that reminds me how hard we have become to what is happening in the world around us.

"Why don't the newscasters cry when they read about people who die, At least they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their eyes"

The war, poverty, starvation and injustice have become so normal to us. It has become such an every day part of life that we very seldom will be moved to tears by a story we hear about or read on the news.
When we cut that emotion out of lives we somehow end up ignoring the problems that people around us are facing. Maybe if we let ourselves really feel, maybe if we let those stories become real and force ourselves out of our cushioned, rose tinted world we would be more active in getting up to make a change.
Maybe if we were moved to tears when we read about the war in the Congo, the issues in Zimbabe, the increase in child prostitution and slavery we would actually do something about it.

The truth is that its much easier not to feel. The truth is God created us to feel. We are often taught not to act on our feelings. I think sometimes thats when we are most effective.

Let yourself really feel. When you read the news, ask God to help you read it with His eyes. Cause I am pretty sure that Gods heart is breaking. I'm also pretty sure that He is wanting those stories to move us into action.

2009

2009-12-29T09:15:00.000+02:00

At the end of every year, like many people I start looking back at the year gone by reflecting on my decisions, reliving the memories and planning the way forward from there. I recently spent some time with some good friends chatting through some of the amazing memories I have from this year. A year full of change and adventure, some memories full of joy and laughter but some painful yet very necessary. From starting the new year in Rwanda with some of my best friends to moving countries, being a part of telling commmunities about who Jesus really is to seeing street kids reunited with their families. My brother Kyle getting very sick to Joel saving his life donating one of his kidneys. The loss of two wonderful friends the joy of them now hanging out with God.

This year has definately been the hardest year yet for me. 2009 was a hard year. But, it was also the best year that I have had so far. I realised that through all of rough times I have had, I have seen and experienced God in ways beyond my imagination. I have been stretched and grown, I have seen God in my joy and in my pain. Some of those tests I messed up on. Some not so much but all of those added to my adventure and I realised this year that thats why I think life is so beautiful.

Life is not just beautiful its also a beautiful mess. And in those messy times God often reveals himself in beautiful ways. 2010 is a few hours away. I am so excited to start 2010. I am SO excited to see what adventures God takes me on. I am excited to try to become more like Him. Be more of a reflection of Him. I will definitely make a mess of things, thats ok. God is in that mess. He uses my mess to make something beautiful.

I pray that 2010 is about full of amazing adventures. Adventures centered around Christ and what He has called me to do.

I pray that everyday you get to see that

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.

Home

2009-12-10T08:43:00.000+02:00

Coming back to Durban is always a bitter, sweet thing. This time around, I couldn’t wait to get home to my brothers but was also really loving being in Mozambique...After a horrible taxi ride (which I will write about soon) I went straight to the hospital to see Kyle and Joel. They have both just come out of a very serious kidney transplant operation. They are both doing really well but obviously in a lot of pain. Joel (the donor) is actually a lot worse off than Kyle is. His is in more pain and will take longer to hear. Ironic. But God is good and I am so incredibly proud of my big brothers. Thank you for all the prayers..

So, a day later I am already missing Mozambique like crazy. The last few months I have met some amazing people who have made me love being in Mozam even more than before. Its hard to be apart from them but I know that I am in the right place for now. And sometimes following God is not always the easiest route but its definitely worth it.

2009-12-04T09:02:00.000+02:00

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else". C. S. Lewis

Ipods, Jail and Cardboard Boxes

2009-11-27T00:37:00.001+02:00

Tonight was one of the hardest nights that I have ever had in ministry. A couple of days ago, one of the older boys that we work with stole an ipod from Alexis. Tonight we found him, very drunk and buying cigarettes. After a long night of arguing and trying to get him to tell us who he sold the ipod too we ended up making the decision to take him to the police.

What a difficult decision.

I knew that Pedro really needed to learn about the consequences of stealing but I also knew what the jails in Mozambique are like.

One of the hardest moments for me, was too watch one of our kids get taken and locked up in a cell. I still dont know if the decision we made was the right one but I have to trust that God is in control and is in every decision that we make as a team.

I got home at about 12:30, very tired and emotional but trying to be strong around the other little boys that were with us. When we said good night to the boys, we went inside and I got straight into bed. Outside my window I could hear people moving around and little kids voices and coughs. I quietly opened my window to see our little boys curled up on cardboard boxes on the pavement. While I am sitting in my warm bed. These kids are outside on the pavement. I know alot of these kids have families to go back to. Its their choice to be on the street.
But even that thought doesnt make it easier for me to fall asleep.

My mind is racing. I want to fix all of this. I want to change these kids lives. How do I make a lasting impact? How do I truly make a difference and bring Hope.

And then I have to remind myself all over again... I can't do any of that. God can. And He will work through me. And if my heart is breaking for these kids. Imagine how much more the God of Love, our Creators heart is breaking for His children.

Please keep praying that these kids would go home. Pray for Pedro. Pray for us, for wisdom, love and understanding, but most of all for God to use us to change lives.

15 reasons

2009-11-26T08:46:00.000+02:00

Sometimes when ministry is slow or life gets tough Life just doesnt seem so beautiful. Its in those times that I often have to make myself sit down and write down the things that make Life beautiful...Its a bit of a reminder. I have a LONG list.

Here are a few that have stuck out to me today.

Why life is so beautiful…
1.I get to serve a God who IS LOVE.
2.I have a new adventure everyday because I chose to follow this God.
3.I am learning to figure out how to let my passion and my work mix into something great.
4.Because, I can dream of travelling the world and maybe one day go.
5.There is MUSIC.
6.As I set out to give hope to the hopeless my hope and joy in Christ is increased more that I could imagine.
7.I see what its like for families to be reunited after years of kids being on the streets
8.Tim tams and tea
9.Because I want to make a change in the world and really believe I will.
10.There is poetry, stories and words to express moments and share memories.
11.Sun, sand and beautiful beaches
12.Family- cause I have the greatest family EVER!
13.Friends who make me laugh until my stomach hurts
14.Roadtrips and Mixed CD’s
15.Taking millions of photos to remind me of all those moments.

2009-11-13T09:31:00.000+02:00

So we finally have internet in our flat.. So I hope to be updating my blog on a more regular basis.
Thing are going so well. We have visited Masana a few times this week. Masana is an organisation that works with taking the street kids back to their communities and helping them to stay there.

At the moment we are looking into renting a bigger house in the city so we can really begin our work properly. So please keep praying that God will lead us to the perfect one.

Life in Mozambique is great. Its starting to get really hot and the afternoon and evening thunderstorms are crazy! Last night the streets were flooded after only an hour of heavy rain. I cant imagine what its going to be like after 2 days of it.
The boys are at our flat our playing outside everyday. They have started to make friends with the kids in our street, its an amazing thing to watch them play together.

So, we are all very happy here. It is so nice to have people living and working with me this time around.

God has been doing some amazing things in the community and in our lives as we keep on this crazy adventure!!! its awesome!

Its long but SO worth it.

2009-11-06T13:25:00.000+02:00

Tried really hard to cut this down. But couldnt leave anything out.. HAPPY READING.

I have been back in Mozam for about 2 weeks now.
After finally purchasing a car in Durban we arrived in Mozambique with all of our things and no place to stay. What an adventure. We had one flat to see and after that we were on our own. We spent a lot of time praying that this flat was the one that God had in store for us (at that stage none of us were overly excited about sleeping in the car).
So we found a place to meet the man who we were put into contact with about the flat (up till now I still have no idea who he was). * side note on leaving to see the house- I hadn’t drawn any Metical yet, so had to give the car guard the last few coins that I had. He was not impressed with my gesture and in some interesting language told me to jog off. So I got angry at the fact that if he was so desperate he would have taken what I could give him. When we stopped at the robot this car guard (wearing orange swimming goggles) came toward my car screaming at me that he wants his money. He then opens my doorb demanding I get out and give him the money. The quiet Mozambican estate agent next to me began to scream vulgarities right back at him. And I’m trying to stay calm saying, “sir, you have to let me close the door to get money, sir, if you don’t let go I’m going to have to punch you in the face.” CHAOS! In the end I just had to drive with him holding onto my door until his legs couldn’t keep up and he had to let go. Lets just say- the Americans sitting in the back seat were just a bit shocked.. Welcome to Mozambique! *
Any way we arrived at this block of flats and walk into the ground floor flat. The “fully furnished, newly renovated” flat was definitely not ready to be lived in but we had a look anyway. Once we looked passed the fact that the bathroom was not working at all and the only piece of furniture there was, was a fridge there was definitely potential. We met with about 6 different people about the various things that needed to be fixed etc before we moved in. The longer we took in our discussions the more people joined in. Once again, I still am not quite sure who all of them were- but little did I know this was to become a regular occurrence in our house.
We decided that we wanted to go away and pray about our decision that we had to make. So we left them to carry on with their painting and renovating and we went to the beach to seek God out on this flat.
After spending some time together we decided that this flat was going to be an amazing place to begin our ministry. We very excitedly jumped into the car to go and sign the lease agreement for our new home. Only to find that the alarm on the car had decided it didn’t want to work. In simple terms. We were stuck until we could figure out how to cut the alarm system from our car. 6Oclock on a Friday evening is also not the easiest time to find a mechanic. An hour later someone had gone to fetch a mechanic for us and him and all his friends decided to stay on the side of the road and make a party of it. So 2M all around. Music blaring. Beers flowing. Only in Mozambique can you phone your friends and say- “hey I am helping 3 stupid white kids with their car. PARTY time!!”
Finally someone managed to hot wire the car to get is started. . Trying to find a new place at night is not the easiest thing in the world to do. So there I was driving with wires hanging down by my legs driving a car that had been hot wired trying to find our own flat when all of a sudden we get pulled over by a car full of police men with massive AK47’s. Could this get any worse!?! So after about 10 minutes of conversation about how sorry I was that I made an illegal turn (which to this day I’m still not sure was actually illegal) we drove off ready to continue the search.
By 10oclock we were in our flat. Still no bathroom. But we had beds. For the past 3 days we have had people in and out. Fixing, painting, Putting up curtains, bring pots and pans. Its awesome. Its really starting to look like a home. For the past 2 nights we have had people over here till about 12oclock. They arrive from the flats around us. Some are the landlords friends, some just want to say hi. They all arrive, beer or wine in hand ready to hang out or help clean. Some are just pulled in as they are walking passed to see the house and meet the new neighbors. Its great for learning Portuguese fast cause there are people around 24/7.
Its hilarious. At any one time there is at least 2 other people in the house. And when our doors are locked.. No problem. They just use the windows. .. The other night we were all getting ready for bed when I hear someone at my window. “Laurena! Comida (Food)! Laurena!” When I opened my curtains there was our new friend Maninha with a plate of food for us. So at 12:45pm, Alexis and I sat at the table with a very drunk Maninha eating Matapa (a spinach like veggie), rice and liver.
Just before that we had another lady who sat at our dining room table with her beer in hand balling her eyes out cause of promises that South African politicians had made to her and never followed through on. WHAT! RIDICULOUS! Thank goodness for Michael Jackson who was apparently the reason that she learnt English. (She had a dream that she was going to marry him so she needed to learn English.)
We are the only white people living around here. We have guessed this because at least twice a day at least one of us will be asked if we are lost and do we need help getting to another area. Its awesome to be a part of breaking the mould of where the white missionaries “should be” living.
The buildings around us are all very run down and old. The kids play soccer on the street outside our window, in between the chickens that are running around in the street. There is a bar down the road that has a very loud guitarist the plays a mixture of old school blues tunes, reggae and passada on the weekends. Every other day at least one or more of the houses have music blaring all day.
We have already managed to connect with and make friends with some of the street kids that stay on our road. They are amazing little okes who are too amped to just hang out and play and scream from across the street when they see us walking around. They arrive at the flat every day wanting to come in and hang out or wanting us to got to the park to watch them do back flips off the jungle gym. Sometimes they are so desperate to be around us that they offer to wash our car, clothes and house.
This morning, 5 of them arrived at the door. We invited them in to have tea with us and they stayed and just hung out for a couple hours, drinking tea, listening to music, laughing and dancing. This was definitely a memory that I will keep forever.
We are so happy here and really feel like we have moved to the area where we can most impact the kids we are working with. We are completely immersed in the culture and the Mozambican way of life and I definitely have the feeling that we are exactly where we are ment to be and this is definitely the flat God had prepared for us.

2009-09-08T12:07:00.000+02:00

I serve such a great God.
One who calls me, not to a life of success but a life of significance.

New seasons

2009-09-07T14:17:00.001+02:00

Its been a while. I now know what its like to have writers block- or whatever the authors and those sorts of people call it. There has been so much happening around me and in my ministry but for some reason I just couldn’t bring my self to write about it. Guess that happens some time.
So, my time with Youth For Christ ended a little earlier than expected. I drove up this weekend with my friend Risky to pack up my room and say goodbyes-What a difficult weekend! The past 9 months have been a mixture of the hardest and the best times of my life. The hardest because God worked on my character, took me through some difficult situations and dealt with a lot of things within myself that needed to be worked on. The best because of the amazing opportunity it is to serve God in such a beautiful country alongside some of the most incredible people. He blessed me more than I could ever imagine.
My time in Mozambique is not over yet. I will be going back in the next couple of months to start my new project. Kunhymela House will be a transition home for the street children in Mozambique. (for more info on this go to www.kunhymelahouse.com). I am so excited about this project and can’t wait to get going.

Keep praying for the people in Picoco and the staff at Youth For Christ Mozambique but also pray for God’s grace and favour as we start to set up The Kunhymela House.

Music for the soul

2009-08-09T14:30:00.000+02:00

On Friday night I was privileged enough to see, in my opinion, two of the greatest musicians of our time. For years I have been wanting to see Vusi Mahlasela and Habib Koite perform. What were the chances that I would see them in the same show in Mozambique.!?! They were everything that I had imagined and more! Brilliant!

The whole night I was completely overwhelmed by a love for my continent. There were about 6 performances from people from Mali, Madagascar, South Africa , Zimbabwe and of course Mozambique. There I was sitting in Maputo, my new home, surrounded by people who spoke Portuguese, French, Danish, English and a variety of other interesting languages and we were all connected. Language was not an issue. I may not have understood the language of the person standing next to me but I understood that somehow we were connected by the music. This music that was birthed out of my continent. I am proud to be African.

I had forgotten how much music like that fills me up, inspires me and God just uses it to breath new life into me. What a blessing to be able to see such great musicians perform together.

This is a pic of Vusi Mahlasela and Habib Koite performing together at the French Cultural Center in Maputo

Music is one of the most incredible gifts that God has given to us.

Life is one sweet song!

In memory of my friend Yallo.

2009-07-31T20:58:00.000+02:00

My mind has been far away from my ministry this week. I heard during the week that a good friend of mine was killed in an accident in Kenya. I met Yallo last year when he came to spend some time at my church. We spent alot of time together while he was there. Working in the center of town with the boys, going on adventures into Durban and finding cool spots to eat at, long chats about life and God and lots of laughter about our lack of understanding of both topics.
We had such a great time. Last week we had been emailing laughing about those times and talking about how great God is and the amazing things that He is doing in our ministries. This week. Yallo is not here.
I guess that the reality of God giving is easy for us to understand, but when He takes away it seems like He is doing something unfair. God has taken away a special friend- for those of us left behind it's terrible and sore but in God taking away- Yallo is spending eternity with the God that he served with all his heart. I don't understand why someone who was making such and impact on God's kingdom was taken away so early but I do know that I can't wait to spend eternity beside my friend worshipping our creator, the Mighty God who gives and takes away.

So I guess, whats on my mind this week is that I am learning more and more to worship and praise my God through the times when He gives and the times that He takes away.

This is something that my friend Yallo said that I love and have though about so much this week...

"It's just an honour to be part of what He is doing, really... You could be anywhere, doing anything but He has chosen you to be here."

Gardening in Picoco

2009-07-24T15:41:00.000+02:00

So, this is an extract of a report written by Kyle Ballard who headed up the farming ministry that helped start up our veggie gardens in Picoco...

“I had very little experience with farming practices except from what I had learnt from my own veggie garden at home. I went to a course called “Farming Gods Way” (see www.farming-gods-way.org ) which totally changed my way of thinking about farming. Farming Gods way is in essence taking biblical principles and applying them to farming. Farming Gods way has serious urgency to repent from our unfaithful ways of farming and seek to acknowledge the Lord even in the way we farm! (see Proverbs 3:6-12). The main ‘technology’ is to simply see what God does in creation and learn from Him. Biblical principles for management are also explained urging farmers to be on time, to practice minimal wastage, to farm with excellence and with joy.

God provided an army of 20 farmers to accompany me to take this tool to Mozambique. We first taught the theoretical concepts to the people. We then made a small garden together by the church, putting to practice the concepts just explained. We then went to each persons house to assist them in applying these principles to their existing gardens. Overall we managed to assist approximately 20 people in the community with the little time we had. These people seemed extremely receptive to these principles and our assistance but a large emphasis was put on us not simply doing everything for them, but for them to learn while practically applying what they had learnt. I was personally encouraged to see the yoke of dependency and poverty potentially be removed from these people. I look forward to see the fruit of our sowing and to engage even more with the Picoco community. This ministry, although we did farm, was not primarily about food. The ramifications of this are endless in Gods hands as people who are faithful to follow Gods ways and acknowledge Him will be a light to their neighbours and the rest of the community, guiding them towards God as their salvation. Also, peoples’ self esteem and self worth will potentially improve as the stigma of the worlds begging bowl can be removed from Africa one person at a time!"

This ministry has played a vital role in our feeding project as the people who were trained in this are encouraged to give away some of their crop to those who are in need. That way the community is looking after each other instead of relying on us for food.

Reflections

2009-07-14T18:36:00.000+02:00

I think that some of us Christians often miss the point of what is means to really reflect the Jesus that lives inside of us. We become so distracted about the rules and regulations and the misconceptions that we need to act a certain way, speak a certain way and even worship in a certain way.

Occasionally we meet people who blow those misconceptions out the water- how refreshing! I met someone a few weeks ago who did that for me. In so many ways this guy has gotten this right. His very being and presence screamed a passion and a love and a freedom for God that I have very rarely seen in people. I saw this love and passion and maybe even a little glimpse of Gods creative character without even spending time with this guy. In fact. No words were needed at all.

It was just who he was. God was so much a part of him and his creativity that words were not even needed. I think that it must make God so stoked to see that kind of thing. It's not about what we are saying, and whether we are a missionary or not. Its not about what we do but about having this real, creative and free God living inside of us. Having Him inhabit who we are. Its about Him being a part of our nature and character. Its about truly reflecting Jesus without ever having to say a word

Teams from home

2009-07-11T14:28:00.000+02:00

The past couple of weeks have been awesome. I had so many adventures and exciting times with my beautiful friend Risky who came to stay with me last week. We had a puncture and were stranded on the side of the road for 4 hours, met some brilliant people, caught a taxi, drove a taxi... so many stories. Thanks risky. :)

The passed 2 weeks we have had 2 teams from Westville Baptist coming into support us in our work in Picoco. It was the HUGEST blessing to have my church family from Durbs with me for those 2 weeks. The premission team did an incredible job of (among other things) putting in 2 toilets on the church property for us.
The second team came in and lived in the church for a week. They were great! I felt like for a week I had a 40 more sets of arms to reach out into the community. God did some overboard things on our house visits, kids ministry and sports ministry but one of the ministries that I am most excited about is the farming ministry.

We had people from the community coming into to learn new ways of farming and growing veggie gardens and commiting to give away 10% of their crop at harvest time to a family in need. It is an amazing way for the community to start to take care of the orphans and widows themselves while learning about the Biblical principal of tithing.

So,it has been a great couple of weeks. God blew me away as usual. He has poured out his favour and blessing on us more than ever.
Right now, I am exhausted.. More stories and photos will come soon.

A truck, a taxi and a veggie thief

2009-06-16T16:30:00.000+02:00

What a day...
At the moment we don’t have a vehicle here at YFC. So Arnaldo and I left early this morning Mozambican style.. CHAPAS! I knew it would be a long trip but man I had no idea just how much of a mission it would be. 2 taxis, 5km walk, a 2 hour wait and 2 trucks (hitching) later we arrived in Picoco with all the food for the week.
During the 2 hour wait that we had, Arnaldo and I got chatting to a lady who lives in Picoco. She said that she knows me and what we are doing in the community. It turns out, a few months ago we went to go and pray for her and her sick child. It was incredible to sit with her and hear how her child got better and how thankful she was for our visit. What a fantastic testimony. God is doing some great things.

When we got to Picoco we heard some sad news. Someone stole our veggies! I couldn't believe it. They were ready for us to use to make soup this week and someone else thought they would beat us to it. So we are back at square one. Frustrating but at least we can learn from it.

I am so greatful for the car that we have at YFC. After today I even love the fact that I have to push start it and guess when the petrol is going to finish. It was a long day trying to make our way into the more rural sides of Maputo with out a car.

So today was full of interesting adventures, awesome testimonies and frustrating veggie thieves but what a great day in Mozam!

The news

2009-06-14T21:20:00.000+02:00

Reading the newspaper and watching the news should break our hearts everyday. Over and over again we read stories of war, famine, rape and injustice.
We have become so numb to the reality of these situations that they no longer really impact us.
We don’t cry because of the girl who was raped and killed in her home. We are not moved into action because of the dying people in war torn countries like Iran and Iraq.
These things have become so normal, so much a part of every day life that the most we do is shake our heads and utter comments about what a shocking place the world is in.
If the child that was starving was yours, would we have the same reaction?
If it were your family in being killed and torn apart because of a war would you sit back in silence.

As Christians we are taught about the body of Christ and how we are all brothers and sisters in that body. Why are our hearts not breaking for our brothers and sisters that we read about in the news.
We have been so desensitized to the news and what’s going on around us. Maybe that’s why its so easy to keep to ourselves. Maybe we have such warped mindsets because of our culture and society that we somehow manage to "switch off" to the fact that we are reading about peoples lives. Real people. People who are in fact, our brothers and sisters.

What if what we read broke our hearts so much that sitting back was not an option any more. What if our hearts broke so much that we were moved into action.

Are we reading the news with societies desensitized eyes and hard heart or with God's tear filled eyes and compassionate heart?

My rhythm, My Africa

2009-06-11T09:26:00.000+02:00

The sound of Africa runs
through my veins,
The beat of the African drum is the rhythm to which my feet move,
the direction my footsteps take.

The God that shaped this continent has breathed life,
and passion into these broken bones.
I am called. This is home.

I am haunted by the pain, the confusion, the joy,
that I see in the eyes of my people.

The politician, the beggar, the doctor, the prostitute.
All my brothers. My family.
We are the same.

Through us run the same rhythm , the same beat.
We move to the rhythms of our continent.
Our hearts beat to the tune of Africa’s song.

It is time

It is time to stop ignoring the brokenness.
The injustice.
It is time to dance to a new song

Together

Breaking these chains of injustice, poverty and oppression
that hold us down, keep us from dancing,
together.
Do we not all walk on the same ground,
Sleep under the same stars

No longer can I stand and watch my brother
fall
to the ground.
Hopeless. Wronged. Broken.

These are my people.
This is my Africa.
I will rise and dance to a new rhythm.
I will walk in step, in tune, with the
beat of freedom and justice.

Together

This is the beat running through my veins. .
I am dancing to the rhythm of my home.

You and me. At home. Together.
Called
To a new Africa.

This is the sound of Justice, equality, freedom.
Togetherness.

Snapshots

2009-06-08T08:10:00.000+02:00

Here are some more photos of life in Mozambique so far. Life is Beautiful!

A wonderfully difficult weekend

2009-05-24T21:54:00.000+02:00

First of all I need to say a HUGE thank you to my wonderful friend Ryan, who surprised me by giving my blog a new look. So the revamp of my blog is all thanks to him.

God every now and then takes me through some very painful times. These times are sore and heart breaking but at the same time so incredibly wonderful. (only God can do that)
This past week, my heart has broken all over again for the world and God's children. I often pray that God would open my eyes to how He sees the people around me, I pray that God would break my heart for what breaks His.. I think this weekend He just may have given me a small glimpse of that. I was broken. I am broken. Its a wonderful place to be in. Its a painful place to be in, but it also keeps me moving. It moves me out of my complacency. God is not complacent. His heart is breaking for this world and His children. His heart breaks for every person affected by the injustice in this world. His heart is breaking while ours are complacent.
So, I got a little glimpse of what breaks Gods heart and how He see's the helpless and the needy. I am trying to position myself to be seeing that all the time. Because out of this brokenness and soreness has come passion and a desire to be used by God to change the world, to make a significant difference. Its difficult. With that passion and desire has also come an overwhelming sense of how much there is to do. I am fighting the thoughts that this is futile and a waste of time. Sometimes I feel like its too big for me. Its hopeless. But, God is not complacent and so I will not be complacent either. This is not hopeless.

I dare you to pray that prayer. I dare you to ask God to break your heart for the things that break His. I dare you to let God break your heart.

After that.. Complacency will not be an option.

70 Loaves of Joy

2009-05-20T22:09:00.000+02:00

Today we bought about 70 loaves of bread from a lady on the side of the road. The bread was for our kids in Picoco. The old lady that we bought our bread from was beautiful. I wish I had a photo of her. I wish that I had a video of the dance that she did when we gave her the money for the 70 loaves. It was beautiful. I dont think she has sold that much bread in a long time.

Picoco was awesome today. We had no translator with us, so it was up to me and my broken portuguese to communicate with the other teachers and kids. It was great. I loved it. My little boy Estevo (the one who is sick) is looking much better today. He is a very special little boy and is making friends and playing games and singing. AWESOME!

This photo is with Estevo. I met with his grandfather yesterday. He is looking after 9 orphans at the moment. He is so old and frail but keeps working to make sure that there is food for the kids in his home. What an incredible man. I have been so moved by this family. I am drawn more and more to them every day. I really hope that I can find a way to help them out a little more.

2009-05-15T14:31:00.000+02:00

We have one little boy who is looking very sick at the moment. He is an orphan and is living with his grandmother. I was HUGELY challenged today when I said to a friend of mine how much it broke my heart to see him so sick. Arnaldo then turned to me and said.. " Well what are you doing to help him?" That was the second time today that he left me completely speechless... I realised at that moment how good I was at being heartbroken and compassionate from a distance. That's just not good enough. Those kids deserve more than my distant brokenness. One of the greatest ways for me to magnify who Jesus is to the kids and their families is to, out of my compassion and brokenness move into action. A great lesson taught to me by a great friend.

The first phase of our veggie garden has begun! I can't wait till the kids can be eating fresh vegetables.

Also Kunhymela house is officially a registered non profit organisation in the USA... We can now start getting funding for our home and getting moving with finding property here in Mozam!

Please keep praying for us. We are still in major need of funding for our feeding project in Picoco and for hospital visits for a couple of the children.

Kunhymela House

2009-05-08T16:01:00.001+02:00

http://www.kunhymelahouse.com/

10 things.

2009-05-08T13:11:00.000+02:00

I am finally back in Mozambique after a great two weeks holiday in Durban. It was awesome seeing my friends and beautiful family. There is way too much to write about.. So here are a few of the many great moments I had back there. ..

1. AMAZING race 21st

2. Hanging out with my beautiful hippy sister

3. Dinner with homeless wanderers and great friends

4. Durbans AWESOME music scene

5. Seeing my children from Addington

6. Making new friends... Seeing Old friends

7. Laughing with my friend Tam until I nearly wet myself. Serious!

8. VOTING- I love my country!

9. Getting a Portuguese and English Bible from Shan

10. Dinners with my family

So.. Being back in Durban, South Africa was good. I seemed to be a little further away from God there. But even in His distance, God is intimate and beautiful..
Back to work. Too amped. Lots to do.. I am excited for the next few months. Can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

2009-04-18T10:47:00.001+02:00

This week we spent some time walking through the community in Picoco, praying, chatting and encouraging some of the ladies in the area. The last stop was with a woman whose child comes every day to our kids program.We sat on her grass mat and heard all about her struggles and dreams. She lives there with her daughter Joyce and her abusive husband. She shared with us that she is scared for her daughter who has been beaten many times. She is scared to say anything to any one because her husband’s family is heavily involved in witch craft. She was terrified that if she spoke up about what is happening a curse would be put on beautiful Joyce.I left her house broken. This story is not the only one of its kind. This is a common problem in this community. People are scared of the powerful hold that Satan has through witch doctors, ancestral worship and witch craft.In the next few weeks Joaquinna and I are going to be starting to deal with some of these issues. Please keep us in your prayers. These are not easy topics to deal with and we will definitely come against some heavy opposition. But God is big and in Him we have nothing to fear.

And this week we have had close to 200 children coming to our feeding program every day... This is so exciting for us. Its chaos... Its beautiful... So when I get back from Durban my major focus will be on getting funding for this project.

Creativity and God

2009-04-16T23:02:00.000+02:00

The past few days I can't stop thinking about this... God is a creative God. He shows off a little of that creativity in everything around us but also with everything within us. God also often chooses to bless us with certain creative gifts. But for some reason we so often neglect to use them. I think for each person it differs. For myself, I let my insecurities and doubts take over. My creative gifts seem "less spiritual" than the other gifts. So I pushed the idea that God could use this gift of mine out of my mind. I think God is teaching me that He is a creative God. Creativity is a powerful tool. I need to learn how to reflect God and His creativity through my own. So, when we use creative ways to serve Him, imagine how stoked he gets. When we use the gifts that we are given instead of suppressing them, imagine how much more of God we can magnify to others. So let’s get creative. I encourage you to use your creativity to learn more about your Creator but also to reflect and magnify a creative God to the world around us.

Priceless moments

2009-04-08T21:28:00.000+02:00

Today we started our feeding program. It was definitely one of the most incredible moments that I have had here. The kids sat down with their bowl of pap (mielie meal porridge) and dug in. It was SO hot, but some of them couldn't wait to let it cool. After they had all eaten, I watched these children change into different kids. They ran around, singing and dancing and laughing like crazy. When I asked Joaquina what was going on she just "Lorena, this is what a good meal does. They have energy now." How incredible to be a part of a program like this. These children need this meal. One bowl of porridge and they are ready to take on the day in a completely different way. Imagine what will happen when we get to give them some nutritious soup!
I can't wait!

Beautiful Interruptions

2009-04-05T09:06:00.000+02:00

The meaning of this Easter time is so much more real to me here than it was back in South Africa. I guess alot has to do with the fact that in most places there is so much focus on holidays and Easter eggs that we miss out on the true meaning of the time. This morning, while hanging out my washing, I got a little bit of a glimpse into what it would have been like when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. To hear people singing and dancing on the street is not an uncommon sight or sound here. But today the singing was different and I could hear hundreds of people coming down the road. A HUGE church was walking around the neighbourhood singing and dancing and waving their palm branches. If you have never heard an African Church full of people singing.. You are missing out on one of the most beautiful sounds on earth. Today I watched them stream past my house and imagined this is kind of what it must have been like, what it must have sounded like when Jesus came into Jerusalem. I couldn't help my tears. It was what I think was a real Holy moment. God moving and speaking when you least expect it, interrupting our normal everyday activities to open our eyes to what He wants us to see.

2009-04-01T19:19:00.000+02:00

Today Joaquina and I bought the biggest pot we could find. On Tuesday we are starting to feed the children in the community. We are stepping out in faith, God will provide for this project.
Yesterday we met with the Pastor of the church and some of the ladies in the community. We shared our vision of starting a feeding project. We shared with him that our main aim was to start a vegetable garden. The community will look after this garden and the veggies will be used to feed the kids. Along with this we are looking into hopefully one day also starting a chicken project too. As we were sharing this, the smile on his face got bigger and bigger. He said to us that he had been praying about a project like this but had no idea how to get it started. So with that confirmation, Joaquina and I needed no more convincing. So we are off! We start with a simple bowl of mielie meal for now. As soon as we can I will be looking into getting some soya products and other goodies to make soup. Once the veggie garden is done. We wont be buying the veggies. So thats getting started asap! Its nearly school holidays so soon the kids will be helping us to get the land ready for planting. This is their project, not ours. Its exciting. I loved watching the community and my friend Joakina getting passionate and excited about this project. I sat back and tried to keep up. They were so excited that they stopped translating for me cause it was slowing the conversation down. STOKED!
So keep praying for us. I am SO excited about this garden and chicken project. It's going to be awesome!

Hopefully Feeding Hungry Bellies

2009-03-29T13:46:00.000+02:00

The kids that I am working with are hungry. I have to make sure that I am trying to help them with that. After all, what good is teaching them if their little tummies are grumbling. So I am looking into a feeding project. I want to feed 100 children 3 times a week for now. When I think about it... It sounds big, it sounds expensive.. and it sounds crazy for me to organise on my own.. But then, Im not on my own, God is bigger than all of this!So i'm excited. I put my faith in Him. The community are keen to get involved. Ladies from there are happy with cooking everyday for these kids. I want to as much as possible, buy locally grown vegetables from Picoco, and in time will look into starting our own veggie garden for this. But I need help. I can't afford to pay for all of the nessacary food myself. If anyone has any ideas of how I can go about getting funding for a project like this, please let me know. Or if you are wanting to come and volunteer and help out with our ministry in Mozambique, we would love to have you! To be honest, I need the help. I am realising more and more how, really standing up and preaching the gospel is useless if I am not at least trying to provide for these peoples basic human needs. I know that I can't help everyone but I can still try.

2009-03-20T11:32:00.000+02:00

I have a little friend in Picoco called Rui. He is awesome. Everyday when Kinna and I drive up to the church we are greeted with shouts of "Tia Lorena, tia Lorena!- Aunty Lauren, Aunty Lauren" .Rui, will stand behind all of the kids until the crowds have dispersed. When I have put my things down, everyday, without fail little Rui will walk up to me and grab my hand or a piece of clothing that he can reach. He follows me around the whole day. He just wants to be close. He is the most incredible little by with a world of stories hidden in his eyes. When we arrive, some of the kids will come up and give us a hug or a high five but most of them still keep their distance. It's a cultural thing. Kids in these communities are taught to stay away and only speak when spoken too, especially when there are visitors around. We are trying to get them to understand that this is a place to scream and shout and have fun but we are also trying to be culturally sensitive and not step on any toes. Not an easy task. That is one of the reasons that I am going to be trying to find sponsorship to build a little community center. I want the kids to have a place that they can just feel free to be kids but also a place where kids from all different religious backgrounds can come to. Please pray for me as I look into this new phase of ministry.

My heart breaks everyday for these kids. Some of them come to the program with sores all over their little bodies. The flies hover around certain kids cause of their wounds and cause they have just not been taken care of. I wish I knew how to help all of them... I get frustrated with the world and with myself when I see people going hungry and children needing help and there really is no reason for it. But I love meeting so many people here who are doing so much for this country. Doctors, lawyers, missionaries. All called here to serve. How awesome.

I am planning a trip back home for a week at the end of April. I can’t wait. It's such a blessing being close enough to come home for a visit.

My dream... no... my reality.

2009-03-12T20:40:00.000+02:00

I wish that you could catch on to a little bit of this passion that fills me when I think about this continent.

I want to change Africa.

And I believe, with everything inside of me, that this change is possible. One day at a time, one person at a time. I can make a difference.
We need to stand up against the injustice that happens everyday, speak for those with no voice and be the crutch for those too weak to walk the journey on their own. If we all chose one aspect of injustice to stand up against. What a wave we would make! Let's make waves. Let's save those who are dying and lost and hopeless. There IS hope. The hope for this continent is you and me.

We CAN change Africa.

2009-03-07T21:02:00.000+02:00

Today I spent the day at home. There were about 30 people in and out, most of whom I did not know. Then all of a sudden every one left and I was left at home with 5 children. None of which spoke English. Great! I was left to babysit and had no idea that was the plan. Thats how things seem to work here. Very funny. All of a sudden there was a lot of shouting, screaming and hooting outside. Then police sirens. I had no idea what was going on but realised that there was a HUGE traffic jam outside the house. The police had blocked off the road for a carnival that was passing through. I have never seen anything like this in my life! Truck loads of people with painted faces, masks and head dresses (some wearing only their underwear) were driving through our little suburb. It was chaos. A mozambiquan carnival. Good times.

My ministry in Picoco is going well. I am there 3 times a week for the whole day. We have over 50 kids coming every day and I am expecting it to grow. Very exciting. I am also looking at getting the chief in the area to give us a piece of land so we can start to build a little youth or community center. I am trying to get away from running all the programs from out of the church because some people are put off by that. So we will see how that goes.

Other than that. I heard today my special friend Charlotte gave birth to a beautiful baby girl today. I am so stoked but was very sad that I wasn't there. Made me miss home lots. But spoke to my family this morning which was awesome.
Please keep praying for me and the ministries that I am involved with here!

Picoco, Police and Potholes

2009-03-02T19:53:00.001+02:00

For the first time, I thought about this place as home. Was a strange feeling but definatley a good feeling. I think it was brought on by a combination of things. Making great friends, found an awesome church and my work gets more and more interesting every day and maybe it was just cool to be able to drive to and from church with out getting lost. :)

I start in Picoco in the morning. I cant wait. I battle to sleep at night cause I lie awake thinking of the endless opportunities and ideas that I have for this place. I'm more excited than I thought I would be. Work in the rural communities is a lot different to working in the city (which I love and am way more comfortable with). So, I'm nervous. I'm also always nervous about driving there. The rain has made potholes that take over the whole road and people like to cover them with rubbish.. So you never know what you going to hit.. weird things happen here.

I also have been working with a youth group in the South African school that runs on a Friday evening. High school kids... Who would have thought... I'm still scared of them... haha... Don't think that's going to change. But I'm having fun. I also start an English class with some of the YFC volunteers on Saturday.

I had such a great moment today... I was alone at the house this afternoon. When I heard someone at the door. There were to very nervous little girls waiting for someone to come out. I rattled of the hello, how are you's in Portuguese and managed to understand who they were and that they were looking for some food. I managed to ask them to wait while I got something together. Walking outside again I realised I had SO many questions for them. They also just hung around. The language barrier is even more frustrating now that I can often understand what people are saying but I can't respond. The hung around watching every move I made and giggled when I tried to string a sentence together. What a great ministry opportunity. Two hungry little girls who clearly just wanted a little food, love and attention. When they had left I realised again how difficult it is to do ministry in a country that speaks another language to me. I'm learning as quickly as I can. The YFC staff help me along- they watch my face and have learned my "ok I just lost the plot of the conversation" face.

Other than that. I got lost the other day trying to find a school I was speaking at. So the logical thing to do was to stop and ask for directions.. So I did. And there is no greater person to ask than a policeman. And I thought that I had really hit it lucky when he asked of I speak English. woohoo! After I got directions I was about to drive off when he starts asking questions... "Mam,what is your name". I smile and answer. He begins to probe, " where are you from, what are you doing here etc". I am a little suspicious at these questions but am not about to be rude to a Mozambiquan police officer. So I answer all his questions and watch as his face lights up. Then he reaches behind his back. My immediate thoughts. "Is he about to bring out the handcuffs? Am I about to be arrested?" Then came the gem. " I think that I need your number." He says to me.

What!!!???? Ummm... No. Uh. how do I answer this without ticking him of.. " umm. no sir" I reply "I don't think you need my number at all. You will be fine without it." He then rattles of some nonsense that If I'm not wearing a wedding ring then I should want to get married and I should want his number. I was shocked. There I was lost. In the middle of Maputo, late for a meeting and the police officer is lecturing me about how a girl like me should want to marry a man like him.. hahahaha

aaaah life in mozam- never a dull moment.

Greater things

2009-02-19T12:00:00.000+02:00

Greater things are yet too come!!! Learning that following God is all about taking risks but oh how fun it will be when things really get moving... been chatting with a friend about new ideas and projects to start up... Keep praying for us guys.

Making waves

2009-02-15T21:36:00.000+02:00

A couple of days ago Beto asked me to preach in his church. Preaching is definitely not my strong point and is not something that I am overly excited about. But, I am here to be stretched and to serve so there I was this morning standing in front of a church preaching. It was cool. I am loving it more and more every time I do it. The great thing is that if God wants to say something He will use me, all I have to do is be available. Love that about Him!
Any way, so I was pretty nervous about the whole thing. But it went ok, I think. After the service Beto comes to me and was really stoked about the message and how it went. He then told me that I was the first woman in the history of their church to preach. It was a rule that woman were not supposed to preach but he thought that he would use me to change that!!! I couldn’t believe it. He very conveniently forgot to tell me this before I agreed to preach. haha. Crazy times. But cool. I'm living, I'm learning, like never before!

Mud, mice and kittens

2009-02-11T19:58:00.000+02:00

What a fun week I have had! I took the team to a church in a community called Nyagoya on Sunday morning. I love that community so much. Westville Baptist team has spent alot of time there over the past few years and I have made so many friends there. So, it was a great time for me to catch up with them and be in a church full of young people excited to worship God. They spent some time praying for us as we carry on doing ministry in the communities in Mozambique. Was great! That evening we went to the English service which is held in a hotel in Maputo City. I met a couple of great girls there and have found a ladies bible study to go to on a Monday night. So, I am slowly starting to meet people and make friends.

We spent some time in Picoco this week. (This community was set up after the floods in 2000-a church has just recently been built and we are raising money for a bore hole to be put in next door to the building) After the rain the roads were very muddy and slippery but we managed to get to the church without stopping. That morning we spent most of our time trying to fix a man’s house. This poor guy. A wall on his mud house had fallen down in all of the rain. So we decided while he was at work we would fix it for him.. So we got to work.... We managed to get a decent mud and stick wall up with some help from the locals who are BRILLIANT! Although it was probably not as good as he would have done it was better than nothing in all that rain.. I did have a chuckle.. I felt like I was doing extreme makeover- Mozambiquan style.. Imagine when he came home and the neighbours told him that a bunch of white people came in and fixed his house..
After that we headed home, very tired and very muddy... BUT... not as muddy as we were going to be. We got so stuck in the mud trying to get out. We ended up being stuck in KNEE DEEP (no exageration) mud for about 2 hours. Exhausting but very fun. What an adventure...

Otherwise, I have a huge rat problem in this house. So bad that I was sitting writing an email the other day when one rat, mouse, something ran over my foot. It was at that moment I decided that we should get a cat. 2 Days later I am visiting a friends mom at Nyagoya and she had heard that I wanted a cat and hands us a little kitten! So I have a friend here. I haven't named her yet... Any suggestions? She is beautiful and when she grows up she will be a brilliant rat catcher. :)

Having a ball here in mozam.. Loving how much I am learning and the friends that I am making. Occasionaly I look at Picoco and feel completely overwhelmed but the great thing is that I serve a God who is big, and powerful and He is in control. So I never walk alone, no task is to big for my God. So I keep going no matter how big this task is.

And then the rain came!

2009-02-04T21:13:00.000+02:00

The past few days have been really good. A team of 12 arrived from America a couple of days ago. It has been so good to have other people in the house. Love that I can sit in my room and hear people screaming with laughter down the passage. Tuesday was one of the hottest days ever! It was crazy. Tuesday it was a public holiday. Apparently its called National Heroes day. Maputo was relatively quiet because people had gone to some area where they were handing out free beer and then they head off to Gaza to where the president has another gathering. There is also some weird tradition where traditionally a hippo comes out of the water and then they eat it... Well that’s what I could understand. I'm not sure if I have gotten the whole thing wrong with the language barrier or if it is just some weird tradition that some people follow. Either way.. Its very strange.

After dropping the American team at the beach Beto and I carried onto one of the children's birthday parties. Was great. I love that I am becoming part of the family and get the awesome privilege to share in these special moments with Beto and his family.

On our way back- things changed. All of a sudden the wind picked up and the sky turned black. Very much like the movies when tornadoes and cyclones are about to hit). By the time we had gotten back to Matola the rain had started. It poured and poured. There was thunder and lightening all night. It didn't stop till the morning. The rain carried on .Roads flooded. Our lounge was full of water because of a window that had broken in the wind. Wow... I have never seen a storm like it. Very scary, but incredibly beautiful.

Today we had to cancel our program... Rained in.... We wouldn’t have even been able to get into Pikoko where we had planned to be for they day. The roads would have been crazy. So we had another day of chilling and waiting... African timing I suppose...

My Portuguese lessons are going ok. I get frustrated with myself because I battle to remember the grammar. But Beto is awesome. He just keeps teaching and is so patient. He has faith in me... So I'm sure I will get there eventually.

This is Africa...

2009-01-31T21:40:00.000+02:00

So these past few days have been pretty quiet which has been really good for me. I realised how little time I actually spend just chilling out with God. It has been awesome just spending time with Him and really just seeking Him out for this year.

But as usual... My thoughts drift and I end up thinking about travelling the world and all the great places that there are to see. But the thing that I kept going back to over and over again was just how fantstic Africa is. I love this place.. I love how different each country is, I love that there are so many different cultures and I love that God is doing some incredible things that I dont see happening anywhere else in the world.

But with that love and joy that I feel for my continent comes a huge burden. My heart cries out to God for the people that are "invisible" to the rest of the world. The children on the streets of Durban who sniff glue to try to numb the hunger they feel in their stomachs and the cold on their little bodies. For the grandmother in Zimbabwe who is trying to feed orphaned children in her community even if it means sacrificing food for herself. My heart breaks for the hungry and the sick and the lost that the whole world seems to ignore and that we all seem to turn a blind eye toward. I know these people... My heart aches for them and the millions more that are just on my doorstep.

There is more to our continent than all of this. There is more to it than the poverty and the crime and the hatred. There has got to be more to it! Maybe we are losing sight of how beautiful it is because we are losing sight of how powerful the God that we serve is. Yes, it is our responsibility to go out and feed the sick and look after the widows. And it is our privilege to be able to spend time chatting with a kid who has spent the past few years on the street and to hear about the struggles of a wpman who is beggin at the robots as we drive past. I have been challenged so much to take time to listen to the stories of these people. Here How God is moving in their lives. Sit with them, cry with them and walk with them. How would the Jesus that I am trying so hard to be like react to all of these people?

I know that God can do powerful things beyond what I can even imagine. I desperately want to see that happen in Africa. I believe that God can heal the sick, the sick with AIDS! I believe that we can have governments who rule justly and who want the best for the people and the country. It starts with me though. It starts with me taking a stand against injustice and not looking the other way when someone needs help. If we all stopped to share a little love to one person, imagine the difference it could make. It starts with me to make changes within myself and how I view and speak about my country and my continent. And it starts with me to pray and beg for God to move in Africa. I can't wait for whats ahead....Stand up against whats wrong. I really pray that I spend everyday like Jesus would have. And that I have the courage and the passion to fight for those who cant...

I love Africa. I love how God sees Africa. Cause God is the ruler and the creator and the all powerful.. Lets see Him move in our continent.

My new home

2009-01-27T15:02:00.000+02:00

And here I am.... In Mozambique. I can't believe it. Im not sure that it has actually really hit me yet. Saying goodbye has been so difficult. But what I had the greatest evening with my friends praying for me and a ripper of a sermon preached by my friend Debbie- God is a BIG God. And there are somethings that only He can do. I know if I was still in Rwanda I would be hearing a roar of Hallelujahs from all around me. :)

So any way. Im here. This week I am just meeting with people and getting settled into my new home.

So will let you know of anything exciting that happens.

Its hot here... Very hot... Sheesh... BUT woohooo... Im in Mozambique!!!

This is where it begins...

2009-01-23T13:13:00.001+02:00

Blogging... HA.... who would have thought that I would even try something like this... But I am told its like having a diary on my computer.So thats what I'm holding on to. So hopefully I can keep you all updated about whats going on in my life.Hope it makes sense, hope it works... here goes.. Heres where I am at right now....

So, in three days time I am leaving my beautiful home in Durban, South Africa for a new adventure in Mozambique. In July last year God called me to serve alongside the Youth For Christ team in Maputo for a year. So thats what I am doing.

I am SO excited...

I never thought that God would call me to do something like this right now. I thought that I still had so much to learn before i was "qualified" enough to go out and do the whole missionary thing... But as usual, God has different plans for me. The most awesome thing is that I dont need to have a clue how to do anything while I'm there- cause really when I am weak, God is strong. And I have a feeling that He really wanted to show me what it is really like to do things in His strength not my own.

Am I scared? Terrified! But I cant wait!

I hope that you keep checking up for updates on whats happening in my life. I want God to do great things in and through me this year... Watch this space. :)

Keep praying!