As I write this title I think of the dead body that I transported today. (See story of that in separate blog entry). I asked the question to another person was she a believer? The one I asked didn’t understand my question at first. Then I said is she in heaven? He said no she never accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior. She left behind 4 children and a husband. When I thought about it I thought how sad.
Now that I’m home I have tears in my eyes as I think about her and wonder how many others are out there who have never heard. Is there enough time to tell them all? I ask myself the hard question: have I been diligent to share with those around me? Have I shared with those who God puts in my path, I don’t want to miss opportunities which He has for me. I’m sure I’ve missed opportunities before and I don’t want to miss them again.The lady who died lived in the same area as the Makhuwa lady who I saw the other day who I will be visiting on Tuesday. It is in the town of Murrupalu about 2 hours away. I keep ending up on that same road there. I keep thinking what does God have planned for this area? What does He want me to do in this area? I know it has to be something because it is not just coincidence the number of times I have ended up there these past few days.
One thing which led me to the mission field was a mission trip which I took to Brazil. It was a trip of showing the Jesus film in villages along the Amazon River. While I was there I became so overwhelmed for the missionary who was left behind to disciple the new believers. I said this one person can’t do it by himself. I think the same thing with these people in Murrupula, if and when they make decisions for Christ are they getting the basic Christian teaching which they need? Are they getting the teachings? A hard concept for nationals here seems to be to understand that they can have a personal relationship with God and how He can be their friend. I think they see Him as someone above them, someone they might have a hard time relating to.
I know God has something planned for this area of the Nampula province I would ask that you would pray for the people in this area. Pray that they would have an open heart and mind. Pray that I would have wisdom and endurance to follow God’s plan for me for this area. I think there is something He wants me to do there and I want to be open to it.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Next time ask more questions...
My phone rang at about 7:45 am. It was a pastor wanting to know if I could transport a dead body. His wife’s niece had died during the night and they needed the body transported to her house. I said I have something to do from 11 am until 3 pm. But, then I said lets go. I’ll be at your house at 8:30. I went to his house and then we went to the mortuary.
The body was brought out on a stretcher and put in the back of the truck. The corpse was covered in a white sheet from head to toe. Then we were on our way with a car full of people. I was making sure to drive carefully and slower than usual because I didn’t want the body to fall out the back since the tailgate wouldn’t close because of the body.
We got on the main road and about 35 kilometers outside of town I began to realize that we were going out a lot further than I thought we would. We kept going and going. I thought she had lived in town I didn’t realize until later that we are going to this pastor’s hometown area which is about 2 hours away. I thought I have an appointment and I’m going to miss it because I didn’t ask where we were going in enough detail. Of course then I also felt guilty because I was frustrated that I was missing something I wanted to do when this family was dealing with the death of a loved one.
We continued on our way. It was a challenge to go slow because this is a road I’m use to going kind of fast on because it is a good paved road. But I kept slowing down as I remembered the body in the back.
We turned off the main road and there were people there waiting for us. A common thing here is for the ladies to loudly wail as their form of crying. The ladies on the road began doing that while others followed us in the car. We arrived at the house and the body was taken inside the house.
We stayed for a little while and then we were on our way back to Nampula. Then after dropping off people I went to the mortuary and dropped off the stretcher and sheets.
I arrived a little late for my meeting. But next time I’ll remember to ask more questions with the main one being where will be taken the body??? And I was reminded of how God isn’t surprised by any events of a day, He knows what is going on and has things coordinated for me.
The body was brought out on a stretcher and put in the back of the truck. The corpse was covered in a white sheet from head to toe. Then we were on our way with a car full of people. I was making sure to drive carefully and slower than usual because I didn’t want the body to fall out the back since the tailgate wouldn’t close because of the body.
We got on the main road and about 35 kilometers outside of town I began to realize that we were going out a lot further than I thought we would. We kept going and going. I thought she had lived in town I didn’t realize until later that we are going to this pastor’s hometown area which is about 2 hours away. I thought I have an appointment and I’m going to miss it because I didn’t ask where we were going in enough detail. Of course then I also felt guilty because I was frustrated that I was missing something I wanted to do when this family was dealing with the death of a loved one.
We continued on our way. It was a challenge to go slow because this is a road I’m use to going kind of fast on because it is a good paved road. But I kept slowing down as I remembered the body in the back.
We turned off the main road and there were people there waiting for us. A common thing here is for the ladies to loudly wail as their form of crying. The ladies on the road began doing that while others followed us in the car. We arrived at the house and the body was taken inside the house.
We stayed for a little while and then we were on our way back to Nampula. Then after dropping off people I went to the mortuary and dropped off the stretcher and sheets.
I arrived a little late for my meeting. But next time I’ll remember to ask more questions with the main one being where will be taken the body??? And I was reminded of how God isn’t surprised by any events of a day, He knows what is going on and has things coordinated for me.
Transportation please
What have I done these past two days? I’ve transported people both living and dead. Let me explain…I’ll start with the living.
Yesterday I walked out of the house and I was stopped by a national asking where another missionary’s house was. I said come with me and I’ll take you there. Believe you me that was easier than my telling him how to get there. I took him and dropped him off at the missionary’s office.
After that I saw a German friend walking so I picked her up and dropped her off at her house. Then I continued on my way. Later in the day after attending a lunchtime prayer time I saw Gabriel, one of the street kids. Let me rephrase that he saw me and ran up to me. He said I haven’t seen you in Nampula in a while where have you been? We talked some and then he asked me to take him to his uncle’s house. I took him there and dropped him off.
The house where I dropped him off is close to one of the pastor’s who I work with a lot. The pastor’s wife was at the side of the road and she flagged me down. Its amazing how quickly and easily they can pick out the missionary’s car. She was on the way to the hospital to visit her niece. I took her to the hospital and dropped her off. Then I went to my next appointment.
Yesterday I walked out of the house and I was stopped by a national asking where another missionary’s house was. I said come with me and I’ll take you there. Believe you me that was easier than my telling him how to get there. I took him and dropped him off at the missionary’s office.
After that I saw a German friend walking so I picked her up and dropped her off at her house. Then I continued on my way. Later in the day after attending a lunchtime prayer time I saw Gabriel, one of the street kids. Let me rephrase that he saw me and ran up to me. He said I haven’t seen you in Nampula in a while where have you been? We talked some and then he asked me to take him to his uncle’s house. I took him there and dropped him off.
The house where I dropped him off is close to one of the pastor’s who I work with a lot. The pastor’s wife was at the side of the road and she flagged me down. Its amazing how quickly and easily they can pick out the missionary’s car. She was on the way to the hospital to visit her niece. I took her to the hospital and dropped her off. Then I went to my next appointment.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
McDonalds
Of course a trip to the United States wouldn't be the same without a trip to McDonalds. It was interesting because when I returned to Mozambique I was showing the picture of Ronald McDonald and myself on the beach. Well to us Americans it is just a known fact that Ronald McDonald is a statue in this picture. But the Mozambicans all asked if he was a real person sitting on the bench. Different ways of looking at things! Yes, McDonalds was as good as I remembered.
Vacation!
For a few weeks in May and June I was able to take a vacation to visit family and friends in the United States. It was truly a great time of fun and fellowship and enjoyment of things which I don't always get to enjoy in Mozambique. One of the highlights included a night of a Christian music concert followed by dessert at Chili's restaurant. The night still wasn't over then...After the dessert was the midnight trip to Wal Mart followed by a trip to the automatic car wash. It was a fun night.
Other highlights included Busch Gardens, St Augustine, Myrtle Beach, fried snickers, seafood buffets, BBQ, dolphin watching, Putt Putt, basketball, and many other fun activities. However one of the best things was just being with family and friends no matter what we were doing.
I thank God for His coordination and planning of the trip. It was truly a blessing from Him.
A birthday celebration
Today I had the privilege of attending a birthday celebration for a Mozambican family. It was a time to celebrate the birthday of their three children, a 9 year old, 5 year old and 3 year old. Birthdays are not always celebrated because a lot of times the Mozambican families do not have the money to celebrate. For this family the actual birthdays were in April and June. There were probably about 50 people at the celebration.
It was a really neat celebration starting at about 12:30 with a worship service. It was a time to honor God for the children which he has blessed this family with. The father commented that his children were God’s children and not his children that was a really neat comment to hear.
Actually for me the celebration preparation started this past Friday when I took the dad to his hometown to pick up goats and chickens which would be the food for the celebration. We left Nampula with an empty truck and about 7 people in the truck. Throughout the day we picked up and dropped off people so much so that I stopped counting. I just know that we arrived back in Nampula with people, 2 goats, chickens, peanuts, and oranges in the back of the truck.
During our travels I saw a Makhuwa speaking Mozambican lady who really touched my heart. We were sitting in the truck watching the slight rain waiting on some people we were picking up. As I looked at her smiling yet weathered faced I thought I wonder who has shared the Gospel with her. Has anyone? Does she know the truth? I must say I don’t know if any person has touched my heart like she did.
That day I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to her but I continued to see her face in my mind and I can still see it now. She was the mother of a Mozambican who I know but I never see. Well when I got to the party today the son, Pedro, was there. As I saw him I kept thinking about his mother. She so badly wanted to ride with us to Nampula so she could see her son but she wasn’t able to on that day. (I think that would have been her first time in a car.) When I saw her son today I knew that I had to set up a time to go visit with his mom. So we are going Tuesday so I can visit with his mom and of course he will get to visit with her as well.
Back to today’s celebration, after the worship service we had lunch and it was good. There was goat stew, chicken, and even pork along with beans and rice. They even had Cokes which is a special treat. We enjoyed the meal and then came the time for cupcakes. There weren’t enough cupcakes for everyone to have one, it was so hard to hand out the cupcakes and choose who would get one. Usually they are good about sharing but sometimes there just isn’t enough to share. There were probably about 50 or so people who were there for the party. Of course that doesn’t include the ones who showed up from the neighborhood.
The cupcakes were made by another missionary who also attended the celebration. It was funny because as we were waiting for the cupcake time the pastor and others who were sitting around our table, probably 12 or so of us were talking in Makhuwa. I could tell they were trying to figure out how they would get a cupcake if the cupcakes were just for the kids. At the end of the conversation the Pastor looked at the lady who made the cupcakes and in Portuguese said I was just telling them that the cupcakes are for the children. I spoke up and said No you didn’t. You should have seen them laugh and the Pastor knew he had been caught. It was funny to see their surprised look that I understand the Makhuwa and body languages enough to know that they were plotting how to get the cupcakes. One of them said little by little you are learning Makhuwa. I said yes very little by little.
It was a really enjoyable birthday celebration with the focus being on just celebrating God, family and friends. I would ask that you pray for me as I travel to meet with Pedro’s mom on Tuesday. I’ll keep you updated on how that trip and meeting goes.
It was a really neat celebration starting at about 12:30 with a worship service. It was a time to honor God for the children which he has blessed this family with. The father commented that his children were God’s children and not his children that was a really neat comment to hear.
Actually for me the celebration preparation started this past Friday when I took the dad to his hometown to pick up goats and chickens which would be the food for the celebration. We left Nampula with an empty truck and about 7 people in the truck. Throughout the day we picked up and dropped off people so much so that I stopped counting. I just know that we arrived back in Nampula with people, 2 goats, chickens, peanuts, and oranges in the back of the truck.
During our travels I saw a Makhuwa speaking Mozambican lady who really touched my heart. We were sitting in the truck watching the slight rain waiting on some people we were picking up. As I looked at her smiling yet weathered faced I thought I wonder who has shared the Gospel with her. Has anyone? Does she know the truth? I must say I don’t know if any person has touched my heart like she did.
That day I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to her but I continued to see her face in my mind and I can still see it now. She was the mother of a Mozambican who I know but I never see. Well when I got to the party today the son, Pedro, was there. As I saw him I kept thinking about his mother. She so badly wanted to ride with us to Nampula so she could see her son but she wasn’t able to on that day. (I think that would have been her first time in a car.) When I saw her son today I knew that I had to set up a time to go visit with his mom. So we are going Tuesday so I can visit with his mom and of course he will get to visit with her as well.
Back to today’s celebration, after the worship service we had lunch and it was good. There was goat stew, chicken, and even pork along with beans and rice. They even had Cokes which is a special treat. We enjoyed the meal and then came the time for cupcakes. There weren’t enough cupcakes for everyone to have one, it was so hard to hand out the cupcakes and choose who would get one. Usually they are good about sharing but sometimes there just isn’t enough to share. There were probably about 50 or so people who were there for the party. Of course that doesn’t include the ones who showed up from the neighborhood.
The cupcakes were made by another missionary who also attended the celebration. It was funny because as we were waiting for the cupcake time the pastor and others who were sitting around our table, probably 12 or so of us were talking in Makhuwa. I could tell they were trying to figure out how they would get a cupcake if the cupcakes were just for the kids. At the end of the conversation the Pastor looked at the lady who made the cupcakes and in Portuguese said I was just telling them that the cupcakes are for the children. I spoke up and said No you didn’t. You should have seen them laugh and the Pastor knew he had been caught. It was funny to see their surprised look that I understand the Makhuwa and body languages enough to know that they were plotting how to get the cupcakes. One of them said little by little you are learning Makhuwa. I said yes very little by little.
It was a really enjoyable birthday celebration with the focus being on just celebrating God, family and friends. I would ask that you pray for me as I travel to meet with Pedro’s mom on Tuesday. I’ll keep you updated on how that trip and meeting goes.
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