hosts (Papa Kent, Mama Shay, and Terry) when I arrived in South
Africa was that we had the opportunity to go to Mozambique. Little
did they know that God had told me in a dream that He wanted me to go
Mozambique in my future. This was the first of many confirmations,
that South Africa is where I need to be, that have happened since
being here. Everything that I have been experienced is exactly what I
needed to see and hear. It’s like God went through a buffet line and
picked out my favorite foods, foods that are scary to try for the
first time, and food that will keep me healthy. I know God does
things like that regularly (not the buffet line, but planning our
futures like that) but it’s amazing how perfect this trip is for me!
This isn’t what this blog is about…so consider that a “preview”
to my next blog!
country in Africa, with the highest unemployment rate. Most people
are farmers, since a lot of the country lives in rural areas, which
is perfect because Mozambique actually has awesome gardening soil! My team stayed in Matola, which is not too far away from the
capital, Maputo. The line between poverty and middle and upper class
is so distinct and you can literally tell where the South
Africa/Mozambique border line is when driving into Mozambique. The
South African side of the border area is greener, has paved roads,
and “legitimate” houses. The Mozambican side of the border is
dusty/sandy, has no paved roads except for major highways, and the
houses are actually huts, where your walls are wooden reeds tied
together very tightly. Someone told me to watch carefully as I cross
the border because the differences are extremely obvious, and that
person was right, except for it’s not necessary to watch carefully
because it is that noticeable.
What did we actually do there, ministry
wise, you are probably asking? Terry is friends with a missionary
from South Africa, Amy. We stayed at her place and served her and her
ministry. We served her by clearing out her garden…or should I say
tropical rain forest? In the back of the house there is a rectangle
area of space, not too big, that we planned to turn into an organic
garden! We had to weed everything but the living trees in the yard.
Weeding that area took hours and hours and hours! We cleared out baby
trees, corn stalks, dead trees, trash, etc. After hours of work,
sweating, bad tan lines, awesome but totally wrong jokes, we
completed the garden! We planted lettuce, onions, tomatoes, carrots,
and beans. The proceeds from the ripened veggies will be going to the
ministry she works with, and will feed the people who she is reaching
there.
we
Mozambique and the rural areas of Matola, Mozambique. The ministry
started off being for prostitutes in Maputo. In Mozambique, if your
Mother is a prostitute, you have that same future: being a
prostitute. Also, the people there strongly believe that if you
sacrifice someone in your family (not sacrifice in the
witchcraft/cult/seance way, but throw someone out into the street and
give them up way) that the rest of the family will prosper. So a lot
of times the family will be having money problems, and will throw the
daughter out of the house and, in American terms, disown her. If you
are that girl thrown out by her family, you don’t have many options
when it comes to finding food. In most cases, that girl will turn to
prostitution because she doesn’t want to starve. In the case for both
girls (girls who “have to be” prostitutes because their Mother
was, and girls who were sacrificed), they absolutely hate selling
their bodies in that way. They depend on alcohol and drugs to numb
themselves when they do “business” and develop nasty addictions.
They live in abandoned buildings that are run down and destroyed from
bombs with other prostitutes. When Amy and the other women who are
part of this ministry invite them to live in nice homes where they
can work to reverse the cycle of prostitution and destruction, we are
able to see their skewed sense of worth. After living in these homes
for a week tops, all the women, except for 2, leave because “it’s
too nice” in the homes and they “don’t deserve it.” Little do
they know that they are Princesses and that the Creator of the
universe loves them more than they could ever know and he finds them
beautiful and so worthy.
The women of this ministry disciple
these beautiful princesses and develop solid friendships with them.
The homes always have open doors to them, they just need to be
willing to leave their ways behind. The ministry opened a children’s
home in a more rural area, where some amazing women take care of the
children of the prostitutes. The lifestyle these women are/were
living in is not a safe environment for children to grow up in,
needless to say. So you will find a hut that is home to at least 20
people, children and adults, right down the road leading from a major
road. When you are about to turn into the property, you can hear the
children screaming and running to greet you with grins that are
almost bigger than their faces. There will be atleast 3 little
children trying to crawl up you so you can hold them, while you are
already holding one toddler, and will be saying “Mana Cait, Mana
Cait, Mana Cait”. That’s how it was for me, and I never wished I
was an octopus more in my life.
God told me in a dream, while I was still in Mexico, that in my
future, he wants me to be a missionary in Mozambique for 2 years. And
right when we got to South Africa I hear that I am going to
Mozambique in 2 days and that I will be spending quite a bit of time
there. Are you kidding me? While working with the kids, I really came
alive. Not that I was alive before, the kids just gave me this sense
of love and joy that I’d never experienced. In highschool I went
through severe depression, and that robbed my love for children. Now
I’ve claimed that love back, but I sometimes had trouble believing
that I really received all that love back and that it was enough for
me to offer to the babies and kids I meet. But during my days spent
with the kids at this center, all that doubt was called out for what
it is: LIES. I came to the realization on my own, and had it
confirmed by several people several different times, that my love for
children is very apparent and that I am good with them. I suppose
this was so hard for me to believe because I’d been told that I’m not
good with kids, and I used to focus in on the negative side of
things. And finally, I believe that I have the love of Christ to
offer to the kids I meet!
-Proverbs 31:8-9
this trip is payed for! Praise God! I am still accepting support
money, graciously! If you are interested in supporting me, you can
support me online using your credit or debit card by clicking (Get
this!) the “Support Me” button! Once you get there, click on
“Novas Project” when it asks for what program I am in. I can’t wait to see him provide like crazy for some more! The whole support raising process is such a Glorious Testimony to God!
- Please be praying that I would not be
distracted by homesickness as Christmas draws nearer! It’s going to
be hard to keep my mind from my crazy family during this time of
year!
- Be praying that God would wreck me for
the people I will be meeting in the near future, through market
ministry, through church services, and at the orphanage I will be
spending three weeks at.
- Pray that God would bring me over my last
financial hump of $450!
- Be praying that God would continue to
teach me about who I am in Him, my identity in Christ.
- Please lift up the other Novas Teams in Nicaragua, Uganda, and
Swaziland as they are starting their ministries and starting their
journeys in these amazing countries.
- Lastly, be praying that God would just
shower me with confidence, that I would be able to see and feel and
be drenched in the authority that was given to me!
