Hey All

 

So I've been here 2 weeks and had the adventure of a lifetime. Not all of it that exciting, as we sat for 3 days in the back of a truck in the blazing sunlight in 40+ degree heat all packed together like sardines amongst our luggage. It was so intense and they weren't short days either our days on the road were about 17 hours and so so cramped. We actually got a flat tire on our trip in the middle on know where in the dark and our spare was also flat. No one stops to help in this country and you almost wouldn't want them to and it's mostly trucks full of men going pass. But after 2 hours trying to figure out what to do one of our team chased down a big truck with air brakes and was able to inflate the tire then we superglued the hole up and were on our way. Praise God someone knew what they were doing. This same guy is also going to Sudan for a year so I was pretty happy with that. Good to know someone who is handy! Anyway that night we couldn't make it to our destination so ended up camping out the back of a police checkpoint.

I think everyone wanted to die on that trip! I can kinda laugh about it now but really it was the longest drive ever!!! I'm not looking forward to the return journey.

Ok, so we have been at a conference in Beira for a week and have seen a blind person see and a deaf person hear. The blind person was healed when a girl from our group prayed for her so that was pretty exciting. I also prayed for 4 ladies and all of them were healed of various pain in their bodies. So awesome. The praise and worship is very raucous too with everyone dancing and singing as loud as they can. So its been fun, but now I am very tired.

 

The poverty here is extreme. As we drove down we saw many bush fires which I came to learn later were made to force rodents into traps for the people to eat. What the fail to realize is they are destroying the very bush the rodents live off. Education is a huge need here. I'm also told of fishermen putting poison in the water to catch fish but it kills everything in the sea. Hunger drives people to extreme measures.

I am staying with a family in Pemba. They have a small 3 bedroom derelict flat but I'm sure are very fortunate. The generosity of these people astound me, they give out of the very little they have and do so, so cheerfully. Such a servant attitude, it puts me to shame.

Water is also a luxury here so we have bucket showers which still work as good as anything. I tell you what though, after 3 days on the back of the truck, on dusty roads and nowhere to wash it took more than one bucket shower to scrub off all the dirt, maybe 3 before you actually felt fairly clean.

 

I find the Mozambique people really lovely, they are very friendly and don't hassle you. They definitely have a hard life though. We were walking through a village yesterday and stopped to pray for an old man who sometime ago and fallen off his bike and thinks he broke his hip. His one leg was a good 3-4inches shorter in the thigh than the other. There is no help here, its so sad. He had to just live with the pain and his leg was literally wasting away, all for the sake of an operation that could have fixed him. He lived with his wife and an orphan they had taken in, in a tiny makeshift hut with hardly anything. Work is not an easy thing to find and everyone sits in the markets or on the side of the road selling the same thing. It must be very hard to get ahead without education. I've seen children running around with bloated tummies and sores all over their bodies, women covered in boils, many cripples and many blind and deaf. It's a sad sight for sure.

So we must be truly grateful for what a blessed life we live. I find it so hard hearing people complain on our team with this all around them, but many a young and for some it is their first time away from home, so I guess it's hard.

Well my time is running out, I hope you are all doing super well and God is blessing you all. My love to you.