In the business of dreaming ......!

I have always admired optimists. I don't know what it is, but they seem to be so positive ..... even if they are standing on a landmine. My natural tendency is to be a realist. I would go so far to even dare say ...... a positive realist. Wherever I go I end up with either a trial balance or a balance sheet summary ...... so it is quite obvious that I would be a realist I guess. I heard someone whisper to me the other day though that if you don't believe in dreams you are not a realist!

Well ..... yes we are in the business of dreaming in Mozambique. One of our dreams was to make sure that every kid in our bush schools would have the opportunity to sit in his/her own desk. It was a wild dream ...... I mean we are in the middle of nowhere. And after some interesting miracles it happened. A junior primary school in Canada - Thorsby (or as they say in Mozambique "Torsbie"). They donated an additional 24 desks with money the kids got together with some awesome projects.

Anyway .... when our kids heard their desks were coming they prepared a great feast at the school. Everyone got into carrying and helping putting the desks in their classrooms. A great day full of fun.

Here is a few photos to share the day ......

Everyone wanted to get on the truck first. "That is my desk", I heard someone screaming.

This guy decided to park in his desk first. That smile said everything.

Come on guys ...... some mathematics needed to fit that desk through that narrow opening. And then I counted 10 trying to push it from both sides.

And everyone had a desk ....... we could squeeze in about 4 students per desk but at the end of the day no one was without his own desk.

Home is where the heart is!

"Home is where the heart is" .... or so they say. I love Mozambique and I dearly love all of Mozambique's inhabitants. The good and the ...... well those who are still on their way seeking meaning to life. But today I missed my home town and all the people I know so I decided to throw in a few photos to make me feel all Capetonian again!

We had an awesome day today. Just watch the blog postings to follow for the next few days. We delivered school desks to kids who never had the privilege to sit in any desk .... never mind a school desk. We helped others who are not as fortunate as we are .... those with leprosy ....., the sick and those looking for meaning in life.

With all of that said .... it was a full day but my mind kept wandering back to my birthplace .... Cape Town. I missed the mountains, the rivers ..... and yes ..... the sea. I missed the smells and sounds of the place where I grew up. Why? I don't now ......! Anyway so I decided to post a few pictures of Cape Town ..... and hey .... if you have not been in Cape Town it's time to save up and visit South Africa, Cape Town. And who knows if I am in the vicinity I will even give you a free tour.

Blessings to all who constantly pray for us and the work in the great country (my home), Mozambique!

"It can end in a whimper, instead of a bang!"

I have been thinking lately (ok just lately) about life's ultimate question. If there was one ultimate question in life ..... what would it be? Because of my background obviously many would reply that the most important question a person can ask is: "Does God really exist?" And you would have missed completely. About 80 % of the people I know would affirm that there is a God somewhere. So what? That doesn't mean much.


Quite frankly, modern man doesn't care whether God exist or not. That's not his chief concern. I think (even where I work in the middle of the bush in Africa) the basic question of man today, is the question of the meaning of human existence. The ultimate question then is not whether God exist. We already know the answer to that one. We are born with it. The ultimate question is: "Why do I exist?" As Transformational Engineer I am hammered daily with this question.


Reading an article the other day by Louis H. Valbracht, I had to laugh. He was talking about what would be on your tombstone the day you die. He jokingly added a few tombstone headings:


"Nash's Ashes" - that took care of him.
A man named Thorp: "Thorpe's Corpse."
And then .... my favourite ..... a lady called Mary who grew up and died all in the same little town. Her tombstone read:


Here lies the bones of Mary Jones, Her death had no terrors, Born a virgin, lived a virgin, died a virgin, No runs, no hits, no errors.


And you know what ..... life can be like that. As the poet put it: "It can end in a whimper, instead of a bang."


This posting is to all those people who puts themselves second or last to serve like Jesus did. To show love .... to show HIS Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. People who are not waiting or living in a Gospel of Evacuation ...... but living NOW ..... showing the love of Christ NOW to all those who need it.


One way of BEING and DOING is feeding extremely hungry people on our area. The photo below shows one of the families receiving maize flour which would take them through a month (one meal a day).


We also provided food in the far northern parts of Mozambique in Senna and Mutarara. Our Church leaders from the area came from far to receive their 3 bags of maize flour to survive through the hungry times.

Our mission truck on treacherous roads loaded with maize for our hungry leaders in Northern Mozambique.
Many of our church leaders had to cross the mighty Zambezi river infested with crocodile and hippos to collect their food.
And ..... then the smiling faces as they heard the news of food arriving.
The only transport available to carry the precious cargo: A "Hunter" bicycle.


Thanks to all who made this possible. Rick and Heather accompanied our truck to the north to make sure the precious cargo arrives safely. Thank to Heather for taking some of the pics on the way. Thanks to all the Canadian sponsors for helping in these trying times and to Bellville for caring! You are all wonderful agents of hope!

Another new school open ..... and they are adorable!

Photo 1: Meet the class of 2009 - all pre-scholars! Ain't they adorable?

KIDS!!! Just one look at them ..... and you know creation is a beautiful reality. We just opened another bush school - our existing one is currently bursting at 280 screaming juniors. The difference with out new school is that it caters for pre-scholars in an area where there is very little change of good education. Wish you were here.

Photo 2: Got the book, got the attitude ..... and ready to sing! The amazing look must be because I am on the other side of the camera. I must look very ugly judging by her amazing look.

Their first Bible story was something not to be missed. With big eyes they followed Adam and Eve and off course ....... the snake ......... the temptation ........ the apple ............. and then sang a song, danced and started colouring in as if nothing happened. For all of them this is their first introduction to a school and a teacher. Some came with tears, others with fears but at the end of the day they all smiled.

MEANWHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE

Our other bush school are serving about 280 kids daily with a good meal. That adds up to nearly 40 000 plates of food per year. Here is Fernando (he has been with us for more than 10 years) getting the maize meal (pap) or satza as we call it here. The menu for the day was porridge, beans and "capentas" - type of a small transparent fish that provides good protein.

Photo below: Hungry kids roasting their raw maize on the cob.

Gates unleashes mosquitoes!

I was amazed as I read the heading! As we are right in the middle of our peak malaria season I though to publish the article I got from http://www.news24.com/ . We have so many people around us that are still dying because of malaria. I had it several times (and so everyone that is working around us) and believe me the chills, fevers, pains and aches are absolutely awefull and deadly in some cases if not treated.
Long Beach - Bill Gates released a jar of mosquitoes onstage at a technology conference to make a point about malaria prevention.

"There's no reason only poor people should have the experience," the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft said at the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference on Wednesday in Long Beach.

Audience members, including technology leaders, laughed nervously as the insects swarmed across the auditorium. Gates assured them that the bugs were not carrying malaria.

Gates talked about his philanthropic foundation's fight against malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that kills more than one million people a year, mostly in Africa. Gates said fighting the disease must be a higher priority.
"There is more money put into baldness drugs than into malaria," Gates said.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $1.4bn to fight malaria and is backing a vaccine that could reduce deaths by more than two-thirds if it is effective, he said.

Being a mother at the age of 8!

It's just after nine o'clock when I arrive at our bush school. It's humid and we are sweating offloading the generator. I am carrying my laptop, printer, down loadable camera ..... and their is no visible sense of technophobia today. I am ready to register our more than 200 kids.

The kids off course were ecstatic with all the activity around. Everyone was ready to pose for their photo. I have been humbled many times in Mozambique ..... over and over again. But I was not ready for what I was about to experience today. As we were registering our kids (and believe me they were far beyond cute) I heard a baby cry. I thought that maybe some of our mothers accompanied one of our kids to school but the cry came from our Grade 2 class where we were taking photos of the kids. When I saw one of our students carrying a baby I got up (just a little bit annoyed - I mean I was hot, sweaty and wanted to quickly run through our 60 odd Grade 2 class) and asked the girl who's baby it was. Her answer came just as quickly as some of her small friends around her: "I am now the mother", she said with a cute smile. "How is that possible", I asked.

I heard that her mom died not so long ago. Just after Christmas! Her mom did not see the new year. She explained that there was no one at home to look after the baby but she wanted to register herself for school today. And there she was ....... feeding a baby with her brother. She already took responsibility for the baby and her young brother. I nearly wept ...... (ok I did!)

Here is a 8 year old girl that should play with dolls and experience a care-free life as a kid. Africa took that away from her. She seemed very content with her situation ...... but it is still so wrong. Off course we helped and tried to find someone that would be able to look after the baby.

I think of our developed world. A story like this is absolutely unheard off. And yet ...... it is happening ...... in Africa ...... again. It is so easy to be displeased with our own situations and small petty problems ..... until you are totally just humbled by a small 8 year old girl with a big smile!

Thank you all though for helping and sponsoring our kids. You make it possible for us to help kids like this and come up with solutions with the communities around us. We still need so many sponsors to help our kids through school - thank you for caring!


Our Grade 2 class receiving their books and stationary to start the 2009 school year.

Knocking on Heaven's door - an African thunderstorm.

I just love African thunder storms. I love rain period! It feels like it washes away the old things - it brings life. It invigerates my soul. And the smell ...... . I love the way it feels on my skin and face and that blurry vision as I look up cathing the raindrops with my eyes. And oh yes .... the taste of fresh water. I guess you get what I am trying to say?


Local Mozambiqueans waiting for the storm as it approaches. Their shelter would propably not help that much!


And our house is just on the other side of the road ......!


Makes me think of John 7:37-38 which says: Jesus cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says."

And as we were driving back to our bush house .... this guy was enjoying a nice rest in the rain! That's the way to do it - take it as it comes!