The mighty Zambezi river - not to be tamed!

The mighty Zambezi river - angry during flooding. I never feel at ease when I cross this huge river. It is the 4th longest river in Africa (2 574km) and crosses through 9 countries. Its waters are dangerous, raging at times and beautiful during a sunrise or sunset. Although it's a fisherman's paradise ..... hunting the all famous Tiger fish that's not really why I love the area. (OK I have to admit ..... I am not a fisherman!) It is the people. Those people who live next to the dangerous river - which have taken many lives over the last few years due to floods.

We are getting ready to serve the people again next to the river. We are joining up with Wheels for God to train and reach out to many of the river people. We will be stationed in Sena next to the Zambezi. We will also be heading out to Chemba to show people the Jesus story in their own mother tongue for the first time ever. Although their dialect is available in written and video format these people in the bush has never heard the Jesus story in video format in their own language.

Getting loaded was an interesting endevour. Food, clothing, 30 bicycles from Wheels for God, wood, training materials ..... and more food was fitted into limited spaces.

Photo: Collecting clothing and loading the "old Ford" - better than a Chevy!

Photo: "Will everything fit?" My African brothers said: "Easy"

Photo: It was the bicycles for 30 pastors who was loaded first.

Photo: "Is that truck full?" If Dwight is watching ..... don't worry .... we won't overload it .... I

think!

PS Watch this space for the next week for updates on an interesting outreach next to the Zambezi.

The Rhythm Of An African Church

"You must come Maroeti. Bring your Word ..... you must come and feast with us! Come with power ..... we must hear the words of God!"

And so Sunday after Sunday I hear these words as I am invited to preach yet again. I pray, prepare, saddle up and go! It's a genuine invitation to share with them. How can I refuse? We sit in a circle. The African custom! It's only in the West where you would find someone standing in front while the others hide behind a pillar.

There is a distinct sound when you arrive at an African church. The rythm gets you immediately. It doesn't matter if you are 9 months old or 99 years .... your feet can't stay in one place - even if you try. No fancy sound system, no lights - yes no make-up for the preacher. It's African style - genuine ....! May I add - there was some ushers at this mornings Sunday meeting at the river. They ushered a few donkeys and bicycles ..... but that was it. No chairs ...... either! Everyone wanted to be infront. Have you noticed how many people scamper for the chairs in the backrow of a church?

Amazingly the service is always well organized. There is no "stage manager" sweating to get the powerpoint, the church band and the preacher sinchronized! And oh yes ...... the preacher and people don't wear any watches either. Oh my! And the sound of the drums ..... no one complaining that is too loud ..... the youth are moving too rythmic ..... too seductively. Nope - just worship.

PHOTO: Ok .... church is serious business. The "gallery" trying to comprehend the words that is being spoken!

The sharing of the Word of God is a highlight. After many "amens" and "hallelujas" a few would immediately stand up and start dancing out of pure joy. I love it! I love the authenticity of the African church. You bring yourself before God ....... and that's it!

PHOTO: The offering is not measured by how good the preacher preaches. Nope ..... we bring because we love.

No tea and biscuits after the service! Just goat, maize meal, some beans and a cup of water. Everyone is smiling. "It was a great service", I hear one say mixed with laughter. "Next week we do it again at my village" the one pastor says with shining white teeth and a few drops of sweat on his forehead. "Yes baba, yes" I say!

"Bush factories" still producing

Through all the hardships, sickness, death, hunger and hard work our ladies in the Ladies Ministry - "Simukai" (which literally means "stand up") continued to produce

• School uniforms
• Orphan clothing
• bead work
• and aprons.

The money they collect by selling these articles goes back to them and their families. It has provided a great means of income for struggling families. Thanks to all who are supporting their efforts.

Pump-it ........ pump-it!

You might have followed our community pump-saga. Well I popped in yesterday just to see if people were enjoying the fresh water from the pump. After many oooooo's and aaaaa's to show their appreciation ..... I took a photo to confirm it is still working. Or as one child said: "We pump it mister ....we pump it." Ok I can add no more.

.

I just couldn't resist .....

I ussually don't do this but my goodness when I saw these picture and the way God created ..... I was in awe. When God creates ..... he does it well! Enjoy

Watch the rare wonders of nature…….
The classical natural wonders are huge and hard to miss - vast canyons, giant mountains and the like. Many of the most fantastic natural phenomena, however, are also least easy to spot. Some are incredibly rare while others are located in hard-to-reach parts of the planet. From moving rocks to mammatus clouds and red tides to fire rainbows, here are seven of the most spectacular phenomenal wonders of the natural world.

1. MOVING STONES
The mysterious moving stones of the packed-mud desert of Death Valley have been a center of scientific controversy for decades. Rocks weighing up to hundreds of pounds have been known to move up to hundreds of yards at a time. Some scientists have proposed that a combination of strong winds and surface ice account for these movements. However, this theory does not explain evidence of different rocks starting side by side and moving at different rates and in disparate directions. Moreover, the physics calculations do not fully support this theory as wind speeds of hundreds of miles per hour would be needed to move some of the stones.

2. COLUMNAR BASALT

When a thick lava flow cools it contracts vertically but cracks perpendicular to its directional flow with remarkable geometric regularity - in most cases forming a regular grid of remarkable hexagonal extrusions that almost appear to be made by man. One of the most famous such examples is the Giant's Causeway on the coast of Ireland (shown above) though the largest and most widely recognized would be Devil's Tower in Wyoming . Basalt also forms different but equally fascinating ways when eruptions are exposed to air or water.

3. BLUE HOLES

Blue holes are giant and sudden drops in underwater elevation that get their name from the dark and foreboding blue tone they exhibit when viewed from above in relationship to surrounding waters. They can be hundreds of feet deep and while divers are able to explore some of them they are largely devoid of oxygen that would support sea life due to poor water circulation - leaving them eerily empty. Some blue holes, however, contain ancient fossil remains that have been discovered, preserved in their depths.

4. RED TIDE

Red tides are also known as algal blooms - sudden influxes of massive amounts of colored single-cell algae that can convert entire areas of an ocean or beach into a blood red color. While some of these can be relatively harmless, others can be harbingers of deadly toxins that cause the deaths of fish, birds and marine mammals. In some cases, even humans have been harmed by red tides though no human exposure are known to have been fatal. While they can be fatal, the constituent phytoplankton in ride tides are not harmful in small numbers.

5. ICE CIRCLES

While many see these apparently perfect ice circles as worthy of conspiracy theorizing, scientists generally accept that they are formed by eddies in the water that spin a sizable piece of ice in a circular motion. As a result of this rotation, other pieces of ice and flotsam wear relatively evenly at the edges of the ice until it slowly forms into an essentially ideal circle. Ice circles have been seen with diameters of over 500 feet and can also at times be found in clusters and groups at different sizes as shown above.

6. MAMMATUS CLOUDS

True to their ominous appearance, mammatus clouds are often harbingers of a coming storm or other extreme weather system. Typically composed primarily of ice, they can extend for hundreds of miles in each direction and individual formations can remain visibly static for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. While they may appear foreboding they are merely the messengers - appearing around, before or even after severe weather.

7. FIRE RAINBOWS

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

"The clothes maketh the man" they say!

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)


Photo: Dressed for success! Proud kids and their teachers recieving their first uniform in 14 years.

Our bush school kids and their parents tried for the last 14 years to realize their dream - to have their own school uniform. (Why I am not really sure.) Anyway after trying many things AT LAST the day came!


Photo: "Fitting uniforms is not a man's job!", I heard him whispering!

We decided on the base that it was time to put this dream into action. Rather spending money on second hand clothing (which is ussually too big or too small) we decided to buy material. Alta and the ladies of the ladies ministry with their sowing machines got working and WOLA ....... brand new outfits for the girls and the boys. After measering and doing what only my wife understands they produced more than 400 dresses and shorts/shirts - 2 outfits for every student.

Needless to say when the day came - the kids were out of their skin! Fitting, laughing and showing off was part of the day. The parents came with their screams of joy, waving their "kapalanas" (clothing) to show their appreciation. This was surely a dream come true.

Photo: "You know what ...... I could become Mozambique's first male model!"

And offcourse their was a lesson of the day too: "If you believe in your dreams and work hard - anything is possible ..... when you expect it the least."

Photo: This girl asked Alta why the pre-school didn't get any uniforms? Needless to say ..... we are producing a special batch for our school babies!

Thank you to all who made this dream possible.

Superman (and women) comes to the rescue!

To many - Superman and Superwomen (and my favourite Captain America) are fictional characters who brings hope, help and healing to a struggling world. Did I mention I wanted to be Ironman? I always thought that to help and be someones hero I should put on a costume, cover my face and have courageous strenght. Well ..... I struggled with the idea putting on a superman suit. My mental picture of putting my tiny legs into the costume made me shiver.

And then it finally came to me. I don't need no suit to help. I don't need a catchy phrase to connect ..... I only need to be there. Close-by .... where the hurt and pain is. I don't have to say ..... "beam me up Scotty" ....... I just gotto BE THERE.

As you know we had several people die in our communities the last few weeks. Due to dirty river water (the only water available) people got cholera .... and died. I honestly did not know how we could be of more help. We did everything possible. Our biggest challenge though was to find funding for more fresh water wells. Our closest community was without water for the last 5 months. All the money we spend to fix the water well turned out to be a disaster. With all our personal cash exhausted (and people still dying) a miracle was about to happen. From nowhere ...... a group of people was secretely raising funds to sponsor a brand new water pump - the full deal.

And they arrived like superman. A bunch of willing, caring, loving, make-a-difference type of life changers. The best part of it all is that it included a pastor, an engineer, a loving engineers wife and a banker. They came because they were heroes (although they don't want to hear anything about it!) They drove 2 000 km. They gave up a few days in their own hectic schedules and they became someone elses hero.

After 2 days of work the new pump was installed ...... and fresh water was available for a thirsting community. As one of the community members said: "Now we know you are truely God's people!" Wow!

Photo: Even some of the kids couldn't believe when the water came out of the water pump. This was the first drop of fresh water for 5 months for this girl.

Photo: "And there shall be water." An amazing moment for all when a village boy gets the opportunity to pump the first stream of fresh water.

A huge thanks to the team of Polokwane who made this possible. Love you guys. Thanks for being someones hero. And hey ...... have you been someones hero today? It's possible you know!

Photo: The dream team. From left to right: Ian (Engineer), Mavis (Pro-Engineer - Ian's wife), Trevor (Banker/Engineer) and Past. Johan Pieterse.

Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes.
Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

Mission Workers Day!

Photo: Mission staff arriving and the day started with prayer and a overview of the purpose of the day.

1 May does have many different meaning depending where and who you are in the world. For some it is getting up and let your voice be heard. Words like "strike", "solidarity", "worker rights" and some others are thrown around on a day like this. We celebrated Workers Day with our mission staff on Friday, 1 May with a different tune. And what a celebration it was. Although we don't see our mission staff as "workers" - rather co-workers with Christ to complete our mission on earth as best we can, we still celebrated the meaning of Workers Day.

Jorge Antonia Mahanuwa was our co-ordinator for the day and what a job he did. After everyone contributed financially goats, chickens, rice, maize meal, cooldrinks, biscuits and sweats were purchased and we were ready for the biggest Workers Day party in our area.

Photo: Dramas by the medical staff of the mission showed the importance of their work.

After a few speeches, prayers and some dramas that were performed by the medical and teaching staff we were ready for some games and fun before we would head off to lunch and eat so much that some staff members had to be evacuated by car - due to overeating. A fun day overall and the laughter all over the base was contagious.

Photos top: We had many games for the more than 50 mission staff attending. Volleyball, cricket, soccer, balloon fights, darts were but just a few of the games that was enjoyed during the day.