Center for Women brings HOPE!

Seriously ..... we are on our way to the office!  Francois and Joao in deep conversation on how good God is!!

 On my way to the office this morning ..... I had to stop with Joao to admire what was really going on around us.  Out of the early morning dust .... we stopped at another building site on our base.


Building in Mozambique is not an easy endeavor.  If funding is not tough enough - logistical planning is even a bigger challenge in the bush.  For years the women of Mozambique dreamt of having their own center where they can learn to not just read and write .... but improve their entreprenerial skills through the arts and crafts programs which are presented.






This dream became a reality a week ago when after many prayers the first foundations was dug up!  It's so amazing when dreams meet reality.  There is excitement in the air and you just know God has made all of this possible through wonderful people.  When women pass the construction site .... balancing their water container on their heads .... they stop and with a 'click' of the tongue .... they point at the work ... shaking their heads in unbelief and start off with a song of praise.  The center will not just teach many women to read and write but will also sell crafts which women produced in the area.  The center will contain a arts and crafts workshop where women will be taught new skills.  All the income of these endeavors will be given back to the women participating to sustain their families at home.  Empowering women has always been a dream of all of us on the base and seeing it becoming a reality .... is nothing short of a miracle.


Keep on praying though .... we build in faith in with much hope we believe the rest of the funding will come in to finish the building.

Alta with Peter Manuel (our oldest builder on the mission) getting ready to lay out the Women Training Center

Pythogoras and squaring a building are synonoum with each other - something I seem not to get right.

Without the logistical support of everyone on the base it is impossible to build!

Even Ron Wayner (Mercy Air) had to find a minute in getting some sand for the building - and that while he was building a hanger on the runway.

And then the team .....!

...... and the right mix!

And the people we salute daily ..... who makes everything come together.  Tough guys who are great co-workers with us!

First foundations poured!

BUSH SCHOOLS: A lot of 'movin' and a 'shakin'!

The start of the 2012 school year!

What makes ASAM's Mission school a little different from other schools is the fact that kids really look forward to the opening ceremony of their school.  As I travel up and down I constantly have to stop and answer kids - "Francisco ..... when do we start school?"  And I realize just how important it is to them.  It's not just about enjoying school and the good education - it's the fact that they belong.  It has become a place where dreams are born.  

Take for example on of our top students, Joao Gimo.  He has just passed grade 10 with top honors and has become our highest qualified student that comes from our rural area which we have served since 1997.  He constantly nods his head and says:  "If it wasn't for this school I would have never achieved what I have achieved.  I have a dream to become an accountant and with ASAM's help .... that will become a reality."  That is just one of the many stories here.

Joao Benjamin -  another transformational engineer on our base - speaking a few words of encouragement to the school kids and community.

And so our opening day arrived.  Screams, laughter and a huge turnout as students started registering for the academical year.  We have registered more than 287 children and our school kitchen can hardly keep up to feed the more than 304 kids who pitched up.  It was a festive occasion with many parents congratulating the school on giving their children a new lease on life.  2012 promises to be a busy educational year with 1 new teacher joining us to give special emphasis on literacy.  We have 5 trained teachers who will help us this year.  Special emphasis during this years program will fall on Bible Education, character training and entrepreneurship.  Health education and even a special leadership module will be introduced in this year's syllabus.

And everyone agrees:  Nothing beats teaching a kid to become a true, balanced follower of Jesus Christ!

Parents came in big numbers to attend the school opening ceremony.

Teachers ready to register new school kids.

Teaching team 2012 with Joao Feniassi (School director, front), Paulo Inasio (Grade 5, front) and back left to right - Joao Benjamin, Tito Mabuleza (Grade 1 and 2), Francois Rauch (just a motivator), Sinambale Paradzai (Grade 3 and sport teacher) and Simon Nicalao (Pre-school).

Modern Cowboys

I love cowboy movies ..... and have to admit my favorite cowboy of all times must be Clint Eastwood.  Too young to enjoy John Wayne.  My friend Clint (Eastwood that is if I may call him my friend) had the ability to be cool, calm and collective.  Those focused eyes made me wanna be Clint!  I saw that same kinda focus in a few visitors we received.  They arrived without a horse ..... well came here with a flying horse 747 ..... or so they call him.  'At 30 000 feet they even got a toilet with running water', they laughed.  Modern cowboys ..... Burnie (sheriff and head hunter), Gary (bouncer) and Al (collective).

As you know we are putting up a hanger on our runway that has been officially cleared by government.  Now to put up a hanger here in the middle of nowhere is not an easy thing.  But after the logistics miraculously worked out ..... we only needed a few cowboys from the US of A to make things happen.  And these guys are as tough as they come.  Mean, big, masculine, hardworking - your no-nonsense type of guy.  I mean .... I love Texans .... but these guys from Michigan, USA know how to tackle a problem.  But enough of my cowboy drooling - let the photos do the talking!

Burnie ...... head chief, mechanic and sheriff.  He had all the ideas .... and they worked first time up!  Amazing skills and a strong man.

Tools of the trade to make any job take notice.

Gary putting hanger walls together.

Modern cowboys do still carry a lot of weapons with them.

Ron Wayner .... head of our Aviation Ministry does the quality check at the hanger.  Looks pretty good to me ... but then I ain't no Clint Eastwood.

I tried too ..... got the measuring tape out to help make sure we get the walls all square.  My expertise unfortunately doesn't go very far.  I would probably be compared to ...... the accountant in the bank in a cowboy movie .... lol! 

Time for action ...... getting the trusses ready for the hanger.

The hanger getting its shape.

Lifting the panel into its place.

Big equipment on-site helped to make the job very easy indeed.

Burnie .... making sure with Gary up high that everything locks into place.  I heard them shout in that American Cowboy dialect:  "Hey you .... 5 inches to go .... ok 1 inch".  I mean I work in millimeters and centimeters .... what's this 'inch' thing?

And there we go one section completed!

"I cannot sleep"!

It all started a few years ago.  We met Sinambale Paradzai when he visited us on the mission base.  He had a warm passion to study teaching.  He wanted to be a teacher so bad .... he would do anything to make it happen.  With the long list of people in Mozambique trying to get into college Sinambale didn't make the final cut on the list.  He was devastated.  But the true story was going to be unfolded soon.

Sinambale had his own dreams but as we were sharing life together we realized that he was the oldest brother who had 3 brothers and sister he had to look after after their parents died.  He were selling ice in town to try and get a few pennies to keep the family alive.  His story was heartbreaking.  We decided to give him an internship at our bush school and see how he would cope.  He did wonderful.  Our orphan ministry decided to take him and kids on their program and provided monthly emergency food supplies.  With Sinambale earning a little bit more cash he could also take care of them better.  They still had no house though.  After some great miracles the next phase in this family's life was about to be realized:

We found a great spot to build Sinambale and the family a new house.

Time to get all the logistic in place.

Sinambale proud to see the project taking off.  He was speechless and struggled to find the right words to share is feelings.

This was the house the orphan kids had to share.

Sinambale stayed in this house on weekends when he looked after the family.

The new house of hope .... nearing completion.

Meet the Paradzai-family.

I simply couldn't resist this photo - best smiles in the bush!

Another very happy family!

Special thanks to  everyone who participated to make this dream come true.

Meet Charles Sixpense

Charles Sixpense has been working with the mission since I can remember.  He must be six foot ... something.  Tall, skinny but probably one of our most experienced handyman on-site.  He can fix just about any leak and understand pipes and plumbing like no one else I know around here.  When there's a problem, thunderstorm chaos ... or fire raging and threatening the farm our houses ..... who do you call?  No 'ghostbusters' here .... you call  .... 'Charlie'.  He's always ready, always smiles ..... and always have a plan ready to meet the need.

Charles Sixpense on the left (after the operation and in re-cooperating mode   in an interview with Joao Benjamin - reporter on the scene.

Charles is a Christian while is wife is a witch doctor and although she opposes what we believe we still reach out to the family daily.  Good seed will never return void, we believe.  When Charles got very sick a month ago, and in his own words - "I though this was the end - I am dying", we all quickly had to come up with a plan.  With very limited medical services available we realized that Charles needed an operation immediately.  Lynn Lagore, our medical 'Dr. Quin' did all the homework and Charles was rushed to a clinic where we found a doctor who could operate!  Although extremely costly .... it was important to save Charles' life.

Joao had an interview with Charles after the operation.  I place the article as Charles answered Joao.  Here is the article written by Joao Benjamim.  


JOAO:  Baba Charles how do you feel after the operation?


CHARLES:  I am very grateful for the miracle that God did in my life.  I suffered from this disease called hernia for a long time, but only when there was bad weather.  This time though it was a very critical situation to the point where I lost the hope of life in this world.


But because God has a plan with my life, He did not want me to die at this time.  God used the mission a lot through there love and they did everything they could to save my life.  They took me to a private clinic where I had better and more urgent surgical intervention which was a great priviledge because few or almost non one else in the bush is able to afford such costs.  Today my health is restored, the hernia passed, the pain is gone as well and I feel only joh.


One thing is important to tell everyone.  Although I am still sick and often lie at hom because I'm still not capable to work, I have the privilege  of spending my free time to read the Bible.


JOAO:  What is your favorite part in the Bible?
CHARLES:  My most favorite verse is Mathew 7:7.  This reminds me of God's promises of when we call Him, He hears us and gives us what we need at the right time.  When I needed health and graces .... He gave them.


Another thing I learned is that I realized how much the brothers in the mission and in the community loves me.  All the missionaries and fellow employees visited me constantly and expressed their true love towards me showing me how much they care about my life.


I thank God for this healing.  I also thank the mission (missionaries, First Aid officers from the mission clinic and all our workers here) for all of this helped me to find true meaning for my life.


NOTE/COMMENT:


I Joao Benjamin (accompanying Mathew and Pastor Francois), I went to Charles' house, and I saw that he had a Bible beside his bed on the floor.  He was reading it.  It was very impressive because as you know his wife is a Witch doctor  but they were sitting together in the same matchessa (house).  It seems she heard some loud reading what Charles did.  And if someone from the mission goes to visit him, he asks for prayer all the time ... which she also hears.

Through an African lense

Good morning Africa

Waking up

Ready for business

Gotto build my house .... now!

Around every corner - purple delight!

My space

Going back west

Another thankful day

Zzzzoem!

Just had a swarm of bees pass over my head with that fearful 'zzzoem' sound.  If you've ever had bees in your hair you would know how alarming the sound of a swarm of bees sound.  And that is how the year started here on the base.  The first week has gone by so quick ..... that I have totally forgotten where I was on the 1st of January.  Much good and wonderful things are currently happening on the base here but also mixed with a little sad news.  But let me get right into it:

STARTED OFF WITH A 40 FOOT BANGER

At last all the materials for the hanger arriving after 2 1/2 months on the open seas from the US of A!  Ron Wayner (Mercy Air) was responsible for organizing all the equipment and worked hard to make this miraculous reality.

Joao Benjamim (left) .... chief in charge with the driver of the truck that carried the container.  Joao made all the paperwork possible and had to 'rescue' the container from Beira.

Taking out the new grader for the runway.

Due to the fact that we do not have much equipment in the bush the arrival of this welder will make a huge difference here.

HOW TO MOVE A 40 FEET CONTAINER IN DA BUSH!

Ron Wayner on the backhoe in full action.  The base was in full action from 06:00 in the morning to move the big 40 feet container.  The container had to be dragged for about 3 km and were carrying 26 steel trusses that were approximately 37.5 ft long.  A huge task in itself!

"Stop Captain!"  Bridge ahead.  

"Ugh ...." after scratching his head .... the captain had a plan!  In Africa you never have a plan ready .... you make one on the way!   Two logs were put under the container to simply role it over the bridge.  Did I just say ... 'simply'?

'Will the bridge hold?', is on the minds of many careful onlookers.

And there she goes .... with the bridge still in tact!  Ron said afterward he had to wheelie the backhoe to get the container uphill.  "It was my longest wheelie ever", he said with his soft smile.

Unpacking the container.  The most amazing miracle about the container was that it was never locked when it left the US and arrived safely on the mission base.  Nobody touched it!  Awesome GOD!

Precious cargo.  

AND THE WORK IS NEVER DONE ......

Now figuring out how to putt everything together.    Constructing a cement wall for the hangar with the help from our Mozambican brothers.  Ron asked many times:  "So where is the cement truck when you need one?"

Very sharp building skill were needed to place the 20 cm wide strips accurately.  Ron and McGuyver (dog that is) busy teaching our Mozambican friends how to do the job.

Corners and rebar in place.  Ready to pour some pillars.  Now I am extremely  technically challenged so I am always puzzled on just how great all these guys are at getting these things done.

Ron Wayner (kneeling) the master of his crafts.  He can just about do anything.  A great pilot who survived 2 crashes in the icy waters of the Alaskan sea, a phenomenal carpenter and well ...  I can go on and on!  Great man with a great plan.

Why do we do all this stuff?

Yes we are in the process of building a hangar for the runway ... but why do we do this stuff?  Valid question.  Ron and Barb always answers:  "To rub shoulders with people, who otherwise wouldn't get to know JESUS.  To teach them job skills that will help them support their families.  It's not really about building hangers and houses, and bridges and flying airplanes, it's about touching people for Jesus!  Thanks for helping us do that!

Lastly and sadly ......

A few days after this photo was taken Ron was busy cutting wood, when through a freak accident he cut off his index finger of his left hand.  It was a traumatic incident for everyone on the farm.  Please keep praying for Ron as he is working through this.  We have NO hospitals or doctors nearby and rescuing the finger was not possible.

All photos taken by:  Barbara Wayner

Thanks Barb for putting together the documentary!