Emilton

Emilton is 13 years old. He has been living on the streets since 2004. Before that, he lived in 2 different children's centers. He does have a mom and 5 siblings that live outside of Maputo. However, she does not want Emilton living with her. Emilton wants us to help him find a new children's center he can live at. We are going to visit his mom on Monday to confirm Emilton's story. If all checks out and she really doesn't want him living with her, we'll take him to a children's center. Emilton is very intelligent and his biggest desire is to live somewhere where he can continue his studies.

Emilton is one of the boys I've gotten closest to. He has such a sweet nature. He is definilty not the typical street kid. As I write about his story now, it breaks my heart to think of the rejection he has experienced in his life. Him mom gave him up as a baby, she later took him back only to send him to live with uncles who also decided they didn't want him. That was the first time he resorted to living on the streets. He later went back to live with his mom who welcomed him back only to kick him out again a short time later. No child should ever be subjected to such rejection.

Please pray that we will find a place for Emilton to live where he knows that he is loved and wanted. Pray that it will be a place where he can find freedom from all the rejection he has experienced in his life . . . where the love of the Father can heal his hurt and brokenness. And a place where his hope can be restored so that he may enter into the plans and purposes God has for his life.

UPDATE: We have visited Emilton's mother twice and his uncle once now. Emilton has decided that he would rather live with his uncle than at a center because he knows its better to be with family. However, his mom is not very excited about this as she does not want him living with this uncle. She actually said she's rather he live in a center or stay on the streets than live with this uncle. It really is so sad. The uncle has said Emilton can live with him but only if his mom agrees to it. We are now trying to set up a meeting with the mother and uncle to discuss the future of this boy. Please pray for the mom's heart to be changed and for her to allow her son to live with his uncle. And continue to pray for Emilton. I still cannot imagine how hard all of this is on him.

Antonio and Leonel

We are visiting the families of 2 more boys this weekend, Antonio and Leonel. Our hope is to talk with the families about why the boys are living on the streets and to discuss how Masana can help get them back home.


Antonio is 14 years old. His father works in South Africa so is only home a few weeks out of the year. His mom lives in Xai-Xai which is about 3 hours from the city of Maputo. He has 3 siblings that live there as well. Antonio has lived on the streets for 2 years.


Leonel is 13 years old. His mother also lives in Xai-Xai and his father lives near Maputo. His parents are separated and both have remarried. Leonel has lived on the streets for 4 years.


Please pray that we are able to locate their families and that the families are willing to take the boys back in. From there, pray for God's wisdom in coming up with a plan on how to help the families so that they boys return home for good.

UPDATE: The visits went well today. It was so beautiful too see how excited Leonel was as we drove to his house. His mom is very sweet and definitely wants him back at home. I almost started to cry as she looked at the scars her son has from his harsh life on the street. Leonel has a younger brother who was so excited to see him! He kept running and hiding then when Leonel found him his face would light up! Pray for the Lord to show Leonal in a very real way what a blessing it is to have a family that cares about him so much!!!

The reunion was not as great with Antonio. He and his mom don't get along that great. It was actually quite sad to watch as she showed no emotion and Antonio sat there with his head hung in shame the whole time. Antonio really wants to live with his older brother but at the moment, his older brother does not have his own home . . he and his wife are staying with his mom. Antonio is ready to be off the streets though so pray for wisdom as we decide what to do.

Both of the boys decided to return back to the city with us today until all of the arrangements can be made for them to stay in their house - mainly getting them registered for school and organizing some clothes for them. Sadly, the school holidays are getting ready to begin so it will be almost a full month before we are able to make the 3 hour drive back to Xai-Xai to meet with the directors of local schools about the boys starting classes. So that's one more month on the street for both of them.

I am look for individuals, families or small groups to sponsor these 2 boys as we make a plan to reintegrate them in their homes. The cost of this is $500 which includes new clothes, blankets, school fees, school uniform, school books, school supplies, and the start-up cost for a small business. If you are interested in sponsoring one of them, please email me at solds19@gmail.com and i will send you more information.

Aderito

At Masana, we have been interviewing the boys to find out their stories - what their family situation is and why they are living on the streets. Now we have begun visiting their homes and trying to connect with their families.

Last Friday, we visited the family of a boy named Aderito. He is 13 years old. Aderito's mom lives in South Africa but he does not know her. His father lives near Maputo. He has a new wife and she does not care for Aderito. This is very common here in Mozambique - a man or woman will remarry and the new spouse will not want to take care of the children from another marriage.

Aderito has grandparents and an aunt who live near the city as well and they are happy for him to live with them. We visited a nearby school and spoke to the director. He is going to allow Aderito to begin classes now which is a blessing because normally new students have to wait until the new semester to start classes. Just today, we were able to make contact with Aderito's father. He is the one that has Aderito's official documents that he will need to start school. The father is supposed to come to Masana tomorrow to meet with us. If all goes well, we will have Aderito off the streets and in his grandparent's home by the end of the week!!!

There are a few things that we must organize for Aderito - some clothes, school fees and supplies, a bed and blankets for his grandparent's house, and a small business so that Aderito can have some income, therefore eliminating the need to return to the streets and beg/work for money. We need about $300 right now. This does not include the expenses to start up a business. The plan is to get Aderito moved into his grandparent's house and started in school. After a couple of weeks, we'll look at helping him start a business.

Please pray for Aderito. Pray that his father will meet with us and provide the documents needed for him to start school. Pray for his transition off the street and into the community. Pray that he would feel loved and welcome in his new home. I have begun looking for individuals or small groups in the States to sponsor the boys as we reintegrate them - pray that we find a sponsor for Aderito.

Lena's Shop

I went out to Matola this afternoon to check on Lena and the kids (Zacarius, Matilda, and Dudu). Lena's shop is doing okay. She has had a little over a week to determine what products are and are not selling. The type of rice we bought her is not the kind people like so they are only buying it if it's an emergency. Her top seller? Packets of chicken stock. In two weeks, I'm going to take her shopping with me and let her choose the products people will want as well as bargain a bit on the prices. Sadly, I always end up paying more for things because I am white. So it will benefit Lena more to do the shopping herself.

Please be praying for Lena and her business. . . that the Lord would really bless her and prosper her so that she can take care of her children.

My New Home!

Quite a few people have asked to see pictures of my new apartment. I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with another girl named Sarah. Sarah and Sarah!!! She moved to Maputo in January and is working with Samaritan's Purse. Our apartment is in a great area of the city known as Museu. It's within walking distance of many places - including the church that I work at every day! I am really loving living in the city!!!



my living room. . . complete with cable tv that has a few channels in english. we even get espn so hopefully i'll be able to watch some good SEC football next fall!!!



our kitchen. sarah and i both like to cook so we'll have lots of fun times together in here!



my bed room. the walls are still bare and i'm still living out of a suitcase. i'm waiting on a dresser that is being built for me and then i'll get it all decorated.



our dining room. we've already had quite a few friends over for meals and look forward to having many many more!


and last but not least, this is our "closet". but it's huge!!! i have a spare bed that we are going to put in here and it will be where you can stay if you want to come visit!!!!

Old Friends, New House

This weekend, I was had quite a few visitors from the Iris Center. It was so much fun being able to open up my new home to the boys I worked with last year as well as the wonderful friends God blessed me with at Iris.







Laura, one of the missionaries at Iris, brought 5 of the boys that lived in my dorm last year to visit me. These were some of the boys that I was closest to last year and that I've missed terribly. We pulled out all of the toys and they played for a while then quickly got sucked into watching all of the fun tv stations i get at my new house! KFC is on the corner by my house so we walked there for dinner. Over dinner, Augustino, Inacio, and I reminised over how we had come to that same KFC a year ago when Augustino had been discharged from the hospital across the street after battling malaria. I remember him being so thin and weak for quite a while after that. We also laughed over the fact that Inacio wears the same white shirt every time he goes out somewhere nice in the city. . . and every time he ends up with tomato sauce all over it!!!

My new roommate, Sarah, and I cooked dinner together Saturday night and had Valdemar, Mito, and Joao over for dinner and a movie. Earlier in the week, some of the youth had joined me for dinner - Manuel, Joseph, Ernesto, Nelson, and Binario. I am so thankful for the friendships the Lord has given me with all of these guys. They are all such wonderful young men. I can't wait to see all that the Lord has in store for them in the future!!!

Another Saturday in Matola

This past Saturday, we headed out to Matola again to finish up construction on the shop for Lena. Lena and her family live very near the ocean so this time I left the boys to work while I went with the kids down to the water. They had so much fun swimming and throwing sea weed at each other! By the time we got back to the house, the boys had cut a window into the shop and all we needed was a small table for her to put the product on. So we jumped in my car and went to the local market where, apparently you can buy anything you need including a wooden bench to put products on! On Monday, I will go back out to Lena's to actually stock her shop and go help her determine how much to sale things for.



me and the boys from the shop window



group picture outside the shop



seaweed fight!!!!



me giving the kids a quick math lesson.