Waiting For A Stamp

Our season of transition here at Masana is still just that....transition.  We should have reopened the doors of our center on January 25 ending our season of transition and starting our season of new beginnings.  But instead, we are doing nothing as we wait on a stamp from the government to continue building our classrooms and kitchen.  Our building was suspended 3 weeks ago because the necessary building permits were not ready.  All of our documents and building designs have been submitted.  Our architect goes to the government office every day to check on them.  He's told to be patient....our process is in the office of the 2nd floor and still has to make it up to the 3rd floor office for the boss to give his stamp of approval.  And so we wait....and the 30 something street boys who are waiting with us pop in from time to time to see if there is any news.

Will you pray with us for these documents to receive the necessary stamp so that our building can resume and our center can reopen once again.  Pray that when those 30 something boys come knocking again, we'll have good news for them!

He Makes Beautiful Things

As I reflect back over the last couple of months and the crazy transition that we've undergone as we've relocated our family and our ministry, I am reminded of the Gungor song, "Beautiful Things." The yellow house we rented in the middle of the city was for sure a fixer-upper.  But today it's a beautiful home for me, my family, and the boys we care for....God has made a beautiful thing out of the dust.  The pictures below capture the restoration of a run down house into a beautiful home.  And we know that this transformation is just the beginning of what God has in store for our home.  Over the coming months and years, we hope and pray to see the lives of countless boys transformed by the love of God.  We hope and pray that He will continue to make beautiful things.

A New Home For Masana

At the end of September we received word that the house that has been home to Masana for almost 6 years is being sold to a local grocery store who will destroy it to build another shopping center.  We are devastated to say good bye to this home but know that God is with us in this season of transition.

In the past 6 weeks we have looked at numerous properties all over our city, signed a lease on one in the city-center, met with the bosses of the grocery store about details of our relocation, started renovations to the main house where my family will be living along with the 4 boys we care for, met with architects about plans for a building to serve the needs of our day center (classrooms, office, medical room), started packing boxes  All this while continue to run our day center at the old house.  Needless to say, its been an exhausting 6 weeks.

But when I think back over the past 6 weeks, I can see the hand of God in all of it.  It was Him who led us to this house in the center of the city...the perfect location for a project with street kids since they live in different parts of the city.  It was Him who gave us favor in meetings with the new landlord who has accepted to deduct some of the building costs from our rent.  It was Him who helped me connect to the owners of the grocery store so that I could get permission for us to stay in the current house until our Masana year ends on November 30.   It was Him who made it possible to get boxes and a truck donated for our moving day.  It was Him who brought together a great team of workers, including some who simply volunteered their service, to get all the repairs done on the house so that its ready for us to move in at the end of the month.  It was Him who has connected me to and architect in the city who is helping us find ways to build cheap but with good quality.  It was Him who has abundantly blessed us with the finances we need in this time of transition.

Even though we are physically tired at the end of each day, we rest well each night knowing that God is orchestrating our every move.

Almost a Home

The house we are building in Catembe is almost done!  It is a very typical Mozambican cinder-block house.  There is one bedroom, a living room and a bathroom.  The carpenter just has to mount the doors and windows and there is a little work to finish up in the bathroom.  So in a about a weeks time, this will be Nelson and Ginito's new home.  We have reached out to people living in the Maputo area asking for donations for the house - kitchen pots, plates, utensils, linens, bunk beds, dressers, sofas, etc.  Hopefully we'll receive a little to make the house feel like home for these boys.  If you happen to live in Maputo and would like to help, please send me an email at solds19@gmail.com

Chico: Home Again!

In 2012, I posted about taking one of my favorites back to his family.  Chico.  His story of leaving the streets has been a tough one.  His mom's home is on the outskirts of the city and for the past 3 years, he's fought the allure of returning to the streets....often loosing the battle.  He's been back and forth from home and the streets more times than I can remember.  Each time he showed up at Masana, we'd try showing tough love in hopes that he'd quickly return home.  Some of his stints on the street were for weeks or months.  At one point, we only allowed him to come to our center 2 days a week in hopes that he'd return home.

Earlier this year, Chico went back home again.  And its seems as if his family have finally figured out how to help him.  His grandmother, who lives a good 30 or 40 minutes from the city, has taken him in.  Simply putting some distance between him and the city has done the trick.  This past week I visited him at his new home.  How he's grown-up over these past 3 years!  His grandmother's home seems filled with joy.  She genuinely loves Chico and wants to see him doing well.  Getting him into school in that area is going to be a challenge because of his age vs. grade level.  But we will see what options we can find for him.  For now, he's helping his grandmother with the farm and raising a few pigs.  So beautiful to see him finally living a normal Mozambican life!!

Putting Down Roots - Part 2

"God makes homes for the homeless"

Psalm 68:8 (The Message Bible)

I shared in "Putting Down Roots - Part 1" that we have purchased land in Mozambique to build a home for our family.  We will not build our house for a couple of years though so we have felt God calling us to make a home for the homeless.  We have chosen 2 boys, Ginito and Nelson, who have both been on and off the streets since I first started working with Masana in 2009.  We have started the process of building a small house on the land where these 2 boys will live and have the opportunity to make a new life for themselves.

Ginito is 18 years old and Nelson is 19.  Neither of them are your typical street boy.  They are both so respectful and hard working.  Thankfully, God has protected them over the years from falling into the temptations of drugs and alcohol.  Ginito is very intelligent and eager to go back to school, which he will in January when the new school year begins.  Nelson is a worker. . . he doesn't do well sitting around and has, over the years, always arranged small jobs like selling bread or working in a shop.  He is now the newest employee at Armadura Gym, the gym that serves as an income generator for Masana.  

When we finally do build our home on our property, the boy's house will still exist and we've told them they are welcome as a part of our family until God gives them their own families.  Join us in praying for Ginito and Nelson as they enter into this new season of life.  Pray they will fully embrace the plans and purposes God has for them.

Putting Down Roots - Part 1

As a family, we have always prayed about the need to put down roots here in Maputo.  Since before we married, Roberto has talked about wanting to buy land and build a home.  I’ve always been hesitant because I like living in the city.  But living in the city means renting which is not something we want to do for the rest of our lives.  So we’ve felt God directing us toward the option of buying land.  For me personally, it is as if He’s reminding me that Mozambique is my home.  He has called me here.  He’s given me family here.  Now He wants me to put down roots.  

After prayer, we decided that we would sacrifice our trip to the States this year and use the money we would have spent on plane tickets to buy land.  We have purchased a 40x50 meter plot in an area called Catembe, which is just across the Maputo Bay here in the city.  For now, its only possible to get there via ferry boat but a large suspension bridge has been started and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017.  Once the bridge is completed, Catembe will be easily accessible and will, essentially, become a part of the city.  

We don't plan on living on our land until the bridge is completed as it costs about $20 to take your car across and back on the ferry.  So that gives us a couple of years to dream and plan for our future home.  But we aren't going to just sit on an empty plot for these next couple of years....stay tuned for "Putting Down Roots - Part 2"