Ned Ved, Cesar, Olivio, Arlindo, Alexis, Felix, and Paito (not pictured: Ian and Hilario)
2012 was a year full of changes in the lives of the missionaries at Masana. Both Lauren and I got married and moved out of the Masana house into apartments in the city. That left Alexis as the only girl in a house full of boys . . . and being the only girl in a house full of boys brings lots of responsibility.
Grocery shopping . . . sometimes multiple times a week.
Preparing meals
Taking boys to doctors appointments
Helping with homework
Organizing chore charts
Controlling the coming and going of 5 teenagers as well as dealing with their moodiness :-)
And then there are the responsibilities to the boys who don't live at Masana. And if you've ever visited us at Masana, you know the doorbell rings multiple times a day!
Taking care of sick street kids who stop by the house for medical care
Offering a cup of water to the countless number of street boys who pass by just for a little attention
Chatting with reintegrated boys who stop by for a visit
Looking after visitors who are staying at Masana
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. . . If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (1 John 3:16 and 4:12)
Alexis is doing just this. She is no longer the typical 22 year old single, young woman. She has made a great sacrifice in giving up this "typical lifestyle" and moving to Mozambique to lay down her life for the lives of these boys. Alexis is making the love of God complete. May we all follow in her example.
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