The Sickbed Under the Mango Tree

The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.

Psalm 41:3

One of the unique aspects of Masana is that we are the only center for street kids in the city that has live-in staff.  That makes us the only place in the city for boys to go to when they are sick or injured, no matter what hour of the day it may be.  In the past 2 weeks, we've already had 2 boys stay with us...one with a broken arm and one with malaria.  With temperatures in the 90's most days, the shade of the mango tree has become our sickbed.  

Today I took both the boy with malaria and my own daughter, Maya, to the clinic.  Maya got a round of vaccines while the young boy was tested for both malaria and HIV...the 2 standard tests done when someone is sick in this country.  He now rests outside under the mango tree while I sit in Maya's room watching her sleep, knowing that her tiny little body is not feeling good.  But what about the boy outside under the mango tree?  Where is his mom or aunt or grandmother....someone to watch over him as he on his sickbed?  

Perhaps the unique aspect of Masana being the only place in the city for street boys to go when they are sick or injured is also a call from God to stand in the place of their mothers or fathers or aunts or uncles.  

Someone should be watching over their sickbeds and praying. 

Welcome Home!

Last Saturday, after 2 days of traveling, we arrived home to our beautiful family in Mozambique!  We were greeted at Masana by Roberto's family and our Masana family who had prepared a delicious meal to welcome us.  It was beautiful to watch Maria, Roberto's mom and Mama Julia as they sung and danced to welcome Maya to her new home.  

Throughout our travels last week, I was amazed at how God cares for us in the small details.  We were originally booked on a flight to South Africa via Amsterdam that would have been 20 hours of travel time.  But at the boarding gate, Delta moved us to the direct flight because the Amsterdam flight was overbooked.  The direct flight was only 14 hours!  God is in the details!

Roberto and I weren't allowed to sit together with 2 lap children because of the number of air masks on each row.  I was bummed about that but they managed to get us seats across the aisle from one another.  The flight was pretty full but no one else was seated on my row nor on Roberto's row!  I had an extra seat for Maya to sleep in and Roberto had 2 extra seats for Melina to stretch out across!!  Both of the girls slept almost all of the 14 hour journey!!!  God is in the details!

Now I'll admit that I was nervous about traveling with 2 babies under the age of 2.  I even bought a bottle of children's nighttime cough syrup just in case.  But didn't God prove Himself faithful?!?!

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7