Hello friends! Sorry we’ve been so quite over here on this side of the world. We are doing well. We’re thankful to be nearing the end of the US summer as it’s always a busy time for us with visitors. In May, we kicked off the US summer with a team from the UGA Wesley Foundation. As most of you know, I was a part of the Wesley Foundation for the 9 years that I spent in Athens and it was there that I truly learned who God is and who I am in Him. So it’s always a blessing to have my former Wesley world collide with my current Mozambique world!! Last month we had a team of 16 high schoolers from Durban, South Africa here with us for 5 days followed by a team of 8 young adults from the same church. We also had a few individuals that passed through Masana…some for a few days and others for a few weeks. Our final visitor leaves on Thursday of this week and then we’ll be back to our normal household - Roberto, the girls and I along with Ian, another missionary, and the 4 boys we care for.
Things have been going well at Masana. We had a lull in the number of boys that were attending each day so we did a big push of going out to the areas of the city where the boys stay and visiting them. There is so much power in one of these street boys knowing that someone notices when he’s absent. I shared with our staff last week that us making the effort to go out looking for boys we haven’t seen in a while is like Jesus leaving the 99 to find the 1. And He blesses that effort! Ever since we did a week of street visits in early July, we’ve averaged 30 boys a day at the center. This month we have just begun a teaching series on what it means to be men of God. Each staff member has chosen the story of a character in the Bible and will be pulling out characteristics that man showed that made him a man of God. I’ve also invited some men from our community to share with the boys on a perusal level of what it means to be a man of God. Please pray with us that the boys will truly receive all that we are teaching this month and that they will begin to make choices to become the men that God has called them to be.
We continue to work with the 4 boys that are living in our house in Catembe, across the bay from the city. Y’all know that our heart is for family and that we always want to see the boys restored to their families. But after so many years of doing this ministry with the street boys, we realize that that is not the reality for all of these boys. There exist some boys who would just rather stay on the streets than be another mouth to feed at home. There is a certain disgrace that comes from being a 16 or 17 year old young man that cannot contribute to his family financially. It’s these boys that we feel God is calling us to help through the house in Catembe. This year is serving as a year of adjustment for these boys - a year to leave behind the habits of the streets and to accustom again to life in a home with rules and structure. These 4 boys are studying in local schools - 1 in the 5th grade, 2 in the 6th grade and 1 in 10th grade. Most of them have a long way to go with their schooling but we’ll be so happy if they progress in reading and writing basic Portuguese. Next year we’ll look at getting these 4 boys registered in a vocational skills training course or paired up with a professional that will teach them a skill. From there, our hope is that they will have the ability to make an income that will either allow them to return home as a contributing member of the household or rent a place on their own. On a side note, 3 of these 4 boys are currently completing a course at our church in preparation to be baptized!!
Starting this month, Roberto will be teaching some health and physical education classes at the American International School of Maputo. He’s already taught swimming lessons there for a few years. He’s excited about this new opportunity and hopeful that it could eventually lead to a full-time contract. The greatest blessing that would come with him getting a contract would be that our girls could study at the American School which offers the highest quality education available in Mozambique (but it’s also the most expensive school in the country, hence the need for Roberto to work there.) Please pray for Roberto as he meets the students next week and begins this new chapter of his life. He’s also considering going to university starting in January to get his degree as a PE teacher.
Adoption wise…we are still waiting. One piece of news that we received recently is that the little boy that we thought we’d adopt has now been reunited with his parents! What confirmation that we were hearing from God regarding him. After a couple of weekend visits with this boy, Roberto felt strongly that we needed to backdown. We have no idea how his family appeared…perhaps they heard he was about to be adopted. But no matter how it happened, we rejoice that his family has been restored. We are still in contact with local orphanages and social services on a weekly basis. We trust that God is preparing the perfect little boy to complete our family.
Thank you all for standing with us as we continue our ministry among the street boys of Maputo. If you have time, check out our facebook page for lots of photos of the work we’re doing with the boys, www.facebook.com/masanaproject. If God leads you to support our ministry financially, you can send support to the below address with “Mondlane Family” on the memo line or go to www.abbasambassadors.org for info on how to give online:
Abba's Ambassadors Inc.
PO Box 165
South Salem, NY 10590
We love y’all!!!
Blessings!
Sarah Mondlane and family
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