Castigo

We are currently trying to help Castigo get back home. He is 15 years old. His family lives about 3 hours from Maputo. His father has passed away but his mom and 2 siblings are at home. He came to the city in February to look for work. He was unable to find any and since he knew no one was forced to live on the street. Praise the Lord for bringing Castigo to Masana so that we can help him get back home!!!

This past Friday, we took 2 other boys back home. Castigo went with us so that we could visit his family on the way back to Maputo. We spent 3 hours driving around and were not able to find his house. When he came to the city in search of work, it was his first time ever really leaving home. It was dark when he left home and he does not remember how to get back. We drove around until dusk then began the 2 hour drive back to Maputo. Unfortunately, that means Castigo is still living on the street. In a couple of weeks, we'll take him back and try again to find his home.

Please pray for wisdom as we try to figure out how to find Castigo's family.

Another Trip to Xai Xai

Last Friday, we took Antonio and Leonel back to their homes in Xai Xai, a city about 3 hours away from Maputo. Leonel is living with his mom. We spoke to the director of the school near his house and arranged for him to register there this week. Normally, we would have done all of that ourselves but because it is so far away, we've left it to Leonel and his mom. Leonel was so happy to go home. He was all smiles the entire day!!!

The circumstances with Antonio's family have changed a bit since our visit in March. At the time his older brother, Luis, was living with their mom. Their mom has since kicked Luis and his wife out. They were able to rent a house and have happily takin in Antonio. Actually, I think this is a much better situation for Antonio as he and his mother do not get along and I was worried he was not going to make it long in her house. Antonio has now moved in with his brother. We bought him a small cooler and some canned drinks that he will begin selling on the beach.

Please keep Leonel and Antonio in your prayers as they adjust to life back at home. It is hard for them to go from the freedom on the street to the responsibilities of work, school, and family life. Pray that they know the blessing that their families are!!!

Brooke's Wedding

Last year, the Lord blessed me with a wonderful friend, Brooke. We spent the year together working at the Iris Ministries children's center just outside of Maputo, Mozambique. She is such an important part of my time there and I can't imagine how it would have been with out her!!! One of the greatest treasures I share with Brooke is the family of 2 boys that were living on the street in Maputo, Zacarius and Gaspar. If you follow my blog, you've seen many posts about this family. Looking back, it's amazing to see how much that family has impacted where I am today! Thank you, Brooke, for joining me in that adventure. . . I don't know that I'd be where I am today had you not!!!

I had the pleasure of spending the last 2 weeks with Brooke as she returned to Mozambique to get married! We had a wonderful time together and I am so thankful for the gift of her friendship. The wedding was so beautiful. Now Brooke and her new husband, Valdemar, have returned to New Zealand to begin their life together. Selfishly, I hope the Lord brings them back to Mozambique very soon!!!

Here is a picture of Brooke and I with Zacarius and Gaspar's family:

Emilton's Shoes

We did another home visit today for Emilton. We met with his mom and uncle, Justino. It was a long meeting with lots of talking in circles but the mom finally agreed to allow Emilton to live with Justino!!! Praise the Lord!!! She even gave us Emilton's official documents so that we can register him for school!

Next week, we will go to the school Emilton last attended and get his documents to register him in a new school near his grandfather's house. We'll buy Emilton new clothes, some blankets, and school supplies and then take him to his uncle's house in Thursday!!!

We had a hard time finding Emilton this morning to go on the home visit. Luis, my co-worker, was out in the city at 6:00 this morning looking for him. Emilton had not slept in his usual spot last night. By 9:30 we still hadn't found him so we decided to go ahead and go to his mom's house to speak to her and the uncle. As we were heading out of the city on the public bus I saw Emilton so we jumped off, got him, and jumped back on. He was hesitant to come with us because someone had stolen his flip flops the night before. Sounds like such a silly thing but for some reason shoes are very important to these boys. They will walk the streets barefoot all day but when it comes time to visit home, they have to have shoes on their feet. It reminds me of a study I did recently on the prodigal son. One of the gifts the father gave the son upon his return was a pair of shoes. Shoes speak so much of one's position in the family. Only a servant would be barefoot. I guess the same still applies today in Africa . . . a son wants to be seen as a son.

Thank you for your prayers for Emilton. I'll continue to keep you updated!

UPDATE: Emilton is now living at his uncle's house and has begun school! Praise the Lord that another precious boy is off the street!!!

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.