Back to School: Gito

Gito is 16 years old. He returned home in May, 2010. He lives with his father and stepmother. Gito truly lives in the “bush!” To get to his house, we drive about an house, most of which is on a dirt road. Then we turn off the dirt road onto a road that isn’t really much of a road but more of a path with really overgrown grass between fields of corn. We drive as far as we can and then walk the last 10 or 15 minutes to Gito’s house.

Last year, Gito completed the adult literacy program and passed his 5th grade exam. He will be studying in the 6th grade this year. Unfortunately, Gito lost the document saying he passed that exam so we’ll have to return to his old school and get a new one before we can complete his registration. Sometimes the registration process can be quite time consuming. For many Mozambican families, this is a deterrent because it costs money in transport and fees to get these documents and they just don’t have the extra money. So this becomes one way that Masana is able to bless these boys and their families!

Back to School

January marks the beginning of a new school year here in Mozambique. The couple of weeks leading up to the first day of classes is when all of the kids register for their grade. Sadly, some kids have families that don’t really place a high value on education and these kids end up not attending school. At Masana, we believe that education is very important. When we reintegrate a boy back with his family, we commit to paying all school fees and buying school materials for at least a year. That means that, during this 2 week period in January, we visit all of the boys that we’ve reintegrated in the previous year. It’s a lot of work but its so worth it because it gives us a chance to check in with all of the boys and their families and see how they are getting along.

So over the next 7 days we’ll visit Gito, Matusse, Reginaldo, Marcos, Fred, Semera, Abrantis, Juma, Janario, Luis, Paito, Fabiao, Manuel, and Pai. Stories to follow!

masana 2010

2011 Support

Hello family and friends! How quickly 2010 has gone by! I am back in the states with my family for the holidays and so looking forward to a time of rest before I return to Mozambique for another year.

As I think back over the past year in Mozambique, I am overwhelmed by the goodness of our God. It has been a wonderful year full of blessings in my ministry at Masana with street kids. We helped 15 boys leave the streets and return to their families with 2 others awaiting our help in January when Masana reopens. Our day center moved to a new location with much nicer facilities for the boys. As a result of that, we've seen an increase in the number of street kids wanting to be a part of our project on a daily basis. We now have temporary housing for the boys when they are sick or in the process of being reintegrated with their families. About 25 boys stayed with us for various reasons throughout the year. Currently, 2 boys are living with us as work on helping them reconnect with their families.

We've also seen a few disappointments over the year. We had a couple of hard reintegration attempts where families refused to accept their sons back. One boy we took back to his family returned to the streets 3 days later. 2 others stayed home for a couple of months and then returned to the streets. We had to deal with a few thefts from both street kids and, even harder, friends that we trusted and allowed into our home.

But despite the hard parts of the year, I can say without a doubt that it's all worth it. The privilege of witnessing a family reunited far outweighs any of the disappointments. There is a verse in Psalms that says, "He places the lonely in families." That is what our ministry among these street boys is all about...seeing them restored to their families.

My annual budget is around $24,000. I would like to ask you to pray about supporting me. Whatever God puts on your heart, know that it is being used for the building of His kingdom. I am raising my support through Unveiled Faces, a non-profit organization designed to connect and support missionaries. All gifts are tax deductible. Follow this link to give online or you can mail a check made payable to "Unveiled Faces" with "Sarah Olds" on the memo line to:

Unveiled Faces
PO Box 8235
Atlanta GA 31106

If you feel led to support me monthly, let me know and I can send you envelopes for each month or I can give you information on how to set-up automatic debit.

Please feel free to contact me if you want to hear more about Masana and my time in Mozambique!

Blessings!

Sarah Olds

www.sarah-n-africa.com

Our Family is Growing!

Part of the beauty of working with street kids is how unique each of their stories are. We have boys that have been on the streets for months and some for years. Some love life on the street and have no desire to return home. Some are anxious to return to their families but a little scared about doing it alone. Some try going home and, for whatever reason, just don't stay.

It is our desire to meet these boys where they are and help them reach the place that they are ready to be back home with their families. We've recently had 2 boys move in with us as we've developed a plan to get them back with their families. Let me introduce you to Felix and Paito!

Felix is 12 years old. Masana first reintegrated him in October, 2009. He stayed at home for a few months but then ended up back on the street when his uncle kicked him out. We went and met with grandmother and uncle but they were not willing to take responsability for him because of his behavior problems. They had tried to deal with his problems using witchcraft but without success. Next we went to visit Felix's father. His father loves him but also struggles with Felix's behavior. If Felix were living in america, he would be in a special ed class at school and receive lots of one-on-one attention. Unfortunately the Mozambican schools don't work that way so Felix struggles in school and finds himself getting into trouble often.

Ian, one of my housemates, has been working with Felix a lot this year on learning to read and write. He's progressing greatly!!! A couple of months back, we prayed a lot about Felix and decided to invite him to live with us at the Kunhymela House. The deal we came up with is that Felix will stay with us Sunday - Thursday and then with either his grandmother or father on the weekends. For Felix, we feel his life at home will be much better once he is caught up in school and able to feel successful in his school work. He loves being with his family on the weekends but just isn't ready to be there full-time yet. Felix is a very hard worker and loves helping us out around the house!

Paito is 15 years old. He has been living on the streets since 2008. His mother has always bounced from one man to the next. Paito was never really close to his father. Prior to coming to live on the streets of Maputo, Paito was living with his father and got into some trouble for stealing. One day he just left home and never went back. Earlier this year, we went to visit Paito's father. It was the first time they'd seen each other in 2 years. His father was happy to see him again and wanted him to return home. Paito, however, had no desire to return home. He enjoyed his life on the street...coming to Masana, spending the evening walking around the city, going to sleep, and doing it all over again the next day. He didn't really have friends on the street but kept to himself.

As we got closer to Paito, we realized he needed a little help in seeing the value of family. So we invited him to live with us with the same plan as Felix...that weekends are spent with his father. Our hope with Paito is that he will begin to realize that he needs the support and encouragement of his family if he is going to make something of his life. In January, we will register Paito at a school here in the city. We want to help him find a job and teach him how to budget and save. If time allows, we also want to sign him up for some english courses as he loves learning english.

The Kunhymela House is currently made up of 3 Americans, 1 South African and now 2 Mozambicans. We may not look like a traditional family but as we do life together, its our prayer that these boys will, day by day, see the value of family.

Afternoons with Paito

Each afternoon after Masana, one of the boys, Paito, sticks around to wash our cars and complete whatever other odd jobs we have for him. He is also quite the entertainer. He loves music and dancing. So for him, washing one of our cars with the stereo blasted is the perfect way to pass the afternoon. And I love peaking out the window and seeing the joy on his face as he listens to his favorite music and dances. The video below is Paito and Lauren, one of my housemates. Lauren has just explained to Paito what ballet is.

Paito is quite unique when it comes to street kids. He keeps to himself on the street rather than sleeping with other kids. He loves his life on the streets where he can wake up, walk around, do what he wants, go to sleep. . . only to wake up and do it all over again the next day. Complete freedom. We've been talking to him a lot about his future and what dreams he has for his life.

Please pray for Paito. He does not have a relationship with his father and we really want to see that restored. Our hope for him is that he'll begin visiting his family on the weekends and start working towards restoring his family.

Luis: Revisted

A month ago, we took Luis back home. Today we did a follow-up visit. It was beautiful.

We arrived to a table set for a feast. Luis' grandparents were there to express their deep gratitude for our help in bringing their grandson back home. His grandmother shed tears of joy as she tried to express how much joy she felt that day, a month ago, when we first showed up at the family's house with Luis. Then she asked to pray for us. Her prayer was in Shanghan, the local language, so I did not understand her words but I felt the Holy Spirit. I knew that, once again, God had used us to restore a family. It was obvious that, with the return of Luis, this family was filled with new hope for life.

We discussed with the family what small business they had decided to try. They asked if instead, we would be willing to use the business money to build a house for Luis next to his mom's house. We asked them to do some research on the cost involved in this and we'll let them know if Masana has the finances to do it or not.

We had brought a suitcase full of new clothes, a couple of blankets, a sleeping mat, and a few other items Luis will need as he resettles with his family. Again, tears were shed as Luis opened the suitcase and showed his family all that was inside. One by one, his family members came to hug us and thank us again for all that we have done for their family.

Then we were served a feast. The women in the family had worked so hard to prepare these beautiful plates - prawns, chicken, salad, rice, and potatoes. It was literally some of the best food I've had in Mozambique. And how perfect to enjoy this meal sitting under a large tree in a village with a family so full of joy.

As we left, the entire family accompanied us to the end of the road. Then we said our goodbyes and continued on to the bus stop with just Luis and his mother. Luis' mom asked to speak to my coworker alone. Lauren and I walked on ahead with Luis chatting with him about life in his community and how he passed his time.

As we boarded the ferry boat to cross the Maputo Bay back to the city, my coworker told us that Luis' mom was HIV+. She had just found out and has not told her son or other family yet. That is why she wants us to build a house for her son....so that he has a place of his own once she is gone.

Watching the island disappear as the boat crossed the bay, tears filled my eyes. Such a mixture of emotions filled my heart as I thought of this joyful family so full of hope. And this mother carrying a secret....to afraid to tell her family for fear of crushing that hope.