Medical Update

Today I had an appointment with a surgeon in Nelspruit, South Africa. If I continue care on this continent, he would be the one performing my next biopsy. However, my hope is to return to the States for that procedure. The more and more I research and learn about what lies ahead, I know that I want to be in the States where I have an abundance of family and friends around me. After discussing this with the doctor today, he agreed and wrote a report to my insurance company recommending that my further care be provided in America.

Please join me in praying that the insurance company responds quickly and in favor of returning to the States. They will handle booking my flight home. I'm not sure what percentage of my treatment they will cover yet but I have a feeling I'm going to need lots of favor with hospitals when it comes to discussing payment options.

Thank you all so much for the encouraging emails and messages you have sent. I truly believe that the peace I feel is because of all the prayers reaching heaven on my behalf.

A Hard Post About A Harsh Reality

This is not the easiest blog post to write as no words seem to lessen the harshness of the reality I am facing. So I’ll just say it. I have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

I received the call 1 week ago today from a doctor in South Africa. And suddenly my life here in Mozambique with my beautiful street boys is being put on hold as I deal with this disease. It makes me angry. Not at God because I know that God is for me and will lead me through this time. But it makes me angry at the enemy…that he found some way to take me away from the ministry that I love so dearly. But I am choosing to trust that my God works all things together for good for those who are called according to His purposes and who love Him.

I am still making decisions about if and when to return to the States for treatment. I know that this is the best option but it is so hard to leave my boys. God has surrounded me with an amazing team of people who are working alongside me here so I know the ministry will continue on just fine and street boys will continue to leave the streets and return to their families. I just hate that I’ll have to miss out on it for a time.

Thank you to all of you who have sent encouraging emails in the last week. Please keep praying for me…that the cancer would be completely removed from my body. Believe with me that Jesus is the Healer of all disease!

Our Newest Family Member

Meet Tilfo!

As of this past weekend, he is the 3rd boy we've invited to leave his life on the streets and live with us. Taking in boys to live with us is not our norm as we very much have a heart to see the street boys reconciled to their families. But with Tilfo, Paito, and Felix, the 3 boys living with us, we feel like God has something special in store for them that me and my housemates are to be a part of.

We are not exactly sure how old Tilfo is. He thinks he is around 15. His documents say he is 19. I think 15 or 16 is a more accurate guess. Here in Mozambique, its common that a child will not have official birth documents so years down the road when someone has documents created, a birthdate is created. Both of Tilfo's parents passed away. He spent 7 years living at a children's center where he studied through the 7th grade. Tilfo left the children's center in 2009 and started living with an uncle and aunt. He encountered some problems in their home and decided to leave. That's when he started living on the streets and became a part of Masana.

Tilfo is an amazing young man. He is very gentle and patient. He is quick to help with anything that needs to be done. He's a talented soccer player and does very well in school. We are so excited to have him in our home and a part of our family. In the next few days, we'll arrange for him to study at a school near our house. We'll also be going to visit his aunt and uncle. This will be the first time that Tilfo has spoken to them since he left their home a year ago. Please keep Tilfo in your prayers as he settles in here, begins school, and starts the process of being reconciled with his family.

Back to School: Janario, Marcus, and Abrantis

Friday we visited 3 boys to make sure they were all set for school. It is rainy season here in Mozambique and it rained so much on Thursday that we had to cancel our visits. So we are a bit behind schedule and having to squeeze more into each day. The rain also makes for interesting driving in the villages around Maputo! I drove through some pretty deep holes/ditches full of water. And I'm no expert on driving in these type of conditions so i just choose a side and drive! Thankfully God protected my car!!!

We were able to get Janario all set to study in grade 3. He is 11 years old and has been off the streets since June. Next was Marcus who is 14 and also returned home in June. He'll be studying in grade 5. Finally was Abrantis...whom I affectionately call "Malouco" (crazy person). Abrantis is 15 and has been home since last February. My first year working at Masana, Abrantis was one of the boys I was closest to. He would wash my car for me every week. Every sunday, he would bring a bag of frozen food to my house and ask to heat it up. He brought me a pet bird named Sarina and then took me on a bird hunt to show me how to catch birds. We had a special bond! Since he went home, he's twice taken me and some friends to a small, almost deserted island near his families house. He's a great kid! This year he'll be studying in the 6th grade.

Back to School: Matusse

Matusse’s real name is Sadik. Many of the boys make up names for themselves when they begin living on the street so that they don’t have to reveal their true identity to others. When we reintegrated Matusse with his father back in November, we learned his real name. Matusse is 14 years old. He’ll be studying in the 5th grade this year.

Matusse has had a hard time since he returned home. Just before Christmas, he got into trouble and his father kicked him out of the house. On today’s visit, when we should have been focusing on Matusse’s school registration, we were sorting through this family dispute. We had a 4 hour meeting with Matusse, his father, his sister, his stepmother, and the chief of their village. Matusse’s father was trying to forbid his son from living with his sister as well. So the chief of the village intervened to mediate through the dispute. In the end, Matusse’s father was forced to give Matusse all of the things we had purchased for him (clothes, blankets, and a small business) and grant his son permission to live with other family members. The ending was good but it was a frustrating situation. I’ll never understand how a father can kick his son out rather than forgive him for his error. Please keep Matusse in your prayers as he adjusts to living with his older sister. His father lives very close to this sister so there is still hope for their relationship to be restored.

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!