Always Give Yourselves Fully

I've found myself disheartened lately....tired of pouring myself out for boys who don't seem to want our help.

In June, a boy who lived with us for almost a month was set to return to his family who lives about 6 hours north of the city.  The night before we were to leave, he stole money from our house and disappeared.  To this day, we don't know where he is.

A young boy who is very sick has been living with us for 2 months now.  Last week he left for his daily trip to the health center for medication and never came back.  Roberto and I spent 2 days searching for him before we found him and brought him back to Masana.  When we questioned him about why he'd run away, all we got were blank stares.

Another young man was staying with us for the past 2 weeks because he'd been hit by a car.  He decided he didn't want to stay in the hospital after his accident so he paid a taxi to drop him off outside of Masana.  When we returned from church 2 Sunday's ago, there he was on the sidewalk outside of our home with a cast on both his arm and his leg.  Roberto and the boys who live here with us had to carry this young man around for 2 weeks...to the bathroom, to his bedroom, to the living room.  He was completely dependent on us.  After a few talks, he agreed to go to his grandmothers house which is 3 hours north of the city.  The night before we were to take him home, he disappeared.

You see how easy it is to feel disheartened?  We give so much of ourselves.  Roberto has spent countless hours at the hospital with these boys.  We've opened our home to them.  We've given them clothes and food.  Yet it seems to be in vain.  They run away despite all we've done for them.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."  1 Corinthians 15:58

This morning I skipped church and stayed home alone.  I needed time to process through these disappointments.  And this is the verse God has put on my heart.

Stand firm.

Let nothing move you.

ALWAYS give yourselves fully.

Your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

ALWAYS give yourselves fully.  ALWAYS....that's the calling Roberto and I have accepted as we pour ourselves out day after day here at Masana.  Even when we find ourselves disappointed by the boys, we will choose to ALWAYS give ourselves fully.  And we will believe that our labor is not in vain.  We will believe that the Lord is planting seeds in the hearts of these boys...even the ones who run away from us.  And despite the disappointments, we will thank God that He uses us to pour out His love on these boys.  We will stand firm.

The Journey of Masana

Please take a minute to watch this video that beautifully captures the ministry of Masana:

Hope in the Suffering

Life on the streets is full of suffering.  These last few months, we have seen an increased number of boys showing up at our house all hours of the day or night in need of medical attention.  We had little Antonio who was hit by a car and couldn't walk.  There was Marcilino who was hit by a car and broke his arm.  We also had one other boy that was hit by a car and left with a severe sprain.  We've had 4 or 5 boys with urinary tract infections because of drinking contaminated water.  Alex was beaten over the head with a rock and needed stitches.  Antonio was beaten so badly in his face that his eyes were swollen shut for a week and he still doesn't have full vision back.  Another Antonio had a piece of iron go through his foot and developed a horrible infection.  Alfredo was badly burned on his leg when someone threw gas on the fire they were cooking on.  2 boys have tested HIV+.  

Most of these health issues are things that would never happen if the boys were living at home with their families and not on the streets.  Boys who run around the streets begging at stop lights, sometimes get hit by cars.  Boys who steal for a living get beaten up when they are caught.  Boys who dig through trash dumpsters without proper shoes, get injured by sharp objects.  Boys who live in an abandoned church with no running water, develop infections from contaminated water.  And maybe one of the harshest realities of street life:  boys who don't practice safe sex in a city where 12% of the population is HIV+, test positive.  

But God has placed Masana in the middle of this city to serve as a safe haven for these boys.  When no one else seems to care about them...we care.  When they ring the door bell at 2 o'clock in the morning, we will crawl out of bed to help them.  We will spend hours in hospital waiting rooms making sure they get the medical care they need.  We'll walk to the local pharmacy as often as needed to buy medicine for them.  And through all of the suffering that the boys endure, we will not stop praying that God use it to transform their lives....that this illness or this injury will finally be the tipping point that sends these boys back to their families.  We will find hope in the suffering.

2 brothers and a Neighbor

This past week, a group of 3 new boys showed up at Masana.  One of them, Antonio, had been hit by a car over the weekend and could barely walk.  Abigail, our on-call doctor, checked him out and assured us the leg wasn't broken.  We took him to the hospital where they confirmed that it was just a bad sprain and wrapped up his entire leg so that he couldn't bend it.  He has been staying with us here at Masana ever since as we await his follow-up appointment on Monday.

Antonio, his brother, Armando, and a neighbor named Abilo all came to the city together about 2 weeks ago.  They came to try and find an uncle but weren't able to locate his house so they ended up on the street instead.  Their families are about 3 hours north of Maputo in a beach town called Xai-Xai.  Antonio is the oldest of the group with 11 years.  The other 2 are probably 9 or 10.

I wish I could say that Antonio, after suffering a car accident, is ready to go back home....but he's not.  None of them are.  Sadly, they are loving life on the street and how easily they make money begging. Numerous times, Armando and Abilo have come to Masana to drop off Fizz (a cheap soda) and cookies for their brother with the hurt leg.  They are living it up...carefree, no one to make them do anything.

It has been raining a lot for the past few hours and I find myself praying that this group of boys would realize that its not all fun and games here on the streets of Maputo.  I'm praying that they will feel the cold today as they walk the city in their wet clothes.  I'm praying that they will feel hunger pains as Masana is closed for the weekend.  I'm praying God will move in their hearts and their minds.  I'm praying for a desire to return home.

Waiting For A Stamp

Our season of transition here at Masana is still just that....transition.  We should have reopened the doors of our center on January 25 ending our season of transition and starting our season of new beginnings.  But instead, we are doing nothing as we wait on a stamp from the government to continue building our classrooms and kitchen.  Our building was suspended 3 weeks ago because the necessary building permits were not ready.  All of our documents and building designs have been submitted.  Our architect goes to the government office every day to check on them.  He's told to be patient....our process is in the office of the 2nd floor and still has to make it up to the 3rd floor office for the boss to give his stamp of approval.  And so we wait....and the 30 something street boys who are waiting with us pop in from time to time to see if there is any news.

Will you pray with us for these documents to receive the necessary stamp so that our building can resume and our center can reopen once again.  Pray that when those 30 something boys come knocking again, we'll have good news for them!

He Makes Beautiful Things

As I reflect back over the last couple of months and the crazy transition that we've undergone as we've relocated our family and our ministry, I am reminded of the Gungor song, "Beautiful Things." The yellow house we rented in the middle of the city was for sure a fixer-upper.  But today it's a beautiful home for me, my family, and the boys we care for....God has made a beautiful thing out of the dust.  The pictures below capture the restoration of a run down house into a beautiful home.  And we know that this transformation is just the beginning of what God has in store for our home.  Over the coming months and years, we hope and pray to see the lives of countless boys transformed by the love of God.  We hope and pray that He will continue to make beautiful things.

A New Home For Masana

At the end of September we received word that the house that has been home to Masana for almost 6 years is being sold to a local grocery store who will destroy it to build another shopping center.  We are devastated to say good bye to this home but know that God is with us in this season of transition.

In the past 6 weeks we have looked at numerous properties all over our city, signed a lease on one in the city-center, met with the bosses of the grocery store about details of our relocation, started renovations to the main house where my family will be living along with the 4 boys we care for, met with architects about plans for a building to serve the needs of our day center (classrooms, office, medical room), started packing boxes  All this while continue to run our day center at the old house.  Needless to say, its been an exhausting 6 weeks.

But when I think back over the past 6 weeks, I can see the hand of God in all of it.  It was Him who led us to this house in the center of the city...the perfect location for a project with street kids since they live in different parts of the city.  It was Him who gave us favor in meetings with the new landlord who has accepted to deduct some of the building costs from our rent.  It was Him who helped me connect to the owners of the grocery store so that I could get permission for us to stay in the current house until our Masana year ends on November 30.   It was Him who made it possible to get boxes and a truck donated for our moving day.  It was Him who brought together a great team of workers, including some who simply volunteered their service, to get all the repairs done on the house so that its ready for us to move in at the end of the month.  It was Him who has connected me to and architect in the city who is helping us find ways to build cheap but with good quality.  It was Him who has abundantly blessed us with the finances we need in this time of transition.

Even though we are physically tired at the end of each day, we rest well each night knowing that God is orchestrating our every move.