A Different Kind of Thanksgiving

This past Thursday, as families all over the States were gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving, I was thousands of miles from my family. But I had the beautiful privilege of taking a boy who had been living on the streets for a few years back to his family.

Abel is 13 years old. His great grandparents live about an hour from the city as well as one of his brothers. His mother and grandmother live closer to the city but for Abel, his great-grandparents place is home. His great-grandparents were so excited to see him, although at first they didn't recognize him as it had been at least 2 years since they'd seen him. His great grandfather pulled out all of Abel's documents and old school papers as well as some family photos. He spoke to us about the love they have for Abel and how they want him to stay home with them and eventually take over the family farm.

Their joy over their returned great grandson was beautiful.

This was a Thanksgiving I will never forget.

Beach Day!

The Mozambican school year has now ended. That means no lessons at Masana for the month of November!! We are seeking creative ways to entertain the boys each day and, living on the coast, the beach is always a hit. So once a week we pile all 30-something boys as well as 6 or 7 adults into our 2 cars and drive to Costa do Sol for a couple of hours.

I love beach days because I see the boys forgetting about the harshness of street life as they play soccer, swim, build houses out of sand and, well, just be kids.

Prodigal Son Party

Back in March, while I was in the States begining my cancer treatments, I had the idea of throwing a prodigal son party at Masana on the day that a boy is being reintegrated. In the story of the prodigal son found in Luke 15, the father gives the son 3 gifts and a huge party:

But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:22-24

So began the tradition of Prodigal Son Parties at Masana. This past week, I was blessed to be here for Solomão's party. Luis, who is the head of our reintegration team, did a beautiful job of telling the story of the prodigal son and the significance of the 3 gifts - a robe, a ring, and shoes. Each of the gifts symbolize honor, position, and sonship. For Solomão, the shirt, ring, and sandals he received are to remind him of the commitment he is making as he leaves the streets and is reunited with his family.

Please keep Salomão in your prayers as he adjusts to life back at home.

Halloween In Maputo

This past Monday I taught all of the Masana boys about halloween and the idea of dressing up in costumes and going trick-or-treating. I had some old pictures on my computer from the halloween parties we use to have at our house in Athens so I was able to print off a picture of me dressed as Strawberry Shortcake to show all of the boys. That night, the 6 boys that are living with us right now sneakily put together costumes and trick-or-treated at our house. Thankfully, there was a bag of Reese's cups in the freezer that I was able to give them!!! However, that means we no longer have a surplus of reese's cups in the freezer for those days when we just need a little taste of America....anyone want to send some our way?

note: all donations of resse's cups and any other american goodies can be sent to our p.o. box in south africa:

Sarah Olds

Suite 337 Private Bag X11340

Nelspruit 1200 South Africa

Tears of Joy

Little David ran away from home over 3 years ago and has been living on the streets ever since. He recently decided he was ready to return home so we drove him there yesterday. His house is in a very remote village about 2 hours from the city. We drove to the house that his family lived in when he left 3 years ago but no one was home. After speaking to a neighbor, we realized his family had moved to a new house. Thankfully, David knew where this new house was located.

Upon arriving at the correct house, David's aunt gave us chairs to sit in. One of his little cousins was quite scared of us because she had never seen white people in her village. She ran away when we first walked up but soon came back to see why we were there. Luis, my coworker, began introducing us to the aunt...."Sarah, Lauren, Luis." Lastly, he pointed to David and said "and this young man you already know." The aunt shook her head no and took a better look at David's face. About the time Luis said the name "David" you could see the look of recognition registering on the face of his aunt.

And then the tears of joy started falling.

David was crying. I was crying. Lauren was crying. The aunt was crying. And shouting. And jumping up and down. And running to call other family members.

It was beautiful.

Another prodigal son is home.

(David in the white jersey with his family)

Welcome Home!!!

I'M BACK IN MOZAMBIQUE!!! When I arrived this past Sunday, I was greeted at the airport by a group of the Masana boys holding a banner they had made spelling out "Tia Sarah." It was a beautiful welcome. We had a dinner that night with the 6 boys living with us and a couple of other missionaries who have become dear friends. Monday was a super fun day at Masana to celebrate my return. There were 40 boys here to celebrate! My housemates and the Mozambican staff had planned a special lunch and even put together a drama about my time in America so that all the boys would understand a bit more about my cancer treatments.

It's so great to be home!

Cancer: Done!

It is 8:00 in the morning and I am sitting in the Washington Dulles airport waiting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Maputo, Mozambique. My heart is full of so many emotions. 227 days ago I called my doctor in South Africa for my biopsy results. Breast cancer. Then I made the hard decision to leave my home in Mozambique and return to Georgia for treatment. When I left Mozambique on March 13, I thought I'd knock my treatments out quickly and be back in June. Guess I was wrong. Today is October 8. My last radiation treatment was yesterday. 7 months in the States going through treatment.

So here I am. I just said goodbye to my family and friends who have been so amazingly supportive these past 7 months. I'm so excited to be on my way back to Mozambique but I'm also a bit nervous. 7 months is a long time to be gone. I mean I definitely look different than I did in March when I left! Gone is the long, curly, red hair and I am currently a very short blonde. What will the boys think and say when they see me? Will I remember their names? Will I remember how to speak Portuguese? Will my limited knowledge of the language allow me to communicate how deeply I have missed them all and to share about my journey through cancer? Will I remember how to drive on the opposite side of the road with crazy, aggressive drivers? Will I remember the names of roads? Will I be able to pick up right where I left off in March? Will Maputo still feel like home?

So many questions. But not one that can be answered until I am there. I can choose to continue dwelling on these worries for the next 20-something hours or I can give them to God and trust that He is walking this out with me.

I choose the latter. I take comfort in my Father's voice. "Fear not. I am with you."