Inhambane

Visiting the house in Quissico!

I traveled with one of my long time Mozambican partners in ministry, Pastor Abel, and my fellow Brazilian missionaries, Leandro and Lillian.

Pastor Abel and I doing the new greeting.

Everything has grown - bougainvillea, plumeria, hibiscus, moringa, amendoa, and papaya!

We visited and prayed over the land for the future church and ministry training center in Quissico. 

Pastor Abel, the evangelist, handed out the Gospel of John in Portuguese and his phone number wherever we went.

It was wonderful to see my dear neighbor, Cidalia, and her children.

When we visited my neighbor, Grandma Lila, she presented me with a special gift...

a new capulana!

What a blessing to visit and pray for her.

Every morning we each had a special time sharing from the Bible and praying together.

Prayer and a picture with Pastora Graca from the Nazarene church.

It was good to see the women in Cala and share an encouragement from the Bible with them!

🙏

Thank you for praying for my time here that God will continue to accomplish His purposes and be glorified. I am filled with His continued peace and I praise Him. 

Finishing Quarantine

Here I am in front of my mosquito net in the apartment where I am finishing my 14 day quarantine period here in Mozambique. 

I am doing well and I hope to start working on my visa application this coming week!  

Thank you for your prayer for God's will and my peace as I trust in Him for my time here.

Be Anxious For Nothing

 

My good friend, Candy, sent me this card that I have up on the wall in my room. 

 

It reminds me almost every day that God does not want me to be anxious about anything.  

 

But instead, that God wants me to tell Him about my needs and to thank Him for all that He has done. 

 

Then I experience God's peace, which guards my heart and my mind as I live in Christ Jesus. (Phil.4:6-7)

 

I have been praying about the possibility of taking a trip to Mozambique to visit and apply for a 5 year visa.

 

 And every time I begin to be anxious about this, I am reminded that my all-powerful and loving God does not want me to be anxious, and He tells me what I can do whenever I feel anxiety.

 

In the last 2 weeks, God has done a series of miracles to open the doors for me to travel to Mozambique.  

My current annual visa was sent to me from Brazil (where it has been with colleagues of mine), I got travel approval from OMS, I received a negative result for the PCR Covid-19 test, which had to be within the required 72 hours of departure from here, and I was able to purchase my plane ticket! 

God used many people to open these doors, and I am thankful.

 

Lord willing, I will travel tomorrow to spend about one month in Mozambique, and I will be in quarantine in an apartment, where my missionary team lives, for a 10-14 day period when I arrive. 

 

Along with many other countries, Mozambique has requirements for social distancing, mask wearing, and no large gatherings. 

 

God has done many great miracles around me, but I believe He has done a greater miracle in me; He has given me peace in my heart, no matter what. 

I praise God for His peace.

Since this verse, with the rest of it written on the back of the card, has been such a blessing to me, I asked my mom if she could make some cards for me to give to others.

It's good to be reminded that our all-powerful and loving God does not want for us to be anxious, but rather to be filled with His peace as we walk with Jesus.

We are blessed to be a blessing.

Thank you for praying for God's will and God's peace for me as I travel to Mozambique.

Praying for Mozambique during Covid-19

What a blessing it has been for our missionary team and many prayer supporters to pray together over zoom. 

Living Word Evangelical Church

 In line with other countries, the government is requiring that churches follow guidelines including social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing, and taking the temperature of attendees. This creates a challenge because many churches do not have access to running water or don't have the funds to purchase thermometers. Pray for the re-opening of churches and for guidance and wisdom for the pastors and for the missionaries who walk alongside them.

Praise God that Pastor Daniel and Pastor Abel have been able to take trips to Inhambane to encourage, give masks, food items and audio Bibles, and pray for the people there. 

Maputo Biblical and Theological Seminary and Christian Academy in Mozambique

 Pray for the government as they try to work out how to re-open schools, and for the proposed blended program of schooling and home-schooling. 

Pray for the Seminary and CAM for God's protection on teachers, staff, and students. Praise God for those who graduated this year. 

Helping Hands 

Praise God for the container of wheelchairs that arrived in Mozambique.

Pray for wisdom regarding visits and for God's love through His people to transform the lives of Mozambicans. 

Nkateko, Women with Purpose, and Xikanwe

Praise God for the women who have been making masks to bless their churches and communities. Pray for opportunities to show God's provision and compassion in this time. Praise God for the social distanced Bible studies that the Xikanwe boys soccer and discipleship ministry are able to have.

Please pray for the leaders of Mozambique in their decision making, and for God's children there to be encouraged in His love, power, and faithfulness in this time.

I love my Dad

The adventures of childhood last a lifetime!

Thank you, Dad.

I love my Mom

"...a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised...

her children rise up and call her blessed..." 
 - Proverbs 31:30,28

Mom, thank you for fearing the Lord.
I call you blessed!

Mountains and Valleys

In 2016, I was serving in Mozambique and looking forward to my 40th birthday at the end of the year. 

For a long time I had wanted to climb Africa’s highest point, Mt. Kilimanjaro in neighboring Tanzania, and I thought my 40th birthday would be the perfect time to do it!

After all the plans were made, I began to have non-stop pain in my head. The pain continued, my birthday came and went, and I cancelled the plans to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. 


I returned to the US at the end of 2016, and it has been almost 4 years now in this painful valley. I have prayed and fasted and done countless medical tests and treatments.

Along with the physical pain, comes the frustration of not being able to “do” very much. Of course, I can still “be” for Christ, which is my true and unchanging identity, not what I do or where I go. I am loved by God, and I want to love God and people no matter where I am or what I am doing. This does not change.

But I cry out to God, “use me!” along with the important prayer connected to this request, “make me usable.” 

And God responds to me by saying...“I am.”

Whether I understand it or not, the great I AM has assured me that He is both making me usable and using me in the valley.

I thank God for this unique and precious time to love and be loved by my family, my friends, and my local church.


Walking side by side with Jesus in our valleys, we can grow in faith, grace, patience, obedience, perseverance, and our ability to be compassionate and to comfort others with the comfort we have received. 


As difficult as it is in our valleys, I believe we can be blessed in them, and we can be a blessing to others because of them. 

God said..."I AM" 

Exodus 3:14