Title: The Challenge of Reentry!
Happy New Year and muito obrigadas!!
(for ALL you prayers and support)
I cannot express what an honor it is to partner with you on this leg of this journey, this epic adventure. My heart has been overwhelmed by your emails, texts, and calls. Thank you for being a part of this...the praise first belongs to Jesus, but also we (The Holy Three and me;) applaud you for YOUR endurance...the effective fervent prayer of the righteous avails much!! Prayer turns sickness that is quickly taking more victims into victory and wellness...prayer keeps broken down camions running just long enough to make it safely to our destinations...prayer moves mountains and captivates the heart of heaven in a partnership that moves here on earth!! So again thanks!!
I have been back for 12 days and it's been wonderful, challenging, and quick! It is wonderful to catch up with family and friends, to be able to shower with hot water (barefoot) for more than 3 minutes, to wear cozy pjs and to sleep in a bed under the covers free from bed bugs and a mosquito net! It's the little things like that that being in a third world country makes u realize are often taken for granted...simple everyday pleasures here, are not even thought of dreams in Mozambique (unless of course you are from the West). Which brings me to the challenge of returning: the "simple" is grandiose after 3 mos away--my first shower almost involved sobbing because of the use of such a fine smelling body wash in water that is clear and free from any dangerous germs.
I thought about it this morning--while I was gone the world kept moving at a quick pace while "my" world slowed down drastically. In Moz I noticed the way the land transformed before my very eyes with growth and greenery, the butterflies were everywhere, and people actually stop expecting a conversation if you happen to say "Hello!" "Salama!" Or "Boa Tarde!" Here, there is a pace so quick that it seems sprinting is the only way to keep up. Hellos with an actual response are a thing of the past and foreign to the receivers...it is colder so we'll be gracious to the butterflies;) But I would say, the hardest part of this reentry is recognizing that while I was away in Africa, immersed in the overwhelming presence of the Lord, away from modern ammenities--all one really could do to escape boredom or culture shock is revel in Him, talk about Him, delight in Him and see Him in others in school and out...(which is glorious!!)
Africa is a wilderness of sorts and one, or maybe it was just me, realizes how utterly dependent one is on Him. Without the Lord and His Holy Spirit, thriving much less surviving would be nearly impossible for someone born in the west...so, coming back the challenge becomes to learn to see Him and relate to Him in others, with others...and the challenge is this: here He is still with me/us, BUT He isn't actually "needed" There are sooo many "things" here that take up time, and life continues that utter dependence on Him is not necessarily necessary. With every solution literally at my fingertips, I don't need to pray when I'm hungry, thirsty, or in need of a shower...there's food everywhere, water is drinkable from nearly any tap, and even in drought there is still enough water for a hot shower. The hardest part of returning is recognizing that His tangible presence gets masked by the everyday sights and sounds that here has to offer!! Finding time to rest in "stillness" is not easy when there is more hustle and bustle, but now is the day to turn this challenge into a challenge, and I will fight for the pauses and stop to breathe because learning about depending on the Lord changed me that in the west I am sooo much more desperate for Him...Maish Jesush...if I do not have Him I will not thrive much less survive...
The quick pace is traffic flying by on well-paved roads, appointment after appointment, meeting after meeting and minutes, hours, and days going by in a blink...so quick that there is hardly time to think. Breathing in the oxygen deprived world (or so it seems) because you must be quick here or it passes you by...of course this is all "normal" but reentering onto foreign soil is a process...it's 21 days to make a habit, I was in Mozambique for four 21 day cycles, 12 weeks...I've just surfaced from a deep sea dive so to speak and my lungs, heart, mind, body and spirit are readjusting. It's a process that must be done and nobody can can do it for me...please bear with me as I transition back, "Im just a work in process."
Before I go, I will update again soon, I want to encourage you in this debriefing process...we have all just experienced life changing moments that have forever altered who we are and are becoming...like Him in His image...do not be afraid to ask questions. When talking to me, it will help by being specific rather than general: "How was Africa?" seems like a simple question but will gather a simple unsatisfying response like, "good" because in all honesty, that question is overwhelming...so much happened to fit into one answer...instead, ask about the terrain, or people characteristics, or things about school, or how Mozambicans gather water etc. Ask Holy Spirit to help you draw information out of the deep wells He dug...I'm not trying to hold back, sometimes it just has to be turned on so the water can flow.
Like my 12 weeks in Mozambique was a process, our lives will continue to be a process and thank you again for walking this out with me. You've all been with me the whole way and I will forever be grateful!!
May you be showered with blessings from on High,
Deus Abençoe,
Tchau,
Desiree
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Feliz Natal and Goodnight Moz!! 28 December '09
Feliz Natal and Goodnight Moz!!
Bon Noite,
((this is the final mozi update:())
Well Christmas flew by in a hurry as it always does...this year I saw the faces of nearly 1,500 faces (assuming the lines were evenly split) girls who waited for hours to receive a Christmas dinner of chicken, rice, cabbage, juice and a lolli pop. Arco Iris fed over 3200 children, women, and men this Christmas (not included in the count were missionaries, visitors, and iris kids). There were 800 chickens that sacrificed their lives and each person received a quarter chicken...there were over 25 quarter chickens left after ALL the Iris kids had a second helping at dinner time!! Last night on base chicken was again served! You can do the math and check...chickens multiplied! It goes to show that with faith and perseverance a little goes a long way, and there is ALWAYS enough!!
I spent the week working on another painting assignment. We'll call it Casa de Creances...4 large rooms!! It was an intense project, but in 5 work days we finished!! There is still a bit of paint to be put onto the walls, but the mural part is finished, and I hired a Mozambican painter to paint the rest!!
I will attach pictures at a later date and you can eventually (once I am stateside and in computer range) see them on my blog which now contains all emails http://dunamisfire.blogspot.com.
Today I began my wind down and the beginning of my rest and preparation to leave. We got to swim with dolphins and scuba dive off the island called Londo. I saw a brilliantly blue starfish and floated there looking at it and I almost fell asleep...but it was sooo refreshing to just bee in the water and I am glad there are no more "assignments" left on this Pemba adventure.
If I can put into a brief summary of Pemba as I sit at a lovely hotel sipping coffee with two of my friends who just returned from their outreach in Tete...As it says in Haggai, The Lord did not bring me into the wilderness to abandon me but to woo me and speak tenderly to me. I learned about Love, fell deeper in Love, and realized the time spent here will forever alter my perspective on life. I have gone much deeper in the Lord and have seen that life can be lived much more simply. I will never forget how dry places in the natural were representative of dry places in me, and likewise with wells of sweet refreshing water...we are comprised of both dry and moist and it's a beautiful process to becoming a moldable vessel that is more and more like Jesus every day!
Thank you all for your prayers and support!! Ti amo muito!!
Until Pemba calls again,
Deus Abençoe!
Desiree
Bon Noite,
((this is the final mozi update:())
Well Christmas flew by in a hurry as it always does...this year I saw the faces of nearly 1,500 faces (assuming the lines were evenly split) girls who waited for hours to receive a Christmas dinner of chicken, rice, cabbage, juice and a lolli pop. Arco Iris fed over 3200 children, women, and men this Christmas (not included in the count were missionaries, visitors, and iris kids). There were 800 chickens that sacrificed their lives and each person received a quarter chicken...there were over 25 quarter chickens left after ALL the Iris kids had a second helping at dinner time!! Last night on base chicken was again served! You can do the math and check...chickens multiplied! It goes to show that with faith and perseverance a little goes a long way, and there is ALWAYS enough!!
I spent the week working on another painting assignment. We'll call it Casa de Creances...4 large rooms!! It was an intense project, but in 5 work days we finished!! There is still a bit of paint to be put onto the walls, but the mural part is finished, and I hired a Mozambican painter to paint the rest!!
I will attach pictures at a later date and you can eventually (once I am stateside and in computer range) see them on my blog which now contains all emails http://dunamisfire.blogspot.com.
Today I began my wind down and the beginning of my rest and preparation to leave. We got to swim with dolphins and scuba dive off the island called Londo. I saw a brilliantly blue starfish and floated there looking at it and I almost fell asleep...but it was sooo refreshing to just bee in the water and I am glad there are no more "assignments" left on this Pemba adventure.
If I can put into a brief summary of Pemba as I sit at a lovely hotel sipping coffee with two of my friends who just returned from their outreach in Tete...As it says in Haggai, The Lord did not bring me into the wilderness to abandon me but to woo me and speak tenderly to me. I learned about Love, fell deeper in Love, and realized the time spent here will forever alter my perspective on life. I have gone much deeper in the Lord and have seen that life can be lived much more simply. I will never forget how dry places in the natural were representative of dry places in me, and likewise with wells of sweet refreshing water...we are comprised of both dry and moist and it's a beautiful process to becoming a moldable vessel that is more and more like Jesus every day!
Thank you all for your prayers and support!! Ti amo muito!!
Until Pemba calls again,
Deus Abençoe!
Desiree
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