tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64771397441510609162023-11-16T08:24:02.511+02:00MozamWeekWe're in Tete, anymore, but still doing our thing!JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.comBlogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-49490684119018053752021-08-02T10:01:00.000+02:002021-08-02T10:01:06.016+02:00Our fragile strength <div><i><b>Preface:<br /></b>I just opened this blog and I found this unpublished from January 1019 and labeled "Unfinished... needs big edit." After reading it again, I didn't find much to edit, but I did realize that we are all "unfinished" and we do all need "a big edit" in one way or another. Here it is:</i></div><div><br /></div>The first time I held my newborn daughter I was overwhelmed. She was immediately familiar. She was tiny, and I expected her to be fragile. I was surprised by her strength! Do you know what I mean? Small and fragile, but still strong and full of life? She couldn't hold up her own head, but she had a will and a power demonstrated by her scream and the clench of her fist and that amazing moment she latched on to nurse at my breast.<br />
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Let's just acknowledge it is possible to be fragile and strong at the same time!<br />
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Messages to us these days seem to be:<br />
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You can do anything!<br />
They will try to hold you back!<br />
You are beautiful just like you are!<br />
You are enough!<br />
You are strong!<br />
It's ok to not be ok!<br />
You don't have to do it all!<br />
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It's all true and not true at the same time, isn't it? We may not need the boxes we want to break out of. They might not even be there at all.<br />
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I am fragile... sometimes.<br />
I am beautiful... sometimes.<br />
I am strong... sometimes.<br />
I am sad or lonely or confused or hurt or a complete mess... sometimes.<br />
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Who isn't? We know this. <div>Why try to make it a bigger deal than it is?<br />
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One of the blessings of being born stubborn and strong-willed is that I can tell myself to NOT go there. Let it go and don't wallow. It will hurt, but the hurt will pass. I will be sad, but I will also smile again.<br />
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My dad used to say that "Depression is believing a lie." That was before the current clinical diagnosis of depression became so widespread. But there is some truth in that. When we believe something that isn't real or is untrue, we convince ourselves to be miserable! It doesn't take much!<br />
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I've been told I have a big mouth and I'm kind of obnoxious. I know this. I'm sorry. I am not proud of that part of my personality. I'm also me.</div><div><br />
As a young teen, I was told by another middle schooler, "They don't really like you, they just pretend so they won't hurt your feelings." Hello! If they don't want to hurt my feelings, maybe they do actually like me a little bit.<br />
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As an adult, I have been told I'm hard to work with. I have too many ideas. I boss people around. I don't listen enough. I speak too quickly. AND that I communicate well. AND that I come across as caring. AND that I am a joy to work with.<br />
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It is all true. I'm one person with all these stupid faults and all these amazing abilities at the same time. <b>So are you.</b> Sometimes we just need to assume the same about everyone else. If they act like idiots, they are just like us. If they seem to have it all together and succeed at everything, they are also just like us.<br />
<br />I try to remember these things:<br />
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1. Jesus loves you. He just does. You don't have to do anything to deserve it. You are worth everything to him. That's your strength. That's your hope.<br />
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2. Forgiveness is power. You are forgiven by the creator of the entire universe. You have done nothing to deserve it. It is Grace... undeserved and unlimited. Embrace it. Do better next time.<br />
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3. You can love. You can. Choose good.<br />
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4. You can forgive. You can let it go. Choose grace and mercy.<br />
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<br /><b>Another end note:</b></div><div>Depression and abuse are real things. I do not believe they will just go away and that we should ignore them. We should recognize God is WITH us in all the mess, but we should also know that He wants to provide helpers to stand with us! Be strong and be kind to yourself. Ask for help.<br />
<br /></div>JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-62029198013568352332019-09-05T16:50:00.001+02:002019-09-05T16:50:38.910+02:00MozamWeek to MissionBisterIt has been a long time since I posted here in Mozamweek. This was the blog that I created back in 2008 or so to document our lives as missionaries in Mozambique. I never posted weekly as I'd intended. This has been a place to express my thoughts as a missionary, mom and migrant between the USA, Sweden and Mozambique in ministry and life in general.<br />
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In December of 2017, we said good-bye to our Mozambique-based ministry. Our part of the Bible translation ministry for Nyungwe was basically complete. Our last child was finishing at the international school in Tete. My new Little Zebra Books groups were becoming more and more independent. A chapter was closing. New plans were forming. Furlough was scheduled and we moved on.<br />
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Setting up house in Sweden was a transition. We were ready for this move. It had been planned as a practical place to restart ministry in new roles. It was necessary to reconnect with family and our church and invest in friendships back "home". All of these things happened during our time in Skövde. We had lots of positive experiences and we grew through some of the difficult times that come with restarting and transition. I didn't feel much like blogging. I didn't want to just rename MozamWeek and continue. I needed to start over.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://missionbister.org/" target="_blank">MissionBister.org</a></td></tr>
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Introducing: <a href="https://missionbister.org/" target="_blank">MissionBister.org</a><br />
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One of the decisions we made while on furlough was to create a ministry website that was not connected specifically to either of our sending organizations in an official way, but neither was it completely personal like my Mozamweek blog. The website has been launched, and a couple of blog posts have been uploaded. Some of the content is migrated from this blog, there are links to our sending organizations, and there is more content that directly relates to our roles in our ministry and not just our lives as a missionary family.<br />
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I hope you will visit <a href="https://missionbister.org/" target="_blank">MissionBister.org</a> website to learn more about us. I hope you will continue to be interested in our family and work. I hope we will hear from you!<br />
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I'm not going to discontinue MozamWeek. I think we still have things to say here. This is a place that documents much of my journey to where I am today. I still relearn things from reading my past posts. I'm thankful for that! Thank you for sharing my journey.<br />
<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-45665695294758998432018-11-22T09:50:00.000+02:002018-11-22T09:50:11.887+02:00Happy Thanksgiving!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I need a recipe from the USA, I trust Martha!</td></tr>
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It's my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving.<br />
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It's not about some national history for me. It is about thankfulness and family. I love my family and I live thousands of miles away from them.<br />
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I am immensely thankful for my personal heritage - for my parents and grandparents and all my aunts and uncles. I am thankful for growing up in a place that allowed me to be myself. I am thankful for growing up knowing that "Jesus loves me" and "I'm something special" and even a little of "I can do anything you can do better!" America is like that... we grow up believing in positivity and possibility and individual potential. We grow up learning that God helped us get here... we didn't do everything right... we can still move ahead. We have another chance to make things better. We have a responsibility to make change happen.<br />
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In today's world, many people think that how I grew up in a small Indiana town was a limitation. They point out that some degree of closed-mindedness has made us intolerant of otherness. They focus on those who shout from rooftops, but they forget the quiet ones who love more than they hate. As a whole, groups always look so homogenous. Get to know each other one at a time. You will see that there is a lot of individual shades of personhood that make up that picture you think you see.<br />
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Happy Thanksgiving! Celebrate your family! Celebrate your uniqueness - no matter where you came from. Celebrate that you can be a part of a new future in some way - right where you are today! Celebrate that God loves your neighbor - even if you didn't choose that neighbor!<br />
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I'm going to bake a pumpkin pie today. It's the most American thing I can do! I'll make it from a real pumpkin like I did in Mozambique. I'll make it from a pumpkin that grew in my friend's garden here in Sweden. I'll make it with about double the spice that the recipe calls for because that I how my mom makes it - and it is way better that way!<br />
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Have a thankful, hopeful and special day!<br />
<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-22344713269158266792018-10-15T11:07:00.000+02:002018-10-15T11:07:01.364+02:00What do I REALLY think about you?Good morning from chilly Sweden after a rainy night!<br />
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We've been thinking a lot about fundraising, support raising, partnership development, PR, project planning, budgets, and all-that-goes-into-getting-us-where-we-can-do-what-we're-called-to-do. Earlier this year I wrote about "selfish" missionaries <a href="https://mozamweek.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-selfish-or-selfless-missionary-does.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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I've been thinking a lot about all of you lately! I've been reminded of how we met and why we are still in touch with each other. I've smiled and gotten a tear now and then because of some of you. We have been through a lot. I miss some of you. I will see some of you tomorrow! Most of all I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for each of you who follows our mission work, our family life and our growth as followers of Jesus. You make my day!<br />
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As a missionary in need of the financial commitment of "others" to do my "job", I am often very aware that I could seem ingenuine in a relationship. Some might see me as only keeping in touch because of the money, I guess. I hope not. Those who do give are very dear to me as friends and family and brothers and sisters. I see that you truly care and invest in the work that we love. I wouldn't be able to do it without you!<br />
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And those who don't give? How do I feel about you? Mostly I am very thankful that you put up with a series of "pitches" and "opportunities to partner" and you are still my friend after all these years! Thank you! You must be pretty kind to keep up with me in spite of it all. You love my kids. You pray for me. You care about what's happening in the world that I live in and try to share. I value your world, too! You broaden my horizons because we see things from different perspectives sometimes. I'm thankful for you!<br />
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And what about those who once gave and stopped? Do I notice? Do I care? I probably don't notice quite as quickly as you think 😊. I focus on what is there more than what is not there. When I get a list of donors for the month, I am so thankful for each name I see there. I pray for those people and I am reminded of God's faithfulness. I am humbled by someone entrusting their hard-earned money to our ministry/family/life. Just a couple of times a year I search the list and see how regularly a gift is coming in. If I notice a gap I generally assume that there is a financial reason someone skipped or stopped. I pray that God will bless them. I thank God for them. I might get in touch to see if everything is going ok. Of course, we count on regular giving, but we never take it for granted.<br />
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Each gift makes a difference. Each gift represents a time someone heard our story and decided to be a part of it! Sometimes we are blown away by your generosity. Sometimes we scratch our heads and wonder how you might have heard about us.<br />
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<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-22825030479628729462018-09-30T20:14:00.000+02:002018-10-03T11:12:56.890+02:00The burden of abundance<span style="font-family: inherit;">We have too much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've noticed this as I pack and unpack when moving between countries. We have to weigh and box up our leftovers (stuff we didn't give away and aren't taking with us). The things I keep to remember the life I have lived and hope to live once again someday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of it is necessary. Those boxes of past tax records and bank stuff... a Ziploc with about 25 expired passports. (These are actually necessary sometimes, who would guess!) Those two boxes of kitchen stuff came in very handy when setting up house again in Sweden! I needed those nine years after packing and storing that box</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of it is wonderful. Photos and albums of days-gone-by bring true joy when shared with those we love! We don't look at them often enough. We might have too many, but my friend pulled out a picture of my dad she had from our time in high school. If she hadn't saved it, I wouldn't have it. The box with a few baby clothes from our sweet tiny children... or their first drawings, stuffed animal, journals from second grade and stories they wrote when they were ten... these are priceless and I save them until they save them for themselves. Just like my mom did for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Too much of it is extra. All the "just in case" stuff that I have accumulated is weighing on me. Often, I won't need it again. I just move it, accumulate it, and try to find someone who thinks it could be as awesome as I do. I should dump it. When I open a box in 5 years, those pieces of the past are almost embarrassing. Better to give them away or trash them instead of packing them up. I have to learn how to let go of these things that are a potential blessing. They could be a real blessing to someone NOW, not in some distant imagined creative self of the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We have to be careful. When we consistently have too much, we see it as necessary. We should take enough time to weigh the importance of our baggage regularly enough that we don't find some dusty, moldy rags instead of precious keepsakes. We should clear away the cobwebs and share precious moments of remembrance with our loved ones. We should let go of things that have left a bitter taste, things that need forgiving, reminders of resentment that are too heavy or too bulky to be carried any further.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">How much do we need? What can we carry that will brighten our future? Have you noticed how light happy memories are to carry? Have you noticed that you make room for a special piece on a crowded shelf just so you can keep it in view? </span><br />
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“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven... for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-42206813598402262982018-09-24T19:33:00.000+02:002018-09-24T19:33:33.637+02:00We went home and came back home again.I know that my other international friends understand that phrase. It makes sense despite looking like it might be a typo of some sort. In June, when school ended here in Sweden, our family traveled home to the USA for the summer break. Now, last week, before school started, we all came home to Sweden.<br />
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Where is home?<br />
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We get asked that all the time. We don't have a good answer. There's the short answer: "Wherever we are now!" Sometimes it is more like: "Wherever we are all together." All TCKs (Third Culture Kids- who grow up somewhere outside their parents' home culture/place) understand the problems with questions like "Where's home?" or "Where are you from?"<br />
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We are home in many places.<br />
We are not really "at home" anywhere, either.<br />
We don't really make a big deal about it one way or the other.<br />
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We do kind of miss having a place that feels like home like other people seem to have. BUT we are also very thankful for the opportunity and blessing of being where we are!<br />
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We also look on the bright side, it is easier for us to understand that we are not really "at home" on Earth, but we will truly be "at home" in Heaven. Meanwhile, we will enjoy knowing at we can find a place wherever we are now.<br />
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And we will continue to love all those we have to leave along the way. People are really what make a place home for us anyway!JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-74235157805671051562018-04-25T15:25:00.002+02:002018-05-04T13:07:00.988+02:00It is finished! April 25, 2018Another day of wondering... is this it? Will it happen? Mikael and the team are Skyping again and I hear spurts of Portuguese and Nyungwe dialogue. They discuss a term that might not really match a Greek item in the original. Can they make it better? They discuss verb tenses and discourse markers... It's about 2:30 pm and this is another "last day" for them to check final revision of Luke. They are finally on chapter 24.<br />
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Around 3:30 pm Mikael comes downstairs. </div>
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"We're done."</div>
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"For the day? Do you have to work on this tomorrow?!?"</div>
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"No, we are done with the New Testament."</div>
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Mikael doesn't get excited very easily or visibly. It just doesn't happen. I do! I hugged him. I posted to Facebook. I offered him some coffee. Kids started coming home from school. Mikael's sister saw the post on Facebook and brought a little cake to celebrate when she came to pick up Doris the dog. </div>
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We are celebrating in our hearts. There is still a LITTLE bit of Exodus to check, but the New Testament in Nyungwe is finished! Praise the Lord for his faithfulness!</div>
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JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-33703411314669429082018-04-25T15:14:00.000+02:002018-04-25T15:14:35.851+02:00Two months in and growing strong!I ended the title with an exclamation point! It is a hopeful gesture more than a show of exultation. This week marks a full two months since we moved back to Sweden as a family. A church friend asked yesterday if we are here to "recharge our batteries" before returning to missions. I sort of laughed. Yes and no, would be the answer to that one.<br />
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I was reminded again during the sermon yesterday that we have to live COMPLETELY where we are at the moment. We will miss opportunities to thrive and grow and bless and love if we constantly dream and hope to be somewhere else! We can get lost in that mentality: I'll get to that once I'm ____________. We can fill in the blank with a place or a circumstance: "once I'm back in Africa" or "once the kids finish school" or "when I've finally reached that certain level of spiritual maturity." Honestly, we'll never really get "there" so lets just live the life we are in now!<br />
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In our case "recharging our batteries" includes being near family and being included in a loving church family. We have been loved in all of our fellowship families on the mission field, but we sometimes long to be loved by those from our own cultural background. We long for teaching that fits our situation and culture. But the longer we have been away from Europe and USA, the less we actually fit in with the European or American way of looking at life and living out God's love in this world. We do still fit with family! We will have to get as much as we can while we are nearby!<br />
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We are at risk of not being a real part of anything here on Earth. That is maybe one of the benefits of mission life. We will be a little lost in the world and find our real connection as brothers and sisters following Jesus. As we struggle to feel a good fit here we need to be aware of belonging to a bigger family in a bigger mission.JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-46624073978080090972018-01-11T14:19:00.000+02:002018-01-11T14:19:12.388+02:00We moved to Sweden!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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December 7th 2017.</div>
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We left Mozambique</div>
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There were tears and hugs and lots of luggage and lots of notes about who will take what where and how all of our Earthly possessions have been dispersed. We have very good friends who we trust. We also depend on each other when things get tough or weird or even exciting! I love you guys. You are Jesus' hands weather you know it or not. </div>
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December 10th 2017. </div>
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We arrived in AMERICA!!!</div>
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There were hugs and tears and all that luggage! We spent Christmas with my family in Birmingham AL area. Cousins were reacquainted. Sisters were reunited. Brothers-in-law were reminded how it feels to watch the flurry of activity created by the addition of the 1st sister and family to the bunch. It was a wonderful stop and just what we needed. We took the kids away from Grandma's house as little people 5 years ago. They are now full-fledged teenagers and all bigger than Grandma. It was too long to be apart. It was a choice we made to ensure that the Nyungwe New Testament wasn't delayed. Most of our sacrifices are small and involve some physical discomfort in the moment. Pulling kids away from family doesn't hurt very much... until you come back. Then it hits so hard that there aren't words. Love covers all and God's grace is indescribable. </div>
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December 28th 2017. </div>
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We arrived in SWEDEN!!!</div>
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In the dark of night on a frozen plane, we landed in Gothenburg into the arms of family once again. We are rich to have such love to receive us and send us off again on each trip. We left Sweden in August of 2013. Our children last went to school in Sweden in 2009! They are in for a real treat this year! They have grown up and thrived in our African homes and schools. They have been surrounded by others who "don't belong" quite where they are.. and as such, they have found a sense of belonging among those like them. Now they are stepping into Swedish schools... as internationally-born Swedes. </div>
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We look forward to finding our place here.</div>
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We look forward to meeting old friends here and there.</div>
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We look forward to knowing NEW friends in this year we will spend on Mjölmossevägen in the middle of Sweden. Welcome to get in touch if you are in the neighborhood! I've got some Mozambican coffee to share, if you do!</div>
JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-26704696499902122182017-11-26T22:29:00.000+02:002017-12-04T11:02:20.427+02:00Take a breath... and another... Usually at this time of my "leavings" I am becoming more and more irritated by my current country and culture. I remember times of temperamental impatience as someone took too long to find a price for my can of tomatoes... or a car managed to perform a particularly common irrational moving violation in my immediate vicinity... or a beggar asked just one more time...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijnquBqKDRsyMWwJ18XhNqezVUEb6xe1qmg8FwqffZ99HdLuhSSKeYxpYzWRV8vJYzNEJkyricov03VuytNDniUaB2FdG9xlgM7FTwwraI6N2p6qrYf8CYRsqerj7xqokBcBngrC8WWffO/s1600/Jeni+on+bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijnquBqKDRsyMWwJ18XhNqezVUEb6xe1qmg8FwqffZ99HdLuhSSKeYxpYzWRV8vJYzNEJkyricov03VuytNDniUaB2FdG9xlgM7FTwwraI6N2p6qrYf8CYRsqerj7xqokBcBngrC8WWffO/s200/Jeni+on+bridge.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I've not felt that this time. This last time. I am more filled with understanding and nostalgia. I'm much more gracious than usual. This can only be the grace of God, I think, as I pack another box and say another goodbye. Tears are always close. I well up at the slightest inclination... crossing the Zambezi at sunset... waiting for cows to get out of the road... sweating in the heat as the kids come out of the school... remembering him or her or those other ones.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4e9hqZWgvS00d2BMdigYeVu7Qrufx4V2hzuhyWZT7WvA1mqiyOP9WjPRi-HOz1xFocmfkkfujy5KiDLaWh0RoP_eTnljicnlKK1j7skVi8Di2_WpEUGGimKrVmjJqfL_tHsr-vLCTgeS/s1600/red+cupboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="1600" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4e9hqZWgvS00d2BMdigYeVu7Qrufx4V2hzuhyWZT7WvA1mqiyOP9WjPRi-HOz1xFocmfkkfujy5KiDLaWh0RoP_eTnljicnlKK1j7skVi8Di2_WpEUGGimKrVmjJqfL_tHsr-vLCTgeS/s200/red+cupboard.jpg" width="200" /></a>I sigh a lot. I've heard it is good for you. I hate crying, but my grandma warned me it gets worse with age. I'm proving her right. I wondered how I'd get through this last year of last times for everything familiar. I've had the luxury of time to sort my past and make peace with my future. There is so much to look forward to, but for now I am soaking up a present. My present is filled with letting go and holding on in just the right measure. I question if I need what I'm keeping or if it is too extravagant of a treasure (a $20 red cupboard I bought on a roadside in Zimbabwe for my first child). Is the "lembrança" (memento) for my friend appropriate? It is <i>something</i>... sometimes too much and sometimes not enough.<br />
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I think I'm worried about being judged about leaving well. People are so kind and speak such sweet things to my heart. "Maybe you will come back to work on another project," they quip hopefully. "We will miss you," some remark dutifully. Will they think I've been unfair? I hope not. I really hope not.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCi58RqzLE3SwIXRcVvN6_4Q5jOE55xonzL1t8MHhWmqLH0Z2wS8zBNHBobWFNEOuITqKeQ0I_Xk3ps1NHh4ZQoZ_YbbmBjawGNPGfMFmFImofsdjXKLYu6_xgwjSvHmBDlE90YMPeXDR7/s1600/cake+for+all.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCi58RqzLE3SwIXRcVvN6_4Q5jOE55xonzL1t8MHhWmqLH0Z2wS8zBNHBobWFNEOuITqKeQ0I_Xk3ps1NHh4ZQoZ_YbbmBjawGNPGfMFmFImofsdjXKLYu6_xgwjSvHmBDlE90YMPeXDR7/s320/cake+for+all.jpg" width="320" /></a>Today I bought birthday cakes at a Black Friday sale for the preemie twins who've turned 12 and I missed two birthdays. I'll drop them off on my way to the airport to pick up my kiddos and Mikael. He left today to pick them up in the northern town where a direct flight brings them. On my way from the airport, I let some friends test drive our car. Once home, I cringed at my son's cough... the timing of the flu is really terrible and I pray it will just stop. Then I roasted tiny butternuts that were the closest thing I found to pumpkin for the welcome home/Thanksgiving pie for tomorrow's arrival. As I write, I pray. This is their last night at boarding school where they have made a home away from home with friends from everywhere who they may or may not meet again.Yes, I cry for them. They have to leave somewhere, too.<br />
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It's time for bed. I'll schedule this to post after they are safely home and we are all together here again for just a little while. A gift of present where we can breathe and sort out another step in our way ahead. Take a breath... say a prayer... and another...<br />
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<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-80693485296028717822017-11-03T15:04:00.000+02:002017-11-03T15:04:11.514+02:00Let me in... written last year before Thanksgiving and never posted.I know it is hard to accept that you might be the answer to a big problem.<br />
I know it is hard when I am the answer to a need bigger than I can meet alone.<br />
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Before you reject a Syrian neighbor, I suggest you meet a person who is from another home than yours. I suggest you consider what it means to be hopeful that you can start somewhere safe. What is it like to leave everything crushed behind you. People you knew and cared about are just gone...<br />
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Then you show up in the "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" and find the doors locked and the neighbors trembling because you are there and you are different. You long for safety and you are stared at from behind closed doors. You look different. It is hard to communicate. You don't know anyone. They don't want to know you.<br />
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I am grieving here in Mozambique, far away from my homeland. I see post after post shared by people I love declaring they have no place for Syrian resettlement. They "hate Obama" and they stand baring arms to protect themselves against the invasion of foreign customs and languages.<br />
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Please Stop. Why are you so afraid? Have you thought about it? They haven't come here to take anything away from you. You are listening to the same news feed 24/7 about danger and hatred and fear and possible terrorists. You are locked in your room watching the world burn.<br />
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Open your door. Get into one of your cars. Meet someone new and different. Love them. You will find they are just like you. I promise. They are human. They don't bite and curse America. They don't want to change your country into something like the one they left. They want to know what it means to be an American. Don't rob them of knowing what the REAL America is like.<br />
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Invite someone to Thanksgiving in your home... they will learn your reason for thankfulness.<br />
Offer to help someone practice English... they will learn your accent!<br />
Risk feeling awkward and not knowing what to say or do. It is ok. You will live.<br />
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<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-51378689763712791812017-10-28T10:27:00.000+02:002017-10-28T10:27:22.935+02:00"We like big..."I'm always amused by differences in culture. After all these years, I still have moments of surprise thrust upon me. A day last month was a shocker. We laughed out loud at each other. Teacher training events all over the world throw loads of women together. I'm an "along-side" adviser to the presenters. I edit some slides and make sure concepts are getting across to our teachers. I connect projectors and click through the PowerPoint presentation. I'm pretty recognizable and they mostly remember my name since it isn't a hard foreign-sounding one- they are "Djeni" or "Geni" or "Jeny" around here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPwjYiN55EytLA2PnFtPcA08_5GArywiFx_qkkb4EBWad01HQzpYKDKMGeRuMx3Dlg6nEL3B5rLtPUHWSNK_-DptAMRCKhMLDuxu63fHfwOuZNsgegEoliR1G75greklPoC8gw5e5DkNUw/s1600/less+than+flattering+reality+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="918" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPwjYiN55EytLA2PnFtPcA08_5GArywiFx_qkkb4EBWad01HQzpYKDKMGeRuMx3Dlg6nEL3B5rLtPUHWSNK_-DptAMRCKhMLDuxu63fHfwOuZNsgegEoliR1G75greklPoC8gw5e5DkNUw/s320/less+than+flattering+reality+%25282%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dancing with the teachers... the fun part of the job!</td></tr>
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Lunch hour. I stepped in mud and took off my shoes to clean them. "Formadora Jeni, give me your hips!" A younger teacher around 40 or so is admiring me. Her friend proceeds to tell her that she doesn't need mine since hers are big enough. They giggle and want me to turn around. We laugh and I let them know that in "America" we think that fat is not so nice. It is beautiful to be thin. A younger male teacher passing with his lunch box stops in shock as he overhears my comments on American beauty. It is totally normal for him to join in these comments. They laugh together and wonder why anyone could prefer thin over round, chunky figures. I know they are being complimentary, but it's weird to be openly judged by peers. (We judge, we just do it secretly.)<br />
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So, we laugh. They are convincing in their approval. I walk away shaking my head. It will be nice to be fairly invisible in my next phase of life. It will be less nice to feel the pressure to drop weight so I don't appear to be unhealthy or lazy and careless. The West is unkind to average-looking, chubby gray-haired ladies. I don't want comments affirming my beauty or refuting my size. I choose to smile. It's for real... because I have a happy heart. I'm tremendously thankful for years in the embrace of this corner of Africa.<br />
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<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-62147156400201585212017-10-17T16:37:00.002+02:002017-10-17T16:52:26.954+02:00Invented reality is real<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Inventam uma realidade daqui e fazem os planos sozinhos. </i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"They invent a reality, and then they make the plans alone."</span></div>
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Let that sink in for a while. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><i>My actual description of a road to a real place we are going to visit in the next few weeks. </i></span></td></tr>
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She is right. I am guilty. I am so glad for this blast of wisdom when I least expected it.</div>
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So much of what we do on the ground in development or mission work is based on an "invented" reality. How patient are my African colleagues who do not shout at my stupidity! How kind they are to say, "ok," and then kind of ignore my missteps and good intentions.</div>
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We are careful to collect all the facts. Data is important. But background is difficult and hidden and messy and we don't even know what to call it or how to calculate for it. So we fill in the blanks with something that makes sense... to US... from where we stand and all that we know. We process it all very neatly into an "invented reality". </div>
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In the past couple of years my real advice to anyone starting work in "Africa" (with a big A) is: Don't even open your mouth to teach anything for the first year. Shut up and learn; watch and listen and wait. You have no idea what is really going on and your advice and teaching may be completely irrelevant. (The Holy Spirit can help with that a lot. But still, you should listen before you teach.)</div>
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In most cases, anyone planning something based on invented reality is writing science fiction. And we wonder why so many careful plans fail. I've been struggling with this feeling for awhile now, and my teacher friend nailed it. Thankfully, I was ready to listen this time.</div>
JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-2591403213151107672017-10-14T10:09:00.004+02:002018-10-03T10:34:20.776+02:00The Selfish or Selfless missionary... does either really exist?Dear friends,<br />
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FACTS (as I see them from here):<br />
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<li>Missionaries do jobs in places where the people they actually work for cannot pay them for what they do.</li>
<li>Missionaries sometimes have jobs that can earn a "regular" salary.</li>
<li>Missionaries often are paid according to what they need to cover expenses in the country where they work.</li>
<li>Missionaries are vulnerable to international economic fluctuation.</li>
<li>Missionaries can get a "pay raise" if the local economy fails or the home economy surges.</li>
<li>Missionaries are viewed as poor and dependent from one side, but ss rich and responsible for everyone around them on the other side.</li>
<li>Missionaries have to pay taxes... sometimes, somewhere. Social Security in USA,for example.</li>
<li>Missionaries can drive cool cars and live in exotic locations.</li>
<li>Missionaries have house-help... maids or gardeners or watchmen; often they contribute jobs to the local economy and avoid looking "stingy".</li>
<li>Missionaries often cover all medical expenses and education expenses for their "house-help" and their families... sort of like being an "insurance program" for those close to them.</li>
<li>Missionaries don't always love their jobs every day.</li>
<li>Missionaries don't always love the culture they are working in though they begin to call it home.</li>
<li>Missionaries don't always love going to church... it is hard to fit into a church in the field and it is hard to fit into a church at home. They end up being "special" in church, and that's not really fun.</li>
<li>Missionaries referring to "our language" or "our people" are described by some as "paternalistic". </li>
<li>Missionaries referring to "our language" or "our people" are described by others as identifying with local culture and fitting in to a community. </li>
<li>Missionaries are referred to as "our missionaries" by home churches who care deeply for them, provide lots of money, and pray earnestly for the missionaries and the people they are serving. </li>
<li>Missionaries are referred to as "our missionaries" by the people they serve who care deeply for them, give generously of their patience with these strangers, pray earnestly for their well-being.</li>
<li>Missionaries use international finance, human resource management, program development, PR and fundraising, and journalistic skills almost as much as the jobs they are actually trained for. </li>
<li>Missionaries try lots of things to reach out and make a difference.</li>
<li>Missionaries fail lots of the time because "tried and true" methods don't work in every context. </li>
<li>Missionaries love their home countries and sending churches, but hardly feel at home there ever again. </li>
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These are some of the feelings I have as a missionary. Not all of them are true at the same time. I'm not resentful of how we are viewed. There is some truth in all of this. We chose to "go" and to "teach" and to be a part of a life that isn't "normal" for anyone. We aren't "suffering for the Lord" and we aren't 'living it up at the expense of others". We are depending on "you" to help us to help "them". Thanks for being patient with us as we navigate a tricky balance in changing reality.</div>
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<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-36817238219942833082017-08-23T14:29:00.001+02:002017-08-23T14:37:09.808+02:00ACCESSIBLE First of all, let me say I LOVE the people who work at the Tete Provincial Library. They know me and know how I feel about some of the policies they have to abide by. There are children's books among others. There are shelves of books displayed and organized. There is lovely natural lighting from the big windows, clean bathrooms and even air-conditioning (when the power allows it). The staff are knowledgeable and can be friendly. I don't want to bash the library. There aren't really bookstores around, so a library is a big step towards helping people have access to books!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Provincial Library</td></tr>
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I just want to point out a few things about this context here that might help those of you who don't live here in Mozambique understand what "access to literature" might be like. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sign at the entrance</td></tr>
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Necessary requisites for entering the library: </div>
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Personal ID: ID, passport, student card or </div>
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driver's license</div>
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Entrance denied to persons wearing:</div>
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shorts, flip-flops, </div>
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spaghetti </div>
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straps/strapless </div>
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tops, messy hair</div>
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NOTE: All library patrons should be clean. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silence - in the reading room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stack of books, but NOT the reading room.<br />
These are closed behind another set of doors.<br />
You get to look at a list of titles, and staff will get a book for you from this room.</td></tr>
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Little Zebra Books and our reading groups don't replace libraries.</div>
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We create another place right in communities full of kids who might not be able to get to the library! </div>
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Barefoot or flip-flop-wearing...</div>
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Strapless shirts or even shorts...</div>
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Messy hair... </div>
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Sandy toes...</div>
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KIDS!!!</div>
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ACCESSIBLE literature!</div>
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We have also donated some of our books to the library! </div>
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So if some clean, neatly dressed children show up, they can read our books, too!</div>
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JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-44485476773134165292017-06-21T12:46:00.002+02:002017-06-21T12:46:57.589+02:00Widows and Orphans and Jesus<b>In my American past...</b><br />
Widows were old ladies from church. When we lost Dad in 1987 mom became one of the rare young widows. I honestly didn't know others her age who had lost a husband. Orphans were also fairly rare. These were few children who'd lost both parents through some freaky accident or horrible diseases. Rarely would a child be abandoned to an orphanage, but would be cared for by relatives. Orphanages were from fairy tales where kids were treated badly and they managed to creatively escape their dismal circumstance through fantastic feats of brave defiance.<br />
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<b>In my current world...</b><br />
Widows are my team-mates and neighbors. They are between the ages of 25 and 50. They live with their kids if they have them... or the children are relocated with the husbands' family who is responsible for them. Women officially have the right to keep their children, but tradition often overrules law. Many opt to keep the peace by not bucking the system too often and resign themselves to a fate of losing husband and rights to raise children and live in the house they built together. "No man's land" is a place of not belonging to anyone (I really mean that in the odd way that belonging gives one a voice in this culture), but also not being independent. Sad things happen here... very sad things.<br />
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Orphans are given their status as any child who has lost a parent. He may have loving grandparents to care for him. He may have a mother or father who will keep him fed and clothed and educated. He gets this label and gets some pity and also some privileges: foreigners sponsor orphans... so even those without needs are put on the list and called in at school to receive notebooks and pencils or a chance at breakfast. They are sometimes offered a chance to live at a children's home (though having help at their own home might be preferred) where they are herded through school with other unfortunates and visited by happy foreigners who want to help orphans and bring cake and toys and smiles and selfies.<br />
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People aren't all that likely to donate to orphans who live with their mothers or grandmothers... I know <a href="http://samministries.org/mozambique/orphan-program/" target="_blank">ministries </a>that work for this; they are amazing! Both the widows and the orphans are getting needed help and staying together!<br />
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<b>In Jesus' world...</b><br />
Which of our pictures of widows matches Jesus' teaching?<br />
Which picture of orphans is more likely like orphans in Jesus' time?<br />
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Next time you read about widows and orphans think about this. She may be perfectly able to care for her kids if she were allowed to keep her house and work. If she had education and a supportive community around her. Jesus asked us to come alongside her and be that community. Same with the orphans. Don't ignore them on the street or dump them in the institution, but support them through a caring community in the church. Foster care is an example of how we can do this in "our world", but I've even seen a FEW people in my world here who have taken that on and are such a blessing!<br />
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One of our Little Zebra Books is about the "Persistent Widow" which I thought really odd for a children's book! But they totally get it... they all are too familiar with the real injustice towards widows. Even six-year-olds really feel how the woman is in danger of losing so much if the community doesn't help her out.<br />
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This week a new widow walks beside us. Her husband fell ill and the treatment wasn't enough in time. She's not yet 40. Her children are teen age through 3 years. They have a good house. He had a good job. The wife was a modern Mozambican with a real bachelors degree, but not yet a job. She volunteers to help ladies read and children to find joy in books. Their children are studying well and full of promise. We await news of the burial times as I write. In the next week or so her future will be determined by relatives and traditions and laws all mixed up in a complicated jumble that I won't ever really understand.JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-10028944342721777492017-05-13T13:05:00.001+02:002017-05-13T13:57:14.574+02:00Missionaries on vacation... <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Myml8nY4UsSv3uQL5vPGtVnri2wrg_nP2LuVC3dKtx-Z4R_8bMUb7sugZhYFFlFVqzUPBp88pAY66M38hNSB4MktBoL4ViE-NMwrLIWqF_oUrZlROc_NCQDmjYFGPH0xNgn0tBoYS2zj/s1600/20170416_094010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Myml8nY4UsSv3uQL5vPGtVnri2wrg_nP2LuVC3dKtx-Z4R_8bMUb7sugZhYFFlFVqzUPBp88pAY66M38hNSB4MktBoL4ViE-NMwrLIWqF_oUrZlROc_NCQDmjYFGPH0xNgn0tBoYS2zj/s320/20170416_094010.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving for vacation...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tete Commutes</td></tr>
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Missionaries like us generally live in out-of-the-way places with little on offer in the area of leisure activities. While a Swede is happy to live for a month without running water and electricity at the lake in the summertime, most of us don't find this "mysig" (cozy and quaint) after years with power-cuts and dry spells. Considering that the hills surrounding our residence in Mozambique were littered with land mines during the war, we have been wary of hiking off the beaten track. It is safe now, but our routines were formed during the not-so-safe years after the ceasefire. We don't wander much.<br />
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<b>Where to go?</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE47oV5zSkd8RtEjNBR98HixCWO76NbCbtzY5nD8x3EHDt7uYD-Qz2ABGzjHi_qDOtv8q3k2sCdqclmOK8dsh2Gll6BGg6Ede67FWzF7jXZQF751MfS6jAlxJPUpBChtgDYZLROTU9GD6C/s1600/20170421_094147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE47oV5zSkd8RtEjNBR98HixCWO76NbCbtzY5nD8x3EHDt7uYD-Qz2ABGzjHi_qDOtv8q3k2sCdqclmOK8dsh2Gll6BGg6Ede67FWzF7jXZQF751MfS6jAlxJPUpBChtgDYZLROTU9GD6C/s200/20170421_094147.jpg" width="200" /></a>This is often determined by the next scheduled mission meeting or mandatory travel to and from schools or courses. When we were expected to visit northern Mozambique once a year, we planned on a few extra days to visit our favorite beach spot. When the kids needed to be taken to boarding school, we scheduled a few extra days in Johannesburg where there are malls and movies and restaurants. This time there was a mandatory meeting in Cape Town right before our kids return to boarding school... so we planned 6 days of family time at an AirBnB near a beach at the foot of a lovely mountain on the peninsula. We don't complain! We visit AWESOME places! But we really don't choose where to go based on our interests and dreams. We DO find dreamy spots and become interested in each place we visit though!<br />
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<b>When to go?</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SIL Southern Africa meetings</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsQY56k9Ya3l1J1JzM7KxGI4OTuCM8VnYb2CoX0WqnFm-Vhu67uRqF9MIwqtBoEfQ_iQ7Avo0pMCX7gOEDSL3zb65_eFfO9PX0VPgaP31olT_C0n5lTxgLbyghi06WpZG2AQ_GWOv989z/s1600/20170425_152924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsQY56k9Ya3l1J1JzM7KxGI4OTuCM8VnYb2CoX0WqnFm-Vhu67uRqF9MIwqtBoEfQ_iQ7Avo0pMCX7gOEDSL3zb65_eFfO9PX0VPgaP31olT_C0n5lTxgLbyghi06WpZG2AQ_GWOv989z/s200/20170425_152924.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Zebra Books meetings</td></tr>
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As I've mentioned above... we go when it is convenient. Tagged on to other travel so we don't have added expense. The week after Easter isn't a real holiday time in South Africa, but that is our holiday time. We've just had 3 intense months of visits and travel and consultancy events. We've almost ignored our kids for weeks. NOW is the time for vacation! We are so thankful that we CAN schedule time with all three kids in Cape Town this year. In the past, only our youngest has come with us. Since our future assignment might be based here in this tip of Africa, we NEED to have time to check it out as a family. God has been so good to provide the opportunity!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Ybmsa1M7NJhWOfZyGf_hXD7fxpfoO3-avOE15d6TdHF_bbFSC-MaSqUF8g0kyRAiJYwdGZKo_GOyy-h4oEtmahY1Qdc8JWlPfdH0zoENwUWTjLoSGDXehBjgcLFBtwnZw_et8TWjfMNP/s1600/20170419_154156.mp4" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Ybmsa1M7NJhWOfZyGf_hXD7fxpfoO3-avOE15d6TdHF_bbFSC-MaSqUF8g0kyRAiJYwdGZKo_GOyy-h4oEtmahY1Qdc8JWlPfdH0zoENwUWTjLoSGDXehBjgcLFBtwnZw_et8TWjfMNP/s320/20170419_154156.mp4" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool Runnings Bobsled in Cape Town</td></tr>
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<b>What to do?</b><br />
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Usually we look for cheap options. Just getting somewhere from where we live is expensive. So spending money on activities is minimal. At the beach, we are all easily entertained :). In South Africa, we have the 3 luxuries of civilization: McDonalds, Movies, Malls! Plus beaches in the Cape this time around! Then there are the necessary missionary vacation activities: buying underwear and shoes, scheduling dentists, haircuts, eye doctor visits, vaccinations...<br />
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<b>So what did a day look like in this missionary vacation?</b><br />
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Breakfast in a sunny corner of the 1920's cottage garden across the railroad track from the beach.<br />
Writing documents giving permission for travel or minors and having them notarized at the police station.<br />
Making sure we have internet access on our cell phones so we don't get lost again without our Google Maps<br />
Visiting the Penguins at Boulder Beach in Simon's Town<br />
Visiting the Little Zebra office<br />
Getting haircuts for two girls in desperate need of professional help<br />
Scheduling surf lessons for boys who long for waves<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visits with dear old friends! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieu_Be3Z0V3AlrIEa2iKlmKvC4Ha75beaUbCpaXElcdZnrchCjOPD1h_jLCed9ayzlXdVGkVCdOnEAw8r3HizqFTnTNIO1rHe5oHljf4PubW4XthuvLDNdXORs_BfdXfrmQLp_OWCDqNnp/s1600/20170418_160459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieu_Be3Z0V3AlrIEa2iKlmKvC4Ha75beaUbCpaXElcdZnrchCjOPD1h_jLCed9ayzlXdVGkVCdOnEAw8r3HizqFTnTNIO1rHe5oHljf4PubW4XthuvLDNdXORs_BfdXfrmQLp_OWCDqNnp/s200/20170418_160459.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting the office where all our books pass through.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surf lessons!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Find the kids... find the penguins...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading back to Mozambique </td></tr>
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<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-26068489848014675142017-04-04T17:44:00.003+02:002017-04-05T15:53:06.523+02:00All in loveA few weeks ago I had a lovely chat with a friend who loves and supports Little Zebra Books and our community reading programs. Hilda even uses Little Zebra Books in a Sunday School program at her church here in Tete.<br />
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Our conversation turned, as often happens these days, to our impending exit from Tete. "Are you really going? What will happen to the programs without you? We need you here."<br />
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"Yes," I replied, "we are going to leave. It is for the best. It has always been planned this way. Others are already running things. There are a few things I can help with from a distance if needed, but I trust my teams."<br />
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"But it isn't the same. You do everything with love!"<br />
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I got teary, as often happens this last year in Tete. "Hilda, so do you! You show such love to the kids. So does Veronica! You all do! You can love them even better than me, because you know them better."<br />
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There is a reason that I'm not in all those pictures. Mine is not the face of Little Zebra Books to any of the kids or their parents in Tete. The love they see comes from Jesus shining through Hilda. Veronica. Isaura. Cesária, Ilda. Jona. Nico. Matilde. James. The list keeps growing!<br />
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"We need you," she said.<br />
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I answered with an analogy this time: "For now, they do need me for some things. But remember that when you carry your baby on your back in the <i>capulana</i>, you will not carry her forever. You must put her down and hold her hand. She will start to walk with you. She will fall and you will help her. But if you don't put her down, she will be very big, and she won't learn to walk, and it will be strange! It would not be good for your daughter and not good for you!"<br />
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I am so glad to have carried them for a time. I am even more excited to see them walking on their own. My role changes. I can keep the books coming! For now, our groups cannot develop the <br />
materials or afford to publish or ship it on their own. I will do what I can to teach them to be as independent as possible. I will hold their hands on that part. I hope many of you reading this will reach out to help with what you have. We do make a great team stretched around the world like this!<br />
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<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-84139095424865073782017-03-20T20:15:00.000+02:002017-03-20T20:15:49.818+02:00Growing reading groups... a year later<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_DoAKZltchWzOZzOb3LbzYDNvxTW8APioYh4Rk-icGdh_6HeUsFA_Fl6OEBjhey5Lm01nmbWN3fhYecUTSyXu2SYpVGybIn8DvmuFxcni8SNvz9pSSBQCW5wYylU4tCxFnovAkl201Je/s1600/reading+group+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_DoAKZltchWzOZzOb3LbzYDNvxTW8APioYh4Rk-icGdh_6HeUsFA_Fl6OEBjhey5Lm01nmbWN3fhYecUTSyXu2SYpVGybIn8DvmuFxcni8SNvz9pSSBQCW5wYylU4tCxFnovAkl201Je/s320/reading+group+1.JPG" width="320" /></a>About a year ago I posted <a href="http://mozamweek.blogspot.com/2016/03/why-read-to-kids-on-pile-of-rocks-in.html" target="_blank">Why read to kids on a pile of rocks in the shade of a thorn tree? </a> We've come a long way since those days! Not only have we graduated to reed mats, we have also expanded. Yes, Veronica recruited six volunteers in 2016, and we have added several more in 2017 so far! </div>
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Each of our newer volunteers is excited to read to kids. They are following the model that Veronica and I worked out as we experimented with our first books. </div>
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<li>Talk to adults first. </li>
<li>Gather the kids. </li>
<li>Read stories and talk about what happens. </li>
<li>Meet weekly at a fixed time.</li>
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The adults often stay for the stories. Some of them can read. Some of them cannot. One thing they are learning is that their children LIKE to read. Books are now a part of their community life! Books are not a foreign thing brought by strangers. These books are THEIR stories in THEIR language. </div>
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The bigger storybook version of each title is also really popular. Our group leaders know the kids and have taught them to care for the books. Watching as older children read to the little ones is so much fun. They have gained confidence. They are leading and reading! They are free to choose a book and share it. These growing little libraries are a blessing to the children, families, and communities where our leaders live or visit.<br />
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In the last few months our groups have started being more intentional about teaching reading skills. This came in response to community needs. Parents are concerned that the kids don't progress well in school without homework help or tutoring. In many families, there is no one who can support this need. Our readers have volunteered to fill the gap for those kids. They are blessing those families in a unique way.<br />
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We have been making letter cards out of recycled cardboard boxes. Our group leaders have learned to make neatly measured and cut cards with nicely printed letters! We are trying out several games that help identify progress in the kids' skills. No testing - just playing and learning together. Who knows the most letter names and sounds in a row?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6aceWj9ijLZUvzYRmmJgX0IxwRVWMbuCUqxj0X6HN3-2DMAbHsMR8HwnmXYOYLp-LOi4sPkXZqs_b7QhyphenhyphenhIwfUCRdGMowXbCLg4ogOjehSU6ODU68siLnYcGX0EUuIZuCTQeyx3LctjD/s1600/spelling+cards+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6aceWj9ijLZUvzYRmmJgX0IxwRVWMbuCUqxj0X6HN3-2DMAbHsMR8HwnmXYOYLp-LOi4sPkXZqs_b7QhyphenhyphenhIwfUCRdGMowXbCLg4ogOjehSU6ODU68siLnYcGX0EUuIZuCTQeyx3LctjD/s320/spelling+cards+2.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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They also use the cards to spell words. Sometimes they compete to make the longest word. Sometimes they choose Nyungwe words. Sometimes they spell Portuguese words. The children are growing up with both languages all around them. In the reading groups, they are learning that they can read and write in both languages. They can tell stories in both languages. They can understand both. That's a big deal around here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0JUT9EyM9NYeEY2CxiBe8y-iFAvc_kqm_zVte2GY8Uh4qv_EVJ9tw47yZtQhyCL1H5yiZ1Ljd45N9yHPBten8Yo3GyBiMsxa1FIwUih0P00AOgW6GMlQeU5WHo_v0CI1dBnMSlWwKp-h/s1600/z+alphabet+fun+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0JUT9EyM9NYeEY2CxiBe8y-iFAvc_kqm_zVte2GY8Uh4qv_EVJ9tw47yZtQhyCL1H5yiZ1Ljd45N9yHPBten8Yo3GyBiMsxa1FIwUih0P00AOgW6GMlQeU5WHo_v0CI1dBnMSlWwKp-h/s320/z+alphabet+fun+1.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
The groups have also begun to use alphabet banners made from recycled cardboard and string. Teachers passing by think they are great! Some of them even plan to make their own for their classrooms. Teacher trainers have noticed them, too. They hope to include these innovations in training for new teachers. Why learn to recite the alphabet if you NEVER see the letters you are reciting? That is the reality of first grade classrooms here. Small changes can make a big difference. Our volunteers are leading the way!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmpPLzfSHyueNVhAYJ7h9-k7qHYIsa3gozlbKRpeMRkT2ypjFN6qHJ69FXlgxIek5pufoxcwZQoZsF548HEK0MmVLt5Vjh_OKy6h2ebTNjkTLTC8wamEfBTV08MNj7jXDYCIXkmxq9TcM/s1600/story+group+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmpPLzfSHyueNVhAYJ7h9-k7qHYIsa3gozlbKRpeMRkT2ypjFN6qHJ69FXlgxIek5pufoxcwZQoZsF548HEK0MmVLt5Vjh_OKy6h2ebTNjkTLTC8wamEfBTV08MNj7jXDYCIXkmxq9TcM/s320/story+group+2.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
Somewhere in Tete this afternoon, a volunteer is stringing up a banner of homemade letters between two trees. Twenty-some children spread out mats in the long shadows. There is singing and giggling as someone tries to name all the letters. They take turns pointing to the cards swinging on the string. They choose a book to read together and talk about the meaning of the story. They play some games. They ask and answer and learn to share their ideas and respect each other. They help to put it all away.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyq5bFzm9JJHkzmJsBW45MdC4B2_w3kzLH2CYuLNBQH4QZtuYULafOE_9ApOMXBicn2qwUkzBKbI0vUaQYak-sJ5k5HITGm7eXvVuLfhpyeT96pCURXvnOgp9BaUNc0gMqVB86f1gbz77y/s1600/reading+together+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyq5bFzm9JJHkzmJsBW45MdC4B2_w3kzLH2CYuLNBQH4QZtuYULafOE_9ApOMXBicn2qwUkzBKbI0vUaQYak-sJ5k5HITGm7eXvVuLfhpyeT96pCURXvnOgp9BaUNc0gMqVB86f1gbz77y/s320/reading+together+2.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Sometimes a few of them stick around for just one more book.<br />
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We thank everyone who makes this possible. <a href="http://littlezebrabooks.com/" target="_blank">Little Zebra Books</a> and all the caring people who are willing to give so others can improve the lives of these kids. THANK YOU!!!<br />
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<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-59081862295845259182017-03-03T17:30:00.001+02:002017-03-03T17:30:48.011+02:00He's put up with me for twenty yearsLong ago, our mission directors decided that a short American girl should share a desk with a tall Swede in Maputo, Mozambique. They were in the same department and the office was very small. That's the beginning of our story. We've told it often and in many circumstances: when we visited churches everyone wanted the "love story"; when we met people in Mozambique and they wanted to know how we ended up together; when I've given a lift to a lady on the side of the road and she asked how I ended up in Mozambique and questions led to the story. God has used the story to show many how he can lead with a smile, and a whisper of hope. We married at the age of 30. It seemed very old at the time!<br />
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Mikael and I have made a life together, and we have mostly allowed God to guide us. He's guided us through good and bad decisions and moved us a little closer to His vision of who we are in Him, I hope. We are never quite there... but we are moving there together. Not every step is as exciting as the first! I still tingle at his touch, and he still twinkles when I smile. We are not the same as we were at thirty. We are grown up and we've walked through the stresses of changing countries a dozen times while creating a family of transient troopers. From strollers through the Swedish snow and cloth diapers in the African sunshine to muddy feet and malaria fevers and Christmas in America... our big success may have been in our stubborn optimism (mostly mine) and unswerving focus (mostly his). The real love we share for each other isn't the tingly kind, but the sticky kind. We decide to make it work and never give up and know that it will always get better. If things aren't better today, there is always tomorrow.<br />
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Because when "love never fails" I don't think it means that MY love will always be perfect. I think it means that committing to the best for each other comes before personal satisfaction. On the days we get that right, we are both happy and moving ahead. When MY best pushes against our best, we stop. Grace is the secret to all the bumps along the way -- that "unmerited favor" that purposefully decides to recognize there was crap, but to forgive it and get on the way. ONWARD!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHgJzagXLq6yRvy50G9Ugq7l0Gsu7NOhiCEOy7rudEu6d1keMSnM7t-R2A0tsBuU4XdnWbEbdJW9novatEDRe-uG-xj_mgeTA7Jo_q3lhu2QrTqMnc6J1XzdYtVpsH0LklqNlVdHB_A6Z/s1600/Mikael%2527s+head+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHgJzagXLq6yRvy50G9Ugq7l0Gsu7NOhiCEOy7rudEu6d1keMSnM7t-R2A0tsBuU4XdnWbEbdJW9novatEDRe-uG-xj_mgeTA7Jo_q3lhu2QrTqMnc6J1XzdYtVpsH0LklqNlVdHB_A6Z/s320/Mikael%2527s+head+shot.jpg" width="320" /></a>So here's to my prince charming... Mikael Bister. He's embraced this loud-mouthed, opinionated and impatient woman and says he's excited to have me by his side. I'm so thankful for his steady side to be beside! He is kind. He is gentle. He is not easily swayed by trends and wishful thinking. He will never give up on a commitment once he's made it. (That includes me, our kids, and a long, drawn-out Bible translation program.) He's pretty much got the final word on the text for 80% of Nyungwe publications ever published. (There haven't been all that many, but since Little Zebra and SIL are responsible for most of them, I think that is a safe assertion.) I couldn't do what I do without him - personally or professionally. He can make me crazy in all the good and bad ways, but I respect him and I trust him, and that's what makes things work.<br />
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JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-42927246609822059462017-01-23T11:21:00.000+02:002017-02-01T15:03:56.875+02:00Fruit in Season...Yesterday we passed a guy selling pineapples... the kind from Zambezia, not from Manica. I know because I have lived here a long time. I have weekly reminders of the accumulation of years of knowledge of this place. It kind of feels good to recognize how much I've grown even if the areas of growth are somewhat trivial... at least, on the surface!<br />
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January marks the abundance of mangoes... greens abound, but lettuce is too wet and so are tomatoes (seems to be many with black spots right now.) Last week I bought avocados that seemed pretty local (bigger, kind of beat up and flavorful, instead of perfect and shiny and tasteless!) Avocados are usually most available in February.<br />
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We just finished the November/December glut of lichies, small plums and peaches from orchards in the north of the province were also easy to find... if you know where to look for them! I do... I've been here since before the dawn of the supermarket chains.<br />
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The local stuff is generally better and cheaper, so I try to stick with sourcing stuff from the market ladies before I head out to buy zucchini and cauliflower at the grocery store. BUT... I am SOOOOOO happy that I can FINALLY buy exotic vegetables all year round. What a huge privilege!<br />
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Back to those pineapples... the small ones are as sweet as honey and they come from the area south of us around Chimoio. The real price for a local person is around 50mt each... I've seen them for sale at 100mt to the uninitiated. The big pineapples are more tart and they come from Zambezia. It is a long way away, so getting them here without beating them up isn't easy. They used to cost about 80mt, but that was before this year's price hikes. I have yet to buy one... but I will soon!JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-4368050543703545252017-01-10T11:35:00.001+02:002017-01-12T12:48:42.546+02:00My two cents... a history of choosing which beggar gets my money<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Mozambique is generally accepted as being one of the <a href="http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/11/21/the-poorest-countries-in-the-world/5/" target="_blank">poorest countries</a> on Earth. That said, a lot has improved since we moved here in 1996 for the first time. My first confrontation with street begging was in Portugal in 1995. I was torn: Give to whom? How much? How to say "no" and not feel guilty? After living with my uncomfortable wealth and struggling with odd reactions to my giving and refraining, I asked God what to do. To my surprise, He answered. </blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iyoKAX7q5VoRn4vT_dWjNmzE5NCvhSbVqUBKEWdB4ZI5_eTWl6sJXrEXJjmF7U1kvN496gTgJyLMohwrklQn7ivKKJGR4l_GDtL1ihsn3t-MQ6U7L2PPl2sC7XTXIEhGzelUnAOePcX5/s1600/blog+bits+jan2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iyoKAX7q5VoRn4vT_dWjNmzE5NCvhSbVqUBKEWdB4ZI5_eTWl6sJXrEXJjmF7U1kvN496gTgJyLMohwrklQn7ivKKJGR4l_GDtL1ihsn3t-MQ6U7L2PPl2sC7XTXIEhGzelUnAOePcX5/s640/blog+bits+jan2017.jpg" width="640" /></a>In Portugal, I realized there was a 10 escudo coin that would buy a bowl of soup at any corner cafe. It wasn't extravagant, but it was something substantial enough to help someone who was hungry. This wasn't the most common coin in my pocket. It was almost rare. God "said" through a still, small voice in my heart, "Give those to me and trust me with them." I understood that if I had a 10 escudo coin and someone asked me for money, I could willingly give it and trust God to do the choosing. I didn't need to look for people in need; they were all around and asked every day. I just needed to trust God.<br />
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Not a perfect system for every situation, but it was a concrete way that I could dedicate something to God and see Him choose the outcomes. He knows that I've given Him the choice and he can control it as much or little as He wants, but I will be faithful to follow through. Here in Mozambique, I dedicated the two metical coin to God for giving on the streets. Same idea: It pays for bread or banana. It is somewhat rare.<br />
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I've seen God's funny faithfulness over the years. The FIRST day I renewed my choice to give according to this system I went into town with no 2mt coins. I was surrounded by beggars on the way into the first shop, each one with an outstretched palm saying, "Help me! Help me, lady!" My reply as I walked past greeting them respectfully was, "I have nothing to give now." To my shock, when the guy gave me change for my purchase, ALL HE HAD was 2mt coins... and he poured a pile of them into my hand. I gulped and braced myself for the herd of beggars outside the door. The coins were ready in my fist inside my pocket. "OK, Lord, this is for you."<br />
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I pulled back the plastic curtain and smiled at the beggars as I headed towards my car. NOT ONE of them looked at me. NOT ONE of them said a word to me. I was nearly invisible to them. 15 years ago there weren't that many white ladies walking around town; I was used to being noticed. I got into my car with all my 2mt coins feeling confused and a little amazed. That entire day at each stop I was totally willing to hand out money on the street, but NOT ONE of the people I met ever even asked.<br />
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In the years since then, I've had times of giving out lots of coins and not giving anything for weeks at a time. That little scene always plays out in my head when I get a 2mt coin these days, along with another one. A blind man with a 10 year-old child guiding him through traffic and begging at the windows.<br />
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"Water, lady, Give me 10mt for water."<br />
"I don't have anything for you today."<br />
"Please just give me something."<br />
"I'm sorry, I don't have."<br />
"Please help."<br />
I see a 5mt coin and place it into the boy's hand stretched to my window.<br />
The boy holds it out to the blind man who feels it.<br />
The blind man promptly hits the boy in the head with a stick.<br />
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I feel terrible. What was that all about? Why was the man so mean to the small boy? Somehow I knew it was a reminder to trust God with my promise. I didn't have the small coin so I changed my mind and did what I thought was ok. I didn't really ask God about it, I'm not saying I felt condemnation or guilt about it. It wasn't my fault that the man hit the boy. I am sure that happens all the time, but God let me see that He had been faithfully saving my gift for the person who needed it. Today, it wasn't that guy. I could trust Him to use the 2mt promise.<br />
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Today, a 2mt coin isn't worth as much as it used to be. It is only about worth 2 cents; in the old days it was worth about 5 cents. I still have a 2mt rule. Today, I was at the market and a man came up to me and asked to talk to me because he has a big problem. Many people still single out those of us who stand out in the crowd and look like helpful or rich people. My skin still gives me away even when I speak in Nyungwe and know the REAL price of the veggies at the market. He pestered me with a long story about needing 50mt for the bus to go visit his sick mother and something about his wife and lots of stuff. "Sorry, I don't have anything for you today." "Please, just 50mt. I really need it." "Sir," I finally say, "I have promised God that if I have 2mt coins I will give them all to anyone who asks me. God is very faithful. He sometimes give me too many small coins and I must be ready to give them away." He is now my by car and I look into the ashtray where we keep small change. There are 6 2mt coins waiting there. I pull them out and hand them to the man. "God knows what you need, and He saved these for you today. Please trust Him to take care of you." "Thank you, lady."JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-76067731454650420572017-01-04T17:54:00.000+02:002017-01-04T17:54:13.633+02:00One more year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have been in Mozambique for a very long time. This is our oldest daughter visiting a village a half hour out of town in 2003. This was most of what she knew about the world at the time. This village was new to her, but not scary or strange.<br />
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Our home was surrounded by a green, lush garden. Tea time under a guava tree was a daily ritual with Rosa and Maria. I admit, this looks a little "colonial" in some ways. But that is just life in Africa: our kids are white and everyone else is not. When you have a picnic this is what it looks like. </div>
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By 2012 my kids were happy in their school. The translation project was well under way. I was out and about visiting friends and finding places to share Nyungwe stories. There weren't many. Not many people were interested yet. We were on the verge of a new big thing, but we didn't know it. </div>
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After our "furlough" for a year in 2012-13, we returned to Mozambique. Little Zebra Books started publishing stories in Nyungwe. Suddenly everyone wanted something to read and we had it for them. After years of preparing translations and working through grammar and spelling and discourse analysis of this Mozambican language of 500,000 speakers, someone was paying attention. </div>
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The Bible translation team also got some good publicity when several smaller portions were made available through grants for printing in 2014 and 2016. Matthew and several of Pauls' epistles joined the already available books of Luke and Mark. The team learned the best ways to get books out to districts far from town where people hunger for God's Word in their language. </div>
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These cute kids have grown up... </div>
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We all have! And so has the Nyungwe Bible translation and literacy work in Tete, Mozambique. </div>
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We have one year to go until the New Testament is translated, checked and ready for typesetting and printing! (It should be published in 2018.) We have one year to look at ways to get as many people interested in reading Nyungwe as we can. We have one year to connect with key leaders and partners in ways that will ensure that the people of Tete have access to their own networks for distributing and studying God's Word.There must be trained people in place to take over some of the nitty-gritty stuff of getting books from printshops through customs and into active reading groups all over the region. </div>
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We need prayer. Just because we are nearing the end of this phase of ministry does not mean we are DONE... or that the Nyungwe Bible translation is DONE... or that the Little Zebra Books reading groups are DONE. </div>
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We've only just begun, I think. </div>
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God's plan looks different than we imagined it so many years ago. </div>
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The future is good for Nyungwe.</div>
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The future is good for our family, too. </div>
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We hope you stick with us for the long haul. I don't think you are "done" yet either!</div>
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JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-37643960680250488732016-11-24T17:35:00.001+02:002016-11-24T17:35:37.687+02:00Giving Thanks... Crossing the Zambezi River Bridge today, I gave out about 10 "Stick together" books. The line was slow, so we sounded out the words through my open window. There are always kids selling peanuts in the bridge line. They laughed. The one kid who could read continued to sound out words and the others grinned. I could move on. He's leading his little reading group now. They love it!<br />
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You know how it makes you feel when you give just the right gift? You notice that the person really lights up and knows that you thought of them when choosing it. I'm not a particularly gifted gift-giver, but I've been able to make a lot of kids smile this past year. That makes me happy!<br />
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I am so thankful for the part I can play in making someone's day! I'm not the one handing out books most days... I might be editing text or organizing shipping. Some days our team discusses strategy for reaching a new area. Some days my team leader, Veronica, and I discuss how best to monitor our groups. I visit local authorities to get permission to do what we do. Then I'm back at the computer downloading illustrations to do a cultural check with people here... do these pictures speak to them? Do they "get it"? It is all for the the kids, though. Each step of this process leads to having materials that will enrich a child's life with a story that recognizes how important she is... because it is in her very own language! Watch their smiles... they see and hear their own stories in these books.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1wAwmUCMko5WvcOYvaW1xNvKhyphenhyphen2BmG3nXJP8VKQaSp0u1WrE1Yh-_6qFuSwqInqvgeiZcsgTZGnbM1FlLktOexoOU9_E0N2v-LqAObdhYJsD0VVPVm5UoK_XqcsgNUHIQGItuu7n0qRx/s1600/Books+in+CT+office.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1wAwmUCMko5WvcOYvaW1xNvKhyphenhyphen2BmG3nXJP8VKQaSp0u1WrE1Yh-_6qFuSwqInqvgeiZcsgTZGnbM1FlLktOexoOU9_E0N2v-LqAObdhYJsD0VVPVm5UoK_XqcsgNUHIQGItuu7n0qRx/s640/Books+in+CT+office.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">70,000 in the Little Zebra Books office in South Africa... TODAY!</td></tr>
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That's a lot of books! The red ones are "mine"! OH my, as silly as it sounds, I am so choked up right now I can't see my screen. This is my Thanksgiving present this year. A couple of these lovingly-packed parcels will be shipped next week. I'm hoping to have them in hand for giving away before Christmas. I'll just get one box of each for now. I don't have room in my hallway for all 20,000 Nyungwe books at one time. I'm thankful for the office in Cape Town. I'm thankful for the shipper. I'm thankful for the illustrators ("Make the flowers stragglier and the hills less green" we told them). I'm thankful for Mikael and the translation team that prepared Matthew and Luke with such care over the years so we have Nyungwe books that speak right to kids' hearts from God's Word. I'm thankful for David and Hilary who have sacrificed much and poured so much love into this thing.<br />
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We all do it for the kids. You might make your contribution to our work because you care about us. That's cool. Do it for me if you want. As long as the books are taking up space in my hallway, I know that kids will have a story to tell. My volunteers feel like me. They thank you, too. Each of them is so excited about each new book!<br />
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Yes, that's a lot of books! But.. it is probably enough books for us to use in two months! We introduce a title each month. We have 13 registered groups and each one reaches at least 200 kids. Then there are the school visits or the church visits where 500 books are gone in one go. So you begin to understand why I'm plaguing your Facebook feed with posts about donating for the next 10,000 books... that means March, or April... that's more printing and shipping and organizing! I'm so thankful for the chance to do the job I do!<br />
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Happy Thanksgiving!<br />
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<br />JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6477139744151060916.post-22014835231622201502016-11-15T18:10:00.003+02:002016-11-15T18:10:34.623+02:00This broken world<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In a recent school visit here in Mozambique, I was reminded again of our precarious place in this broken world. In the "west" (North America and Europe, basically), we take pride in having things pretty much together. We like to think that hard work and common sense reward us with health and justice and happiness. It often works out that way, at least we think so... at least on the surface it appears to be true.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our world is much more global now, and this brings tremendous benefits of networking across cultures and languages and geography in ways not even imagined 50 years ago. We often think of the benefits to the "non-west" (also called global south or developing countries, etc.). We see that they have access to information at the touch of a screen... they can see and hear things from halfway around the world. They can translate information into a language they understand (mostly) with the click of a button. They can see new technologies that will change their lives... they can dream of a future like ours...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We think...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the other hand, this global connection of cultures and countries have the ability to show us their own world. We can watch a farmer in Zimbabwe harvest his crops in almost real time through blogs and YouTube. We can have a peek at the war far away and the famine resulting from the drought. We can become enraged at the treatment of animals or the environment somewhere far away. We can know more about the brokenness of mankind than we want to know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So we don't look... if we can avoid it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the messy, broken pieces of this earth come to the surface, we are forced to evaluate their place. We cannot deny their existence anymore. We cannot pretend that they are lies. We know. We have to consciously refuse to care about them. We justify the situation by arguing that "they" could have it better if they did it our way. We think that our money and education and ingenuity can save them... if only they weren't so far away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">If only... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But we don't really want them and their problems to get too close to our comfort either, do we? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are no easy answers. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">None of us has the whole picture.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">God does. He says:</span></div>
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<li>Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.</li>
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<li>Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.</li>
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<li>See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.</li>
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<li>... never get tired of doing good.</li>
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<li> <span style="font-family: inherit;">And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. </span></li>
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And always remember... Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it!<br />While we can't fix it all, we shouldn't ignore it all either. We shouldn't worry so much about what we will sacrifice to help someone as to worry about what that person needs. Christians should be the ones to show up first to help and heal and speak encouragement and kindness. Let's remember out place in this broken world.<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">*1 Corinthians 10:24, Ephesians 4:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:15, 2 Thessalonians 3:13, Hebrews 13:16, Ephesians 2:9.</span>JeniBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15489337519808940023noreply@blogger.com0