Yesterday we went to the bocaria- or what we would call the city dump. Only the difference is that the bocaria is inhabited by a lot of Mozambicans, mostly mothers and children. By far it was the saddest day here--but also the most promising. We rode in the back of a flatbed truck through the city until we reached the mountain of garbage and were immediately greeted by the children that live there. Then, we broke up into two groups to do ministry. Our group went throughout the neighboring houses, to pray for the sick who lived there. One child in particular drew our attention, he was a young man of about 22ish who was infected with AIDS. His story was a miracle, today he was well enough to stand and greet us, but last week would have been a different story. People at Iris that have been praying for him say that a week ago he was unable to stand or hardly even move from the mat that he sleeps on. The Lord is the only one who could have brought this change in him!
The kids at the bocaria rummaged for food, clothing, and bits of metal to sell in the heaps of trash. But they all came running to the children's church service at the bottom of the bocaria. There were at least 70 kids there. After the service, Iris passed out over 300 pieces of bread to the families and the kids.
On Saturday, our team went to the market. We haggled and bargained our way to some beautiful African art and such. After riding downtown in a truck (all 13 of us), we ate lunch outside at a really nice Mozambican restaurant overlooking the Indian ocean and ordered such specialties as coke in glass bottles and ice cream for desert. This is a huge contrast from the food that we eat at the compound. They serve rice from huge washtubs for lunch and dinner to everyone. They top the rice with a different food each meal, such as cooked cabbage, beans, noodles, or fish.
Sunday was amazing. We can't really describe it- the worship, dancing, overall celebrating the Lord is beyond words. The service itself was translated into english for our benifit, but language barriers are so insignificant when it comes to the Lord. We can't fully describe it...
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2 comments:
God is so amazing. To read in your words how he is working through each of you to help those you are serving softens my heart. We pray and keep you all in our thoughts continually. Ava’s Mom has me check the blog two or three times each day for any updates and appreciate the time you take to write. Continue the harvest and expect victory for Gods kingdom.ml
Have you read "the poison wood bible"?
Its a truly amazing piece of literature.
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