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Not my home

A Layne Post

So here we are, settling in. Driving no longer feels so foreign. I am loosing the urge to honk at everyone. I’ve stopped admiring fancy toilets and thick heavy mirrors. Incredibly nice customer service is no longer shocking, and I’ve lost my urge to grab and hug the necks of strangers for being so friendly. I do not have the desire to shovel every single food item on the grocery isle into my mouth at the same time.

It is such a blessing to have family and friends that we can pick up with as if no time has lapsed at all. There are not awkward silences, or wishing we could slip away. It has been heartwarming and encouraging to be so surrounded by love.

We are happy to be here.

I can say; however, while life seems a bit easier, or perhaps more convenient here, I wouldn’t want to live here. I’ve really thought about it this week, as I’ve struggled through funny emotions, finding it strange that this was ever “norm” for us. It is comforting that the Lord has grown in Jon and I a deep love for Africa, and now specifically Mozambique. I miss it. How hard it would be to feel like our service to the Lord was only obedience. I’m not sure I could leave all this that I once held dear. Instead God has blessed us with a ministry we love, in a place we’ve grown to love, surrounded by dear friends and fellow laborers we love.

So here I am, in my common predicament, torn by the ones we love. Happy to be here, missing people there. I guess we’ll never all be on the same continent.

I’m ever reminded this world is not our home.

November 13, 2011
Personal
4 comments

America

A Jon Post

We are here… America of old and of new. To us this country is both familiar and foreign in equally comforting and disorienting/confusing parts.

Hugs, smiles, cultures that we know and love well. Huge and blemish-free fruits, pre-packaged foods, restaurant meals that could last me for all three daily meals, and cars that drive on the wrong side of the road.

We are here.

We left Maputo, home, friends, dog, and ministry at 5:30 PM on Tuesday and got here in Arizona 27 hours later. We hope you all know how thankful we are to those of you who prayed for our journey. We are so so so so so thankful. God blessed us with extra seats on all three of our connections and Anaya had plenty of room to nap, play and just be an incredible girl for 27 exhausting hours. Layne and I slept very little but that lack of sleep was made so much easier to handle by the fact that Anaya was a dream.

We arrived in the airport terminal and were greeted by many more friends and family than we had expected. What a blessing it is to be surrounded by men and women who love God and who love us.

Anaya wore a little onesie that Layne stitched especially for that greeting. “Big Sister.”

Yes, Anaya is going to be a big sister in (probably) June of 2012.

Layne is pregnant.

We will be here in Arizona until December 7th and we will fly toCorpus Christi,TX after that.

Please don’t forget to pray for us and, more importantly, please join us in prayer for the many friends, men, women and children in the hospital whom we miss dearly.

November 6, 2011
Travel
5 comments

Maputo, My Home

A Layne Post

I remember like it was yesterday…

We loaded up our new Land Cruiser with all of our possessions, said ‘good-bye’ to Botswana, a land we new knew well and loved well, and headed into the unknown. We were moving to Mozambique. For how long, we did not know. We had a temporary guest house lined up in the capital city of Maputo and a contact for a missionary couple we met once over lunch while in Portugal, but other than that, only the Lord knew.

Right after buying 'The Bison'

I knew Maputo was a large city, at least in comparison to what we knew in Botswana, and I had heard rumors of high crime rates. I found myself afraid. Driving into the city didn’t calm my fears. In fact, when we got to what I thought was ‘downtown’, I settled in my mind we wouldn’t be here long, that I could not possibly like this place. The traffic was crazy, it was dirty, hectic, and not for me. I kept telling myself it was temporary, and we’d head to Angola soon enough, back to the village life.

Traffic jam that took hours to get out of

Shortly after arriving we were invited by Alice to join her at her hospital ministry for their Christmas party; she asked if Jon would play a few Christmas carols on the violin, which he was happy to do. We enjoyed ourselves so much, we continued our visits, pushing through the uneasiness with Portuguese. Soon the majority of our friends in Mozambique were patients at the hospital.

Jon with men at the hospital '09

Layne with Mommies at hospital '09

Suddenly, however, we were provided the opportunity to go to Angola, and feeling a peace from the Lord, we decided to go. With a few days notice, we packed up. We left some of our possessions with friends here in Mozambique, assuring our return, if only to get our things and say proper goodbyes.

All loaded up and ready to go

It was on our way to Angola that the Lord began exposing the passion that had grown inside of us for continuing in the ministry of visitation, especially to the sick and the lonely. During our time in Angola we sought opportunities, however, we quickly realized that Maputo (that hectic, dirty city I was determined to dislike) was uniquely set up the type of ministry we were doing. A couple months later we found ourselves trekking back across the continent, but this time a little more sure of our future.

Our Home

Our Home

Over the next year and a half we rented a house, made it a home, bought a dog, got pregnant, had Anaya, rented another house, made that one a home… we have made countless friends around the city, found all of our favorite little ‘spots’, visited nearby beaches, gotten used to police stops, learned to drive as aggressively, if not more so, than the other crazy city drivers… we have made some of the dearest friends at the hospital, loved them deeply, and lost too many… we’ve praised the Lord with shouts, wept bitterly, sang deeply, questioned endlessly, prayed earnestly, and we have found Him good.

And now, well, I cannot imagine living anywhere else. Maputo, my home.

October 30, 2011
Hospital Ministry, Mozambique
2 comments

Getting Ready

A Jon Post

In just one week we’ll get on an airplane and begin a voyage back to the country where we were born (except Anaya).

It’s exhausting getting prepared for that. Trying to put things in order, say goodbye to people here, making sure all of my responsibilities are taken care of. It’s much, much easier to simply put it off… not really think about it… and let it just sneak up on me.

I was standing next to a hospital bed this week and it hit me that João Filipe (the man on the bed) and I have this in common.

It’s exhausting getting ready for this.

He too will be taking a voyage soon. He too is faced with saying goodbyes, preparing for his children (he has 4), and passing on his responsibilities to those he can. He too is exhausted and would much rather simply rest and let the voyage come to him.

His voyage is different than mine. His has no return and his destination is much sweeter than mine. João Filipe will not long stay tethered to this earth. He too is going back to where he was born. And the Jesus to whom he often mutters incoherently is waiting with open arms.

I stood next to his bed for what seemed ages last week. Resting my hand on his younger brother Mateu’s strong shoulder who attends him day and night, I prayed deep, yearning prayers for comfort and for rest. João Filipe’s times of lucidity are short though never without a smile. When he is aware of his surrounds he lights up the room with his praise to his Savior and his gratitude for the visit (I am not sure whose visit he means, mine or Christ’s).

So this week, as I prepare to say goodbye to friends I may never see again, as I prepare my home, as I prepare my family… I remember João Filipe and his smiles. I remember his battle and his time to prepare. I remember how exhausted he is. I remember his brother’s tears…

Get ready João Filipe…

There is nothing better than your coming voyage.

October 25, 2011
Hospital Ministry, Travel
6 comments

I Can Still…

A Layne Post

I want to apologize for not posting last weekend. We have been experiencing some difficulties with our internet service provider and we were without for much of the weekend. When we did have it, it was incredibly slow. I chose to wait to post.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

I can still see her bow legged waddle.
I can still hear her “o-bi-ga-da”. (Obrigada is ‘thank you’ in Portuguese)
I can still see her grin and hide behind her Mama in shyness as I made funny faces at her.
I can still see her limp 2-year-old little body as her Mama tried to feed her soup.
I can still hear her Mama’s cry as she mourned the loss of her daughter, gone forever from this world.

Last week I had to practice the ministry of just standing there. There were no words. A hug. A back rub. Sitting.

Silénçia will be missed. We won’t forget her.

Pray for her Mama.

October 16, 2011
Hospital Ministry, JonandLayne.com
2 comments
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