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Major Picture Post

A Layne Post

Work, work, work… there is A LOT of work.

We are so thrilled to have our very own home; many times I even find it hard to believe. The Lord has blessed us immensely with the opportunity to rent this particular home. As we have seen other places for the same price monthly, this can only be from Him. How good is our God?

Our new home is quite old and quite dirty; however, we can see the potential and are ready to put in the work. Fixing it up will take some money, but we will just pace ourselves as it is available. We head to South Africa on Tuesday to reset our visas and to purchase some things, as things are cheaper across the border.

Later this week we hope to have a “Festa de Tinta” (Paint Party), as friends help us tackle the walls.

In other news, we have been to the hospital once and will return tomorrow. Our senses were overwhelmed with familiar sights and smells, and our hearts were filled with compassion and love all over again. Seeing Sandra from afar, hearing her shout, and feeling her arms around my neck… it is good to be back. We would like to get on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule soon.

The World Cup begins July 11th, and we will begin showing the games, teamed with local churches, as an opportunity for evangelism. It will be a busy month, but one we are looking forward to.

June 6, 2010
Mozambique
8 comments

Home

A Jon Post

We’re back in Maputo. It is so good to be here. We were married in June of 2008 and since then we’ve been in someone else’s house or in a hotel or in a tent. Tomorrow… for the first time… we have a home. We can finally unpack our bags. We have an address and a residence that’s not on wheels (we’ve mostly been living out of our Land Cruiser for nearly 6 months now).

We have a home.

We went back to the hospital on Friday. It felt good. The peeling paint, the smells, the cold concrete floors, all of it so familiar and so packed with emotions. Memories of intimate moments flooded back to us as we hugged familiar faces and kissed new ones on the cheek in greeting.

We have a home.

We bought a couch, a table, a refrigerator, a bed…

We have a home.

Maputo isn’t what we had in mind when we first set out on this journey. We went to Angola back in 2008 to see a country we hoped to live in. We saw that we needed to learn Portuguese so we went to Portugal in 2009 to learn it. We met missionaries Areménio and Elizabeth Anjos there who introduced us to Jorge and Alice Pratas, missionaries to Mozambique. We came to Maputo at the end of 2009 to keep up with our Portuguese as we awaited God’s timing for a move to Angola. And here… in Maputo… God whispered “here is your home.”

We have a home.

Our journey has been long both in time and in distance. In the last 5 months we’ve driven more than 6000 miles and lived in 5 different countries.

We have a home.

Rejoice with us dear friends and family. We are planted and we are pursuing long-term ministry with kindred spirits whose heart for loving and serving people is nearly identical to our own.

We are here.

Done Traveling For Now

Done Traveling For Now

May 30, 2010
Mozambique, Travel
7 comments

On the Road Again

A Layne Post

Well Jon and I have been on the road again. I am really believing that there will come a day in my life that I will not know the next “trip”, but for now that is not in the near future. I bet when that day does finally come, I probably will be antsy to go. Ha!

On our way from Namibia we traveled through Botswana and stayed a few nights with our dear friends, who are really more like family, the Walkers. We thoroughly enjoyed fellowship, pizza and Mexican food, and games.

*Insert Note* We are so blessed to have friends as close as family all over southern Africa.

Thank you Lord!

Mozambican Visa

Mozambican Visa

Now we are in Pretoria, South Africa wrapping up preparation for Mozambique. Good news! As of today we can excitedly report that we have 6 month business visas! It is not ideal because it still requires exiting the country every 30 days (which is about 1.5 hours drive); however,  it is 6 months, which feels like a long time. Once we are in Mozambique we can pursue a residence permit. Won’t that be an exciting day? To be residents of Mozambique… yes, yes, that will be a very exciting day.

Wednesday we will be making the 7 hour drive to Maputo, which is really one of my favorite drives here. It is beautiful! We travel through gorgeous rolling green hills, sprinkled with rich farmland, through mountainous areas with a rushing river flowing just near the road; we stop at a precious little fueling station called ‘Milly’s’, complete with homemade candies and jam; we drive past banana tree fields and palm tree lined roads. Ah! Lovely, right? Someday I hope some of you can make this drive with us.

Prayer Requests

  • Safety on the road
  • Residence visas shortly after arriving
  • Low or no import fees for the vehicle
  • Smooth language transition into Portuguese, once again
  • Jon’s back, which has been bothering him for a week or so

Thank you guys so much for loving and praying us. Your presence is undoubtedly felt.

May 24, 2010
Mozambique, Personal, Travel
3 comments

Joy Crashing Into Grief

A Jon Post

Layne and I are in Maun, Botswana visiting good, good friends whom we used to minister with as missionaries from 2005 to 2007. Layne’s medical condition is still undiagnosed and when we spoke to the doctor in Windhoek, Namibia he said we are waiting for test results and biopsies results of some spots in her stomach found during her recent gastroscopy. Because Maun is about a day’s drive away we decided to spend the weekend here with friends. Maun is situated just south of the Okavango Delta, the largest inland delta in the world. It is a haven of African wildlife and has been a favorite camping spot of ours for years. We decided to spend two nights camping on our way to visit our friends here.

I was going to post the rest of this about our safari trip and about Mother’s Day. But we went to our old church here in Maun today and saw friends we’ve not seen in a long time. Today was going so well, we had an incredible camping experience, and God seemed to be smiling on everything I looked at.

Then I spoke with a friend that I’ve known here in Botswana for many years. I’ve kept in touch with him since I left, and he loves the Lord so much. He is an incredible doctor, husband, father. His wife just had a newborn baby girl.

And she isn’t well.

I wish you could see and share in the tears I have while writing this dear friends. My friend’s name is Enok and I could see the pain in his eyes as he spoke of seeing his little girl through the eyes of a doctor and knowing the gravity of her illness. I could hear the agony in his voice as he spoke of his wife’s wavering voice telling him to stop giving a doctor’s diagnosis and simply hope the hope of a father.

Sometimes my theology is of no comfort to me.

I know that God promises that He works for the good. I know that.

It doesn’t lessen the pain.

This little girl is suffering and her lungs are in danger of collapse. Please pray with us for her. Please join with us as we pray for little Tefile (pronounced Tehfeelay). Pray for Enok and his incredible wife Patience. They are an amazing family.

Sometimes, when life seems so good, when joy is found in every little thing, the gravity of this fallen world hits like a hammer.

I can wrap my arms and heart around my Savior, because I know he sits with me… with us and He cries too. He knows what it means to see the innocent suffer. He knows. And he cries with us.

Please pray for Enok, Patience, and especially Tefile.

We love you all.

You can read about our safari trip here.

May 10, 2010
Travel
4 comments
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