Just a happy personal note.
I went to Kenya for a week to attend a conference. The conference was very good, the people were nice and Nairobi certainly had better shopping. YET...I was sooooo very happy to go home to mOZ. Strange, i was glad to hear Portuguese again (not quite as happy to speak it) and over all really happy to return to this somewhat 'lagging' part of the world.
Yes, i missed my wife and kids greatly and had a wonderful welcome home...to be followed by Cami leaving just three days after for SA for knee surgery. She is fine and actually, get this, picking my folks up at the airport on their way here for a visit. Yes, this was arranged. They are coming to help me and see he grandkids while Cami is down getting surgery...and will be here for weeks to follow as well when Cami is back.
So. I went away and came back, my wife left me and now my folks are coming to stay with me!
We men here are excited...but praying Cami's surgery goes well and she rushes back!
So. I may not write for a while although i want to share some thoughts from the conference.....and i will.
Until then!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Here's the numbers for you about Mozambique...and things are getting better these days!
* -It's the 4th Country with lowest development index: 0,322;
* -It's the 5th country with more cases of Malaria: 18%;
* -It is the 5th country with more people malnourished: 54%;
* -It's the 6th country with less percentage of children in school: 23%;
* -It's the 9th country with the highest rate of infantile mortality: 20%;
* -It's the 7th country with the lowest percentage of feminine literacy, compared to masculine: 48%
* -It's the 9th country with the lowest education index: 0,37;
* -It's the 10th country with more AIDS infected adults: 13%;
* -It's the 11th country with the lowest income per-cápita: 697;
* -It's the 13th poorest country. 38% live with less than 1 dollar per day;
* -It's the 15th country with the lowest life expectancy: 44 years;
* -It's the 16th country with less investment in health, per-capita: 8 dollar/year;
* -It's the 16th country with the lowest hope for healthy life: 35 years;
That's the numbers folks....come here and see for yourself. Life is HARD here. Did i mention child trafficking, widespread corruption, domestic inequality and violence?? What about (what we call) witch craft?
In all this MANY are coming to be of help. To bring love, peace, jobs, hope for this life and the future. It is exciting to not only see but be a very small part. I hope to promote some of these works here on the blog in the next few months, like the orphanage run by Moises and Connie, the chicken farm 'New Horizons, the Bible School my colleagues teach at and i will share with you about my work a little....
Stay tuned adn pray for Moz please!
* -It's the 4th Country with lowest development index: 0,322;
* -It's the 5th country with more cases of Malaria: 18%;
* -It is the 5th country with more people malnourished: 54%;
* -It's the 6th country with less percentage of children in school: 23%;
* -It's the 9th country with the highest rate of infantile mortality: 20%;
* -It's the 7th country with the lowest percentage of feminine literacy, compared to masculine: 48%
* -It's the 9th country with the lowest education index: 0,37;
* -It's the 10th country with more AIDS infected adults: 13%;
* -It's the 11th country with the lowest income per-cápita: 697;
* -It's the 13th poorest country. 38% live with less than 1 dollar per day;
* -It's the 15th country with the lowest life expectancy: 44 years;
* -It's the 16th country with less investment in health, per-capita: 8 dollar/year;
* -It's the 16th country with the lowest hope for healthy life: 35 years;
That's the numbers folks....come here and see for yourself. Life is HARD here. Did i mention child trafficking, widespread corruption, domestic inequality and violence?? What about (what we call) witch craft?
In all this MANY are coming to be of help. To bring love, peace, jobs, hope for this life and the future. It is exciting to not only see but be a very small part. I hope to promote some of these works here on the blog in the next few months, like the orphanage run by Moises and Connie, the chicken farm 'New Horizons, the Bible School my colleagues teach at and i will share with you about my work a little....
Stay tuned adn pray for Moz please!
Friday, March 14, 2008
My Kingdom sucks.
I have been feeling pretty good lately and then i realized my kingdom was in disarray, frazzled, chaos. I hadn't spent time with my children..nor did i really want to. My wife threw her back out while managing virtually everything with a bad knee (torn ACL and meniscus) and myself spiritually speaking, was pretty...well dead. Dried up. Tired. Don't get me wrong things are happening, the work is picking up pace, Moz'es are catching the idea of TEE and are excited. Classes have started but will triple in a few weeks. And yet my kingdom (King-of-Dumb maybe)is a mess. Funny. I thought for a while things were good, stuff was getting done, food was on the table, we got through each day...but i wasn't looking closely at my family, my friends, those i care for.
So i started thinking. What should my kingdom look like. Now i talk about kingdom and i think 'sphere of influence', not physical kingdom. What does my immediate world look like? What does the world i influence really consist of. Now for the most part my kingdom is functional and healthy. Yes, we have our problems but no-one is dying presently (in my mind losing a loved one is the only truly bad day). I had gotten meds for my street kid in the city and am trying to find him a ride home to his family. I have organized my classes and have a good plan set in motion. I am being proactive and trying to address issues that most likely will not occur for another year. So why then do i feel like things such a mess. Maybe because my greatest error was what i thought this kingdom should look like or more likely should i have a kingdom of my own t all! I thought i was in control, that i could deal with stuff and handle situations when in truth, when i try, things usually get worse. For example my careful planning has hit nothing but delays, my wife's health continues to limp along and last night my eldest, Toby (5yr old) came down with some pretty bad croup...my darling wife goes and (doesn't) sleep next to him and i start thinking maybe i am missing something here. We have bickered more lately and i have been short tempered with the boys and less apt to listen to them. I kept thinking what happens to me doesn't effect those around me. When in fact my heart, my attitude greatly affect all those around me. So what should my kingdom look like? What do i expect it to look like when i am a mess?
So i went back to the Book. It says Jesus was near his home town and the surrounding area and after a while he started saying stuff like, 'the kingdom of God is like a...juice box'. Ok, so he didn't day 'juice box' but what he did say is just as weird to me. All three synoptic gospels (those that are similar and agree for the most part) mention the interaction in which Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, yeast, a treasure, a merchant or pearl and a net. In all inferences there seems to be something missing. The big, flashy, awe-inspiring WOW of the greatness of the kingdom. Although one is treasure it is buried and kept hidden withinthe filed. In each of the others the kingdom is diminutive and small (yeast and seed) or at best it costly but not real noticeable (pearl). I wonder on this because i always thought kingdoms, 'spheres of influence' would be noticeable, like a big neon sign over your head.
"YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF...BE YE INFLUENCED ". I kept thinking it was mine...that i knew how to manage a kingdom. I read the books on being influential and leadership...i fell for the lies.
In all my plans, all my 'influence', i never sought to be inconspicuous. I wanted to be noticed, if not noticed, at least influential, when all along Jesus was saying 'serve', 'do it quietly', 'be like me, incredibly powerful but never drawing attention to my self.' So, i have ended up back on my knees realizing to lead i need to serve, to guide and influence my children, my wife, my teammates and students, i have to become LESS. More than that i need to be living for another King...and His kingdom, His way.
So maybe it isn't my kingdom at all that i need to find. Maybe i will find His kingdom kneeling next to kid as he sleeps and praying over him. Or doing the dishes and organizing the dinner so my wife won't have to think about it. Maybe it is about treating those things/people who are dearest to me with the utmost gentleness and care...and doing it quietly. Maybe in this kingdom--His kingdom there should be limit to how loud one should be. Maybe, just maybe, I will find those things which are most dear, those pearls, treasures in the quiet--revolutionary kingdom. Being a servant i will find others receive peace and worth and joy. When i treasure those moments with friends or the laughing with Toby and Ben, then i will be a good influence. Remember the inference to a net, maybe when i spread kindness and dare i say sacrificial love, like a net falling where it may i will affect others. I tell you this sounds a lot easier than having to rule a kingdom and have it all figured out and be in control (in a controlling way). There is freedom and joy in this kingdom. Peace and reliance on God in this kind of living.
Now that would be a place i want to live. I'm giving it a new try....
I have been feeling pretty good lately and then i realized my kingdom was in disarray, frazzled, chaos. I hadn't spent time with my children..nor did i really want to. My wife threw her back out while managing virtually everything with a bad knee (torn ACL and meniscus) and myself spiritually speaking, was pretty...well dead. Dried up. Tired. Don't get me wrong things are happening, the work is picking up pace, Moz'es are catching the idea of TEE and are excited. Classes have started but will triple in a few weeks. And yet my kingdom (King-of-Dumb maybe)is a mess. Funny. I thought for a while things were good, stuff was getting done, food was on the table, we got through each day...but i wasn't looking closely at my family, my friends, those i care for.
So i started thinking. What should my kingdom look like. Now i talk about kingdom and i think 'sphere of influence', not physical kingdom. What does my immediate world look like? What does the world i influence really consist of. Now for the most part my kingdom is functional and healthy. Yes, we have our problems but no-one is dying presently (in my mind losing a loved one is the only truly bad day). I had gotten meds for my street kid in the city and am trying to find him a ride home to his family. I have organized my classes and have a good plan set in motion. I am being proactive and trying to address issues that most likely will not occur for another year. So why then do i feel like things such a mess. Maybe because my greatest error was what i thought this kingdom should look like or more likely should i have a kingdom of my own t all! I thought i was in control, that i could deal with stuff and handle situations when in truth, when i try, things usually get worse. For example my careful planning has hit nothing but delays, my wife's health continues to limp along and last night my eldest, Toby (5yr old) came down with some pretty bad croup...my darling wife goes and (doesn't) sleep next to him and i start thinking maybe i am missing something here. We have bickered more lately and i have been short tempered with the boys and less apt to listen to them. I kept thinking what happens to me doesn't effect those around me. When in fact my heart, my attitude greatly affect all those around me. So what should my kingdom look like? What do i expect it to look like when i am a mess?
So i went back to the Book. It says Jesus was near his home town and the surrounding area and after a while he started saying stuff like, 'the kingdom of God is like a...juice box'. Ok, so he didn't day 'juice box' but what he did say is just as weird to me. All three synoptic gospels (those that are similar and agree for the most part) mention the interaction in which Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, yeast, a treasure, a merchant or pearl and a net. In all inferences there seems to be something missing. The big, flashy, awe-inspiring WOW of the greatness of the kingdom. Although one is treasure it is buried and kept hidden withinthe filed. In each of the others the kingdom is diminutive and small (yeast and seed) or at best it costly but not real noticeable (pearl). I wonder on this because i always thought kingdoms, 'spheres of influence' would be noticeable, like a big neon sign over your head.
"YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF...BE YE INFLUENCED ". I kept thinking it was mine...that i knew how to manage a kingdom. I read the books on being influential and leadership...i fell for the lies.
In all my plans, all my 'influence', i never sought to be inconspicuous. I wanted to be noticed, if not noticed, at least influential, when all along Jesus was saying 'serve', 'do it quietly', 'be like me, incredibly powerful but never drawing attention to my self.' So, i have ended up back on my knees realizing to lead i need to serve, to guide and influence my children, my wife, my teammates and students, i have to become LESS. More than that i need to be living for another King...and His kingdom, His way.
So maybe it isn't my kingdom at all that i need to find. Maybe i will find His kingdom kneeling next to kid as he sleeps and praying over him. Or doing the dishes and organizing the dinner so my wife won't have to think about it. Maybe it is about treating those things/people who are dearest to me with the utmost gentleness and care...and doing it quietly. Maybe in this kingdom--His kingdom there should be limit to how loud one should be. Maybe, just maybe, I will find those things which are most dear, those pearls, treasures in the quiet--revolutionary kingdom. Being a servant i will find others receive peace and worth and joy. When i treasure those moments with friends or the laughing with Toby and Ben, then i will be a good influence. Remember the inference to a net, maybe when i spread kindness and dare i say sacrificial love, like a net falling where it may i will affect others. I tell you this sounds a lot easier than having to rule a kingdom and have it all figured out and be in control (in a controlling way). There is freedom and joy in this kingdom. Peace and reliance on God in this kind of living.
Now that would be a place i want to live. I'm giving it a new try....
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Bom, Macacu and Ime fyne.
The words of my youngest son just, 'get me'. You know what i mean? I wonder if our unintelligible words delight God? You know, when you bump your foot or you have a moment of clarity and just mutter in amazement.
And you know that sparkle in the eye of your child. I hadn't seen it for a while and i bet ya God sees it in us everyday. I have been so...busy (stupid/undisciplined) i haven't taken the time to enjoy my kids. I haven't sat on the bed and let them jump on me or 'rastle' with my 5yr old! What is wrong with me? and then i keep thinking that the same thing that is wrong with me and my relationships here is wrong with my relationship with God. I'm telln' ya, 5 minutes with God in the am isn't enough. I want more. More damn it.
And then Jesus came and said "YES, me too". God said, "I want more, I want to be with you like back when in the garden when you didn't know you were naked....when we walked together."
And i mutter unintelligible words and He understands and even delights in them. He loves me. He sees the sparkle in my eye. He knows me and loves me anyway.
So thank you God for Ben. Thank you for Toby. Thank you for reminding me who i am to you.
Peace all over you out there.
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