SAM Ministries Presentation

Here is a great video that explains a little bit more about what we are going to be doing when we head out to Mozambique. God is so awesome. We hope you enjoy this video.

Spring Fever!

Sometimes our posts have deep intellectual thoughts full of our challenges and what we have been learning. This is not one of those posts. Apparently Rick and one of our youth kids, Kevin were bitten by a bug carrying spring fever- its the only possible explanation that does justice to explaining why they went crazy this afternoon! First, Rick decided to try and do a back flip off a swing into a mud puddle. ( this would have worked better if the ground about two inches in wasn't still FROZEN!) Although he managed to land right side up- he still landed on his "backside" completely covering him in mud! Then- in typical spring fever brilliance- he decided to jump into the only spot on the whole lake not currently covered in ice (yes thick, cold, winter... ICE) to rinse off and convinced Kevin to join him in this spectacular idea. If only I had had the camera with us. But alas- no camera- so you will all just have to use your imaginations. It was pretty funny. I guess its better he get these experiences over with before we move to Africa where the ice is a bit more scarce! hee hee. Anyways- happy spring to you all! God Bless, Heather and Rick

Balloons! Pizza! Face Paints! Ventriloquists!!!

Well! Rick and I are totally exhausted! Last night we ran ( along with several others) a HUGE kids outreach event at our church. We had a free pizza and ice cream dinner for all the kids who come to our kids club and awana programs AND all their parents, siblings and even some friends! It was a huge success, and many parents thanked us for taking such an interest in working with their children. We had prayed and asked God for 100 people to come, and He gave us 103! (not including all the volunteers!) It was really neat.

Rick built a REALLY big balloon pit and filled it with well over 600 balloons! ( we did use an air compressor- although it still took like 5 hours or something!) The kids loved it! We had that plus face painting and a coloring wall, prizes, parent and kid games and after all that chaos was over- a ventriloquist! Linda was amazingly talented and the kids loved her! It is so neat to see our ministry here going so well, but it is also hard, because we know in just 2 short months we are leaving! We are praying that God would raise up people (and hopefully another youth minister) to continue on with these amazing ministries. So many families from the community were there last night, many of them do not attend any church- it was a wonderful outreach. PRAISE GOD.

Here are some pics of the event!

The Balloon Pit!!!!!!

Linda takes "Buzz" for a trip to the balloon pit! GRRRRRR!! I'm a tiger! Moms and daughters fight it out in the 4-way tug of war!

Get out of the Boat!

As promised, I have returned to explain the title of our blog. Last fall, when we were really feeling God calling us to work in Moz- very strongly and very clearly- I (heather) was experiencing some of my old " but what if...?" moments. I was saying to God- "yeah I know you want us to go.. but what if.... we die? get sick? war breaks out? i step on a landmine? we cant raise our support? we cant pay off our debt???" etc etc.... Right about then, Rick was given the opportunity to preach in church- his sermon focused on the story where Peter walks on the water with Christ. Many people look at Peter and shake their heads "tsk tsk " they say " he didnt have very good faith- look at him, he started to sink!" Ricks point in the message was yeah he started to sink alright- but WHERE were the other disciples???- still safe in the boat! They didnt even have enough faith to step out and take a chance! Well, needless to say, the message really hit me hard- I knew I was one of the disciples in the boat, hearing God's call but choosing to keep to my safe little vessel.

Here are two of my "what if" moments.. both pics Rick took in Moz! As the days and weeks went on after this sermon- God seemed to sense that I was still struggling with the issue, because I was seeing/hearing the phrase "Get Out of The Boat" everywhere!!!! In the SAMM fall newsletter, in a book i was reading (first page!), In a song we sang in church, on TV ( in programs that were not even religious!), people who i didnt even know were saying things like - "wow- Africa eh? thats a big step out of your boat!)

I have to admit, at first i was a little spooked by it all, but i guess sometimes God just wont give up until we finally GET IT!! And it goes on- just the other day I was singing special music in church- a song I love, but i could never understand the end of the first line on the CD- we got out the lyrics and it says "if you ask me to leap- out of my boat onto crashing waves..." Wow! I am glad that I have so much confirmation of this calling in my life, I know it would be a lot scarier if I didnt!

Some of the stories we hear from our Mozambique missionary friends tell us that we are in for a wild ride, often hopeful and fulfilling, but just as often, hard, lonely, and scary. What a comfort we have in Christ. (check out francois and alta's blog for a real story about the dark side of things)

Rick took this picture in Mozambique last summer when he was there. Its a good reminder to me- no matter how safe my boat may feel- if I'm not paying attention to "The Light" then my safe little vessel may end up like this one! God bless- hope you are as challenged by our recent life lessons as we are! Heather and Rick

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

There is that old saying that "Home is where the heart is," and it has never rang so clear as now. It seems that each and every day I get more and more homesick for a place I have never lived in. A place that I have only ever glimpsed for short periods of time. God has called us to Africa, and embedded a passion for his people there in our hearts. He is daily showing us that his plans for us are not our own. So now, we are waiting for the chance to go home, to sell what we have, to pack up our bags and go. What an exciting time it is for us now. One of the many things that we hope to be involved with is going to be actively helping out with children's ministry. There is such a need in Mozambique for children's ministry on so many levels. This is not just something that is done in the form of spiritual care. This is a land where sickness, and hunger, kill many children before they ever get a chance to experience what life has to offer. Part of what we hope to be involved with is the starting of schools, feeding programs, and orphan programs. We want to actively meet all the needs of these children. We want to be there to meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. We want to provide them with food and water, as well as education and spiritual care. Although we are incredibly excited, we also know that there are going to be times of great hardship and discouragement along the way. And yet we know that God has a plan for us and that he promises to be with us always. It is this promise that will keep us going. The Joy of the Lord is our strength.