Reading, Writing and Arithmetic!

In the last few months we have started a literacy class with some of our key staff on the farm. Some of them could already read and write but needed refreshers, some could do neither and needed to learn, and some of them were attending the class as a means of training them to teach it themselves later on! The classes run for one hour at the end of the workday, twice a week, for several months now. The staff are loving them and cant wait to share their newfound knowledge with others- other staff, their wives, their kids... whoever will listen really!

Pastor Mariano is my "right hand" when it comes to the Amigo Orphan Program- he organizes so much, does home studies and house visits, orphan programs, and even does all the buying in of Maize and Beans for our feeding programs (a HUGE job in itself), not to mention he is the head pastor of his denomination here in Mozambique (a small group of around ten churches) and of course, he pastors his own church, and cares for his own family- his wife and SIX children! On top of all that he has been attending our Pastors training school/ seminary AND the literacy classes (though he can already read and write), to brush up on his skills and also learn how to use the method with our orphan children so we can do some remedial tutoring in both reading and writing, but also in math.  He is always encouraging the grannies in the program to learn to read and write as well- showing them how to write their names as a very basic first step. Here is Mae Lolieta hard at work writing her name on the invoice sheet after orphan food delivery.

This past week Rick happened to be walking by our devotions area, and saw Pastor Mariano, hard at work with some of the orphan and community children, helping them with some math tutoring and also using the skills he has learned in the literacy classes to help them recognize by sight, name and sound, some of the alphabet letters! Very exciting to see ministry like this multiplying!

Pastor Mariano appreciates your prayers for his work, family, and church here in Mozambique, and so do we!

God Bless, Rick, Heather, Tendai and Ryan