And now for the usual smorgasborg of update photos

(Please Note... this was supposed to auto post a few weeks ago and I just noticed it didn't... oops. So here it is, even though its late! Im working on an updated one now that will have pics of us in the new house etc! :)  )

After the last post, which was heavy on my heart, I knew I needed to post something that showed the progress we have had lately! Weve been up to all the "usual" stuff... orphan program meetings, trips to town for supplies, delivering orphan food, time together as a family, working on the house, etc.

Last week Friday was the day before Mozambique's Children's Day, and so our orphan program for the day included lots of juice, popcorn and prizes for everyone who had memorized their Bible Verses. Most of the children have memorized at least 4 verses now (with the exception of a very few who live far away or only just joined the program recently), but I was really suprised when Paulo stood up and recited, word for word, with references, all but two of the TEN verses I had given them to memorize. This is surprising because due to his school schedule Paulo cant attend as many orphan program meetings as the other kids, so he had been diligently working on these at home on his own! He  had been taking time to teach his two younger brothers as well, including little Felicio who isnt even school yet! Needless to say I was pretty excited!

 Paulo reciting his verses.

Phillipians 4:13, just one of the verses the children are memorizing this year.

We took three days last week to go on a short holiday to celebrate Rick's Birthday at our friend's lodge, north of here. It was a wonderful time of refreshing for all of us, and was quite needed! We are so thankful for our friends who run the place, and our family back home who sent us "birthday money" so we could go!

One of the lodge staff, Holly, shows Tendai and her friends a baboon spider.

 Rick and I enjoyed a dinner under the stars, courtesy of our hosts!

 On our way home we drove by this: One of the Oxcarts purchased thru the Unique Christmas Gifts donations parked alongside the main highway, ready for action. This one belongs to Pastor Paulo, who recieved it just last month- Rick is pictured here, with two of Pastor Paulos sons.

 The fridge finally arrived and has been installed at the new house!

 Which means we are getting closer to moving in--- which makes Gladys very happy! (there will be a functioning washing machine at the new house!!!)

 The arrival of all these appliances has meant lots of play houses for Tendai!

 And apparently for Uncle Francois as well!

 Never too old or too big to enjoy a cardboard house!

 Working on our countertops.

 So lovely.

 Ill be really glad to move into our new house too (obviously), for many reasons, one of which is, we will hopefully be using a Gas Geyser to heat our water instead of a "donkey" system with a fire. Which should prevent the situation in the above picture from happening again. Our worker had made a fire ... apparently an abnormally big one, which caused the entire tank to boil and turn to steam. After having chunks of rust come flying out of the pipes I ran to get our neighbor Tony (Rick was up north so Tony graciously became my fix it guy for a week), and we proceeded to watch in somewhat awe as steam poured out for over 30 minutes. Seriously. The whole house got a steam cleaning. It might be dirty, but its sanitized dirt. :)

On monday this week we delivered orphan food. I took along the ipad and showed the kids videos we took of them on Friday. They quite enjoyed that!

Also saw some amazing sunsets and moonrises this past week. We are blessed to Live in such a wonderfully beautiful place.

Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers and also for your financial support. We know that we could not continue here, without the prayers and support of so many people at home. These past few weeks I have seen time and again, how many of you back home pray for us- it has been wonderful to recieve emails and letters, facebook notes etc, from people responding to a request for prayer on so many different items. We truly are blessed to have friends, family and supporters who surround us with prayer on a daily basis.

God Bless, Rick, Heather & Tendai Neufeld

Life goes on... because it must.

"I again realized that I am blessed only to be a blessing. I am here to be an ambulance, and a hearse, a friend and a shoulder to cry on. I am here to hurt for others as Jesus hurt for me. I am so blessed, God, let me also be a blessing." 
(Rick Neufeld, June 5th, 2013)

Was a tough day for us yesterday. Our friend and employee, Maganesu, lost a child yesterday. A beautiful baby whose life ended because of a lack of doctors to perform the C-Section Maganesu's wife desperately needed. Doctors are on strike here at the moment, and that most likely contributed to the problem. She laboured for nearly 12 hours and then waited for a surgery to be open for another 4 before finally having the C-section performed. By then it was too late.

 Today Rick is driving home with the body of the child in the truck, being held by family members because no coffin for a child that small could be found. 

Lord.... why??? Why must a parent hold their child like that? Why ? Why must doctors demand a wage far above anyone else in the country and yet provide service that is sub par to begin with? Why are the medicines and supplies continually stolen leaving hospitals and clinics woefully understocked and unable to assist? Why do we have to watch our friends lose child after child to diseases and problems that are preventable and treatable? Why does my heart hurt so much? Why cant I stop the tears from falling this time? What is different about this situation? I see so much death and suffering nearly every day here, and I cry for each one, but this particular child seems to have resonated deep within me. Seeing Maganesu's face and watching my husband sob as he prayed over the family, as he wept alongside this man that is not just an employee but a friend. As three of our staff come to inform me that they cannot build a coffin for an infant that young because culturally only the older women will take the child, wrap it in a capalana cloth, and go to bury it alone. Building a coffin for an infant that small without permission of the local Regulo (chief) could result in a fine. Coffins are for people. Traditionally, infants that have not yet eaten a "meal" are not considered people yet. (And we thought that was a North American problem...) There will be no funeral procession or proper burial, since babies who have not yet taken their first meal or breath when they are born must be buried in the soft wet ground by the river so the mother will not become infertile....   I again ask.. Why ???

( Felicio watches the video I took of him)

Just this week I posted a video of little Felicio, one of the Amigo Orphan kids, not even old enough for school yet, reciting Psalm 139:13- (this is my English translation of the portuguese he recited)  "YOU created every part of my body, YOU have formed me in my mother's stomach." (see link to video at the bottom of this post, in the video we laugh because he was mixing up some letters, saying porco (pig) instead of corpo (body) I have placed the link at the bottom, bc of the value of the verse it represents, not to make light of this situation)  As a local Pastor told Rick today,  "I am a Christian, I believe the Spirit of God resides, even there, in the child in the mothers stomach (meaning that even an unborn child has a soul, and is in fact a person) but how can I change the minds of everyone? This tradition is so old." Even the Christians, like Maganesu, struggle to do what they know is true in their hearts, when there is the threat of a fine or worse, if they do not follow traditional practices.

Last week I got a card from my mom, saying she was praying for a different one of the farm employees, Meque, who has lost 8 family members in the last year. She recounted sharing with an acquaintance about it and this person had responded "well, they (as in the local mozambicans) are probably used to it". My mom of course was astonished at the callousness and replied that no, actually, the people here grieve the loss of every family member and love each of their children just as much as north americans do. They feel that death as keenly as anyone would, and weep just as we do. The only difference is that here life must go on, just to survive they need to pick themselves up, and keep going. Just to feed themselves they HAVE to go back to the fields or thieves and cows will steal their only source of food for the coming year. They HAVE to go fetch firewood and water or their remaining family members wont be able to eat or bathe. They HAVE to keep on, "keeping on". They dont have a choice. They dont have the luxury of several weeks of bereavement leave, they dont even have the luxury of a week to prepare to "say goodbye". Most are buried within 24 hours of death, their simply is no place to keep a body.  

 Our mission staff sat in stunned silence and sadness today as they heard about the death of this child. Not a single one of them is immune to this sort of thing. Many of them have pregnant wives right now and know all to well the dangers a complicated birth can bring especially here, more than 40 kilometres from the nearest Maternity centre. Most of them do not make much by Canadian standards, but will humbly contribute a small amount from their wage to support a friend who has lost a child and needs help.

They may not grieve the way we do. But they do grieve. They may not bring casseroles over to support the grieving family, but they give of what they have.

On the days when I just feel like asking WHY? I am so glad that I have the knowledge that God is sufficient for my needs. He is sufficient for the needs of those around me. He is not scared of my "why's" or my tears or even my anger. He is waiting to comfort me and give me Peace that passes all understanding. He is doing the same for Maganesu and his wife. Even for his two young daughters whose crestfallen faces last night were more than this momma could bear to see. Because this world is not perfect, and because we live in a place where things often do not make sense, I HAVE to rely on my Father God who sees the much bigger picture than I do. I am so grateful that I can rest in Him, so grateful to be able to put my hurting heart into His loving hands. 

I have no idea why this particular death has made such an impact on me. Maybe its because Maganesu has worked closely with us for two years on our house, maybe its because Rick was the driver of the ambulance and now the hearse. Maybe because I know the father's heart that Maganesu has, oft times RUNNING to protect Tendai, dust her off when she has fallen or rescue her from a bug when she screams, simply because he cares. Maybe its because I might be just stressed in general. Whatever it is, this one has hit me hard. I know this blog is normally photos and brief updates, but I have felt God impressing on me lately to share not just the ups of mission work, but also our stresses, our moments of anguish and pain, and the struggles of living and working in a place that is more and more our home, and yet will never truly be. To share all of these things alongside the joys and highlights and successes. I wrote about the challenges of working cross culturally several posts ago. And today I have confronted those things once again. As I struggled to understand a culture that wont allow proper burial for fear it will render others infertile, and as I cried in front of three of our staff, I was again reminded how very different our cultures are. I know these men were incredibly uncomfortable to see me crying like this. I know they wonder what I am thinking, or why I am so upset by this part of their culture. I know that they also respect me for trying to understand and for being willing to show my tears and fears and being willing to put aside my own culture and to allow them to wrap this child and lay it in the ground at the rivers edge, despite knowing full well it will do NOTHING to protect the fertility of the mother, or anyone else. 

Lord, please help us to be a light in this darkness. Help us be a beacon of light and hope into a culture full of traditions based on fear and spirits of anger and retribution. Help us learn to better navigate in this community as we struggle to understand. Help us to remember to rest in You, and in You alone. Help us to remember that we are here for a reason, each and every day. Today, that is to be the driver of a hearse, tomorrow it may be to speak a word of encouragement to a struggling pastor. Another day it may be to assist a widow or orphan. Whatever the reason is, Lord, help us to be ready, help us to be willing, help us to be open to Your leading.

Life must go on.......

Thanks for the prayers... Heather (and Rick and Tendai)

A Blur of photos

Hi all, it seems I have once again fall far far behind in updating the blog. So, in attempt to catch you up,  im going to provide you with a whirlwind of photos,  in no particular order, but hopefully it will help you get a feel for all thats gone on in the last month. Rick has been up north for the past week, and when he gets back Im sure I will be able to have a full blog post just from his pictures and videos alone, which will be nice!

 Rick and Armando tiled the shower.

 The truck with most of our supplies arrived, as well as rolls and rolls of fencing for the farm.

 Our house workers bringing our new washing machine down to the house. Been saving for awhile to purchase this- will make a big difference! Our old one has been on the fritz for quite a while now and finally kicked the bucket two months ago! 

 Working on assembling the kitchen cupboards.

 After years of no storage, we made very certain this kitchen would have PLENTY.

 Main bathroom... see that thing in the back left corner? Its a bath tub. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this- havent had a bath at home in FIVE YEARS!!!!

Gladys is VERY happy about the new washing machine- shes been washing the laundry by hand for months now!

 Tendai giving Chupicai (one of the Amigo Orphans) a "new" coat.

 Mae Farecia was LOVING her new coat!

 We purchased a stroller to help little Malachias to be able sit in a more upright position, using tightly rolled blankets to support his body and head.

 wasnt so sure about Ricks beard at first... but after a while he was giggling!

Everyone is very happy with the new chair.

 The wood boards for our kitchen cabinets have been planed and prepared... now to sand them down, stain them and finish them for installation.

 Rick and our Puppy, Higgins, enjoying a brief rest after a hard days work.

 Local kids gathered to see what the fuss what about, when I became ambulance driver after being asked to take the brother of one of the farm staff to the hospital. He was extremely sick with pneumonia.

 Little Suzanah giving me her best smile!

 We had friends (fellow missionaries) from up in Tete come visit and help me deliver food to the orphan families.

 After being sorted out by visitors from Canada, we were able to give new t-shirts and dresses to all of the Amigo Orphans and their caregivers.

 Tia Johanna was thrilled with her new dress.

 Visitors from Canada took time to try their hand at pounding the maize in the traditional way.

 And separating the chaff from the kernel afterwards.

I was able to visit with Linda and her newborn twins, and the midwife who delivered them, less than twenty four hours after they were born!

 Tendai was given a set of REAL doctors scrubs, just in miniature size from Kyra who was visiting from Alberta Canada- her dad runs a medical supply store!

 Using her REAL (albeit not very functional) stethoscope to check on daddy. (dont worry he wasnt sick really)

 We chatted with our Home church via skype, and spent the time waiting for the connection to get started taking selfie pictures of our little family. 

 Yeah... that was interesting.

 Went for a family hike for supper one night, and discovered a whole BUNCH of nasty scorpions. This is a mama with tons of babies on her back!

 ACK!

And weve seen a few wonderful sunsets as well- this one i stopped on the side of the highway to take the picture.. i just couldnt pass up the chance it was so lovely!

Thanks again for your prayers and support. Tendai and I have been home alone this last week as Rick has been up north leading seminars. We appreciate all the prayers since Rick has been travelling on horrible roads, and so far has had no problems. 

We hope to be moving into our new house before the end of June, Lord Willing. Our main holdup at the moment is the plumbing- it needs to be installed before we can move in! We would also like to have the cabinets installed as well, since they are a lot of bits and peices that could get lost in the shuffle.

God Bless,

Rick, Heather & Tendai