Prepping and Packing

As the title suggests, we have been doing a lot of prepping and packing recently- Prepping for both our trip north to lead a Childrens Ministry Training Seminar and also for the arrival a team of nurses from Canada in one weeks time.

Both of these have also involved Packing- packing up the Bakkie , the cooler , tent etc, and also unpacking items for the nursing team- tents, dishes, bedding.

All this prepping and packing hasnt really made for good pictures.. i mean.. really how thrilling is it to pack the cooler??? But i have taken a few good ones on our walks- the cooler weather makes walking in the evenings so much more enjoyable. We will be really busy in the next few weeks, so it is nice to take some time to enjoy the beauty the farm has to offer. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.Beautiful sunset (heading down the driveway)

The fence line along the front of the farm- nicely cleared of any and all grass. This makes it easier for the guards to patrol the fence line.. and lessens the chance of fire jumping it in the dry season that is coming.

Waterfalls at the edge of our property.

Pond that the waterfalls flow into- one of the prettiest spots around!

Domingo, our shepherd with one of the MANY baby sheep that were born last week. He promised if I came at five when they go back into their pen for night he would catch me a few to cuddle. They are quite cute at this stage... once they get bigger they are just dirty smelly and really really loud.

awww. hes just soooo cute. This one was three days old.

OK- this one isnt technically on the farm, this is Domingo's brand spankin new Grandbaby. Here he is only three days old! He lives just across the river though.. so we will claim him as a beautiful things on the farm!

Tomorow (Wednesday) Rick and I head up north to teach our very first Childrens Ministry Training Seminar. Please pray for us as we travel on very poor roads for two days! Please pray for health for us (and our vehicle!) safety on the roads, and that the seminar would be a time of fellowship and learning for all involved. I look forward to posting some great pics from the trip next week! Blessings, Rick & Heather

This week in Mozambique

This week we were suprised when Lovemore came up to us and asked for ten minutes off so he could go to the River. I asked why?, and was informed that his church was doing baptism's down there and he wanted to go and get baptised. Well... how do you say no to that request?? Of course we gave him as much time as he needed, and went down ourselves to take pictures of the event. It was an interesting baptism to watch- the pastor literally dunked the people repeatedly until they could barely breathe! Nothing like the baptisms at our church at home! Of course, even with the strange method, it was beautiful to see people beng baptised in the small pool at the bottom of a waterfall in "Mucombeze River". This is the river that borders our propery.

Lovemore wades into the water to be baptised.

May 1st, was "Worker's Day" in Mozambique. We celebrated with our staff by enjoying a day of fellowship, games, food and a whole lot of fun! Mucombeze Interior Primary School teachers enjoying the festivities. One of the games was a dart throwing games where participants could win a variety of prizes, including small Canadian Flags. Apparently these were a very hot commodity! The guys had a great meal of Rice, Goat and Chicken stew and coca-cola! They also had cookies and sweets.

Marco tries out one of the other games, giant water balloon slingshots!

This week I also stopped by Jorge's home to see his wife and kids- especially baby Keven, the baby I had the priviledge of naming! (After my Dad Kevin, and Ricks brother Kevin- but here you have to spell it Keven or else they say... KEVEEEN) Baby Keven is such a cutie.. i could have cuddled him for a long time, but alas I had to get back to work. To end off this weeks pictures, I decided not to post any yicky icky pics, instead here is a photo of a Maracuja flower (Passionfruit) that I took at Jorge's. I have never seen one of the flowers before, and I must say, they are incredibly beautiful! God certainly has an AMAZING imagination!

Thanks again for all the prayers, we are already getting donations for our vehicle fund, which are greatly appreciated! We appreciate you prayers! Blessings! Rick and Heather

Getting Stuff done.

The past few weeks have been full of just getting stuff done! The training center work is continueing, the guard house at the main gate is almost done, the escholinha is nearly completed and the lot is just being cleared so Mercy Air can begin construction on a house for a pilot couple to eventually stay in.

We have also seen the arrival of cholera in our area, already several have died, including one lady the mission has worked with for many years. It is heartbreaking to see, and we ask for you prayers as we continue to work here. Just this week, our woodshop had to put aside making the doors and window frames for the escolinha to take time to build a coffin - for the four month old child of one of our temporary staff. Please continue to pray for us and the people we work with.

The next few days will be busy ones, with orphan food delivery, "Workers Day" festivities, hosting an emergency team from Polokwane, South Africa who are coming to fix the community water pump... and so much more. Rick and I are also gearing up for a very busy month, prepping for our first Childrens Ministry Training Center in Mutarara, and the arrival of a group of nurses from Alberta, Canada.

Here is a few pictures from the last week.

Tito shows Barb (from Mercy Air) how he planted two small trees and made a fence to protect them.

The sun was pretty bright- hence the really interesting look on Vira's face.

Marosa and her kids have taken EXCELLENT care of the Guniea Fowl they recieved from the Unique Christmas Gift campaign- now they have SIXTEEN babies to show for it!!!

I finally got my kitchen counter installed! Woohooo.

Rick showing Lovemore what to do- Lovemore did a great job of grouting the tiles.

When Ron and Barb came up this week they brought ALOT of mail for us with them. It was Christmas in April! Including this package from Rick's mom- I love the fact that its practically gift wrapped in stamps. LOL

Christmas Morning. (or rather late afternoon on April 27th)

Rick giving magnum a bath. He did not enjoy it. And promptly went and found a bowl of whipped cream to decorate his nose and eyelashes with.

and the icky pic for the week.. ive found three of these scorpions... and two huge spiders... big round furry legged ones. and rick found one in his shorts. while he was wearing them. EEEK.

Thanks everyone for all the prayers, please continue to pray for safety, and that we will be able to raise the funds needed for our vehicle. We now only have three usable doors as the rear passenger door has shifted in relation to the frame and cant be opened or closed. Oh the joys!!! LOL

God Bless,

Rick and Heather

Firm Foundations

The major news at the farm this week, is that the foundations are beginning to be poured for our Training Center! Very exciting to see the first steps being taken! Here are some shots of the guys getting things ready! The center will be used for training many pastors, and leaders thru our Faith Bible Seminary, and in many other ways in our community! And although we only have foundations so far- its a good reminder of how training these pastors,- to train more pastors,- to lead their churches, is providing firm spiritual foundations for generations to come!

One foundation trench!! Our truck- delivering the water tank yet again- Rick does this up to five times a day recently!

The guys use buckets to transfer water from the trailer tank to the big one. Bricks and more Bricks! Over twenty thousand of em!!

The "finished" product- one foundation wall! The wonderful amazing spectacular time saving (???) cement machine.

In other news, we had the guys take a GIANT wasps/bee nest out of a tree near the area where eventually we will be building our home. It was a massive nest, and every time our worker went to water the trees and what not, he came back saying "I just cant work there Senhora- I will die from those bees!" (He has a very big fear of bees). So, the bees had to go- of course I wasnt to sad to see them go either! Its too bad the guys emptied several cans of Raid, Doom and some Gasoline on the nest before they finally starting smoking them out- otherwise we maybe could have enjoyed trying a taste of wild honey- who knows?? :)

Raymundu, Pearson and Faria tackle the nest- with a ladder, an axe and smoke.

This is all from one hive on one tree!!!

In closing.. heres Mushu and Magnum- hard to believe a few weeks ago MUSHU was the BIG one!!!

Thanks for all your prayers! God Bless,

Rick and Heather

Orphans and Widows

One of our key ministries here involves working with needy orphans and widows as well as empowering others to care for those in need in their communities.  Here is a video we made that helps to explain this part of our ministry here. Enjoy.