showers of blessing

I've been in Mozambique for about a week now.  We had a smooth, no trouble couple of travel days.  Not saying it wasn't MISERABLE because traveling for that long is miserable, but we didn't have any surprises or unexpected delays.   We made it home and what awaited us was a ton of surprises and unexpected delays!  The first day we got here it was HOT.  There was no running water when we arrived and the roads and property were flooded.  Thankfully we had help unloading our mountains of luggage in the muddy, sludgy, watery mess.  We made it in, got a little settled, started going through some luggage with the kids, and made dinner.  By the time we sat to eat dinner, it had started storming.  I’m not talking a little rain with some thunder and lightning.  I’m talking massive, flood-gates-opened kind of downpour rain.  The rain hitting the tin roof made for a very loud dining environment.  We had to yell to talk to each other.  In the middle of dinner the electricity went out and stayed that way until the following afternoon.  We still have not had any consistent running water.  It’s strange being back in a place where you never know if water will come out when you turn the faucet on or if the lights will come on and stay on when you flip a light switch.  And boy oh boy, the mosquitos sure missed me since last time.  They have come back with a vengeance and been on a biting rampage against me.  Big, gross, swollen red welts that itch non-stop all over my legs and arms.  Adjustment is the name of the game people.  I am determined to win this one.

We spent the rest of the week sleeping, getting the house back in order and cleaned up, going to town for groceries and other things, and trying to rest.  This week we are continuing to get things in order and starting to explore the direction of the ministry.  I really feel this is an important time at Beacon of Hope.  It is a time of renewal from the inside out.  I expect God to show up in big ways in the year that I am here as well as beyond.  I know He has some awesome things in store for us, we just have to be patient, willing, and full of grace as He prepares the way and shows us where and how to go forward.  Please be in prayer for Angie, me, the staff of Beacon of Hope, and the ministry as a whole as things are changing in the best way.

 

Back when I went to intern orientation at Globe International, there were some verses that stood out to me for Beacon of Hope and Mozambique as a whole.  I have been praying it over the ministry since and will continue to do so.

“And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season, they shall be showers of blessing.  And the trees of the fields shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land.  And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.  They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them.  They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.  And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they will no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations.  And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God.” 

– Ezekiel 34:26-30

As I laid awake the first night listening to the rain pound the roof, I couldn't help but think of the showers of blessing talked about in Ezekiel.  It doesn't mean everything will be easy from here on out, but I feel as though the Lord was blessing this place with showers of blessing, renewing it, washing away the bad and reviving the good.  A time is coming when the people of Mozambique will know and call on the name of the Lord because He has delivered them from their bondage of sin and shame.  I commonly take advantage of the fact that God is using me to further His Kingdom and bring fame to His name among the nations.  I often get caught up in the hard day-to-day things like just wanting to flush the toilet that I miss what I'm called here to do.  I know the Lord has great plans for Mozambique, and when I stop and think about how He chose me to be a part of it I am honored and humbled.  I am excited to see how things progress and what God does through me and around me.

I was very excited to see this little guy as well as the rest of Angie's kids and Beacon of Hope staff.