An Ecclesiastes 3 Kind of Year

 

We have been back in Mozambique for a year now after our extended furlough due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.  As I reflect on the year, I can’t help but think of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (CSB). 

 ¹ There is an occasion for everything,

and a time for every activity under heaven:

 

² a time to give birth and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to uproot;

 

³ a time to kill and a time to heal;

a time to tear down and a time to build;

 

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance;

 

⁵ a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;

a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;

 

⁶ a time to search and a time to count as lost;

a time to keep and a time to throw away;

 

⁷ a time to tear and a time to sew;

a time to be silent and a time to speak;

 

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate;

a time for war and a time for peace.

 

We have experienced a lot of loss and mourning in the last year.  I lost both my sister and half-brother.  We lost our dear friend and colleague here in Nampula.  Dave just recently lost his aunt.  In some cases we were able to hold our loved ones in sorrow and in other cases we have been too far away, or quarantine restrictions prohibited those embraces.  

 

Julie and Doug

We have rejoiced with friends who have gotten married, and Mozambican weddings are full of dancing.  We have been excited to meet new babies who have entered the world and to make new friends with folks who have moved to Nampula.  We have said goodbye to those who have moved on. 

Dancing at the wedding

We have seen the victims of war up close.  Uprooted.  Some wounded or traumatized.  Some steady and determined.  People both frail and yet resilient.  And we have seen communities of people come together to help others with basic needs.  We have also seen some refugees be able to return to their homes and attempt to start again.  See our newsletter for more on that here.

Loading food that was donated for the refugees

We have experienced sickness.  Dave had typhoid and COVID.  Others had to step up and shoulder our responsibilities.  We have also had to step up and do more when it was time for others to leave.  For a time, Dave will be the only pilot on the program.

Dave inspecting the Caravan

We have experienced anonymous gifts from strangers (or friends who want no credit).  We have experienced friendship in deep meaningful ways.  Friends who called frequently to check in even when it was inconvenient for them.  Friends who drove long distances.  Who showed up.  Who listened.  Who brought a meal.  We experienced love when we most needed it.

We have seen a lot of building and are about to see some tearing down.  There has been drilling for a water well on our property.  We have just made a temporary move so that our house can be upgraded (which brings a "time to keep" and a time to throw away" as we sort through our things).  In the coming days, we will see the roof come off and part of the wall come down. 

Drilling the water well

House remodel project

Sir Robin, the tortoise (which turns out is a female but the name will stick), is shedding scales on her shell.  Hopefully this is part of the growing process and not a dying process. 

 

We have had a flea infestation on the property (that is the “time to hate” and the “time to kill”), but we have also seen some beautiful birds come visit us. 

Narina Trogon

 

A blurry pic...but you have to see the bright red breast of the Trogon!

Blue Waxbill

Paradise Flycatcher (male) in a cashew tree

Paradise Flycatcher (female)

Shikra

I was recently listening to a podcast on the Wisdom Literature of the Bible (which includes Ecclesiastes).  It made the observation that the authors of these books often express doubts and questions which drives readers to have an honest faith.  While we can always trust in God’s goodness, we don’t have to have be a Pollyanna in times that are hard.  God allows us to wrestle and struggle with the tensions presented in Ecclesiastes 3.  Wrestling with God does not mean we have a weak faith, it means God is growing and strengthening us.

So wrestle well, my friends.

Cool looking Scarab Beetle

Malachite Kingfisher stuck on the veranda for a moment (my phone does not do it justice)

Grey-Headed Bush-Shrike

A front-lit Striped Kingfisher

Lizard Buzzard (who got a lizard)

Some deer (in velvet) I saw while running in a park in San Antonio

Hands and Feet

I usually keep our blog light and full of bird pictures since our newsletter tells more about the ministry side of things that we do here in Mozambique, but I wanted to do something a little different today.

The other day I was praying to God to help me reconcile gratitude and suffering.  I was thanking Him for my health, our home, and that we have plenty of food, while at the same time recognizing that there are so many chronically ill, hungry, and homeless.  Shortly after, our friend and neighbor, Victor with YWAM, called to ask if I wanted to go with him to the food distribution they do weekly for some of the refugees coming from Cabo Delgado.  A bit of God’s providence, I think.

If you are unfamiliar with the situation, over 500,000 people have been displaced from the region to the north of where we live, a predominately Muslim area, due to violence in the area.  Villages have been burned, people killed, and there is frequent conflict between armed forces and insurgents.  People have left their villages with little to nothing and have moved (or been driven out) to other cities and towns to escape the violence.  Some of the IDPs (internally displaced persons) have come to Nampula (where we live), and our YWAM neighbors have had a tremendous outreach to help.  Through their involvement in local churches in the community, they have been able to identify and locate refugees who need help.  Using funds that have been donated to them, they purchase and package some basic food items like beans and rice along with soap and oil to give to the families.  Several of the teens that I teach martial arts to spend each Wednesday afternoon packaging the food.  

When I arrived at YWAM’s community center, the food bags had already been placed in a pile and the people were gathered around.  After a short time of prayer and a gospel message in their local language (a different language than what is spoken here), names were read from the list and people came to get their bag and bar of soap.  They brought their own water bottles to collect the cooking oil.  Each week the same families come (which helps ensure that actual refugees are being helped) and there is a chance to build relationships.  They have come to a new city, leaving what they know behind, and here is a chance to show that they are cared for and loved.  They are not just a number in the crowd.  Unfortunately more people come than they have food for.  If someone doesn’t show, they will give what is left to the newcomers.  YWAM will continue to do this for as long as they have the funds, as it allows the people to get by while they get reestablished in a new place and new refugees will continue to arrive.  

Dispensing cooking oil

Receiving a bar of soap

 Afterwards, as we were driving home, we gave a ride to a woman and several kids who received a food bag.  Victor explained to me that her husband had been killed by the insurgents.  Contrast that with what awaited me at home.  I went into my home to start preparing for friends coming over that evening for a game night.  We would sit in the AC cooled room, eat homemade pizza, and enjoy each other’s company in peace and security. 

We know that just as Christ suffered, we too should expect suffering.  We know God is our comforter.  We know that we should not weary of doing good and that God uses us to be His hands and feet.  I pray that through these traumatic events that these people are suffering, that this expression of God’s love for them will bring them to an encounter with Jesus. 

If you want to donate to help with this ministry, you can go to https://giving.ywammontana.org/support and under “Designated For” select YWAM Nampula Training Center.  Your donation will help the food distributions to continue.

At this same community center, they are planning to build a pre-school, however the property has quite a slope.  Now that it is the beginning of our rainy season and the ground is a little softer, they decided to do some earthwork to level out the area where they will be building.  Dave, having former experience doing survey work, was able to go out several days in a row to “shoot” levels so they could know the elevations as the work progressed.  

One of the things we love about serving overseas, especially in a technical ministry, is how we clearly see God working through the body of Christ and how we can be His hands and feet in different ways.  We have different gifts and abilities, and yet God uniquely allows us to serve Him and each other to make a difference.  

Bonus Pic (they can't all be birds!)

This chameleon made our veranda its home for a couple of days