At New Hope this weekend...

12350 Hall Shop Rd
Fulton, MD 20659

PARKING LOT PIPE PARTY @ NEW HOPE

Just try to IMAGINE how you would feel as a parent if the only water you had to give your children would be so bacteria-filled that it would most certainly make them sick and could possibly kill them? Clean water is a luxury that millions of people in this world have no access to. On Sunday, March 6 we will load our 5^th sea container full of new well pipe to send over to Mozambique as we continue to support the water well drilling projects going on there through Marantha Volunteers International and ADRA. To date, over 500 new water wells have been drilled.  Since each water well is estimated to supply clean, potable water to 1000 people in the immediate area around each well, then at least 500,000 people in Mozambique are now drinking clean water instead of the contaminated water that was previously available.  These wells are being drilled at the sites of the new Seventh-day Adventist churches that have been constructed creating an immediate connection to the community.  New Hope is happy to do our tiny part in sending these needed water well supplies over to Mozambique. Thanks to S.O.S. director Dave Wooster’s dad Larry (owner of Wooster Drilling Company) and his well supplier, THE MILBY COMPANY, these needed supplies are being sent over at a much lower cost than what they would be able to get them for in Africa. Working together, we can help affect the health and lives of THOUSANDS of people. Join us on Sunday, March 6 at 9:00 a.m. in the New Hope parking lot to be a part of this exciting project. We’ll even feed you pizza!

We are also collecting school supplies to fill in the the empty spaces in the sea container. Items being requested are NEW school supplies of all kinds, and new or very gently used khaki pants and solid-colored polo shirts (in kid sizes) to be used as school uniforms. Shoes in GOOD condition are also being accepted. You can drop your supplies off at the box by the S.o.S. table in the lobby no later than Sunday morning. For questions, e-mail missions@lookingforachurch.org

International Food Festival 2011

SIGN-UP TO PARTICIPATE BY HOSTING A COUNTRY  BOOTH BY CLICKING HERE

MARCH IS MOZAMBIQUE MONTH!

March 5 & 6, 2011: Program and Pipes! 

Saturday. 5 p.m.- Program with Pastor Araujo

Sunday at 9 a.m. - Pipe Party in the parking lot

March 12, 2011: International Food Festival, 6 p.m. 

Benefiting the Mozambique Scholarship Program

Did you know that New Hope has its very own church school? The New Hope Adventist School was built during New Hope's July 2008 mission trip to Mozambique, with some bricks being laid by our very own Pastor Newman! Our school currently has 110 children in attendance but has room for many more.

Please join us this Saturday, March 5 for a 5:00 p.m. afternoon presentation by Pastor Gilberto Araujo (Southern Africa Indian-Ocean Division Vice President). He will share with us what is going on at our school and other schools in Africa built by Maranatha Volunteers International.

On Sunday, March 6 at 9:00 a.m., meet us in the parking lot for our latest PIPE LOADING PARTY! We'll load our 5th sea container that we are sending to Mozambique with well supplies which have changed the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of people already! 

2010 Yearbook from New Hope Mahotas Adventist School

Click here to view this photo book larger

Student Felis Ernesto Machava

NEW HOPE ADVENTIST SCHOOL update from Mozambique


The Colegio Adventista Nova Esperanca (New Hope Adventist School) in Mahotas, Mozambique began its new school year at the end of January. We received a note from one of the teachers this week saying:

We are well thank God. We are working for the growth of the school. We began the year with forty students, now we have 110 students. Forty-six students belong to first grade. These children have many needs, some of them do not have shoes, clothes, bags, books and notebooks to go to school.

We still have opportunities to sponsor children for this school year. For just $20 per month (or $240 per year), you can provide Christian education for a child in Mozambique.

If you would like to support a child, please mark your tithe envelope "Mozambique Scholarships" or pay through online giving in the Mozambique line. You can also join the "Birthday Club" by sponsoring a child in honor of someone's birthday (cards available at the S.o.S. booth or on the bulletin board display in the S.S.) wing).

Student Atalia Manuel Madjate

NEW SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS IN MOZAMBIQUE

The Colegio Adventista Nova Esperanca (New Hope Adventist School) in Mahotas, Mozambique began its new school year during the last week of January. The primary school has begun its school year with 50 1st Grade students. They plan to accept up to 90 children in 1st Grade this year.

The new preschool building is finished and 40 children are attending with a goal to reach 100 preschoolers. The principal of the school is from Brazil and has returned for her second school year in Mozambique. We still have opportunities to sponsor children for this school year.

For just $20 per month (or $240 per year), you can provide Christian education for a child in Mozambique. If you would like to support a child, please mark your donation for Mozambique Scholarships. Checks can be mailed toNew Hope 12350 Hall Shop Rd., Fulton MD 20759 or New Hope members pay through online giving in the "Mozambique Scholarships" line at http://lookingforachurch.org/

MOZAMBIQUE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Americans consider education to be a right that all children are entitled to, but in other countries around the world such as Mozambique, education comes at a cost that countless families are unable to afford. During New Hope’s S.o.S. mission trip to Mozambique in July 2008, we saw what happens to a country whose citizens are uneducated. About 20 years of civil war has left an entire generation illiterate, uneducated and unable to pull themselves out of the extreme poverty and difficulty in which they and their children are now living.


The school that New Hope’s team helped build during the mission trip to Mozambique in July 2008 is now completed and scheduled to open in February 2009! On our last day in Mozambique, we paid one last visit to the school that we helped build. We were disturbed to learn that most of the children in the surrounding neighborhood would not be able to afford the tuition to attend the school that they faithfully watched us build for 2½ weeks. We decided that this could not be! New Hope’s S.o.S. missions board has formed a student scholarship program that will enable us to sponsor students to attend the school.

The Plan: Provide tuition and uniforms to enable needy children to attend the “New Hope Mahotas Adventist School“ in Mahotas, Mozambique.

The Cost: $240.00 per year which includes the cost of a school uniform that is required by schools in Mozambique. Many children are unable to attend school simply because their family cannot afford to pay for the uniform!

What You Get: You will receive a blessing for helping a child receive a Christian education who might otherwise not be educated at all. Just imagine how education can change a child’s future! Thank you so much!

How To Give: Your donations will be tax-deductible. We encourage you to pay the $240 up-front if you are able, so that the student is guaranteed coverage for an entire school year and also to reduce administrative costs and tracking. If you prefer a monthly payment plan of $20/month for 12 months, please let us know. Payment options are:

1) Donations may be made at New Hope Church’s website: lookingforachurch.org . Click on “Online Giving” (under “Quick Links” at the bottom) and log in or register as a new user, then designate your gift in the “Mozambique Scholarship” field. You will receive a receipt immediately after donating online.


2) You can also make your donations by checks made payable to “New Hope Adventist Church” and marked “Mozambique Scholarships“. Please click to request a printable donation form to include with your payment, e-mail us at NewHopeSoS@comcast.net. Mailed or hand-carried donations will receive a receipt at year-end from the church.

You may also make a one-time donation to be used for the scholarship program. This gift will be combined with others to sponsor the largest number of students possible. NO GIFT IS TOO SMALL!

Thank you for considering educating a child in Mozambique. Please feel free to share this program with anyone that you think might be interested. The school has a capacity of 400 students, so there are plenty of children to help!

BERNARDO

Last summer, members of the New Hope S.O.S. Missions team fell in love with the people of Mozambique as they helped build a school, operated medical clinics, drilled water wells and conducted a Vacation Bible School. One boy in particular, Bernardo, touched everyone’s heart as he watched the construction of the school on a daily basis and attended the Vacation Bible School. Bernardo also desperately needed medical attention because parasites had turned his head into a big wound with open sores covering his scalp. Due to his condition, (a sort of modern-day leprosy) Bernardo was an outcast. You could see how the other children treated him differently, and didn’t want to be around him. It was heartbreaking to watch the lack of interaction and to see his head hanging low, as if ashamed.

The needed treatment only cost about $5 for the anti-fungal cream and anti-parasite pill, but his family could not afford the doctor’s visit and prescription. We administered the pill, rubbed the cream on his head and visited his mother to give her the medication so that she could continue treating Bernardo. By the end of our trip, the medicine had already begun to take effect and there was a noticeable change in Bernardo’s disposition, as the other children seemed to be more accepting of him. We saw him smile!

Recently, some New Hope members visited Mozambique and found Bernardo well on the way to complete recovery from the parasites! They also learned that his parents earn about $60 per month and that it is hard to feed the family sometimes. If Bernardo’s family couldn’t pay for medical care, they certainly can’t afford to pay for a quality Christian education.

The thought that Bernardo and other children in the neighborhood would not be able to attend the New Hope Adventist School was not acceptable to the New Hope S.O.S. team. As a result, New Hope has established a scholarship program so that children in Mahotas can obtain a Christian education. For just $20 per month ($240 per year), a child can attend the New Hope Adventist School in Mahotas. We intend for Bernardo to be one of the students. Would you consider sponsoring a child like Bernardo? For more information on the scholarship program or other S.o.S. activities, e-mail NewHopeSoS@comcast.net

(Bernardo is pictured here with one of the New Hope Mahotas Adventist School teachers during the Jacobs' recent visit to Mahotas, they brought another batch of medicine for Bernardo's head which is healing up nicely!)

Mozambique Scholarship Program is now open!

Click here to visit our main S.o.S. website with more information on how you can educate a child in Mozambique at the NEW "New Hope Mahotas SDA School" that our mission team helped build!

FACES we LOVE

THURSDAY, July 24: Visit to Orphanage

Several months ago, church and trip member Chris Howell gave us a DVD from his father to watch called "Mama Heidi", the story of Rolland & Heidi Baker of Iris Ministries who came to Mozambique to visit and were overwhelmed with the conviction to start an orphanage after seeing all the children living on the street without parents. They now have several orphanages and different churches and ministries all around Mozambique - even one in the city dump where we passed by and were shocked and saddened to see a ton of children pawing through trash looking for food.

After seeing the video, I contacted Iris Ministries and arranged for our group to have a visit at t he Zimpeto location after work on Thursday evening. It is located on a busy city street that we travel on everyday, and we were pleasantly surprised to see the school buildings and dorms offer a cleaner and better life than what most of these kids have available to them. At this time, they have 350 kids there, around 40 of which are HIV positive and only 50 of whom are girls which are more valued in this culture due to the work load that they carry. They accept HIV patients and take care of them, provide treatment and then get them back to their families when they're more stable. They also told us that only citizens of Mozambique are allowed to adopt Mozambican children. Guess we won't be coming home with that baby that my daughter asked for as a souvenier of our trip!

One striking observation that we have made while being here is that most people don't look happy - if you saw their living conditions and extreme poverty they live in, you would understand why. Even the children look so much less carefree and uninhibited than our kids at home, and the smiles don't come as often. They work hard and help out their families a lot more, carrying around and caring for babies when they're only babies themselves.

However, when our bus pulled in we were greeted with more smiling faces, hugs and kids wanting to hold our hands than we have ever seen! They were thrilled for the interaction and immediately started infiltrating our large group and talking to us. Some just wanted to hold our hands or give us hugs. The kids here just love seeing their pictures on the digital camera screen after you take a photo, and also enjoy taking the pictures and seeing them as well as video, so there was a lot of that going on. Chris Howell gave a few judo lessons, and Kim Ragenovich was seen on the climing wall of the playground with one of her new friends. David Newman was showing the kids his PDA and the kids were fascinated by that.

A few spoke English, but a particular boy that clung to me the entire time we were there named Ayobe, didn't even speak much Portuguese, but Shangan, a local dialect. Still, we were able to connect on an unspoken level as he led me around on my own private tour, holding my hand and leaning his head on me everywhere we went. I learned that he had only been at the orphanage about 2 months, and was there because he was HIV positive and his family couldn't afford the treatment he needed. He was lonely, being the new kid there, his face was sad, and he needed love. I was honored to both give and get that from him that night.

Our visit lasted nearly 4 hours, and was both heartbreaking, and gratifying to learn about and love on these kids. We joined them for worship in the evening and were so happy to see the level of joy that they had while praising their God. Another particularly endearing boy named Genito, told Dave and Ron (our volunteer coordinator here) that although his parents and sisters were all dead from "the disease", he had a new family there at the orphanage and that Dave & Ron were now his brothers too, "because we are all in God's family". An entire sermon was spoken to us with just a few words by a boy who has lost everything but hope.

As we reflected on the evening during our sharing time, we all agreed that it was a gut-wrenching but powerful experience, like most things here have been. The needs are so overwhelming that there seems to be no hope and no solution to fix all these problems. However, all through the week we have had experience after experience of what happens when you take the time to really see, touch, and connect with "just one" person at a time and that has made it all worthwhile.

WEDNESDAY, July 23: New "HOPE SOAP"

We passed out soap from the bus on our way out of one of the villages and this lady was just so tickled that she did a little "happy dance" for us to show her enthusiasm.

Those 4000+ bars of soap we sent over in the container in February have really been put to good use! Around 2000 bars have been given out since we've been here, twice at VBS and then through the medical clinic. When the patients stop at Timothy Atolagbe's public health station on their way out, we give them gifts of soap, toiletries, multi-vitamins for adults and children, and papers on hygiene and various diseases (prevention and treatment) in their portuguese language.

At the school job site today, it was a bit frustrating when it started pouring down rain and the building crew had to stop working. Everyone loaded the bus, ate their lunch and decided to wait out the rain. Imagine their surprise, when some of the children that had attended VBS earlier in the week and received soap, stripped their clothes off down to their undies, and soaped up right there in the rain and gave a shower show not soon to be forgotten!

WEDNESDAY, July 23: Medical

Today we visited the remote village of Mucapane, about 1/2 an hour past the Mucatini where we held the clinic for 2 days and gave out the rice, beans and soap. It would definitely be classified as "out in the bush", with no electricity and huts made from reeds. Hardly anyone had a pair of shoes on. We saw some new things today we had not seen before - one was a two year old child who fell into a fire and burned her leg (see picture). When I went outside, I heard her just wailing, the poor thing was in so much pain. Part of the problem was when her calf would touch the back of her thigh, it would stick to the other wound and get re-opened. We also saw a man with elephantitus all over his legs and feet. They looked like barnacles all over, and his skin was terribly cracked and was bleeding while Elizabeth was working on him.

The person that we saw that was the worst off was a lady who said she was 36, but looked like she was well over 60. She was suffering from bacterial pneumonia and possibly also tuberculosis. Though she only lived about 100 feet from the church where we held the clinic, by the time she walked there, she collapsed from exhaustion. Before we left for the day, we went to her hut to check on her and she seemed to be feeling a little better. We left some re-hydration salt water bottles with her and will check on her in the morning when we go back to the same village for tomorrow's clinic. Elizabeth, Theresa and the Pastor that accompanies us and helps translate for us, prayed with her and we all hope that she is still alive when return to Mucapane tomorrow.

MONDAY, July 21: MEDICAL MISSION

We returned today to the village of Mucatine, where we held the clinic on Friday and also passed out the rice & beans & soap on Saturday. Again, we set up shop in "Mama's" house and in the several hours we were there, saw 108 patients. Some tuberculosis cases, chicken pox, a lot of back pain (from carrying all those heavy things on their heads!), a horse accident victim, ear infections, parasites, etc. Today, the chief of the village and his wife came for help, and he seemed happy that we were here to help his people.

Though we know a lot is being accomplished, there are many people that we have to turn away at the end of the day. The needs are so great, that a clinic could be run in one village for weeks and probably not be enough to see all the people with illnesses. What's been shocking to us all, is how long some of these folks have been dealing with particular illnesses, sometimes for 5, 10, 15, 20 years! How long will we wait to go to the Dr. when we have issues that plague our daily lives? It was again, a good reminder of just how good we have it back home. The patience and thankfulness of these people has touched us all. "Kanimambo" they told us, which means "Thank You" in the Shangana dialect of the village of Mucatine.

MONDAY, July 21: VBS

We hit record numbers today with a count of around 450 kids! We have quickly outgrown our space which has been a challenge, but such a beautiful sight to see. One cool thing that was observed, was the kids making their own see-saw out of concrete blocks and scaffolding planks. They also saw that the kids made their balls out of fabric or what looked a little like nylons, with sand inside and shaped and tied into a ball. Resourceful!

MONDAY, July 21: BUILDING CREW

Today, the brick and mortar on the left side of the school is about 60% complete. The right side is about 50% done. Our hope is to finish the brickwork for the entire school. What stood out today, was the growing interaction with the local workers that we are working along side. They're extremely helpful, kind and understanding to those of us who are inexperienced brick masons. We have been quite impressed when we see the structures that Maranatha is building here in Mozambique, they are simple but more than adequate for the needs here. We are happy to be a part of such a professionally operated organization, whose presence the people of Mozambique appear to really respect and appreciate!

MONDAY, July 21: WELL DRILLING

WELL DRILLING: The second well at the Mahotas church proved to be just as productive as the two at the school - this one was 75 gallons per minute and clear water, once again! What stuck out today was the interaction with the kids - they are so interested in what we're doing and love to give us "thumbs up", high-fives, sing songs to us, and play in the 8'x4' mud tub that we carry with us that is used to mix the drilling fluids in. There was also man that lives right next door to the church that at first, was upset at the mess we were making in his yard, then thrilled when he learned that he would be receiving free water from the mess we were making! He then he ran off to tell his friends about the water that will soon be available.

MONDAY, July 21

SUNDAY, July 20: FACES of MOZAMBIQUE

First, let me apologize that I'm not able to share more pictures from here. Although we have a wireless connection, it is extremely slow and it took me 2 full evenings just to load 4 pictures and some text on the other day! I PROMISE when we return I will put more pictures on, several videos and also links to literally HUNDREDS of pictures from our time here. For now, I try every night to put at least one on with the updates. This time, I would like to share some of the faces of the people we are serving here inj Mozambique. Enjoy! Caryn

SATURDAY, July 19:Rice and Beans distribution

On Saturday afternoon, our group went to the remote village of Mucatine which is where the medical team held their clinic on Friday. The medical team was greeted with hugs and cheers by "MAMA", the matriarch of the village and whose house we held the clinic in on Friday, as well as others who received care that day.

We distribute over 150 bags of rice and 150 bags of beans to the villagers there, as well as hundreds of bars of soap that were part of the 4000+ collected through our "GOT SOAP?" campaign. The group took turns distributing so that all could have the experience of how it feels to give something so simple that would make such an impact. Timothy witnessed a man who took some beans out of the bag and said that he was going to plant them so that they could grow more.

We also sang with the kids, and then in response to our gift of food and soap, Mama started singing and others joined in, dancing in their very tribal way, with tongue trills and howls that made us smile and laugh. Then they invited us to join them in their joyful tribute to us, which was a completely overwhelming and beautiful experience, bringing many of us to tears. We sang back to them, and then boarded our bus to go home (after getting stuck in the dirt a few times).

The experience was nothing that we expected, but everything we could have hoped for as we watched them joyfully thank us for a simple meal of rice and beans, and a bar of soap in their own special way. The videos, which we are unable to load until we get home due to file size, will show you what we mean. Can't wait to share it with you all!

FRIDAY, July 18: WATER WELL PROJECT

ARE YOU THIRSTY?

The water well that was started on Wednesday at the Mahotas school site was developed yesterday and produced over 100 gallons per minute, which at U.S. usage would supply about 200 homes with water! The second well for the school was started today and should be done on Sunday. Once the pumps are installed and the water testing is completed, we plan to pass out water to the local children who have been at the site for VBS and who will be benefiting from these wells. Studies show that so many of the illnesses and disease that are so rampant in conditions like these, can be completely eliminated by simply having clean water available. ! Isn't it amazing how something like water that is so basic and vital for us, is again considered a luxury to these people?

FRIDAY, July 18: SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT

Our building crew has been building their muscles this week! In just 3 days, the crew, consisting of around 24 people, have completed an entire side of the school building. The first 2 days were dry-stack (no mortar, but interlocking bricks) and today they began the block & mortar construction on the interior walls. They have been physcially worn out at the end of the day, but I know they feel good about all that is being accomplished in such a short amount of time!

FRIDAY, JULY 18: VBS

Here is one picture from today's VBS which had at least 300 kids in attendance! After reinforcing the importance of handwashing and killing germs, our team gave each child a full-size bar of soap to take home with them. We decided to do this as the kids were leaving after being told how crazy things can get, with an almost mob-like mentality and can get dangerous for the children. The kids were so thrilled to receive the soap that they quickly ran home to tell their parents, who then returned asking for more soap - something that is so basic to us felt like Christmas to them! Thank you to all who contributed the 4000+ bars of soap that were raised for this purpose! We look forward to giving more out tomorrow and in the days to come!

THURSDAY, July 17:

Our second day on the job was as full and exciting as the first! VBS had about 175 kids today, most of who were waiting for our group when they arrived in the morning, and stayed for VBS and then until our group left to go back to camp in the evening. Other than VBS, our group interacted with the kids all day long, playing games, singing, etc. During VBS, we reinforced some public health issues like the importance of hand washing and in conjunction with this message, tomorrow some of the 400 soap bars we raised with the "Got Soap?" campaign will be given to the children. We learned before coming over, that soap was a real luxury and would be a nice gift to pass out.

















The medical team returned to the village of Machu Bitane where we were yesterday, and treated another 65 patients today. Today's crowd was different from yesterday, with about 3 different dialects being spoken and different types of illnesses than what we saw yesterday. There were AIDS cases, and a lot of dehydration. Today there were more adults than children, but we still had plenty of them to receive the candy, and the rest we threw out the windows of the bus while we were whisking by groups of kids. The people are always very warm and welcoming, waving to us when they see us in our bus! Tomorrow we will be going to a new village.



WELL DRILLING: For starters, we had a crowd around the well as it shot water out - first dirty brown, then all watched as it turned crystal clear. We are testing the water forr potability now. Tomorrow, the pump will be put in and soon it will be operational. VBS was going on at the time the well produced water, so the kids were thrilled to see the first of two wells that will be on the school's property, and the well drilled today was for the community, the new water source for the very children there today!

"Mozambique Minutes" from the S.o.S. Team

TUESDAY, July 15: We left Jo'burg, S.A. on a large bus which was not quite greyhound, and made for tinier people than we, but was cheaper than flying and allowed us to see a lot of countryside - some beautiful, and some so unbelievably poor and meager, that they can barely be called a "shack" , yet are home to large families.

We soon found out our that 6 hour bus ride was actually closer to a 9 hr. ride. We've learned that not much is exact or precise here, and what's a few hours more on the road? We had a little excitement at the border crossing, when our bus driver dropped us off and said he had to go get gas, even though we had just stopped for a 15 minute break a few miles back which seemed odd even to our tour guide/escort, who had instructed us to leave all our belongings (cameras, etc) on the bus while we got approved to leave South Africa and enter Mozambique. We then waited for a while for the bus to return, and then our guide told us to walk on foot into Mozmabique and clear their border and the bus would pick us up there, rather than us waiting around any longer. This all seemed reasonable until an hour and a half later when the bus was still not back. Eventually Dave Wooster and Cesar Tejeda decide to walk back to S. Africa and look for our bus, which ended up meeting them just after passing the border. Turns out he had problems crossing the border with an empty bus and 38 people's luggage and they thought that was suspcious. Sure had us a little nervous for a while, and delayed our trip even more, but made for an adventurous day! We arrived at the Maranatha Volunteer camp tired and hungry but were thankful for a warm meal (it's chilly here at night!) and got a good night's rest so we were ready for our first day of work.

WEDNESDAY, July 16: Big day, our first day out as our 3 groups - Well, Medical & Building all started our first day on the job. The building crew finished an entire 1/2 of one side of the school building, so a lot of bricks were layed and we have some weary and worn campers here tonight. The well drillers finished 1/2 a well and should get water tomorrow, for the well at the Mahotas school the building crew was working on. The well drilling crew had about 75 onlookers and provided a lot of entertainment - TV, Mozmabique style!

VBS operated today inside one of the partially finished rooms in the school we're working on. It's amazing how quickly word travels, a few kids ran back and grabbed their friends, and all of a sudden they had about 100 kids there. They imagine it will double for tomorrow night - the last group that was here ended up with abotu 500 by the time the week was over! We're so grateful to have a few portuguese speaking people in our group, portuguese-translated materials and even music in portuguese - so much more meaningful if the children can actually understand what they're hearing! The leaders learned that Brazilian portuguese has some differences from Mozambican portuguese, but thankfully children are a pretty forgiving audience!

The medical mission consisted of 13 today with 2 being translators and 1 a local pastor, 2 doctors and 4 nurses. Our place was really remote, more than an hour down a dirt road off of a main road, what probably is classified as "the bush", a 2 hr. drive away from camp. On the drive there, we were just astounded at the extreme poverty and filth that is Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in all the world for reasons we saw today. It's something you can hardly explain in words, you just have to see it. (I will try to post some pics tomorrow night, as it's well after midnight now).

The pastor ran 2 km to get a key to open the church where we set up the clinic and before we opened around noon, we had probably 30 people lined up already, and in less than 4 hrs saw about 45 patients. We saw a lot of parasites, fungal infections, fevers, tummy aches, and a 24 day old baby with RSV that will most likely not make it. This mother and her 4 children walked 12 miles one way today to get care - just one amazing display of the desperation of a mother who loves her children and wants them to be well. We had to turn away people and close by 4:00 to get back to camp but will return to the same place tomorrow.

After dinner each night we have a little devotional and sharing time as we "de-brief" about the day's events and experiences. The comments that were expressed during our sharing time tonight included "complaining is stupid" and "I will never again be ungrateful for all that I have". It's been an eye-opener, for sure, a perspective reminder to not sweat "the small stuff".

I am blogging from the comfort of my tent (they do have wireless here!), and although it's a little chilly, some of our showers were cold tonight and there are several dogs barking like crazy that I'm sure are keeping most of the camp awake, we KNOW just how good and blessed our lives really are. Until next time....stay tuned!

The Eagle Has Landed!

After leaving Dulles on Sunday, we spent 17 grueling hours on the plane (and even longer for some who didn't fly with us), stopping once for fuel in Dakar, Senegal. Everyone held up pretty well, although we found ourselves asking "Are we there YET?" a few times! We (and a ton of luggage) arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa Monday evening. The hotel "Doves Nets" shuttle picked us up, we had a nice meal, warm showers and headed to bed. Today, Tuesday, we leave for the area of Maputo, Mozambique which is about 6 hours due East from here, on a bus. We'll catch up more when we get settled in Mozambique! I tried uploading pictures, but kept running into errors which may be due to bandwidth issues. Will try again in Mozambique!