Well it isn’t that simple, there are documents that need to be filled out and we decided that we would go back later with Rodolfo, director of our children’s center here in Pemba. The kids would go to Maranghania, a new base that was starting about 20mins outside Pemba, one that is much smaller, with fewer kids. The vision is to have boys aged 6-10 living in little ‘families’ of 12 kids with two ‘parents’. They are still building, but there is one house ready for kids. The missionary couple running that base, Michael and Julie were excited that they would maybe get some kids.
Monday the 5 of us packed into the car and set off for this village – its exactly a month later, October 2! We arrive in the village and ask people until we are shown to Joao Assane’s house. Fortunately he is home, and he remembers me from the bush camp. He was surprised that we had come back! Word quickly spread and soon there was a crowd around the chairs that had been set out for us.
We had no idea what condition the kids would be in, and asked to see the kids. They were sent for, but it turns out that all of them are staying with their grandparents, and 4 of the kids’ caretakers refuse to let us have them. One lady, a grandmother with an 11-year-old daughter, was looking after her 2-orphaned grandchildren, a 3 1/2 year old boy and a year old baby. She is too weak to work the fields to get food for the kid, so the 11-year-old aunty looks after the baby. Both kids are slightly malnourished, but do not look like they are starving.
Michael and Julie are not ready to take a baby, but they do not want to split the family. Its a hard decision to We go to the bush camp for and hour to think and pray – it’s a huge decision to take a child away from all he has known. The camp is just as beautiful and peaceful as I remembered it to be!
Finally we think of a solution: we will buy her 2 goats, and then she can sell the goat kids and make money. That way we can leave the kids there and they would have food and be looked after. I think that was the best solution!
We get back to the village and quickly a man is found that has goats for sale: we buy 2 female goats, one is already pregnant, and we hire a man to build a pen for them to be kept.
The lady is covered in witch doctor paraphernalia, and so are the kids, so we want to pray for them – Michael preached in Portuguese and the assistant chief translated into Makua (hardly any of the villagers spoke Portuguese), then he asked if anyone wanted to give their lives to Christ. No one. Oh well, so we prayed for the grandmother and the kids and got ready to leave.
The crowd scattered, and suddenly Julie realized she didn’t have photos of the kids with the goats! So we drove to the lady’s house and took some photos, then went back to the assistant Chief’s house. And there, standing outside the gate were 2 guys. As we got out the car they said ‘we want to receive Jesus’. How AWESOME is that???? We prayed for them, and Michael led them in a prayer. It was so exciting! They had heard about Jesus before, but never really understood it. Now we have the start of a church.
Adults from Left to Right: Rodolfo, Michael, Julie, the Grandmother (she is holding the orphan baby)
The little boy in the front, dressed in blue, is the 3 1/2 year-old orphan. Also posing for the camera are the 2 goats we bought them!
I had already told Joao (the assistant chief) that I wanted to bring a team out there for a 3 or 4 night outreach, and this just made me want to do it even more! So that is my goal, to get an outreach scheduled in the village, and then also do outreaches in the other 2 villages you drive through to get there. I think it will be great – Iris hasn’t been there yet, this was the first time!
I also realized that I liked being in the villages more than I liked being at the base in Pemba, I mean its nice to have a home to go to, but I like going out to the villages and just being there…
So we left without any kids, but that’s better.
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