Friday, October 1, 2021

When plans don't pan out, trust God

*|MC:SUBJECT|*
An update from Equip Mozambique!
View this email in your browser
Facebook
Website
YouTube
Email
 

When Things Don't Go According to Plan
(Comic credit: Nick Seluk)

Unexpected Detours

Hope you don't mind the light-hearted intro there, but that comic does such a good job of portraying how this year has gone that I couldn't resist. We had so many plans for 2021. So many bullet points. And yet, God had other plans!

Along with many other people, we have learned the truth of this verse:

"We make our own plans, but the Lord decides where we will go." Proverbs 16:9 (CEV)
Our littlest travel warrior, sleeping away the miles.

Frequently Asked Questions the Reinagels Hear

  • Wait, you're still in America?
    • Yes. Yes we are. We arrived in February planning to leave in April, but here we are in October and still unable to travel. 
  • How is the Equip Mozambique team doing without you?
    • Great! We are so proud of the leaders and how they have stepped up and taken initiative in these trying times. Our goal from the beginning was to raise up Mozambicans who are competent and confident in leading projects and bringing transformation to their country, and we are thrilled with how they have thrived in our absence. Read below for an update on one of the amazing projects they've done this year!
  • When are you going back to Mozambique?
    • As soon as we can!
  • What's going on with your visa process?
    • It's a long story, but we had to change our visa type, and the transfer is taking far longer than we anticipated. For the most part, this is due to covid making the government offices significantly slower than they used to be (which was already slow), so there's truly no telling when we'll finally get our visas. At this point we hope to be back by January, but nothing is guaranteed. It has been a poignant lesson in learning to live in today and not worry about the future.
  • Where have you been in the States?
    • So far, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio. The kids are travel troopers, but after 8 months of living out of suitcases and traveling about 5,000 miles in the car, it sure would be nice to go home!
One hidden blessing of the delay was being able to see more family and friends!
We got to visit Jon's grandmother in New York and see Niagra Falls in May.
  •  Where are you now?
    • We are currently in Rolla, Missouri, and we plan to stay here for the rest of our time in the States. We are so grateful for all the wonderful people who have opened their homes to us during this time, we have stayed with over 20 different families over the course of the trip, and it has been so good to fellowship with all of them. 
    • That said, we are trying to get our own place soon, so that we will be able to regroup as a family while we finish waiting on the visas.
    • The kids are all in school, making some new friends, and enjoying the opportunities they don't usually have in Mozambique.
Kyran and Jariel are both enjoying their first experience with American school, especially the clubs like drama and robotics! 
  • What's next?
    • We have so many plans for what we will do when we get back, we're almost bursting at the seams! We are sketching the future of an Innovation Center that will train up more Mozambicans to start impactful organizations, associations, and businesses that meet needs and give back to the community. We can't wait to get started with it! Watch this intro video for more information! 
    • God has been teaching us to be still and know that He is God, He is in control, and we need to learn to rest in Him. This trip has been far longer than we planned, but He has brought us many more opportunities because of it, so all we can do is trust that He knows what He's doing! 
    • Jon is planning to go back to Mozambique this month on a 30-day visa to check on the Equip Mozambique team and all the projects and see if he can speed up our residency visa process. 
    • While Jon is in Moz, he will get to participate in our second #Hack event on October 22-24! Last year was an incredible time of seeing many young people come alive and realize their ideas can make a difference, and we look forward to seeing what their ingenuity can come up with this time!
We are excited to start a new Innovation Center! Click here to learn more! 

Meanwhile in Mozambique...

Restoring Dreams - Community Transformation

It all started as an effort to rehabilitate a village called Nhangoma that was particularly affected in the 2019 Cyclone Idai. We received a grant specifically to help this remote town, and as time went on the team kept finding more and more ways to make a lasting impact! Some of the projects have included:
  • Reforesting areas that had been clear-cut (lack of trees was one of the reasons the area suffered so badly in the flood) 
  • Agricultural training and innovative irrigation methods to help rehabilitate the farmland
  • Training on how to form community associations to solve problems together
  • Providing a path for people to easily get their government-issued ID cards (which is a difficult process for people in rural areas)
  • Literacy training for adults
  • Legal training so people know when their rights are being violated
  • And much more!
Watch the video below to see it all in action and hear some testimonies! 

 
Click here to watch a video our team made about the Restoring Dreams project! 

Print Newsletter

We sent out our mid-year print newsletter in July! It has:
  • The latest on our constantly evolving vision for the organization
  • Exciting updates on how all the departments are doing
  • An insightful interview with Ebel Chimunthu, the project manager of our tech team
  • How to get more involved in Equip Moz!
If you didn't get a copy, you can read the PDF here:

 
Read the 2021 Mid-Year Newsletter
The kids were a big help with folding, stuffing, and stamping the newsletters!

Praise Reports:

  • That the Equip Moz team is still working and growing
  • That we have had a fruitful trip of meeting with friends, family, churches, and supporters
  • That we have always had our needs met, even in these uncertain times

Prayer Requests:

  • For us to get our visas soon
  • For peace and guidance until we do
  • For the Equip Moz team to stay healthy and continue thriving
Thanks for reading, please remember us in your prayers! 
If you would like to subscribe to receive more newsletters from Equip Mozambique in the future, sign up here: 
Subscribe
Facebook
Website
YouTube
Email
 
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)