Conference, car, and casa, oh my!

Conference, car, and casa, oh my! The past two months have been busy ones for us, as we’ve focused on our roles as equippers and encouragers, taken a 17-hour road trip to buy a car, and have worked on needed house improvements. Carla and Jariel during one of Carla's teaching sessions. Women's Conference Last week was Peniel’s international women’s conference, and Carla was invited to speak. She taught three elective sessions on transforming the education system through parental involvement. It was very well received, especially in a culture where neither parents nor teachers take an active involvement in kids' education. Kyran and Jariel were able to show off a bit of what they know in order to inspire the mothers to spend more time with their kids, help them learn to read, ask lots of questions, encourage curiosity, and be creative, all of which is foreign to the culture. There were a few teachers who attended the sessions, and they talked about how difficult it is to be the only teachers of integrity at their schools, how they had to constantly turn away offers of bribes in exchange for good grades, and how little the kids coming into their classes knew, since previous teachers never expected much from them. We gathered around them to pray for strength to be a light in a dark place! Jon and Janie were also hard at work during the during the conference. Jon worked overtime with Dino and the video crew to record the conference sessions and make the teachings available afterwards. Janie teamed up with another photographer to do photos and photo editing. It was a busy time for us all, but we were glad of the opportunity to fellowship with and be a blessing to our friends at Peniel. Jon, Kyran and James hard at work in the media department. Conferência das Mulheres Vitoriosas (Conference of the Victorious Women) Some ladies from one of Peniel's church plants presented gifts of fruit and sheep to Pastor Mario and his wife on the last day of the conference. Carla made matching outfits out of capulanas for herself and Jariel. They were a big hit at the conference! The kids enjoyed being able to play outside more while we were in Maputo. We don't have much of a yard, and there aren't many parks in Beira! Facebook Website YouTube Email Donate Equip Mozambique is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so all donations are eligible for tax-exemption.

New (To Us) Car In our last newsletter we mentioned that we were importing a car. It arrived in Maputo, the capital city, and Jon, Carla and the kids went down there to get it at the end of March. The process ended up being more complicated than we’d anticipated, and one week in Maputo turned into three. But our prayers for favor were answered, and we are now the grateful owners of a 4-wheel-drive minivan! After months of getting rides with friends or taking chappas and chopellas around town, it is an incredible blessing to finally have a car of our own. Everyday tasks like buying groceries and hauling media equipment to and from church are much easier now. We bought a larger car because we also wanted to be able to bless other people with transportation. Most of the evening services at church go so late that public transport is hard to get, and we have already packed out our van on several occasions with people who needed rides. It is a big asset to our ministry. Janie was happy to cover up the cartoon                     The kids pitched in, too. murals  in her bedroom.     Home Repairs One of our goals is to spend more time connecting with Mozambicans by having people over for meals or small group Bible studies. So, we’ve been at work getting our house into shape. Cracks and windows needed to be repaired where water was coming in, several of the walls needed painting, and the floor needs to be redone. We are working on converting our ‘house’ into a ‘home’ but the process has left us without a living room for over a month. We are still looking for furniture as we don’t yet have a dining room table or any sofas or chairs for the living room. We are also hoping to install a generator so our food doesn’t rot in our fridge during the many power outages. We will be very excited once this process is complete and we can begin sharing our home with others. A side benefit of this long home repair process is that we were able to provide some work for friends in need. One friend, Tony, needed money to pay for his education, and Lino needed help rebuilding his haircutting business. Both considered the opportunity to be an answer to prayer and we are glad to have their help. As always, we appreciate your prayers and support as we pursue the plans God has for us here in Mozambique. Praises That our car arrived and we were able to drive it home safely! That the women's conference went well, and that we were able to start equipping families to have greater success in education. That we have made some beneficial connections with some Mozambican business people who will be great assets in our attempts at helping business and economical growth. Prayer Requests That God would continue to guide us in how to equip Mozambicans to reach their full potential. That we could find ways to get Kyran and Jariel more friends and help them become more connected to the culture here. That the house projects would be done soon and that we would be able to keep our eyes on the blessing it can be to others instead of just the work itself. Worship in one of Mozambique's tribal languages. And an accompanying dance, of course!