Rachel's Reflections

The thirteen year old girl was playing outside on the dusty streets of her town when they arrived. Men from the insurgent group that have been wreaking havoc in the northern part of Mozambique. They took her. Took her away from her family, away from her home, away from the town she's always known. They took her out into the bush along with six other girls from her town and fourteen other girls from a nearby village. The girl's mother has grieved her loss for days but the rest of the family decided it was better to leave the area before anything worse happens. This hurting family will arrive at one of my friend's house here in Pemba tomorrow. This same friend who is receiving these refugees tomorrow also told me what she has been learning in the audio Bible I gave her a few months ago. She told me a second audio Bible would be helpful to share with those arriving in her home. She herself has not fully grasped the truth held in God's Word, and yet she wants to share these

It's been a difficult journey. This time last year I was recovering from the trauma and after-effects of the cyclone that hit this area. I thought, at this time last year, that things would get easier after such a major natural disaster. But it has been one thing after another, steadily going downhill. I had Typhoid Fever, said goodbye to close teammates, dealt with a nasty guard situation, had a tropical storm that left us with a half-flooded, moldy house, I  lost a family friend to cancer, and  several confidential problems and challenges have come up along the way . My team and I  live in constant alert of the insurgent attacks just north of us, we were temporarily removed from Pemba because of the rumors of attacks,   and of course the worldwide Covid19 crisis that affects us all. I am so worn down that some days are a struggle to just keep going. Over a month ago a friend told me she has watched God change and grow me. She pictured me standing on a rock in an ocean wit