Rachel's Reflections

Wait, I'm on one of the only American minority teams in all of Africa Inland Mission (AIM)? I had no idea! Well, I knew I was in the minority. I've always been surrounded by Brazilian teammates, but I didn't realize this was uncommon within AIM. Apparently, most AIM teams are majority American. Not just that, we are one of the most culturally diverse teams within AIM. Brazilian team leader, majority Brazilian teammates, a new Mozambican couple, a Kenyan, and me. There are even significant cultural differences among  the Brazilians.  What do all these differences mean? It could mean disaster if we didn't have one unifying factor: the Holy Spirit. We all love and serve Jesus Christ and want to reach the unreached people here in northern Mozambique. Left to right: Marcelo & Evelyn, Manoel & Danielle (& kids), Bruna & Vinicius, Nelio & Iza, me, Roseli, Maureen The last two weeks of team training have been filled with laughter, fun, and food. We have gott...

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of last week were difficult days for various reasons, ending with a cyclone hitting Nampula. I felt PTSD rising in me as the wind and rain brought back memories of the cyclone in Pemba three years ago. My housemates, Maureen and Roseli, offered support and encouragement through it all. On Saturday,  I decided I would go to the English church on the other side of the city instead of the regular, local church by my house.   I gazed at the mountain range rising behind Aidan and Gracie as they led worship. The beauty of creation, the fellowship of believers, and the solid food from the Word of God ministered to my soul. "Apparently there's a crocodile in the swimming pool," Charity mentioned as I greeted her after the service. Intrigued, I wandered over the school grounds where the church meets to the swimming pool. Others trailed behind me. Sure enough, a baby crocodile was chilling in the waters. After the entertainment of watching the worker...

I followed behind on the winding route through the neighborhood, high stone walls on either side of me. A__'s uncle  walked with urgency towards my car. A__  hung limply from his back, her frail arms barely holding on. I had called to say hi t he previous day. "She's sick," her grandfather told me. "We took her to the closest hospital but it didn't help. She keeps vomiting up the medicine. Now she can't walk, she can barely stand. Can you take her to another hospital tomorrow?" I didn't know if I would have time, but I said I would try my best to make it.  Praise God a meeting finished sooner than I expected the following morning. I had a window of opportunity. I took A__ and two of her relatives to the requested hospital. Two of us sat in the dingy corridor while the uncle carried her in to the urgent care room. We waited forty minutes. Finally, a nurse came out and said they wanted to give her intravenous fluids but didn't have the right eq...

What do burnt legs & broken toilets have to do with God's plans and purposes? The Pemba trip went well. I got my visa renewed for another year. However, I burned my legs so bad while walking on the beach on Sunday that I could barely walk the following two days because of the pain and swelling. Sadly, because of this, I didn't get to visit everyone in Pemba that I wanted to. Yet, somehow, I knew God had a purpose in it. I may never understand why, but I know I can trust Him and His sovereign plans. And yes, I also learned my lesson to always apply sunscreen to my legs when walking along the beach in the hot sun. The sunscreen I should have put on my legs and the aloe vera gel and burn cream I've been using all week because of not applying the sunscreen Wednesday morning I received my visa and by midday Thursday I felt well enough to make the  five-and-a-half-hour drive back to Nampula. One problem. I had to drink tons of water to stay hydrated because of the burns. I us...