Mozambique Trip: Manifestation
How can a person go from shutting off their heart one moment and exposing it the next, within the course of 24 hours?
Yesterday part of the team and I went to an AIDS orphanage ran by catholic nuns in the same order as Mother Teresa. On the drive over I thought about how I would react to playing with a bunch of kids who more than likely will not be living this time next year due to AIDS. I thought I would weep or be moved in an unprecedented spiritual way, but as I walked into the first room of toddlers, the emotions of my heart were shut off as I picked up a little boy with a plump belly and an apprehensive gaze in his eyes. I was not moved to tears and in fact, I didn’t even think about it. I just played and loved, which were the only 2 things I could do. I would be useless to the children and the nuns if I became a blubbering idiot. But when I was able to rock a little girl to sleep (which her face looked exactly like Whoopie Goldberg), I made eternal significance in that little girl’s life. I became the loving arms of Jesus to that little girl. I became the physical manifestation of what dwells within me, flowing with compassion and joy to that little girl; until I put her down and then the sinful wrath of a 2 year old’s selfishness erupted like Mt. Saint Helens. Because these kids have AIDS, they will never be adopted and will remain in the orphanage the rest of their lives, which typically is very short.
That night the team debriefed the whole orphanage experience at a local pizza house/ coffee place (which they apparently ran out of coffee, so JJ and I got the only thing left: a double shot of espresso. Typically coffee is a good thing, but as the “coffee” touched my taste buds, my taste buds started to commit suicide in my mouth. It was the worst coffee experience ever. So note to self, next time a place says that they are out of regular coffee, just get water!) There was a consensus of helplessness and getting peed on from the team experience at the orphanage. We then walked backed to where we are staying, or at least tried to.
Half way on our journey a policeman started to walk with me in the back of the group and made small talk in his very broken English. You see, the police are starting to crack down on non-Mozambique tourist to make sure they have their passport (a lot behind this as to why). But in our group we only carry our copies, not the originals, which are ok, but a couple in our group had lost their copies. So, I made small talk with this policeman until he said it. “Passport.” I cringed, thinking of how far we were from our Oasis and a person that actually could translate. So I acted as if I didn’t understand and we kept walking. Again, “Passports.” I took out my copies and gave them to him as we continued to inch closer to our house. He then points to the group, “Passports.” Again I played dumb American as I could see our house a block away. The policeman then swings his, what looked like a compact AK-47, to his belly and said, “Passports!” Instantly I stopped the team and told them to get their passport copies out, knowing that at least one didn’t have hers. We tried to communicate, but to no avail. During the conversation we were able to get them walking again. I was crossing the road to ring the doorbell just on the other side of the street from where we were staying, when the 2 policemen started screaming at me. I didn’t know how far to push their patience so I took a few more steps reaching the other curb. Screaming and hand waving broke out like 2 birds warning a group of danger. So I turned and walked back across the street. We were finally able to get our host at the house to come translate and the policemen let us go free, but he had already called the police car to come get us. God provides in His timing!
Today we did a VBS at a local neighbourhood that Roger and Lynn have been working in for some time now. At first, 1 kid showed up. So, Roger told us and some Portuguese speakers to go draw the kids in. All of a sudden our little VBS turned into a community event with around 300 kids, parents, and teenagers. It was crazy to see them come in droves. The director of the local school even brought his entire school. The director of the school is a wonderfully nice man, who does not even have a college education. The school ends at 5th grade and less than 1% of all Mozambique people go on to more schooling, mainly because they cannot afford the uniforms, workbooks, etc. that are required to attend more schooling. Even most of the teachers are trying to finish their high school education. It was a great time to open my heart to these kids in song and dance and games. This was a huge encouragement to Roger and Lynn and the team, especially after being at the orphanage.
God is so faithful and good!
Tomorrow we are going to Kruger Park to get the full Lion King wildlife experience. This will also be a great time for the team to rest and reflect on this past week.