Warm Greetings,

I am so sorry I haven't done well at keeping in touch with you the last while. The internet has not been working for about a week. We are so thankful that it is working again. It has been a very busy two weeks since I last wrote.

Last week I was working on finishing up a few odds and ends in the girls house so that when Albert arrived we could get to work on the Administration building. We are all so excited to have Albert here and I am especially thankful to have another person to work with it has been such a blessing. It has been a good week since he arrived last Saturday. Albert hasn't really had a chance to get us to being here hardly because we have been working very long days. The building is coming along very well. We have lain almost 500 blocks and tied and bent 200 meters of rebar for the concrete ring beam around the top of the walls. The last three days have been tiring because we have been mixing all the concrete by hand. We are starting to look like tomatoes because of all the sun we are getting.

This is how we cut blocks here.

Victor and I tying rebar

Gazani and I bending rebar

Rebar on top of the wall before we poured the concrete.

Albert and Gazani

This is what we are working on.

We are trying to get the left side of the building done and the other side will be done at a later time.

We poured three of these columns

We have another 250 blocks to lay before we can put the roof on. There are seven windows and six doors to be installed, 12" of fill to be brought in before we can pour the floor. We really have our work cut out for us but Lord willing be can have a good amount of it done by the time Albert leaves.

We are entering winter here, we haven't seen any snow yet, nor will we, but it is getting quite cool at night I had to add an extra blanket on my bed. Many people think that Africa is hot all the time but many parts are not. In about a month they will be getting frost on the ground. Those of you in Canada say "Oh what's a little frost." You're right it is not much when you have insulated houses and furnaces, but for people here this is not the case. I like to sleep when it is cold and that part is nice. It is still getting nice and warm during the day but you can really feel a temperature drop when the sun goes down.

We got up early and started work at 6 this morning so that we could be done early so that we could have some time to come into town. This is just about Albert's first time out other than a quick trip into town last Sunday to try to use the internet and found out it wasn't working. We will hopefully be able to show him around a little before he leaves.

I am sorry this is short but I hope to write more next time. I would appreciate your prayers as I am still trying to change my flight. Thanks so much for your prayers and your emails they are very encouraging.

Your Brother in Christ,

Andrew

Back in Lichinga

Hello from Cuamba,

 

We thank the Lord for the safety He has given us so far, in traveling here to Cuamba.  We left Beira Thursday morning.  We drove 7 or 8 hours.  The Wilcox's minus Annelisa stayed at Africa Wa Jesus again.  Rachel, Annelisa and myself rode with Pastor Mario and one other man in his car.  Mario is the pastor of the church in Beira where we were.  The five of us were supposed to have a place to stay in the small town of Caia.  That fell through and it was a good thing we had brought tents just in case because we needed them. 

 

Before we found out that our accommodations fell through we were filling up at the gas station and I saw really nice grass there at the station which we don't see very often.  I said I hope if we stay in tents we can set our tents up on nice grass like that.  Once we found we had no place to stay we drove back to the gas station because that was the only place around and asked if we could pitch our tents behind the station.  There was a place that was all dirt and quite flat that we were going to use.  Then the Portuguese manager of the station came out and called us over to the little house were some of them stay and there was a chain link fence around it and there was a very nice grass yard all around for us to pitch our tents on.  I was so excited I was thanking the Lord for this blessing, because it made it so much more comfortable sleeping.  They also found us some plastic tables and chairs.  We sat down in our nice little camp site and had supper and then had a good time of share about the things of the Lord for an hour and a half before we went to bed. Just before I went to bed I found I had a little worm in the heel of my foot.  I have taken them out of other people's feet before but this was the first time that I have had one.  They aren't too bad if you get them out before they grow too much.

 

Friday morning we left shortly after 7 and we drove just a short distance and had to wait for the ferry to start running that would take us across a rather large river.  There we about fifty trucks waiting and eight cars.  They normally put two transport trucks and two or three cars.  This time though only one truck with out a trailer went on then they let all the cars go.  We were once again thanking the Lord otherwise we would have been waiting for another hour there and as it was we ended up having a 15 hour journey.  We only covered about 700km in that time.  The last 150km took us almost 5 hours because the roads we so rough.  At one place not too far outside of Cuamba the Wilcox's drove by a group of kids at the side of the road in the dark and one of them throw a rock at their car.  It broke the passenger side window of the car and the glass went all over Debbie.  Praise God no one was hurt.

 

We arrived here in Cuamba at 10:30 in the evening.  They had a wonderful supper waiting for us that had been ready for hours because they had expected us to be there much sooner.  All the SIM missionaries here in Cuamba opened there homes up to us to give us places to sleep for the three nights we will be here.

 

Saturday morning they had a meeting with all the pastors and leaders of the church in Cuamba.  Then Saturday night we had a good meeting with about 50 or 60 people out.  It was a good night. It wasn't really a gospel outreach but getting the Christians from different churches together and teaching them.

 

While in Cuamba I stayed with the Pipers a missionary family with SIM.  The also had another young man staying with them.  His name is Lee he is from England and he has come to help SIM out with construction projects much the same as I do.  We hit t off very well.  We are both excited to see if God would maybe have us serve together somewhere sometime.

 

Sunday morning we were all sitting around the breakfast table at the Piper's and Mrs. Piper asks Lee and I so which one of you wants to preach at church this morning.  It was one hour before the service was supposed to start.  Lee nominated that I would do it.  We went with the Piper's to their Assemblies of God Church.  I spoke for a short time from John 15 on abiding in the mango tree.  Most people here don't know what a grape vine is so I had to use the mango tree so that it was something they could relate to.

 

Sunday evening we had another meeting with all the churches and Pastor Mario spoke on three major issues that the church needs to deal with in this country, polygamy, adultery and divorce. These are big problems and he was talking about how the sins are past down to the third and fourth generation.  These things are common in many peoples families and Pastor Mario was encouraging them to cut these things of in the spirit and not let them continue to be passed on to their children.

 

Most of this email was written in Cuamba but I have just arrived in Lichinga here this morning at about 11:30.  We had enough places for us all coming from Beira to Cuamba because we had Pastor Mario's car but he was heading back to Beira and not coming to Lichinga so I had to catch a mini bus this morning at 5. 

 

Please keep my friend Albert in your prayers as he will be leaving Canada Tuesday evening and Lord willing will arrive in Lichinga on Saturday for about one month.  Others are always welcome if they would like to come and help with the work here. Hint hint.

 

Well the internet has been down in Lichinga for the last few days so that is why I am just getting around to sending this.  I have been in Africa for three since yesterday.  Time has gone by so fast.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

Andrew

What is Really Happening in Beira

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

I thought I would fill you in on what I have been experiencing here in Beira.  I haven't really shared any of this with you and I have been waiting till the Lord gave me freedom to do so and the words to share it.

 

The church meetings here are usually 3-4 hours long but it feels like it is only one hour.  Honestly I have been in church meetings in other places that were only one hour long but they seemed like they were four hours long, but the meetings here go by so fast and we don't want to leave because the strong Presence of the Lord. It is not like we are not in the presence of the Lord when we leave because we are but the presence is felt much stronger in some corporate setting. About two hours of those meetings are worship, God enjoys His people worshipping Him and He loves to show up in places where His people are worshipping and praising Him. His presence is there and things happen.  The blind are seeing, the lame start to walk, the deaf hear and sicknesses are healed and I am privileged to be here to see it, thank be to God. 

 

I cannot really explain in words what this is all like.  Some of you might be thinking this is a Pentecostal Church, but it is not.  It is a group of Christians who are seeking to know the Lord more, make Him know to others and they love to praise and worship their Lord.  For many years I have been closed to these things but God has been teaching me things and He has given me a deep desire to know Him more intimately. He has been fulfilling this desire and I know nothing else could. Seeing the Holy Spirit working in these ways is very different for me then what I have experienced in my walk with the Lord so far.  I have been in places before where they wanted this and there was a lot of hype but it did not feel right in my spirit and the Lord let me know it was not of Him.  In these meetings though I am at perfect peace that this is truly God at work and not just hype.

 

God is doing an awesome work among His church here in Beira, all across this nation and in many others nations around the world.  In these places the people of God come together and start to pray, call out and intercede for there nation. 2 Ch 7:14, 15  "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attend unto the prayer that is made in this place."  Like I said earlier this is happening in many places around the world, this is not an isolated thing. The people of God in these places are realizing that God is the only one that can bring the change that is needed and they get together in some of these places by the thousands and pray for hours and intercede and their prayers are heard and the nations are transformed.

 

As I read Acts I understand a little more of what some of there meetings must have been like.  How some people were filled with the Holy Spirit and others looking on thought they were drunk.  I have seen some people when the Holy Spirit came on them that after they could hardly walk and couldn't walk start they looked drunk and it is not a show, I know some of these people very well.  If it happened in Acts I shouldn't be surprised if it happens now I guess.  I am not surprised when a person gets saved liked they did in acts, but it sure brings a lot of joy to my hearts.  In the same way it brings great joy when I see the Holy Spirit come on someone in such away.  I believe and so do the Christians here that every born again believer has the Holy Spirit within them from the point of salvation, please do not miss understand this.  The Lord gives more of an anointing to some and we see this in scripture.  Think of Moses who spoke face to face with God.  That was under the old covenant and the New Covenant is said to be a better covenant.  Moses had the glory of the Lord shinning on him and the people asked him to cover his face because it was to much to look at.  Think of Peter his shadow fell on people and they were healed.  The Christians here want to know the Lord more and in turn He is more evident in their lives.

 

I am not trying to change what any of you think about these things but I felt I have been very vague with you as to what was going on here.  I am just trying to tell you what is happening and what the Lord is doing.  Please don't think I am saying that you all have to accept this.  I know if I got a letter like this about four years ago I would not have received it in my spirit.  I am not saying you are less of a Christian or anything if you don't receive this.  I am truly thankful for this time in my life.  I know this is just a little of what the Lord is wanting to do in my life and He has much more.  I also know that God is teaching each of you things and has many things instore for you, we are all on different journeys, so lets keep our eyes on Jesus and we won´t go wrong.

 

I would appreciate your prayers that I would be continuing to seek after the Lord and not signs or anything else.  I think some of you maybe worried that I am falling into error and I would really appreciate your prayers that I wouldn't and that I will stay well grounded in the Word to not let anything sway me from the TRUTH(JESUS).

 

This is what has been happening I am so thankful I came to Beira.  We are all very tired and all looking forward to about three days to rest before we head back to Lichinga. 

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

Andrew

 

 

Still in Beira

Dear Saints,

 

The time here in Beira has been very refreshing spiritually for me, but tiring physically because of the long days but this is the last day of the Women's Conference.  The topic of the conference has been "The Cry of a Woman".  The men have been welcome for some of the sessions and it has been a blessing, as they have been speaking on what it truly means to cry out as this is a main theme all the way through scripture.  There have also been good sessions on prayer that I am seeking to apply to my life.

 

These weeks have been a nice change from the construction work and a bit of change of pace but I am just about ready to be back at it.  We have got Albert's flight plans all finalized and looking forward to him coming.  Please keep his parents in your prayers as they are both dealing with medical issues at this time, the whole family would appreciate your prayers.

 

I misunderstood the price for the Internet when I had sent my last email out to all of you.  It is much cheaper then I had originally thought so I have been able to be on more then I thought I might.

 

We have been enjoy the convinces of running water and electricity while being here in Beira.  We feel very blessed especially because we often don't get back to the house and start making supper till 9:30 or 10 in the evening and this is much easier with light.  We do not have a stove so if we want to heat anything up we do it over a little charcoal burner.  I cooked over charcoal for my first time here.  A couple of mornings I have made French Toast.  It works quite well, but it takes sometime to get warmed up and you can't adjust the temperature other than that it is good.

 

I am also getting my exercise here.  I go for about a 3km walk each morning to get bread for all ten of us.  There are quite a few Portuguese Bakeries around.  We have to get fresh bread everyday because they don't put preservatives in it and it goes hard in one day or so.  I have been making French Toast to use some of the bread that is not so fresh anymore, but it makes great French toast.  When I am walking do the road I get to with in 100 meters of the bakery and I can smell the fresh bread.  I get it while it is still warm, there is nothing quite like fresh bread.  It is nice to get out first thing in the morning and there are lots of people out and some see me each day when I go and call out Mzungu, which means white person.  One day I bought some bananas from a lady that was selling them by the road.  I don't really understand much Portuguese but I could tell that she was excited and that she was telling here friends that a mzungu bought her bananas I think it made her day.

 

A few days ago I tried to change my flights by calling my airline back in the states on the Internet but the Internet wasn't fast enough.  I had to call with my cell phone which isn't all that cheap to call internationally, but I thought well I gotta do what I gotta do, so i called.  After being on the phone for over half an hour and using up all of the credit on my phone and being on hold for at least 15 minutes of that even though I told them i was calling from Mozambique and it wasn't cheap, I still do not have my flights changed.  It doesn't do any good for me to get upset, but it has made me realize that I need to have a travel agent to work through so in the future I don't have to deal with this.  I have found a travel agent in the states and they work specifically with people doing missionary work and get discount flights for them, so this is one good thing that has come out of my not so nice experience.  I am also wondering if the dates that I wanted to change my flights to are maybe not the ones that the Lord wants them changed to, so I am going to wait till I get back to Lichinga before I do anymore with that.  I am hoping that the Internet there will be good enough for me to call over the internet which is a lot cheaper.  Please continue to pray for me in this that I would know how long I am supposed to be here.

 

I received some wonderful news this week that my brother Tim and his wife Stephanie had their fourth daughter Vivian Estelle Woodford weighing 8lbs 9ozs, she was born last Saturday and now I am a proud uncle of five nieces and one nephew. Thanks be to God.

 

I pray you all have a blessed week till you here from me next time.  Thanks so much to those of you who keep me updated on what you are doing, for those of you who haven't written in a while let me know what you are up to I would like to hear from you.

 

In Christ,

 

Andrew

I'm an Uncle Again

My oldest brother Tim and his wife Stephanie had their fourth girl Vivien Estelle weighing 8lbs and 9oz on Saturday.  Condgradulations Tim and Steph we want to see some pictures.  Make sure she is not all grown up before I get to see here.  Say Hi to Vivien from here Uncle Andrew.

Moz #10

Greetings Friends,

Today is the last day of the four day youth conference.  It has been well attended and there have been youth from many of the churches across the city that have been apart of the conference.  They have been trying to get the Christians to work together across denominational lines and they are starting to see fruits of this.  They have had speakers from Australia, South Africa and of course Mozambique.  The topic of the conference has been ACTION.  They want to see they youth get active for the Lord.  There have been many good speakers speaking on the importance of our action being driven by our love for people.  The motive of our action being our love for the Lord and not self gain.  Not serving out of fear of the Lord and fear of doing the wrong thing but being driven by the love relationship we have with our Saviour.

 

I have been enjoying the time here in Beira, so much.  It has been such a joy to get to know some of the Christians that are part of Peniel Church, which is the church that is hosting the conference.  The young people have such a heart for the Lord.  When I speak with them Jesus is what they talk about and the change he has made in their lives.  They have such a desire to worship the Lord.  I don't mean just to sing songs about the Lord but to truly worship the Lord for who He is and express their love for Him in spirit and truth.  The Holy Spirit lives inside every born again believe but it is undeniable that some people have more of an anointing then others.  They are so thankful for all the Lord has done for them and where he has brought them, but at the same time they are dissatisfied with how much they know of their Saviour and constantly press in to get to know him more.  It is encouraging to see their desire to want to know the Lord more and spend time with his people. The Lord has been doing a work in my heart but it is kind of hard to share right now because it is still in the beginning stages. 

 

The last few days have been quite busy. The conference starts at 9am and goes till 12 or so then we come back to the house for lunch and a rest and then return at 5:30pm and it goes till 9pm or so whenever the Holy Spirit figures it is done.  By the time we get back to the house and eat supper or tea as we call it here because of the Australian influence it is usually 11 by the time we get to bed.  We are all being very encouraged by the sessions of the conference though.

 

I don't think I mentioned that one of the new staff coming to the base in Lichinga met us here in Beira and she has been living with us here and will be returning to Lichinga with us at the end of the month.  Here name is Rachel she is from England and she is a Occupational Therapist.  Also Tanya just joined us yesterday she came down from Lichinga on a busy she is coming for the Women's Conference and then heading to South Africa.

Please pray for my friend Albert who will Lord willing be joining me in Lichinga for about a month in May.  Please pray that he would have peace as he prepares for this trip.  This will be his first time to Africa, but I am sure he will do fine and it will be a good learning experience for him.  Please pray for safe travels as you know from the times I have come it can be interesting at times with flight connections and all those good things.  he is coming to help with the construction on the Administration building.  We hope to have it ready for people to live in Lord willing be the time I leave.  Oh speaking of me leaving it looks like I will be staying here till some time early in July instead of leaving May 25 as I had planned to.  Hopefully this is sufficient time to get the very pressing work done.  If anyone else would like to come and help in the work here you are always welcome just send me an email and we can get you booked in.

Thanks again so much for your partnership with me in prayer. 

Your Brother in Beira,

Andrew

Moz #9

Hello,

 

We praise God that we have safely arrived here in Beira.  We left Lichinga Tuesday morning and drove to Cuamba and arrived mid afternoon.  We stayed with some SIM missionaries there.  They gave us a house all to ourselves.  We spent all day Wednesday there in Cuamba because Peter and Debbie and some other missionaries there were having a meeting with a lot of the local pastors preparing for some evangelistic meetings that we will be holding there on our way back at the beginning of May.  Thursday we got away at 4:30am and we didn't arrive in Inhaminga till around 7pm.  Peter had heard of a ministry called Afrika Wa Jesu (Africa for Jesus).  They have a large base there in Inhaminga.  They are training and discipling church leaders.  They have about 1,000 of there students all across Moz.  It was an encouraging time there as we got to have supper with the director and hear his vision and see his heart for Africa.  Friday morning we left there at 9am and arrived in Beira at 4pm.  After traveling 1,200 km over three days with six people in the back seat which is really only meant for 3 we were all very thankful to finally be here. 

 

We arrived just in time to catch part of there Good Friday service at the Peniel Worship center where the conferences will be. The Lord has been blessing in amazing ways over the last several years at this church.  The people have such a heart for worship and a hunger for God.  The building seats about 300 people but there are always more people then chairs and they set up speakers and a screen outside so that people that cannot fit inside can still be apart.  They haven't been doing big crusades or anything but the church growth has been from one person touching another person's life and on and on it has gone.

 

We have been blessed by one of the people in the church to be able to use his house.  He has given the whole thing for us to use for the next couple of weeks.  About three years ago he was not a Christian he was here in this house and he heard people worshiping and singing praises to God.  He followed the sound and it lead him to Peniel.  The house is in Manga a suburb outside of Beira about a 15 minute drive from the church.  There is know way he could have heard the music it had to be the Lord that made him hear it but he went there and gave his heart to the Lord.  He is a dear Christian brother and now he just wants to be a blessing to others.

 

There are many people coming in for the conferences from Australia, India, England, South Africa and some other surrounding countries.  We are looking forward to the conferences with great expectation.

 

We are also enjoying being in a big city where are there are a few more things available then in Lichinga.  The last few weeks there was a shortage of Peanut Butter in Lichinga so we have enjoyed getting some here and other things as well from Shoprite.  Shoprite is Africa's largest Supermarket and has most things that one back at home would have.

 

Saturday evening I went into town on a minibus hoping to go to an internet café but they all closed at 5pm and I got there at about 5:45. 

The youth conference starts this coming Wednesday at 6pm and goes till Saturday evening.  Then next week there is a Women's conference but the men are invited to many of the sessions as well. We are close to the beach here as well and we might happen to find ourselves there a couple times.

Ok I had better go internet fees aren't quite as cheap her ein Beira as Lichinga. God Bless

In Christ,

Andrew

Moz #8

Hello Friends & Family,

It is Tuesday evening and I have just finished a good spaghetti dinner that Jesse and Tanya made. I am sitting here in my room drinking my tea and it is to early to go to bed so I think I will start to fill you on the last few days.

First off I am so thankful that I am totally back to normal after my experience with malaria. I have my appetite and my strength back and I am feeling fine. I am feeling a little light headed though. I just got a hair cut a few days ago after going almost two months since it was last cut and I normally get it cut about once a month. I was feeling a little shaggy. Miriam Wilcox said I looked a little over grown; she was referring to my hair, other then that I am feeling fine.

Friday evening I was in Lichinga using the Internet and I was there till about 7pm. I had borrowed Annelisa's motorbike to go into town. The lights hadn't been working and I had thought I had got them fixed earlier that day. I went to drive the motorbike back out to where I am staying and I realized the head light was not working. I was alright while I was in town but the last 5 or 6 km it was pitch black I couldn't see anything and I almost drove off the road. I didn't have my flashlight with me so I had to use the little light on my cell phone. I would hold it out in front of me and it would stay on for about a minute then it would go off and I would have to turn it on again. I would always have to be ready to stop as soon as the light went out otherwise I would drive off the road. I thankfully got back safely but it is not something I would want to do again if I had a choice.

Saturday morning all of us here at the base drove out to Lake Malawi and spent the day there. There are some missionaries that have a little house right on the lake. They weren't there but we made use of the yard and beach. We had a very nice time together swimming and getting sunburned. Well I got burned more then the other I think but it was still a good time. It is not something they get to do very often so it was very special.

All of us at the beach.

Top Left Tanya, Jesse, Mikila Tanya, Elias, Isaiah, Tyren, Victor, Me

Second Row Annelisa, Miriam, Karmelie, Peter, Debbie, Tiffany, Ameral, Gazany

Sunday morning we had a good time of worship and sharing with the Christians that come from some of the surrounding villages. After our time together there was a couple that wanted to get baptized Pai Finehas and his wife Mama Maria and a young boy. Pai Finehas and Mama Maria usto be Muslim, but about a year and a half ago they accepted Jesus as their Saviour. They have been encouraged to be baptized but they have been putting it off. Being a Christian in their village they still have some respect from the other Muslims but once they are baptized they loss all respect and this has been a hard decision for them to make. It was a joyful time for all of us to see them obey the Lord and be baptized down at the fish pond. Please pray for this couple that they can continue to be shining lights for Jesus. The Lord is doing a great work among the Muslims in this area and many are turning to Christ.

Monday the Wilcox invited me to go with them to a conference in Beira, which is a large city about one and half days drive south of Lichinga. I am praying about going with them. The Wilcox's are leaving on April 7^th and want be back till the beginning of May. If I go I am not sure if I would stay the whole time or not but this is going to cut into the amount of time I have to get work done here so I have been trying to put an extra hour of work in here and there in case I do go. As of Tuesday I have the three bathroom counter tops made sanded and varnished two still need one more coat. All the shelves are made and installed in the pantry. The kitchen cupboard doors need one more coat of varnish on one side and hopefully they will be installed on Thursday. I was hoping to get the tiles for the back splashes in the kitchen and bathrooms on Tuesday, but Lichinga is sold out of tiles, so they are going to have to be bought in Beira. Other then having the tiles done most everything else that they wanted me to get done in the girl's house should be done by the weekend. The Lord has made everything come along very quickly and we are so thankful.

It is Saturday now and I am at the Internet wait to get connected. It looks like I am going to Beira but I am not sure how long I will stay there I am just going to go and see how the Lord leads.

The work in the girls house has come along well the kitchen is all finished. The sinks and counter tops are all in but not plumbed yet. Friday I had some extra time so I started making a concrete wash tub for Tyren and Tiffany to wash their clothes in. When I was here a year ago I mentioned that next time I come maybe I can make on for you, so when I got here they held me to my word. I got all the blocks laid for it and I am not sure if I will get much more done on it before I leave on Tuesday.

The finished kitchen

Another angle

Pantry Shelves

One of the bathroom counter tops

Tyren & Tiffany's Wash Tub.

It isn't much to look at yet I know.

Peter and Elias left early this morning to drive to Malawi to pick up six bunk beds for the girls house and they hope to be back tomorrow afternoon. It is kind of a quick trip but they don't have much time. These are the bunk beds that they were hoping I could make when I was here last year but the wood never came in.

We would really appreciate your prayers for our trip to Beira. It will take us three days because we are making a few stops as long the way. Please pray for safety as we travel on the poor roads and also that we would each be open to what the Lord wants to teach us through the conference and our whole time in Beira. Thank you so much your partnership with me means so much. It sounds like that is just the thing I am supposed to say but really I don't know how to put it into words what you all mean to me, but know you are greatly appreciated.

Your Brother in Christ,

Andrew

Moz #7

Hello,

Praise the Lord I arrived safely to Lichinga, Moz.  Monday morning Mat dropped me at the bus stop in Chipoka, Malawi at 6am and I only waited a few minutes and a minibus picked me up.  I got to see a lot more of Malawi traveling by minibus than going by boat.  I rode in two minibuses and then my final leg of my journey in Malawi to the boarder was in a little over loaded pick up truck.  It didn't look to bad but once we got out on the road I noticed it had several problems.  There we these two wires hanging under the steering column that the driver had to plug in every time he started it and when we got going say 60km/h the whole front on the truck would shack very bad.  I timed it every five seconds for about a second or two the front would shack and the steering wheel would shack back and forth and it would do this over and over.  I am not sure what was wrong but the driver just acted as if it does this all the time.

 They dropped me at the closets point they could to the bordered and I was greeted by about 6 guys with bikes wanting to take me across the boarder.  They were grabbing  my things and tring to strap it on the back of their bikes before I even new what was going on. There is about a 3 or 4km distance across the boarder that you can either walk or ride on the back of a bike to get across.  After getting my exit stamp from the Malawian office I hopped on a bike while another one carried my things and we headed for Moz.  It was nearing 4pm and I wasn't sure if I should be crossing this late, because I wasn't sure I could get a minibus this late in the day to Lichinga and if I couldn't I wasn't sure I could find some place to stay the night.  I went ahead anyways because I was eager to get back "home" to Lichinga.

The bikes dropped me by the road where there some others waiting to go to Lichinga as well.  After waiting almost 2 hours and now it was almost 6pm and starting to get dark and no minibuses, we were starting to wonder what to do.  Then this guy with a tractor all in pieces in the back of his truck came rolling through.  The waved him down and worked out a deal that a few of us could get a ride with him.  I was told to ride in the front.  I am not sure if that was because I was the only white person or because I was the only one in shorts and a t shirt and it was going to be a cool ride, but not being able to communicate in Portuguese I just did as they said and I was very thankful to be getting a ride.  I was under the impression that it was only a 2 or 3 hour drive from there to Lichinga because it was less then 150km.  I guess I forgot that we were not traveling on Malawian roads any more and that we were now in Moz.  That was one of the worst if not the worst road I have ever ridden on.  It was so full of pot holes and mud that we had to go so slow that after 5 hours we finally rolled into Lichinga at 11pm.  It was a rough ride and I was very sore and I was riding in the front not sure what it must have been like for those in the back.  Peter Wilcox came and picked me up and brought me to my house.  From start to finish it was a 17 hour trip, but still at least five hours shorter then going by boat but not as relaxing.

I slept in and took it easy on Tuesday.  They wouldn't let me do any work and told me I had to rest to make sure that I am fully over my malaria.  In the afternoon I went into town with Elias on the motorbike to get a few groceries and things.  Wednesday again I was told I should rest so I stayed down at my house.  In the morning I made the oven for Jesse and Tanya that I brought the metal back from Malawi for.  I now just have to make or get two shelves made for it and we can start to bake a few things.  I rested for the afternoon because I was starting to get a head ache and not feel so good.  That was probably because I wasn't drinking enough and didn't have a proper lunch.  At supper I roasted peanuts for the first time.  For the first ones I had too much oil and deep fried them instead of roasting and most of them burned.  Then I tried it with a lot less oil and they turned out much better, with a little more practice I think I will get it.  Sometimes I get a craving for peanuts and the only ones I can by are the raw ones that I have to roast myself.

It seems like the priority on some of the jobs here has changed while I was in Malawi.  They have a family and three single ladies's coming in a few months and they need places for them to stay so they want me and a few others to start working on the administration building as soon as I have the kitchen cabinets, bathroom counters and pantry shelves done in the girls house.  There is so much work to be done on the admin building.  If any of you feel you would like to come and give a hand in some work here for any length of time you are more then welcome.

Thursday I got the last cupboard doors made for the kitchen.  Friday I sanded them all and got a coat of varnish on one side of them all.  I also finished the oven for Jesse and Tanya. We haven't had a chance to try it yet. I have copied a design of an oven like this that I have used before. The gas burner stove underneath is supposed to give enough heat to bake whatever our hearts desire. I will let you know how it works. Yes the racks are way over rated for this application but it was the thinnest material i could get that would work. I guess we can roast a thirty pound turkey in here and not worry about the shelf bending, it will just have to be a small thirty pounder.

Saturday everyone at the base is taking the day of and we are going to the lake for the day.  We are all looking forward to a day of fun together.  I think that about brings you up to date on things here.  Thanks again so much for your prayers for travel and for my Malaria.  I feel like I am totally all better and I am trusting the Lord that that is true.

Yours in Christ,

Andrew

I am still in Malawi

Greetings Friends and Family,
Monday through Wednesday several of the Bible school students and I worked on building more rabbit cages. Since I arrived we have built 15 cages and they had made 12 before I came. They had hoped to be able to build more but they are running out of materials. This should be enough for them to get start with anyways. I had misunderstood what the rabbits were for. They are raising them to be able to give to some of the orphans so they can raise their own and have some income from them and have some to eat for themselves.

Here are the cages we built with their first four rabbits.


Stephen is one of the students that I worked with.



Wednesday afternoon we finished working on the rabbit cages a little sooner then normal. I came back to my room and felt more tired then normal so I slept for about an hour before supper. Later that evening when I was going to bed I had a fever, the sweats, the chills and my joints were starting to ache. I hadn't every had Malaria but I had heard many people talk about it. I was pretty sure that is what I had. I didn't get much sleep that night. Thursday morning at breakfast I told Mat and Heni that I thought I had Malaria, so they had me start taking medicine for it right away. I was planning to take the boat back to Moz on Friday, so they said that it would be best if I would rest all day Thursday to allow my body as much time as possible to fight this. I slept a good part of the day and I was also able to get packed and ready to go on Friday. Thursday night wasn't much different then Wednesday night. Friday I still felt quite weak. We checked my temperature and it was 103 I was standing for the five minutes or so that I had the thermometer under my tongue. By the time it was done I was almost ready to faint my vision was going blurry and I was losing my balance. I went and took a shower and I felt a bit better. Mat and Heni kept asking me if I thought I should be traveling like this. I said that I thought I can make it. I had called the missionaries in Moz and they were going to meet me where I would get off the boat.
The boat was supposed to come into Chipoka around two and leave by 4. Mat drove me down to the port and we sat there for about half and hour and then he went to buy a couple of pops and saw a notice that the boat would not be coming do to mechanical failures. Mat called the manager of the company and he said that the engine that steers the boat has burned up and they have to find another one. He said that he wasn't even sure if it would be running in a week. After having heard this news I knew I would have to find another way to get back to Moz. We drove back to the base and Heni was glad that I hadn't gone, because she didn't think that I was well enough to be traveling. Mat made some phone calls to see if I could take a bus to Moz but there aren't any buses that go to that part of Moz, so it looks like I will take minibuses. This just means it will be a little more crowded and I will have to make more connections, but I can still make it. Lord willing I will leave on Monday and it will be about a two day journey I think. In my last email I had asked for prayer for my trip back to Moz because I said that there can always be surprises. Some people asked what those could be and now you know.
Friday evening I slept quite well I don't think I had a fever and I didn't have the chills. Today I am feeling quite good, but this is something about Malaria as well that at certain times of the day you can feel very good or you can have a good day and then a not so good one. I hope that by Monday I will be well enough to make the trip back to Moz and again I would appreciate prayer for this.
I have been feeling that the Lord has some things for me to learn through getting Malaria. I haven't been one to handle sickness very well. I have had it easy for quite sometime and the Lord has been teaching me a lot. Now it is time for me to put some of that into practice. Worshipping when maybe sometimes I just don't feel like it. Some nights as I lay in bed unable to sleep because I was sweating too much or whatever I would just start to sing songs. Thanking the Lord that He was letting me go through this, I know it doesn't really make sense in away, but we know that the Lord only takes us through difficult times to bring us out stronger on the other side. I hope this might be an encouragement to some of you who are going through difficult times right now. Father never allows anything to come into our lives that cannot make us better if we are willing to let it.
 
Yours Brother in Christ,
 
Andrew

This is a picture from last Sunday when we went out to some of the Orphan Rescue Units.

Safari Pictures

I am sorry it has taken me so long to post some pictures on here and that it is so few but as it is it took me about an hour to get these ones on here so this will have to do for now.

The five of us that went on the Safari

Mat, Heni, Keisha, Icie. Keisha is wanting to join Teen Missions staff so she has come to Africa and spent four months visiting three of their bases and seeing what they do and she is going home on Tuesday. Icie just came for about 10 days she went home last Sunday

This might be the Monkey that stole bread off our table.



Our "Tent"


Kudu Antelope


Hippos





Impala Antelope


My first site of African Elephants in the wild



Getting a little sun


One of the biggest Croc we saw

Moz #5

To My Friends and Family,

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your prayers and emails.  Many of you have sent me emails letting me know that you are praying for me and letting me know what you are doing.  This is so encouraging, thanks.

 

Ok where should I start, so much happens in a week and I am not sure I can remember all of it but here goes. Last Friday we drove to Liwonde about two hours south of here. From there we took a forty-five minute boat ride up the Shire River through Liwonde National Park to Mvuu Lodge. It was a beautiful ride and we spotted over 50 hippos and one crocodile in the river. Mat and Heni were telling us that this is not a zoo and we are not necessarily going to get to see all the animals in the park because they are in their natural habitat and not penned up. Also it is still rainy season and the animals have many more places to hide because everything is still so green and lush.

At the lodge they had a buffet lunch ready for us. During lunch the monkeys were running around the dinning area and one came and swiped a piece of bread off of our table. They made excellent food and all the meals were delicious I think I gained a few pounds. After lunch we rested a little in our "tents". They call them tents because they have a canvas roof but they have walls and nice big screen windows to possible site animals. A very nice bathroom with hot water and they don't have power out there so they use solar and generators and we had power in our "tents" as well.

At 4 in the afternoon we left on our first safari. There were five of us in our group and two others on our safari plus our two guides. It was so nice to get to see the animals roaming free and yet they would still let us get quite close to get some pictures. Here is a list of the animals we saw. Roan Antelope, Sable Antelope, Bushbuck, Impala, Waterbuck, Elephants, Hippos, Warthogs, Baboons, Monkeys, Squirrels, White Breasted Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Rufous Bellied Heron, African Fish Eagle, Southern Owl, Fiery-necked Nightjar, Pied Kingfisher, African Gray Hornbill, Southern Ground Hornbill, Yellow Weaver, Giant Ground Gecko, Crocodile and Nile Monitor. We were very privileged to get to see so many animals but they say in a few months you can see many more and a lot closer. We had our safari during the day then we went and watched the sunset over the river and then went on a night safari. We saw many hippos up on the land, before this all the once we had seen were in the water. They only come out at night to eat because their skin is very sensitive and they can get sunburned. They come out to eat their 160kg of vegetation they need a day and then drink their 60 gallons of water during the day while in the river.

We got back from our night safari around 7:30pm and they had wonderful supper prepared for us. After eating too much again we were ready for bed. I slept very well until about 2:30am when I was woken up by hippos outside our tent. They make a very load noise that is hard to describe and we could also heard them munching on grass. It was kind of surreal to lay there and think that there were actually hippos outside, but it was really cool at the same time. Saturday morning we went on a boat safari we spotted many birds, hippos, crocodiles, the biggest crocodile being about 10 or 12 feet long and probably about 80 years old, they can live to be 120. At 10am we rode the boat back down the river to end our safari experience. It was definitely a high light for me that I will not forget. That afternoon we went to a place where they sell many wood carvings and we got a few souvenirs.

Sunday morning we went to Dedza. It is town that has a well known pottery factory. We stopped in there to buy a little pottery and have brunch because we were passing that way to go and visit three of the ten orphan rescue units that Teen Missions has here in Malawi. These units have one or two staff at them and they take carry of any where from 300 to 500 orphans at each unit. The children don't live there but they come on a regular bases for teaching, basic medical needs and some food at times. You can tell that the children love coming there and the coordinators really have a heart for the kids. It is a big job they have but they do it well. We spent all of Sunday going and visiting the three units and hopefully being an encouragement to them.

Ok so it sounds like so far all that I have been doing is going on safaris, site seeing and buying souvenirs. Boy this sure is the life, ok well that is not all I am doing here in Malawi. Monday I was back working on the garden house and got finished with the bit of brick laying I was doing in there. Since then I have been working on rabbit hutches. You might be thinking why is Andrew in Malawi making rabbit hutches? Teen Missions has a Bible school here at there base and they teach English students as well as Chichewa students. The Bible school is free for the students to attend and they are in class part of the time and then they work part of the time. They also raise many animals like, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys and soon to be rabbits when we get these hutches built. They eat some of the animals themselves and sell others to help support the Bible school. They had one hutch almost done when I got here and we have made one more now and we have four more to go. Once they are finished there will be about 50 cages.

It has been nice to get reacquainted with Mat and Heni and see the work that God has called them to here in Chipoka, Malawi. They have been so nice to me and letting me eat all my meals with them and doing my laundry. Thanks so much Mat and Heni for all you have done for me.

Life here in Malawi is in many ways similar to the part of Moz I was in but it has many differences as well. It is much warmer here and thankfully the power is working most of the time at night so that I can have a fan blowing on me otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep. It is much more humid probably because we are right on the lake. Out my window every morning I see the sun rise over Lake Malawi. You may remember that I had mentioned in one of my previous updates that I heard that only the mosquitoes that don't buzz can carry Malaria. I don't know if this is true but up until coming to Malawi I thought all mosquitoes buzzed but there are some here that you can't hear. I hope they don't all carry malaria because I have been bitten many times.

Funny things I have seen here in Malawi. They carry just about everything on bikes here. I have often seen goats tied down to the rack on the back of a bike or laying over the handle bars and they are alive. Or sometimes a guy will be riding with 10 or 12 chickens hanging upside down of the handle bars. In many countries I have seen just about everything sold by the road. But on Wednesday I went into Lilongwe with Mat and I saw a man sitting at an intersection and selling kittens, this was a first for me. Mat said they bought one from him some months ago. Oh look, I am starting to write like the Malawians talk. They don't say "A while ago" it would be "Some months ago." You don't say "See you later", but "We'll meet" I find these little differences interesting.

I went to Lilongwe with Mat so that I could get my 3 month visa to return to Moz. I went to the Moz Embassy and I saw the price list for the different visas. It said 8,800 for my three month single entry. I thought the prices would be in Moz currency which is meticai and the exchange rate is about 25 on the US dollar. That would mean the visa was going to cost around $350.00. It said the currency that the prices were in was MK which I right away thought was Meticai, but it was Malawian Kwacha and the exchange rate on it is 168 to the US dollar. There largest bill here is 500 Kwacha which is a little over $3.00 US so you can imagine how many bills you would have if you had to exchange any large quantity of money. Thankfully they were able to process my visa that afternoon and I was able to get it back that day.

There are many things available in Malawi that are not in the part of Moz that I was in. While in Lilongwe I was able to get a few things. One of which is a large sheet of steel that I am going to roll up and take back to Moz to make an oven for Jesse and Tanya. I had drawn up a plan to make one when I was still there and then I went to price metal and it was going to cost about $100.00, I can get metal better suited for the job here for $14.00. I don't understand why prices can vary like this, but they do.

I am looking at returning to Moz some where around the middle or end of next week. Because of a few things I am not sure if I am going by boat again or if I will go by land. Your prayers would be appreciated for this return trip as traveling here can always have its surprises.

 

Yours in Christ,

 

Andrew

Moz #4

Hello a Warm Greeting from Malawi,

 

I turned 26 years young on March 1. That evening everyone meet at the Wilcox's and they had a party for me. Tanya made a delicious chocolate cake with peanut butter icing it was so good I think I am going to have birthdays more often. Tiffany made some good chocolate chip squares. We don't have chocolate very often so when we get to eat something with chocolate in it we all really enjoy it. They also got some gifts for me which I was totally not expecting. I was given a black hat that has the Mozambiquian flag on it and it says "I love Mozambique" in Portuguese. I was also given a very nice journal and several pictures that Amerel and Isaiah coloured for me. It was such a nice time and then we ended it off with a good time of worship and prayer.

Monday was my last full day in Lichinga. I made one of the bathroom counters and put the second coat of varnish on the kitchen counter. Monday evening the Wilcox's had me over for supper. Peter also wrote up a letter of invitation for me so that I can hopefully apply for my three month visa at the Mozambiquian Embassy in Malawi.

Tuesday morning Jesse drove me into town to catch a mini bus so that I could get to Metangula to catch the boat to Malawi. I think it was too mini for all twenty of us in there. I was quite comfortable thankfully for the two hour ride. I was surprised by how fast we went most of the time we were going 120km to 140km and a lot of the time the speed limit was 60km speed limits are just suggestions I guess. I got into Metangula at 8:30am and the boat didn't come till 1:30 so I had several hours there. I sat in front of the immigration office for a couple hours. There was a man that works for customs and he spoke English so he and I chatted for a while. Then he let me put my bag in one of their rooms so that I could walk around town for a while. I had a good time there are a lot of Malawians there so there were many people that spoke English. I needed some lunch so I found this guy frying fish and French fries at the side of the road. The French fries were really good and the fish was too but it was quite small so it was had to separate the meat from the bones.

Ilala (The name of the boat) arrived then they have to small boats they let down of the sides and they come to the beach and we got in and then they took us out to the boat When I first got on the boat I went to the upper deck that is first class to see what is was like. It wasn't all that great just a deck and you can rent a mattress if you want. There were four Europeans up there two guys and two girls. We exchanged greetings and I asked them a little about the ship and what was the best class to stay in. They said first class but I choose second because it was quite a bit cheaper. I asked them why they were in Malawi, they said to drink beer and then said that they were traveling. I at first was thinking about staying up there with them but they were just sitting there drinking playing cards and the conversation wasn't the best so with everything considered I moved to second class where they have padded seats and tables no beds.

Before getting on the boat I had met a Malawian named Edward and I had no idea that this was to be a God appointment for the two of us. After I put my bag in second class I walked out to the bow of the boat and there was Edward leaning against the side. He called me by name and I was a little startled to hear someone call my name till I saw who it was. I leaned against the side with him and we chatted a bit. He asked how Canada is different from some African countries. I thought where do I start I said life is much simpler here but I said many people in Canada want so much stuff that they have got themselves into a lot of debt and that the country wasn't doing well economically. I said so many people are looking for happiness in things but I said there is only one person who can do that. He said "Who is that." I said "Jesus." He laughed and said that it was true. I got to share my testimony with him and share that Jesus wants us to enter into a relationship with him and He wants to live in us. He said that he had accepted Jesus in 2002 but he wasn't sure that he would be in Heaven. He had lots of questions for me like, will there only be 144,000 people in Heaven you know what group he was talking to that told him that, then he wanted to know if we as Christians were going to go to Heaven or if God was going to make the earth paradise, should we worship Mary because she is the mother of Jesus, should we celebrate Christmas, Easter or even our own birthdays and will everyone see Jesus when He returns or only the Christians? I told him, I don't know how many times but I told him, we must always go back to what scripture says and see if what we have been told agrees with scripture and if not stick with the word of God. I tried to show him scriptures that relate to each topic he asked about and we had such a good time together; it was defiantly a God thing. Please pray for Edward that he would continue to seek out his answers from the word of God.

While sitting there in second class I met two other people and they will be traveling around several different southern countries for four months. She was from Ireland and he was from Australia. They were very nice and we talked quite a bit about our different experiences. They also watched my things for me so that I could go and wonder around the boat and take pictures and things.

Supper time came around and I bought some food. They gave me two big helpings of sima (the stuff much like mashed potatoes made from corn flour) and some beans and a little meat in a sauce. It was a lot of food for about $4.00. It was very good but I just couldn't eat it all.

Shortly after 6 the sun went down so by 8 I was ready to try and get some sleep. I tried to sleep on the padded benches in second class but they are quite narrow and it is an enclosed area and it was quite hot and I was doing a lot more sweating then sleeping so I went out on the deck and tried to sleep on a wooden bench out there were there was a nice breeze. The bench was a bit hard but I think I slept a little.

At 5am Wednesday morning the captain came over the PA and announced that we were at Chipoka which was my getting off point. We got in much sooner then was expected. Mat and Heni weren't expecting me till 9 or 10 am and I got off the boat at 5:30. I waited for a while and then started walking for a bit. I borrowed someone's sim card and put it in my phone and tried to send a text to Mat, but it seemed his phone wasn't working. There were guys riding around on bicycles more then willing to take me where I needed to go. They all seemed to know where Teen Missions was so I got on the back of one big and put my bags on the back of another and they took me the 4km to the Teen Missions base. I showed up at Mat and Heni's door at about 8:30. They had been told the boat hadn't come yet. It was fine I enjoyed the experience of getting to ride on the back of a bike in Malawi.

Mat made me some toast and eggs for breakfast and while I ate they brought me up to speed on the plans for the next couple of weeks. There are a few work projects here that Mat has that he would like if I could help out with. They have also booked a safari for Friday and Saturday. There will be a group of us going, some of the Bible school students and a few other volunteers. I am really looking forward to this. Mat and Heni were saying that they have been waiting and wanting me to come for a few years and now finally the Lord has open the door and I am here. This morning Mat drove me into Selima to get my entry stamp and visa into Malawi because there was no place to do it when I got off the boat. We ran a few other errands as well and got back here mid afternoon.

I have a nice room with four beds, but I think I will only use one and my own shower and toilet with running water, ya that is exciting well maybe not to you but to me.

Thursday I spent most of the day working on the garden house. It is a house they have made with a concrete roof and they will put about a foot of dirt on the roof and grow vegetables up there. I was working inside finishing bricking some walls up to the ceiling and putting in two door frames and poured a concrete lintel over one of them. I ran out of bricks so I wasn't able to finish. I finished out the day working on a rabbit hutch.

We Friday morning on a two day safari, I am so excited about it. I will try to post some pictures when we get back. Well I think this is good enough for now. Sorry I didn't have time to make it shorter.

In Christ,

Andrew