We left the USA via Hartford on July 5th with 9 suitcases and 8 carry-ons.  Really, we dislike traveling with so much stuff, but when leaving the States for four years, you find that there are a lot of things on your list to take with you.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have room for the parmesan cheese, ranch dressing mix powder and taco flavor powder that we always want to have over here, but there are quite a few other things that needed to come.  Ben accumulated an amazing number of toys (purchased with his own money) this year, and since we are moving to a new country, we were pretty generous in his luggage allowance.  Toby is headed off to boarding school and I did my best to supply him with enough clothes and shoes to last for two years (allowing for growth), which took up another couple of suitcases.  Camping is likely in our future in Namibia (it will be our cheapest option for getaways and they have great campsites there for tourists) so sleeping bags, a tent and thermarests all had to be packed too.  We stood at the airport and grimly surveyed the mountain of luggage, then Kevin and boys got busy shifting all of it while I spoke to the lady at the desk.  Unfortunately, she informed me that the travel agency had put my name on my ticket wrong, so she would let me through to Philadelphia but that Air Qatar would probably make me buy a new ticket there to go onwards to Nairobi via Doha.  This was not the way we wanted to start the journey at 4 am!

Thankfully, Air Qatar gave us no problem with the issue since all of my names were on the ticket, just in the wrong order, and also checked three of our carryons at no charge.  Free to roam the airport, we made a last stop at Dunkin’ Donuts (it was 7 am) and Ben made slow-motion videos on my phone to entertain himself.   The kids were eager to see what was next on the journey and to get on the “big plane” where there are lots of video games and movies to choose from, and I tried to calm myself as I considered the hectic and sad week before, as well as the unknowns of the journey ahead.  Kevin, the eternal optimist, enjoyed himself by looking around the airport and chatting.

13 hours later, Doha airport was lovely and interesting, and we slumped tiredly in seats near our gate after trying to freshen up a little in the bathroom.  I wish we’d had time to go out and see the city, built on the water on the edge of what looked like a desert.  We’d flown over many oil wells, burning in the distance, as we came in to land.  Onwards to Nairobi, only a 6 hour flight in a much smaller plane with a distinct odor of bodies packed in tightly.  We landed in Nairobi to find an hour-long wait in the immigration line, despite our pre-purchased tourist visas.  Toby felt ill and was pale and grumpy, while Ben was bored and parked himself on the floor near a column.  Back in a different world, Chinese passengers tried to get in front of us in line and we shuffled along sweatily in the airless building.  At the immigration counter, we asked if we could get a refund for the boy’s visas ($50 each) since we had found out too late that children don’t need visas.  The good-natured official laughed at us heartily and said “No, you can’t!” with a big smile.  We had to laugh too.

Free at last, we met our ride and guarded the bags while he went to get the van.  Our ride through Nairobi in rush hour took over an hour and it was a relief to get to the guest house.  It was a joy to see the happiness on the boys’ faces.  “We’re back in Africa!”  they said over and over, pointing out things that were similar to Mozambique.

We spent a night there, then 2 nights at RVA boarding school where Toby will attend, then a night back at the guest house before heading to the airport to go to Nampula.   I was very nervous about checking in at Mozambique airlines, because I had been unable to get our carry-ons down to the requisite 15 pounds each.  Many of our electronics as well as our original birth certificates, marriage license and other important papers simply had to come with us.  The suitcases were at the absolute maximum.  Thankfully, there was an employee hanging around at the ticket counter who smoothed our way.  God must have sent him.  The lady at the counter was unhappy with our bags, which were each 4 pounds overweight (she said our scale was broken, but I suspect it was hers though of course we didn’t say that) as well as with the carry-ons which would not fit in the overhead bins of the smaller plane.  However, this man kept saying “No problem!  Let them through.  That is fine.” and she grudgingly went along with him.  What a relief to be checked in, though I realized as we boarded the plane that I had allowed her to check a carry-on that contained all of our original documents.  Bags frequently go missing or are late arriving in Mozambique, and if that bag were lost…. (we did arrive with it, thanks be to God!)

The 3 hour flight to Pemba was quiet, and the kids were excited to be approaching home.  Pemba was our entry point to Mozambique, so all of our bags had to come off of the plane and go through customs, and we went through immigration.  It was chaos.  The security people were doing the best they could, but there was no clear direction for the passengers, and the Chinese passengers kept trying to wander off without being checked. We had to translate for several of them because they didn’t speak Portuguese.  Each of our bags had to be sent through an x-ray machine, and several of them opened.  We fumbled for keys and Toby and Ben did a great job watching over our backpacks while we trotted back and forth between the baggage arrival area and the baggage search area.  One passenger tried to take one of our suitcases away but Kevin saw him and went after it.  God really protected us, as we couldn’t always stand right in front of our opened suitcases as they were searched.  Security didn’t give a very hard time about any of our belongings, thankfully, or we could have really been delayed.  As we re-locked our bags and sent them back OUT to the plane, we realized that one had never arrived.

Two ladies from the airline came to fetch us – “We have to go!  The pilot wants to leave!” they urged us.  But, to get back out the the plane we had to run our backpacks through the scanner at yet another checkpoint, taking out computers and allowing security to look through the bags.  The ladies were panicked, urging the man to hurry, and he replied that he had to do his job thoroughly.  Finally he pulled out a little bottle of gold flakes that Ben had bought at Ohio Caverns as a momento and he said angrily “What is this?”  Of course we couldn’t say GOLD because it would have been all over for us, so we said it was a little souvenir that Ben bought at a museum (which was true) and the ladies repeated it, asking him to let us go.  They started yelling at each other and we watched, just glad they weren’t yelling at us.  At that point I realized that the children were gone, and left Kevin to sort it out while I went after them.  Apparently another employee had come and taken them away to get on the plane!  I could see them across the tarmac, standing beside the stairs to the plane, and as Kevin joined me and we ran toward them, I said “What are you DOING?”.  Toby replied that they had tried to get them on the plane, but he refused to board without us.   Wise, wise Toby had been so vigilant with our bags, said and done all the right things, and kept his cool despite all the yelling.  It sure makes me feel better about sending him on his own to travel home to us in December from Kenya.  The gold flakes, by the way, were run through the machine and determined to NOT be metal so they were allowed onwards. In future, those will go in the luggage (or maybe not travel at all).

Anyway, we landed in Nampula after dark and waited for our bags again.  All of them came out!  The missing one had reappeared, and it seems that nothing was disturbed.  Customs made us run bags through the scanner AGAIN and gave Kevin a hard time but in the end they let us go.  We emerged from the airport to find a crowd of “helpers” who rushed forward to try to grab our bags and carry them to the car, but some friends who had come to greet us blocked their way and helped us get everything in the back of our colleague’s truck before anything went missing.  We were on alert again immediately, in a place where bags are grabbed and disappear almost before you can react.

And that is our travel tale. . . missing quite a bit of details but those are the highlights.  I felt weak from relief on our safe arrival at our house, all bags unloaded and safe, after a week of wrestling with packing before, and five flights to get them all to the destination.  We are so grateful for God’s mercy in this.  I could tell you many, many sad (and true) stories of lost luggage, luggage stolen out of trucks coming home from the airport, bags grabbed through windows, items stolen out of luggage enroute, and long, tense discussions with customs officials and harassment, but our way was SMOOTH comparatively.  Thanks, God! – C

Coming up in the next days is the hardest part of living overseas  . . . saying goodbye to our families.  We are blessed to have parents and siblings who support us wholeheartedly.  We see other field workers struggle with very different situations.  However, it is still hard to hug that loved one goodbye, knowing it may be 4 years before you see them again.  Saying goodbye to elderly relatives is another zing to the heart.  Particularly difficult is to put my children into the car after watching them say goodbye to their grandparents.  Sometimes this seems to almost too hard to bear, and I  have to trust that God will provide what each needs as they are separated.  As much as we are privileged to serve overseas, we are also very aware of the sacrifices that are made.  And not just by us.  We appreciate your prayers for us and for our families as we say our farewells. – c

I love this photo of Ben waiting by the door for us to leave on a 2-day trip.  It’s almost as though he doesn’t want us to forget him!

Throughout our busy travels over the last few months, there have been some major issues swirling around in our minds.  The process of getting our Namibian visas has been at the forefront, and we’ve been working on the paperwork of that for some time, starting with renewal of the kids’ passports.  All of the paperwork has been sent in, and now we pray that they are approved!

Second, the issue of our funding has been a concern.  We have been underfunded for quite awhile, and have limped along.  However, AIM’s policy is to not send such people back out the field (a good idea!) and we realized that time was running out to bring up our numbers.  We sent out a newsletter and asked people to pray, and the funds came in just in time!  We had set a deadline of June 5th to make the decision to delay our return or not, and on June 3rd, we got the go ahead to buy tickets.  What a relief!  Finances is always something we hate to talk about, and yet without them we can’t live and work overseas.  We feel so grateful to all who sacrifice so that we can do this work.

Toby’s entrance to Rift Valley Academy was approved in April, and with it came a rush of emotions.  Relief that this was an option, joy that he has this opportunity, and sadness that he will be separated from us for months at a time.  With the approval came a long list of things he needs to do, and clothes and supplies he will need, and we have been working on checking those off.  We will stop at RVA in Kenya on our way back to Mozambique to see it (only Kevin has been there) and drop off his luggage.

We had to apply for tourist visas to enter Mozambique for a variety of reasons, so Kevin has been working on getting all the paperwork in for that.  We hope to receive them this week (especially since we fly out in 8 days!).

And then there are the details on that side . . .  purchase of household goods from departing missionaries in Namibia, planning to sell our car in Mozambique and buy in Namibia, planning to sell our household goods in Moz, arranging renters for the AIM house there, etc.

Then there is the shopping . . . made more complicated by being on a tight budget.  I think I have hit every thrift store in Ohio and Connecticut, along with clearance racks at outlets in 5 states.  We can buy clothing overseas, but it is more expensive and quality is poor unless you spend a lot.  Toby must be outfitted for at least 2 years, and we’ve made a start on Ben.  Shoes purchased that must last, homeschool curriculum for next year, medicines and other small things.  We are thankful that we can ship some things to Namibia rather than dragging them to Kenya, Moz, South Africa and then to Namibia.  Anyway, the logistics of a move overseas, and then to another country can be daunting.  Do we buy and ship the socket wrenches from here, or bring the ones we already have in Moz?  Or sell those and buy in Namibia?  We aren’t sure of the shipping options from Moz to Namibia yet, which complicates matters.

I don’t list these things to complain – they must be done!  And we are often delighted by how God smooths the way for us.  Sometimes we have to remind ourselves to take deep breaths, though, especially when some detail suddenly becomes complicated.  As the time passes and the lists are checked off, we feel weary but grateful. – C

In April we headed south to see friends and supporters, traveling through 10 states and driving over 3,000 miles.  It was well worth it though, and it was great to reconnect with so many who support us and pray for us faithfully.  We especially enjoyed stopping at AIM Headquarters in Georgia – what a privilege to work alongside the folks there.

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to our home base with only 2 1/2 weeks before  moving-out day, and fit in church visits in New York State and another city in Connecticut, as well as a 2-day visit to see supporters and friends over in Poughkeepsie, New York, where we used to live.  We were packed up and moved out of Fairfield on May 31st, and Kevin’s parents welcomed us (and our piles of stuff) warmly.  And yes, we continued to homeschool through all of this.   -C

 

In a world of pluralism and relativism and even more so now, a growing narcissistic society, one can get depressed wondering if ultimate truth or commitment to belief still exists. I have always had a fascination with extreme Islamic terrorists and those that have done atrocious things in the name of their religion. Their conviction led them to do things—yes, horrible things, but extreme things, sacrificial things and sometimes selfless things. The fact remains they believe. They believe so strongly they give up everything, travel thousands of miles, train, pray, fight and kill because of this belief. I am not saying we need to become militant or violent by any means. But possibly we can learn something.

I recently read an article in the Atlantic (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/) which sparked some new consideration. I warn you it is disturbing but if nothing else it will help you understand this group of dedicated individuals. In a nutshell it explains that according to a particular vein of Muslim eschatology, they believe Jesus will indeed return, but only when a war with the “west” is waged on the plane of Dabiq near Aleppo in Syria. They believe so strongly in fact they will do anything to provoke it.

All Muslims acknowledge that God is the only one who knows the future. But they also agree that he has offered us a peek at it, in the Koran and in narrations of the Prophet. The Islamic State differs from nearly every other current jihadist movement in believing that it is written into God’s script as a central character. It is in this casting that the Islamic State is most boldly distinctive from its predecessors, and clearest in the religious nature of its mission. (from part 3 of article).

And Jesus, the second most revered prophet in Islam, will lead the Muslims to victory over the earth. Is this a majority view of Muslim believers, no, but it is strong, powerful and motivating. As you read the article and reflect on our own beliefs, messianic and eschatological may we be convicted of our own failure and see how our faith has been corrupted and compromised with societies we live in.

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How often have you waited for someone to come and they were late? It becomes so frustrating, exasperating really. All our plans and hopes are often based on the other person getting there on time, and when they don’t arrive on time we are instantly annoyed. Worse still, the longer they take to arrive the more we become angry until finally we write them off, we give up and go about our business.

What about Jesus’ return? What about the signs of the end of the times. We love them, we hate them. Usually we get all worked up and excited but sadly, within a few days we lose that immediate urgency and fall back into old patterns of thinking. For me the problem has always been the vagueness of the ‘when’. It seems everyone interprets the end times differently. Some think it is upon us now, while others believe certain events are yet to come while still others think we will be gone when Jesus returns. Over Christmas I was stuck on the idea, no, the fact that Jesus will come back and he will disperse once and for all the curse of sin and rain down with justice over all the works of Satan. The lies will be exposed, those who have done evil we be punished and those who remained faithful will be rewarded. What a glorious, terrible day that will be.  That being said, I began to ask myself, is there ANY clear indicator of WHEN he will come? Because of the controversies and debates for years I have refused to look at proposed signs and in fact ignored the proximity of his return, much to my loss, loss of expectancy, loss of hope, loss of excitement. And then God started to show me something through a series of scriptures which started my mind racing and heart pounding.

It began in Mathew 24:14 where it reads, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Looking at this verse we can take it in a general way and not be moved. It sounds nice and of course, the end will come. But looking closer, ‘whole world’ is actually pretty clear. By ‘nations’, the writer was not referring to our governmental lines and divisions but rather peoples, people groups.

The second scripture that penetrated my apathy is Revelation 7:9. “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” Here in John’s account he is incredibly clear that a representative from every nation, tribe, people and language’ will be present. But you ask, what does this mean for the end times? It means, not UNTIL everyone has heard the end will not come. Let me repeat, until EVERYONE has heard the gospel of the kingdom of God coming to earth, Jesus Christ will NOT come back.

So whatever the timing of Christ’s return will be, his return cannot happen unless and until everyone has heard of Him and what he has done. I love this because it is so simple, whatever role you can play, be it sharing with neighbors or preaching in front of a crowd, from working cross culturally to cross town, each step in verbally explaining, physically living out His gospel, love and reconciliation is a step closer to His return. If you are not anxious for Jesus to come back, that is fine, sit back, relax, do nothing. But if you know Christ, if your relationship with him has proved him faithful, kind, grace-full, healing and loving, if you are longing for his physical, earthly return, we have work to do. This is why I have been shocked by the article I mentioned in the beginning. Some of our neighbors with their belief in Muhammad are anxious for Christ to return. So much so in fact that they are giving up everything to in effect force world powers and God to act.

What are we as Christ’s followers doing to speed his return according to our end time beliefs?

So back to the opening thought: What if the person wasn’t arriving because you hadn’t done something? What if His return was somehow interconnected with your doing something? What if we could play an integral part not in bringing the world to war but to a restored relationship with our Creator? What if you, by how you live, what you say, what you sacrifice and do in your community, in your family could be part of God’s objective reality and Christ’s most certain return?

Let us hasten the day!

(2 Peter 3:12)

-K

(For more on ISIS and their growth, allure and expression a good read is the April 2016  “Wired” article, #jihad by Brendan Koerner)

 

Most Christmas times we would travel to Lake Malawi and meet up with another missionary family to celebrate and enjoy Christmas together. One thing we enjoyed the most was playing with our collective 5 boys in the lake, including snorkeling along a rocky point where there are a lot of cichlids.

Most years we would all swim along the shore 1/2mile and hang out a few hours at a particular peninsula, jumping off the rocks and snorkeling. This one time I was swimming ahead with one of the teenagers when some guys from the shore caught our attention. As we got closer we could hear them more yelling something, finally it became clear, they were yelling “Crocodiles!”. Now, let me explain: for years we had been coming to this particular spot and we had never seen crocodiles; even the locals said there were no crocodiles, never. As we continued down the shore the men became more agitated, continuing to strongly recommend we get out of the water. But we didn’t see any crocodiles. When we finally got out, walked along the shore and looked to where they were pointed, not 20 yards from shore, there he was, a small crocodile sunning itself on a rock—a rock we would have swam past in just a few minutes had we stayed in the water. Although that crocodile may have been small (6-7ft) it was probably not alone.

Needless to say we thanked the men who had so adamantly warned us of the impending danger and started our walk home. That Christmas we didn’t get out to that peninsula and each venture into the water was a tad apprehensive but with one focused lookout, closely paying attention to the water, we still had a lot of fun.

I remembered this story a few days ago in the middle of the night as I thought of the dangers we as men “fall into”. We seem to be taken by surprise when we are tempted to gamble or lust. We repeatedly say we are sorry, yet fail to recognize the signs, nor do we listen to the warnings that we are often, actually swimming in very dangerous waters.

The verse I think of is 1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert and of sober mind. The enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”. But look further, it goes on to say, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” Peter didn’t say, ‘Be careful and go on to immediate victory’, nor did he say, ‘be careful and you can launch a full frontal attack on the devil’. What he said was, be very careful and even if you are attacked stand firm and don’t give up or give in, no matter how it may hurt or pain you.

Some days we just aren’t real aware are we; some days we are tired or things are going well and we think we are (temporarily) invincible. Let us be sober. Interesting the verse prior to 8 tells us to “cast all our anxiety on him because he cares for you (us).” The assumption is we all have anxiety and the devil, our enemy is just waiting to take advantage of our lack of attention when we worry. Before we even enter the fray let us speak with our Father, cast all our cares upon him—because he cares for us.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. -K

Renamo returned to war with attacks Thursday and Friday on the N1, the main north-south road, in Sofala province. Eight cars were shot at; six people were injured but there were no fatalities.

Renamo action on the road was announced Monday 8 February at a press conference in Beira by Renamo head of mobilization in Sofala, Horacio Calavete. He said Renamo would set up armed road blocks and “control points” on the N1. He said the decision was taken personally by Renamo head Afonso Dhlakama, who is currently living in a Renamo base in Satunjira, Gorongosa, Sofala.

This is just an excerpt from the article, which you can find at:

http://allafrica.com/stories/201602140334.html