Hello friends. Grab a cuppa, enjoy my latest update, and join me in educating the next generation of children in rural Mozambique.
We had a board meeting (via Zoom for me) for iReachAfrica yesterday. I’d poured myself a big cup of coffee and a bigger cup of water, reviewed the agenda (again) and settled in for ‘all the talks’.
At the end of the meeting, Tracy Evans, our director, made me cry. This woman. How do I say who she is or what she means to me? Her words are power, her actions are determined, her path has always been one of obedience. She has never been afraid of putting her life on the line – for the Lord, and has done so in humility and surrender. I am a huge fan.
A book was written about her. Outrageous Courage. Kris Vallotton (senior associate leader of Bethel Church in RDD, CA), who co-authored the book, says this about her:’Tracy Evans, a physician assistant, has treated rebel guerrillas while captive on an Asian island. She sipped tea in a Mozambican hut while bullets whistled through the grass walls. She has cared for 900 HIV-positive orphans.’ In her book are true, unembellished and radical stories. (There’s actually a story about me – under a code name).
I’m not sure I’ve given you the proper backdrop for the words she spoke to me.. Think of someone that you greatly admire and highly respect, someone that feels both like your elder and your friend, someone that you would take a bullet for. And then, one day, that person sits you down, looks you straight in the eye, and says ‘(Insert your name), this is what I love most about you.’
Well, that’s what happened – over zoom.
Though I’ve been in the United States for 8+ years now, my love of Mozambique has never shifted, nor dwindled. Never have I not felt responsible for the well-being of all the (Child Education Center – CEC) staff. When asked to bring crutches for a student with a handicap, I immediately said ‘yes’. When asked if we could purchase a 2nd motorcycle (for the school) so that one of our head teachers could more easily traverse through the bush and make it to the (bush) school in the rainy season, I said ‘Let’s find the funding’. When told that our funding for the schools had drastically dropped (and is still quite low), I said ‘I’m on it’ and started writing quarterly posts (including this one) and put together a gathering this spring (to be hosted in April, in RDD, CA). When told that an employee’s teenage daughter had died, I cried.. for a long time (and could still cry).
So, Tracy eyed me on zoom. And her eyes welled up with tears. She said she’d never met a missionary that had remained dedicated to the work that she had begun, spoke of how people may come into (and then go out of) missions, but that I have stayed true to the course – I was on the field, then returned to the U.S. and continued the work – fundraising for the schools, providing oversight for Anna (the onsite CEC Director), sitting on the board for iReachAfrica..
In moving to Mozambique, and then starting preschools, I knew that it was all Jesus and to Him belongs ALL the glory. I never felt like the schools were ‘mine’ or that I had ownership over them. I was never possessive. I knew that I was simply fulfilling part of His mission and His desire for the little ones of Mozambique. Therefore, when it came time to release the schools, I simply handed over the keys. (Well, that’s the shorter version of the short version). But, the point being – I let go.
Tracy said that this, too, was very unique.
I know that more was communicated – about my obedience, my humility, the princess/warrior aspects of my personality – but I was doing all that I could to hold back the tears. And the rest was a blur.
What does my future hold? Can I be both here in the United States and there, in Mozambique? Will I continue to have babies, and teach them about and bring them to other nations? I don’t know.
What I do know, though, is that I feel called to this people group. And to the successes and expansion of the schools. And the children’s walk with their Maker. Join me to help fund our three schools for the 2024 school year (January – October). Join me in educating and feeding these children, in providing work for the incredible loving staff we have employed, in expanding further into the ‘bush’ in Mozambique. And thank you, in advance. 🙂
Every joy,
Julie
A Day in Mozambique 