missionary update

From: "Brenda Lange"Subject:
Blog, Aug. 6, 2011

MICHIGAN TEAM LEAVES MORE THAN FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND

The 6 member Michigan team did a marvellous job of reaching out to the locals using teachings that were culturally sensitive. Team leaders Dale and Sally brought many object lessons to illustrate Bible lessons, leaving the people with a clear image of why Jesus came to earth.

While Dale taught 2 days in our Bush Bible Schools; Sally, Beverly, Tanya, Judy, and Jenna worked at painting our office and children’s warehouse, held a game day for our 112 orphans, and assisting in 2 food distributions.The entire team assisted Eric in showing the Jesus film in a village where we just planted our 6th bush church (Pequaria).

Dale’s Michigan church, Coopersville Reformed, is sponsoring the pastor for Pequaria, and donating the tin roof for the church that is being built there.THANK YOU to this “GO TEAM”, as they are called, for going to one of the “ends of the earth” to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. TRADITIONAL WATER WELLS GONE DRY IN BALAMA

The new National Highway that destroyed several of our orphan homes last year, has taken another toll on our area.Rocks are an essential part of the road base, so the company has been BLASTING the rock from a small mountain just 1 mile from our mission station. They work 24 hours a day with a loud rock crusher, loading huge boulders into dump trucks, making it hard for anyone in our area to sleep.

Thirty days ago, my workers told me our church well wasn’t putting out as much water as usual. I started checking the traditional hand dug wells all over our area (we have 12 on our 40 acres used for irrigation of our Jatropha plants). Our 12 foot WELLS WERE ALL DRY! These wells never went dry last year, providing adequate water for our Jatropha irrigation project even through November, the end of the dry season.

I have no proof, but it looks like the intense blasting, which shakes our brick homes, and has cracked some of the walls of the brick buildings on our base, HAS CAUSED THE UNDERGROUND WATER TO RECEED! I contacted the Drilling company to see if they would be drilling in Balama county this year.

The CEO of the company said they were booked for the next 3 months, with NO drilling scheduled for Balama county this year, but they had ONE WEEK open, July 25 to 30th. They needed an immediate answer as their trucks were only 30 miles away. Using emergency funds together with July’s water well drilling funds, we made the decision to drill immediately to avert a possible disaster if we lost our present wells.

Our church well is only 26 meters (85 ft.) deep and provides ALL THE WATER for our 112 Village of HOPE kids as well as many other homes. The decision was made to sink 2 deep wells immediately to provide additional water for our kids and emergency back-up for our base well which is only 60 feet deep.Last week the Babajil company drilled on property I bought last year for the Village of Hope.

The geologist discovered ABUNDANT water on this land. (God always supplies even before we know of the need.) The second well was drilled in Rovuma village where over 5,000 people are depending on 2 wells that went dry last year. Both wells are already showing signs of drying up very soon. We have a large church of 200 members in Rovuma and it is the home of our new goat project for the orphans. BOTH NEW WELLS have abundant water and are each 37 meters deep. (120 ft.)The geologists says the rock formation holding the water for each of these 2 wells is like a huge funnel and should not go dry.

PRAISE THE LORD FOR PROVIDING THE FUNDS AND SHOWING US THE PROBLEM IN HIS PERFECT TIMING when He knew the solution was just down the road. Blessings and MUCH THANKS to all of you who provided the funds for these 2 wells.

Bush Bunny Brenda and the Balama Team

P.S. Eric is in South Africa for a 6 week break and massive shopping trip to bring back supplies we can’t get in Mozambique.Don, Rebecca, and Micki, the last of my 90 day wonders will be leaving this Friday for the USA leaving Linda Stanley and me to “hold down the fort”.

Keep us all in your prayers as we travel this week. Bush Beat newsletter with lots of photos coming out middle of August. J