Missionary update June 16, 2013

LIFE AFTER CORN BUYING DOES EXIST!



200 TONS of corn in the barn.


When the whole team is focused on corn buying for 9 days straight, it can seem like an eternity.

For this Bunny, here’s my daily time line:

Getting up at 3:30a.m., get the office work done before weight teams arrive.

5a.m. our 2 trucks and weight teams (28 men) leave for the bush villages where the corn co-op groups eagerly await our arrival.

I organize breakfast and lunch for these teams as well as make sure they are fuelled, have drinking water, etc.

Sort of like getting a massive group of kids off to summer camp each day.
5:30a.m. the missionary team and I leave for the barns.

5:35a.m. singing, prayer, and an evangelical message is given to the 65 workers (most who don’t know Christ).

Got to have our spiritual food so we can start out day.

6a.m. the work begins.

The 65 man crew moves up to 500 sacks of corn/day, unloading the trucks, running it through the sacking chutes, and stacking it 13 rows high (14 ft. or 5.5 meters) in our barns. It must be done PERFECTLY or that 100 ton mountain of corn WILL come tumbling down.

Our missionary team operate the chutes making sure all the bugs are eradicated before it goes into the sacks.
EACH of those 500 sacks (140 lbs. or 70kg) is lifted at least 6 times between the weighing process and being stacked in our barn.

That is one reason we need so many men, as that is an average of picking up 2,500 sacks in a 5 hours! (about 50 sacks/person so it’s not an overload). But climbing a “ladder” made of stacked corn to get it up to that 13th row IS A CHALLENGE for all of the men and is very tiring.

I organize extra men to help on the 2 days we have to “take it to the top”.


Lots of prayer goes on before each day’s work for protection from accidents.

I personally saw 3 men fall off the “ladder” trying to get the bags to the 13th row.

NO ONE was harmed in these falls as the bags fell to the side instead of crushing bones.

Our angels are “on guard” so that even the unbelievers go unharmed.

I thanked JESUS every day as we completed the work in record time, with no injuries.

FRIDAY YOUTH NIGHT OPENED LAST NIGHT
What we loving call our “Dream Team”, consists of Emma Clifford, Danielle Van Zyl, and Melissa Olmsdahl. All these girls have youth ministry experience. With Eric’s and Linda’s help they did a great job of organizing their first “Youth Night”, showing the movie: THE CROSS AND THE SWITCHBLADE (in Portuguese). The church was packed out! We plan a 2nd Christian movie next Friday to get draw more young people.

After that, they will organized games and evangelical programs to help these teenagers find Christ and learn to walk according to the Bible.


P.S. Breanne Brammer returned to the USA on Wed. due to a diagnosis of “complicated malaria”. She is now safely back at her home.

We wish her a speedy recovery.
MELISSA FLIES TO RSA TO OBTAIN PERMANENT RESIDENCY STATIS FOR MOZAMBIQUE


Melissa, 25 year old Youth Director from George, S. Africa, is top notch at working with young people. She has committed to a year and will return to us on July 17th, as it will take several weeks to get her police clearance and other required documents in order.

WELCOME ABOARD, Melissa!
DANIELLE AND MELISSA’S ENGLISH LESSONS HAS THEM SPEAKING MAKUA!
Nelson teaching Makua and Portuguese to Emma, Melissa, and Danielle (sitting in our pro-school classroom) cause it has a black board.

Nelson, my wonderful 16 year old orphan interpreter, has now turned language teacher!

Nelson desires to follow in my footsteps as a Preacher/nurse/interpreter.

His first challenge is to learn English, so I asked the girls to teach him.

The Lord impressed on Melissa that she must learn Makua.

Next thing I hear, is that they are swapping languages!

All 3 “student/teachers” are learning at a fast pace.

Our meals are now a mixture of 4 languages, making it a barrel of laughs.

You’ll hear English, Africaans, Portuguese, and Makua. But Emma and I don’t stop there, as we usually throw in a bit of Texan when we sing the “HEE HAW TV THEME SONG”. Now the whole team knows it. Linda even does the HEE HAW shout with a fancy leg kick!

P.S. Linda’s birthday is June 22.


WHY LEARN MAKUA? Because it’s the local language spoken by EVERYONE in the villages.

What better way to teach the Word of God, than to learn it so you don’t depend on an interpreter like I do.

Both these young ladies and Emma, who speaks Spanish, are also studying Portuguese from our computer taught coarse.


BIBLE SCHOOL FOR THE MISSIONARIES


Our International Victory Bible School has been in session for several years, teaching God’s Word to new converts in the villages.

This week our energetic young people have now started an informal Bible School via DVD for our missionaries.

Each person can take it at their own pace to enhance their understanding of God’s Word.

THANK YOU VICTORY CHRISTIAN CENTER for providing us with these classes.


OUR DREAM TEAM IS DEFINENTLY AN ENERGETIC ONE!


They remind me of intellectual sponges, with the speed at which they are learning.

Emma and Danielle just completed 30 days in Moz., and Melissa just joined us on June 1st!

No grass grows under their feet for sure!


Danielle and I weighing Toto on our baby scale. He got in a dog fight and needed an injection (dosage by weight) and this was the only scale that would weigh him.

Love and Hugs,

Bush Bunny Brenda

Eric Dry

Linda Stanley

Emma Clifford

Danielle Van Zyl

Melissa Olmsdahl

Adult bibs

At the craft shop where I work part time someone put in a request for more adult bibs.  The lady who makes them said she doesn't have time to make them because she hand sews everything.  I offered to make some.  This is what I came up with.  Two of them are made from dress shirts Jeff no longer wanted.  I was trying to make them look less baby like.  I think I have the pattern worked out.

This last one shows the Velcro I used for closure.  The orange tags are the tags I put on them for the craft shop.  I will take these in and see if they sell before I make too many.

Poem

Warning


by Jenny Joseph



WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick the flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit



You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes



But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.



But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.



Taken from the book

When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

Editd by Sandra Martz

Papier Mache Press--Watsonville, California 1987

Get your groove on, Hannah

     Hannah has decided she wants to learn to tie dye and try to get good enough at it to make some money.  I think she will end up doing just that because this is her first ever attempt.  I love them. 
     I bought some bleached muslin and I am going to have her tie dye it and then I am going to make some pillowcase dresses, summer beach cover up dresses and boys shorts with the fabric.
     I think she will be really good at this.  No wait she already is.

Years ago I tried tie dye but I never did a spiral.

Easy ruffles or gathers

I just learned something new for all of you who sew. You don't need to spend a penny on a special ruffle or gathering foot just do this. I saw it on pinterest and tried it and it works like a charm. I am excited.


An easy way to gather is to set your tension on the highest it goes...my machine 9. Put your stitch length to the highest it will go....my machine is 5. And now just start sewing your fabric. The machine will ruffle it for you!!!

Just be sure to write down the number of where the correct tension is so you can put it back when you are done and you don't have to have a heart attack trying to set your tension.

Pretty Pond flower

Several weeks ago I went to the nursery and asked about plants I could put in my pond.  The folks there gave me two large plants that we dug up from their drainage ditch.  I planted them and topped them with pebbles and stuck them in the pond.  They went through a stage where they looked like they were going to die but I cut one of them back and this one recently shoot this long stem up.  Well today God gave us this lovely bloom.
Thank you Lord.

Cute tea towels

On Pinterest I saw a tutorial that the lady made ruffles on tea towels.  I decided that would be fun so I made three today.  The lady on Pinterest made several rows of ruffles but I liked it with just one row.  Plus it was easier.  I think I will look into a ruffle foot for my sewing machine.
I just made tea towels by cutting my bleached muslin the size I wanted and surging around the edges.  Then I sewed a cute ruffle along one short side.  They turned out really cute.