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From: "Brenda Lange"
Subject: BLOG, Sept.
28, 2013
Date: September 28, 2013 6:09:17 AM CDT
AUSTRALIAN GRAPHITE MINERS IN BALAMA ENCOURGE
OPHAN BASKETBALL TEAM
Wed. this week was a holiday, and our
basketball team was challenged to play the Hospital team at the city court in
the middle of Balama.
Near halftime, Bertino, our team captain, wore through
the bottoms of his tennis shoes, and had no choice but to play in his socks on
hot cement.
This is the outdoor court we repaired in July, and there is very
little shade in the area.
A few minutes later, two Pick-up trucks stopped
near the court, and out popped 6 tall, muscular Australian men from the nearby
graphite mine.
The men sat in the stands on the far end of the court from me,
and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the intensely competitive game.
A hearty "Thank You" to the gentleman from
Austrailia who showed us such kindness.
Everyone was blessed to see such a beautiful
gift.
The referee called a time out, and a hush fell
over the crowd as 1 of the miners stepped out onto the court with a pair of
shoes in his hands.
He motioned to the referee that he wanted to give them to
Bertino, the boy playing barefoot.
Everyone continued to watch in silence as
this very touching scene unfolded.
Bertino slipped his foot into one of the
shoes AND IT FIT!
As a big smile spread over his face, the crowd went
WILD!!!
I introduced myself to the miners during halftime, and we all
had a great time as they shot baskets with our boys.
Even the referee thanked
them for what they had done. We were sad to hear they would only be in town 2
days.
It all happened so fast (and I didn’t have my camera), that it seemed
like a dream.
Drop in, donate shoes, and move out a few minutes later.
It
was a funny site seeing one of the men leaving in his socks, but the smile on
that man’s face showed that he was thoroughly pleased that his gift was just
what was needed.
God provides in mysterious ways, and the package it
comes in, never ceases to amaze me!
The teams are really enjoying the newly
surfaced basketball court. For those of you who are keeping score - we won 26 to
21.
ERIC’S RETURN TO BALAMA DELAYED 1
WEEK
Eric will return in mid-October due to a family
emergency that required his assistance this week.
It takes 6 days to drive
from Johannesburg, RSA to Balama with a loaded truck and trailer.
Pastor
Fred, will rendezvous with Eric in Maputo city by taking a taxi to Montepuez, a
bus to Nampula (7 hrs away), then hop a plane to Maputo, the national capital of
Mozambique. It is neither wise, nor practical to drive ALONE in Mozambique, so
a 2nd traveller is a must!
On his way down to RSA in July, Eric was
delayed a whole day as a 150 km (75 mile) section had to be travelled by armed
military convoy. Unrest by militants wanting changes in the government, made
the convoy the only safe way to travel through the middle of Mozambique.
The
only thing for certain these days is that JESUS is LORD!
You never know what
awaits you around the next corner.
TODAY IS NATIONAL SPORTS DAY IN
MOZAMBIQUE
As I write this, our Basketball team is suiting up
so I can haul them in my Land Cruiser for a rematch with the Hospital team.
A
major exhibition of soccer, volleyball, and basketball are being played in the
town square in honor of this holiday.
Our team lost by 7 baskets at last
Wednesday’s game, bringing the season tally to 2 to 1 in the Hospital’s
favor.
They boys are pretty fired up and plan to change that
today.
Blessings
Bush Bunny Brenda and her Basketball Mobile off to
the town square!
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