Missionary News

Bush Beat BlogF FROM "BUSH BUNNY BRENDA" DATE:  SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 EVIL LOOSES TO PRAYERS OF FAITH At 2 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, thieves broke into Manuel’s home.  Manuel is our long distance truck driver, and he was in Meluco District on an overnight run to deliver food to the 520 orphans in that area.  Manuel’s wife totally depends on that motorbike for her job as she teaches school in a village 15 km from Balama. We are very thankful that the thieves did not harm anyone during the robbery, but the loss of the bike was a horrible blow to this family.   With Manuel gone, the YOUTH GROUP from his church, some of them members of our BBC team, met at his home to pray. They specifically asked the Lord to show them “where the bike was hidden”.  Most times, stolen bikes are taken to another town and immediately sold, making them very difficult to recover. GOD ANSWERED QUICKLY for out of nowhere, a man they didn’t know showed up at Manuel’s gate.  He told the Youth group that he saw a man PUSHING a motorbike past his home at 2:15 a.m.  The man showed them where he saw the man going, so the men started talking to everyone on that road. When they got near our construction site for Orphan House #3, the night guard came forward to say that HE SAW A MAN PUSHING A BIKE into a fenced yard not far from where we are building orphan house #3!  The Youth members and police went to that house and recovered the bike!  Folks, I can tell you that this is a GOD THING for sure!  It just doesn’t happen that a stolen bike is recovered so easily and in only 6 hours! TALK ABOUT A FAITH LESSON!  All of us were super encouraged, and it showed our many “doubting Thomas” staff members that God truly answers prayer.  It was the talk of the whole community that day, making both the saved and unsaved “take notice” of God’s power to answer prayer! PROVENTIAL DIRECTOR OF HEALTH VISITS BALAMA IT WAS OUR PLEASURE TO WELCOME THE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH. Senhora Directora Anastancia Lidimba toured the Balama health facilities on Friday.  She requested to personally meet with me for she wanted to know who this “Brenda” is who helps the Balama hospital.  We assist in many little ways, and will be providing a Land Cruiser and driver this next week to help distribute deworming medicine to all the children in Balama District.  For the hospital staff to accomplish this massive feat in 30+ villages in 5 days (over 50,000 children in the target group), the Balama Hospital Director calls on everyone with transport who lives or works in the District to help transport the medical teams to the villages. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting this joyful and very powerful woman, who has the responsibility of overseeing every  medical facility in Cabo Delgado’s 17 districts. BUSH BUNNY TIDBITS: HANDING OUT SALT TO WIDOWS WHO CARE FOR ORPHANS. 1.       Capena, office manager and my very versatile “right hand man” along with the Balama food distribution team spent the week gifting over 25 tons of corn and beans to 577 orphans in 15 remote villages. ORPHANS AND WIDOWS, HEADING HOME FROM FOOD DISTRIBUTION. 2.       Manuel made 2 trips to Meluco District (9 hour drive each way) to provide the corn and beans needed to support these children through the fast approaching rainy season (Nov.)  He will make another 3 loads this coming week, to complete the amount of food needed until May, 2018.  WHY THE RUSH?  A main bridge is out on the only road leading to our Meluco mission station.  To get there, Manuel drives through a  deep river bed on a temporary road of large rocks that provides trucks a dry season crossing.  Once the rains begin, that option will literally be under water. This large bridge has been repaired twice after the last 2 rainy seasons, but each rainy season this river receives even larger amounts of fast moving water that damages it again. To say the least, it has been a hectic but rewarding week. Keep your prayers coming. Blessings, Bush Bunny Brenda Lange And the Balama staff NOTE: REMEMBER OUR NEW ADDRESS: ORPHANS UNLIMITED, INC 562 S. HWY 123, BYPASS, #301 SEGUIN, TX 78155

Missionary update

Bush Beat BlogF FROM "BUSH BUNNY BRENDA" DATE: MARCH 18, 2017 GOVERNMENT VISITORS THRILLED WITH OUR PROGRAM On Tuesday, 5 officials representing the Departments of Health, Social Services, Administration, Justice, and Public Works (building inspectors) walked from house to house, visiting our families and seeing first-hand what our program is all about.  They were very happy to know that our children are be given a good education complete with proper school books that your Love Gifts provided, as well as having top notch care by our foster mothers.  Our 4 babies impressed them all with their recovery from a malnourished state.  We were blessed by their visit, as it was great to get to know these people, and show them all we do to help the orphans and abandoned children of Balama. SURPRISE!  GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIPS ONE OF OUR ORPHANS TO PROFESSIONAL TRAINING SCHOOL Fatima Jorge, 15, in the 8th grade, received a full scholarship to one of the finest professional training schools in Chimoio, Mozambique.    Equal to a student going to a Jr. College while still in high school. We were all taken by surprise at noon today when we got the call.  It means a whirlwind of activity for Capena and I as he must organize many documents this week so Fatima is eligible to leave by next weekend. Fatima gets to choose her study courses, so we will have to “fill you in” once she arrives and gets settled in. This is a truly wonderful opportunity for this VERY INTELLIGENT young lady.  It is a 2 or 3 year school depending on what major she chooses. God is moving! Fatima will be missed, but we plan to organize her a cell phone so she can call home.  Since she will know NO ONE at the school, we want her to be able to call us when she needs to hear a familiar voice. The only cost is her transport, and we plan for Pastor Fred to escort her by bus on this 2 day journey to the school. Balama is her home, and we expect to have her return to us during the major holidays. HOUSE CONSTRUCTION MOVING ALONG WELL THE BRICK WALLS ARE UP AND THE OUTSIDE CEMENT FINISH IS BEING APPLIED THIS WEEK.   The roof extension will be added next week, as we took this opportunity to expand this house by adding a 4 meter (12 foot) wide bedroom.  Still have to mount the doors and windows, as well as build a kitchen and new “outhouse” (longdrop) and bathing area, but know we hope to have it all finished well before the end of April.  This house will serve each of our families as a “temporary” residences while we renovate each home that needs a MAKE OVER. ALL 5 HOUSES WE PLAN TO BUILD THIS YEAR HAVE BEEN SPONSORED, AND FOR THAT WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL! Blessings, Bush Bunny Brenda Lange And the Balama Staff

Brenda's testimony

FROM "BUSH BUNNY BRENDA" DATE: June 26, 2016

WHY GOD CALLED A COWGIRL     When God calls anyone to missions, the first question that crosses most minds is “WHY ME, LORD?”   In 1987, I was an unequipped, new baby Christian, who hardly knew any of God’s Word.   Those who know me well realize that I am a very practical person who appreciates practical answers in bullet format. So God hit me between the eyes with exactly what He knew I needed to hear.   I clearly heard His voice (in my spirit) say:  “I will use your Agriculture, your Nursing, and your ability to rough it!”   I remember thinking, “That makes sense.  OK Lord, I’ll go!”  (And the matter was settled.)   For the Lord knew that when I give my word, I kept it.   I loved Jesus with everything in my being for He saving me from Hell.  To me, that meant I would do ANYTHING and GO ANYWHERE He asked me too.   It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that God dropped the “rest of the story” into my lap.   I was watching a DVD from Animal Planet called “The Last American Cowboy”. It suddenly dawned on me that Cowboys and missionaries share much in common.  The traits that make a lifetime cowboy are the same as those that make a career missionary.     I was blown away by this revelation, and wondered to myself why I never saw it before.  DUH????   Making this connection brought great JOY to my heart. For I have always been a Texas Cowgirl at heart, and now I know why He sent me to manage a ranch for kids instead of horses.   On that DVD, they went to great lengths to film the reality of 3 modern American ranches, and the cowboys that work them.   Each ranch was run in a very different manner, yet all 3 families portrayed the same necessary traits that brought success to their ranches.   MAIN TRAITS OF A SUCCESSFUL COWBOY FAMILY:   1.        Working long, hard hours to protect “their herd”, no matter what it took.  (Persistence and perseverance taken to the max.)   2.       Working in all kinds of weather, at great risk, to make sure “the herd” is safe.  (Sacrifice)   3.       Freely helping other ranchers when disaster struck with both emotional and financial support. (Empathy, generosity, and helps.)   4.       Each family stuck together through the toughest of times.  ( SHOWING FAITH in God, and never letting QUIT be an option).   5.       Made many tough decisions on a daily basis.  (Decisive) Able to make a decision and form a plan of action to make it happen.   6.        Using tough love to help their family and team members learn so they could reach their potential.   (Showing LOVE and respect through their actions as well as words.)   7.       Dealing with life and death of members of “the herd” on a daily basis.  (Empathy mixed with the emotional toughness needed to move on in order to help the survivors.)   8.       Giving “their word” to complete an assigned task.  That was better than a signed contract, for it was from the heart, and never broken if humanly possible.  (Honesty, Transparency, and Integrity)   9.       And last but not least, CHOOSING THAT LIFE, because they loved doing it.  (Choosing the tougher lifestyle, enjoying the challenges, even though many easier options for making a living were available to them.)   10.   God was evident in each ranch family’s life, even though it was obvious that not all knew the Lord.  Some did, and their love and patience with the others was very evident.   The “dedicated cowboy’s” actions to save “his herd” is a great example of how God wants all of us to persist in seeking out the lost and leading them to HIM. These traits and many more were evident in Jesus’ life, and thus are a part of each believer.   You must choose to use them to follow HIS PLAN for your life if you truly want to find happiness. Speaking from many years of experience living a life of “roughing it”, I can tell you that God’s plan for you will not be your easiest “life option”.   But it WILL BE YOUR GREATEST REWARD.   IT ALLOWS YOU TO LEAVE BEHIND A LEGACY OF JESUS FOLLOWERS THAT IS WORTH MUCH MORE THAN ANYTHING THIS WORLD CAN IMAGINE.   Are we expected to be perfect?  Always doing or saying the right thing?   Hardly.  That is why He gave us REPENTANCE, which literally means to turn AWAY (from sin) and go in the opposite direction.   These lyrics from a great song sum up what I believe Jesus wants from all of us.   “For when it is all said and done, did you give your best for Jesus?”   For doing our best to follow HIS PLAN for each of us is all He asks.   A MESSAGE STRAIGHT TO YOU FROM THE HEART OF BUSH BUNNY BRENDA

Missionary update

MUD HUT COLLAPSES DURING MASSIVE RAINS LAST SATURDAY NIGHT—ALL CHILDREN SAFE!

 

 

Last week, on Saturday, I told you that the Provincial (State) Social Service Director had notified us of the 5 member “Child Headed Household” who needed full support from our program as their mud hut was in poor condition.  We received the request late Friday afternoon, just as a heavy rain storm hit.

 

Rain poured down causing massive flooding for the next 36 hours dumping 6.5 INCHES (163mm) of rain on Balama.

I spent the night praying for all our orphans, their homes, our food warehouses, and other buildings, for water ran 6 inches deep everywhere I looked.

 

The already compromised mud hut of these orphans collapsed on Saturday night.  NO ONE WAS HURT thanks to quick thinking Emelia, the 19 year old young lady who heads this household.  She was able to get the kids out BEFORE their hut collapsed.  They spent a miserable night in their neighbors kitchen, as many mud huts all over Balama went down during this storm.

 

 

 

EMILIA and her family just arrived at our house last Sunday morning.

 

Sunday, at 5 a.m., I sent AWANA Youth Pastor Carlitos Jorge by bicycle to their house to check on these children.  When he came back saying their house was totally destroyed, I organized a group of men to help them carry what they could salvage to the main road.  Our driver, Genito, fetched this family and their belongings with our 4 wheel drive Land Cruiser.  We gave them emergency refuge in a large empty room in our Foster Father’s home next to the Boy’s Dorm.  On Monday, Feb. 8th, Emelia, her 2 small children, and her 3 orphan brothers, will move in with one of our foster mothers who has a large vacant room at her house.

 

  (NOTE:  A teenage girl without parents can easily be seduced by a man, for she has no one to guide her.  Such is the sad case of Emilia.  This week, she began receiving daily counseling from Anna, our Orphan/Foster Mother Supervisor.  By living with a responsible Foster mother, Emilia will learn what her mother would have taught her about child care, and we will add to that how to become a righteous woman in the eyes of our Lord.)

 

It will take a few months, but our building team is collecting huge fence posts and bundles of bamboo in order to build Emilia’s family a house on the only remaining vacant lot the church owns.  We looked all week, trying to buy a mud hut in our area, but none exists.  The “Pao Peeky” type building (sinking fence posts deep in the ground at 1 foot/30cm intervals, then tying them together with bamboo and mud) makes stronger walls than mud brick, and is the only type of housing that can be constructed in the rainy season.

 

Our big family is growing!  We give thanks to JESUS for answering our prayers to keep these children safe.  

 

Emelia’s 3 brothers are super excited about getting to go to school with uniforms, books and a new back pack!  Even with all Emelia has endured, she has qualified to enter into the 6th grade.  At 19, she will now get to continue her education for the foster mother will be able to watch over the children while she is in school each afternoon from 12 noon to 5pm.

 

Again we extend our thanks to our friends in Wichita, KS for their generous gift that is making possible this

construction of a new mud hut in the rainy season!

 

SCHOOL STARTS ON FEB. 8TH!

 

 

 

FERNANDO is so proud and happy to have his own new school supplies. THANK YOU to his faithful sponsor church. That happy, healthy smile is so beautiful.

 

 

Staff handing out school supplies to our 60 school-aged orphans.

 

 

 

 

ATUMANE (R), and assistant LUIS (L) complete the last of the 60  school uniforms on their pedal powered Singer Sewing machines. Fabrication begins in November, as it is time consuming work.

 

 

 

Today broke with a beautiful sunrise, and found our team organizing 2  tables full of school supplies, back packs, school uniforms (made at our base on foot pedal Singer Sewing machines by our sewing team of Atumane and Luis).  It was a busy 3 hours, but all 60 school age orphans received everything from notebooks to pencil sharpeners THANKS TO YOUR GENEROUS LOVE GIFTS!

 

AUSTRALIAN MOM SENDS SCHOOL SHOES TO OUR CHILDREN

 

 

Down the road, about 6 miles from our Balama Mission Base, an Australian company is setting up a huge graphite mine.  Their management staff dropped by this week, surprising us with a suitcase full of shoes!

 

  Alex, wife of Peter, the health and environment manager at the mine, has taken us under her wing.  The mine staff from Australia works on a rotation schedule, so as they fly from Australia to Balama, Alex has the men bring a suitcase full of nice shoes and clothing for our orphans as part of their baggage. 

 

The bag we received 2 days ago contained shoes for 16 of our orphans!  Those children were so excited!  The 48 children who didn’t receive shoes were taken immediately to buy shoes at the Balama market by 5 members of our staff. They just returned overflowing with joyous laughter, for I could hear them coming long before they arrived at my house to show me their new shoes. 

 

 

 

"CUTE SHOES", THE UNIVERSAL COMMENT WHEN GIRLS GO SHOPPING... Our girls and boys were sooo excited.

 

 

 GOD IS GREAT, ALL THE TIME!

 

Thank you Alex and family for all your hard work!  We also thank your special “Courier Service” for bringing the gifts to our doorstep.

 

Blessings and Hugs,

Bush Bunny Brenda Lange

Home at last

FROM "BUSH BUNNY BRENDA"

DATE: NOVEMBER 6, 2015

My Mom is with Jesus, celebrating her new body! I miss her dearly, but am happy she is now whole once again. For I know our separation is only temporary!   I am on my way to TX as I write, for the funeral is Sunday, 2pm. I will stay for 5 days after that to help my Dad, now 86. They celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary last Feb. And this has hit him very hard. Plz pray for us all, for my Dad needs Jesus as his Savior.    Please understand that I must return to Moz. By middle of Nov. And will not be able to visit any churches. Layla and Capena are "holding the fort", but the rains have begun early, and the last food distributions have not been done yet.   Layla is showing great courage as she has been in Balama only 5 weeks and has spent the last week and now this coming week without me being present. She is happily teaching English, helping Capena with daily programs, and studying Portuguese with our staff. She is a rare and jolly camper for sure! I love and appreciate her very much.   I no longer have the same USA phone number, but will send that out once I can organize a new phone.   Your prayers for us are greatly appreciated.    Hugs, Brenda

"BUSH BUNNY BRENDA"

FROM "BUSH BUNNY BRENDA"

DATE: OCTOBER 24, 2015

20 WATER WELLS BEING REPAIRED THANKS TO MANY GENEROUS HEARTS         Manuel loads the water well parts from the MFA aircraft.   With the help of multiple donors, we were able to meet the $1,700 parts bill for the water wells in Meluco District,  pay transport costs, AND provide the 3 man team’s food expenses for 5 days in the bush!  Unknown to me, the “2015 price list” that I quoted from was not correct due to the massive foreign exchange “turmoil” that took place Oct. 1st.  This caused ALL imported parts prices to sky rocketed throughout Mozambique in the last few weeks!  (these water well parts are imported from India)   BUT GOD KNEW THAT, and provided through multiple donors to make up the difference!   WE EVEN HAD ENOUGH FUNDS TO BUY 15 EXTRA BASIC REPAIR KITS!    These are much needed, as we just received requests to repair ANOTHER 4 WELLS in Balama that that have broken. Oct. and November are the driest of the dry months, and our busiest with water wells.  The rubber water well rings usually only last about a year. Keeps Manuel and his 2 man team hopping for sure! THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all who gave so generously so that more than 40,000 people can have clean water in the next 2 weeks.   BUSH BUNNY AND CREW HOPPED AT FULL SPEED THIS WEEK   Our week jumped out of the starting gate on Monday with a 4:30a.m. drive for Layla and I to Pemba.    Layla left for RSA on a commercial flight, and MAF fetched me in their 6 seater Cessna for the 1 hr. 20 min. flight to Nampula City, 7 hours drive to the south of us.   With the water well parts being the priority, MAF (Missions Aviation Fellowship) offered Manuel and I a helping hand, sparing me the long, bumpy, and VERY exhausting  14 hour round trip drive to Nampula.       Thanks to Steve, our MFA pilot, for these pics from his iphone.   Manuel is my “right hand man”, as Eric Dry trained him to be our “handy man”.  Besides maintaining the vehicles at our base, he is our WATER WELL FIX IT MAN!  One of the best around, as his “fix it” skills are requested by multiple districts each dry season.   He went with me to Nampula to make sure we received the right parts needed to repair the 20 water wells in Meluco. (Was a good thing, as he discovered several errors in the order which he corrected.)   MONDAY NIGHT, in  Nampula: Capena, our Balama office manager, called to say we had a team of orphanage inspectors coming from Pemba on Wednesday at 11 a.m.  That meant I had to cancel all plans for Tuesday shopping in Pemba, and race to Balama instead of fetching the much needed baby formula, and fabric for making clothes for our orphans.   TUESDAY in Nampula: Manuel left by taxi at 6:30 a.m. to fetch the water well parts.  At 8:30 a.m., I renewed my passport and was ready to go. MAF was very accommodating, and had us out of the airport by 10:30 a.m.   We were back in Pemba by 12 NOON and made the 4 hour drive to Balama, arriving before dark!   WEDNESDAY: Our entire Staff showed up early to help organize the food and equipment for the food distribution for the inspectors to observe on Thursday.  Watching “HOW” we distribute the food to the widows was a main item on their agenda.  They arrived at 11, and we were in meetings with them until almost 4pm that afternoon, as they read every detail of our children’s files.   (All was found in order, PTL!)   THURSDAY:  The inspection team left with smiles on their faces, as they were happy with our food distribution process.   They wanted radios in the 2 houses of younger children, so they could listening to music and the news.  (The 8 boys in the dorm have had a radio since day one for this purpose.)  They also wanted more “traditional food” added to their diet, so that correction was made immediately on their weekly menus.   Since we corrected these problems within that same day, the inspectors were extremely pleased.   FRIDAY:   2 a.m.  Pastor Alberto, Evangelist/Bible School teacher working with the 830 new converts in Namuno District, called me to say he was very sick and needed immediate transport to the hospital.  Our 2nd driver, Genito, was fetched by bicycle by one of my guards, and was on his way to Namuno District to fetch him by 4 a.m. (Alberto is now recovering at home from a hernia attack.)   At 5 a.m., I drove to Pemba to fetch LAYLA, who received her Residency Visa, AND to purchase the much needed BABY FORMULA and FABRIC for the children’s clothing.    UNKNOWN TO US, BABY FORMULA PRICES  greatly increased as it is also imported.  Most stores were sold out because the store owners don’t have enough money to buy at the higher price in RSA. My 2 man team and I spent 4 hours going to every store and tiny market stall in Pemba, buying up the few cans that each had in stock.   PTL! We managed to obtain a 5 week supply (160 cans) for the 32 babies currently in the program!  One of the major importers has promised to save us 15 cases when her November shipment comes in.  For this we are most grateful!   Our motto:  We do what it takes to provide for our children, and QUIT is not in our vocabulary.   Keep your prayers coming that the “promised formula” arrives on time in November. Never a dull moment around here for sure.   AWANA LEADER SETS ANOTHER NEW RECORD     CARLITOS JORGE AND AMBROSIO, showing off new bike and AWANA game materials after setting new attendance record in Marica Village. These 2 are the “dynamic duo” when it comes to Children’s Evangelism     Carlitos Jorge and assistant,  “now grown up orphan” Ambrosio, did their 3 normal AWANA programs in NQUIDE Village on Saturday.   They then traveled on their new motorbike to MARICA Village to start a new program. 596 children and 46 adults attended this meeting, with all hearing the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST for the FIRST TIME!   In a village of 4,000, this is AMAZING!   DE BUNNY is “bushed” after all that happened this week, but it’s amazing to watch as “Jesus’ plan” provided our needs and brought many to know about HIM at the same time.  Perseverance and persistence.  Much needed qualities for all those who serve JESUS, no matter what country you are in.   Blessings,   Bush Bunny Brenda Lange   Layla Silva (happy to be “home” again).     I know someone is truly “called” to serve when they look forward to returning to “remote” Balama.