| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: DECEMBER 17, 2022 REPAIRING THE TWISTER DAMAGE Our 4 carpenters and 4 helpers have worked hard on repairs this week, but we still have another week’s work ahead of us. The photo of the back side of the #2 (beans) and #3 (rice) barns shows the full extent of the major damage done. The storm didn’t just remove the tin sheets, it broke EVERY TRUSS (the triangles you see being replaced), took all the cross beams (4X4’s) holding the tin sheets, AND broke most of the upright wall posts supporting those trusses. I was amazed to see that the wall held with so many broken 4X4 upright beams! That in itself is a miracle!  Warehouses 2 and 3 after 4 days of work. Walls were badly damaged, so they had to replace many roofing support posts. Our other 2 warehouses received minor damage, which took all day Tuesday to repair. Also on Tuesday, a group of 20 men moved over 1,000 sacks of beans that could be salvaged after the storm into the half empty corn warehouse. The 2 upper layers of the beans were wet, and were distributed immediately to the orphans living close by. Those 2 layers of beans saved the majority of the beans from getting wet. We PTL that no one was hurt during the storm or the clean-up work, AND THAT NO FOOD WAS WASTED! We just gave it out a bit ahead of schedule. THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO GRACIOUSLY GAVE TO HELP WITH REPAIRS! Your generosity has truly blessed us, not just for the rebuilding, but so we can continue serving the children of this area. BBC GAMES CONTINUE AFTER THE STORM It took 2 days for the ground to dry out, but on Wednesday, the BBC teams were greeted by bigger crowds than the week before! This in itself is amazing, as it is “machamba” time (mah-sham-bah)! That means all school-age children are expected to help plant their family’s farming fields, as the food produced is the only way most of these families survive. Yet the children were in their villages, and ready to play games and have a Bible lesson!  The games are very popular!  Keep on pulling boys!  The crowds are growing.  Singing lift JESUS HIGHER, stomp Satan under your feet. https://youtu.be/mHiUbD3OzgA I know it sounds redundant, but GOD IS TRULY MOVING IN A BIG WAY AMONG THE VILLAGE CHILDREN HERE. PTL! IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN TO BE MORE VIGILANT! Please keep us in your prayers as we also face increased crime at this time of year. With the barns in a vulnerable state, this makes us twice as likely to have unwanted night time visitors. We have increased the number of guards at the barns and at our main mission station. Prayers for their safety is also much appreciated. MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF OUR CHILDREN. BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
Author Archives: Kim Hartman
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: DECEMBER 12, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: DECEMBER 12, 2022 EMERGENCY BLOG DISASTROUS DAY FOR THE FOOD WAREHOUSES!!!  Torn off roof.  Backside of both warehouses with no roof. A HUGE TWISTING-TYPE WIND hit our food warehouses at 11a.m. today as a powerful thunderstorm hit over our mission station.  Just beans and Montega beans moved under what’s left of the roof.  Tarping the beans. I was driving up in my car at our office when the sky released tons of water and high winds. I saw the rain begin to swirl and seconds later it hit our food warehouses. Our BBC group and a few others came to help tarp the food and they managed to move some beans in order to better protect them. The corn warehouse received minor damage, but the back half of the bean and rice warehouses were completely torn off and thrown over 50 yards/meters away! No one was hurt, PTL, but our guard yelled for a few kids to RUN just as the torn-off roof hit the area where they had been walking. We got the food covered, thanks to many off duty workers coming to help. The rain stopped for 2 hours and now it is pouring barrels of water AGAIN.  Our bean stack under open roof. Praying our tarps hold! It will cost at least $5,000 to repair the damaged buildings. Pray our food is still usable or many will go hungry. A VERY WET AND TIRED BUNNY AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: DECEMBER 9, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: DECEMBER 9, 2022 THE WOMEN AT THE WELL… …is a reality in our area as many hand dug wells and any shallow drilled water wells are now dry! December is supposed to be a very rainy month, but for the last 2 years the rains have come late. We had a hard rain on Wednesday this week. Now it is doubtful it will continue raining in order to support the seeds the locals ran to plant after the rains. In 2021, the rains only began on December 31st, causing the corn harvest to be over 30 days late. If you recall, we were able to buy beans in June, but corn only in July.  Women at the well at 5am. A stream of people flow in all day long for this beautiful clean water! These local women are blessed by the ONLY HAND PUMP (DEEP) WATER WELL in this area. It was donated by supporters over 8 years ago, and sits just 50 yards from our church on our 16 hectare/40 acre mission property. Without this well, MANY WOULD BE WITHOUT WATER. All locally dug bucket wells in this neighborhood (10 to 15 meters/yards deep) have gone dry, as has the hand pump water well that serves my home and the mission station. This is the first time our mission well has gone dry as it has served us faithfully for 20 years! It seems the cause is the greater number of people living in the area who are digging wells into the same underground “river” that serves our well. The church well is over a 100 feet deep, and thankfully in a HUGE reservoir of water. This well is available to the public as well as to our orphan homes for 12 hours a day (daylight to dark). GOD HAS MADE A WAY, as we have a 2nd hand pump water well that serves 4 of our orphan homes at the far end of our project, about .5 miles/500 meters from our mission base. Once the rains begin, hopefully the dry wells will all fill up. We are VERY GRATEFUL to those who made these wells possible in previous years, AS WATER IS LIFE AND HEALTH TO ALL THOSE IN NEED. THANK YOU LORD FOR GIVING “LIVING WATER” TO ALL THOSE IN THIS AREA. SCHOOL’S OUT! LET THE FUN BEGIN!  Ready for fun and games. (L to R) Bottom row: Adelina, Angelina, Victoria, Maezinha. Upper row: Ibarra, Ortencia, Dinis, and Anna. Our children along with all the village children can now relax a bit in the 60 day summer break! This morning, I pulled out a new ball, and off went the primary school children to play soccer.  Being in the soccer zone can be risky! https://youtu.be/u_CsK65x_oQ As you can see in the video, filming them at play can be a bit hazardous as anyone in their “soccer zone” is at risk of getting hit by the ball.  Samuel teaching the little ones to listen to instruction and them jump when they hear the key word. https://youtu.be/eOD7YJJ01BU Samuel, our dorm leader, gave me a helping hand with our 3‑year-olds. His idea of teaching them to follow instructions while having fun was a good one. After a few attempts, most of the little ones caught on to what they needed to do.  Samuel, dorm leader, and Zito teaching a game to our little ones. WE GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELPING HAND THAT MAKES ALL THIS POSSIBLE! MANY BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: DECEMBER 3, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: DECEMBER 3, 2022 |
NOVEMBER ENDS WITH MANY VISITORS Visitors talking to mothers at houses 6 & 7 On the 30th our staff graciously received a mixed group of people representing the Justice Department, UNICEF, Social Services, and the District Hospital. Their purpose was to visit our homes as well as teach us how to organize a temporary guardianship for our resident children. The visitors seem to appreciate our homes, and left just before dark on the 30th. They left questionnaires for each of our 57 resident children, giving our children’s staff a “paper party” for the next few days.  Office staff L to R. Fatima, Anna, Fred, Whitey, and Office Manager Capena, far right BBC TEAMS CHALLENGING EVEN THE LITTLE ONES TO PARTICIPATE  Teaching the little ones to play tug o’ war. https://youtu.be/kJTT9Sy1iUA  Boys love the intense competition of 4‑way tug o’ war. https://youtu.be/eGSl3Ah4xMw With the rainy season upon us (it’s raining as I write this), the BBC team is using every dry day to reach as many children as possible. The motorbike team touch 6,834+ children each 2 weeks with the gospel. Result: 556 salvations in 8 villages. The bicycle team meet with over 3,437 children each week. Result: 2,081 salvations in 8 villages. KEEP YOUR PRAYERS COMING for these teams as we continue to disciple these children on a weekly basis.  Teaching the children to pray for the sick. https://youtu.be/BaDTWEsRiHo 15 VILLAGE PASTORS shared the gospel with over 2,000 people of all ages this month. Salvations for November: Adults: 45 Teenagers: 81 Children 466 (combined number from Sunday School and Bawana games activities) GOD IS MOVING IN A VERY STRONG WAY AMONG THE YOUTH OF BALAMA. Please keep all of us in prayer, as we will be praying for you during this holiday month. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: NOVEMBER 26, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: NOVEMBER 26, 2022 HOPING YOU ALL HAD A WONDERFUL DAY GIVING THANKS TO THE LORD FOR ALL YOU HAVE. Here in Balama, it was business as usual, giving out food to orphans and widows in need. Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but I think everyday is a day of thanks as the Lord’s blessings are unending. BALAMA FAMILY GIVING THANKS FOR ASSISTANCE WITH 7 ORPHANS  Dedicated Aunt and Uncle take in 7 Orphans when they have barely enough for their own children. This Aunt and Uncle just took on a HUGE responsibility, after this Aunt’s Sister died in childbirth leaving 6 children under 13 years of age, and this newborn as orphans. The father left in a hurry after his wife died, which is a common happening around here. This overwhelmed couple was in shock as they brought the newborn to us for infant formula. They had no idea we would help provide food for the 6 little ones as well! When I read the document stating how many children they were caring for, I immediately asked how they would manage for food. Their answer, “we don’t know”. But that didn’t stop them from accepting these children as their own! BIG HEART hardly describes what they have. My staff and I didn’t hesitate to enroll them in our weekly food program for orphans. They also have several children of their own at home whom they support with their farming. We will assist them as much as possible, for I doubt their farm can produce enough to even buy each of the children a set of clothes. YOUR LOVE GIFTS AT WORK! BBC CROWDS GROWING AS OUR TEAM GETS ROLLING Due to a lack of fuel in this area, we are still limited to sending out only 2 motorbikes to the villages each day for the BBC Children’s Evangelism Program. We had hoped the fuel problem would have resolved by now, but it is showing that it could be long term. Know that we are doing our best to obtain fuel each time it becomes available within a 30 mile radius. MANY CHILDREN RECEIVING JESUS INTO THEIR HEARTS End of salvation prayer with new children receiving Jesus! https://youtu.be/17iDqK8osAQ On average, 30 to 35 children per day are receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior during the devotions time of the BBC program.  Teaching new team games that involve many children at once. Tug o war, always a big hit with the crowd! https://youtu.be/oWyOwy92uMs The games are fun, and more and more children are staying to hear the Bible Story at the end. Leaders Carlitos and Daniel do a great job of presenting Bible stories with large picture books to the children. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS PROGRAM POSSIBLE. BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: NOVEMBER 19, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: NOVEMBER 19, 2022 2022 FOOD AND SEED GIVE OUT FINISHED!! The 2022 food program for the villages is complete! The program is named The Joseph Project, because like Joseph, we fill our barns in time of plenty and give out in time of hunger. This week marked our final food give outs to orphans and widows in the Balama and Meluco Districts. Our days started at 3 a.m. so that the loaded food trucks could roll out before sunrise to the remote villages. Corn and bean seeds were included in this give out so all can plant their fields.  Devotions before food give out.  Everyone helps get food and seeds back home.  A bicycle makes it easier to the get food, corn and bean seeds home. YOUR LOVE GIFTS MAKE THIS PROGRAM POSSIBLE. Thanks to you, these orphans and widows have food to give them the energy to plant their fields. As always, our aim is to GIVE THEM A HAND UP, NOT A HAND OUT! Thus, food to help them gain strength, and seed to plant so they are more self, sufficient. THE JOY OF HAVING EVERY NEED MET Click the link below to see little Suzanna looking beautiful. https://youtube.com/shorts/Az4GQn0F0Vg A real beauty, Suzanna at 15 months, is enjoying having all her needs met, including learning about the love of Jesus. She is not crazy about barking dogs though! Turn on your sound!! BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: NOVEMBER 12, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“DATE: NOVEMBER 12, 2022 |
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: NOVEMBER 12, 2022 OUR CHILDREN ARE GROWING UP! Here are the photos of each of our 7 children’s homes.  The Zebra house toddlers/infants. Baby Leopards won’t be small for long!  The Lions and they are a lively group!  The Buffalo herd!  The Rabbits of Victory House.  The Gazelles. Every child in this photo came there as an infant!  The Ostrich House. Baby Reginalda on top, back row is the baby with the broken femur. Thanks to prayer, God has straightened her femur and she is starting to put weight on it. Far right, bottom is 2‑year old Quistan. Friday night, he had 2 convulsions not fever related and is in hospital unconscious. More labs today will tell us if it is malaria. Prayers are needed for both. ENJOY THE PHOTOS OF THE KIDS, FOR THEY ARE GROWING UP FAST! The 1st through 6th graders are officially out of school as of yesterday. It was fun watching the kids cut loose on the playground! Sorry, no photo of that as it was very early, and too dark under the huge mango tree that shades our playground. FINISHING FOOD DISTRIBUTION BEFORE THE RAINS COME! Our first storm of the rainy season hit last night. At our mission, no rain was received, just a heavy thunder/lightning show with heavy winds.But rains are supposed to begin next week, if the weatherman is correct. Because of this, we are hustling to get the November food/seed give out completed, as these families need their seeds to plant. Our trucks left at 3:30 a.m. on Friday to be at the Impire distribution site by dawn (4:30 a.m.) Remember, rural Africa moves according to the sun, and waits for no clock. If it’s daylight, everyone is moving. This completes 2 of the 5 county wide give outs. The other 3 are scheduled for Monday to Wednesday next week. Trying our best to beat the rains. BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: OCTOBER 29, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: OCTOBER 29, 2022 TWO OF OUR MOTHERS HAVING SURGERY On Monday, October 31, Foster Mother Bertina (Ostrich House), and Granny Feliciana, mother to her orphaned grandchildren, will be taken by our Office Staff at 5 a.m. to the Regional Hospital in Montepuez for surgery.  Foster Mother Bertina has abdominal tumor near her diaphragm. Bertina has an abdominal tumor just under her diaphragm that doesn’t appear cancerous, but the Dr. won’t know for sure until he operates. Bertina’s surgery is very concerning to me, as it is not an easy one, due to it’s location in the abdomen.  Granny Felicina having operation on left hip on 31st. Granny Feliciana has a large tumor on her left hip that needs to be removed. Both women need prayer coverage. The outcome of these surgeries will determine how many days these 2 women must stay in the Montepuez Regional Hospital. Each women will be accompanied by a female family member who will help to care for them in hospital. I will update you next week on their progress. BBC GROUPS CONTINUE TO GROW IN NUMBERS  Pulling for all their worth! This game really draws the crowds. I am sharing a video that shows how the little ones are working hard to learn how to run a relay race. Their attempt couldn’t be any cuter. Little ones haven’t quite figured out the relay race. https://youtu.be/7m4sClE54FU The devotions groups are getting bigger thanks to the “cliff hanger” stories that Carlitos tells before the games start.  Telling a cliff hanger story before devotions has drawn many more kids to stay longer and hear about Jesus. Keep praying for us, as our 2 motorbike teams will be growing into 4 motorbike teams by early November, thanks to a fuel donation from one of our donors. Waiting on parts for the 4th bike, so as soon as that is fixed, we will organize a second 4 man team. This will allow EACH VILLAGE a weekly program. At present, there are so many villages, that it takes the 2 man bike team 2 weeks to visit all of them. 7th OF APRIL ORPHANS RECEIVE NEW SANDALS  Orphans living in 7th of April Village in their new sandals. There are 9 orphaned children cared for by their 3 Aunts who live in a small village way out in the bush. This village, named 7th of April, sits at the foot of a mountain within sight of our mission station, but is not easy to reach by road. Motorcycles can maneuver the road much better than a pick-up truck. Carlitos of the BBC discovered these orphans in great need when he went there on his motorbike to share the Gospel a few years back. He planted a church there, and trained up a Pastor to teach the Word of God. One of the little boys couldn’t walk, and we are happy to announce that another organization has just donated him a wheelchair! This is a great help for him and his Aunt, as thanks to our weekly food give outs to him, he is now too big to carry. Carlitos told me last week that the children’s shoes were now worn out, so we organized 9 new pairs of sandals, so they can walk in the hot sand. The temperatures are reaching above 96F/36C daily, so the sand gets very hot around midday. YOUR LOVE GIFTS AT WORK! THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE GIFTS THAT KEEPS THESE CHILDREN HEALTHY AND HAPPY. BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: OCTOBER 22, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: OCTOBER 22, 2022 HIGH WINDS DAMAGE CHURCH ROOF  Removing the securing bricks and broken beams from church roof. Last Saturday morning, our team of carpenters and brick layers had their hands full repairing 5 tin sheets and 3 broken wooden beams damaged by high winds on Friday afternoon. We are grateful that none of the tin sheets came completely loose from the roof as they become flying razor blades when pushed by high winds. The damage was repaired in 4 hours, as the brick layers and carpenters worked together to complete the work in record time. We are grateful it was ready for service on Sunday, and that the damage was minor. High winds plague this area and rip off many roofs during the hot and dry season that lasts until December. BBC MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF MANY Our BBC (Bush Bikers for Christ) teams are gathering larger crowds this week as the word is out that they are back with games and great picture books. Dropping bean bags and other assundry confusion as new kids learn relay racing. https://youtu.be/uL0GzZZpwHM You can see from the photos and video that the crowds are much larger, yet many kids aren’t staying for devotions.  Devotions and Bible stories after Bawana Games. I worked with the teams to “tweek” their program so that everyone hears the Word of God if they come to the games. So they are now starting a Bible story and leaving it as a “cliff hanger” with the ending only given in devotions. IT IS WORKING! Carlitos, leader of the BBC team, stated that it worked very well today as they double the number of children in devotions.  Raising hands to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior! Some children just need a spiritual push to get them interested in knowing who Lord Jesus really is. LEARNING THE VALUE OF MONEY WHILE HELPING A WIDOW Since we represent the parents of the 58 children who live with us, it is our responsibility to teach them good morals as well as financial responsibility. When the school year begins in February, each child receives shoes and a school uniform. If their shoes wear out, or become too small, it is then their responsibility to report it to our staff so they can earn a new pair. Clearing a farming field for a blind widow earns a pair of shoe as payment. https://youtu.be/vcjWZhz4U5M The teens in our boy’s dorm are now busy working for new shoes, and at the same time helping a blind widow who lives in one of our improved mud hut homes. This is a win-win for both parties, as the widow gets her field prepared for planting, and the boys get a new pair of shoes. I call it LEARNING BY GIVING A HELPING HAND. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO HELP US TO HELP OTHERS. BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
BUSH BUNNY BRENDA BLOG: OCTOBER 15, 2022
| FROM “BUSH BUNNY BRENDA“ DATE: OCTOBER 15, 2022 LOCAL NUTRITIONIST MAKING WEEKLY VISITS  Dr. Mariano weighs and examines each infant in our baby formula program. Dr. Mariano of the Balama Health Center is now visiting our malnourished infants in our Baby Formula Program each Thursday. Each infant is weighed, then given a physical exam. Any infant found ill is taken back to the Balama hospital for treatment. He also does nutritional counseling with the care taker of those infants not gaining weight like they should be on our high protein milk and cereals. WE GREATLY APPRECIATE HIS HELPING HAND with all our infants and younger children. FOOD HANDOUTS COMPLETED FOR OCTOBER  Each food distribution begins with devotions and a short Bible story. For the last 2 weeks we spent much of our time loading and distributing the 20.5 TONS of corn and 3.78 TONS of beans it takes to supplement the diets of the 1,144 orphans and widows in our Village Food Assistance Program For Orphans.  3 orphan girls divide the food to help their Aunt get it to their mud hut.  Granny and orphaned Grandson will divide their bag of corn before carting it home. Weight is 60 kg. or 132 lbs.  Older child teaching the younger ones how to carry food on their heads. It’s a great day for us once we know they all have food to help sustain them throughout the next 30 days. THANK YOU for give them a helping hand during these hot and dry months when nothing wants to grow. 2 BALAMA PASTORS TRAVELING TO TETE PROVINCE As I write, our Pastors Gito and Ramadan are traveling 3 days by bus to a teaching conference in Tete City. Our National Bishop, Zalira, selected them for a promotion to REVERAND when he was visiting our mission in May of this year. The AGUAS VIVAS CHURCH, which is our spiritual covering here in Mozambique, has 3 levels that a church leader may achieve according to his training and accomplishments. First is Pastor, then Reverend, with BISHOP being the highest level. Reverend is for leaders who have excelled in planting churches and evangelizing their areas.  Pastor Gito Pastor Gito has planted 5 churches in 5 villages, and has BAWANA GAMES programs going in each of these areas.  Pastor Ramadan Pastor Ramadan has planted 2 churches and assisted a less experienced Pastor in planting 2 additional churches in remote villages. Ramadan has BAWANA GAMES programs in 3 locations in his very large village. These 2 men are the first to be chosen from Balama for this honorable advancement, so we are super happy for them. BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL! BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |