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HEIGHT OF THE HUNGER SEASON On Friday, April 20th, Grandparents Mariano and Assena walked 14 km (7 miles) carrying their 2 newly orphaned grandchildren on their backs to ask help from Social Services in Balama. The family was brought to us immediately for long term assistance. Severely malnourished, the hospital staff thought the 2 orphans were very young due to their small sizes. Their birth records showed the shocking truth! Little boy, Mateus, weighing only 5.5kg (12 lbs.) is 16 MONTHS OLD! As I held him in my arms, I felt like I was holding a doll made of feathers. His Sister, Zelia, in better physical condition than her brother, looked to be 3 years old, but is really 4! Children’s Director Anna dresses little Mateus. This size 12 month sweat suit swallows his little 16-month-old body. Their mother died on March 30th, 2018, after a long illness. The father died from unknown reasons just before Mateus was born in December, 2017. The grandparents, also very thin, were doing their best to help these newly orphaned children, but they had run out of food themselves. Their fields were washed away in the heavy flash floods that hit Balama District in Feb. and March. All four now benefit from your Love Gifts. They left us very happy with a new set of clothes for the children, as well as food to sustain the 4 of them until the next food give out on April 27th. THE LOVE OF JESUS AT WORK BECAUSE YOU CARE. 2018 CORN AND BEAN HARVEST Flash floods late in the growing season did severe damage to the corn and beans in many areas of Balama. This is a major blow financial blow to many farmers AND TO OUR CHILDREN, for we depend on their crops to feed over 2000 orphans in 2 Counties (Districts). The corn and bean harvest is expected to be average at best around our County (District). I’ll keep you updated in the coming weeks as the harvest numbers roll in. MUCH THANKS TO THE DONORS PROVIDING FOOD BUYING FUNDS, FOR THIS WILL BE A CHALLENGING YEAR FOR MANY CHILDREN. With your help, we will peak out our barns so we can help as many as possible. VICTORY SPONSORED CHILDREN’S HOME HAS WALLS! Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, OK is sponsoring a “2 bedroom expansion” with indoor eating area onto one of the orphans homes we built last year. The walls began going up last week, and the home will be ready for roofing in 10 days. Our brick layers are efficient, fast, and very good at what they do. Our new Victory home for orphans is making great progress. THANK YOU VICTORY for giving us a new home for our ever growing multitude of children. 16 BBC YOUTH MINISTERS WITNESS WAVES OF NEW CHILDREN (BBC=Bush Bikers for Christ, Youth Evangelistic Teams) 1. BBC 10 MAN/5 MOTORBIKE TEAM: minister to an average of 12,693 children/WEEK 2. BBC 4 man/5 day a week Bicycle Team (which began over 8 years ago) saw 2,439 NEW children come into their program in the last 3 months. The previous numbers were about 4,000 children/week in 10 villages. The new total is over 6,000/week! 3. Friday/Saturday, 2 man Bicycle Team reaching about 810 children/week in 2 unreached villages behind our mission station. The BBC Team is fueling up after long day in the Bush. THE BAWANA GAMES ARE NOW REACHING 19,503 CHILDREN PER WEEK IN 22 VILLAGES These “little sponges” learn a Bible Story and memorize a scripture AFTER running off some of their abundant energy playing really fun relay games. BRINGING IN GOD’S HARVEST IS A TEAM EFFORT THAT STARTS WITH YOU! Your Love Gifts provide motorbike fuel, bicycles, and the equipment/books needed for the BAWANA GAMES and BIBLE STUDY TIMES. These 16 young men do a great job of teaching these children God’s way to respect others, and team building skills. THEY ARE THE FUTURE GENERATION that will help build a better Mozambique. TOGETHER WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THESE LITTLE ONES. BLESSINGS, BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF |
