Safari Photos

For those of you who didn't see the recent photos I posted on FB, here are some of my favorites from our recent trip to Kruger with the team from Katy, Texas. We enjoyed a day in the park on our way to drop them off for their trip home.

Enjoy!

Ministry Videos

God continues to do incredible things, opening doors and moving hearts through the team from Katy and their help in the work here. Here are two more videos from the weekend. Enjoy!

Women's Time:



Sunday:

Katy Team Update

The last few days have been extremely busy. While juggling school, preparing meals, writing, and participating in some of the activities, the team from Katy has been ministering to some of the students here in town. They have also planned a special activity for our ladies class, so I'm really looking forward to this time later today

For those of you following our ministry, here are three short highlight videos from this week.

Day One:


Day Two:



Day Three:



Blessings,

Lisa

Moved to tears

Today I went out to see the well with the Katy Team after picking them up from the airport. What we found there moved me to tears.



Be thankful today,

Lisa

Water Well in Magola

Our first short-term group of the year lands tomorrow, so we're looking forward to ministering with the group from Katy, Texas. One of the projects they raised money for this year was a water well that is being drilled in Magola right now. Last year we shared about the need for water for those who have to walk 3 kilometers or about a mile and a half one way. (You can watch that video "How far would you walk for water?" here.)

When Scott called me this morning from the village, the drillers had arrived, and I could hear people singing in the background. They are so excited and this will be such a blessing for them. The drillers hit water today, so it won't belong until they have their own source of water!



I'll be sharing more about the water project along with some of the other things that are happening with our short term teams in the coming days and weeks.

Be blessed!

Lisa

Summer Vacation?

On Facebook, it seems like half the posts I've been reading lately are about people's summer plans, sitting by the pool, and time off from school. What I'm most excited about this time of year isn't vacation plans, but the fact that winter is finally here. (It was actually cold yesterday!) But as for vacation. . .well instead of slowing down for summer, our schedules actually speed up as our yearly short-term groups begin arriving.

We try to coordinate each groups activities to go along with what we are already doing so that they complement our work. This year, we are looking forward heading up a couple large projects with teams from the USA, Brazil, and South Africa.

• A water well will be put in in Magola, one of the villages we work at. Currently, the women have to walk well over a mile each way to get water. A team from Katy, Texas has raised the money for this project. They will be doing dramas and activities in the village for three days, then spend three days in town working with contacts at one of our local high schools. They will also spend time with our ladies class on Saturday.
• Our fourth annual English camp will be led by a team from Houston, Texas. This has been a very important part of us reaching out to new students every year.
• A team from Brazil is planning to join us for English camp and other ministry, using their Portuguese.  
• A team from South Africa will be working at the same local high school as the Katy team. They will be continuing the stories and teaching, along with helping to set up a vegetable tunnel, and visiting the children's ward at the hospital and orphanage.

We are extremely blessed by those who are taking the time to come and be a part of the lives of the people here through teaching and encouraging!

Below, I've posted some photos taken over the weekend of our women's class and a drama that was put on by some of the students at our Sunday afternoon church at David's house.

Be blessed!

Mariah and Abby help teach English

Filo and I working on both English (for her) and Portuguese (for me).

Inge working on Portuguese and teaching English. After our language exchange classes we have Bible study.

Four of the Christians presented a drama dealing with the pull between following God and the world.

Scott often uses the audience to help teach a point. The guys had fun with this one.

How you know you are in Africa

I saw a list in a missionary's newsletter recently, about things that make you know you're in Africa. It's been fun for me to see our world through the eyes of my mom and niece who are visiting for the first time. Here are some of their observations--with a couple of mine thrown in as well--along with some photos that, to me, represent the beauty of Africa. 

You know you're in Africa when. . .

-you see a goat tied onto the top of a vehicle.


-you see women walking down the road carrying live chickens.


-there are more people on the road than cars.

-kids chase your vehicle and try to jump on.

-people are selling things--everything from cashews to phone chargers--on the side of the road.

-we are the minority.

-there are palm trees everywhere. Lots and lots of palm trees. 

-we see oxen pulling carts on the side of the road.

-we see goats--everywhere.

-the houses are made from different building materials.

-the money is different & you can't figure out the exchange rate (is that why things seem so expensive?)

-there are lots of pot-holed roads.

Mozambique Home

Living on the water in Zambia

Fishermen

You never know who you might run into!

What if your world was filled with darkness?

What if there was a way to bring hope?

Here is the latest update from The ECHO Project.

Kruger Video

Here are some of my favorite photos and video from our recent visit to Kruger National Game Park in South Africa. Enjoy!

Heart of Thankfulness

During our long drive home to Mozambique this past weekend--after being stopped and questioned by the police not once, but twice--I decided I needed to take make a mental list of everything we had to be thankful for. While the past few weeks in the states were extremely tiring from living out of suitcases, we were blessed by time spent with so many people.

Celebrating Scott's parents' 50th anniversary

While this is just a glimpse of my list, I'm grateful for everyone who opened their home to us. To those who drove long distances just to have lunch with us. To those who spoiled our kids and kept them while we were celebrating Scott's parents' 50th anniversary. To those who sat down with us and asked us how we were doing.

Together as a family again!

I'm thankful for the chance to reunite with both old friends and new friends. For girl time at Starbucks. For pedicures and late night chats. For BBQ, and, of course, good ole Tex-Mex. And especially time with our eldest who is now back at boarding school. It was so great to have our family all together again.

I could go on and on.

While our time was short and there were many of you we weren't able to see this time, we really are grateful for our friends, family, supporters, and churches who continue to be there for us in so many ways.

One of the things I'm thankful for on our return is seeing the twins out in the village again who are now chubby and smiling! What a blessing to see them thriving and their mama smiling. (photo below)

Please keep us in your prayers during the coming weeks as we settle back into life here with our new teammates (Another BIG praise!) We have an extremely busy summer (winter for us) with a number of teams coming through to help us short time with the work here.

Twins in the beginning of January shortly after they were born.

Twins now in the beginning of May (with my mom)


Lastly, for those of you who missed the news (I haven't mentioned it on my blog yet), I'm excited to share that Blood Covenant won the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from  Romantic Times Book Reviewers' Choice Award. This is book two in my series set in Africa, so I was thrilled to learn about this.

While life is full of uncertainty, and so many are struggling with difficult circumstances, may each one of us take the time today to be thankful for the blessings God has brought into our life.

Lisa 

Together again!

Those of you who follow my blog might have noticed that I haven't been blogging the last couple weeks. Instead, I've enjoyed some special time with extended family back in the US.

And now, for the first time since Christmas, our family is all together again. It's a huge blessing to have Gabe back to us from boarding school. For the next couple weeks, we will be visiting friends and family and simply enjoy this time together.

We're also looking forward to celebrating Scott's parents' 50th anniversary this week, the main reason that we are back for this trip.

I probably won't post until I get home, but wanted to share this latest photo of our family.

Be a blessing today!

Lisa

The long way home. . .

We spent the last three--long--days traveling. Five countries, four border crossings, and more security checks than I care to remember. Since we used frequent flyer points to return, we didn't have a lot of choice as to the route and ended up driving to Joburg, then catching flights to Frankfurt, Brussels, Chicago, then a last flight to see family. As crazy as that seems, it's amazing to me that I can travel halfway around the world in just a couple days.

While part of me feels like I've stepped into a completely different world (and really I have) I can't wait to spend time with family, friends, sponsoring churches, doing some shopping, and eating Mexican food.



Here are a few things that always stand out to me:

*Driving on the right side of the road. (It still scares me sometimes)

*The huge drop in temperature. (After a Mozambique summer, it is cold here!)

*Pumping your own gas.

*Swiping your credit card instead of giving it to the clerk.

*The vast selection of everything from hair spray to yogurt to cereal.

*Gas prices. (South Africa is about $6 a gallon right now)

*Central heat/air and closed windows

*The fact that I can fix my glasses, computer, eat lunch, and buy new shoes by simply driving down the road.








On another note, if you have an ebook reader and haven't read Adam's Bride, one of my earlier romance novels, it's now on sale at Amazon during the month of March for only $1.99!

Be blessed,

Lisa

Change for Children Challenge!

First, let me thank all of you who took the time to leave a comment on my Skype Interview with Kathi Macias. Congratulations to Judy who won a copy of Kathi's latest book, Special Delivery!

For those of you who have been following my blog, you probably know about The ECHO Project, a non-profit we set up to help with all the physical needs of those we work with here in Mozambique. God has been so good, and honestly, we have been able to do more than I ever imagined in the last year. You can visit our website to see what God has been doing including building homes for the homeless, giving out school supplies, vitamins, food packets, small business loans (including financial training) dental care, school uniforms for orphans, and more.

One of the things that has worked very well as a fundraiser is to have children's classes and youth groups collect change for us. To help with this, we have put together ten short (2-3 minutes each) fun videos that show life in Africa.

Your part would be so simple and yet so vital for this ministry!

1. Share the 10 short videos on "Life in Africa" to your children or youth classes over a period of 6-10 weeks.

2. Have the children collect change during this time. (Make it a competition to see what age group can bring in the most!)

3. Turn in the collected change to The ECHO Project and impact the lives of children here in Africa.

That's it!

If you are a children's leader or teacher or if you know one who might be interested, would you please drop me an email? You can learn more about the videos here, including samples of what we are offering.

My goal is to get at least twenty children's classes/churches involved with this project this year. You really can make a huge difference by collecting Change for Children!

Below is a video of what we were able to do with money the kids from the Fellowship @ Cinco Ranch raised last summer.



Thanks!

Lisa

A tribute to 50 years of marriage!

For the past several years, we've been collecting frequent flyer points in order to return to the States to celebrate with my in-laws their 50th anniversary this month, and the time is finally here! It has been such a blessing and honor for me to have been a part of their lives over the past twenty-four years, and I am grateful for the strong spiritual example that they have shown me through their lives.

It's been fun for me to look back over so many memories we have shared together: Motorcycle trips, Disney World, long evenings playing Mexican train, dinner along San Antonio's river walk, Brazil's Hippie Fair, and their visit to Africa in 2006. They've also helped me personally in so many ways like keeping up with my book inventory, record keeping, and making it possible for me to have book giveaways. For all of this, I am so thankful!

I'm leaving next week with my two youngest in order to spend some time with my family, then will join up with Scott and Gabe to celebrate Sandy and Farrel's fifty years of marriage on March 30th. In the meantime, I thought you might like this short tribute put together by my brother and sister-in-law.

Blessings,

Lisa

Suspense on the Run: Interview with Kathi Macias & Giveaway

This month, I was able to chat all the way to California via Skype with award-winning author Kathi Macias about her latest release, Special Delivery. This is the second book in her Freedom Series that deals with human trafficking.

Posted below is part one of my interview with Kathi. Part two will be up March 20th on our International Christian Fiction Writers Blog. You can learn more about Kathi, her books, and how to help put an end to human trafficking on her website.



GIVEAWAY:

Kathi is generously offering a giveaway of Special Delivery on both blogs. So for this first interview, please leave a comment along with any questions you might have for Kathi. And don't forget to include your email address! I will draw a winner next Monday night a midnight PST.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lisa

~~~~~~~~~~~
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

A Week in Photos

It's been another busy week focused primarily on moving our new teammates over from South Africa. We had a few set backs along the way and still haven't been able to move over the last of their things due to custom issues, but nothing here ever moves quickly! Here are a few photos for the week for those of you who follow our ministry.  

Scott teaching using drama at one of our churches in town.

A new family photo of David Cuna and his family. His niece lives with them now.

A number of South African friends helped drive trailers for the Le Roux family.

One very flat, very shredded tire caused a bit of a delay.

In addition to our weekly Ladies Bible study, we are now doing an
English/Portuguese language exchange in order to reach out to women in the community.

Even the kids are involved in the learning and teaching.

Jayden and Ernan teaching English and working on their Portuguese

Finding Balance

I love the heroine in the book I'm finishing up right now. She's strong, yet vulnerable. She wants to save the world, yet realizes all too well her own limitations (while hating the fact that she can't do it all!). In some ways, she's completely opposite from me. She has has a job, for one, that I could never handle. But we do have a few things in common. Mainly the fact that she feels pulled in so many directions. And because of this, she struggles to let the hero into her life.

We all know the feeling. There is only so much time in a day. Demands are heavy between family, friends, career, and--oh yeah--the ever persistent call of the laundry and 'What's for dinner, mom?' We feel guilty if we say say no, stressed if we say yes, but we don't want to let people down. We want to be the friend who's always on call. The mom who serves dinner straight off the Food Network channel. The social butterfly on Facebook. The wife who looks as if she stepped out of a beauty salon the moment she wakes up.

Right.

I struggle with this pretty much every day. I have expectations placed on me as a mom, a wife, friend, writer, missionary, and sometimes I simply fall short. Okay, a lot of the time I fall short. Because quite frankly, I can't do it all. It took me, though, a long time to realize this. My wonderful husband reminded me one day that not only was I not Superwoman, but I didn't have to be Superwoman. Wow. What a relief! I can actually leave saving the entire world to someone else.

Seriously, though, it's something I still have to remind myself over and over. I can only do so much, and God knows that. He has called me to make a difference in the world around me, and to do the best that I can as a mother, wife, and friend, but He also expects me to be reasonable in my expectations. To say no, when I need to. To spend time being quiet in front of Him. To recharge myself spiritually. To take care of myself physically. It's a tough balance, but one we need to look at honestly.

David said in Psalm 27:11 "Teach me your way, Oh Lord; lead me in a straight path..."

When I think of a straight path, I think of focus and direction. God doesn't expect us to run around simply pleasing everyone, because in the end we only wear ourselves out. Remember Jesus' words to Martha in Luke 10:38-41..."Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one things is needed." Jesus understood the pull of everything thing that we need to do, but he reminded her that sometimes we have to focus on the important and not just the urgent.

Here are some suggestions that help me on a day-to-day basis to find that balance.

1. Take time everyday to renew yourself spiritually. This will help focus your day on Him and bring a calmness to your spirit.

2. Take time to eat right and exercise. You'll be amazed at how much more energy you have for others when you are taking care of yourself.

3. Simplify your life. There are sites on line like the FlyLady (I haven't used this site personally) who can help you declutter and organize your life.

4. It's better to do a few things well instead of spreading yourself too thin and trying to do everything. You don't have to do it all. (This means saying no sometimes!)

5. Get involved in a ministry you feel passionate about. I've noticed over and over in my own life that when I'm doing things for others who are in need, I forget my own problems and worries and it energizes me.

There are many more things that can be done to help find balance in your life. What have you found that helps you in your own day to day struggle to find balance?

Be blessed,

Lisa

Don't Panic!

It's been one of those weeks. You know what I mean. Everything seems to go wrong and while you know you shouldn't panic, sometimes it's hard not to. It's been everything from little things like my laptop power cord shorting out, to more serious things like Scott's truck breaking down in the capital. 

Thankfully, in the case of the truck, it was only a hole in the radiator, so he was able to get it fixed, but of course the problems didn't stop there. One of the reasons he was in Maputo was to finalize the customs issues of bringing over our new teammates and their things. He's been working with a clearing agent for several weeks now and everything was supposed to be arranged for them to cross the boarder on Saturday. Trucks and trailers with their drivers were lined up, paperwork finished. . . 

Then Scott was told this morning that customs is closed over the weekends, and we wouldn't be able to go through on Saturday. 

What?

Don't panic. Right.

So with two days left until the big move, everyone had to start scrambling to figure out plan B. Some of the drivers had to work during the week and couldn't make the trip if it wasn't over the weekend. Which meant we were now short on drivers.   

It's taken a lot of scrambling, and by now I think we're on plan D or F, but we do have a new plan and we're not panicking. (For the most part)

The situation made me think, though, about when Peter tried to walk on the water to Jesus. It didn't take long for him to notice the waves and the storm around him started closing in, and he panicked. I guess I'm no different, and to be honest, I'm sure I'd have been just like Peter and panicked. 

When the storms hit around us, it's easy to want to run. Panic sets in. We fumble. It's scary.

Today I also remembered another verse in Psalm 46. 

"Be still and know that I am God."

Be still. Don't panic. Yes, things are tough, but He's still God. 

It is hard. Life can be overwhelming and crazy, but listen to His voice today. Take a moment to feel his presence and know that HE is God.

Be blessed,

Lisa

The need for hope

Last week Scott took a team of disciples to build three houses for those in need. Here is their story.

    “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…the poor 

    and helpless, and see that they get justice.”  Proverbs 31:8

Defining moments...

Yesterday was one of those defining moments for me. One of those moments that reminded me again why I'm in Mozambique. We delivered school supply packets to about seventy-five needy children. What made it even more moving to me, was that all the supplies had been paid for by another group of kids from the Fellowship @ Cinco Ranch in Texas who spent last summer collecting change for The ECHO Project. Here is the video of our visit to the schools.

We need you! This year, we're looking for churches' children & youth programs to get involved with our Change for Children. It's simple. We provide a DVD with 10 fun segments on life in Africa to show your kids. The kids then collect change over a set period of time and donate that money to The ECHO Project. All money raised will go directly to make a difference in the life of children here in Mozambique.

Contact us here to get a copy of your DVD and start making a difference!

Be blessed!

Lisa

Suspense on the Run Winner...

Thanks to all of you who left comments on Keven Newsome's interview. Using Random.org, the winner of the thriller, Winter, is Patricia PacJac Carroll!

In the coming weeks, watch here for interviews and book giveaways with authors Kathi Macias, Sandra Orchard, DiAnn Mills, Lynette Eason and more!

Lisa

Ministry Photo Update

One of Julia's twins at 4 1/2 weeks.  So cute!

Team effort. The Le Roux Boy's carrying laundry to the Harris home to be dried. 

Baptism of João and Dalton

Reiner and his sunglasses.

Women's Saturday Bible class. 

Lisa holding the other twin before church. 

Answered Prayers

Disciple praying for the sick in the village.

On Saturday, I met with the women in town for our weekly Bible study. It was wonderful to see them again after many had been away during the December/January school break. We are studying women in the Bible, how God used them, and how God can use us as women. On Saturday, our lesson was about Hannah and how she turned to God in prayer for her needs.

For me, the reminder of how God answers prayers has been very real lately. Almost exactly one year ago, Scott and I sat in our mission’s board meeting in Houston at the end of our furlough, praying fervently that God would send us new teammates. There is so much work to be done here, that while we are discipling as many people as we can, we simply can’t do all that needs to be done.

Scott had planned to fly to Brazil to try and recruit some families last spring, but we felt that God was telling us not to run around trying to find people, but instead to simply pray and trust in Him to bring us the people we need, so we could focus on the work He has given us to do.

Shortly after that meeting, we flew into South Africa for a couple days before returning home to Mozambique. While we were there, we went to a missions meeting at our former church and there met a couple, Jaco and Inge Le Roux, who wanted to come and visit us. They told us that they believed God was calling them to work in Mozambique in a few years when their boys were older, and they were interested in seeing our work first hand.

Jaco, Inge, Ernan, Lander, & Reiner

In April, they came for a week, still believing as they arrived, that there would be a time in the future that they might join us. But God had other plans. Toward the end of their time with us, they told us that they believed that God was calling them to leave South Africa and work with us—not in a few years—but now.

A lot has happened since that day. Over the past year, we have spent time with then as often as possible. They have worked closely both with AOM (our ministry) and their church to finalize all the details of going into ministry full time.

Jaco and Inge bring strong skills to our team, showing us clearly God’s hand in all of this. In South Africa, Jaco was involved in management positions in the Agricultural industry. Inge is an artist who has been a part of several art exhibitions. She also has experience in the agricultural industry. She will be homeschooling their three young boys.

We are currently exploring ways for them to use their skills to not only disciple believers, but also equip people with skills and means to earn a living in the area of agriculture. This will be a huge blessing to many and will help us to expand our current work through The ECHO Project.

Mandy Hunter & Mel Welch

And as exciting as we are for them to officially join us this month, God isn’t finished! In May, two single women from the UK will be joining our team. We first met Mel and Mandy while in language school in Brazil. Since that time, they have been working about four hours north of us, so they are already very familiar with life in Mozambique. Mandy is a nurse and Mel a teacher. They both have a heart for discipleship and for reaching out to the poorest of the poor. Again, we see God giving us exactly what we need to compliment the work here.

Please pray for Jaco and Inge and their three sweet boys as they make this huge transition, and for Mel and Mandy as they are currently in the UK, preparing to return in a couple months.

What about you? How is God working in your life today and what prayers has He answered recently?

Be blessed,

Lisa

Lessons from the Heart of Africa: Significant life

African wildflowers

I sat in the village today, inside a twelve-by-six reed hut. Emily and I had come to give out vitamins to all the children and nursing mothers. We also brought another food packet for Julia and more formula for the twins.

After handing out the vitamins, the women started singing and as I listened I was reminded about a passage in Matthew 6.

Jesus said, "If God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you."

With one of little boys, Silva, nestled against me in my lap, I looked around at each of the women and their children sitting on the dirt floor and thought about how much God cares for them. How much he loves each one of them, understands their hurts, and how important their lives are to Him.

 They don't have material possessions. They don't have electricity or running water, and life is hard. But God cares for them and sees each life as significant.

I was reminded about how God prompted people to give financially, so we could in turn supply Julia with food packets and her twins with formula. I thought about the blessing in how we were able to provide a village with vitamins to help ensure that their children grow strong. And I was moved by the smiles on their faces and the joy in their singing, and the fact that God had brought us all together.

How many of my own worries do I try to take on for myself? Jesus had the answer. He simply said, don't worry. Trust in me because I care for you.

Will life be perfect? No. Easy? Not always. But I want to learn to leave my burdens at the foot of the cross. To fully believe that He cares about every one of my concerns. And then in turn to let God use me  however He chooses.

It's worth repeating. "If my God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you."

Every life--every individual--is significant in God's eyes.

Be a blessing,

Lisa