Michelle's African Missions

My little friend dancing in the township

2009-03-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

Friends from Botleng

2009-03-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the family I stayed with in Botleng

Bothleng Township, Delmas, South Africa

2009-01-24T01:32:00.000-08:00

Bothleng Township

2009-01-24T01:28:00.000-08:00

...........Pastor Lewis, the Cheif of Bothleng, and me.

More Bothleng photos

2009-01-24T01:20:00.000-08:00

Friends from Sudan

2009-01-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

Facepainting/coloring on Christmas Day

2009-01-23T10:21:00.000-08:00

Sudan Collage

2009-01-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning presents

2009-01-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

All the kids dressed in their new outfits waiting to recieve their Christmas presents.

Boys with their new matchbox cars

Vickie-Joy

Days in Sudan

2009-01-23T08:36:00.000-08:00

Dressed to impress on Christmas morning

Little Vickie-Joy

Us ladies with our jingle-bell earings Michele gifted us with.

Gift in the Night

2008-12-31T05:17:00.000-08:00

Here is a journal entry I wrote this morning recounting the exciting events of last night:
"So, last night we’re all sitting around waiting for the “Caucau” and learning Kakua when Mama Udita comes bursting out the door and starts shouting at the older boys sitting with us. She’s not speaking English, so we don’t know what she’s saying, but she’s motioning towards the gate and sounding urgent. The boys start getting up out of their chairs and heading towards the gate. One of the boys, Arch-Angelo, I think it was, fills us in on what’s going on. “She says that there is a baby crying at the door. Someone has left it there.”
We all jump out of our chairs and start rushing towards the gate, where the rest of the crowd of children who are still up at 11:30 are heading. We all crowd the gate and peek over eachother’s heads to get a glimpse of the baby crying. Jennie and Mama Michele (the base founder) push through and Susan (a visiting YWAMer) arrives with her camera and starts filming as Mama Michele takes the mystery baby in her arms and brings it through the gate. We all crowd the doorway to our little camping area/ previous classroom where we have a few plastic chairs set out between our tents. Mama Michelle brings the baby in to sit and rock it till it stops crying. The other Mamas and Sudanese leaders are concerned with involving the police and are in a hurry to get to the police station, so they rush off to make a report.
We all sit and stand around the baby and discuss who it’s mother could be. Michele assumes the baby is a girl and starts throwing out some ideas of possible moms. One 19 year old girl who has been by the center to ask for formula before, another woman named Elisabeth… but after checking under the “nappy” as Michele calls it, we discover that this little one is no girl. So our little midnight addition to the family really is a mystery baby, abandoned on the doorstep with no traces to family, wrapped up in a bunch of cloth pieces and laying in a plastic washbasin, completed with a bottle and canteen of watery formula.
This little guy appears to be pretty malnourished. He looks around three months old but has the face of an aged little man. His legs are skinny and bowlegged, but with the tiniest, cutest, newborn-looking toes you have ever seen. Someone asks how they’ll pick a name. Josiah is suggested and it instantly sticks. Each child here has two names, one fairly western sounding name, and one in the native language. Michele asks what “gift” is in Kakua, and we arrive at “ ‘doga ” for his second name. Little Josiah ‘Doga, our present in the middle of the night, the day before New Years Eve. Wow, how cool."

Some fun dolled up Africa Pix

2008-07-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

My baby Sam playing with my fascinating watch at the Zimpeto center, Mozambique.

Sam being the beautiful baby he is.

Another of Sam and me in the Zimpeto center in Maputo, Mozambique.

Thelma and me in Maputo, Mozambique.

Some cool trees we found on Safari in Zambia.

Little girl on outreach

Little girl in the refugee camp in Malawi

Kids on outreach in Napiri villiage, Mozambique.

Little boy in the refugee camp in Malawi.

My friends Rosa and Chantalle in Pemba, Mozambique.

Belated Photos from 2006 trip

2008-05-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
Here are some picture from my trip to Malawi in September, 2006.

Newborn baby at the hospital

Beautiful little girl in a children's center that we visited.

A little friend I made at a refugee camp in Malawi.

A crowd of children during outreach learning shaka.

Some super cool kids I found on the beach

Crowd of kids on the beach along Lake Malawi.

Sweet Old Ladies

2007-01-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

This sweet lady took a picture with me during one of our overnight outreaches to the interior villiages of Mozambique. We traveled for about 7 1/2 hours from Pemba to get to Napuri, the village that we stayed in for three days and two nights. About 2 of those hours where on paved roads and the rest...
Not to mention that moving room was scarce in the back of the covered camion bed with about 30 of us and all our personal gear and outreach gear pilled up for us to sit on :) All in all I decided I was built for this kinda stuff, 'cause I was surprised how much I didn't mind the long uncomfortable ride. I actually found myself (along the way back) thrilled and thanking God for what an awesome time it was in the back of that truck, and what wonderful people He gave me the opportunity to ride with!
Anyways, this attractive nose ring is a symbol of what tribe one belongs to. I noticed only the elderly women have them, so I think it's a dieing fad... I'm not sure which is which, but other women have open rings in their upper lips, (I wish I had got a picture of this too for you) to signify they are from the other tribe. Makua and Makonde are the two tribes here, and they don't always get along... But in this village the chief is a Christian and encourages peace. We dedicated the newly built church building while we were there. God is working in this village. I also got to experience for the first time a Mozambiquan wedding! How beautiful!