I have endeavored, for the last three and a half years of living in Mozambique to “stop for the one” in front of me: a child in the center, a beggar on the street, a knock on the door asking for food, a visitor with questions, a worker who wanted to visit, or a missionary wanting to talk.  In February of this year, when I received a phone call from home to say Dr’s had discovered a cancerous tumor in my mum’s large intestine, the Lord asked me to stop for my mum.  Consequently, this finds me writing from my parent’s home in Canada where I have returned to help my mum and dad through my mum’s six months of chemotherapy (after which I plan to return to Mozambique).   I returned to Canada with a testimony, a testimony of amazing grace- grace that carried me through some very difficult days.

On Friday, Feb. 13^th I was out for supper to celebrate another missionary’s birthday when my brother called to say that a CT scan had showed the possibility of a tumor in mum’s intestine, and that her hemoglobin count was very low indicating internal bleeding.  They were admitting her to the hospital immediately.  On Wednesday, Feb. 18^th, my dad called to confirm that it was a cancerous tumor and that they would operate by the end of the week to remove it.  By Friday I was sleep-deprived, red-eyed, had gone through at least one box of Kleenex and was wondering if I would ever experience the grace my parents were walking in.  As I was praying while she was in surgery late that night, I received a grace package from the Lord beyond what I thought was possible.  It was this grace that truly enabled me to surrender mum, and the situation to the Lord- something I had not previously been able to completely do.   In the 3 weeks following her successful surgery, we debated often whether I should return home, and decided that I would only return home if she needed chemotherapy.  Once we learned she would need chemo, we decided I would return home just in time for the chemo to begin as mum was recovering well from the surgery and my dad and youngest brother were helping with the practical needs at home. 

Despite my longing to return home immediately, there were 6 little Mozambican boys holding me back.  My close friend Vella, who normally lives with and cares for the boys (along with 2 Mozambican women who alternate shifts of 4 days/nights), was leaving for a 6 week rest in England, and I had committed to live with and care for the boys in her absence.  The Lord gave me much peace about remaining in Mozambique longer to live with the boys, and one night at church with the boys the Lord reminded me that though I longed desperately to return to care for my mother, there were 6 boys who needed a mother for 6 weeks.  One evening at supper, I decided to give each of the boys a portion of the Chinese food leftovers I had.  It was such a novelty for them. For the entire meal they’d hold up different pieces of food (like onions, green peppers or chicken) and ask “is this from China?”  It’s the simplest things in life that bring them the most delight!

I also continue to head up our hospitality team that cares for between 750-1000 short term visitors each year, and my remaining in Mozambique a couple months longer enabled me to train an almost entirely new team and help us rebuild and recover from a total computer crash.  We decided as a team, each weekly meeting, to testify and celebrate what God had done in or through a visitor(s) that week.  One man, after returning home from his visit with us, wrote to say that because of his experience in Mozambique, he was a completely new husband and father to his wife and kids.  Even after three and a half years living in Mozambique, I often think that God continues to do more in me than through me.  

Though my location and “mission” have temporarily changed, my family and I eagerly anticipate, through our journey with mum, that God will give us “the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that [we] may know that [He is] the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons [us] by name” (Isaiah 45:3).