The beginning - "So where are we going?"
You know, Mozambique was not even the first choice. It wasn't even the second or third choice when our team was considering options for the summer. Back in the Winter of 2002, a team was assembled to go to China and serve in the Home of Hope orphanage. I was pretty excited at the prospect of going to China. I have always wanted to visit China and I always had a burden for the Chinese people. (that would be my people of course!) Our ministry would involve teaching English to the people in the city of GongYi. During the other times, we would spend time with the children at the orphanage and also try to build relationships with the people in the city.
Around March 2003, the SARS epidemic in the Asian countries became more and more serious. The situation was not getting any better and eventually, both CDC and the WHO put out travel advisories on China. Our family members, friends, and our church grew more concerned as the SARS situation progressed. I was torn and confused through it all. I thought God wanted me to go to China and my heart was already invested into the trip, as well as into the children at the orphanage. Yet, it was important to respect the concerns and advice from those who were close to me. The team decided to submit to the authority of our church and our family and explore other options. This was a difficult decision for all of us. We have already trained for china and prepared our hearts to serve there. Through the experience, I have learned that sometimes obedience involves flexibility, being open to what plans God had in mind even if I thought I knew what they were already.
We gave ourselves two weeks to find other mission opportunities that could match the training that we had been doing: 1) working with children, 2) teaching English. The British West Indies came up as an opportunity but did not seem to work out. Our other realistic alternative was to serve at YWAM Taiwan. It was the most similar trip to the one in China and for a short while, things were looking up.
Then, SARS started to affect Taiwan and the situation escalated. I could not understand it at all. All we wanted was a place where we could serve but nothing was working out. I felt abandoned by my church because they could not support our trips to China or Taiwan. (For which I now understand their position). I had so much turmoil in my family as a result of my choice to go abroad that summer. I was confused because I knew God had called me so far to prepare for a trip like this and yet He wasn't allowing the trip to happen! I was ready to give up.
That same week, Nicole Behnam from our church, approached us. She had a friend in town visiting from Mozambique. Sybil Baloyi, Nicole's friend, was from World Relief Mozambique and works with the youth in Chokwe, Mozambique. When Nicole told Sybil about our team and what we could contribute, Sybil was overjoyed at the prospect of a group teaching English to her youth and the workers there. We talked with Sybil and she told us she would love to have us come through her ministry and serve there. Coincidence? Hrm... It was perfect! Right when all our options were exhausted and basically when our once strong wills were broken, God came in and showed us this path. It was perfect that even though time was running out, God gave us Sybil. She was in Baltimore for another two weeks so that gave us a chance to plan our trip and ministry and have her present throughout the planning. It was perfect that we could talk to Sybil about her ministry and ask her anything we wanted. It was perfect that those of us who met Sybil, including our church leadership, could get to know her and allay our concerns. I told you in the beginning: God has an interesting way of showing us that He is in control. Did I know at that time that this was going to be the prefect trip for all of us? Of course not! Remember, I had no clue about Mozambique. :-) But in any case, the trip was on! We finally had a place to go to for our missions trip.