BUSH BUNNY BRENDA'S UPDATE, June, 2009
(to view version with photos, click on pdf icon to right)
OVER OUR HEADS IN CORN AND BEANS!
Middle of May had us distributing 110 lb (50
Kg) feed sacks to the widows and other village
co-ops in the Balama area.
Thanks to many generous donors, our 5
years of buying experience and massive
pre-organization, OUR BARNS WERE
FILLED by June 19th.
(The food literally towers over my head in huge “pillars” stacked 13 rows high. Each pillar holds about 90 tons of
corn.)
Gifts totally over $70,000 made this possible. We now have
252 tons of corn and 54 tons of beans that will bring
HOPE AND HEALTH to over a 1000 hungry children in
the 2 counties in which we work.
WIDOWʼS AGRICULTURAL CO-OPS
(Getting widows on their feet)
Last November, thanks to a Kansas donor, we gave out corn & bean seeds to widows in 8 villages who needed a new start
after losing their husbands. Most had also lost a daughter to
disease or in childbirth, and were struggling to raise their
orphaned grandchildren on whatever they could find.
Giving them a helping hand and getting to show them that
Jesus truly loves them, is one of the “perks” of being a
missionary. Seven of the 8 co-ops made money on the crops
they raised.
The 30 elderly widows of the Nacaca village co-op out grew the rest because EACH OF THESE WOMEN
raised 500 lbs (228kg) of corn and 163 lbs. (74kg) of beans. They did it ALL BY HAND with only an old hoe, a machete and
the help of their grandkids. Quite a feat when you consider they plowed, planted, and harvested it all by hand. I take my hat
off to them.
The 7 Widow’s Co-ops gave back the seed corn that we had given them last November, so that other widows can be given a
new start come planting time.
GOD GIVES 2ND PICK-UP FOR THE WATER WELL DRILLING PROGRAM
In March, the VOX Ministry team and I asked the Lord to provide the much needed 2nd pick-up for the Water
Well Drilling Team. For efficient and fast water well drilling, 2 pick-ups are necessary. One
hauls equipment and men to the site each day while the other hauls a 750 liter (188 gallon)
water tank in the back. At times, both trucks are put to work hauling in the water,
depending on the distance to the nearest lake or pond. A minimum of 6000
liters (1,500 gallons) of water is needed to drill each well.
Thanks to a very generous donor, the needed $42,000 was received in June. I
called the Toyota dealer in Pemba (5 hours drive away), hearing from the
manager that only 1 pick-up was left on the lot. The shocker was that within 5
days the new 2009 prices would take affect. Prices would sore by $8,000/truck!
Eric raced into Pemba the next day to sign the needed paperwork that put an 8
day freeze on the truck price.
The funds were received 4 days later in our bank account.. It was close, but then
GOD IS NEVER LATE! He just likes us to exercise our faith.
WE ARE BLESSED!
Because we now have 3 pick-ups, the food distribution and other children’s programs will not have to compete for
transportation with the Water Well Drilling Team.
Water Well Drilling Masters Eric Dry and Wikkie DuPlessis started drilling the first water well of 2009 as soon as we closed
the doors on our barn full of food. They completed it today, as I write this letter.
In the last week of May, this dynamic duo repaired an old well at a bush hospital that just needed new “guts”. A love gift of
$500 brought fresh water to the hospital patients near the Mango Tree Church in Mavala. The people were dancing for joy
when water poured from a well that hasn’t worked in over 4 years.
BUSH BUNNY TIDBITS
1. BUSH BIKERS FOR CHRIST received new
bikes, thanks to many generous hearts in Texas. They
continue their evangelism in over 20 villages each week
where no churches exist.
2. A new team Evangelist, Pastor Alberto, joined our
staff in May. Given a motor bike by an O.U. donor has
made it possible for Alberto to spread the Word of God
to very remote places with bad roads.
Last December, a man named Pinasse came to our door,
asking if we had a Pastor who could train him to preach
the Word of God to his small bush church about 15 miles
from us. In the rainy season this wasn’t possible, but as
soon as Pastor Alberto got his bike, he hit the trail for this
tiny village called KOPWEETO (ko-pwee-too) with its 27
members. Leaving early every Saturday morning, Alberto
teaches all day to the 8 members of this church who are
really hungry for the Word. He returns on Sunday
afternoons to teach our youth during the week. It is an
inspiration to watch him work. He’s the father of 7 and
plans to share his wisdom and the love of God with our
teenage boys.
3.
FYI: Pastor Alberto’s oldest son, Manuel, was
my first employee when I came to Balama in 1999. I
bought Manuel a bicycle, and he hauled 10 gallons of
water for me each day from the only water well in the
area, 2 miles away. He’s the only person who’s stuck with
me from the start of this mission. Manuel is now our only
staff member qualified to drive our 6 ton truck, and he
also works on the Water Well Drilling Team. God raises
up the faithful!
4. July 5th to Aug. 2nd has us hosting the VOX
MINISTRY TEAM from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
VOX is a co-sponsor with us in the Water Well Drilling
Program. Sixteen team members will be here to host a
Health & Hygiene seminar for African Villages, as well as
assist our drilling team in putting in the first 2 of the 16
wells they are sponsoring.
5. Subscribe to the Bush Bunny Blog on our
website for the latest breaking news as it happens in
Mozambique. YOUR LOVE GIFTS AT WORK!
Love,
Bush Bunny Brenda and the Balama Staff
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