Goings...
As I write this our colleague Mel is boarding a plane in Blantyre bound for Heathrow via Johannesburg.  When she arrived in October we all knew the six months would fly by, and they did. What none of knew was how hard Mel would work, nor how determined she would be to make her time in Mozambique count for something. We have been highly impressed by her courage. Many a time she could have used illness or transport difficulties as an excuse to cancel the children's clubs, but instead she battled on and made them happen. She has demonstrated Christ's compassion to hundreds of children, some of whom are orphans, sick or disabled. These are the ones Jesus spoke of when he said, "Whatever you did for the least of my brothers, you did it for me." They live hard, sad lives, but Mel took the opportunity to bring light into their darkness. Where the local church people have caught the vision for working with children, there is potential to build on the foundation Mel has laid and we are currently examining the best way to do this. For us as a couple it was our first experience of taking a junior team member under our wing, and we did not know how that would work out. Mel could not have made our job any easier, and any future short term volunteers will have a hard act to follow! Mel will spend a month in the UK and then take up a six month placement in Blantyre, Malawi. We will be surprised though if that proves to be the end of her missionary exploits.

...and comings
The Irish Missions Director, Pastor Ray Cotter, is due to arrive today on the same plane on which Mel flies out. Gregory will pick him up at the airport and bring him to Tete tomorrow for his first experience of Mozambique. We will spend a few days with him and let him visit the churches and see the work we are doing. We hope he will bring fresh insight to the work. Two of the projects we mentioned in our last newsletter - distribution of mosquito nets and HIV education - have been made possible by the money raised by Ray and the others who were brave enough to abseil down Scrabo Tower last October. That money has also been used to start some income generation projects benefiting widows and orphans. Other funds, again largely donated by the Irish churches have been used to build latrines and put roofs on churches. This visit will give Ray a chance to see where the money has gone to, and to meet some of the people who have benefited.

Public...
How do you announce the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection in a land where the Easter weekend is not marked on the calendars, religious education is not on the school curriculum and the majority of people have never read the Bible and do not attend church? We decided the answer had to be, "As loudly and flamboyantly as possible" Seven years ago we took part in a passion play on the streets of Stockport produced jointly by a number of the local churches. This year we did it again, but with some major differences. The script was not in English but in Portuguese. The setting was not a wide, clean-swept shopping mall but the dusty tracks between the stalls of the local markets. The onlookers were not too busy rushing around snapping up bargain Easter eggs on the bank holiday to be interested in what was going on; instead they were held spellbound by a spectacle unlike any they had seen before, and eagerly followed the procession. The Roman soldiers were not polite and restrained, but realistically brutal in their treatment of Jesus. And the actors were not experienced pastors and church officers, but raw young black Africans. They were nervous and embarrassed; they had never done or even witnessed anything remotely like this before. But they determined to step out of their comfort zones and give all they had to proclaiming the Good News. The result was a production beyond our wildest dreams. Hundreds of people watched in three different venues as Jesus was judged and crucified before their eyes. We heard that the market places were still buzzing with the reports of the play the following day. But perhaps the greatest thing of all was that we ourselves did not have to take part! Instead we had the joy of seeing our church members grow in faith, maturity and unity as they took centre stage.

...and private
In the midst of juggling many programs this month, we were called upon to help one of our church members in a way that I doubt would appear in the curriculum of any Bible college. Jane is Zimbabwean but her husband Derrick is Mozambican. They met and married in Harare while studying at the University of Zimbabwe, and worked as school teachers in Zimbabwe for some time. Last year Derrick began to be threatened by the increasing anti-foreigner mood in his adopted country and decided to bring his wife and young daughter back to his homeland. They joined our church soon after arriving in Tete, and we have sought to help them through the intervening struggles with unemployment and poverty. Derrick found work at the turn of the year, and though it does not pay well their lives improved a little. But a new challenge appeared on the horizon; Jane was pregnant, and the pregnancy was a difficult one. Since January she has been unwell with one thing and another, and nobody was quite sure what was going on. Finally in early March it became obvious that it was malaria that was 'gobbling her up' as she described it. She started taking malarial treatment, but by that time the disease was advanced and she was severely anaemic. Although the pregnancy still had 6 weeks to go, and although I was preparing for the women's conference to be held that weekend, I developed a strong sense of urgency that she must get a blood transfusion. The doctor at the private clinic at the tobacco processing plant agreed to see her and to do her blood tests free of charge. Her blood count was 4 (normal being around 10-12 for a pregnant woman), and he arranged for her to have a blood transfusion at the city hospital the following day.

However, as is often the case here, the blood bank was empty, and the hospital staff would only agree to admit Jane if she came with 2 family members who could donate blood. Where do you find 2 family members when you are living as a refugee in a foreign city with your husband and 3-year-old daughter? I took her and Derrick to the hospital, offering to be one of the donors and Derrick agreeing to be the other. That plan fell apart when it turned out his blood group was different from hers and he could not give her blood. In the end both Gregory and I gave blood to Jane. This caused quite a stir throughout the hospital, and we heard the story coming back to us from various sources over the next few days! Jane went home the following day. Two days later I went to the bush for the women's conference, leaving Gregory and the boys at home. Jane had wanted to join us, but still felt too weak so she stayed at home to rest. The following day she went into premature labour at home, and within an hour delivered a baby girl weighing 1.4 kg (around 3lb). Of course I knew nothing about this until Gregory came to collect me from the conference. I was near tears as I realised how the Lord had orchestrated everything. Had she delivered her baby while so severely anaemic she might well have died. But the Lord knew the time the baby would be born. He prodded me to shelve my own plans and get Jane sorted out while there was still time. She is now recovering and the baby is growing and looking healthy. Derrick and Jane are rejoicing in God's goodness to them in giving them another daughter, knowing how easily it could have been a very different story were it not for His grace.

Women...
Thank you for your prayers for the women's conference: it was fantastic! This was my turn to step out of my comfort zone. I have never organised anything on the scale of a 3-day conference for so many people before and I was so painfully aware of all the many things that could go wrong. But in the event most things went right, and it was worth every ounce of effort. The six women who came from Zimbabwe taught and ministered at exactly the level that the local women need. In the main sessions they gave Biblical teaching on home life based around the 'Wife of Noble Character' in Proverbs 31. On the Saturday afternoon we split into groups and looked at subjects as diverse as overcoming evil spirits, growing a garden, and family planning; all highly relevant and much needed in this setting. The high point of the weekend was the message given by Sinikiwe Munembe (daughter-in-law of Pastor Pious Munembe) on the Sunday morning. She preached on the verse "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy" (Pr 31:20). I was not the only one unable to hold back the tears as she revealed God's own compassion for the needy and challenged us all to demonstrate it. It is a lie of the Enemy that the poor in Christ's church have nothing but begging bowls to hold out to others. This belief robs them of the joy of giving. It robs them of the chance to discover God's faithfulness in giving back to them when they open their hands to others in blessing. It robs the church of maturity and keeps it dependant and weak. Sinikiwe showed the whole congregation that, poor as most of them may be, there is always someone more destitute close by; and Jesus expects them not to be grasping but to share the blessings they have received. And to those of us to whom much more has been given the message is plain: much more will be required of us.

...and men
The men this month haven't done anything that special, so there is nothing to say about them. Maybe next time?

Please Pray

Thank God for further successful distribution of mosquito nets in three new villages. Pray for the final distribution in Mauthithi on 7 April. Pray that people would use their nets on a regular basis so as to reduce the incidence of malaria in these areas. Thank God the cholera epidemic has ended Pray for Sharon as she plans to teach about AIDS to the youth of all our churches on 19 April. Pray they will pledge themselves to live in God's way The head of the city hospital blood bank, seeing us give blood to Jane, has asked us to consider holding blood donation sessions in our churches. Pray that we will have wisdom to introduce this very new idea without causing offence or alienating people. Thank God for the blessing that the women's conference brought to so many Remember our children in your prayers, that they would thrive socially and educationally Praise God for the impact the Passion Play made, and pray that people will be saved as the Holy Spirit works in their lives Pray that Ray will have a good visit Pray for Mel in the next stage of her adventure of faith

Grace to you

Sharon and Gregory Kane

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Sharon's 'Joke of the Month'

* British Speed Trap *

Two British traffic patrol officers from North Berwick were
involved in an unusual incident while checking for speeding
motorists on the A-1 Great North Road. One of the officers
used a hand-held radar device to check the speed of a
vehicle approaching over the crest of a hill, and was
surprised when the speed was recorded at over 300 mph.
Their radar suddenly stopped working and the officers were
not able to reset it.

Just then a deafening roar over the treetops revealed that
the radar had in fact latched on to a NATO Tornado fighter
jet, which was engaged in a low-flying exercise over the
Border district, approaching from the North Sea.

Back at police headquarters, the chief constable fired off a
stiff complaint to the RAF Liaison office. Back came the
reply in true laconic RAF style:

"Thank you for your message, which allows us to complete the
file on this incident. You may be interested to know that
the tactical computer in the Tornado had detected the
presence of, and subsequently locked onto, your hostile
radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back
to it.

"Furthermore, an air-to-ground missile aboard the
fully-armed aircraft had also automatically locked onto your
equipment.

"Fortunately, the pilot flying the Tornado recognized the
situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile
systems alert status, and was able to override the automated
defense system before the missile was launched and your
hostile radar installation was destroyed. Good Day..."

_______________________

Gregory's 'Quote of the Month'

* Vaclav Havel on Vision *

"Vision is not enough; it must be combined with venture.
It is not enough to stare up the steps. We must step up the stairs."