November means a lot of things if you stay in Mozambique!  It means HOT weather, dust storms, the promise of rain and the great anticipation of the local people to start planting their first crops.  To most of our kids around us it means exams and the prospect of a holiday on the horizon.  It’s malaria time …. peak season upon us and many here knows the battle.  Many still struggling and living without any mosquito net or adequate medication to prevent malaria.  So looking back at the month of November – all these mentioned above are currently happening or are in the process of happening.

We have had several deaths the last few weeks.  Sickness and disease the common denominator but also accidents as one of our pastor’s grandchildren was killed crossing the road.  Something that happens all to frequently as traffic pics up as the economy is growing.

BUT …. November will also be remembered as a miracle and truly a “thanksgiving” month.  After many years of dreaming, planning and wondering ….. the first signs of a dream becoming a reality was when the D6 bulldozer showed up to clear the long awaited runway.

After many months of paperwork and government officials inspecting our base the final approval was given.  The sun and heat was forgotten and our mission workers all jumped for joy when the “work crew” arrived to get the job done.  The next phase will be when Mercy Air via Ron Wayner will construct a hanger with another workforce arriving from the US to help.

And then ….. well then we await the first plane to “officially” land on the base.  Although we have had many helicopters come and go we have never had a fixed wing plane land …. for obvious reasons …. lol!  (Dwight did some low flying and it looked from my perspective as if he was trying …..!)  And what a great day that will be.  Having a runway means we could reach the north and its needs much quicker without delays and huge costs at airports.  Casavacs and other operations would be run from the base.  At the moment we would have 4 stationary pilots at the base – Dwight, Ron, Barb and Andy from Switzerland who will join us early 2011.

THUS  …. a great miracle in the dust … and we are thankful.  Thank you for your prayers and continual support.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Our school closing ceremony will be on Thursday and we just heard from the Education Department that our external exams with grade 5’s was a great success with a pass rate of 84 %.  I want to see South Africa beat that!!!
• Our bi-annual SBF training with more than 30 pastors representing more than nearly 700 students will take place this coming weekend.
• Our annual big XMAS Orphan party is about to take place first week in December.
• OH yes …. and XMAS planning …. forgot about that.
• Please pray that God will bless all of our activities and thank you again for being there!!!!