The Chronicles of Janie

I was on my knees, yet again, exhaustion clamoring even more loudly in my ears than the speaker system, discouragement hanging as heavy as the dust clouds that blocked my lungs, more vast than the crowd that gathered, half-seen, at the edges of the light. There are times when I can face a mountain of problems, break them down into manageable pieces, recruit help, and have faith that we will overcome. This was not one of those times. The normal list of impossibilities had expanded and blossomed into something completely unmanageable, and I was left staggered, and wondering, 'how do you change a world that is so, irreparably, broken that it's falling to bits around you?' I did the only thing I know to do. I got down on my knees and I lifted my hands, and I said, "God, I know I'm here for a reason. I know You have things for me to do. But right now, everything looks impossible. How do you change a world that is so broken?" The answer came in the w...

Mozambicans make the best chicken. If you doubt this, come and visit. I will turn you into a believer. So you can understand that, living in the land of people who take their chicken very, very seriously, I was a bit intimidates when 'Frango Friday' came along and I had to cook chicken for everybody because Dona Ana was at a funeral. Would I get it right? All I can say is, that this recipe received applause and Dino was putting his rice into the chicken dish so that he sould soak up the last of the sauce, and two people have since asked me for the recipe. I'm going to label that a success. Tangy High-Stakes Chicken 1 chicken, skinned and cut into pieces. I'm not the best chicken carver, so I just roughly divided it into legs, thighs, wings, neck, and the torso into four parts. 1/4 cup oil 1/2 cup vinegar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 3 medium tomatoes 2 medium onions 2 medium carrots 5 cloves garlic 1 teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon oregano...

As so often happens here in Mozambique, I found myself seated in a shop, waiting for someone to show up so that I could ask about buying something. And, as also happens more often than not, I fell into conversation with the store owner, in this case, a Muslim guy from India. We started talking about our respective home countries, and what it's like to live in Mozambique, and then he commented on how well I speak Portuguese.  "Oh, thanks!"  And then I started in on the story about how I'd prayed to learn Portuguese when I first arrived, and how God had sent me my friend, Fifi, who didn't speak any English at the time, and that was how I'd started learning. And there I was, chatting to a Muslim guy about my faith. Jesus with Mary & Martha; African artist, unknown I was part of a Baptist church for a number of years, so I've been to  all  of the trainings about  all  of the evangelistic methods. I rea...

One day, God asked me, Are you willing to work for justice for others, even if it means that you are treated unjustly? It was one more step on a path I've been walking for a very long time; the path of total surrender to God. It's fairly easy to say, "here I am, God, send me." But it can be terribly hard to let go of the individual things that your humanity holds dear. So God asks me, from time to time, "Are you willing to let go of that? What about that? Can you trust me in this situation?"  There are many things I've fought to hold on to for a long, long time - friends, safety, dignity - but when I let them go at God's request, it's always such a relief. The more I learn to stop fighting for myself, the more I get to see God fighting for me. And He's a much better fighter than I'll ever be. Aslan & Lucy concept art | Justin Sweet Living as a foreigner in Mozambique is never dull. At it's best, ...