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E-mail Edition - December 29, 2003 |
JUST LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF...A YEAR AGO Here on the GNA compound, the months of December and January are known for a couple of things. First there's the heat of summer, being that we live in the southern hemisphere. Our thermometer registered 105 degrees on Christmas day and 112 the day after. Since we knew a white Christmas was out of the question, we dreamed of a wet one instead. But with no rain in sight, we decided on a nice swim in an outdoor pool at a Maputo hotel. We'll likely celebrate our January 1 wedding anniversary (our fifth) by cooling off the same way. These two months are also a time in which our Bible training center is out of session, and we plan and prepare for a fresh batch of spiritually hungry students to arrive in February. There's so much we'd like to teach them that it's difficult to pare it all down to what essentials we can squeeze into our one-year program. But the most important advantage of these two months of down time is the opportunity to focus on some things for which there's not as much time when our classes are in full swing. A particular emphasis for Kevin has been working with youth, something he was doing part-time in the US only a year ago as we were preparing for the move to Mozambique. Kevin was approached by a young man recently, who asked on behalf of a group of youth for the establishment of a regular Bible study. Since then they've been having weekly studies from the Gospel of John. Attendance has been generally good, ranging anywhere between 7 and 40 (sometimes the numbers will be depleted by a local wedding or a soccer game involving Mozambique's national team in the stadium a few miles away). This group includes some in their early twenties, who are still considered youths as long as they remain unmarried. We also recently helped sponsor a one-day youth seminar here with four different speakers talking about the fruits of the Spirit. There were about 80 kids in attendance, most of whom came to our house afterward to play volleyball. This country is overflowing with kids and teenagers, and we desire wisdom in how to reach out to them evangelistically. Kevin continues his study of this area's prominent tribal language (as most children are not yet fluent in Portuguese), and Mindy is coming along well in her study of Portuguese. Please pray that God would embolden and equip us to fruitfully minister to the unsaved here. READY OR NOT, HERE WE COME As many of you know, we are planning to spend the summer of 2004 (Northern Hemisphere) in the US. During this time we will report to individuals and churches who are already supporting us, and try to bring more supporters on board (in hopes of vanquishing the giant scraping sound that regularly emanates from our bank account). Mindy will spend much of her time stateside working for a medical practice in Louisville, where she worked before our departure to Mozambique. Kevin hopes to do a good bit of traveling and speaking, the itinerary for which is still mostly open. We would love to receive an invitation to your church, week of church camp, or VBS. Please help us pray about the decisions we'll be making soon with regard to our flights, where we'll be staying while in the US, and what we'll be driving. MOZAMBIQUE ECONOMIC INDEX (as of 12/29/03) 1 US dollar = 22,950 Mozambican meticais Gallon of milk: $4.45 Gallon of gas (leaded): $2.53 Gallon of orange juice: $4.61 Can of regular Pringles: $3.44 1 kg of bananas: $0.44 10 tomatoes: $0.26 Thank you for your prayers and support, Kevin and Mindy Beck |