The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,000 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 17 trips to carry that many people.
2014.12.25
…I WAS SICK AND YOU VISITED ME… (Matthew 25:36)
It was a grandelicious Christmas dinner, with magnificent company, excellent African weather, filhoses, Bolo Rei, the bits and the pieces.
Upon retiring to my quarters, feeling more than content with my life in general and my bellychest in particular, it seemed there was nothing else to attend to the next day, Christmas day.
Then the light in my brain came on and an idea instantly formed to consume my thoughts, how about visiting the hospital tomorrow and wish Merry Christmas, on the very Christmas day, to patients and staff?…
I was just too tired and full to give it a more thorough bit of attention than, ok, I’ll se how I feel in the morning,… maybe I can take some tracts, there’s those sweets that have been sitting waiting to be given away,… yawn… I’ll see… …
Morning came and the idea was still there, flashing like a top blinker on an ambulance. But I was still not quite sure if I was up to it leg and all. There was things I had to do, computer work that gives me some money to get by, sending the latest newsletter via email, be with the kids,…
Amazing how real good stuff takes real effort to get done. It’s always been that way with me and, over the years and many of such tasks, I’ve constantly seen that it pays off in the end every time, in accomplishments and a personal feeling of happiness to have made a difference and been on the right side.
And so I folded the tracts, picked up the bag of sweets and headed off to the hospital.
True to the core, as I went I was healed, healed of pain in my leg and able to almost walk without the help of the cane. Not healed for good but healed for the moment sort of thing.
The visit went just fine, prayed for healing with 25 patients, distributed 70 “What Everybody Needs Is Love” tracts and a bag of sweets came back empty, which I’m sure sweetened the nurses and doctors day.
Me? I came back a better man, it always does that.
Among all the other good stuff that one can and should do, it pays to visit Him when He is sick!
(JR)
2014.12.15
ACÇÃO MISSIONÁRIA AURORA – AMA
PROJECTO TCHUMA TCHATO
EM PARCERIA COM TFI
CARTA DE NOTÍCIAS 02/2014/15 – 20141215_TT2014/15_CN02
Caros amigos, apoiantes e futuros apoiantes do Projecto Tchuma Tchato.
Antes do mais, quero agradecer a todos que – apesar das vicissitudes que atravessamos no momento as quais não se vê nesga por onde fugir para realidades mais confortantes, em suma, a crise, não só Portuguesa mas global – mesmo assim ainda conseguem fazer das tripas coração e dar. Bem hajam!
Na medida do possível também vou dando, de mim e do que tenho. O dar de mim significa vir para cá e estar disponível, o dar do que tenho, como se diz, é de muita boa vontade.
A viagem desta vez foi uma aventura, graças a Deus. Ao tentar conseguir a passagem mais barata, através da internet, fui enredado numa espécie de conto do vigário, conhecida hoje em dia como publicidade enganosa, e comprei uma baratinha mas com armadilhas pelo meio. É que na escala, não só tive que mudar de aeroporto como também tive que levantar a mala de porão, transportá-la de um aeroporto para o outro e fazer o check-in novamente, com todos os inconvenientes que isso acarreta.
A acrescentar, o taxi de um lugar para o outro ficou por minha conta, o que encareceu a passagem. Bom, mesmo assim ainda foi a mais baratinha. Tudo feito à muletada. Desde já fica o aviso, na “tripsta.com” encontram-se ofertas aliciantes, mas atenção aos pontos de “exclamação(zinha),” que são atalhos para as tais armadilhas.
Na viagem de longo curso puseram-me ao lado de um casal Sueco que vinha passar uns dias de férias à África do Sul. Conversámos bastante durante a viagem e, ao chegarmos a Johannesburgo, eles seguiram para a Cidade do Cabo para depois subirem até ao Kruger, perto de onde fica a nossa missão. Nas despedidas trocámos email e moradas e ficou o convite de nos visitarem.
Finalmente cheguei à missão, um par de dias para adaptar à mudança e começar a trabalhar. Já se passaram 15 dias desde que cheguei, como o tempo voa…
Uma manhã, estava eu ocupado, vieram-me chamar porque estava um casal ao portão para mim. De repente fiquei sem saber quem seria, já que não tinha nada marcado. Era o casal Sueco, Max e Cristina! Surpresa agradável e francamente inesperada. Normalmente, para mim, as coisas não acontecem assim.
Já estavam a caminho do Kruger, precisavam de ir aos correios e lavar o carro que tinha ficado algo enlameado, depois de atravessarem as montanhas entre a Suazilândia e Barberton.
Conversámos um bocado, beberam um chá e fui mostrar-lhes os correios e onde poderiam lavar o carro. No avião tinha contado sobre o trabalho missionário e o Projecto em parceria com uma comunidade local. Quiseram visitar e então, antes de seguirem viagem, passámos pela igreja/centro comunitário que está a ser construída. Ficaram comovidos com o que viram, como estas coisas que para nós ocidentais são tão básicas podem aqui ter tanto valor e aumentar tanto a qualidade de vida.
O Max é engenheiro de aeronaves e disse logo que as traves mestras deveriam estar ligadas com parafusos e não apenas pregos. Prometeu fazer e enviar por correio os parafusos e anilhas. Fica igualmente a esperança de que, não apenas eles mas também o seu circulo social, se atrevam a fazer uma vaquinha para podermos acabar esta coisa.
Entretanto, a própria comunidade tem-se juntado e já conseguiram pelo menos montar as portas e uma das janelas. Também construíram os degraus que dão acesso à porta lateral como se vê na foto, o antes e o depois.
Esta é uma altura em que os negócios fecham e as pessoas vão de férias. Conto que a partir de Janeiro, quando se voltar ao trabalho, por cá também se levantem Mecenas.
Estamos juntos.
Bem hajam!
João Rodrigues
Clara Collazo
AURORA MISSIONARY ACTION – AMA
TCHUMA TCHATO PROJECT
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TFI
NEWSLETTER 02/2014/15 – 20141219_TT2014/15_NL02
Dear friends, supporters and future supporters of this Project. I choose to always speak faith.
First of all I want to thank you all that, in spite of financial problems – hard to escape from, into a more comforting reality, in short, the global crises – can still reach into depleted pockets and give. God bless you all!
As much as possible I too give, of myself and of what I have. I give of myself by coming here and being available; I give of what I have, as they say, with pleasure and with all my heart.
The trip this time was an adventure thanks to God. When trying to get the cheapest air fare, through the internet, I was somewhat enveloped in a sort of con scheme, or as it is commonly known nowadays a publicity stunt, and so I bought a very cheap one with booby traps in it. At the stopover, not only did I have to change airports but also had to check out all the luggage, take it from one airport to the other and do the check in again, with all its inconveniences.
The taxi from one place to the other was also an extra expense, increasing the overall cost for the trip. Well, even so it was still the cheapest. All done crutching along. I leave here the warning; with “tripsta.com” you may find alluring offers but, pay attention to the [little] exclamation marks which point to the said booby traps.
On the intercontinental flight they sat me with a couple from Sweden who was coming to South Africa for some holidays. I spoke with them a lot during the flight and, upon arrival to Johannesburg, they went on to Cape Town and from there they’d make their way up to the Kruger National Park, near where our mission is. We exchanged addresses and email, and I left the invitation to come visit us.
Finally I arrived at the mission, a couple days to adapt and then start working. Two weeks already gone since I arrived, time really flies…
One morning, in the midst of work, I was called to attend to a couple who was at the gate for me. Right then I wondered who that could be, since there were no appointments for that morning. It was the Swedish couple, Max and Cristina! A really unexpected pleasant surprise. With me things like these don’t normally happen this way.
They were already on their way to the Kruger, they needed to pass by a Post Office and wash their rented car which had become somewhat muddy after doing the mountain dirt roads that separate Swaziland from Barberton.
We chatted a bit, had tea and after we went to town for the Post Office and show them where they could wash the car. On the airplane I had told them about the missionary work and the Project in partnership with a local community. Invited them to visit to which they got interested and so, before continuing with the trip, we passed by the under construction church/community centre. They were touched with what they saw, how these things so basic to us westerners can be so valuable here and lift up so much the quality of life.
Max is an airplane engineer and noticed right away that the main supporting beams should be joined with bolts and nuts instead of just nails. He promised to make the bolts, washers and nuts himself and send them to us. There is also the hope that, not only them but also their friends will get motivated to participate so that we can finish this thing.
Meanwhile, the community has gotten together and they were able to at least put up the doors and one of the window frames and glass. They also built the steps to the side door as you can see on the above pictures, the Before and the Now.
The time has arrived once again for the places to shut down and people go on holidays. I trust that coming January, when work resumes, we can find help here too.
We are together.
God bless!
João Rodrigues
Clara Collazo
Tchuma Tchato 