A few months ago, I was really struggling with the purpose of me being in Mozambique.  As I walked on the hot sand, I saw something shiny in the sand.  Initially I thought it was a piece of trash, which can be found everywhere in Mozambique.  Looking more closely I could see that it was something of value- a glass marble.  I picked it up and for a moment I marveled over this colorful glass ball that seemed so out of place, a small treasure among the sand and trash.  And the Spirit brought to mind this story: 

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.   Matthew 13:44.

 This story Jesus told reminded me why I am in Mozambique.  You see, Jesus is my treasure.  He is a treasure so great that it is well worth dropping everything that glitters in this world in pursuit of a treasure that can’t be rusted or stolen.   My allegiance and loyalty belong to Him. And He has said go to Vilanculos, Mozambique and love and serve the people there, and so that is what I am doing.

I arrived in Vilanculos at the beginning of July 2011 and it seems so strange and normal that I’ve been there for 8 months now.

It is an exciting time for a few reasons.  I just returned from South Africa, where I got a 60 day visa, saw lots of people and went shopping for my new place.  South Africa has a special place in heart because I was born there and lived there until I was 11 years old.  I’m blessed to have the opportunity/requirement to visit.

 Lord-willing, next weekend I am moving into a room in town.  It will be nice to finally have a place I can call my own and no longer worry about taking half an hour or longer to get into town.   Please pray that things would go smoothly and that indeed there would be a room and bed ready for me next Saturday.

The Jesus for Africa family has also grown.  Arthur Purdy and his family are now in Vilanculos and it’s a blessing to have them here.  You can learn more about them at their blog: www.purdy.co.za  Another South African family is also planning to come up and live in Vilanculos and so I am looking forward to that.

   I would absolutely love to return to the States in May this year.  I would love to see my family and friends and church family as well.  Lately I’ve been missing people a lot and I think it would be good to return for a while and really maintain relationships with people.  I need about $1500 to go to the States and I need your financial help and generosity to get there.  If you want to see me, let me know.

Also, as I have prayed about my purpose and ministry here I really sense the Lord’s guidance in staying here for more than one year, which is the time frame I  was initially thinking.  Being Africa, it takes a while to really get things started and rolling here.  So much of what I do is based on building relationships with people and that just takes time.  My heart is to reach women and disciple them. This includes: learning about them and their culture, building a relationship with them, teaching them the Word of God, encouraging them to pray and reach out in their communities, and to love God with everything.   I feel as though I am just getting started and there is so much more to be done.  There is so much need here, it is ridiculous.    I would like to have ladies who can lead and teach others by the time I leave.  With this in mind, and the Lord’s guidance in this area, it just makes sense to stay for a longer period of time.  As of right now, I believe I will live here for 3 years, which takes me into 2014.  Beyond that, I’m not sure where I will be or what I will do, although I think I’ll be in Africa.  I feel as though I am in a video game and I am currently on the “Vilanculos level” in which God is preparing me for the next step or next level…whatever that may be.

So I am here, living by faith, believing that God has called me here and is continually accomplishing his purposes in me and through me.  If you believe in me and what I am doing there are a few things you can do to help and encourage me.  You can send me money.  Thank you to all of you who have given.  I am 100% dependent on God to provide for my every need and I am confident that He will give me what I need.  He uses people to give…so please consider giving to me so I can continue living here in Mozambique and return to the States to visit.  You can also pray for me.  Its been so cool to feel prayers of people this year…like that weird indescribable sense of there’s something amazing happening in the supernatural.   So thank you for all your prayers.  I know prayer is so powerful.  A third way you can encourage me is to keep in touch with me.  I love getting emails or skyping with people. And hopefully I will much better internet connection once I live in town.  My email address is leighleckman@gmail.com.  My skype ID is feebeelee12. And you can even call or text me at +258 84 261 3653.  I genuinely would like to know what is going on in your lives as well and how I can pray for you too.    If you would like to give to me, you can write a check to BeLOVE Inc. and put my name on the memo line and mail to

PO BOX 1742 
SILVER SPRING, MD 20915

Or you can give online: http://www.razoo.com/story/Beloveinc?referral_code=share

Also, one cool thing about BeLove Inc.  is that I receive 100% of what is given, there are no administrative fees. 

My visit to Beira

This past week I visited Beira, the second or third largest city in the country that is about an 8 hour bus ride north of Vilanculos, where I live.   I went because William and Tara are in Beira for two months, assisting our Mozambican friend, Elias in building an orphanage.  William and Tara are friends from the World Race who also work with Be Love Inc.   There was also a World Race team of 7 American women in their early twenties staying with Elias and I was particularly looking forward to meeting them and being with them for one week.  Because I was on the World Race two years ago,  I knew we could relate to one another in special way.  I prayed that it would be a refreshing break for me, and that I could pour into their lives as well as them into mine.  And I thank God that that’s exactly what happened.

One of the biggest challenges for me in being here is being and feeling alone and isolated in what I am doing.  Although I’ve worked and lived with Pastor Jaco and his family, and now there’s another family here too I miss being on a team with others who are close in age and stage in life.  That is the reason why it was so good for me to be with other Americans who are also single and missionaries.  It’s hard to articulate just how good it was to be there.  I really miss the sense of community that is part of the World Race: the mutual and healthy give and take that naturally comes as you share stories, prayers, Scriptures, struggles, and life.

When I arrived in Beira I immediately noticed a lighter atmosphere or “feel”.   Spiritually Beira is at a very different place than Vilanculos.  There is often oppressive spirit in Vilanculos that keeps people down and indifferent about the Lord.  Conversely in Beira there was a lightness in spirit and a peace and a joy that characterized the city.  I was surprised just how many people go to church and how fervent and excited they are to be in the house of the Lord.  There are people so hungry for God and passionate about reaching those around them.  Last Sunday evening I was at a church service in Beira that met in an outdoor stadium.  Not that a church is  better because of more people, but it was cool to see so many in church as it doesn’t happen around here.  I pray that the churches in Beira continue to grow and glorify the Lord, and reach out to the rest of Mozambique.  God showed me I am strategically placed in a dark area to be a light. 

Housing Hunting in Vilanculos

Looking for a place to stay in Mozambique is quite different than in the USA.  To begin with there are no apartment guides to help find a place.  Basically finding a place to stay consists of asking everyone and anyone I know if they know of a place available for rent.  Being a tourist town some thought I was only looking for accommodations for a night or two.

These were my basic desires for the new place.  1. Good central location- within walking distance to the market, the bank, and the beach.  2.  Having a room of my own, a bathroom with running water and toilet, and a kitchen area.  3. Cost of 3000 meticais  (~$100) or less per month. 

When I initially told Jaco and Maria about my desire to move into town they were very doubtful that I could find a place that would be nice enough to stay in for 3000 per month.  But when I prayed about it and told God I have faith that you will provide I knew I would find a place.  I also prayed that He would open the right door and give me a peace and excitement about the right place. 

I had some interesting experiences looking for a place.  Meeting a guy at the market who wanted me to become his roommate tops the list.  On the appointed day we walk to the house with a nice entry way/kitchen area, living room and bedroom…the only problem was it was clearly occupied by people who had no plans to move.  I asked “Where is the room for me?” I asked.  “Oh, we’ll make space for you,” he assured me. Needless  to say I  was less than impressed, as I explained that I wanted a vacant room, rather than being his roommate.  I saw a few other places including a house that was 20,000 mets per month, a few places that were 1500 mets but had very small rooms, and lacked the whole bathroom scenario and location that I wanted.

I finally found a place after meeting Jobi (who showed me the place) at the cultural central.  The location is perfect: right next to the children’s park (which I’ve always liked), within walking distance of the market, bank, restaurants and the beach.  In fact I can see the beach if I look to my left once I exit the room.  The room is sizable, the bathroom...although not finished will have running water and they are willing to convert another room into a kitchen.  I won’t move in until I return from South Africa towards the end of February so hopefully much progress will happen between now and then.

I can’t wait to move in, and decorate a place to call my own home.

I’m sorry.  I just can’t do it.  I don’t feel that it is right. I cannot do with a clear conscience.  Thank you for the help and work on my behalf in the past but it will not continue. 

Friday the 13^th of January was a long day that started with a 2am bus ride to Maxixe to update my passport.  A few months earlier I had trusted my passport to- let’s just call him Pete with hopes of getting a longer, 6 month visa.  This visit would give me another 30 days; but then next time, if all the paper work (like a new police clearance from the States and other Mozambican stuff) was in order I could get the coveted 6 month visa.  Just think of it, going 6 full months without worrying about getting your passport stamped or leaving the country.  Its one of those things you never think about in your home country, but here it’s a constant stressor/annoyance/ money vacuum/necessary evil.  Living here illegally even seems appealing sometimes…but things like the Holy Spirit and the granddaddy of all fines when I’d try to leave the country deter me.

 Pete works for a lodge and he frequents Maxixe where he updates the passports of many foreigners who work at the lodge.  I went with him in order to better understand all that is required for the 6 month visa.  We arrived in Maxixe before 6am, and nothing was open ‘til 7am when we had breakfast.  After that we took a ferry to Inhambane, where the Department of Labor is.  They were in a meeting and couldn’t sign the paper so we wondered around town for a while…I was so excited to find postcards and didn’t really realize they were over $1 each until I counted how much money I had spent after we left the store.  An hour later we returned to the Dept. of Labor and they were still in this long meeting.  So we just waited at this café and about one hour later Pete went alone to the Department of Labor and returned with the necessary signatures.  As we’re walking toward the ferry he informs me that he paid them 200 meticais for the signatures...and they didn’t want to accept the money in my presence.   Take ferry back to Maxixe.  Next stop: Immigration.  While I am filling out forms Pete briefly disappears.  Afterwards we have a lunch of champions: soft serve ice cream which I was very excited about because you don’t get it in Vilanculos.  Walking to the taxi station, he casually informs me that he arranged ice cream and cokes for the immigration workers…as well as padding their pockets too.  “You can’t look at it like a bribe, it’s just being generous and opening up our hands to them…  If you want them to be nice to you, you need to give them a motive,” he explained.

Efficiency is paramount in the USA.  I never realized how valued efficiency is the States until I moved to a place where it does not exist (unless there’s a bribe).  It’s an unspoken expectation of how America operates.  Its part of good service and it is expected as a normative standard of any operating company, business, restaurant, organization, school, etc.  I don’t think there’s any section of American society that does not carry with it some sense the importance of efficiency.  

Corruption is to Mozambique what efficiency is to America.  It is the unspoken expectation of operation.  I think every area of society is affected by corruption from schools to most government offices.  One friend of mine said his brother, a high school biology teacher, was finally coming to his senses because he had decided to accept bribes.  Bribing is so common within the government that it’s extremely difficult to get anything done without bribes.  They will purposefully delay the process in hopes of getting a bribe.  There simply isn’t a standard of efficiency or accountability here.  It’s just considered normal, and how you get things done.  

So when I found out that Pete bribed people I was saddened, but not surprised.

As we were riding home in the chapa I was super convicted by the Holy Spirit.  I had sinned.  By partnering with Pete I was bribing these people.  And I’m not working for the lodge in any capacity…which was necessary to say in order to get a 6 month visa.   How could I possibly say bribes and corruption are bad and should be avoided if that’s exactly what I was doing?  Am I not contributing to the hypocrisy that turns so many away from the church?   I had been so eager to get a 6 month visa that surely the ends justified the means.  With the Holy Spirit so clearly telling this is wrong…Proverbs about bribes coming to mind and other Scriptures that talk about submitting to government rather than trying to manipulate it and find loopholes, I knew I could not go through with pursuing a 6 month visa or anything else with Pete.  So I told Pete, I’m sorry.  I just can’t do it.  I don’t feel that it is right. I cannot do with a clear conscience.  Thank you for the help and work on my behalf in the past but it will not continue.    In that moment that the Spirit also convicted him evidenced by the sudden and obvious change of his countenance.  He also knows it’s not right.  

So I will be traveling more to be here legally.  This includes going to South Africa every 2 or 3 months for a new tourist visa and more travel to Maputo as well.  This will take at least a few days every month but I trust God to take care of me and provide.  It was refreshing for me to go to South Africa in October, and I trust that God knows what He is doing.  It’s also a financial concern but I know He takes care of me. My heart trusts Him.

 Not until Jesus for Africa is officially registered in Mozambique can I get a longer visa.   Most of the paperwork still needs to be collected, fees paid, and because we won’t use bribes…it will take a while. 

What happened to December?

What happened to December?

Well I don’t really have any excuse for not having a blog up in December…other than perhaps not having anything note worthy or seemingly noteworthy to say. 

I can hardly believe its already 2012. 

To sum up my holiday season I would say it’s the most uneventful holiday season I’ve had in years…which was so nice in some ways because it has given me the opportunity to stop and rest and  focus on the Lord in a way that I know would not be possible if I was in the USA.   Although I have missed family and friends I don’t regret for a second staying here…as that is what I sensed the Lord’s hand in and now I just see how I could be quiet long enough to listen to Him whisper. 

We had our Christmas Day church service…it was fairly small but very intimate, as we definitely sensed the presence of the Almighty that morning.  As Pastor Jaco said “I’d rather have a few people here who genuinely want to be here than a church full of half-hearted people.

One of the biggest things I’m trusting God for is a new place to stay.  I have lived in a trailer on the Rudolph’s property since July and I am ready for a place of my own.  So now I am looking for a new place which is challenging.  Vilanculos is a tourist area and so prices are actually higher here than other places in Mozambique.  I am looking for a place to stay in town with a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen for 3000mets or about $100 per month. Please pray for the Lord’s will and guidance in this.

Since the last few weeks have been a time of rest and seeking the Lord (therefore learning) and I want to share what I’ve learned.

One of the things I’ve done during my time of rest was read The Shack (again) by William Young.   Here are some of my favorite quotes…good food for thought.  In most of them God is the speaker.

There are times when you choose to believe something that would normally be considered absolutely irrational.  It doesn’t mean that it is actually irrational, but surely it is not ration.  Perhaps there is a suprarationality: reason beyond normal definitions of fact or data-based logic; something that only makes sense if you can see a bigger picture of reality.  Maybe that is where faith fits in.

Humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in My image.

The real underlying flaw in your life, Mack, is that you don’t think that I am good.  If you knew I was good and that everything-the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives-is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I am doing, you would trust Me. But you don’t.

Ask any person who has a passion to explore and discover and create.  The choice to hide so many wonders from you is an act of love that is a gift inside the process of life.

It is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process.  To you it seems like a mess, but to me, I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive-a living fractal.

My friend Sammy came to visit from South Africa.  It was nice to have him visit and somehow just telling him about what I’m doing here made me realize how much I love God. Typically I will ask God to remind me of His love for me but this time I asked Him to remind me how I love Him…and its been really special.

I’ve learned that…God doesn’t change…He’s always liked surprises and being unpredictable.

If there’s one word to mediate on and live by for 2012 its FAITH.   Lord has challenged me to live by faith…not by sight or my own understanding.  God loves faith.

I have 2 new (to me, anyway) favorite worship songs by Hillsong: “Open up the Heavens” and “All Day”.   “Open up the heavens and let your glory fall….open up our hearts and we will know You, we will know You”

And some Scriptures:

A wise woman builds her house, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.  Proverbs 14:1

Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.  In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-for he grants sleep to those he loves. Psalm 127:1-2.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash. Matthew 7: 24-27

My Mozambican Thanksgiving.

My Thanksgiving in 2009 (have 2 years already passed?) was here in Vilanculos with my World Race team.  It was quite memorable as our plans for the day were erased when Pastor Jaco found out it was Thanksgiving Day…we had quite a meal considering we were in Mozambique with limited resources. I was excited about eating milk tart, a South African dessert and some people even made up a Thanksgiving song.

 Being the only American here this year…I knew it wouldn’t be the same as any other Thanksgiving but still hopeful about the potential the day might have.

Being A Mozambican Thanksgiving…it was celebrated two days later, on Saturday November 26^th. When I started thinking about Thanksgiving I just kept thinking about Tina, a woman from church that I’ve been having bible study with.  I knew the Lord wanted me to invite her and her family to join us for Thanksgiving.  We had to make some changes based on availability of foods and what Mozambicans are used to.   In the end we ate two large chickens, coconut rice, mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrot salad, Mozambican salad, apple pie, ice tea and coke.

Pastor Jaco making the oven out of the old washing machine.  Reusing –a very African thing to do.  We would have used the gas oven inside but there is a gas shortage in all of Mozambique and South Africa.  So all cooking was done over an outdoor fire. We should have gas again and be able to cook inside next year.

Tina making the salad.

Stelio and Rudo playing with legos.

Neyma and her baby brother Jaco.

Rudo, adding flavor to the chicken.

It was a lot of fun to celebrate Thanksgiving with them.  It’s a real treat for some Mozambicans to have a whole piece of chicken to yourself…if they get chicken its usually much smaller pieces.  Initially we thought we’d have leftovers but our guests ate as much as they could and left with full stomachs.  It made me smile to be able to share Thanksgiving with Tina, her 5 children and her parents.

The day also began and ended with interesting findings in the bathroom.  The bathroom is completely separate from the house and is about 30 yards from my caravan.  At 5:40am I had barely woken as I was stumbling out of the bathroom when I felt something furry touch my toes.  Looked down and saw a dead rat...which didn’t really faze me as I’ve become accustomed to seeing rats and I prefer them dead anyway.  I found a shovel and got rid of it.   Then as I was about to go to bed I found a sizable frog who was fighting off  an 18 inch snake whose jaw/head clutched the frog’s neck and was initially hidden under the frog’s head.  Although the frog was certainly injured, it was too big and too stubborn to be swallowed by the little snake.  I left to tell others and when I came back I wished I had stayed to see how the frog escaped.  The frog was 2/3 of the size before (no longer puffed up) but obviously severely injured and would probably die in a day or two.   The cobra was slithering away but we caught it and killed it. 

Likes and Dislikes.

I like that I can frequently see beautiful sunsets over the lake.

I like that I can frequently see Vilanculos’ beach.  It’s a beautiful beach.  The water is already quite warm for swimming though. 

I like that I can see that orange billed and turquoise feathered bird from my window. 

I don’t like the bugs-flies and mosquitoes especially. 

I’m not as fond of frogs as I was when I first arrived here…namely because I see many of them every evening…there are even some living in the toilet.

I don’t like having rats where I live.

I don’t like living without constant electricity…it would be so nice to have a fridge again.  Eating is really different without refrigeration.

I don’t like depending on public transport.  It would be one thing if they had public transport like Europe.  But transport here involves cramming as many people as possible into a vehicle which I don’t like because its uncomfortable and many have terrible body odor as running water is a luxury where I live.

I miss big grocery stores and cheap food prices for a variety of items.

I miss being able to communicate clearly and effectively like I can in the USA. 

I do like that the food I consume here is fresh and natural…ie. I know the mango I ate today came from a neighbor’s tree.

I miss bathing in hot water without taking a bucket shower.

I’m trying to decide if I miss air conditioning or not. Although it is quite hot now, often there is a breeze.  I can get so cold in AC that I don’t miss it so much…we’ll see how I feel about that in a month or two, though.

I’m amazed at how brightly the moon shines here.  It’s incredible.  When there’s a full moon or close to it you don’t really need a light.  In fact moonlight shines in through my curtains…the way sunlight would. 

I don’t like how dark it is without the moon.  I live a few miles from town and so there are no city lights and it is very dark and can be creepy too. 

I don’t like that there are snakes here.  Thank God I’ve only seen three so far and they haven’t been poisonous like the black mamba (deadly) my team encountered here in 2009.

Neutral things- hearing frogs, crickets, etc at night.

Seeing lots of geckos …not crazy about them but they eat bugs so I’ll keep ‘em.

Putting on bug spray at twilight….prevents malaria so I do it. 

Having a tan…I’m quite dark now, actually.

I don’t like how people yell “malungu” (white person) when they see me.

I don’t like that I can’t go into a chapa (public transport) without becoming a topic of conversation.  I don’t like people staring, especially children and I definitely don’t like unwanted male attention I get in chapas and anywhere else I go alone.

I don’t like that I just stubbed my toe.  (It’s getting dark)

On second thought I do miss air conditioning because that would mean I could sleep without sweating.  I could close the windows and wake without mosquito bites in weird places.

I do like that I am learning new languages.

I do like that there is a challenging aspect to just living here.  Somehow I feel that life in America is too easy.

I don’t like the assumption that I’m rich simply because I’m white.  Although-compared to most people here I am rich.  Its just challenging because we (locals and foreigners) tend to look at each other through economic lenses rather than anything else. People will ask for things with an attitude of entitlement…you owe me this…which I think is sadly due to foreign aid that has come in to help….giving men fish rather than teaching them to be fishers.  I am challenged by this..how to give wisely and promote economic independence rather than dependence.  Plus there are so many needs.

I like that ministry teams come through and help …the group that was here last week was such a blessing.

I like the trying different tropical fruits here..like the fruit from a cashew tree, the fruit that resembles little apples- about an inch in diameter, an unusual fruit called marsala that almost has a fluoride taste to it.  Plus fruits I’ve had like mango and papaya which are far more abundant and better tasting here that what you typically find in the States.