Masks, covid tests, and so many suitcases...
Our journey had lots of obstacles but also lots of miracles!
The Reinagels are HOME!
Finally, after spending most of 2021 in the States, we managed to get our visas and come home to Beira, Mozambique on January 22! It was a crazy journey, full of suspense and wondering up to the very last minute if we would make it, but God was faithful and made a way where there didn't seem to be one. Here are some of the barriers we had to overcome:
We took our covid tests to travel, but didn't receive the results when they said we would. We showed up at the airport still without the results, but then they came to our phones while we were at the ticket counter, just 5 minutes before check-in closed!
Two of the kids were extremely sick up to the night before we traveled, but were miraculously better in the morning when we left!
The day before we traveled, some US cities opened up new 5G networks that were too close to airports and interfering with planes' communications. As a result, hundreds of international flights were cancelled, especially ones going to/from Chicago (which was our airport of departure). Somehow, our flight was one that wasn't cancelled!
Our first flight was delayed, which meant when we landed at our layover airport we only had 15 minutes to get to the next flight, but we made it along with most of our bags! (One suitcase went missing, but it arrived a couple days later, so we got everything in the end.)
And that's only a few of the testimonies! It was a crazy trip, but it is so good to be back, in our own home, and sleeping in our own beds after being away for so long. The kids are in school, we're back to work with our beloved Equip Moz team, and we're settling back into our rhythms and relationships in our community here.
When we flew out of Chicago it was snowy and only 3*F, and when we got here the heat index has been over 100*F most days. That has been an adjustment!
Team and Projects Going Well
Our team did a great job in our absence, and it was so good to come back and find the work thriving. The staff welcomed us back with a big party, and it was so good to see everyone and hear how they've grown while we were gone. We are trying to help them continue to grow in their leadership abilities by not taking back on the same responsibilities we had before we left, but encourage the team to continue doing everything they have successfully done in our absence. It's exciting to see how much ownership they have taken in the vision, and that they are passing on everything they have learned to the next generation of culture-changing agents of transformation!
Sewing School Graduation
One week after we got back, the sewing school held a long-awaited graduation! These ladies have persevered with us through multiple closures and reopenings as the government forced us to shut down all operations so many different times over the course of the pandemic. But these women are warriors, they persevered, they graduated, and now they have taken home their own sewing machines so they can sew every day without worrying if our doors are open or shut! They all made their own matching dresses for the graduation, and it was a joyous day of singing, dancing, and celebrating this new chapter of their lives!
It was so beautiful to hear Laura give her testimony of how far she has come because of the sewing school. Her neighbors thought she was crazy for devoting so much of her time to coming to class, but she couldn't wait to show them how different her life will be now that she has earned her own sewing machine with all her hard work!
Praise Reports:
That we FINALLY got our visas and made it back home, in spite of the challenges!
That the team did well in our absence and are growing in their capacity.
That the class of sewing school students graduated and are thriving.
Prayer Requests:
For wisdom as we navigate these next few months of further officially handing over authority to the Mozambican leaders.
For wisdom in developing the right partnerships with the right people and organizations. We have some opportunities ahead of us that we need to hear from God to know if we should take them or not.
For us to find healthy rhythms and systems that allow for sufficient rest and family time, and not fall back into our old habits of overworking and overstressing.
Thanks for reading, please remember us in your prayers!
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