Report from Becky

Greetings, our friends, from Tracy and me, as well as from the continent of Africa!


We barely know how to begin sharing with you the wonderful things God did while we were gone. I pray you will give me grace as I attempt to give you a glimpse of the adventure He took us on. Tracy and I are filled with wonder and gratitude, both to the Lord and to you who prayed for every step of our journey.


We returned home late on a Saturday, and it is taking us awhile to adjust to the time difference, as well as to process our experiences. Both of us feel quite tired still, and I seem to be battling other obstacles, yet in the midst of it all, we also sense a deeper assurance of God’s love and purposes.


I don’t know if the heaviness I’m feeling is simply jet lag/time differences; something tells me it is more. Not depression, yet a burden of some sort that isn’t quickly lifting. Those of you who know me well know that I’m fairly upbeat and energetic, but this hasn’t been something I have been able to just shake off. No shifting into high gear this time. Rather, I feel like my heart is breaking, and I’m still not sure exactly what God wants me to do about it--or what He plans to do about it.


You would think that the culture shock would come on us when we visited the village of Vladimir in Mozambique--it’s like stepping back in time a couple hundred years or more. But I’ve found the despair and shock coming from taking a look at the church in America. While we were in Swaziland, we caught some Christian television, and upon our return home I also caught up on some reading about what’s going on here in the States regarding spiritual matters.


My heart grieves. It’s a time for examining ourselves to see if we’re in the faith. The Scripture in Matthew 7:21-27 is ever on my mind: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”


This is followed by a therefore, which always means look to see what it’s there for! Jesus goes on to tell the story of the wise man and the foolish man who build on solid rock or shifting sand, and He explains that only those who hear His words and does them will be like the wise man.


I find myself this week feeling grieved--not only for others that I might “judge” as falling short of obeying Jesus’ teachings, but even more so as I examine my own life. I’m asking Him to show me areas where I have been quick to say, “Lord, Lord,” only to go my own way or to rely on my own understanding. I find myself longing to be in His presence, to know Him more fully, to not only comprehend Scripture, but also to walk in what it teaches.


There is a deep sense that storms are coming, and I want to be ready for the rain and the wind. Oh, God, have mercy on us!


It boils down to relying on what Jesus has done for us at Calvary--nothing more, nothing less. Our own works are filthy rags; only what is done in obedience to Him with the power of His Spirit will stand.


So it’s a time of stripping, or perhaps better called pruning, that is never comfortable but is always productive. I’m calling on His grace and mercy as never before, knowing that there is nothing, nothing, nothing I can do that will ever be enough. “Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me”!


So again, please extend patience and grace to me as I process and try to share our experiences! You know it’s not like me to be silent for this many days, but hopefully this will explain it somewhat and let you know how to pray for us. Thank you in advance!


I think the best way to present the trip is to break it up into sections, so I’ll just write this first part and post it, then post more on other aspects as it comes. Maybe this way you won’t feel overwhelmed with too much to read in one sitting!


Our very first regular day trying to get back in the swing of things, we finally also received our IRS approval letter! We knew it was coming eventually, and all the receipts we’d provided were fine because it’s all retroactive, but we were nonetheless relieved to know we had all the paperwork done at last to their satisfaction! It is no small task to fill out all the documents and attachments for a nonprofit, but definitely worth the efforts so that our contributors can receive their tax receipts. I know that some Christian organizations are considering getting away from the 501(c)3 so that they aren’t hindered in speaking the truth about some cultural issues , but for our purposes where we aren’t so much about teaching doctrine as about providing for the orphans, this will work well.

Not that we won’t teach truth--we do and we will! But our calling as an organization isn’t so much about the hot issues of our day. Those we will lovingly teach and confront as individual believers and through Becky Spencer Ministries, which is not a nonprofit.

Oh, I also need to inform you that at the last minute, the final committee at the 700 Club did not approve taping our marriage story. Mindy, the reporter, was extremely disappointed, but the issue is how old a story it is. They would have to use actors to portray us and they felt it was just not a new enough story. The first week of August they will still be doing our son Nathan’s story of freedom from drugs and alcohol, and I’ll be recording a bit with that one, so we’ll see how much of it makes the final cut. We are thrilled that he is being given this opportunity to glorify the freeing power of the blood of Jesus Christ! And the timing on telling our story will come through when it is just right! Hallelujah!


Okay, finally I want to share about the Lord’s protection and favor as we traveled, especially crossing the borders. You already know how He sent our luggage right to our door, which is just unheard of, but there was much more. The borders can be tricky, even if they’re only a nuisance and time-consuming. But since we were bringing in many duplicate items as gifts for the children, there was the strong possibility that we could be stopped and hindered and even taxed heavily under suspicion that we might be wanting to resell the items. We also needed to take food from Swaziland to Mozambique, and each person is actually only allowed $50 to bring across, but we needed to take enough for our entire team as well as rice and beans for the children and villagers.


We had 100 of many items! Soap, wash cloths, crayons, markers, peanuts/raisins, individual 1 kg bags of rice, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toys, and much more. We also had 180 pairs of flip flop sandals that were donated by Soles for Souls. (The other 90 pair we'd given away in Swaziland!) Our car was packed so tightly we really could barely have gotten an additional envelope in! We prayed that God would cause the guards to be bored with us and just move us on through quickly. We were told that the Mozambican side would be the problem because there is so much corruption; everyone is looking for a bribe.


Here’s what happened: there was a heavy fog as we traveled towards Mozambique, and we ended up getting lost, missing our turnoff to the border that we had been told would be most lenient. We went way too far before realizing what had happened, and we were afraid we would be late meeting the team at the airport. But we decided to backtrack so we could go through the right border, trusting the Lord to work out the timing. We got to see some warthogs along the way, which was fun, but still we felt some anxiety about being late.


It put us at the border at EXACTLY the right time, though, because the guard was eating an orange and didn’t even GLANCE in our car! He grabbed our document and waved us through, completely bored with us! It was on the Swazi side where we ended up giving the guard two pairs of flip flops so he would be satisfied to let us through without taking everything out! (That would have taken us an additional two hours since everything was packed in so tightly!)


Every move through every border coming and going was smoother than we could have dreamed, and indeed they seemed bored with us. What could have taken between one or two hours took less than thirty minutes every time! No questions, no trouble, and we got every item to the children as planned and made it to the airport at exactly the right time since the team was dealing with lost luggage. Thank You, Lord, for Your favor as we go about Your business!
Believe me, I’m not one who likes to break rules! But each item was something we truly believed God had put on our hearts for the children, and He made a way for us to do it. Hallelujah!
We’re thankful for safety and grace, and again, thank you for praying.


I’ll share more very soon . . . And I pray you enjoy these little segments that will give you a glimpse of what we experienced!


Much love,
Becky