Salamao was in the third grade and only 15 years old when became an alcoholic. He dropped out of school to work and support his addiction, only to get fired soon after from stealing and drinking on the job. Two pastors took him in to try and help him get on his feet. He stole from both of them, sold all of their stuff, and even burned down one of their houses. He sold all of his mothers furniture and borrowed from friends. He went after women for comfort. He had realized the turmoil alcohol created in his life. He quit once or twice, and relapsed multiple times. After years of a constant...

Alone time is a rarity here in Mozambique. Our living quarters consist of tents crammed in a small yard and a room where everyone congregates for meals, team time, and many games of Monopoly. There are always children from the neighborhood in our yard who constantly want to be played with and locals playing keyboard on the front porch.   One day when I was desperately craving alone time, I made my way to the front of our yard with my journal and colored pencils in hand. The plan was to relax, hang out with Jesus, and draw. As I got out the colored pencils and began to slip into...

Do you love yourself?Truly love yourself? Until recently, I never did. I mean, I was fine with who I was, but I didn’t truly love who I was. The world always gives you the message that you are not enough. Whether it be from media, your friends, your family, yourself, etc. everyone seems to receive that message. You are not smart enough. You are not athletic enough.You are not talented enough. You are not skinny enough. You are not pretty enough. The list goes on and on about our “shortcomings.” We keep on striving and trying to “be enough.” We focus so much...

I am Ally White I once lacked confidence in the girl I saw myself as. I now rest firmly in the fact that I am a powerful woman of God, a daughter of the most high King. I once was blinded by the works of the Holy Spirit in my spiritual life. I now am constantly being filled by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ. I once was timid, never knowing where I was being led. I am now a roaring lion, who’s confidence is from The Lord. I once held onto my life with everything I had. I now left my old life and have fully surrendered my future to the Almighty. I once was shy in...

Mud covered roads, and exhaust pouring into our lungs. This is the Manzini bus stop. A chaotic mass of people surround me. All eyes on “The Americans”. My team moved through the dense crowd.  The locals stopped what they were doing to stare at us. They pointed and laughed at us. They would push and shove us as we walked past. Men, with lustful eyes scanned my body. If I even slightly looked at these men in the eyes, they would spit vulgarities at me. They would scream, “I want you!” and reach out to touch me. Others would ask, “How much for this beautiful...

I had many expectations coming on this trip. Some were good like meeting my team and experiencing new cultures. Some were not so good like how being away from my family would feel like and not sleeping in my own bed. Believe me when I say that any expectations I had flew out the door when my plane landed in Johannesburg. The same day I landed in Africa I got a phone call that my Grandfather had passed away. My first couple weeks in Mozambique were hard in many ways, not just because of my grandfathers death. The hardest part of the whole situation was how far from God I felt. Before coming...