i need prayer most of all

(sorry long one)
Many people tell me they just don't know how to help me. Some have even said because they don't know what to do/say they withdraw and are doing nothing at all.
I'm sure I don't understand even fractionally what my greatest need is but I think I understand enough to say that prayer is BY far my greatest need. Yes, I need financial support. Yes, I need to Skype and receive text messages and I need to hear familiar voices once in awhile. And, YES, I love receiving care packages from home. And YES, I love having visitors but after being in Mozambique for 2+ years I've started to understand a bit more what Ephesians 6:12 means, 

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Again, I'm surely no Bible scholar and have never taken a theology class to have any in-depth understanding of the scriptures but I think I "feel" this "dark world" on a daily basis. Below are some things that contribute to this "darkness" I feel in Mozambique.


Did you know that the prevalence of HIV in people between the ages of 15-49 is 11.5%?
Did you know that there are 670,000 orphans in Mozambique as a result of AIDS?
Did you know there are an estimated 3 million active landmines still in Mozambique, making it in the top 10 countries in the world with active mines?
Did you know the life expectancy in Mozambique is 50 years old?
Did you know that Mozambique is rated 172/177 on the UNDP Human Development Index?
Did you know malaria is the leading cause of death in Mozambique, accounting for 29% of deaths and 42% for children under 5 years?
Did you know the illiteracy rate is 52.2%?
Did you know that a 16 year civil war ended in 1992?
Did you know that the majority of people go to Christian churches but they may also visit the witch doctor immediately after?
Did you know that I hear regularly stories of children disappearing or being found dead as a result of needing children for child sacrifices?
Did you know that most of the children I see at the baby clinic have yarn cords around their arms, waist or necks which are placed there by witch doctors to "protect" them from bad spirits?
Did you know 75% of Mozambican doctors work ABROAD, leaving few doctors to see hundreds and hundreds of patients in a day?
Did you know that these are the "spiritual forces of evil" that we're up against here?

On a more personal level, did you know....
...that I'm rubbish at learning languages but now I find myself in government offices stumbling by in Portuguese?
...that I'm totally a people person and many evenings I find myself alone with my sleeping daughter in a very foreign land?
...that I've never managed a home of my own in America and now I'm trying to do it in Mozambique (there's no Home Depot to me found. Anywhere!)?
...that even if there was Home Depot  I don't know how to do ANYTHING in regards to home repairs/car repairs/any sort of repairs?
...that most expats and missionaries say that you need to leave a country like Mozambique at most every 6 months to avoid burnout?

With all of this being said, I must share with you all that I've learned about GRACE in the past +/-4 years that I've been involved in Mozambique.

1. I got to love and care for a 20 year old woman as she died of AIDS.
2. Her daughter now calls me Mom.
3. I get to treat babies, mothers, grandmothers for malaria when they sit at my desk at the nutritional clinic I get to volunteer at.
4. I have been able to learn from missionary friends that work in organizations who address the issue of illiteracy (http://english.alfalit.org/).
5. I work beside a Mozambican pastor who has 100% been delivered from the bondage of ancestral worship and witchcraft and he blesses me, teaches and encourages me on a weekly basis.
6. I live with a young girl who boldly stands up to her family and the "traditions" of her culture and she makes hard decisions to follow hard after Jesus in a very suppressive place.
7. When I've have malaria it's been identified and treated fast enough that I've never felt like I was "going to die."
8. I found a lovely Mozambican man who's invested hours and hours of patience with me in my language learning process.
9. I do have LOADS of friends and a broad community of people from all nations walking out this season with me.
10. Every time I've had a home disaster (ie. rain POURING through my roof) I've had friends at my house with me to help clean it up and repair the roof with me.
11. I bought a used car on my own and it's not had one thing wrong with it in over a year.
12. I had a friend come care for Nede for me for 2 weeks so I could visit friends in Ethiopia and South Africa last year.

As easy as it is for me to rattle off the things that are hard here, I do try to focus on the blessings that are around me, because, they are MANY. So, please know that as well, I continue to learn how to notice the Holy moments and count the small blessings (part 2-an "escape").

118. My flower bed with pink, white and yellow flowers spilling out.
119. Buying used clothes at Market 38.
120. Fresh pineapple juice
121. Newborn geckos running around my house
122. Buying a new bright colored capalona (African fabric)
123. Knowing when I am weak then HE is strong
124. Afros

Did you know that the BEST gift you can give me is YOUR PRAYERS?! (emails and encouraging words are very welcome also.) And, if you would like to receive more specific prayer requests regarding Nede and me please feel free to send me an email and I'll gladly add you to my "prayer warriors" email list (darajeanhillstrom@gmail.com).