Year: 2023

De Souza’s in Angola Prayer Letter 1/16/23

Posted on by Jesse
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De Souza’s in Angola                                                                     01/16/23
Hello from Cavango!

So much has happened since our last newsletter! We have seen God’s hand in all of it – lives touched in the hospital, transformation in the village, our house progressing beautifully! We are constantly amazed at how God’s plans are so much greater than ours! What a privilege to play our small part and see God do huge things! Thank you for playing a vital role in all that is happening here! We can’t do this without you! Your prayers and gifts are touching lives and making an eternal impact! Thank you!!!
Cavango Mission Village – The People Who Live in these Tiny Huts have become Beloved and Precious to Us!
Cavango Mission is tiny village surrounded by primitive communities of thousands of forgotten people, hidden in the rugged wilderness of Angola, Africa. These unknown, unimportant people in the eyes of much of the world, are of immense importance in the eyes of God! His gaze is on these precious people and His hand is on this tiny village of Cavango.

That is OUR GOD!

He chose the poor, uneducated people of this village to be a beacon of light, love, and eternal hope to thousands! They are learning to be the hands and feet of Jesus as their little village is flooded daily by multitudes of the sick, dying and needy. They have been called to touch lives with Jesus’ love and share the Gospel with those living and dying in darkness.

I Corinthians 1:27 “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong…”
 
During our weekly Bible class here one day, the discussion turned to ancient Jewish wedding traditions: a groom would pay the bride price and if his chosen one accepted his offer of marriage, she and the groom would drink from the cup of wine he provided, solidifying their vows.
We remember this vow between us (the bride) and Jesus when we take communion. Jesus paid the bride price for us with His own lifeblood! He chose us and loved us, even in our filth, and chose to die so that we could be washed in His blood, purified of our filth and set free from the slavery of sin and death, allowing us to become His bride and sons and daughters of God!
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.    Romans 5:8
After the betrothal was established, the groom would leave, promising his bride that he would return for her after preparing a beautiful dwelling place for the two of them in the home of his father.

John 14:2-3  “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
 
Woah! Wait a minute!!! Did you just get that? When I first realized that, I had to stop in my tracks, take a deep breath, and process for a moment!

On the timeline of our lives, if we have accepted the bride price of His blood to cleanse us of our sins, we have promised ourselves to Him as His bride. Our Groom is preparing a place for us in the home of His Father, and we are waiting for Him to come back for us!!!

In our Bible class we asked ourselves, “What kind of bride will He find upon His return?” Imagine a groom, heart pounding with joyful anticipation to receive His beautiful, pure bride… He’s worked so hard to make her new home perfect…. His father said, “It’s time! Go get your bride!  He’s waited so long for her, longing for the day He can take her into His arms… He arrives in her village… His groomsmen blow the trumpets announcing the arrival of the groom.. He searches… His heart can’t contain the excitement to catch a glimpse of her… Then he sees her!!! There she is… In the arms of another lover… Or covered in grime and filth from wallowing in the city sewer… Or so busy with all of the wonderful activities in her life that she doesn’t realize or care that the groom has arrived….
Our Groom is coming back for us!
 
I pray He will find His bride unable to keep her mouth shut – telling everyone about her Groom and how they too can be saved and eternally loved by Him. 

I pray He will find us occupied with what really matters – seeking Him and doing the work of His Kingdom, storing up treasures in Heaven! 

I pray He will find His bride prepared, pure, spotless, beautiful, and overwhelmed with joy at seeing the face, hearing the voice, and feeling the embrace of her long-awaited, radiant Groom, Savior, and King!
A Glimpse of Our Lives Here in the Cavango Mission Hospital:
There is no greater joy than to touch a life with the love of Jesus! This was the assignment the Groom gave us as we await His return. What assignment did He leave you with? What we are doing here is not a sacrifice. It is such a privilege! It is so worth it! There is nothing we would rather be doing! Thank you for your part in allowing us to do this!
Dr. Eduardo at the blood bank (Mariano in this instance)! If you come to visit, please know your blood type! 🙂
A beautiful, healthy newborn who probably would not have survived without your prayers and gifts that allow us to be Jesus’ hands and feet in Cavango!
This is why we need dentists! This little girl arrived on her death bed from a tooth abscess.
Here she is weeks later, healthy and ready to go home! Thank you for how you’ve touched her life!
This precious little guy with malaria and pneumonia has hope of a future because so many were willing to reach him with the love of Jesus!
Tuberculosis was this woman’s death sentence until she found help at Cavango Mission!
This family is desperately trying to save their beloved 16-year-old daughter – on their way over the rugged terrain to meet the plane and fly to Lubango for surgery.
Our sweet friend, a severely malnourished 6-year-old fighting tuberculosis. He is one of so many that now have a chance at life again!
A Special Prayer Request: Please Pray for Little Yano!
We have a very special little friend, Yano. He is from Cavango mission and has been our little buddy since we moved here. Yano loves to sit with Eduardo at church and make cute faces into his phone camera. Tiago often hangs out with Yano’s family and he and Tiago have a special bond.

Yano is very sick right now. He nearly died last week. He had malaria, but also some underlying condition that we need to discover. He has received blood from Tiago and myself (Jocelyn). Please pray for his rapid and full recovery and for wisdom in discovering the cause of his severe health problems.

Most importantly, pray that his dear family will trust in God and not in powers of darkness. Pray that God’s love and power would be revealed to them through this terrible situation.
Our Christmas Play

We have to be careful when we pray because God often uses us as the answer to our own prayers! Ever since last year’s Christmas program at the church here, I had been praying that this Christmas God’s light would shine and His Gospel would come through loud and clear!  OOPS! I didn’t specify how I would like Him to bring this about!

 Christmas service is huge here – attended by the entire community and all of the patients and their family members at the hospital. Through a crazy chain of events – I still can’t really figure out how it all happened – I ended up in charge of the entire Christmas day church service! I’ve never been in charge of any portion of any church service, so how this happened is beyond me! The extra challenge was that I was supposed to figure out how to get 80+ children, including babies and toddlers, to cooperate with me and pull-off this Christmas Day service!

I immediately called for (more like cried, pleaded, roped-in) reinforcements, who cheerfully sacrificed their time, sanity, and energy to make this happen! Thank you, Mom, Dad, Mariano, Tiago, Teo, Ella, and Cienna!!! Not only did they spend countless hours at practices, making props, and getting sun-burned, but they gave up their Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so that the village and all of the hospital visitors could hear and see the Gospel! It was not easy, but it was so worth it!!! (We did celebrate Christmas later)!

We didn’t want our audience to just understand that Jesus came as a baby, but also why He came and how we can be saved.  Our Christmas play included creation, sin, the arrival of Jesus our Savior, His death and resurrection, and His victory over sin, death and Satan. It was powerful and it was a huge victory for the Kingdom of God! Hundreds of people understood the Gospel in a way they never had before!
Adam blames Eve (Ella) and Eve blames the serpent (Teo)…
Tiago saved the day when one of our feathery actors had stage fright and tried to escape!
The Savior is Here!!! God in flesh! The Baby who would save the world! God’s ways are amazing!
The shepherds and sheep come to worship the King! Cienna was such a cute little sheep!
The magi (one of which was Teo) spark the fierce jealousy of the evil King Herod!
The kings bow to the Baby King of King’s!
“Rei dos Judeos” means “King of the Jews!”  King Jesus gave His life so that we could live! He triumphed over sin and death!
Teamwork – Assembling 200+ goody bags of popcorn, candy, a toothbrush and toothpaste for the kids on Christmas day!
The brilliant choir – composed of children, sheep, shepherds, and angels! Mariano spent hours leading them as they learned their songs!
We are elated to have Pepa and Mema (my parents) and our good friends, Esther and Sarah Bradrick, here! They all brought us Christmas through their presence, joy, and all kinds of wonderful treats – both from them and from many of you! Thank you! What an answer to prayer they have all been, helping with homeschool, children’s ministry, cooking, hosting visitors, and paying attention to the kids during this overwhelming time! God always knows just when to send in the reinforcements!
De (not so) Little, (but still) Delightful De Souza’s:
Beautiful Sisters! The locals can’t believe this is their real hair!
Following in her father’s footsteps???
Wonder Ruby (our hero dog) is proud of herself! She caught this guy that had snuck into our house! Ugh! I’m not too afraid of mice, but that was a bit much!!! 
Praise Report:
  • Our house is getting closer and closer to completion! We can’t wait to move in, and are continuously amazed at God’s abundant care for us!!!
  • Cavango has become home! Our relationships and love for the people of the community have grown. 
  • We are constantly blown-away by God’s provision – spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially. Thank you for being part of God’s answer to prayer!
  • The government finally approved the construction of the airstrip in Cavango and the project is well-underway! Soon our urgent, surgical patients won’t have to bounce for two-hours down our muddy road to reach the airplane!
  • Dr. Tim and Betsy are back with us in Cavango after a month and a half away! They leave every once in awhile, we think, just so we will appreciate them all the more when they return! We are so blessed to have them as friends, neighbors, and mentors!
Please Pray:
  • For the prompt completion of our house build.
  • For the children – that they would develop close relationships with the Lord, and that they would continue to form great friendships in Cavango.
  • For our health and safety.
  • For the family, that we would be able to balance ministry and clinic time, time with God, family time, homeschool, house building, rest, etc.
  • For the work at the clinic – that patients and family would experience the love of Christ and the power of the Gospel. For wisdom and strength for Eduardo, especially, as he carries such a large load on his shoulders.
  • For the community and church – that they would experience life, transformation, and joy in Christ!
  • For healing for our little friend, Yano, and for His family to come to true, unwavering faith in Jesus!

How Can We Pray for You?

We would also like to keep you in our prayers.  
Please let us know how we can be praying for you!
Click Here to Join Our Ministry Team!
To Give Online without Using the Above Link:
     1. Visit: simusa.org/give
     2.  Enter Eduardo or Jocelyn De Souza
     3. Enter Missionary #044522

Can’t give online? **Please note that the mailing address changed since our last newsletter and is different that the info on our prayer card!
      Send checks to: 
           SIM USA,
           14830 Choate Circle,
           Charlotte, NC 28273-9105
      Please write “De Souza #044522” in the memo line.
With love from the De Souza Family – Serving in CAVANGO, ANGOLA, where we are privileged to share God’s love and the hope of the Good News in one of the places where it has been least heard! The Cavango clinic serves about 50 neighboring villages, which altogether have a population of about 30,000 people who are largely unreached with the Gospel and lack any other basic healthcare.

Stay in Touch

Our Mailing Address:
14512 Shoreline Ln.
Lake Park, MN 56554


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Eduardo De Souza
Jocelyn Thompson de Souza

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Eduardo: +1 218-457-3577 
Jocelyn: +244 928 605 655

E-mail:
eduardo.desouza@sim.org
jocelyn.desouza@sim.org

Website:
togetherwesharegodslove.com
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