We are very sorry to have to let you know that baby Raquelina passed away this morning. We are very saddened by this. Please continue to be in prayer for all of us involved.

Life Goes On!

Well, we've hardly missed a step since Matthew's accident - almost as if it never happened!! He's doing  great and has jumped straight back into everything including climbing ladders (don't think I didn't say something, but he has his own mind!). We've both been working hard at making our individual areas of responsibility able to stand with as little intervention from ourselves as possible - always with a heart to train up, empower and encourage the Mozambicans to care for their own -  our hope is to watch these areas stand without us. Here in Mozambique this is a constant battle but we are moving forwards!!

Raquelina

This little baby girl, Raquelina, is fighting for her life and desperately needs your prayers!! She has been suffering with severe diarrhea and lost more than 1/3 of her body weight in a week. Was 7.3lbs and is now down to 4.7lbs. She was refusing to take anything by mouth and on Thursday was so severely dehydrated I wondered if she would pull through. We have been praying non-stop for her and knew that only a miracle would save her! As of yesterday she started to turn the corner and was much better in terms of hydration. She is in the hospital and they are trying to get to the bottom of the diarrhea problem. As of this morning she has started taking her milk again by mouth and as of this afternoon is taking whole bottles by mouth now and has had no more diarrhea since last night - and has even passed a normal stool (never thought I'd be so happy about normal poo!) Please stand with us in prayer that she will be healed!!

Do you remember Gloria? She arrived SO petite and chronically malnourished, well she just turned 2 years old last month and is a bundle of joy! She's so beautiful and so full of life!

Gloria

Gloria - 11 months

Gloria - 2 years old

And our tasty tomato baby girl F is growing in leaps and bounds - thank you SO much for your prayers for her precious life! Please pray for her lungs because they are definitely her point of weakness. Here she is - so chubby and happy - she LOVES her food! Hallelujah!

Unfortunately or very fortunately (we see it both ways - a tug of the heart to be so far from these beauties, and the great need to have a rest and some distance for a short while) we are heading off for a 6 week break in England on May 17th. Come the end of June we will return to Mozambique as we have committed to serve with Iris Ministries for another 6 months. We feel the remainder of our time in Moz will be focused on training up and handing over our responsibilities, as come December 2012 we will head back to the UK for a season focusing on starting a family, that said with a real heart to at some point return to Mozambique, Africa to continue working with Iris Ministries.   We would appreciate your prayers for us over the coming months as we only desire to go where He is leading. We have loved our time here in Mozambique and as we still have 7 more months left serving here, we cannot think of what life could be outside of these gorgeous children - we love what God has done and is doing in and through us .

We love you all and miss you and hope that if you're in England we will see you when we're back. Please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be reachable on our cell phones and we will be staying with Matthew's parents - if you desire to have our contact details please just e-mail us at Matthewjsteer@gmail.com or sheristeer@gmail.com

So much love and appreciation from both of us,

Matthew and Sheri Steer

OUR GOD IS GREATER

The Bible does not mince its’ words – it is the Truth. It is the Book of Life – the Book that brings life. God’s word says that the devil is out to kill, steal and destroy – but here’s the hope – there is a power greater than this and it is God Himself – abide in Him and He will never forsake you – I am not saying Christians don’t go through hard times, or that even bad things don’t happen to believers, on the contrary I know they do, yet the hope we have and the power and love we know He has, is what brings us through and gives us hope that even in the midst of disaster it does not break us but makes us press through, believing even stronger in what we know to be the truth!

The devil is out to kill, steal and destroy. On March 8^th we experienced a taste of this plan.  Matthew was installing internet cable on the roof of a friend’s house, when without warning the roof fell-in and Matthew with it. Matthew says he lost consciousness and when he awoke (maybe just a couple of minutes later) he could not move anything and was covered in blood from a terrible wound on his head. Within a couple of minutes he had regained movement and was able to get his phone out of his pocket to call me. Sealed away in the clinic only 100 yards away, I had no idea what was going on. Matthew said he had a fall and it was bad, I must come quickly as he was bleeding badly and could not stop the blood. I started running but realized I didn’t know where I was going - he didn’t say where he was, but the Mozambicans were already running to come get me as some witnessed him fall in, and were able to tell me where. I got to the house and encountered locked doors and barred windows – nobody was home and nobody could get in!! I was yelling through the windows and was relieved to hear Matthew’s voice, but could not see him or get to him. Imagine the panic that brought me. He could not get up so he remained out of site. Finally we kicked the door in and I ran in. The site I came upon was shocking, and I had to remind myself and him that it was okay, heads bleed a lot (that’s what I kept saying to myself). I knew we had to get him to the trauma centre in the city quick.

The Mozambicans were amazing!! Before we kicked the door open, two Mozambicans had climbed into the hole where Matthew fell to try to help him, others went to get a mattress and a hard wood board to stabilise it and to carry him out, others gave cups of cold water when Matthew asked. We are a Zimpeto family and this is the body of Christ!

It took us over an hour to get to the trauma centre - a stressful ride indeed. AMI hospital (and trauma centre) of Maputo is probably the most up-to-date private facility that Maputo has. As they assessed Matthew, as only a nurse wife would, I started recommending that he have catscans, etc. I was promptly told that the head doctor attending to Matthew was a neurosurgeon from Russia. In this I knew that God was already handling the situation!

today at physio (14.3.12)

After full body x-rays and cat scans of head & spine, it was confirmed that he had no fractures and his brain & spine were cleared. They said that he has spinal cord bruising and swelling and he experienced days of severe pain due to this. He also has quite a large wound that needed suturing on the back of his head, but he is experiencing no headache or head pain. He has had full neurosurgical, and trauma evaluation and I was very encouraged by the level of care he received and is receiving. Through every step Matthew has been communicating clearly and has been moving all extremities. The doctors say the spinal cord bruising and swelling will resolve without intervention, within a couple of weeks. He was finally discharged yesterday (6 days later). Pain was a real issue, but amazingly after his first physiotherapy session his pain has dissipated. The doctors say that Thursday was Matthew’s "lucky" day, as the injury would have been expected to be much worse. 

We all know without a doubt (and Matthew more than anybody) that although the enemy’s plan was to kill and destroy that day, that our God is greater and it was He himself who intervened!  Matthew’s recovery has already been rapid and it amazes the doctors that he is pain free.  

Gratefully our medical insurance is covering the entire hospital bill and has put us up in a hotel until the end of the week so that Matthew can return to the hospital for daily physio sessions and wound care. Our primary focus is rest and recuperation.

We are so thankful for so many of you who have prayed for us, thought of us, visited us, called us, etc (some even came bearing gifts of homemade apple crumble, and others bacon cheeseburgers, and others fresh fruit, all of which brought a smile to Matthew’s lips and tastebuds!). Thank you, it has all meant so much to know what a BIG family we have across the world and so often distance doesn’t really separate!

OUR GOD IS GREATER, OUR GOD IS STRONGER, 

GOD YOU ARE HIGHER THAN ANY OTHER. 

OUR GOD IS HEALER, AWESOME IN POWER, OUR GOD! 

AND IF OUR GOD IS FOR US, THEN WHO COULD EVER STOP US,

AND IF OUR GOD IS WITH US, THEN WHAT CAN STAND AGAINST US!

With so much gratitude,

Sheri and Matthew Steer

Moving forwards!

Dear friends and family,

Thank you for your continued prayers and support and concern for us and the children we care for.

Baby girl F (Tasty Tomato) came home from the hospital one week ago. She seems a good bit better, but is still having daily fevers so we would appreciate your continued prayers for her. If you recall when she arrived she weighed just about 7lbs and now she is up to 11.4lbs!! We're thrilled that she is clearly moving forward and getting stronger - you can't miss the incredible transformation every day you see her! And it always turns us to praising the One who has touched her and continues to touch her! Thank you Father God!

Baby Boy J was prayed for a couple of weeks back during church time by children in our centre who have come through similar sickness, malnutrition, then transformation. Ever since this short time of powerful prayer, little baby boy J has not missed a day of gaining weight!! He was just about 5lbs when he came to us and is up to over 6.6lbs!! We're thrilled - although, last week he started with fever and then breathing difficulty and had a short stay in hospital. He is back home with us now but still quite a vulnerable baby boy. We appreciate your continued prayers for him.

This last week we also received in baby twins...just 6 weeks old and tiny but oh so sweet! Meet babyF and babyR. We appreciate your prayers for their growth and development,

Our appreciation,
Matthew & Sheri

Baby boy J

Baby boy J

Okay, I don't particularly want to take the prayer focus off of baby girl F, but I feel there is another baby here who needs a lot of prayer as well - I will continue to keep you updated about baby girl F (who I believe will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow if not by Tuesday), but I want to tell you our concerns about this baby boy.

This is baby boy J. He is 10 weeks old and still weighs less than his birth weight. He has been with us for 2 weeks now and we still have seen no weight gain - he is just over 5 lbs - and just a wee peanut of a boy! He eats VERY well but still no weight gain - in fact, he is eating more for his weight than any other baby in the nursery - please pray for revelation for us and wisdom in treating him - more than anything, please pray for breakthrough for him. Thank you for your love and care for us and our children!

Baby boy J

Matthew and Sheri

...Jesus said "Let the little children come to Me..."

This was a few days before she was hospitalized

Baby girl F looks fantastic - visited her today in the hospital and she seems back to her normal self - definitely fighting a bad bacterial infection but no fever today and no difficulty breathing - Hallelujah - thank you Jesus for stepping in - yesterday I prayed all day for a touch from Him and for life - thank you Jesus that you are there every step of the way!


...For of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 19:14)

Urgent prayer request for our tasty tomato

Would value your prayers for baby girl F (aka our tasty tomato) - she became very sick this morning with a very high fever (40C=104F) and struggling to breathe. She has been admitted to hospital and before I left her there (with her mother) she had received treatments that turned her around for the better, but she sure scared us and definitely has not turned the corner yet. Please pray for this beautiful miracles of ours.