{"id":119,"date":"2016-11-12T05:02:37","date_gmt":"2016-11-12T05:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/?p=119"},"modified":"2016-11-12T05:04:03","modified_gmt":"2016-11-12T05:04:03","slug":"an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/2016\/11\/12\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\/","title":{"rendered":"An Open Letter to Friends and Family"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/125\/2016\/11\/Blessed.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-medium wp-image-120 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/125\/2016\/11\/Blessed-240x300.png\" alt=\"blessed\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/125\/2016\/11\/Blessed-240x300.png 240w, http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/125\/2016\/11\/Blessed.png 294w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">There is a part of me that wants to open this letter by using a very old fashioned word \u2026 BELOVED \u2026 To my BELOVED friends and family \u2013 It sounds so odd, but it is so much closer to the truth of who you are than any other greeting I can think of. You are beloved and I need to tell you why.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">You see, We (Alex, me, Josh and Joey) \u2026 we have the rare honor and privilege of being missionaries in Mozambique. Part of this privilege is dependence. It flies in the face of everything that we, as Americas, prize. \u00a0I will admit, at times it can be pretty nerve wracking. As Americans one of our most prized values is our independence. We are well known for it. We take pride in it. We nurture it in ourselves and in our children. But, God is teaching me the joy and privilege of being dependent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">As missionaries we depend on our friends and families for so much. We depend on you for our livelihood. We depend on you for our food, our clothes, our transportation, our everything! It is humbling and it is overwhelming, but more than anything it is transforming. It has changed how I look and feel about each and every one of you. It has transformed me!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">It never fails to amaze me how you always seem to go above and beyond what we ever hoped for or expected. You overwhelm us with your love and generosity! I AM OVERWHELMED !!! I am overwhelmed by the gift and the blessing of having each of you in my life. I wish I had a better way of expressing what depending on you has done for me.\u00a0 All I can continue to say is that it has transformed me. Your love has forever changed me, changed who I am and how I look at the world and I am eternally grateful for each and every one of you.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Thank you to each of you for your prayers, your encouragement, your support, for how you continually give so sacrificially. We are blessed to have the honor of knowing and loving you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana?moderation_action=report_form&object_type=post&object_id=119&width=250&height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is a part of me that wants to open this letter by using a very old fashioned word \u2026 BELOVED \u2026 To my BELOVED friends and family \u2013 It sounds so odd, but it is so much closer to the truth of who you are than any other greeting I can think of. You &hellip; <a class=\"read-excerpt\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/2016\/11\/12\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&raquo;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":159,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>An Open Letter to Friends and Family - The V&#039;s In Mozambique!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/2016\/11\/12\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Open Letter to Friends and Family - The V&#039;s In Mozambique!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is a part of me that wants to open this letter by using a very old fashioned word \u2026 BELOVED \u2026 To my BELOVED friends and family \u2013 It sounds so odd, but it is so much closer to the truth of who you are than any other greeting I can think of. You &hellip; Continue reading &raquo;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/2016\/11\/12\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The V&#039;s In Mozambique!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-12T05:02:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-12T05:04:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/125\/2016\/11\/Blessed-240x300.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Melanie Viana\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melanie Viana\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/12\\\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/12\\\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Melanie Viana\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e5501b940969a554e0dfa3f71d0722ad\"},\"headline\":\"An Open Letter to Friends and Family\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-12T05:02:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-12T05:04:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/12\\\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":365,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/12\\\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/125\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/Blessed-240x300.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/12\\\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/12\\\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/12\\\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\\\/\",\"name\":\"An Open Letter to Friends and Family - 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They anticipate training local pastors in Bible, Theology, and leadership development. Vianas will also assist in the development of a self-sustainment business. They are currently raising funds and hope to arrive in Mozambique this fall. While Melanie grew up in a Christian home, she \u2018went through the motions\u2019 and thought that the harsh punishment at home reflected God\u2019s view of her. She heard missionary stories, but harbored anger toward God and anybody connected with the church. At the age of 16, Melanie attended a Christian camp in Oregon where she heard for the first time that God loved her. Through experiences of joy or darkness, Melanie knew His unconditional love and committed herself to serve Him. Alex grew up at Rolling Hills Covenant and became a Christian during junior high at Alpine Camp (Blue Jay CA). His father is Bolivian and grew up with Covenant missionary Eldon Johnson. The two men eventually moved to the States and began a Hispanic church in Los Angeles. Alex worked with\\\/helped lead the (Rolling Hills Covenant) high school group, and thought he would always live in the USA. When Global Ministry began, Alex went to Mozambique with a group from their church. While there, God worked in his heart, showing him the need for his presence in an overseas setting. For the last six years, Alex and Melanie have led the Global Ministry at Life Covenant (Torrance CA), a ministry focused in the country of Mozambique. Begun in mud huts without electricity or water, the ministry now includes two orphanages with water, electricity, and teaching facilities. A group of believers meets at each orphanage. The ministry is all Mozambican-led by leaders with a passion for caring for orphans, addressing the needs of poverty and injustice, evangelism to identified unreached people groups, and the development of biblicaly sound churches. To date, nine churches have been planted, and two more are in process. With the goal of living into a holistic ministry, Global Ministry has begun several self-sustainment projects. Gardens have been planted, and local people maintain a chicken farm and a corn and rice milling business. Because Global Ministry is led by all Mozambicans, Alex and Melanie will be their first full time missionaries. Most local pastors have just a 6th grade education and little or no theology or Bible education, so Alex and Melanie will help provide that training. Alex says, \u201cEntire communities have been brought into new life. This is the most fun we have ever had in ministry!\u201d Alex studied business at California State U-Dominguez Hills, and has run his own manufacturing business for over 30 years. Melanie received her BA from Multnomah Bible College (2004, Biblical Education, Portland OR) and her MA from Fuller Theological Seminary (2009, Theology, Pasadena, CA). Alex and Melanie are founding members of Life Covenant Church in Torrance, CA. Birthdays: Alex July 30 Joshua June 26, 2009 Melanie May 28 Joseph June 26, 2009 Anniversary: June 28, 1997\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/amviana\\\/author\\\/melanieviana\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An Open Letter to Friends and Family - The V&#039;s In Mozambique!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/amviana\/2016\/11\/12\/an-open-letter-to-friends-and-family\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An Open Letter to Friends and Family - The V&#039;s In Mozambique!","og_description":"There is a part of me that wants to open this letter by using a very old fashioned word \u2026 BELOVED \u2026 To my BELOVED friends and family \u2013 It sounds so odd, but it is so much closer to the truth of who you are than any other greeting I can think of. 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They anticipate training local pastors in Bible, Theology, and leadership development. Vianas will also assist in the development of a self-sustainment business. They are currently raising funds and hope to arrive in Mozambique this fall. While Melanie grew up in a Christian home, she \u2018went through the motions\u2019 and thought that the harsh punishment at home reflected God\u2019s view of her. She heard missionary stories, but harbored anger toward God and anybody connected with the church. At the age of 16, Melanie attended a Christian camp in Oregon where she heard for the first time that God loved her. Through experiences of joy or darkness, Melanie knew His unconditional love and committed herself to serve Him. Alex grew up at Rolling Hills Covenant and became a Christian during junior high at Alpine Camp (Blue Jay CA). His father is Bolivian and grew up with Covenant missionary Eldon Johnson. The two men eventually moved to the States and began a Hispanic church in Los Angeles. Alex worked with\/helped lead the (Rolling Hills Covenant) high school group, and thought he would always live in the USA. When Global Ministry began, Alex went to Mozambique with a group from their church. While there, God worked in his heart, showing him the need for his presence in an overseas setting. For the last six years, Alex and Melanie have led the Global Ministry at Life Covenant (Torrance CA), a ministry focused in the country of Mozambique. Begun in mud huts without electricity or water, the ministry now includes two orphanages with water, electricity, and teaching facilities. A group of believers meets at each orphanage. The ministry is all Mozambican-led by leaders with a passion for caring for orphans, addressing the needs of poverty and injustice, evangelism to identified unreached people groups, and the development of biblicaly sound churches. To date, nine churches have been planted, and two more are in process. With the goal of living into a holistic ministry, Global Ministry has begun several self-sustainment projects. Gardens have been planted, and local people maintain a chicken farm and a corn and rice milling business. Because Global Ministry is led by all Mozambicans, Alex and Melanie will be their first full time missionaries. Most local pastors have just a 6th grade education and little or no theology or Bible education, so Alex and Melanie will help provide that training. Alex says, \u201cEntire communities have been brought into new life. This is the most fun we have ever had in ministry!\u201d Alex studied business at California State U-Dominguez Hills, and has run his own manufacturing business for over 30 years. Melanie received her BA from Multnomah Bible College (2004, Biblical Education, Portland OR) and her MA from Fuller Theological Seminary (2009, Theology, Pasadena, CA). 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