Last days in Moz.

In our last week of serving in Mozambique the internet was being less than cooperative so I am just going to recap on a few things. I spent some time with Alta preparing some crafts for her ladies ministry. Not only do the ladies learn to read and write in their native language, but they are also being taught life skills such as sowing, crocheting, beading, and embroidery. And let me tell you, these ladies are no amateurs. The embroidering they do could be sold for top dollar out here in the West. 

 

In May of 2007, Nat brought the Jortosh team, who specialize in children's ministry programs, to Mozambique to help with the construction of his house. Aside from entertaining the kids, speaking at churches, building a school roof, and working on Nat's house, the team also donated 6 manual (none electric) sowing machines to be given to Alta's ministry. I followed up with Alta to find out how the sowing projects were benefiting some of the ladies in her program.

I met with Louisie and Isabelle who both are without any family. All the ladies were tough to sow by Gabriel, the man of all traits, who is featured below with Nat making windows and doors. The ladies are payed to sow clothing and bags for the school children at the ASAM school. They are also aloud to use the machines to generate their own source of income. These machines will remain the property of ASAM Ministries but are used only for the gain of the locals.

Louisie and Isabelle send a worm THANK YOU to the Jortosh team for sending them these machines. The income provides food and warmth for them in the difficult living conditions of the bush. 

Some projects are used for the missions purposes such as school uniforms and book bags for the children and some are a way of teaching personal business skills. The women make things such as pillow cases, aprons and throws, all embroidered with the most beautiful designs. These are then sold to teams who wish to bring back souvenirs for their loved ones. The profit is given to the ladies so they can purchase more material to make more merchandise. 

I also had the joy of helping the orphan girls make earring for themselves and their sponsors. These earrings made out of....... get this, coca-cola caps........ will no doubt be the next fashion icon in the Mocambez area of Mozambique!

Angelina made her two pair of earrings faster than I could put the finishing clamp on the sample earring I used to teach her how they were made! 

We could tell her earring were well appreciated when Heather and I noticed Angelena dancing around in order to make the earrings bounce. 

Nat spent most of his days in his glory...... working in the wood shop with Gabriel making doors and windows for orphan homes. A few years ago Nat began teaching Gabriel the trade of wood working because he saw some potential in this local man who was hired for some temporary work on the farm only to return to find that Gabriel had far exceeded the talents he has been taught....... this man has has wood in his DNA. 

There are are two things I can't seem to escape these days, cutting hair and painting. Though I thought it would be more fun to paint Heather than the walls!

After a busy week Heather, Rick, Nat and I took a day off to head to the dam for a little fishing and sun bathing. We caught too much sun and no fish. Everyone is complementing me on my great tan. I tell them I got in one day and I had to pay a hefty price for it. I burnt myself so bad this day that I could hardly walk for two days without wincing in pain. I did find out about an interesting home remedy for a nasty sunburn. Water and vinegar! Thanks for the great advice Alta!

We docked to have some lunch and our bout driver lead us up the hill for the perfect spot with the most beautiful view.

Resting at Mercy Air

Just dropping you a note to say we are still alive! We have been resting at Mercy Air for a few days before embarking on the long flight to Pennsylvania. Our flight leaves today in the pm and we will be arriving home on Thursday. I will have more photos of our last week in Mozambique as well as some fun things we did here at Mercy Air as soon as I get home. For now I am going to continue relaxing before the business of the west hits us once again.

A year to remember..... a day to remember

Well, today marks a special day for us. We have survived our first year of marriage without killing each other! And to think that we made it to Africa for our one year anniversary; the very place it all began! We have loved being back here mostly because so many people here were a part of our lives when we began dating. How fun it was to tell them that we got married and are now having a baby. We have been told on many occasions that we are no longer children because now we are married with responsibilities. This coming from the people who are married off before they are even finished school. 

Today was also a special day for many children in the Hundai area of Mozambique. If you remember the orphan packages we helped put together last week then like I promised, we helped hand them out today.

Since it is Sunday we joined the church for their service before handing out the goods to the children. Always, without fail, I am humbled each time I attend an African bush church service. To accompany the aching needs of the people there is an abundance of giving in their hearts. As I watch them one by one make their way to the front to offer gift I am perplex why we, as a nation of prosperity, have a difficult time parting with even our least valuable possessions. Though small in our perspective, these peoples gifts were undoubtedly huge sacrifices in their perspective. If money was not given then some sort of food was. This church is currently supporting 20 groups of siblings who were all orphaned. 
Rick told the story of Noha and the ark using water jugs as props! 

This precious child couldn't help using the jugs for her own entertainment....... and to be frank, mine as well!
This boy had an AMAZING talent of playing the drums. This moment, oddly enough, reminded me of when I was walking down the aisle to marry Nat. I so loved the sound of the African drums that I requested my good friend to play the bongo as I entered the church to be wed. 

At the end of the service some more gifts were given and thanks was given to God. It was then the pastor explained that this was a gift for their guests. That would be us. How do you take food from people who hardly have enough food to last the week...... or day? And how to you turn down a gift given to you, which is only meant to show you how much you are appreciated?

As if the bundle of food wasn't enough, they had also cooked us a meal. Rise, which is much more expensive than their home grown suddsa, and beans. I have to admit that I love this meal! I'm not joking.

We were not the only ones blessed with a meal. The children in the churches orphan program also get a meal each Sunday after church.

Nat was entertained with a game of ball while waiting for the children to finnish eating.

Finally it was time to had out the goody bags!!!

The kids waited with great anticipation as they were told not to open their gifts until a snap shot was taken.

And the commotion began!!!! excitement was thick in the air!

This young man was all smiles when he realized that he and his 

five brothers received a soccer ball.

This youngster got caught in the mob..... as did I!

The girls got some nail polish in their bags and of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a little salon time with them.

Nat was amazed with this kids talent, and creativity. He was blowing thorough the hole of a pen lid and keeping this small pellet suspended in the air.

Learning Patience

patience
noun
1 the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry

Being back in the bush of Africa, once again, I am reminded of how a simple task can, and usually does, take ten times longer than you expect it to. Coming from a society that is built on the expectation of quick responses and fast production, one must leave the normality of productiveness in the western hemisphere if one wishes to keep his sanity.

To give you an idea, here is a typical day here on the farm:

After our morning devotions with the ASAM Staff jobs are given out to every worker. On this particular morning, food needs to be delivered to two different locations; one being the ASAM school, which feeds 250+ students each day, and 7 students in a higher grade at a different school. Nat and I volunteered our time to do the job. Our first plan was to take Rick and Heather’s truck but then George, who is in charge of food distribution, informed us that the Isuzu would not carry the amount of food we had to deliver. This left us with the big flatbed truck but it was not as simple as loading it up and being on our way. There was heaps of sand in the back that needed to be unloaded; I’m not talking bags of sand that can be easily removed but rather piles of sand that must be shoveled off the truck by hand. A few hours latter, the sand is  unloaded, the food is loaded and we are ready to be on our way. Since it had rain over that last few nights there were puddles of water to be avoided along the softened road leading from the farm to the highway. Suddenly, without warning, the ground gave way and we slid into the muddy ditch.

Nat and Matthew walked back to the farm to get the Isuzu and some rope.

When they returned some men began shoveling mud out from around the tires and some tree branches were cut down for traction under the tires. Planks of wood would have been nice at this point…… or better yet… a tow truck company!

It was a dirty job but someone has to do it! We sometimes give the locals a hard time about their work ethic, or rather lack there of, but these Africans often do jobs us clean-blue-collar-Americans would never do.

With the pull of the Isuzu and the push of six men we desperately tried to free the flatbeds wheels from the unforgiving mug below. Everyone pushed and pulled to no avail and we were left to think of another plan. By this time it was almost lunch time so I went with the truck back to the farm. Considering I was no use to the problem at hand, I thought I might make myself useful and cook some food for those who were actually getting some work done. By one ‘o clock the men were back on the farm and the truck was finally unstuck! It was released from the earths grip by the power of 20 men slowly, and with great effort, lifting the back end of the truck inch by inch until it was on solid ground. I would have loved to have had a photo of that but I guess it's understandable that none of the men helping were considering what a great photo shot this would make.

After lunch we took one small load of food in the Isuzu and delivered it to the school. The rest of the food was left to deliver the next day.

So, there you have it! A days work and only half the work actually completed.

We could complain about the rain and blame it for stifling our efforts to be “productive” but that would be to curse the very thing the locals need. Unlike us, who have irrigation systems and electricity to pump water to our crops, this nation is reliant on rains from the sky to grow their crops. This year has been a tough one due to an unusually dry rainy season. At this point the mission is able to provide food for 50 people through their “Work for Food” program. This program allows the mission to hire 5o extra workers a day who all work for the payment of food only. Women work a half days work and men work a few hours short of a full day’s work. This system provides food for the hungry without creating dependence on a free hand out to a person who is capable of working.

Each morning close to 200 men and women show up hoping for some work.

The tough job is only being able to choose 50.

A Trip to Town!

I bring you good news! We finally got our luggage this Friday. We spent some time at the Chimoio airport while Dwight was taking Rick, Heather and Matthew for a flight over the farm. This was Matthews first time being in an airplane and he felt a little apprehensive mixed with a dash of excitement. I think there was more apprehensiveness than there was excitement but there was not time for Matthew to contemplate his decision. We met Dwight at the airport and he had the plane ready to fly. At the last minute he realized, with only Rick and Heather going, he would have an extra seat and invited Matthew to come along! It was one of those moments you are given an opportunity to do something that is a little scary and a little exciting and you hastily reply yes because you know this is a chance of a lifetime that may never present itself again. After agreeing to this precarious adventure your mind begins to process if you truly made the right decision. In the end Matthew was glad he went despite the head spinning he felt when he finally reach the ground again

While the gang was flying high in the sky Nat and I were waiting to hear of our luggage. The receptionist at LAM air was on the phone to Maputo and Johannesburg trying to track down our luggage. She finally located it in the Maputo airport as it was stuck in customs. We have no idea why and nor do we care! We are just happy to have our own cloths to wear.

After getting our luggage sorted out we all went to the market to by some essentials for the orphan program. For this years “Give a unique Gift” promotion one of the gifts you could by was a school pack for an orphaned child. Nat and I were helping Rick and Heather make the purchases for these packets to be given to 24 children who don’t have to money to go to school.

First on the list was buying a worm blanket for the child. While shopping in the market you have to remember that your white skin will automatically give you a discount… yes a discount that some how doubles in price!! To a savvy Mozambiquen businessman, a white person has too much money and no brains to hold onto it. Well this man has never met Heather before. She was told by Gorge, one of the local men who work for the farm, that $250 Mets (about $5 US) was a fare price. Even Gorge’s mouth dropped when Heather told him she got 20 blankets for $200 Mets each!


Next was buying capolannas, which are wraparound shirts for the girls. Heather and I had to model these gorgeous fabrics for the camera while Rick tried to hurry us along! I think it’s pretty universal that guys don’t like to shop with their wives so Nat and Rick kept each other company through their misery.

Just for fun we picked up some nail polish for all the girls.

At our last stop in the market, where Heather was buying the last of some t-shirts for the boys, we all sat down for a bit of a break. Rick jumped up and took the camera from Nat and said “ Go snuggle with your wife for a photo. Nat, without a word uttered, sat in between Matthew and I, wrapped his arm around Matthew and smiled for the camera! We all laughed at Nat's humorous gesture but not near as hard as we did when Matthew placidly said “ ARE YOU LOST, MAN?”

That’s better!

Each child will be receiving a maze bag to carry their meal maze, which is their main source of food, a water jug for hauling water from the community well, blankets, clothing, mandatory school supplies required for them to attend school, soap, tooth past and tooth brushes. As fun extras we added lotion, nail polish and some hair pins for the girls as well as cars, tennis balls and soccer balls for the boys. Join us next weekend as we deliver these gifts to some unexpectedly blessed children.

Photos at last

While we still don’t have our luggage and still can not present our photos to you but we are lucky enough that there are other missionaries out here with a better knack for photo taking than me. I have borrowed a few shots from Heather who is now heading up the orphan department so you can see that we ARE actually working out here…….. while, at least I can say Nat is working. Unless you call taking photos, playing with kids and walking around the farm work, then I would say my productiveness has been limited. I have accomplished one task of typing out versus from the Showna (the local dialect) bible for Alta’s ladies ministry. She is teaching the local ladies how to read and write in order to raise the moral of the importance of a women in a community… and how much more beneficial, an educated woman!

The first job was installing windows and doors in a house that was for two children on their orphan program. The house was built close to their school so they would not have far to travel. The idea is to build two more houses so that when the children from the orphan program reach grade 5 they will be able to stay in these houses and live with an elderly woman until they are finished school and are able to return home.

Our first house was Mibia and Francisco who instantly recognized Nat and I.


Mibia is removing her cloth window covering and is anxious for her new window!


How many hands does it take?


As you can see there is a young man in the mix who wants to learn a few things!

Nat had many eager helpers just waiting for an order.

We came back the next day to fix one of the widows that was made too small and we noticed that it didn’t take long for this window to be personalized with graffiti!



Like I said, my job was photo shooting!

Nat took some time out to play a little soccer with one of the boys.

Most of the children on the orphan program will be moving from little wood shacks like this one into a nice brick house. The bricks are then covered with plaster for a smooth finished look.