First day in Moz

From Kate: (5/28/14)

Today I again woke up at 4:45 to be ready at 5. It starts getting light around then. We went down to the warehouse to bag up 38 bags of beans. I was the 'sacker' and would put the bag under the chute after the guys pulled the other one away while the beans were still coming. It was stressful at first but I think I got the hang of it. I guess the corn comes out of the chute slower so it will be easier. The guys carry the bags on top of their heads and I am sure the bags weigh more than 100 lbs. next week we will bring in around 300 tons of corn--we will do around 200 sacks each day.
We had the normal breakfast of bread and tea. Then Brenda said I could go to the preschool class so I walked there, it's a short walk. As I got close to the center a little boy, who was around 8 years old, ran up to me, grabbed my hand and walked me in. He was proud to show me to his friends. They all gathered around and wanted to talk, mostly all I could get were names, most of which I already forgot. 
Then I saw the preschool kids sitting on the sidewalk eating their cookies. I greeted them with a "salama" which is the Makua greeting, they shyly smiled. I sat with them and asked their names and then we counted to 39-I couldn't remember 40 so we quit. I went to their class with them and we learned our colors. They have to know Portuguese by the first grade so that's what they learn in preschool. They get a little devotional at the end also.
After that a lady named Madalena called me, "mama!" And then I gathered that she wanted me to walk her home. She has very little vision so she needs a guide. She held my hand and then as we were walking back she proudly showed me her field that she plants crops in. I think she wants me help her cultivate it but I'm not really sure. 
We ate our normal lunch of beans and rice. I hope I continue to like that meal because I think that's what we get. After lunch I made up Hannah's bed, she will arrive any minute and I'm excited to have a house-mate. 
Then we went to meet the town administrator, the mayor and the police--all visitors in rural communities have to check in with these people-it's the law. The policeman said I was welcome to Balama and to eat a lot of peanuts-they grow a lot of those here and I guess they are proud of their peanuts. Then we stopped at the hospital to see Nilza--the case worker for Orphans Unlimited. She has malaria and has to be on an iv. We brought her drinks and then since a mother is supposed to be with her I offered to be it. Since she is 24 it's not realistic but oh well. She told me about the AWANA program that she organizes. She asked if I was coming, It is on Friday and I just can't wait! We prayed for her before I was switched out for a real mother and we hope she feels better real soon!
Thank you all for your prayers. I'll continue to update you all.

Katie

Arrival in Mozambique.

From Katie (5/27/14).

Hello all,
I am on the other side of the world. In Mozambique. Can you believe it? I still can't. In some ways it looked like Bolivia--familiarity--for the first shirt bit of the drive. However the mud huts with grass thatched roofs, the people and the noises all remind me that this is indeed very unfamiliar. I am able to understand some Portuguese but will need to work pretty diligently to make any sense when I speak. 
I have never had someone waiting for me at the airport with my name on a sign. I arrived in South Africa exhausted and beginning to feel nervous about this last leg of the trip, a woman named Elzabe was there with a beautiful smile and a sign with my name on it. She took me to get coffee and loved me. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to have a friend I had never met care for me and bless me like that. God loves me just that much to show himself in the little details. There was also the trip through customs in South Africa and then Mozambique with not so much as a question or look at my baggage claim receipts. And the window seat I prayed for so I could sleep.
Eric Dry (along with two Mozambican men--Monsiour and Mario) fetched me from the airport and we made the three and a half hour drive back to Balama. En route we passed a smashed minibus with all the windows broken out of it, Eric said that the minibus had crashed that morning and ten people were killed. When we arrived I met Brenda and George(he will be volunteering here for three more weeks). It was Brenda's birthday and she had even cooked goat goulash, home fries and salad. We talked for a bit but it was late so them we all went to bed. Bedtime around here is 8 or so and everyone gets up at 5 or earlier. I am staying in he house where teams usually stay I am the only one here as of now but Hannah will arrive tomorrow. The houses all have cement floors, brick walls and tin roofs with no insulation- I imagine that will be hot in the summer and they said it is loud in the rainy season with the torrential downpours. 
Today Nilza took me with her to inspect the homes. There are 26 homes in the program with orphan children cared for by their own grandmothers and then three homes of orphan children with Mozambican houseparents. She wasn't feeling too well though and later went to the hospital where they started treating her for malaria. She is only 24 and came here three years ago to run the child development--probably the equivalent of a caseworker.
I am grateful to be here and hoping to fit right into things here very soon. Please continue to pray for the transition.

Much love!

Katie