Follow Jesus

Eric Dry is the associate director and has been here for more than ten years. From Eric I learned some new things to incorporate into my vocabulary like "fetch"and"it's a pleasure", he taught us how to make his delicious chickens and gravy, and from him I almost got my first job tarantula-sitting. Linda is his faithful pet tarantula who randomly causes him to dive across the sidewalk as he seeks large cockroaches for her dinner. 

This was his final week here. Sadly, I missed his last time at church last week where they had several special songs and messages planned for him. Wednesday was a holiday so Tuesday was his final workday here. He came to devotions to give a word to the men. He said, "you come here every day and hear about God. I want to tell you to listen to what you hear because it's the truth. Jesus is coming back very soon. He will take those who follow Him to heaven and those who don't will be left here to experience hell on earth. Follow Jesus. Do good and not bad." It was short, simple and to the point. The people here have much respect for him and there are even several children here named Eric (or Erica) because of him. 

On Wednesday we surprised him and made custard and chocolate cake to go with our lunch of rice and juko beans--which also were a treat and surprise because we eat mantega beans everyday. He had no idea so it was a perfect surprise. On Thursday morning Hannah and I gave home two cards that we had made with the preschool kids and said our goodbyes (to Eric and Linda who had been safely prepped for her journey) and then we had to go get the food distribution set up while he finished his final preparations. About a hour later he drove up and stopped the truck in front of the center and about ten women ran over to the truck... It was so cute that they rushed over because they wanted to make sure they got to say goodbye.

He was the resident mechanic, welder, tech guy, solar power expert, and radio program recorder, etc. While Manuel has been trained to take over some of those things and Brenda knows how to do some things, he will be sorely missed. 

Here he is happily oiling the swings which have been swinging non-stop since they were installed about 2 months ago.

If you need a good read, I just finished "The End of the Spear" by Steve Saint, it was an incredible book and I recommend it! Here is an excerpt from an interview that Steve did with his aunt, Rachel Saint who learned the language and culture of the Waorani Indians that she might share the good news of Christ with them. These are the same people who less than three years earlier had speared and killed her own brother and four other missionaries who made contact with them. She lived among the tribe for more than twenty years and translated the Bible into their language and then taught them to read so they could learn on their own. This interview was shortly before she passed away. "Isn't it something, that The Lord Jesus would have used someone like me to do His work in this special place? I was too old by the time I could apply for missionary service. I couldn't help the Waodani much medically, I was not a Bible scholar, and if was never really a superior translator."... "Well Aunt Rachel, why do you think God gave you this assignment? What do you think He saw in you that He could use?" Her eyes brightened, and this eighty-two year-old hero of mine responded with a formula for living. "Well Stevie boy, I loved The Lord Jesus with all my heart, and I trusted Him completely, and I guess I just learned to persevere in whatever He gave me to do."

I pray that this is true of me--and all of us. May we follow Jesus, May we do good and may we persevere in whatever He gives us to do.

Malaria

So, I figured I would get malaria sometime while I was in Mozambique, I had hoped I would be a good way into the year before that happened, it was 3 1/2 weeks exactly.
Thursday morning we walked to the center for food distribution and I was freezing! I was wearing warm leggings under my skirt as well as long sleeves and a jacket. I was still cold so I was standing in the sun which still wasn't warming me up. After food distribution Hannah and I sat in the sun outside of our house and then my head started hurting. I knew what my diagnosis was about to be. At lunchtime the food made me feel nauseous and I told Brenda that I had a headache, she touched me and said I had a fever. She immediately told me to sit down and to drink some mango juice. That's a treat because we don't have sweets that often except a little bit of canned fruit salad for dessert. She gave me my first dose of medicine and Hannah came to get me settled in. She was so kind and thought of everything that I could possibly need: cold water to soak my feet in, cold compresses, a comfortable chair, books, games, etc. she would leave to help Brenda with stuff but came very often to make me coolaid or tea and to update me on all of the news and adventures of the day.
I don't have migraines so I don't know what they feel like, but people say that a malaria headache is like a migraine. You also have body aches and a fever. Some strains of it will also cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea--I did not have that one, thankfully! The best cure is to rest, and to eat and drink lots of sweets. They are no treat anymore! I don't want anything with sugar in it for a long time!
My wonderful housemate Hannah was the drink enforcer because you just get tired of drinking all the time! Obviously it means you have to use the facilities more often which is complicated mosquito nets that trap you in bed, no plumbing and flashlights. Not the end of the world though--everything that we face could be worse. That can pretty much be said by anyone anywhere.
She also woke up two-three times during the night. Once to give me medicine(and make me drink something) and then again to remind me to drink something. And in the evenings she would keep me company and we would chat or play family feud. But I was pretty boring for those three days.
This morning, Sunday, I woke up feeling great. The sun didn't make my head hurt, I wasn't so lightheaded when I stood up for more than a few minutes and my fever was gone. So happy!
I am a little weak still but should be completely back to normal in a few days after my red blood cells replenish. I wasn't allowed to go to church which I was sooo sad about because it's "papa Eric's" last Sunday here. I could hear singing from my room but it's not even close to the same. Hannah told me all about it when she got back and how they had sung some special songs for him. So sweet. He was really happy about to when I asked him at lunch. Right after church Nelson stopped by and said hi and asked how I was and he picked up a bike. A few minutes later Fred came over(sooo many visitors!), he came in and said he wanted to pray for me. He and Hannah put their hands on me and he  prayed for me(in Portuguese) to recover quickly. It was the sweetest thing and made me feel extra loved and welcomed here.

Here is my buddy for the day. I was ordered to take it easy but allowed to attend preschool. This little guy seemed a little sad and when I walked up to him he grabbed my hand and wanted held. I happily picked him up. He wrapped his legs around me, laid his head down and fell asleep. He felt warm so I told Brenda and turns out, he has malaria too. We gave him some medicine and cookies so he was happy.

17 June--week three

Yesterday we went to church in Ravuma(5k from here). I am so impressed by these kids. There were around 100 kids in the Sunday school class, around 15 of those were girls and another 15 were small children or babies on the backs of those girls. Some of them are probably not older than 8. When I was that age I'm sure my mom wouldn't have trusted me with a baby--and it's a good thing! After church we walked outside and the kids swarm to us and just look at us. White people are really rare around here. They talk amongst themselves and then when the teenagers get brave, they step up,quickly, brush their hand on my hair and then step quickly back. They love to teach us clapping games. Our communication is limited here more so than in Balama because most of then only speak Makua. They haven't gone to school (or they don't go for long) and that is where they learn Portuguese, so it's a struggle. But a smile and a high five surpass language limitations.
We came back to Balama and went to church there. It's more energetic and the kids are mostly the same ones we see all week so they flock to us. We hear "Hannuh, Keitee" as we walk up and they run to grab a hand. We sat in the back because their service had already started, and we are a distraction. They were intrigued by my bible and then even more so when they found my family picture inside of it. I am sure they were thinking 'that is a lot of white people!' But I put it away until after church or every child in the building would be sitting on me trying to see in about thirty seconds. We sang a few songs and then the kids dancing choirs started. There are about twenty kids in each choir and they line up in two rows at the back of the aisle, they dance and sing their way to the front and the complete a few more songs before dancing and singing their way back to the back. Then a few kids will get out of the line and a few more will jump in and they do it again. Bertino, the children's pastor grabbed Hannah's hand and dragged her in. Even though I was sitting all the way against the wall I knew he wouldn't let me out of it. Haha, not a chance. But even though I'm not a good dancer they brought me in and it was super-fun! Who knew that our just dance game on the wii at home had helped prepare me for Africa. All I had to do was watch Bertino's feet and do what he did. It doesn't matter that it didn't look quite as graceful, everyone was having a blast and singing to God. That's what He wants from us.
This morning Fred went with Hannah and I to visit the homes. I loved it! We visited five homes and spoke with the mothers in those homes. One mother, Ernestina, invited us to come visit anytime and said she would help us with Portuguese. Another mother, Balbina showed us her home. The girls were hanging around getting ready for school and we said hi and chatted for a few minutes. Filomena is around 8 and she was eating breakfast. Balbina motioned that the fresh, full bowl across the table was for us to try, she handed a spoon and Hannah and I both tasted it. We decided that it was delicious! It was like the consistency of grits but made out of farinha(corn flour), sugar and water. It's what they all eat for breakfast. As we walked between the houses, Fred introduced us to people along the way, one of the guards' wife, the case worker's daughter, the preschool teacher's daughter, etc.  Fred was greeting everyone, sending the kids to school (since they were already late), and teaching us some new words along the way. I loved being out among the people, on their turf and getting a better glimpse into their lives and making connections: who belongs to who. What a privilege to get to experience this.

June 7 Update + Video!

Today marks two weeks since I left home. In some ways it feels like it's been way longer, I guess it's just funny how life goes on there even if you are not there. The time here is flying by. Hannah arrived a few days after me and I'm so happy to have her here. 

We processed a whole bunch of corn this week. We are only a little bit tired, but I'm sure the incredibly strong Mozambicans are reallyyyyy tired. They carry sacks of corn (weighing around 140 lbs) on their heads! With around 400-500 sacks coming in a day and moving them to the chute and then into the warehouse to stack them, that is a LOT of lifting and carrying. I'm pretty positive that any body builder wouldn't last a day here doing what these men do. And we are glad we just have to switch the empty sacks in when they pull out the full ones. But you will be impressed to know that we moved 13  45 lb sacks of rice this week so maybe by July corn buying we could help the guys out. Our favorite part is when they sing while they are sacking. Hannah says it's like the Lion King but way better.

The guys make stairs out of the sacks and then climb them to stack the corn to the rafters.

We have been so busy but really enjoying the simplicity of life here. When we have free time, instead of watching tv or wasting time in some other way, we walk down to the center and there are always some awesome kids waiting for us. They love to call our names and go over Portuguese words with us in exchange for English ones. We started out drawing pictures in the sand but realized that we run out of things to draw really quick and it's not only because my artistic skills are lacking! They live so simply and don't have all the resources we have so many of the things that I would draw, they simply don't know what it is. As I had girls twirling around me, holding to each of my hands and then other girls jumping in when they got too dizzy and fell down so that they could spin too, and then six or seven boys straight in front of me showing off their head stands, cartwheels and walking on their hands, my heart couldn't help but be filled with gratitude that I get to love these kids and they love us. And all we had to do was walk up,  I don't think that there is any other human love as easily earned. And I hope that they will come to know the greatest love ever, a love that will not fail them because of Jesus. 
You all have persevered to the end, so here is a video treat! Last Saturday was a party for children's day. It is widely celebrated here as the birthday for all children since they don't usually know what their actual birthdate is. The man in blue is the guard at the center and is very sweet. The little girl is named Monica, she is three and adored by all.