Food distributions. We love visiting other villages and getting to be the hands of feet of Jesus as we provide for their physical needs after telling them of The One who loves them And through His people has provided this food.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Three months: Favorites!
Here are some highlights.
Kids, of course. They are too adorable. Loveable and loving. It's amazing how simple life is for them as far as trusting others and giving of the little that they have--they just do it without thinking. I am constantly challenged by their selflessness. I hope to be more like them.
Food distributions. We love visiting other villages and getting to be the hands of feet of Jesus as we provide for their physical needs after telling them of The One who loves them And through His people has provided this food.
Church. It is energy packed. They know so many songs but it's always a beautiful time of worship with them.
Food distributions. We love visiting other villages and getting to be the hands of feet of Jesus as we provide for their physical needs after telling them of The One who loves them And through His people has provided this food.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
August 20
So we continue in Balama with really limited internet and that's why blog posts have been so spaced out. But we are alive and well.
We continue with our food distributions at the center as well as baby consults where we see orphaned and malnutritioned babies every week. We weigh them and then based on the babies' needs we give them formula and/or hypo. Hypo is a powder that is full of protein that is mixed in with water and fed to the babies to build up their strength and to help them gain weight. Fred usually is in charge of the baby consults but today had to go to a meeting so Daudo helped me. I was so glad to have a Macua speaker. He spoke with the mothers and if the baby had lost weight he would ask why which was so helpful.
Last week we also started food distributions to two new villages Tauane and Kwe Kwe. Friday we will do another one. Every year Capena meets with village chiefs to see who in the village really actually needs assistance and then He figures out what and how much of everything is needed. At each of these distributions, people come from several different villages and received beans, soap, salt and corn. Capena keeps everyone moving and food is distributed in less than two hours. These three villages will receive food once a month during the dry season. It was a beautiful drive and we enjoyed the new faces and scenery. We also enjoy spending time with our guys too. Here are some photos from the distribution in Kwe Kwe last week:
The kids are on vacation from school last week and this week. We have enjoyed playing soccer with them and just hanging out. On Saturday we took Nelson with us to Montepuez which is an hour drive from here. We needed to get some supplies. It's the closest place to get ice cream and a burger which we took advantage of! Nelson hadn't had ice cream or a hamburger before and now he is a fan!
Monday, August 11, 2014
Africa de Sur August 8
I made a quick trip down to South Africa this week to get my residency visa. In April I sent in my passport with a visa application so I arrived in Mozambique with that and then you can have two thirty day extensions, Capana just took my passport and some other a paperwork at thirty days and they stamped it and let me stay. But before the 90 days are up you have to leave the country. So Eric took me to the Mozambique embassy where we turned in some paperwork, my passport and some money. I got the residency visa and in the next few weeks I will go to Pemba to fill out some more paperwork and then hopefully they will give me my residency visa. You can pray for that all to go smoothly!
While in South Africa I celebrated my birthday with some new friends. Eric worked in Balama for over ten years, he went back to South Africa in June. On Monday He greeted me with a huge smile and a hug when I arrived in Johannesburg--I was happy to see my substitute uncle! He took me to meet his daughter Roselle and her husband Rian. They cooked steak with a side of salad with feta cheese as soon as I arrived. They made me feel right at home. The following afternoon after the visa as well as a visit to Nelson Mandelas statue, I met Eric's granddaughters Franska who is four and Alika who is 18 months. They are precious and Franska was eager to introduce me to their four dogs, two sheep, 13 horses and bunny named cheerio. She reminded me of my niece Leah who had just turned 5 the day before.
Wednesday was my birthday, how am I twenty-nine already?! It was my first birthday to not be with any of my family and I was only able to talk to two sisters for a few minutes so that was REALLY hard. But, God knows and I'm so grateful that He gave me a substitute family for the week! We went to the girls school in the afternoon because Eric and Rozelle will be doing some work for them and they needed to put some stuff together to give an estimate. We walked to the playground after they finished to pick up the girls. Franska came running toward us and with outstretched arms yelled, 'Katie!' Aah, I felt so loved! Rian and Rozelle made reservations at their favorite restaurant which serves the best prawns (shrimp) in Pretoria--I have it from a very reliable source! They were delicious and so was the chocolate brownie with ice cream. They made my birthday so special and even brought in the grandparents for a real family party.
Today I'll head back to Balama, Mozambique.
Friday, August 8, 2014
August two
Breakfast/Montebixo
We went to the home of Balbina yesterday for breakfast. Esperança, Fatima, Filomena, Angelica, Dominica and Ortencia live there. We arrived at 7 and Balbina told us to have a seat while she finished getting breakfast ready. The younger girls with wet hair and no clothes on, peeked out from around the corner where they take their baths. It was a chilly morning, but it didn't seem to bother them that they were wet. In the middle of the yard, a chicken sat under a basket with a wooden pole on top to hold it down. After about ten minutes it started clucking and trying to squeeze it's body through the hole which in reality was only large enough to fit her head and neck through. I wondered if she just realized that she was about to be dinner and was calling for help before she lost her head.
Balbina invited us to the dining room. On the table in front of us was a glass plate or bowl for each person with a spoon and a glass sitting in top. There was also a bread roll for each person. We sat and she told us to put sugar in our cups. We followed her lead and put two teaspoons. She then pointed to the can of sweetened condensed milk but we weren't sure what she wanted us to do with it so we waited. The girls came in and sat on the bench across from us except for Dominca and Ortencia who have a kiddie table at the end of the big person table. Cups were filled halfway with hot water and then Fred arrived and told us to put the milk in the sugar water. His English comes in so handy sometimes since a lot of the people mostly only speak Macua. He asked if we liked bejias which we do, so we told him so and a few minutes later Balbinas husband brought in some bejias for everyone. Bejias are made from beans that have been ground into flour and mixed with onion then made into patties and deep fried, they are yummy. I think he had gone to the market to buy them since it is really time consuming to make them. We watched the girls and they tore strips off their bread roll and dipped it in the milk sugar water so we did the same. It tasted really good even though it was sugar loaded. I asked the girls how old they all were and they looked at each other and giggled before they answered that and any other question. Besides that, they were really quiet, we thought maybe they were nervous to have the three acunhas there but we tried to put them at ease. Balbina wanted Fred to tell us she wanted to apologize for everything not being ready when we arrived. I was the spokeswoman for us and I said not to worry, we were very grateful to spend this time in their home and that the breakfast was our favorite that we have eaten here... Usually it's bread with jelly or peanut butter, or French toast on the weekends. We also really enjoyed spending our morning in their home and getting a little more of the culture. I doubt that they eat from glass dishes on a regular basis or even that this was a normal breakfast. What an honor to get to be more involved in their lives and for a few moments to be totally a part of their lives.
As we walked home I said to Hannah and Ashlynn, "can you guys believe we are in Africa?!" We kind of forget sometimes. But when we spend the morning in their home, in their neighborhood, it's just a little more obvious. And again I am thankful for this opportunity that God has given me.
We went to the home of Balbina yesterday for breakfast. Esperança, Fatima, Filomena, Angelica, Dominica and Ortencia live there. We arrived at 7 and Balbina told us to have a seat while she finished getting breakfast ready. The younger girls with wet hair and no clothes on, peeked out from around the corner where they take their baths. It was a chilly morning, but it didn't seem to bother them that they were wet. In the middle of the yard, a chicken sat under a basket with a wooden pole on top to hold it down. After about ten minutes it started clucking and trying to squeeze it's body through the hole which in reality was only large enough to fit her head and neck through. I wondered if she just realized that she was about to be dinner and was calling for help before she lost her head.
Balbina invited us to the dining room. On the table in front of us was a glass plate or bowl for each person with a spoon and a glass sitting in top. There was also a bread roll for each person. We sat and she told us to put sugar in our cups. We followed her lead and put two teaspoons. She then pointed to the can of sweetened condensed milk but we weren't sure what she wanted us to do with it so we waited. The girls came in and sat on the bench across from us except for Dominca and Ortencia who have a kiddie table at the end of the big person table. Cups were filled halfway with hot water and then Fred arrived and told us to put the milk in the sugar water. His English comes in so handy sometimes since a lot of the people mostly only speak Macua. He asked if we liked bejias which we do, so we told him so and a few minutes later Balbinas husband brought in some bejias for everyone. Bejias are made from beans that have been ground into flour and mixed with onion then made into patties and deep fried, they are yummy. I think he had gone to the market to buy them since it is really time consuming to make them. We watched the girls and they tore strips off their bread roll and dipped it in the milk sugar water so we did the same. It tasted really good even though it was sugar loaded. I asked the girls how old they all were and they looked at each other and giggled before they answered that and any other question. Besides that, they were really quiet, we thought maybe they were nervous to have the three acunhas there but we tried to put them at ease. Balbina wanted Fred to tell us she wanted to apologize for everything not being ready when we arrived. I was the spokeswoman for us and I said not to worry, we were very grateful to spend this time in their home and that the breakfast was our favorite that we have eaten here... Usually it's bread with jelly or peanut butter, or French toast on the weekends. We also really enjoyed spending our morning in their home and getting a little more of the culture. I doubt that they eat from glass dishes on a regular basis or even that this was a normal breakfast. What an honor to get to be more involved in their lives and for a few moments to be totally a part of their lives.
As we walked home I said to Hannah and Ashlynn, "can you guys believe we are in Africa?!" We kind of forget sometimes. But when we spend the morning in their home, in their neighborhood, it's just a little more obvious. And again I am thankful for this opportunity that God has given me.
End of July
Sorry it has been a while since my last update. There are two phone/internet carriers here: MCel and Movitel. Movitel is the better one and the one that we run our internet through but they have some problem with their fiber optics so we have been without internet, it was expected when I came that the internet would be difficult to have but then I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived and it was as good as the internet service in the states. Reality check. But we have survived and besides it being harder to communicate with you all, it hasn't been too bad. But, we still are hoping that it come back up before too long!
Brenda went to the states for two weeks to visit with her parents in July. Her mother is not in good health and Hannah and I were happy to be able to hold down the fort here so she could go. Really it wasn't too difficult since we had Capena here who knows all the programs and pretty much ran everything with the help of the pastors. We controlled money, keys and assisted with the basic programs that continued while Brenda was away. We got to use our Portuguese to ask the guard to go to the market for fruits and meat. He came back with the right foods and amounts so I say it was successful. Also, Ashlynn arrived from the states two weeks ago and we are happy to have her here.
We go to the center daily at catorce hora (1400 or 2:00, we go by military time here) for Escola Ingles, most days we have students show up with their notebooks and pencils. We teach them basic words and if Nelson is there, he is 16 and knows a good amount of English, we ask him how to say things in Portuguese. This week there were some teenage girls looking through the windows and giggling as we had class. I asked if they wanted to learn English and they came right in, borrowed paper and pens from the boys and eagerly took notes. We sometimes take children's books and have them read in English and then translate for them. It was a challenge as we read "The Nose Book" and I had to try to figure out how to say that 'some use their noses to blow horns', that's kind of weird. Or how to say 'sniffle'. We decided to put my Portuguese/English Bible to use and teach them--as well as ourselves!--some Bible verses in English and Portuguese.
We finished corn processing this week. We are relieved to have that huge job finished and thankful that God provided and everything went off relatively smoothly. The second big truck broke on the last day of transporting corn but Brenda and Manel were able to get it up and running again so Manel and two other guys could deliver food to another village a few hours away from here the next day.
Thanks for the continued prayers. I'll write more later!
Brenda went to the states for two weeks to visit with her parents in July. Her mother is not in good health and Hannah and I were happy to be able to hold down the fort here so she could go. Really it wasn't too difficult since we had Capena here who knows all the programs and pretty much ran everything with the help of the pastors. We controlled money, keys and assisted with the basic programs that continued while Brenda was away. We got to use our Portuguese to ask the guard to go to the market for fruits and meat. He came back with the right foods and amounts so I say it was successful. Also, Ashlynn arrived from the states two weeks ago and we are happy to have her here.
We go to the center daily at catorce hora (1400 or 2:00, we go by military time here) for Escola Ingles, most days we have students show up with their notebooks and pencils. We teach them basic words and if Nelson is there, he is 16 and knows a good amount of English, we ask him how to say things in Portuguese. This week there were some teenage girls looking through the windows and giggling as we had class. I asked if they wanted to learn English and they came right in, borrowed paper and pens from the boys and eagerly took notes. We sometimes take children's books and have them read in English and then translate for them. It was a challenge as we read "The Nose Book" and I had to try to figure out how to say that 'some use their noses to blow horns', that's kind of weird. Or how to say 'sniffle'. We decided to put my Portuguese/English Bible to use and teach them--as well as ourselves!--some Bible verses in English and Portuguese.
We finished corn processing this week. We are relieved to have that huge job finished and thankful that God provided and everything went off relatively smoothly. The second big truck broke on the last day of transporting corn but Brenda and Manel were able to get it up and running again so Manel and two other guys could deliver food to another village a few hours away from here the next day.
Thanks for the continued prayers. I'll write more later!
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