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!