While I was enjoying my time in the States, I found a new roommate to bring back with me. His name is Ted E. Bear and he is from North Carolina just like me! He'll be traveling with me to see the sights and work in Mozambique.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
A New Roommate....
While I was enjoying my time in the States, I found a new roommate to bring back with me. His name is Ted E. Bear and he is from North Carolina just like me! He'll be traveling with me to see the sights and work in Mozambique.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Transitions
Missionary life involves a lot of transitions and saying hello and goodbye. This week I said goodbye to some fellow missionaries. Here’s a family picture of them at the airport as they were leaving. It’s interesting to think that I’ve been here long enough to see the youngest child from birth to now. I’ve watched him grow from a small baby to an active and cute little boy.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Thoughts from Carol....
October 21, 2006
This is a different type of blogspot than the ones I have been writing recently. It’s not going to tell you what I’ve been doing but it will tell you something which is on my heart right now.
Earlier in the week I helped someone. During the past few weeks we had gone on several daytrips together. On the day of our last trip I was going to say it’s been enjoyable going with you, etc. As we arrived at this person’s house he said what are your plans for tomorrow? I simply said why. I know my mind was thinking what do you want now? (We had left home about 9 hours earlier and I was ready to go home) He wanted me to help him the next day, he needed my transport help. I said no I’m staying at my house and waiting at the house for the telephone repairman to come so he can fix the phone.
By the way, the phone repair guy did come.
Later as I was driving away I was reminded of how Jesus must have felt when he healed the 10 Lepers and only one came back to say thank you. I thought thank you is all I wanted to hear.
A few days later I found the story in Luke 19 about the lepers. I reread it. This time God showed me the situation in a new light. He said how many times have I helped or healed you and you haven’t said thank you? I thought God wants to hear us say thank you and to be thankful for what we do have and what we are able to do.
Today I’ve been challenged and convicted with the thought of how many times did I not share Jesus with others when I had the opportunity to share in my heart language of English? Now that I’m in a culture that is completely different to me with a language that is not my heart language, I am convicted with the times that I missed the opportunity to share with others. Not so I could say this person accepted Christ because of me or that person, etc.; but to save them from death and to give them a hope for the future. How many people are missing out on having hope for the future? A question which I’ve been asking myself lately is how do people make it without having a hope?
I’ve been doing the Beth Moore Believing God study. In it is talking about the spiritual heritage you leave with your descendents. What kind of heritage will you be leaving? Will it be one based on Christian foundations and beliefs? Will it be one they can pass to their descendents? Is it one based on loving God? As many of you know I don’t have children who will be my physical descendents. But I am responsible for spiritual descendents. I am responsible to pass along my spiritual heritage to other generations.
Deuteronomy continually talks about the greatest commandment, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. Is that something I’m doing each day? Is that something you are doing each day?
I’ve been blessed to have a spiritual foundation based on Jesus Christ passed down to me. Will your descendents be able to say the same? Will my descendents say the same? Will the children who are always glad to see the missionary Carol arrive be able to say the same?
The other day another colleague and myself were working on job requests for this area. A question which came up was how do you decide which job is top priority? Is it more important to send workers to the area where no one has heard before or to send workers to an area where people have heard but need discipleship/education? Is that something we can decide? Or do we write the requests and trust God to lead the workers here? I don’t know that there is a right or wrong answer to the question, there may be a better and best answer.
As I write this I reminded of the conviction I felt as I was on a mission trip to Brazil. We were showing the Jesus film in different villages every couple of days. At the end of the trip there were many who had come to know the Lord which is great. But the conviction which I was overwhelmed with was how was one missionary going to visit and disciple all these people?
As I look back over this writing I think were my thoughts really conveyed on paper? Can you see the conviction and questions I am faced with as I write this? I encourage you to ask yourself some of these questions? I’m not writing this to make you feel guilty about anything you might or might not be doing but just to share with you things that are going with me.
Carol
This is a different type of blogspot than the ones I have been writing recently. It’s not going to tell you what I’ve been doing but it will tell you something which is on my heart right now.
Earlier in the week I helped someone. During the past few weeks we had gone on several daytrips together. On the day of our last trip I was going to say it’s been enjoyable going with you, etc. As we arrived at this person’s house he said what are your plans for tomorrow? I simply said why. I know my mind was thinking what do you want now? (We had left home about 9 hours earlier and I was ready to go home) He wanted me to help him the next day, he needed my transport help. I said no I’m staying at my house and waiting at the house for the telephone repairman to come so he can fix the phone.
By the way, the phone repair guy did come.
Later as I was driving away I was reminded of how Jesus must have felt when he healed the 10 Lepers and only one came back to say thank you. I thought thank you is all I wanted to hear.
A few days later I found the story in Luke 19 about the lepers. I reread it. This time God showed me the situation in a new light. He said how many times have I helped or healed you and you haven’t said thank you? I thought God wants to hear us say thank you and to be thankful for what we do have and what we are able to do.
Today I’ve been challenged and convicted with the thought of how many times did I not share Jesus with others when I had the opportunity to share in my heart language of English? Now that I’m in a culture that is completely different to me with a language that is not my heart language, I am convicted with the times that I missed the opportunity to share with others. Not so I could say this person accepted Christ because of me or that person, etc.; but to save them from death and to give them a hope for the future. How many people are missing out on having hope for the future? A question which I’ve been asking myself lately is how do people make it without having a hope?
I’ve been doing the Beth Moore Believing God study. In it is talking about the spiritual heritage you leave with your descendents. What kind of heritage will you be leaving? Will it be one based on Christian foundations and beliefs? Will it be one they can pass to their descendents? Is it one based on loving God? As many of you know I don’t have children who will be my physical descendents. But I am responsible for spiritual descendents. I am responsible to pass along my spiritual heritage to other generations.
Deuteronomy continually talks about the greatest commandment, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. Is that something I’m doing each day? Is that something you are doing each day?
I’ve been blessed to have a spiritual foundation based on Jesus Christ passed down to me. Will your descendents be able to say the same? Will my descendents say the same? Will the children who are always glad to see the missionary Carol arrive be able to say the same?
The other day another colleague and myself were working on job requests for this area. A question which came up was how do you decide which job is top priority? Is it more important to send workers to the area where no one has heard before or to send workers to an area where people have heard but need discipleship/education? Is that something we can decide? Or do we write the requests and trust God to lead the workers here? I don’t know that there is a right or wrong answer to the question, there may be a better and best answer.
As I write this I reminded of the conviction I felt as I was on a mission trip to Brazil. We were showing the Jesus film in different villages every couple of days. At the end of the trip there were many who had come to know the Lord which is great. But the conviction which I was overwhelmed with was how was one missionary going to visit and disciple all these people?
As I look back over this writing I think were my thoughts really conveyed on paper? Can you see the conviction and questions I am faced with as I write this? I encourage you to ask yourself some of these questions? I’m not writing this to make you feel guilty about anything you might or might not be doing but just to share with you things that are going with me.
Carol
Literacy Training Helper
This is Abel's wife (Abel is one of the workers at my house). She was able to go with me and help with the teaching during the last three trips. She is a good helper because she isn't afraid to speak up.
(Abel is on the left and Arlindo is on the right)
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
A Typical Day for Carol
Lest we think it's all smiles for Carol....Read her rundown of a typical day in Mozambique and if you ever wonder how to pray, maybe this will give you some ideas.
Relax today....That was the plan...Then things happened. I was so tired when I got home last night from the church day. This morning I got up and went walking. Then I was expecting Fernando at 7 am to pick up some of his money. He's a good guy, I don't mind it when he comes by (most of the time). I could tell I've been at my breaking point the past few days. I thought I have some things I have to do but I also have to have some time. I prayed and I read Psalms 140 where it says and it says when my spirit grows faint w/in me it is you who know my path. I said that is me, I am there!
I went to the store to get a few groceries. Then I stopped at the Duncan's house to pick up my pots and pans which I use to take to the different churches when I go for cooking purposes. That was Saturday's question/dilemma where are the dishes? The pastor was supposed to have brought them back three weeks ago but I'm still waiting. Come to find out the person had dropped them at the Duncan's house b/c that is the Baptist house and they knew where that was at. The Duncan's had no idea that they were mine and that I had been waiting for them. Anyway....
I got those and I came back around 12 ready to fix salmon patties brought to me from a friend who went to S.Africa and to eat them while I watched Grey's Anatomy. I fixed them and ate and started watching the show. Then I heard a voice outside and I thought no...But it was, it was the pastor who came to town yesterday with us. He is going back on Wednesday with us when we got out to that area again.
I thought okay he doesn't know what time it is. I greeted him and we did all that mumbo jumbo. Then he said the reason I came. He said we are buying 5 bags of cement for our church, we want you to go with us and pick them up tomorrow afternoon. He said the bags cost more than they thought they would be so they didn't have money to pay for someone to transport them to the house where they are staying; and then Wednesday morning I could just pick them up there.
I said I can't go tomorrow afternoon in what I thought was very clear and simple Portuguese, I can't go. The other guy said maybe she didn't understand. So the pastor repeated the story again. I kept saying yes b/c I actually did understand it all. By that time my frustration level was about at the highest limit which I have. I was so frustrated that I could feel the tears of frustration coming. I raised my voice and said I cannot go tomorrow afternoon, I have another program. They said oh, what are we going to do. By this time my fleshly side was coming out and I thought you should have thought of that earlier, I don't know what you are going to do.
Then they asked for a drink of water. I said okay and I went inside to get the water. While I was inside I was able to breath and calm down a little. I took the water out to them. They continued talking for a few minutes saying what are we going to do?
I sat there and listened. And after God convicted my heart I said I can meet you tomorrow morning and we can get the cement then. That started a long conversation of where do we meet. When the pastor said you meet us at another pastor's house and we'll go from there I said no. That is going the opposite way of where the store is, I knew kind of where the store is but not really.
By this time it was about 12:35 and I was still thinking about Grey's Anatomy. Finally I said let's go this afternoon at 2 when the stores open up again. So we went at 2.
In the meantime I said you can wait outside with my worker and talk to him. I went back inside. Guess what? The electricity went off. I said okay God you didn't want for me to see G.Anatomy today.
After going with the pastor and then dropping him off I came back home a different way. I thought it would be the route where I see less people. Well I saw one of the English teachers and he said can I come by tomorrow morning? I said sure. When my evening guard got here today he said I saw you this afternoon b/c the different way went close to his house. I said I can't hide can I? He said well when you are in the car and on the road it's hard for you to hide. I said yes it is. Then I clarified that I didn't want to hide from him, my other guard and Fernando. Then I just left it at that b/c I didn't want him to feel like I wanted to hide from everybody. Plus that would be a different mindset from what the Africans have where you are supposed to be in community and they don't believe in privacy.
When I got home around 4 pm I started baking b/c that is a good outlet for me. I enjoy doing it. Speaking of which I better go check on the chocolate cake. Then I was able to watch the last quarter and half of Cowboys-Redskins game. I know you were happy.
So how was your day???
The heat is back here now. It's about 8:30 and sweat is starting to drop off of me from the heat....Take care, Carol
(Before we get judgemental and say "But she's a missionary!" Remember that she's just a regular person who like us struggles with too many demands on our time!)
Relax today....That was the plan...Then things happened. I was so tired when I got home last night from the church day. This morning I got up and went walking. Then I was expecting Fernando at 7 am to pick up some of his money. He's a good guy, I don't mind it when he comes by (most of the time). I could tell I've been at my breaking point the past few days. I thought I have some things I have to do but I also have to have some time. I prayed and I read Psalms 140 where it says and it says when my spirit grows faint w/in me it is you who know my path. I said that is me, I am there!
I went to the store to get a few groceries. Then I stopped at the Duncan's house to pick up my pots and pans which I use to take to the different churches when I go for cooking purposes. That was Saturday's question/dilemma where are the dishes? The pastor was supposed to have brought them back three weeks ago but I'm still waiting. Come to find out the person had dropped them at the Duncan's house b/c that is the Baptist house and they knew where that was at. The Duncan's had no idea that they were mine and that I had been waiting for them. Anyway....
I got those and I came back around 12 ready to fix salmon patties brought to me from a friend who went to S.Africa and to eat them while I watched Grey's Anatomy. I fixed them and ate and started watching the show. Then I heard a voice outside and I thought no...But it was, it was the pastor who came to town yesterday with us. He is going back on Wednesday with us when we got out to that area again.
I thought okay he doesn't know what time it is. I greeted him and we did all that mumbo jumbo. Then he said the reason I came. He said we are buying 5 bags of cement for our church, we want you to go with us and pick them up tomorrow afternoon. He said the bags cost more than they thought they would be so they didn't have money to pay for someone to transport them to the house where they are staying; and then Wednesday morning I could just pick them up there.
I said I can't go tomorrow afternoon in what I thought was very clear and simple Portuguese, I can't go. The other guy said maybe she didn't understand. So the pastor repeated the story again. I kept saying yes b/c I actually did understand it all. By that time my frustration level was about at the highest limit which I have. I was so frustrated that I could feel the tears of frustration coming. I raised my voice and said I cannot go tomorrow afternoon, I have another program. They said oh, what are we going to do. By this time my fleshly side was coming out and I thought you should have thought of that earlier, I don't know what you are going to do.
Then they asked for a drink of water. I said okay and I went inside to get the water. While I was inside I was able to breath and calm down a little. I took the water out to them. They continued talking for a few minutes saying what are we going to do?
I sat there and listened. And after God convicted my heart I said I can meet you tomorrow morning and we can get the cement then. That started a long conversation of where do we meet. When the pastor said you meet us at another pastor's house and we'll go from there I said no. That is going the opposite way of where the store is, I knew kind of where the store is but not really.
By this time it was about 12:35 and I was still thinking about Grey's Anatomy. Finally I said let's go this afternoon at 2 when the stores open up again. So we went at 2.
In the meantime I said you can wait outside with my worker and talk to him. I went back inside. Guess what? The electricity went off. I said okay God you didn't want for me to see G.Anatomy today.
After going with the pastor and then dropping him off I came back home a different way. I thought it would be the route where I see less people. Well I saw one of the English teachers and he said can I come by tomorrow morning? I said sure. When my evening guard got here today he said I saw you this afternoon b/c the different way went close to his house. I said I can't hide can I? He said well when you are in the car and on the road it's hard for you to hide. I said yes it is. Then I clarified that I didn't want to hide from him, my other guard and Fernando. Then I just left it at that b/c I didn't want him to feel like I wanted to hide from everybody. Plus that would be a different mindset from what the Africans have where you are supposed to be in community and they don't believe in privacy.
When I got home around 4 pm I started baking b/c that is a good outlet for me. I enjoy doing it. Speaking of which I better go check on the chocolate cake. Then I was able to watch the last quarter and half of Cowboys-Redskins game. I know you were happy.
So how was your day???
The heat is back here now. It's about 8:30 and sweat is starting to drop off of me from the heat....Take care, Carol
(Before we get judgemental and say "But she's a missionary!" Remember that she's just a regular person who like us struggles with too many demands on our time!)
Monday, September 18, 2006
Trains, Trains!
Trains are a major form of transportation for people from one city to another but also vehicles.
What is Carol up to???
I just thought you would enjoy some photos of Carol chilling and smiling! The past several weeks for her have been stressful so pray that she will have some "relaxing" time soon.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Waiting, Waiting....
Waiting…
What do you do when you are waiting for the program to start? Or waiting for the participants to arrive? Well you either sit in the shade on a log or you pose for the camera!
Chalkboards!!
I must say that before I came to Mozambique I had never thought about making chalkboards. I just thought you went to the store and bought them. But now I know how to make them. One item which the workshop participants love to receive is a chalkboard. It is just a special piece of wood with two coats of black paint. Then they can use either side of the board.
Literacy Workshop
What is a literacy workshop? A literacy workshop is when I go out to one of the Baptist churches and I train the church members who desire to teach literacy. Usually this is done at a centrally located church and then the missions of that church send 2 people who want to teach in the literacy program. I take the books with me and then once the training is completed the teachers take the material with them to their church and they begin using it.
The picture is the most recent group of participants in the literacy workshop training.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
My Weekend Travels
Hey,I thought I might send a short report about my weekendtravels. It was a good trip. It was good to see somemissionary friends and visit with them. I went toMilangewhich is on the Malawi border.The weekend trip was fairly uneventful. No pigs in thebathroom. This bathroom was a little brick building,very little and not very tall. It was definitelydesigned by a short Mozambican. It was still a hole inthe ground but it had the fancy brick building aroundand roof on top of it. Actually the ones w/out a roofare better b/c the sun can help dry out the remainswhich don't make it into the hole...Anyway...We arrived at our friends house on Thursday eveningafter a 600 kilometer ride on bumpy roads. Then the nextmorning we left for the bush trip, the church was about40 k's away but it took about an hour and half to getthere b/c of the bumps/holes in the road. When we arrived the other missionary made the comment that thereweren't many ladies there, not like last year. They fed us lunch and then we waited.....We waited b/c there wasa mixup on the dates. According to what we knew it was to start Friday at lunchtime which is when we arrived.Then end on Saturday at lunch. According to what theysaid it was to start Saturday lunch and continue toafter Sunday service. Friday night we ended up singing for about an hour and that was all. The next morning the women's conference started. 7 of the ladies took 30 minute slots of teaching the material. We told them that we needed to leave after lunch onSaturday. At 12 we went to the little gazebo where theyhad been giving us our meals. Again we waited...Theybrought us Cokes, we drank those and waited....Usuallythey brought our food first and then the other ladies ate. This day they were really slow. Finally thepastor who was sitting with us went and asked about ourfood. They had forgotten about us. So we just left.We had been waiting about an hour and it would have been another hour for the food after they realized we didn'thave any.It is hard to get used to it when they want to feed us separate and have us sit in separate places b/c we arethe white person/missionary. They see it as honoring us. It's hard to remember that it is an honor. For instance at the Friday night music time they had the 3 of us, missionary ladies sit at the front of the church at a table facing the others. I felt like I was a governing body over them. We didn't like that. The next day we said we want to sit with the ladies in the congregation and just be a part of the conference. It was much more enjoyable like that.
Today turned out to be a longer trip than I expected.We left at 8 and I got home at 3 pm. It was a good trip, though. We went about 76 k's on good roads andthen about 30 k's on small, "cornfield" roads. Each place I went they gave me some food to eat whether I wanted it or not. One interesting thing that we ate was beans. The beans were cooked in the shell and then you just open the shell and eat the beans out of the inside.They were actually good...Take care, Carol
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Translation workshop
For two weeks in July, Carol has been participating in a translation workshop. In this workshop, the participants translate Bible stories and other small pamphlets into the language which they are working with. There are 5 different language groups represented and each group is translating the material into theirappropriate language.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Top of the mountain
On Sunday, June 25th, Mozambique celebrated their independence day. Since the holiday fell on a Sunday, the schools and other businesses had Monday off so we went on a hike with some friends of Carol's. The day started off with a misting of rain but we climbed anyway. The view from the top was AWESOME! As we reached the top of the mountain, one of the kids with us said, "Now you can see all the things our Lord has made." I guess that sums it up!
Above the pulpit
In Carol's church this is painted on the wall above the pulpit. Translated it says: Jesus is the Way.
Carol's church
This is Carol's church. Kim had the privilege of visiting Carol's church and hearing her preach. Carol spoke about the characteristics of God and while she was speaking, Kim said she couldn't help but think how faithful God has been to help her with the language. Only last year when Kim was visiting, Carol was still becoming comfortable with the language and was learning how to hold a conversation. Now Carol is able to preach a sermon in Portuguese. Kim said it has been interesting to hear Carol converse with others and notice how comfortable Carol is with the language.
"Good eats" in Pemba
While in Pemba, Carol enjoyed shrimp and french fries. Notice the size of the shrimp!!!!
Time to Recharge
Even missionaries need time to recharge their batteries and that's just what Kim and Carol did for several nights in Pemba. Pemba is a coastal town, (in fact, it's where Carol first thought she would be living). While in Pemba, they enjoyed the beach, eating shrimp and wonderful service at the hotel.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Thoughts on the village trips
1. It feels awkward to eat away from the group with "servants" waiting on you. The Mozambicans do this as a sign of respect, but it's hard to adjust to having someone wait on you and watch you eat.
2. Kids love attention no matter where you are. I picked up one little girl and sat her on my lap. At first she was "holding on with all her might", then she relaxed enough to fall asleep in my arms.
3. Some of the ladies walked several days to get to the meeting. I can't imagine that! I love to hear "The Hoppers" sing, but I don't know if I would be dedicated enough to walk days to hear them.
4. God loves each of us!!! I overheard one of Carol's friends singing this song to her children after we had enjoyed supper with them. "Jesus DIED for all the children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus DIED for all the children in the world. Cultures and languages are different. Skin colors are different. Yet EVERYONE deserves to know about the love of Jesus Christ.
2. Kids love attention no matter where you are. I picked up one little girl and sat her on my lap. At first she was "holding on with all her might", then she relaxed enough to fall asleep in my arms.
3. Some of the ladies walked several days to get to the meeting. I can't imagine that! I love to hear "The Hoppers" sing, but I don't know if I would be dedicated enough to walk days to hear them.
4. God loves each of us!!! I overheard one of Carol's friends singing this song to her children after we had enjoyed supper with them. "Jesus DIED for all the children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus DIED for all the children in the world. Cultures and languages are different. Skin colors are different. Yet EVERYONE deserves to know about the love of Jesus Christ.
Kids are kids
Kids are kids no matter where you are and they help break down language and culture barriers.At Monapo, a group of 50 ladies gathered and most had a child by the hand and one on their back. Most of the children enjoyed playing with us. We played catch and dodgeball with tiny watermelon balls. Then Carol broke out the soccer ball and we all had a great time. I think I only scared one little boy. He was passing by on his way to school and when I tried to look at his schoolbook, he ran away from me. By this time we had played enough with the other kids they just laughed.
Monapo Church
This shows the inside of the church. Notice what they are sitting on.Here we also were served a meal- lunch. Many of the ladies either brought their own lunch or brought money (5,000 meticais, about 40 cents) to have lunch provided. Carol and the pastor left to get lunch at Peixe from Mama's which is Fish from Mama's House. I couldn't believe we were getting to eat from there because this type of house is all over Mozambique and I had been kidding about wanting to eat at one. Well, let me tell you the fish was great EVEN if it still had its head, eyes, and tail. We also had rice and some beans that were much like pintos, just better.
Kim's Second "bush" trip
Monapo - our day trip
This village only took us about an hour to get there. However, the most interesting thing was the "TURN" to get to the village. The turn was just a small break in the corn field and I do mean a SMALL break. Thankfully, the church was only a short way down the path.
There were several ladies waiting outside for us singing as we drove up. This was cool and made me feel quite welcome!
This village only took us about an hour to get there. However, the most interesting thing was the "TURN" to get to the village. The turn was just a small break in the corn field and I do mean a SMALL break. Thankfully, the church was only a short way down the path.
There were several ladies waiting outside for us singing as we drove up. This was cool and made me feel quite welcome!
Meal Time
During meals, we were served in our tent area and we were ALWAYS served more than anyone could eat!
Notice the lady in the right of our picture(Anita). She served us and ate with us. Out of respect, she would stop eating when we did so we made sure to stay around the cloth until she had enough to eat.
This picture shows us with chema, quail, and rabbit. The chema tasted pretty good. I appreciated the sacrifice of the quail and rabbit, although I just couldn't make myself eat it. Thankfully, the chema was served separately from the meat.
Bath Time
After teaching was completed for the day, we all enjoyed a COLD swim/bath. One of the ladies ran off all the boys who were swimming there so we all could bathe. The Mozambican ladies shed their shirts and got in. Being the shy Americans we are, we kept our shirts on but dared to wear our shorts instead of the skirts we had been wearing. The water was cold and the ladies just laughed at us when we shivered. They took our hands and guided us to the best spot to stand then also guided us back to shore. This fun activity seemed to bond us to them and gave us something in common in the face of obvious cultural differences. It's funny how something as simple as water can wipe out all the dust we keep ourselves covered with, huh?
Kim's first "bush" trip
As many of you know, my sister, Kim has been blessed to visit me again this summer. She has participated in two village trips with me so far. As you look at a few of the pictures, she has given a few of her thoughts on what we are doing here. 
Mecurbi- Our overnight trip
We had to cross this on our way to the village.
The trip to Mecurbi took us over 2 hours to get there. It was definitely a 4x4 experience!!!!
Mecurbi- Our overnight trip
We had to cross this on our way to the village.
The trip to Mecurbi took us over 2 hours to get there. It was definitely a 4x4 experience!!!!
Friday, April 28, 2006
How Great Thou Art!
How big is God? Big enough so that I could enjoy singing this well known hymn while standing in the midst of people from about 20 different African countries! On Tuesday evenings I have started attending a Women of Virtue Bible study. However it is not just for women, men have started attending as well. There are people there from about 20 different countries. It is a time of singing, dancing (a favorite pastime of Africans), Bible study and prayer. It is really a good service.
Tonight we sang the very familiar hymn, How Great thou Art. As we sang it I was reminded of the times in America when we would have Sunday night hymn sings or times of singing favorite hymns and this one was almost always sung at these events. Then here I am across the ocean from America and I am singing it with many other nationalities.
I guess another way of saying it isn’t God’s world small?
If you will click on the link below, you'll be taken to Selah's website and be able to click an awesome recording of this song
http://www.selahonline.com/music.htm
Tonight we sang the very familiar hymn, How Great thou Art. As we sang it I was reminded of the times in America when we would have Sunday night hymn sings or times of singing favorite hymns and this one was almost always sung at these events. Then here I am across the ocean from America and I am singing it with many other nationalities.
I guess another way of saying it isn’t God’s world small?
If you will click on the link below, you'll be taken to Selah's website and be able to click an awesome recording of this song
http://www.selahonline.com/music.htm
Concurso?
Concurso…A word I will remember.
The other day a lady was talking to me and she was inviting me to something which her church was having. I listened and I said sure I’ll go. Well those are words which you have to be careful with when you are learning a new language and a new culture. I had followed most of what she was saying but I missed out on something. After I agreed to go I found out that concurso is a contest. The lady coordinating it thought it would be good to have someone from the USA, from Brazil, from Portugal and from Mozambique. The event was about four days after the day she asked me. The more I thought about it, the more I thought am I going to be a contestant. Will I have to sing? dance? draw? compete in the funny clothes contest? What will I have to do? I thought singing, dancing, and drawing are not talents of mine.
I kept saying God is sovereign, nothing catches him by surprise. He knew that I would say yes to this event and He has it under control. Each time times of apprehension would come up I would think that.
Then the Thursday morning of the concurso was here. I walked in the church for the event. Imagine my relief when I saw a room full of youth and a I found out that I was going to be a judge and not a contestant! What relief!
It was a good event. They had 10 or so different categories which the youth could compete in such as singing, dancing, crazy clothes contest, drawing, Bible questions and even arm wrestling! Each winner for the event won prizes. It was a lot of fun.
Easter Activities
Easter
Many people have asked what I did for Easter. Easter was very good.
The day started early. I went to an Easter sunrise service which started at 4:30 am. Why so early? Because the sun comes up early here and we wanted to see the sunrise. There were about 12 of us, we went and climbed a rock so that we would have a good view of the city and of the sunrise. Because of a little rain and clouds we weren’t able to see the sunrise. But it was still nice; we sang Easter hymns and read the Easter story.
Then we (the missionaries) had an Easter service. One of the families lives on a nice farm outside of town. So we had a service there and spent the day there complete with a covered dish lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Oh and we had a really good volleyball game followed by a trip to the stream/small river for the kids to swim in. It was a good day.
It seems that Protestant churches here don’t celebrate a lot of the holidays. I haven’t quite figured out why. One missionary said it is because they don’t want to celebrate and have people confuse them with Catholics. It was interesting to me because one of the Mozambicans asked me if we celebrate Good Friday and Easter in the states. I said we do. He said why don’t we? I said good question. He is also very interested in getting more people involved in his church and he is wondering why the church attendance is so small. He has some good questions, some of the same questions which I’ve had myself.
His name is Choveke if you would like to pray for him.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Easter Activities for the Missionaries
This was taken today at the Easter celebration which we
(the missionaries) had. We had a service and then
covered dish lunch and then we played volleyball and
went to the river/stream. It was held at another
missionary's farm place, a really nice out in the
country place. It was fun...Carol
Easter Celebration in Nampula
This is the Easter sunrise service group. The sun rises
early here. We met at 4:15 am and got to the place at
about 4:30. It was a cloudy morning but we could still
see at least a break in the clouds for the sunrise.
Notice the moon behind them in this picture..We just
sang some Easter songs and read the Easter story. .Carol
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
What has Carol been doing?
March 2006
Hello,
I’m sure many of you are wondering how the past few weeks have gone for me. Right now I am not feeling well so I haven’t sent out any updates about my recent literacy workshops. I’ll try to sum up things in this note. This refers back to two weekends ago. Last week I was out of commission all week except for one of the literacy workshops. The Thursday and Friday prior to this we had also done a literacy workshop.
On Saturday night we had a team birthday party for two of the members who had birthdays this month. We were all able to attend except for one guy who wasn’t able to travel in because of bad road conditions. It is the rainy season now which means that it has rained about 5 of 7 days maybe in the afternoon or during the night. Of course somedays more than others.
Sunday was a 1 year anniversary celebration of a church not far from the city. There were people from another church who had walked 11 hours to arrive at the celebration! The way the cars travel it would be about 55 kms, I’m not sure how many kms it was by foot, it was still a lot anyway you look at it. We feasted on chema, rice, goat, and chicken after a 3 hour or so service.
Then Monday I woke up and went walking. When I returned from that I realized that I did not feel well at all. After that is when the “fun” started. I won’t go into details of anything but I’ll just say Monday and Tuesday I went from the bed to the bathroom. Wednesday I was doing a little better still not great. But I knew that Thursday we needed to go on the literacy workshop. I did have a little bit of an appetite on Thursday which was good.
After traveling 100 kms on pothole dirty roads we arrived at our destination. There were 24 people at the first literacy workshop. We took the material to them and showed them how to teach the actual literacy classes in their churches. The area is so large here that there is no way one person could go to all the churches in different areas and lead the classes so we train people in the church to teach the classes. They decide when the best time to have the class is, a lot of that depends upon planting time and harvest times for the machambas-the gardens of the people.
I did enjoy going in the watering hole with the ladies for a bath. That was nice.
Friday we returned to Nampula. By the time we returned home I was feeling tired. I did enjoy some potato soup and NCAA basketball.
Saturday and Sunday I rested and stayed home. There were things I wanted to do but I decided I still wasn’t feeling the best so I didn’t go. I have been able to see some of the NCAA basketball tourney which has been a blessing.
This week I am still taking medicine working on getting my strength back up to normal. I’m a lot closer than what I have been but still not there yet. I know many prayers were lifted up for me on Sunday because I felt a lot better when I woke up Monday morning!
On a language note, I’ll be stopping Makhuwa lessons for now and just working on Portuguese. I think this will be good, that way I can work on some things in Portuguese which I’ve realized I need some help on since the Makhuwa lessons have been in Portuguese.
I’m sure I could have written a lot more for you. But that is all for today. I’ll work on getting some pictures to you as well because I know you would like to see those. Right now no interesting stories like pigs coming in the outhouse on the trip. However there was a chicken who thought about coming in our tent. Thankfully he decided not to!
Take care,
Carol
P.S. If you haven’t picked up the Beth Moore devotional book, Voices of the Faithful, I would really encourage you to go pick it up today. Today’s reading, 3-29-06, was written by one of my missionary friends. As I read this devotional I thought I have those same thoughts. In short the college age son was sick; his parents were in Middle America where they lived. He called home and said if I ever wish I could be home today is the day. The missionary then cried out to God to provide someone to fill the void that she couldn’t feel because of being miles away. God provided in his sovereign way a doctor who had been on a missionary medical trip to work with this family. As I was reading that just now I thought that is the way I felt the other day. I just wanted someone to take care of me, someone to say it will be okay, someone to bring me water. Looking back on the week I can’t say that I had just one person who God gave me to help me through but there were different ones at different times who were able to help me even if it was “just” a phone call to check on me. Of course there is nothing as “just” a phone call, sometimes that is just as important as many other things…..
Hello,
I’m sure many of you are wondering how the past few weeks have gone for me. Right now I am not feeling well so I haven’t sent out any updates about my recent literacy workshops. I’ll try to sum up things in this note. This refers back to two weekends ago. Last week I was out of commission all week except for one of the literacy workshops. The Thursday and Friday prior to this we had also done a literacy workshop.
On Saturday night we had a team birthday party for two of the members who had birthdays this month. We were all able to attend except for one guy who wasn’t able to travel in because of bad road conditions. It is the rainy season now which means that it has rained about 5 of 7 days maybe in the afternoon or during the night. Of course somedays more than others.
Sunday was a 1 year anniversary celebration of a church not far from the city. There were people from another church who had walked 11 hours to arrive at the celebration! The way the cars travel it would be about 55 kms, I’m not sure how many kms it was by foot, it was still a lot anyway you look at it. We feasted on chema, rice, goat, and chicken after a 3 hour or so service.
Then Monday I woke up and went walking. When I returned from that I realized that I did not feel well at all. After that is when the “fun” started. I won’t go into details of anything but I’ll just say Monday and Tuesday I went from the bed to the bathroom. Wednesday I was doing a little better still not great. But I knew that Thursday we needed to go on the literacy workshop. I did have a little bit of an appetite on Thursday which was good.
After traveling 100 kms on pothole dirty roads we arrived at our destination. There were 24 people at the first literacy workshop. We took the material to them and showed them how to teach the actual literacy classes in their churches. The area is so large here that there is no way one person could go to all the churches in different areas and lead the classes so we train people in the church to teach the classes. They decide when the best time to have the class is, a lot of that depends upon planting time and harvest times for the machambas-the gardens of the people.
I did enjoy going in the watering hole with the ladies for a bath. That was nice.
Friday we returned to Nampula. By the time we returned home I was feeling tired. I did enjoy some potato soup and NCAA basketball.
Saturday and Sunday I rested and stayed home. There were things I wanted to do but I decided I still wasn’t feeling the best so I didn’t go. I have been able to see some of the NCAA basketball tourney which has been a blessing.
This week I am still taking medicine working on getting my strength back up to normal. I’m a lot closer than what I have been but still not there yet. I know many prayers were lifted up for me on Sunday because I felt a lot better when I woke up Monday morning!
On a language note, I’ll be stopping Makhuwa lessons for now and just working on Portuguese. I think this will be good, that way I can work on some things in Portuguese which I’ve realized I need some help on since the Makhuwa lessons have been in Portuguese.
I’m sure I could have written a lot more for you. But that is all for today. I’ll work on getting some pictures to you as well because I know you would like to see those. Right now no interesting stories like pigs coming in the outhouse on the trip. However there was a chicken who thought about coming in our tent. Thankfully he decided not to!
Take care,
Carol
P.S. If you haven’t picked up the Beth Moore devotional book, Voices of the Faithful, I would really encourage you to go pick it up today. Today’s reading, 3-29-06, was written by one of my missionary friends. As I read this devotional I thought I have those same thoughts. In short the college age son was sick; his parents were in Middle America where they lived. He called home and said if I ever wish I could be home today is the day. The missionary then cried out to God to provide someone to fill the void that she couldn’t feel because of being miles away. God provided in his sovereign way a doctor who had been on a missionary medical trip to work with this family. As I was reading that just now I thought that is the way I felt the other day. I just wanted someone to take care of me, someone to say it will be okay, someone to bring me water. Looking back on the week I can’t say that I had just one person who God gave me to help me through but there were different ones at different times who were able to help me even if it was “just” a phone call to check on me. Of course there is nothing as “just” a phone call, sometimes that is just as important as many other things…..
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Sharing a Meal with some friends
I had the pleasure of eating at a Mozambican's house the other week. The family just recently had electricity installed in their house which is a blessing for them. For the meal, we feasted on chicken and rice, common foods for Mozambique and also very good foods.
Some Fun and Games....
Carol is relaxing in Jo'Berg, South Africa playing with the timer shot on the camera. Carol is still Carol as you can tell from the sequence of shots. Oh, well- if at first you don't succeed, take another shot!
Lawrence and Sarah
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Lawrence and Sarah- Prayer Warriors for Mozambique! They are from Florida and because of Florida's WMU parthership with Mozambique they have been praying for us and our work here. I've "talked" with them via email several times but was blessed to actually meet them!
2-22-06
Hello friends,
I’m sure many of you are wondering why you haven’t heard from my human in a while. Carol has been busy so her dog, Boots, is writing this for her. When she’s not here I have to stay outside so I really like it when she is home. Because then I can stay inside and play and sleep and play and sleep. I did catch a mouse for her the other day when I was outside. We were playing the crazy game where she throws something and I go fetch it. When I went under the truck instead of coming out with the toy I came out with a small mouse. I had fun playing with it. I was very proud of the catch. Well, I’m tired now so I think I’ll go chew on whatever I can find (I’m still a puppy and I like to chew things, newspaper, envelopes, socks, pillows and anything I can find). I’ll make my human finish this for me….Boots.
This is Carol writing now. I had an interesting cultural thing in a restaurant the other night. Another lady and I went to a particular restaurant because we wanted the stir fry rice which they make. Granted we were eating more on American time instead of the later African time. Anyway, we ordered the chicken stir fry. About 20 minutes later the waiter came out and said you can’t have stir fry until after 6:30, at this time it was about 5:25 pm. We said why? He said because we just called the “stir fry” cook and they won’t be here until then. But you can order some other things. Evidently one cook was there but he couldn’t make stir fry. Instead of waiting we ordered something else.
Today in a restaurant the waiter came up to us-there was about 7 of us ladies- and he said I’m going to be leaving now; can you go ahead and give me my tip? He said another waiter will be taken over for me. He wanted to make sure he got his tip before he left. We gave it to him. Actually Mozambicans don’t tip in restaurants. The wait staff is paid normal wages, not like in the states where the wait staff makes most of their salary from tips.
I have been able to watch some of the Winter Olympics. It is nice to be able to see that. The other day I received a picture from some missionary friends in Italy. It was a picture of the family playing in the snow. I almost melted when I saw the picture. The weather here is hot, probably close to 94F each day but because of the sun and humidity it seems even hotter. It has been raining in the afternoons the past couple of days maybe for 10 minutes a day or an hour per day it just depends. Thankfully I do have air conditioner in my bedroom which I turn on each night for sleeping.
I have begun studying the African language of Makhuwa. It is a challenge. But it is safe to say that I’m not mixing the words of this language with any other language because it is not like any other language which I know. Right now I have class 3 hours a day.
At the end of the month, I will be traveling to South Africa for a few days for a conference on prayer. I have agreed to be the prayer advocate for our team so an unexpected blessing was to get to attend this conference.
Next month I will be traveling out to do two literacy workshops. These will be the last two I do with Dianne before her and her husband transfer to another mission position in S. Africa.
I was able to listen to the final service of Pastor Jon and his family at Stanleyville Baptist Church. It was good to be able to listen even if I couldn’t be there. It was very touching when I was mentioned by name in his prayer saying something to the effect of bless Carol as I know Carol would love to be here because she loves her family and church family. Be with her and the missionaries throughout the world.
However as I listened to it I thought I want to hear from the people who were there. It reminded me of the eyewitness accounts of the disciples in the Bible and how much better it is to hear things from people who were actually there.
I would ask that you would pray for me as I look to join a church here in Mozambique.
I have started playing volleyball on Saturday afternoons with a group of ladies. It started out because the Brazilians wanted to play the American ladies in volleyball. It is a lot of fun. We have even played in the rain some. Speaking of playing in the rain, we had a team meeting a few weekends ago in a coastal area. It was hot. We were going to the beach later on Saturday afternoon. Well, it started raining about mid day. One of the kids wanted to go play in the rain. So he and his dad did. Then I watched them and I thought that looks like fun and looks refreshing. The mom and I put on our bathing suits and joined in the fun. When it rains the African kids love to get out and play in the rain. For some of them that’s the only bath they have so they enjoy playing in the rain.
Something which I’ve been reminded of lately is that the Christian life is not a sprint to the finish. It is a race of perseverance and endurance. A good quote which I read said “to get through the journey, take only one step at a time, but in God’s strength keep on stepping”. Steadfastness determines the winner. This is something which I have had to keep reminding myself lately.
As I’ve had my pity party days it seems like I am reminded of how much I do have and how blessed I am. The other day I had been having a woe is me afternoon. Then I received an email which said that a church had taken up a love offering for me with half of that to be used for my fun and relaxation and the other half to help with some of the benevolence things which I do for people here. Tears came to my eyes as I read that because I thought here is God doing the behind the scenes stuff for me and here I am having a woe is me party. It was a great blessing to receive the news of that unexpected gift.
As I’ve been learning another language I have compared that learning to the training Olympic athletes have to go through. They train and train for many years doing the same training each day. As I’ve had the days when I’ve gotten tired of language classes and learning I’ve thought about the athletes and how dedicated they are to their sport. They have to have the behind the scenes preparation just as I’m having the behind the scenes preparation with language class. I’ve realized that being a learner in some many different ways is tough. God’s strength is what I have to depend on. We, as Christians, are all running after the eternal prize. Sure an Olympic medal would be great, it would be a great achievement but we are encouraged/commanded to keep our eyes on the eternal prize. As I attempt to do this I pray that each one of you would as well.
May God bless us all on this journey as we travel it together.
Love, Carol
I’m sure many of you are wondering why you haven’t heard from my human in a while. Carol has been busy so her dog, Boots, is writing this for her. When she’s not here I have to stay outside so I really like it when she is home. Because then I can stay inside and play and sleep and play and sleep. I did catch a mouse for her the other day when I was outside. We were playing the crazy game where she throws something and I go fetch it. When I went under the truck instead of coming out with the toy I came out with a small mouse. I had fun playing with it. I was very proud of the catch. Well, I’m tired now so I think I’ll go chew on whatever I can find (I’m still a puppy and I like to chew things, newspaper, envelopes, socks, pillows and anything I can find). I’ll make my human finish this for me….Boots.
This is Carol writing now. I had an interesting cultural thing in a restaurant the other night. Another lady and I went to a particular restaurant because we wanted the stir fry rice which they make. Granted we were eating more on American time instead of the later African time. Anyway, we ordered the chicken stir fry. About 20 minutes later the waiter came out and said you can’t have stir fry until after 6:30, at this time it was about 5:25 pm. We said why? He said because we just called the “stir fry” cook and they won’t be here until then. But you can order some other things. Evidently one cook was there but he couldn’t make stir fry. Instead of waiting we ordered something else.
Today in a restaurant the waiter came up to us-there was about 7 of us ladies- and he said I’m going to be leaving now; can you go ahead and give me my tip? He said another waiter will be taken over for me. He wanted to make sure he got his tip before he left. We gave it to him. Actually Mozambicans don’t tip in restaurants. The wait staff is paid normal wages, not like in the states where the wait staff makes most of their salary from tips.
I have been able to watch some of the Winter Olympics. It is nice to be able to see that. The other day I received a picture from some missionary friends in Italy. It was a picture of the family playing in the snow. I almost melted when I saw the picture. The weather here is hot, probably close to 94F each day but because of the sun and humidity it seems even hotter. It has been raining in the afternoons the past couple of days maybe for 10 minutes a day or an hour per day it just depends. Thankfully I do have air conditioner in my bedroom which I turn on each night for sleeping.
I have begun studying the African language of Makhuwa. It is a challenge. But it is safe to say that I’m not mixing the words of this language with any other language because it is not like any other language which I know. Right now I have class 3 hours a day.
At the end of the month, I will be traveling to South Africa for a few days for a conference on prayer. I have agreed to be the prayer advocate for our team so an unexpected blessing was to get to attend this conference.
Next month I will be traveling out to do two literacy workshops. These will be the last two I do with Dianne before her and her husband transfer to another mission position in S. Africa.
I was able to listen to the final service of Pastor Jon and his family at Stanleyville Baptist Church. It was good to be able to listen even if I couldn’t be there. It was very touching when I was mentioned by name in his prayer saying something to the effect of bless Carol as I know Carol would love to be here because she loves her family and church family. Be with her and the missionaries throughout the world.
However as I listened to it I thought I want to hear from the people who were there. It reminded me of the eyewitness accounts of the disciples in the Bible and how much better it is to hear things from people who were actually there.
I would ask that you would pray for me as I look to join a church here in Mozambique.
I have started playing volleyball on Saturday afternoons with a group of ladies. It started out because the Brazilians wanted to play the American ladies in volleyball. It is a lot of fun. We have even played in the rain some. Speaking of playing in the rain, we had a team meeting a few weekends ago in a coastal area. It was hot. We were going to the beach later on Saturday afternoon. Well, it started raining about mid day. One of the kids wanted to go play in the rain. So he and his dad did. Then I watched them and I thought that looks like fun and looks refreshing. The mom and I put on our bathing suits and joined in the fun. When it rains the African kids love to get out and play in the rain. For some of them that’s the only bath they have so they enjoy playing in the rain.
Something which I’ve been reminded of lately is that the Christian life is not a sprint to the finish. It is a race of perseverance and endurance. A good quote which I read said “to get through the journey, take only one step at a time, but in God’s strength keep on stepping”. Steadfastness determines the winner. This is something which I have had to keep reminding myself lately.
As I’ve had my pity party days it seems like I am reminded of how much I do have and how blessed I am. The other day I had been having a woe is me afternoon. Then I received an email which said that a church had taken up a love offering for me with half of that to be used for my fun and relaxation and the other half to help with some of the benevolence things which I do for people here. Tears came to my eyes as I read that because I thought here is God doing the behind the scenes stuff for me and here I am having a woe is me party. It was a great blessing to receive the news of that unexpected gift.
As I’ve been learning another language I have compared that learning to the training Olympic athletes have to go through. They train and train for many years doing the same training each day. As I’ve had the days when I’ve gotten tired of language classes and learning I’ve thought about the athletes and how dedicated they are to their sport. They have to have the behind the scenes preparation just as I’m having the behind the scenes preparation with language class. I’ve realized that being a learner in some many different ways is tough. God’s strength is what I have to depend on. We, as Christians, are all running after the eternal prize. Sure an Olympic medal would be great, it would be a great achievement but we are encouraged/commanded to keep our eyes on the eternal prize. As I attempt to do this I pray that each one of you would as well.
May God bless us all on this journey as we travel it together.
Love, Carol
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Language Study
4 hours of Carol's day is spent in Macua language study. This is the African language which she is learning. The 25 year old Mozambican man is Luis, her professor. He is married with a wife and two children.
Electricity
I thought this was the neatest picture because of all the contrasts. In the background are electrical poles, in front of that are the outhouses and in front of that are happy children who don't have a care in the world.
This village where we were didn't have electricity even though they were that close to the towers.
Monday, January 30, 2006
What Would You Think?
My Fat Woman…
This is a phrase which would get many American husbands in trouble. However here it might be a common phrase. The husband’s refer to their wife as my woman. They usually use this phrase instead of saying my wife. When I have used the phrase wife they usually correct me and say my woman. The wife refers to him as her husband she doesn’t say my man. The word fat is a complimentary word to most Africans. To them, if they are called fat it is a compliment because that means things are going good for them. I told my language helper that an American man who called his wife my fat woman would be in trouble. He just laughed.
This is a phrase which would get many American husbands in trouble. However here it might be a common phrase. The husband’s refer to their wife as my woman. They usually use this phrase instead of saying my wife. When I have used the phrase wife they usually correct me and say my woman. The wife refers to him as her husband she doesn’t say my man. The word fat is a complimentary word to most Africans. To them, if they are called fat it is a compliment because that means things are going good for them. I told my language helper that an American man who called his wife my fat woman would be in trouble. He just laughed.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Memories from my trip to North Carolina
I'm so thankful for the trip home! God knew I was ready for some encouraging times with family and friends so He graciously provided just that! I wanted to share a few of those photos with you. Hope you enjoy them!
Going, Going, Gone!!
$50 for a package of Charmin, $25 for a 3 pack of ranch dressing, $300 for a 6 pack of Diet Dr. Pepper, $100 for Oreos, $7 for a can of ravioli, $185 for 3 sticks of Crisco, $50 for chocolate chips.
Are you wondering where people paid these prices?? It all went for a great cause. These were the prices paid at a Lottie Moon Auction during our missionary prayer retreat. Yes, you read that correctly, missionaries were raising money to support the Lottie Moon Christmas offering which supports them. More than $14,000 dollars was raised during that night of fun!
New Year's Celebration and Retreat
A New Year's Eve toast with sparkling grape juice. A few of us stayed up to ring in the New Year at the prayer retreat. We even climbed up on the roof and watched some fireworks. We just needed the National Anthem and a Warthogs game before!
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