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.

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.

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!

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!!!!