Today I had the privilege of attending a birthday celebration for a Mozambican family. It was a time to celebrate the birthday of their three children, a 9 year old, 5 year old and 3 year old. Birthdays are not always celebrated because a lot of times the Mozambican families do not have the money to celebrate. For this family the actual birthdays were in April and June. There were probably about 50 people at the celebration.
It was a really neat celebration starting at about 12:30 with a worship service. It was a time to honor God for the children which he has blessed this family with. The father commented that his children were God’s children and not his children that was a really neat comment to hear.
Actually for me the celebration preparation started this past Friday when I took the dad to his hometown to pick up goats and chickens which would be the food for the celebration. We left Nampula with an empty truck and about 7 people in the truck. Throughout the day we picked up and dropped off people so much so that I stopped counting. I just know that we arrived back in Nampula with people, 2 goats, chickens, peanuts, and oranges in the back of the truck.
During our travels I saw a Makhuwa speaking Mozambican lady who really touched my heart. We were sitting in the truck watching the slight rain waiting on some people we were picking up. As I looked at her smiling yet weathered faced I thought I wonder who has shared the Gospel with her. Has anyone? Does she know the truth? I must say I don’t know if any person has touched my heart like she did.
That day I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to her but I continued to see her face in my mind and I can still see it now. She was the mother of a Mozambican who I know but I never see. Well when I got to the party today the son, Pedro, was there. As I saw him I kept thinking about his mother. She so badly wanted to ride with us to Nampula so she could see her son but she wasn’t able to on that day. (I think that would have been her first time in a car.) When I saw her son today I knew that I had to set up a time to go visit with his mom. So we are going Tuesday so I can visit with his mom and of course he will get to visit with her as well.
Back to today’s celebration, after the worship service we had lunch and it was good. There was goat stew, chicken, and even pork along with beans and rice. They even had Cokes which is a special treat. We enjoyed the meal and then came the time for cupcakes. There weren’t enough cupcakes for everyone to have one, it was so hard to hand out the cupcakes and choose who would get one. Usually they are good about sharing but sometimes there just isn’t enough to share. There were probably about 50 or so people who were there for the party. Of course that doesn’t include the ones who showed up from the neighborhood.
The cupcakes were made by another missionary who also attended the celebration. It was funny because as we were waiting for the cupcake time the pastor and others who were sitting around our table, probably 12 or so of us were talking in Makhuwa. I could tell they were trying to figure out how they would get a cupcake if the cupcakes were just for the kids. At the end of the conversation the Pastor looked at the lady who made the cupcakes and in Portuguese said I was just telling them that the cupcakes are for the children. I spoke up and said No you didn’t. You should have seen them laugh and the Pastor knew he had been caught. It was funny to see their surprised look that I understand the Makhuwa and body languages enough to know that they were plotting how to get the cupcakes. One of them said little by little you are learning Makhuwa. I said yes very little by little.
It was a really enjoyable birthday celebration with the focus being on just celebrating God, family and friends. I would ask that you pray for me as I travel to meet with Pedro’s mom on Tuesday. I’ll keep you updated on how that trip and meeting goes.
It was a really neat celebration starting at about 12:30 with a worship service. It was a time to honor God for the children which he has blessed this family with. The father commented that his children were God’s children and not his children that was a really neat comment to hear.
Actually for me the celebration preparation started this past Friday when I took the dad to his hometown to pick up goats and chickens which would be the food for the celebration. We left Nampula with an empty truck and about 7 people in the truck. Throughout the day we picked up and dropped off people so much so that I stopped counting. I just know that we arrived back in Nampula with people, 2 goats, chickens, peanuts, and oranges in the back of the truck.
During our travels I saw a Makhuwa speaking Mozambican lady who really touched my heart. We were sitting in the truck watching the slight rain waiting on some people we were picking up. As I looked at her smiling yet weathered faced I thought I wonder who has shared the Gospel with her. Has anyone? Does she know the truth? I must say I don’t know if any person has touched my heart like she did.
That day I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to her but I continued to see her face in my mind and I can still see it now. She was the mother of a Mozambican who I know but I never see. Well when I got to the party today the son, Pedro, was there. As I saw him I kept thinking about his mother. She so badly wanted to ride with us to Nampula so she could see her son but she wasn’t able to on that day. (I think that would have been her first time in a car.) When I saw her son today I knew that I had to set up a time to go visit with his mom. So we are going Tuesday so I can visit with his mom and of course he will get to visit with her as well.
Back to today’s celebration, after the worship service we had lunch and it was good. There was goat stew, chicken, and even pork along with beans and rice. They even had Cokes which is a special treat. We enjoyed the meal and then came the time for cupcakes. There weren’t enough cupcakes for everyone to have one, it was so hard to hand out the cupcakes and choose who would get one. Usually they are good about sharing but sometimes there just isn’t enough to share. There were probably about 50 or so people who were there for the party. Of course that doesn’t include the ones who showed up from the neighborhood.
The cupcakes were made by another missionary who also attended the celebration. It was funny because as we were waiting for the cupcake time the pastor and others who were sitting around our table, probably 12 or so of us were talking in Makhuwa. I could tell they were trying to figure out how they would get a cupcake if the cupcakes were just for the kids. At the end of the conversation the Pastor looked at the lady who made the cupcakes and in Portuguese said I was just telling them that the cupcakes are for the children. I spoke up and said No you didn’t. You should have seen them laugh and the Pastor knew he had been caught. It was funny to see their surprised look that I understand the Makhuwa and body languages enough to know that they were plotting how to get the cupcakes. One of them said little by little you are learning Makhuwa. I said yes very little by little.
It was a really enjoyable birthday celebration with the focus being on just celebrating God, family and friends. I would ask that you pray for me as I travel to meet with Pedro’s mom on Tuesday. I’ll keep you updated on how that trip and meeting goes.
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