Casa Msika-Chicamba Dam

My husband has been asking me what I would like for my birthday which is next week. There really is nothing to buy that I want or need here so after spending a little time thinking about it I decided I would like our family to go away somewhere together for the day. We decided to visit a place called Casa Msika that is located about 45 minutes from our house towards the Zimbabwe border at Lake Chicamba. It is a simple place and the road to get there is a simple dirt track. It was so peaceful and great to sit and take in the beauty that God had created all around us. It is a weird place in the sense that two different worlds and cultures seem to collide in that very spot. The surroundings are the Mozambican bush and coming in the road you drive by mud huts etc. But once inside you are confronted with the Western world. It is a place that white Zimbabwean's like to use as a recreational hangout for fishing, camping etc. It felt odd sitting there and not hardly remembering you are in Mozambique anymore. There was a small swimming pool which the boys LOVED and a restuarant where we had lunch (chicken and chips aka french fries). All in all it was a wonderful day just watching the boys have a great time together, sitting and chatting with my hubby and staring out at God's beautiful creative design. Hope you enjoy the photos!

Precious Daughters

My heart has been stirred lately for the young girls of this land. They do not know they are loved as daughters of the King. They do not feel or sense His protection, His passion for them, His desire to care for them, His great plans for them. How do you make them know and see how valuable they are to Jesus. How do you break the curse of generations in this society that have abused, forsaken, neglected and devalued girls. Most often they are; undereducated, physically and sexually abused, undernourished, sold as girl brides, very young mothers, and the one that does the majority of physical labor (the field work, collecting firewood, collecting water, caring for the children, doing the laundry, cooking, etc.) The Lord has inspired me to reach out to these young ones that are His daughters. My plan is that by next week I will be done writing a short Bible study that can be done with the young girls to help them see, feel and understand that they are loved beyond measure, considered important, and a daughter of the King of Kings. I would appreciate your prayers as I endeavor to share the study for the first time in the coming weeks with two little girls (both age 9) at a nearby orphanage.

The Sweet Things in Life

My family loves strawberries. We love them fresh, as jam, on shortcake, in fruit salad, on cheesecake, pretty much however you would want to serve them. So today I was excited when a friend of ours from across town called and said "the strawberry man is at my door do you want some?" We can't buy them at the only grocery store in town but there is a local man that has decided our friends house is a good place to sell strawberries so every once in a while he stops by to see if she is interested. It's actually pretty amusing because the news about the strawberries spreads like a wildfire to the missionaries in town and only those that are quick to respond get to enjoy the reward of their speediness. Today, I was a lucky one and scored 4 kgs of strawberries. We will eat some for dessert, freeze most for later and most importantly have strawberries on a cheesecake mix that I have been hiding since my mother-in-law brought it in July to have as my birthday cake on Tuesday. So although, we definitely can't get everything we can in the USA we do get a chance sometimes to get special, sweet treats we just have a different way of going about getting them than driving to the local superstore.

A New Look

Well, I wanted to report on the exciting thing happening around our house lately. When we moved into our rental house in March it badly needed to be painted. The last occupant did some VERY funny things. The living room was bright yellow. I like yellow, maybe not banana bright yellow but to make it worse he never finished a room. So the last foot or so towards the ceiling was not painted and no it was not in a straight line either. So needless to say we have needed to paint since we moved in and finally we are managing to get it done. Well at least the living room/dining room area and the hallway. The whole house needs to be painted but we are not quite that ambitious yet. The landlord will allow us to deduct the cost of the paint but not the labor so Marc and a couple of his Mozambican friends, Alberto and Agusto have been helping him on Saturdays. Just wanted to give you an idea of how far we have come. It's looking nice thanks to all the guys hard work.

Ahh...The Sounds and Smells of Home

The more time we spend living here in Mozambique the more appreciation I seem to have for the smells and sounds all around me. It doesn't mean they are all pleasant but they are all representative of home and therefore comforting. Recently, I have taken notice of just a few I want to mention. Mango blossoms-by our clothesline in the backyard is a tree in full bloom and there is nothing much sweeter than the smell of mango blossoms while hanging out your laundry. Birds chirping-I know you can have these everywhere in the world but there is something peaceful about waking up to a chorus of them singing outside your window. Dust-it may seem strange because it's not that I enjoy dust because I actually loathe it some days since it seems to be that there is a never ending need to dust and sweep because of all the dirt roads, etc. But the earthy, moist smell has become familiar and therefore part of home. Repetitive Music Blaring-It seems that the music that can be heard blasting from local stereos is a constant thunder and repetitive and usually at the most inconvenient time of day-like 2 am. African sweat-I know this does not appeal to some and I never thought I would get used to it but I have. The smell of body odor of those that do not use deodorant is VERY familiar here. Fresh Baked Bread-Now this has to be one of my favorite. There is no Wonder Bread here and I am thankful. At first it seemed like a hassle to have bread mold on the third day or become hard as a rock. But now nearly everyday we go to the local store and buy fresh baked bread. You can start salivating for it before it ever meets your mouth. Yum I love it! Well, like I said these are just a few of the smells and sounds that are becoming familiar in our new home. Funny thing is I don't remember not really having them all around me before, kind of like they have always been there. Like home.

Raggedy Man

Today as we were going into town we went past a raggedy man. I call him this because I don't know his name or what else to call him really. He is not the only one in town. There are many. He was obviously mentally not all present. He staggered down the street. His clothes were literally rags falling off of him. Here in Moz. I find myself learning to not make eye contact. It is disturbing to me yet it is becoming part of life. I'm just not sure that I like it. Culturally when you make eye contact with those on the street wanting to sell things or beg you have invited them to come to you. And once you have "invited" them they will not leave you alone until you leave that area. I think like many when I come across a raggedy man I am tempted to not make eye contact, to look away or even ignore that person. Maybe even pretend I am not seeing what I am seeing or that he exists. But today, as I was tempted to do that, I clearly felt the Lord telling me to look into his eyes as he passed by me. My heart was overwhelmed. I do not know his story or how he ended up living on the street and becoming a raggedy man. But God, in that moment poured out His love for that man, His son, into my heart and I found myself filled with compassion. He kept walking past me and continued on his way but I sensed God's profound love for him and prayed for him. My heart was touched by him and by how much God loves him. My prayer is that I would not dismiss any of God's children but value them and love them like He does.

The Wedding

Well, I have just returned from spending 7 hours attending a Mozambican wedding. We were invited because we have known Manuel (the groom) since he was a kid at an orphanage that we worked at back in 1997.He is now 23. His new wife, Laurinda, is someone he met at church. She is 19 years old and comes from a bush area a couple of hours from here. It was quite the cultural learning experience. Quite different yet still quite the same. For now here are some photos for you to enjoy. (Interesting difference: It is difficult to get photos of them smiling because culturally they are supposed to be sad because they are leaving their families.)