Still Standing

This is a recent picture of a big old fig tree that I originally photographed (below) about 2 months ago after a fire swept through the mission farm. I had been out the previous night trying to put out grass fires along a path I had been instructed to follow. Dwight had headed in a different direction. It was new territory to me and the path was not a well used one. All I had for light was a dim LED Dot-IT. As I stumbled along the winding path putting out little fires here and there, I came upon a strange sight. There stood a massive tree with sparks and fire shooting out of the long vertical cavity in its trunk. It was quite ominous. Downright threatening in the dark that night since I was alone in new territory--close to the revered ancestral graveyard I might add-- armed with only a dim little Dot-IT for light and a scrubby branch for self-protection. Neither of those would have been much help if I had come across something truly sinister! Nor were they of much comfort as I stood looking at the big tree, ablaze, and possibly about to crash to the ground! A pit formed in my stomach when I realized that the foot path I was following led straight UNDER the tree. I contemplated veering off the path, but knowing there are numerous poisonous snakes lurking about in the bush, and not wanting to get lost (remember Hansel and Gretel?), I decided the ‘under the tree’ option was my best bet. I studied the flaming scene for awhile. If I did it quickly, and with a prayer, I’d likely be fine. Not necessarily in that order though!

Since I’m now writing about this event, it’s obvious I survived it! Things are scarier in the dark, you know. I was determined the next day to retrace my steps to find that tree. I was sure it would be lying on the ground somewhere, a massive heap of charred wood and ashes. But when I got to the spot, there it was still standing, stark and bare against the late afternoon sky. I took a picture of it.

That tree had survived many fires in its lifetime, but I was pretty sure it would not remain standing much longer now. So I’ve kept my eye on it over the weeks.

Spring-time is now upon us and trees are busy putting their new green leaves proudly on display. The old fig tree, believe it or not, is still standing. Not only that, but it has put on a leafy display as well! Many of its branches are still bare, but I was amazed to see any sign of life at all! It’s sort of a miracle of nature. Although this tree faced the fierce trial of fire...one that in fact gutted it and left a gaping hollow in its center...it still stands.

AND it appears to still be fruitful. There’s a lesson here, but I won’t state the obvious.

We witnessed another miracle recently too. A few posts back I mentioned about our residence permits and how we had missed the national ‘foreigner’s census’. Usually such things carry hefty fines and much legal red tape. We (and others) prayed, then we braced ourselves for the inevitable last week as we went in to the immigration department in Chimoio. Dwight has built relationships with the staff and directors of just about every government office in town since mission work requires extensive legal paperwork. When we walked in to the Immigration Dept. Director’s office, we were greeted with a warm smile, a hand shake and “Hey, how are things?” After some small talk, we explained that our annual permit renewal time was up, but that somehow we had missed the census. The director flipped through our permits then said, “It’s simple. We’ll just do the census at the same time as the renewal. No problem.” Our relief was guarded though, since the process still lay before us. But we thanked the Lord just the same.
To cut a lengthy story short, after filling out a variety of forms, photocopying passports, etc. in triplicate, meeting with the Director of Religious Affairs and making repeated trips to town to first see this official, then that one, we finally got our permits renewed AND we got the shiny little sticker that proves we’ve completed the census. That tiny sticker that we didn’t have a few weeks ago and that brought our long trip to South Africa to a premature and grinding hault. Yes, THAT sticker. That sticker tells the story not only of our most recent trial, but of older, bigger trials we’ve come through as well! It tells of stories with a common happy ending...we’re still standing!

October Heat

This is spring time in Mozambique, and it’s our hottest season. Thankfully the heat is drier right now until the rains come, so that makes it just a bit more tolerable. But just a bit. I took a few pictures of our outdoor thermometer. The shot below was taken on the most pleasant (cool) day last week. That was the day we had a break from the heat! But before that pleasant day, it had been hot as an oven. Well, not quite. But 40 and above for several days in a row. It felt like an oven. When it gets that hot, the local people say, “It’s cooking rain”. That’s the intense heat that comes before rain. We did in fact get a small spatter of rain one night which is why it then cooled down into the mere 30’s. In the next month or so, we should get more and more rain, as long as this isn’t a drought year. The thing about this season that ceases to amaze me is that at the hottest, driest time of the year, the brown leafless trees somehow manage to find enough water deep in the ground that they become flush with bright green leaves. We revel in their shade as you can well imagine!
This is also the beginning of ‘creature season’. This is a Cicada and the is their time to wake from dormancy and sing, “Zzzweeeeeeeeeeee” to their heart’s content. Generally speaking they only do this during the daytime, but sometimes they seem to get disoriented and ‘zweee’ at night too. There are thousands of them and they’re in every tree, so the sound can seem nearly deafening. They have an interesting life cycle. It’s a great topic for homeschooled kids to research (read: google)! It stands to reason that with the advent of bug season, the frogs come out to play. Here is a little guy who seems to like our front door step (pictured here beside the broom handle). When I come back home from hooking up to email at the office in the evenings, he’s often sitting there to greet me. We seem to have had a spate of fairly sick people and emergencies this past week or so...bicycle accidents (common here), snake bites (sorry for mentioning it again, Heather), an asthma attack, and so on. This 10 year old boy’s mom (see previous posts) is a widow who does odd jobs to help feed her 2 kids. A few weeks ago she got very sick with pneumonia which I treated her for. She improved but her recovery has been slow and the food supply at home is dwindling. This little guy walked for hours in the heat to bring the message that they need help at home. Here he is with a bag in hand with medicine for mommy, infant formula for baby brother and cookies for himself. We sent further food supplies to help them over this hump. Children learn responsibility and face life’s hardships at a much younger age out here! Thanksgiving. Yes, apparently it came and went recently. Thanksgiving is not celebrated out here so we usually forget it exists until family from home ask us, “So what are you doing for thanksgiving?” Oh...hmm. As it turned out, this year we were able to attend an English church service nearby then had potluck afterwards of cold cuts and salads. The heat that day was brutal. So instead of hot turkey on a cold day, we had cold chicken on a hot day. Maybe the only true similarity was the reminder to be thankful for our blessings, and to share with those around us. I guess that’s really the most important part!

It's good to be home

We weren’t sorry to leave Whiteriver last week simply because it was wet, cold and rainy the whole time we were there! Coming back home is always nice either way. Every time we make this trip by road, we wonder why we do it. It’s a 4 day round-trip, and the road is not ‘user-friendly’! But things have improved dramatically since the first time we drove this highway, the EN 1, in 1994. At that time, it still bore the wounds inflicted by the years civil war and neglect. It was nearly impassable then as trenches had been dug across it so that it would be, well, impassable! Over the last 13 years, the highway has been built, rebuilt, flooded (in the floods of 2000) then rebuilt again. For the most part it’s much better, but some parts still send you swerving back and forth through the maze of potholes.

As you can see, in Africa we really like Coca Cola, Colgate toothpaste, Lux bath soap and Surf laundry detergent! Many little stores will give companies the ‘ok’ to paint their ads on their store fronts. You have to admit, it IS eye-catching. Even I’m tempted to stop and pick up some of the advertised goods! Other stores are left to display their real character.
On the 2nd day of our journey we make a pit stop at one of the few fuel stations along this stretch. Caltex must have foreseen big returns here since they built on both sides of the 2-lane-no-shoulders EN 1! The station on the other side is more impressive in that it sports what was to be a convenience store & restaurant. It was built in 2000 but has never been open for business. Only this side has ever had fuel. And every time we stop here to fuel up, we’re always the only ones. I’ve never seen another vehicle here...ever. We usually have to wait several minutes until the attendant realises someone is really there. And when we’re done, he settles back into his chair, cell phone in hand.

This is the Save River and to us it marks the beginning of our ‘home stretch’...just 5 hours from here to home! There is a boom across the one end which is manned by police. Sometimes we have to pay to cross. Other times we don’t. We’re not sure why, but some questions are better left unasked.

There are really no places to stop at on the 2nd day of this journey, so the best we can do is stop along the road, get out and stretch, grab a coke from the cooler (see how effective the ads are?), and by the time we’re done all that, the intense heat is chasing us back inside the airconditioned car! Once we get home, it’s time to unpack and get geared for work and whatever current crises may exist. But still, it’s awfully good to be home again!

Getting Things Fixed

(Here's a shot of a beautiful Jacaranda tree. They're in bloom now in South Africa. Apparently they're considered a weed, but most people like them.)

Well, our week in South Africa has been a busy one. Our vehicle needed some urgent attention and apparently it's 'very tired'! After over 250,000 km of bad roads and being used to haul just about everything imaginable...I'd be tired too! We repaired what we could so it can take us a little further, but I'm afraid its days are numbered. We will need to look at a replacement for it in the near future. Mozambique is no place for 'sick' vehicles!

The day we arrived here, it began to rain. Apparently it had been very hot the day before...up to +40 or so. But then the wind began to blow and cold, rainy, dreary weather settled in and stayed for the entire week we were here! It warmed up briefly one day mid-week, then promptly clouded over and poured rain the next. I only packed 2 thin jackets and brought NO closed shoes. This is hot spring in Africa after all! Well, I survived the experience, but certainly drank my fair share of hot tea with a warm cat on my lap.

I was the other one who needed some fixing while we were here. Tylenol had become part of my daily diet for the previous 3 months due to a tooth that was ailing. Oh the joys of growing older...it seems that between Dr. and dentist visits, I keep pretty busy (when we're here at least)! Anyway, I had another root canal done and it was a particularly sore one. I told the dentist I have very unhappy teeth. He just chuckled. I wasn't laughing though. I think the only place in the world where I would rather not be in the reclining chair is in a dentist's office!

All in all it's been a productive week. The vehicle has had its 'face lift', I'm now off Tylenol, and we've been able to pick up some much needed items for the work in Moz. It's been great to see our Mercy Air family again too. So yes, tomorrow we cross the border into Mozambique again. We'll produce those same very official travel documents that the nice immigration official gave us. Then, once back in Chimoio, we have to face the music (begin the process of getting those important stickers in our resident's permits). Oh, we heard of another fellow-missionary couple who also missed the announcement to go through the expatriate census process. They're Canadian too. Hmmm.

Border Adventure...as per usual

This trip started out just like any other. “Do we have our passports? DIRE’s (foreigner residence permits)? Details of any parts we need to source? Charge cords for computer/cell phone/etc? “ When we were pretty sure we had it taped, we headed out on our usual 2 day road trip to South Africa. Not soon after we left, we realized we had left a few things behind. That seems to be the norm with us (are we the only ones??). But by then we were too far to turn back. None of the items were TOP priority anyway. We stopped at our usual little place to overnight near Maxixe.
The 2nd day of this trip is a good 9 hour one and this trip was no different. By the time we had cleared many kilometres of bad patches of road, we were thankful to finally hit the smooth stretch of toll road close to the border. The border is always a bit of a challenge with its long line-ups and chaos, but that’s old hat to us now. Then amid all the familiar routine, we ran into something new. After I handed the immigration officer our passports, resident’s permits (DIRE’s) and forms, she flipped through them quickly and announced, “They haven’t been ‘census certified’”. Oh? What now? She passed our documents to another immigration officer. Apparently it was his job to deal with such issues. “You don’t have the sticker to prove that you’ve been through the census procedure. Your home may have been included (which it was), but there is a separate census for resident foreigners. You’ll have to go back to Maputo (40 min. Drive) and go to the main immigration office first thing tomorrow morning. Don’t worry, it’s a simple thing...” He said this rather apologetically and then smiled weakly. “It’s simple”, when it comes to immigration issues, usually means there are long, dark days ahead! This registration of foreigners had been included in the recent nation-wide census, but since we’re rather isolated out in the bush, we hadn’t received any clear information about it. We were long overdue, and we wondered what we would be told back in Maputo.
We over nighted in our usual Maputo-sleep-over spot, ‘The Oasis’. The missionary lady who runs the place and who has been in Mozambique since before the war, listened to us sympathetically as we explained what had happened. “Well, I hope they’re lenient with you” she said as she went on to describe their own ordeal. We hoped so too. At best Dwight hoped to be breathing at the end of the it all. Seriously, we expected at least to pay a heavy fine and possibly be sent back home. At worst we imagined ourselves handcuffed and deported, involved with our mission from afar! Dwight called our family and asked them to pray.
In the morning we were at the immigration department early. We followed the signs that read something like “Foreigners’ census registration”. When we spoke to another foreigner (who also missed the deadline) and the office secretary, we learned that we would have to produce our working contract plus a letter from the local entity confirming the nature of our work here. Hm, We were on a short time frame on this trip, and this was starting to sound like a fair bit of red tape. Our official working contract was sitting in our house...a 2 day drive away! We were told we would have to see the Sector Head. When we explained our plight to him, he said, “We cannot process your paperwork here since you were originally registered in Chimoio. You can only do it there.” We were at a loss, and then he referred us to the department Director.
The woman in the Director’s office was dressed in a crisp uniform and was very stoic. She meant business! Once again, we went through our story of how we missed the national summons to all foreigners because we live a remote region, etc., etc. Her face was like stone as she listened. Then suddenly she said, “Do you live near Vanduzi?” “Yes!” we said. “It’s a stone’s throw from there to where we are. We’re on the old ADPP farm.” Her eyes lit up and she said, “Oh! My husband is from Vanduzi. His brothers still live there. You’re my family. Come, let me help you!” With that she made a quick call to her superior and told him of our predicament. Her embellished version had the desired effect. When she hung up she said, “We’ll do up a letter for you so you can get through the border this time. It’ll be good for 90 days. You don’t have to pay anything for this service since we are the ones at fault here. If you have problems at the border, just call me and I’ll sort it out for you.” You could have pushed us over with a tooth pick. Thank you God! We quickly exchanged names and phone numbers with her and were out of there so fast you couldn’t see us for the dust (AFTER we got the letters that is).
The border still exacted its toll, but this time only in the form of the sea of humanity=eternally long line-ups. In terms of the paperwork though, it went through without a hitch. Just as if it were usual fare! This is just the first chapter in this whole process of course, we still have to face the process of getting that little sticker on our permits...but for now, we feel as free as birds!

When Friends Come Calling

This week, Ron Wayner and co-pilot Nate from Mercy Air came to spend a week with us. They flew a short term group out to visit a mission that’s about 2 hours from us. And although they could have stayed with the group, they decided to come spend time with us and help cut wood. Our chain saw had been repaired in South Africa, so they flew it up in the plane. Nice! They also brought our mail (including birthday cards from my parents/in-laws that arrived in the bush, in Mozambique ON MY birthday. How do you like that? One would never even hope for such a thing. Anyway, Ron and Nate have been very busy making lots of noise, sawdust and wonderful progress cutting some huge trees into usable wood for all our building needs. Thanks guys! Bonus for them...they ‘get to’ stay in our many stars, mobile accommodation (read ‘tents).
Here’s someone else who came calling:
This is a Mozambique spitting cobra. ‘Spitting’ because they prefer to spit their opponent in the eyes before resorting to biting. I’m not sure which I prefer, not that I would prefer either! They have deadly aim and can spit a length of a few meters (yards). See the bands on his underside? Those are his identifying marks. So this isn’t the kind of snake you want to hanging around nearby. Anyway, our little dog started acting odd, barking alarmingly at tin roof sheeting that was leaning up against the wall outside. I immediately knew it must be a snake. So I got a broom stick and slowly pulled the roof sheets away. And sure enough, when I had flipped the last one over, an olive coloured snake, about 2 feet long or so, slithered very quickly, around the corner to the front of the house. Although I wanted to follow him to see where he went, I knew I had to first get the dog inside. If he saw the snake, he’d be after him like a shot and I would be nursing seriously sore eyes for a week. I called two of the staff who were nearby and they came charging over, sticks in hand, at the word ‘cobra’ (Portuguese for ‘snake’). We searched and searched...very carefully...but couldn’t find him. Hm. Then I noticed the drainage pipe that runs under our sidewalk. I know they like to hide. So I got the water hose and started flushing from one end. Sure enough, that motivated him to come out of hiding. Then the whole scene was a blur of sticks flinging through the air and bits of bark, grass and dust flying in every direction. I think the first blow pretty much guaranteed his ‘exit ticket’, but they guys like to make sure. So after about the 5th blow I stopped them. I needed to get a picture, after all! Then before I could scoop him up with a stick, the dogs grabbed him and gave him a real good angry shaking. Like, ‘take that you bad snake!’. ‘ Okay dogs, everyone, we’re good now.’ I expect but don’t hope to see more snakes this season. Haha.
Other friends we’ve had hanging around of late, likely because we’re the only island of unburned land for miles around, is some Guinea Fowl, Bush Babies and Vervet Monkeys.
Here’s a Guinea Fowl feather. Intricate, hey? I wonder if there are other birds with polkadots on their feathers. God thought of everything didn’t He?
The monkeys are smart and keep a good distance from us (not from our garden though). The Bush Babies are very cute and curious. There are a few that hang around in our trees at dusk. Their silhouette against the grey sky is really quite comical since they have long bushy tails and round, goofy, Mickey mouse ears. With features like that, you KNOW when they’re looking at you! I like to talk to them. So far they haven’t been brave enough to come down closer.
Otherwise, the routine friends we can always find around are bats and owls. Oh, and insects of course. Now that our days are warming up, we’re seeing more and more of them. Soon we’ll have to move our dining room table inside so we have some peace at mealtimes!
We’re making a trip to South Africa next week. A bit of business to tend to plus a sore tooth of mine. I’ve been on Tylenol for 2 months now, so it’s time to go see Mr. Dentist again. Yay. My favourite trip!

Back to School

September and January mark the times when kids nearly everywhere in the world ‘go back to school’. Generally speaking, in the Northern Hemisphere, September is the beginning of the school year. But for us way down under, it’s mid-term reports time. Today the mission’s primary school held a meeting where general announcements were made and students received their mid-term final grades. Some did well while others...need to try harder.

As with most school meetings when you’re a kid, there were some times when it was fun
And times when it was boring!
Another event that took place today was the official first-time production of our own blocks with the newly donated block-making-machine. Over the past month or so, there was quite a bit of gathering of soil samples and mud-cake-making in order to find just the right type of soil for making blocks. Once the right soil was found, it then had to be watered down to loosen it up so it could be dug out, hauled to the block-making site and spread out to dry out a bit (tip #1: Soil that is too moist = muddy bricks once compressed). By mid-afternoon the soil was about just right, so two guys went to work shovelling the dirt into the hopper. The machine pumps out 1 brick every 2 seconds, so there isn’t much time for standing around...just a bit! These unbaked mud bricks will be used for construction of main walls. Once up you tack chicken wire onto them then plaster, and voila! (Apparently) For foundations, we need to use these locally made baked bricks. They’re much stronger. You may notice the charred background in this picture. A few days ago we came home from town late in the afternoon to find fire scattered along the mission farm’s one boundary. It had been discovered at 1 p.m. or so and the staff and Nat and Salena had spent until 5 p.m. working to beat it out with water and green leafy branches. Although the fire came close to some of the mission’s buildings, nothing major was damaged and it was otherwise successfully diverted to a safer area to burn itself out at nightfall. It seems the fire crossed through the dry river bed (which has reeds). But now that the fire has burned there, it seems as though all our boundaries are now clear fire breaks. Even if they had to be cleared by burning themselves!