Last week was an important one for us as we hosted a visit from the provincial governor. The original plan had been for him (and his supposed entourage of 20-30 people) to share a noon meal here with us. A week or so later, the meal plan was changed to just sandwiches. Apparently he was on a tight schedule. After we had purchased cold meats, cheese, etc for the sandwiches, we were told there would be no time for that either. Just time to meet, take a quick tour, then out again. Also, the day of the visit was changing from Thursday to Friday.
The first four days of last week ushered in a fairly steady stream of officials from district commander to police to government security personnel to a delegation from the ruling party...all to help plan the exact route the governor's walking tour would take while on the farm. When Friday finally rolled around we were as ready as we felt we could be. We had his gifts lined up and at least coke and cookies to serve as ‘quick’ refreshment.
A vehicle with event planners/security people was among the first to arrive. They made sure everything was in order including us standing at the side of the entry road to form the appropriate greeting line. We weren’t sure how long we may stand there waiting so we did our best to shuffle into the shadiest spot while still maintaining the position/stance the security folk thought was best.
Thankfully we didn’t have to wait long before the vehicles started roaring up the road, among them were more security, police, militia complete with camouflage outfits, news reporters, TV cameras, and heads of just about every government department between here and the border! There were at least 10 vehicles with+/- 70 people in all. The governor was the first to come shake our hands, then other heads of departments came after him. We gave the governor a quick introduction to the mission, its vision and work while cameras snapped photos and microphones were thrust in faces. Dwight then presented him with a Study Bible for which he was very thankful. He commented that he also was a religious man affirmed that he would make good use of the gift, then expressed his appreciation for it. He was interested in all the mission’s activities, especially the orphan program and he shared good words of encouragement with us.
Before he went on the tour of the mission, the much-rehearsed route pattern was quickly changed. So rather than see the mission structures first, they saw them last. When they happened by our house that is currently under construction, the governor said, “When you are ready to inaugurate your home, I would be very happy to join you for the event.” So—I’d better get planning NOW. This will certainly be a grand affair :)Upcoming visits:
-We are anticipating the arrival of a team of six student nurses from the University of Saskatchewan later this month. They will be involved in a number of prevention and intervention health activities with our health posts, schools, women’s ministry and local community groups. You can check their blogspot at: (http://www.mozambiquenursingpracticum.blogspot.com/)
-Mercy Air is bringing a work team up this month as well to help complete work on one of the guest cottages and to transport the Saskatchewan team from Beira to Chimoio. This will be a very busy, productive time indeed!
With that I’ll close, but no without leaving you with another picture of other oh-so-famous visitors who just move in wherever they want. At the rate they come and go, it’s a good thing there’s no pomp involved here!
“It looks like it’s been through the war”...because it has been! These dots in the walls are from bullet shots fired at it during the civil war. But even with all the abuse it endured, the basic structure it pretty sound. 
Though construction on our house has taken a back seat lately, mostly due to weather, we are making some progress on it as well. (Note the grass growing inside the foundation walls :)) Our hopeful ‘date of completion’ is July sometime so Rick and Heather have a place to stay when they come (besides a tent). I’m sure they’re praying to that end too, and that may well be what speeds the process along! 
And last but not least, the spider part. Spiders seem to be reproducing prolifically right now, much to my dismay. And their favourite spot to spin huge webs seems to be everywhere I need to be, like right across the paths we regularly use. There’s just about no worse feeling than walking merrily along minding your own business and suddenly you’re snagged by an invisible net of sticky spider webbing across your face, head and arms! I've learned some impressive 'rapid-back-up-while-in-motion' steps complete with sweeping-arm manoeuvres to decrease the chances that the web's resident spider is crawling down my neck. Aaaaaahhhhhhh! I’m happy to say, that hasn’t happened to me yet. 
Hmm, although her friend had the hang of what to do on photo-day, this little one on the left wasn't too sure about it all! 
She looks a little more amused here (can you tell?), but we failed to coax a smile onto this cute little face! Maybe next year.
After photos were taken, new ID cards with last year’s photos were distributed. This is definitely the most fun part of the day. We all love to see pictures of ourselves and these kids are no different, especially since these are about the ONLY photos they’ll ever own of themselves. To see the responses to these ID cards is always a highlight for me. After the initial hand-out rush, the cards are studied closely with amused smiles and little comments to themselves and each other. Then kids congregate into small groups to look at each other’s photos. If per chance in the photo someone wore a funny smirk or expression, there is an outbreak of hilarious whooping and laughter. This goes on for quite some time since photos are SUCH a novelty. It truly is the best entertainment for at least a week, likely more. I can’t help but get warm feelings inside when I think of the difference the participation of many people has made in these young people’s lives! Each smile is priceless. 
We also visited the kids who have now ‘graduated’ to grade 6 and are boarding at Chitundo school. Last year there were 10, now there are 22. So the Mucombeze bush presence is becoming one to reckon with! The icing on the cake is that 3 of the 22 are girls, and 1 is a new boy who struggles with a real physical challenge. He was caught inside a burning hut as a toddler and has extensive contractures of his arms now. He has a heart of gold though, and who knows, maybe he will even have corrective surgery one day! Oh, small item of interest to a select few people...pet bugs!
This week was a busy one rife with challenges. Yesterday while I was having some ‘fun’ of my own, Dwight was nearly involved in a head-on collision. Yesterday on our highway as he came up over a blind rise he was practically nose-to-nose with a vehicle passing a semi on double solid lines. The vehicle that was passing was so far into his lane (nearly on the shoulder on his side of the road) that he hit had to hit the brakes veer hard toward the ditch. Dwight said his life flashed before him in that instant. (Bear in mind that we drive on the left side of the road here.)
Thankfully he missed the last of a row of these cement erosion steps in the ditch, so slid to a stop on fairly flat ground. Had his tires hit this cement step, or had any pedestrians been in the way, things may have turned out much differently. We’re thankful that the Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps!
Like our 1982 Toyota pickup, nicknamed ‘The Beast’, the Isuzu (below) has performed a wide variety of tasks in generally tough conditions. It hasn’t been quite as durable as the old Toyota, but its smooth-riding independent suspension certainly added years to our lives. After almost 300,000 km’s of hard work and in need of major engine/4X4/front end/electrical system overhauls, the Isuzu is now best kept close to home, not doing anything too heroic! 
Transporting tools and equipment for construction.
On one of its many trips transporting food for orphans and the school feeding program.
Dodging potholes on Mozambique's N1 highway. I rated this portion as mild-medium severity because even though we have to drive on the dirt shoulder most of the time, at least the holes are less than a foot deep!
The pick up that endured 1001 Mozambican adventures! One day I'll write a book, or at least devote an entire chapter in a book, just to this vehicle and all we went through with it.
Dwight was doing pretty impressive work missing them, but one caught him by surprise and we hit it pretty hard. This is not a strange occurrence since our vehicle has driven bad roads all of its life, but lately it has been showing signs of growing tired, and that pothole proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back! Suddenly we were sitting at a slant and it felt like we were riding on a rock. It took us a little while to eventually see what had gone awry...a torsion bar that supports the suspension had snapped in two. I think visions of us being stuck in Mozambique for a protracted period with a broken vehicle were starting to form in all of our minds! Since we were headed to Mercy Air on our way to Joburg, Dwight called Ron Wayner at Mercy Air to let them know of our little hiccup. He assured us that the vehicle was in fact still drivable, but the drive would be a bit rougher and slower. Needless to say, we were up EARLY the next morning to make good time. 
We arrived at Mercy Air by suppertime on Tuesday evening, had supper, visited with friends, and got the Mercy Air van ready so we could carry on with our trip to Jo’burg the following day. 
Here we are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for our 3rd day of travel. That day’s trip went off without a hitch other than the mud flaps hitting the rear tire and giving us a scare. By 3:30 p.m. we were at O.R. Tambo International Airport and now we REALLY breathed a sigh of relief. The closer you get to the airport, the less there is that stands between you and your flight, right?? We met friends for supper right there then made our way to the South African Air Lines desk in International Departures. The place was wall to wall with line-ups with people. As we headed to the airline desk, we were told we would have to enter the queue. Well, said queue first zigzagged by the desk like they all do, then it took off down one hallway, turned the corner and disappeared down the next! And there we stood, queued for 2 hours while the kids’ boarding and departure times came and went.
