Snow and Whiteness

While Dwight, Bill and my dad enjoyed warmer climes last week in Mozambique and Brazil, we in Edmonton got dumped with about 20 centimeters of snow.

Snow presents a few challenges. Unlike rain, it stays where it lands.

And if it's cold out, things can go on like this for quite awhile.

Snow is cold, sticky, and slippery, and in order to carry on with life it has to be shoveled, scraped, and or swept away.

It just so happened that when we got the great snow dump, I had to be at Missions Fest in downtown Edmonton for several days in a row. That meant dressing up for the cold in a heavy winter coat, gloves, scarf, and boots, scraping and sweeping what seemed like a ton of snow off the car, warming the car up so I could drive, then slip sliding my way to the city center along the snowy streets.

Yes, I'm a wimp in winter. But I do agree that snow's whiteness makes it really beautiful... mostly from the warm, dry side of our home's window pane.

Janette Stone (right) in front of the SAM Ministries booth.
She, Patti Green, Carole Argo and I "manned" the booth over the weekend.

When the weekend was over, I left Edmonton for a week in BC with my family.

Leaving Alberta

Arriving in BC

There was some work to attend to as always, but there were good mom-daughter-sister times as well. And of course the view is always so beautiful, even with less white.

It's getting late so I should wrap this post up. Official news updates are on the SAMMinistries website, but I couldn't resist posting a few photos that Heather and others took recently at the annual general meeting in Mozambique.

Since I wasn't able to be there this year, Celestino gave the Health Department report.
What a blessing it is to have capable and hard working co-workers.

At the end of the day, it was group photo time. Judging from this photo, a bit of comic relief was in order after the long day of reports and business discussions. I like it :)

And last but not least, I have to show you the photos I took in the pet store we were in the other day. I love pet stores and always head to the back to admire the puppies and kittens. But this particular store didn't have puppies or kittens. It had fish, lizards, a Ball Python, frogs, tarantulas, and this...

A rat.

I don't get it. They're ugly, plentiful, and one of the greatest pests known to man. Why would I want to buy a rat??

Even the whiteness isn't working right now...


But it definitely helps that he's on the other side of a window pane.


PS: And yes, it is kind of cute how he's all curled up and snuggled in the shavings. But still, ugh.

Farewells and Family Days

Although tomorrow is Alberta's official "Family Day", many people are celebrating it today already. My own family (husband and kids) are all off in different locations, so it's a good thing we had some family celebrations last week already.

One of the celebrations, the main one, was Dad Lagore's birthday. Now, his birthday fell on the same day that Dwight was scheduled to leave for Moz (Monday), so the birthday dinner was slated for a few days earlier so we could all be together for it.

His mystery age is in the candles, if you can see them from there.

Saturday and Sunday were a flurry of packing suitcases and getting things in place for Dwight's trip to Mozambique. The main purpose of this trip is to attend the annual general meeting, however it is also a good opportunity for him to follow up on a number of things on the field that need his attention.

But back to the story. By Sunday bedtime he was pretty well packed and ready to go. Between his personal items and a wealth of donated reading glasses for leaders and gifts for orphans, his suitcases were pushing the maximum weight limit of 50lb each.

On Monday morning, we headed to the Edmonton International Airport to say goodbye to him and to Bill Green. Bill Green is SAM Ministries' executive director and this is his first trip to Mozambique, so it was quite the occasion.

Amanda (our daughter), Dad Lagore, Dwight, Mom Lagore in the airport parking lot.

Once we got them checked in, we had a bit of time for coffee before their 12:40 flight.

Discussing something either very interesting or very important.

When the time came for them to go, we said farewell and they headed for the departure lounge as we headed back home. Two hours later, I received a call from Dwight saying their flight had been delayed. We hoped it wouldn't be delayed too much since there were 4 legs to their journey, 3 connecting flights yet, and much more than an hour or two would mean missed flights.

At 5:00 p.m. I got a call from Dwight asking if I could come pick them up because their flight got cancelled outright. Thankfully, they were able to rebook the same flights for the following day. So on Tuesday, we got to repeat all of Monday's activities...more or less. That was a rather tiring and stressful day. And funny enough (although not funny in the really funny sense), as it turned out we could have had Dad's birthday dinner on his real birthday date after all.

So that sort of brings me to today. Today I accompanied Mom and Dad Lagore to attend church at Heimdahl. This is the small country church that conducts the Global Care A Thon that raises funds to assist needs in several different countries...SAM Ministries' school child feeding program in Mozambique being one of them.

It was snowing and cold outside, but warm and friendly inside!

After the service, we got to enjoy each others' company around a good pancake brunch in the church's basement. I also got to meet some of the youngest "walkers" from last year's walk a thon. All these girls, and yes even this littlest one, participated in raising funds to feed hungry children far away.

What a privileged position I'm in. Not only can I watch the school children in Moz enjoy their platefuls of good food (and see their bodies become the stronger and healthier for it), I also get to see the smiles and eagerness of those who play a part in helping to make it all possible.

Thank you, Father.

And Happy Family Day everyone, wherever you are.

PS: Any recent news I missed can be found here, on the website's blog.

Time and connections

Edmonton night shot (from Chateau Lacombe)

We've been in Canada for over a month already and although things are feeling more familiar, it seems like we're in a type of time warp. It's not like jet lag since we've long since been sleeping and waking on Canadian time. (Though it is extremely difficult to shut things down for the night when there's no generator force-quitting work at 9 pm!)

The time warp we've been experiencing is getting used to the changes that have taken place while we've been otherwise occupied in Africa over most of the past 24 years. Yes, we've been back here on other trips before. And I'm sure we felt like this those times too, but each subsequent trip home presents a few more years' change heaped on previous ones so there's a cumulative effect.

The top photo was taken a week or so ago from the La Ronde (restaurant) at the top of the Chateau Lacombe. A friend of ours treated us to supper there and it was a great time to get reconnected. La Ronde used to be a favorite dining spot of ours when we were dating, though we've hardly been back since. So it was a very special experience. The view is still beautiful, though there are more lights and highrises. And apparently there are more major changes to downtown Edmonton yet to come.

Otherwise, life has just been plain busy for us. Weekends we visit churches and share our hearts and recent developments in Moz. Midweek it's work interspersed with getting together with family, friends, supporters, contacts, etc. Wow. So many people we want to see and our time seems so little!

Suzanne, Dwight, Andrew, and baby Emmitt.
(thankfully I remembered to dig out my camera for this one!)

It was so great to see Suzanne (who has led several teams of student nurses to do their practicum in our neck of the bush in Moz), her husband Andrew (who's also done a volunteer term in Moz), and the new bundle of joy in their lives, baby Emmitt.

This past Sunday we were in both Westerose and Calgary. They're about a 3 hours drive apart, so it was a bit of a marathon.

Yes...some things don't change.
The highways still look the same. But that's ok. I like that there are no pot holes.

I remembered to dig out my camera again at last night's meeting. This is with the Mercy Tech group (Todd Green pictured above) sharing the vision for Vocational Training and construction of a Maintenance Facility in Moz. Good people. Good times!

And last but not least in last week's activities was the D.I.Y. cupboard Dwight put up in our "bedroom" (curtained off section of the front room/dining room). Our quarters are pretty tight down here, and improved storage seemed a wise investment in our (my) sanity :) You can see a bit of the chaos as Dwight and Amanda figure out which panel goes where.

And yes, that's our gigantic Christmas wreath behind Amanda on the couch. Once we re-arrange things a bit, I may just find an empty space to put it. If not, well, everyday is Christmas right?

Next week today, Dwight will be boarding a flight back to Moz to attend the annual general meeting and to get some important things tended to. We're excited that Bill Green, SAM Ministries' E.D., will be accompanying him on this trip. On their way home, they'll stop in Brazil to attend the annual general meeting and to connect with the mission there as well.

One of the things I'll be busy with while he's gone is attending Missions Fest 2012. We'll have a display table set up for SAM Ministries (location: K-9), so look us up if you'll be attending.

Anyway, I'd better run along for now. It's 10 pm and I'm slowly learning the discipline of force-quitting myself--even though 24 hour power and high-speed internet invite me to do otherwise.

ttyl

PS: If you're interested in more news from Moz, check out the SAM Ministries news blog.

Change

Some people love change but for me, it doesn't always come easy. Change for the better is usually easier, but just plain old change can be hard work. Either way, both take getting used to.

A big change for me that comes to mind was when we got married and both my name and status changed. I went overnight from being Miss Trekofski to Mrs. Lagore. The reality hit really hard while we were jetting over the ocean toward Hawaii on our honeymoon and the airline stewardess addressed me as "Mrs. Lagore". I probably gave her a blank look initially and remember thinking, "...that's my mother-in-law". I wondered how I'd ever get used to a new name, never mind signing it, but in time I did.

Another major life-changing event was becoming a mom. I went from being able to just grab my purse and dash out the door on a moment's notice to having to engage in a major get-baby-and-baby-paraphernalia-ready event. When I think of it now, it was a bit like getting ready to go camping except you don't need the matches.

When we moved to the African bush and lived camp-style and in tents for a year, that was a huge change that took adjustment too. It was like packing for the major outing-with-baby-event, times 10 or 100 or 1000, and this time you definitely did need the matches.

There was more change on the way when the kids grew up and left home to pursue their education and careers. I was suddenly more foot-loose and fancy-free again, the house was quieter, and meals needed to be smaller. That all took adjusting to as well. And although there was a self re-definition of sorts, I didn't change my name again (thankfully).

So where am I going with this? Well, change is in the air once again. Thankfully it's not major and I'm especially thankful it doesn't involve camping, matches, or any of that stuff. What it does involve is a small re-definition of this blog--where I have spent many a fine hour trying to put thoughts and recent mission developments "on paper".

Finally this last week, after a lot of teamwork with writing, layout, photo contributions, and website development, the new SAM Ministries' site went "live". And with it, a new blogging platform for posting mission news. It will be updated regularly, so for those interested in the latest developments at the mission in Mozambique, make sure you check it out. For those of you interested in the curious things this blog, I'll still be here plonking away when things come to mind.

I think I can classify this change as one of the "easier" ones. Now, just to get used to it.

I'll close with a few photos:

Me and Amanda (our daughter) working.

Here she's pondering job applications since she's nearly finished her after-degree in Education and is now scouting teaching jobs in Edmonton. And I'm busy with website details, no doubt.

(The only justification for me wearing a yellow and green striped sweater is that it has BRASIL plastered across the front.)

Dwight adding a few more finishing touches to the presentation.

We received a wonderful donation last week from--a box full of reading glasses. I was handed a fairly long list of requests for glasses prescriptions for pastors in rural Mozambique in November. When they gave it to me, I told them to pray. See what happens when you pray? There a few ladies colors and styles in here as well, so the ladies will be smiling too.
(Thank you Blessman Ministries!)

Anyway, I'd best run for now.

ttyl

It's About Time

Yes, it is about time I get another post done since it's been 2 weeks since I last touched this blog. Things have just been that busy. With what, you may ask? Well, with getting ready all the things that need getting ready for our travels and sharing about the work in Mozambique.

Dwight has had his hands full with preparing the presentation we'll be showing. First, there is the retrieving, renaming, and ordering of video clips taken over the past 2 years. Then there's writing the script, recording the script, deciding on the best background music, and last but not least, spending hours piecing all that together!

(Some of the work was done at this sound studio in Edmonton.)

And me? Well, since we're back home with our kids, for some of the time I'm being a mom and enjoying every minute of it. And when our kids are busy (which is quite a bit of the time), I'm finalizing the development of SAM's new website. It was supposed to be finished by mid-December, but, well, time got away on us.

We're going with a Wordpress site, which is a brand new platform for me. I've messed things up quite badly a time or two, but thankfully I've been able to figure it out and reverse my mistakes. I've learned one thing, web languages are hugely hung up on little characters like "<" ";" and "/"!

Last Saturday morning, we headed to Summerland B.C.

Judging from the photo you'd think this was 5 or 6 a.m. (if you're from Africa anyway).
But no.
It was precisely 8:19 a.m., Edmonton (seemingly near the North Pole), in the dead of winter.

We were relieved that on this trip, we got to fly. This is Alberta from the air.
There has been little snow fall so far this year.

This mountain range is the Rockies. There's always snow in the Rockies.

Here's Dwight catching up on all the "good" news in the world.

When we arrived in Summerland, it was snowing. It snowed for hours. Dwight joked that maybe the name should be changed to Winterland.

Treacherous for driving, but sooo beautiful!

We made the trip to meet with Rick Cogbill and the Mercy Tech board, and to participate in a time of sharing about the Vocational Training Program and new workshop going up in Mozambique. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and meet new people.

We set up the recently made pull-up banners, and set brochures in the fold-up rack.
Sure beats the old system with its clumsy interlocking bars and teetering display boards.
Thanks Royden Lepp for the photos/design/time/etc. :)

Rick Cogbill and us in the "hot seats" (as Rick put it)
sharing interview-style.

John Topham (above, right) has organized for the donation and shipping of a lathe for the wood shop in Moz. He will be accompanying Rick (left)on his next trip out to train the woodworkers on its use.
(For those of you like me who know nothing about woodwork...a lathe makes round things. Bowls, round pegs, table legs, knobs, and such.)

On Monday morning Rick took us back to Kelowna to catch our flight home.
No snow on this stretch of highway.

I did my best trying to capture (with my cellphone) the amazing morning sun filtering through the clouds over the lake.
(Time: 8:57 a.m. Not early-morning sunrise. In case you were wondering.)

Before we knew it, we were headed back over the mountains, over the patchwork of farm fields to Edmonton. Back to finish up our work on the presentation, website, and so on.
Our time for preparing is almost up!

Let me close with a few photos from Heather and the team in Mozambique:

In the background, progress being made on an improved home currently under construction for a family of orphans. I can only imagine how happy they will be to finally move in.

Celestino, who I'm sure is keeping very busy in my absence, measuring Sr. Andrea's blood pressure.

Raimundo with a flap-necked chameleon in our yard. Rural Mozambicans aren't big fans of chameleons, so I commend Raimundo on his smile here :)

What I find even more amazing though is the plant growing to his right. I'm pretty sure that's a Cycad we planted about 2 years ago that never did show any signs of growth. We sort of figured it had died and would need to be dug up and replaced. Now it looks like it's decided to come to life.

It's about time.

ttyl

Safe Arrivals

There's nothing like contending with busy holiday traffic and heavy semi trucks through the mountains on snowy, foggy, winding, sloshy roads to make you really appreciate arriving safely at your destination. And in case that doesn't make you appreciative, witnessing roadside accidents and vehicles in the ditches will.

It probably goes without saying that we were very relieved when over the holiday season, having spent about 20 hours on snowy roads with poor visibility and having witnessed several accidents, we completed our return trip to my parents' place in B.C. and back without incident!

Don't get me wrong though because despite driving conditions, it was wonderful to spend Christmas with my family in the mountains of British Columbia. Here's a shot of us on Boxing Day at the mall.

My parents, sister, husband and kids.

I know what you're thinking...we were getting in on Boxing Day sales. And if you thought that, then you're sort of right. But that's not all we were doing. We were also celebrating a very special family event: my niece's husband's "Rust" book-signing event. (We did our best to keep from mobbing the table.)

Left to right: Royden & Ruth (my niece), and my sister.

While we were happily snapping family photos, they were busy manning the table. This photo was taken at the end of the 3 hours when the books were all gone, so please bear with the reverse order of photos here.

(Oh, and on the table, pamphlets of the work in Mozambique which Royden and Ruth graciously asked us to make available for distribution that day. So yes, this wasn't "just" an ordinary book signing event!)

Royden's mom, Royden, and table visitors.

A memorial fund established in honor of Royden's father has helped raise funds to finish the bush airstrip at the mission in Mozambique. So it only seems fitting to tell you what comes next.

A donated hangar recently arrived in Moz from the U.S. by ship, it cleared customs (no small task), then was transported by truck to the mission where it was off-loaded. It then had to be literally dragged along the dirt road from the drop off point by the highway all the way up to the airstrip. (Thanks Barb Wayner for the photos!)

The container with the hangar, being dragged along by the backhoe.

Well, the road probably needed to be graded anyway!

Logs had to be put underneath it so it could roll rather than drag over the bridge.

Hangar construction materials from inside had to be unloaded.

(Ron Wayner and crew)
Then the foundations for the hangar were then poured.
A team is slated to arrive soon from the U.S. to complete the hangar's construction.

In the meantime, some final grading and work still needs to be done to finish the airstrip.
It's wonderful to see things going forward!

Last story here. This is Jose, a guard on staff at the mission.

He suffered for many years with teeth that were in very bad shape. So bad in fact that he could hardly chew his food. He used to say, "I am a happy man, and have inner peace, but if I could 'wish' for something more, it would be new teeth!" Well, God was obviously listening because several weeks ago, after quite a bit of work on his mouth, he got new teeth. They will take a bit of getting used to, but what a smile. Thank you to those who helped put this smile on his face!

Jose and Joao (Mozambican missionary serving at the mission).

And that pretty much sums up our news. I'll close this off with a photo of the Lagore family taken on New Year's eve.

Dwight and I with our two kids, far left.
Dwight's parents, Arthur and Gladie, front center.
Dwight's brothers, Steve and Allen, and their families, back center and right.

We wish you all the best, and especially inner peace, for 2012!