Stepping over cracks

 

When we were kids and walking along a sidewalk, one of us would invariably pipe up with, "Step on a crack, break your mother's back; step on a nail, put your father in jail." At this, we would adjust our stride and nimbly step over any pavement cracks or nail heads in boardwalks, all the while keeping a beady eye on the steps of others lest they slip up. If you did accidentally step on a crack, a chorus would rise, "Aha! You broke your mother's back!" or "You put your father in jail!" It was fierce but fun competition, and anyway, we were looking out for our parents' welfare! Thankfully, even though I probably slipped up many times in the game, neither calamity came upon my parents :-)

The cracked pavement above, which I think is actually quite pretty, is one of many on the veranda floor of the getaway beach spot we are at for just over a week. We have been coming here once a year for about 10 years, and each visit is unique in itself. One year, we arrived to discover that the wind had eroded the sand to the point where several thatched installations had collapsed and their reconstruction in a new location was underway. Another year, it was so stiflingly hot we could hardly bear the heat. The next year it was so unseasonably cold and windy we could hardly enjoy the hammocks on the veranda. Then there were the years where we had to deal with rat infestations, and the year where an arsonist almost burned the entire place to the ground. Yes, there are many stories to be told!

I wish I could say that this year's story is just about sand erosion, rats, or the weather. But it's not. This year's uniqueness has to do with recent political turmoil that has disrupted life in some way for just about everyone living in Mozambique. There have been many repercussions for us too. One of these was that we needed to take an alternate route south for this trip rather than take the in-country main highway where the military convoy has been the target of recent attacks. 

We took the convoy less than 2 months ago while on a business trip to South Africa. It was safe then, but things have since deteriorated and shootings and attacks are common. So we made the decision to get to our southern Mozambican destination via our neighbouring countries Zimbabwe and South Africa. Talk about taking the long way though. It was a 3 day trip as opposed to a 9 or 10 hour drive.

It has been a long time since we have been to Zimbabwe, and after paying $75/person for single entry visas, not counting other border costs, it's no wonder. There are now also several toll charges of USD $1 each to drive the main road south.

After our long, drawn out trip, we were weary and very happy to arrive at our destination! As I write this, we are concerned for Mozambique and her people. After 20 years of peace and development, the country has recently been plagued with hot spots of  civil unrest, fighting, and increasing violent crime.  There is a serious breakdown in communication and goodwill between the ruling and opposition parties, and much like our childhood's crack in the pavement, it is bringing calamity and pain to people. The country, especially youth, agonizes over events as they unfold. Just when things were going so well! Municipal elections are being held in less than 2 weeks and this does little to ease tensions, of course. We are keeping abreast as possible of the situation and so far in our area, things have been quiet and life goes on as usual. We do trust that once elections are over, things will settle for everyone and that this December will be one in tune with the season--that of renewed peace and hope.

Otherwise, for me, life has been a blur with the busyness of things. A key staff member left to pursue his career further north recently and it landed a heap of student photo taking and data collecting in my lap. I am training one of the health workers to take on most of this, but first he has to learn to type. So yes, there is much learning to be done yet! All in all, about 400 records needed to be updated (current student info, photo, and letter), but we have now completed that so we are rejoicing. I am so thankful for the enthusiasm of all those who work alongside us. 

This is what my desk and life have been occupied with primarily for the last few months. Reading the students' letters to their sponsors has been heart warming though.I love the attention and detail they put into their artwork...what a great avenue for creativity and expression it is. Like the mirror of one's heart. 

                       "Me taking pictures of students taking pictures of me." Fair's fair. 

For now though, let me sign off. There is a break I must enjoy :) 

Take care, and keep Mozambique in your thoughts and prayers.

Life's joys, life's trials

Oh hello, hope I'm not disturbing any important animal business here under the humans' outdoor kitchen... Will you all be long?

These Zebras and horses were occupying an outdoor kitchen at Bundu Lodge where we stayed on a recent trip to south africa as we had meetings to attend at Mercy Air and business to get done done...there's always business to get done! Janette Stone accompanied us and this sort of closed off her time in Africa as she left from here to go home to Canada shortly after we left to return to Mozambique.

We were driving and although we find the whole affair of driving for 2 x 9-10 hour days familiar and in some ways interesting, we're starting to think there are times it would best be done over 3 days. For one thing, it would make for no night time driving which in itself would increase the safety factor a lot since these roads are poor at the best of time and treacherous at night: no (or narrow) broken shoulders, pot holes, animals on the road, pedestrians on the shoulders, vehicles with no lights, no reflectors even, and there are always those who have had a few too many.

Anyway, we stopped at his place at about the half way point, mostly for old times' sake. We stopped here on our first ever trip up north while we and our friends were still "scouting out the land" for a possible move. That was shortly after the end of the war and things were in MUCH worse shape. The highway was a mere crumbling strip of asphalt being taken over by briars and littered with burnt out vehicles.  We were about 10 people on that trip, so we ordered sandwiches from the humble assortment available on the menu, mostly cheese sandwiches and egg sandwiches. The waiter disappeared momentarily then came back to say, "We have no cheese, and we only have some eggs, and we don't have enough cokes for everyone." Something to that effect, anyway. One of those cases where they really should have changed their menu before setting it in front of clients :)

Oh well, that's what keeps life interesting. Today, the place is fixed up nicely and the town is bustling with productive activity. We stopped for breakfast and turns out they had everything on the menu! Progress is a wonderful thing.

This is the place, in the Maxixe area.

We got home pretty tired but also ready to take on the next week's Intensive Seminar once again. We hit a sad bump over the first weekend though when one of our sponsored students who had been struggling with his health for awhile lost the battle and lost his life. It felt terribly wrong to have taken a boy to hospital in the back seat of our vehicle, and then to return him home in a casket. I dislike those difficult moments. There are lots of questions, and heaviness. But those are also the times that stretch and grow our faith like no other.  This boy was an orphan and had seen his share of difficulty, but his willing disposition and happy face bore testament to the hope he had inside and he will surely be missed. We are so grateful for the time given to us all to invest in him and love him and we look forward to seeing him again one day.

The following week, ready or not, rolled around. About 50 monitors attended the seminar, and it was a great time. Six of the monitors were ready for the health course (it's the last of 25 courses they have to complete in order to graduate), so that kept me busy for the week. They were a very engaged group and we had some discussions that were motivating for us all. At the end, they all passed their exam with good marks, yay!

Here's Dwight feeding our latest wildlife project: Punkin (we got her at the end of October). She's a duiker and was orphaned, so kids came looking to sell her and Dwight couldn't turn her away.

Our weather has been terribly dry and unseasonably cool this year, but a few weeks ago the heavens broke loose a bit and we got some much needed rain. Oh we needed it so badly, people couldn't plant their crops and animal numbers (wildlife and domestic) were dropping. Not enough to eat = sickness. 

One thing that does happen when it rains though is that flying ants come out in hoards! They beat crazily about lights, lose their wings, pair off, then that's the end of it and all you're left with is the job of trying to clean up those silly, feather weight wings. It's nearly impossible.

Once seminar was over, it was time for Dwight and I to get a bit of R&R time. Felt like it had been forever and we were really very tired and so ready for it. So we headed south to our favorite spot again.  It was a good trip except for the flying ants (I guess). We hit several "herds" of them, and oh my. What. A. Mess. You can't wind-wiper off, that just smears them. You need some soapy water and a serious scrubbing tool.

Service station shops are few and far in between, but when we found one, we'd stop and dwight would dutifully clean the windscreen. Once it's been real messy, it always surprises me just how crystal clear it looks once it's been cleaned.

So there's an elephant crossing south of the Save River. I have never seen an elephant cross there in all our years, but I like that they obviously must since there are signs. One sign even says "Afternoon Elephant Crossing", or something like that. Just so you know, in case you were wondering.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our getaway and prepare to pick up tomorrow where we left off.  There's quite a bit of driving to be done, so let's hope flying ant season is over.

Instructions

Although sometimes instructions seem redundant, or untimely, they are always important. That's because following them can save you lots of good things like time, effort, and even valuable points on a test. Thankfully, I wasn't the one writing a test this week. But these youngsters were.

This is the group of 5th graders who recently "graduated" from the mission school's Grade 5 and who want to go on to Grade 6 next year at an external school. This will be necessary until we are granted permission to add higher grades to our school.

One of the steps in the process is that students undergo a simple evaluation of the 3 "R's" (reading, writing and arithmetic). In the above photo, they're getting a quick orientation to the process as well as an introduction to staff members who will be monitoring them during the test.

Then, they split off into groups of 6-10 for their evaluations. Joao and I took one group on our veranda.

Hmm, serious stuff.

Once I was done helping with the reading evaluations, I took a few moments to pop my head in on the other groups.

This group sat in the "internet office" under Celestino's watchful eye (he's quite the stickler for discipline and detail). For the brief moment I was there, I heard him reminding the youngsters to "...observe the instructions at the top of the math page. It says to 'Calculate'. I want to remind you that when it says 'calculate', it means show all your work, fully, in proper form. Don't just give the answer. You'll be docked points for not showing your work."

I gulped hard for the kids, snapped this photo, silently wished them all the best, then backed out so they could concentrate.

Below is Matthew's little flock in the main office. They looked like they were pretty much done other than each still taking his/her turn outside to read their assigned piece of literature.

The two guys in the doorway are two of the school's teachers who accompanied the students. They were pacing back and forth, like worried parents, offering words of encouragement here and there.

And here's Prosper's group in the shade of the big tree in the front yard of the office. I see one boy looking up at the birds. Not tooooo much stress here.

All in all the process didn't take more than about an hour and then the students were off to their homes to enjoy the summer break. Celestino brought me their papers afterwards to quickly go over the results and pointed out that some of the students lost points for not having paid attention to the instruction "calculate" on the math page. "Calculate," he informed me, "doesn't mean to just write the answer. It means you have to show all your work, and your work has to be in order. 10's in the 10's place, 1's in the 1's place, and so on. Otherwise you make mistakes."

I sat straight and said, "Wow, Celestino. Sometimes I miss reading instructions too and just jump into the work. Good thing I didn't have to write this test...I may have flunked it entirely!" I was half joking, half serious. Half joking because the way they do long division here was mind bogglingly different to me. I recall learning a rather upside-down method in Brazil long ago, but I think this is even different to that!

Anyway, I'd meant to post this photo last week but I think it got left out by mistake. This is us, Francois and Joao (far right) with some of the school's first students when "school" was held under the trees. They are now adults and either settling down and starting their families or pursuing a vocation.


Below is oldest photo of the school I have on my laptop. By this point, we had transformed an old dilapidated farm laborers' dorm into a large one-room school house by covering it with a big thatched roof, extending the building's width, and putting blackboards on the walls. On Sundays, it was used as a church.

To wrap things up for this time, here are a few shots of a home visit Celestino and I made to a young mother who suffered a puff adder (viper) bite a few weeks ago. Thankfully the wound is healing up well and she is able to walk. After a few visits, we decided the family was ready to take over her dressing changes on their own, so we left supplies and all the instructions needed.

Celestino was the one who demonstrated and gave the instructions, of course. Concisely, and with attention to detail, as always :)

At the end, when we asked if the instructions were clear, the young lady nodded her head without hesitation. And so did this entire line of cute little onlookers as well.

That's good. Learn it now, kids. Be that attentive to instructions always and you'll do better, in general, on just about any of life's tests!

What marked your week?

Several things have marked this week for me. The first one was finding some CD's of "old music" (as our kids would call it) while I was searching for a computer software CD. I decided to pop them in for a listen after so many years. They were Petra's 'Beyond Belief', and 'Unseen Power'. What's funny is that even though my kids consider the music old-fashioned, it was pretty controversial in its day, mostly because of its style. Some people figured listening to Petra was "trying to walk the edge without falling in". After listening to them again though, I have to say that the messages those songs carry still challenge and inspire me. So for me, that is the music of the month. Old or not.

Another thing that marked this week was contact with friends I haven't heard from in a long time. I need to keep moving on the main theme here so will keep this short, but I remember this couple as being an inspiration AND a ton of fun during a year that held certain challenges for me as a teenager.

Okay, onto the party. I think I've mentioned recently that the end of October marks the end of the school year here in Moz. So this is the mission's "School's Finished" party.

The party took place in the open air, in the shade.
The balloons helped make the day feel that much more special.
Special thanks to Francois (Rauch) and the school teachers for all their work not only throughout the year, but also for the work that went into this wonderful celebration.

But first, we had to get there. The school is off back in the bush and this year with the bush fires, the one bridge had burned down. There is a round-about way but it is much longer, so we opted for off-roading through the dry riverbed.

You can see the burned bridge in the photo below.


By the time we got there, a fair sized crowd was already there waiting for things to begin. Here are some of the students waiting patiently.


The sun was shining brightly, and it's HOT this time of year. As the sun moved, we kept having to move the seating arrangement around to get into the shade.

There was a table full of prizes for those with best marks. Even a bicycle! In the end though, no one went home empty handed. Everyone got something.


There was no dry ice show or confetti for the prize winners, but there were plenty of bubbles!


It was nice to see parents and grandparents alike attending the event.

This is my friend Val and with her kids and grandkids. She was in the women's literacy class back a few years when I taught it and although she only speaks local dialect and I only speak Portuguese and English, we somehow manage to communicate the basics. We don't see each other often anymore, but when we do, there's always an immediate connection.

One of the mommies attending the event.
Here, she and her two little ones are headed up to the water pump for a drink to cool off.

After the prize giving ceremony, plasticized ID cards were handed out to all the kids from the sponsorship program. A picture of yourself is an absolute luxury out here, and these that are especially prepared and sent over from Canada for these children are quite the treasure. The card is brightly colored and has a picture of themselves plus an inspirational verse to encourage them.

Handing out the cards. The fun part for me is watching their reactions.

Examining the photo and verse closely.

Yipee!

In the center here is (I believe to be) our smallest preschooler. She used to receive milk at the clinic from the milk program, and now that she attends preschool, she receives nutritious food each day.

Even she takes a loooong look at her beautiful card!

Smiles all around!

The girl in blue below acted quite cool about the whole card thing initially but I noticed that she withdrew to a quieter spot by the wall to examine hers. And then I caught that cute smile that I knew was inside somewhere wanting to come out!

Haha, then she caught me and saw my smile too ;)

The kids gave several very boisterous cheers to all who make it possible for them to go to school, have a lunch program, receive prizes, have a party, etc.

So for all those of you who give, pray, and love these kids from afar,

A HUGE CHEER AND SHOUT OF THANK YOU TO YOU!
Thank you for being an inspiration to so many beautiful lives.

Just Do It. (Nike has a point.)

There is a time for thinking and planning, but there is also a time for seeing an idea to completion. Even if it's a bit of a stretch.

This week, we're happy that my niece and her husband "just did it". After some thinking about it and planning, they finally came to visit us. From the bustling metropolis of Seattle, U.S.A. to the rural bush in Mozambique. In more than one way, this is a stretch!

Landing in Beira (after several long distance flights)

Boarding the Cessna to go "more rural"

Dwight, Royden and Ruth
(I tried to get myself in the shot but didn't quite pull it off.)

Closer to our destination

It's been a great week getting caught up and showing them around. One of our stops was to visit the mission school. Since Royden is an award winning photographer, illustrator and animator, and Ruth is a registered nurse, we used the opportunity to encourage the kids to follow their example--stay in school, have a plan (a dream) for their lives, then "do it".

Drawing a giraffe for the first class.
I bet he's never had to draw on a cement plastered blackboard before!

Drawing a smiling cartoon child's face for the 2nd class.

No one bored here!

One of the boys took the "do it" challenge quite seriously and copied Royden's giraffe drawing on the back of his notebook. Now that's what we like to see :)


After all the class visiting and drawing, it's lunch time.

Helping Pastor Tome dish up food

Mmmmm

Today, we visited a church in the Nhanhata area which is not too far from our home. The pastor of this church is studying with the mission's leadership program. It was quite the event, even for us who have been here for many years...

The joyful drumming, shaker shaking and hand clapping was pretty loud
inside this humble bush church. (The shakers above are made by filling about 5 tin cans with seeds, puncturing the tops and bottoms, then sliding them onto a stick.)

We each gave a greeting and then Dwight shared a word of encouragement with the congregation--that God is always with us to help and enable us. We are never alone.

This church, like most churches out here, is crudely built out of poles, plastic and grass. But they have a dream for a better structure one day. Here's the building plan all approved, authorized, and stamped. (As all matters official must be out here.)


Nice thing is, not only do they have a plan, but they're already busy making the necessary bricks out of mud. They're all ready to be baked and once that's done, construction can get underway.

That was pretty nice to see too.

And after all that singing, clapping, and visiting, it was lunch time.

We were honored and offered a good meal of food typical to this area: stiffly cooked maize meal served with stewed chicken. Eaten not exactly Seattle-style, but rather with one's fingers.

That was a stretch too, but we did it :)