Dona Elena

This is the axe that was made for me by one of the boys who used to attend our school. He is now a young man who farms his plot of land and does a bit of iron work/tool making on the side. I ordered an axe from him because we had no axe at our house to cut fire wood with (to use in our hot water donkey...an outside tank under which a fire is built). I told him if he makes nice axes I would like to order one. I usually order from another older gentleman, but he was not around on this particular day. "Oh yes, I make good axes. I'll bring yours next week." So one night of the following week when we arrived home late a found an axe leaning up against my veranda wall (I nearly stumbled over it on the dark sidewalk). I was happy to see he had made it so soon, but my heart really melted when I saw the local version of my name burned into the handle! I'm usually addressed by other terms of respect, as in this culture there are several (Mama being one of them), but none of those include my name. Except this one, Dona Elena (or Mrs. Lynn). The last thing I felt like doing was send this axe into the bush to be used to chop wood, but alas, a cold shower isn't terribly appealing either!

As promised, here is the picture of the 10 boys who are apparently on their way to Grade 6 at a school about 15 km down the highway. We've received a report that they have vacancies at the school, now we just need to find a place for them to live. The mission, parents and school are working together on this and things are proceeding in an orderly fashion. We've learned some of what to do and what not to do from previous experiences. And to answer the question, "Why only boys?", actually, after our last school meeting we were approached by several parents whose girls do in fact also want to go on to Grade 6. The parents of the girls will be responsible to make sure there are vacancies, locate a hut where they can live and make sure someone responsible can remain there with them. You can bet that there are 10+ very excited younsters there! Some of these boys were pulled from field work for the photo shoot...

Orphan food distribution day is always a special time in its own way. Here mission staff unload bags of maize, rice, oil and other pertinent items. The home we're delivering to is the home of a widow who cares for 7 children. But the point of this photograph was actually to point out Joao, in the white shirt. His dad took Bible studies through the mission but passed away about 3 years ago. Last year Joao, after completing Grade 12 and some Bible study as well, approached the mission with an interest to serve as a volunteer but also with a request for the mission to help sponsor him through university in Maputo, Mozambique. He's a fine young man who has served the mission with his whole heart over this past year while he has awaited notice of acceptance from the university. Last week he had the opportunity to go to Maputo himself to follow up on his application (only 2 students from each province are accepted per discipline). We were sad to see him go, it felt like another of our kids leaving the nest (he often called me "Mae" or "Mom"), but at the same time we're excited for him. We know the Lord has something special in store for his life.

This feels like a long entry so I better close for now, besides, it's past lunchtime and am I hungry! I put on several km's I'm sure back and forth from generator to office to wooden hut and back again just to get all the hook-ups organized to work on the computer AND email. Bush life is sure labour-intensive :). TTYL.

Mozambique...we love the way you look!

These first few are for you Heather:


Orphan boys who receive monthly food and support from the mission. Aren't they cute? Laughing at a joke during a school meeting. These are some of our school kids moms.

The first phase of the "Raising the Roof" project at our school...taking the old roof down! Part of the plan includes finally partitioning off the wide open spaces into individual classrooms. Please pray for safety for our guys as they tackle this job.

And last but not least (well, the importance of the subject is I guess), this is for my kids. Ah, the memories eh?

I'm cutting the story telling short this time because it's late and I really have to go cook supper for us and the guys. We've had a great week with 1 meeting with the provincial health department and a productive school meeting. The health department would like to see us expand the current (newest) clinic to become a "Heath Centre" which would encompass more of the activities we would also like to see happening in this area like visits from opthalmologists, etc. It would also be staffed by 1 or 2 fully trained Mozambican nurses. So we're praying about the details to move in that direction. Part of the school meeting discussion was about the possibility of sending 10 boys off to "higher" education (grade 6) at a school just down the highway. Some solutions are needed like a place to stay since it's far from their homes, and whether or not there is room for them in the class for this year. It's an exciting possibility for these boys. I'll try to post their picture in my next blog. For now, I have to skidaddle. TTYL

It’s Rudolph. No…it’s Donder, or Blitzen

We weren’t sure what to name this newest addition to our pet collection. It’s a baby Duiker who is still learning to drink from a bottle and walk on the tile floor (hence the “flat-buck” or “Bambi-on-ice” position). This was unplanned, as many late additions are, but there he was at the side of the highway a few days ago being held up by a small boy for all passing traffic to see. When we asked how much they wanted for it, he stated (obviously verbatim as per his dad’s instructions), “100.00 or 90.00 MTN” (about US$4). I smiled, and then we started the process of negotiating the final price. As it turns out, this is the most vocal Duiker we’ve ever had, hence the toss up between naming it (her actually) Donder or Blitzen. Donder relates more to sound, but Blitz, in this part of the world anyway, is a term used for giving someone a piece of your mind. I think Blitz may just stick!

I guess New Year’s wishes are in order. Our new year is starting off with lots of rain and a long list of work that urgently needs to be done. We had a terribly hot December with very little rain. There were threats of thunderstorms, but that’s all they did, thunder. No rain. But yesterday, on New Year’s Day, it must have been THE day to rain because it poured cats and dogs for awhile, then continued a steady rain for several hours. It’s still raining today. Everyone is rejoicing because it’s a perfect rain and it’s covering large area instead of the sometimes spotty rain we get during drought years. A few more rains like this at spaced intervals will certainly reduce the threat of hunger this year.

The rain also increases the urgency of the mission’s prospective roofing projects. Thankfully our little cottage has its roof up, the mission office as well, but the school’s roof and a needy family’s home desperately need attention…now! So today we chose a “roofing team” from our staff who will start tackling these projects. Their first job will be to pull the old thatched roof off the school and take all the supports, posts and beams down. This should only take a few days…if it doesn’t rain all week! I’ll post pictures of their work as it happens. We’ll use the opportunity to put much-needed dividers between the classrooms as well. It’s always exciting to see things develop!

Well, my time is up so I better run along for now. TTYL.

The View From Where We Live

This is the land of outcrops, or at least this part of Mozambique is. Beautiful isn't it? Zimbabwe is just beyond that farthest mountain (not sure if it fits that category). The top picture was taken from the old farm across the fields. This bottom one is from the new mission farm, this is the view if you stand beside the new woodshop being built.

Here's the guest cottage we will be moving into. This is the day the roofing was put on (thanks Jeremiah).

A view of the inside. Foreground: kitchen, room at far end: front room, then a veranda off that. This is a pretty small house, so the veranda will have to house my washing machine, freezer, office desk, etc. It'll be a multipurpose room!

Well, I can hear the bang of thunder drawing closer and closer, so I should post this before I lose signal! Thanks for all your comments folks, it's the icing on a blogger's cake.

TTYL

African Christmas without kids, snow, etc.

At least we had electricity now and again to run the fan, lights and CNN! But that's not what made this year's Christmas feel weird. It was partly because we have no kids to provide some of the motivation to "get the show on the road" this year. Part of the weird ness was just because of the busyness of late, too many trips and being away from the house. The fact that all my baking pans and nice dishes were still packed in the container didn't help. Even our turkey had to go in a tin foil roasting pan this year.

Trying to decorate without power for lights and after a long, hot day working on the other farm. Not alot of Christmas spirit here!

Our Christmas day braai (BBQ dinner) in high 30's weather. Pant, pant. The food was great though, as was the company. After the sun went down we had a good game of Badminton. Then we were really sweating!

One of the nice tents we purchased for team visits. I just realized I pretty much match the tent colour!

My other two kids...or they might as well be since they spent TONS of time in our home when they were younger. This is for you, Russ and Amanda.

I better get this posted before I lose it all! Enjoy the white stuff for us:)

Smooth Sailing, At Least For Today

I write this paragraph as we drive south on Mozambique’s EN1 highway…the one highway that connects the capital, Maputo, in the south to the remainder of the country. We’ve made this trip many times, but today’s trip is different. Our maiden voyage along the EN1 in 1996 was tortuous. It seemed as if the 18 hour trip consisted mainly of negotiating our way through one huge pothole only to enter the next, and so on. Overgrown thorn bushes encroached on the crumbling asphalt reclaiming territory long lost. But where pot holes and scrubby thorn bushes ruled, there were few signs of human life. That was 10 years ago. Today, many sections along the EN1 are lined with patches of cleared land as people move in and plant crops of pineapple, cassava and spindly maize. The unruly bush has been cut back and subdued. The potholes are another story. They have stood the test of time and progress. Despite a number of road rehab projects funded by the nations of the world conspiring together to rid the EN1 of potholes forever…the potholes have managed to re-group and resurface time and time again. Today the EN1 is oddly different. As the result of yet another, apparently a bigger and better recent road-rehab effort, we have fairly smooth sailing (with painted lines to boot)! Apart from a handful of stubborn potholes that have successfully reclaimed their rightful piece of asphalt, the EN1 is currently 98% pothole free! Of course, the rainy season is yet to come. We’ll see who wins the next round.


The sun setting over Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. We made a 1 day quick trip there with Ed, Dorene and Jeremiah. It was a unique experience, the heat was intense, and this picture turned out even better than it looked to the naked eye I think! I love it.






Other news: (in point form to save time and the work of reading for you)

-Our dog, Mushu (NB: we didn’t name him), had tick fever (Biliary) just after Ed and Dorene’s arrival. He was so weak he couldn’t even turn himself over in his bed (read: this mommy had to turn him frequently and carry him places). I tried to treat him for the first few days in vain. Finally we took him to town and amazingly found a lab that ran tests (he’d rather I not detail them…he was not impressed). Equally amazing—he was diagnosed and the drug we needed was available so he got, yes, another poke. (Oops, that’s giving one of the tests away.) Point of interest about the drug: the only available form (in bulk—a powder for reconstitution) was a packet sufficient to inject 3000 kg’s worth cattle mind you! I think it took some fancy division efforts on the vet’s part to figure out how much to give a little 7 kg dog.

-After working themselves to a standstill for several weeks, Ed and Dorene’s return date summoned them home to cooler temperatures. We miss them already. Oh Dorene, another “squirrel” came to call after you left. May he rest in peace, tail intactJ. I guess he missed you too!

-Did I mention our Litchi harvest? Wow, here's a picture of just how wonderful it was. Around 5 tons were harvested altogether, 3 tons were of export quality. The company we sold to said our Litchis made up around 70% of Mozambique’s export market to Europe. Wow. We’re pretty proud. And wow, that’s not very many Mozambican Litchi’s on the world market! There are lots of farmers coming to us to buy seedlings but it will take several years before their trees can produce much.



-The local people have been asking me which days I’ll be working in the clinic. They say they need to see me because I “know stuff” J. Even though I haven’t had an official day doing work in the clinic yet with Ernesto, I’m approached on a regular basis by people with physical struggles. Some cases are baffling and some are straight forward. One of our staff, who may have had a mild stroke, was put on a sedative twice a day (for several months) and his complaint was that he was sleepy, stumbled often and was having weird dreams. I told him to drop the sedative, which he did, and he says he feels better already!

-Okay, end of point-form news items that were a long read anyway!

I had the below blurb ready to post awhile back but internet was down during our first few weeks back in the bush. I’ve decided to go ahead and post it now anyways.

November 22nd, 2006
THIS OLD HOUSE…

…has seen many faces and lodged many people in the last 2 years, but it’s obvious the housewife has not been around! It was good to finally see our old home again, but the natural deterioration of things has made for a rough start. At a glance, the house itself looked fine, but housewives always see more than meets the average eye. At least that’s what my family tells me. The nooks and crannies, pantry shelves and many other places practically called out to me to relieve them of the dust, cobwebs and packages of obsolete items they’ve been holding for quite some time. Our attic is alive with a variety of energetic rodents, and my counter tops swarm with ants if I leave even just a crumb of bread behind. My flower beds on the other hand show signs of the struggle for survival against the long dry winter. The12v power source in our house also took strain during this time and the batteries have little reserve, so we’ve had a few candlelight dinners. And until we get our refrigeration up to speed I expect we’ll have warm water with those dinners L. The solar lights we brought back from Canada to place in our yard are definitely the brightest spots for miles around! On a more positive note, we know from past experience that re-entry to bush life is always bumpy, but in time it gets better. We only have a month and a half left before we move out of this house and hopefully into a finished guest cottage on the new mission farm. Many of this old house’s ills (mice, leaking taps, an ant invasion…) will simply have to be remedied by the new owners. If I can wait that long.

This is the day after our arrival home. I realized I couldn't unpack into the pantry until I had cleaned it out first. Here's a shot of that glorious moment!









Tomorrow we pick up guests in Beira (Ed, Doreen and Jeremiah) and I think we’re ready for them…sort of. We bought food yesterday and got a freezer working so at least we can feed them. There’s lots of work waiting for them so maybe they’ll be too busy to notice their slightly shabby surroundings! Ha, ha. Right.

Our pets were fine on our return having been taken VERY good care of. Mushu (the dog) seems happy enough to be back with us, but our cat, Ebony, is taking a bit of coaxing. She moved in with one of our Mozambican staff who’s living nearby and she’s in no hurry to give this young guy up for us. I guess we’ll have to beg, plead and bribe her back. Cats! That’s why they say cats have staff, not owners.

I guess this nutshell version brings things sort of up-to-date. When Dwight gets our generator up and running today we “get to” do laundry. Yes, when you take power out of the equation, certain things move out of the “have to” and into the “get to” realm. That’s probably true of most things in life.


Three girls sitting at the front in church listen to Ed preach. Looks like they're pretty intent on what he's saying! It's quite common for the women and kids to sit on the floor for meetings if there aren't enough places to sit. They don't seem to mind at all. I've tried it too, but I on the other hand, minded. Everything hurt after about half an hour, ankles, knees, back, even my wrists hurt from holding me up. Ouch! What was it the preacher spoke on that day??? I'll have to think long and hard about that one. But hey, I SURE remember the pain! What a pansy.

I guess I'll close with that. We'll be in South Africa over the next 3 or so days getting a ton of business done, then it's off to the bush again to celebrate a hot Christmas. TTYL.

Inter-bush-net

Yes, after a rough re-entry with no internet hook-up for several weeks...we're online again. Sort of. There's so much to write, and I've started just that many times in my thoughts, but now that I sit down under the open sky in +37 weather I don't know where to begin! I also don't have much time so that sort of dampens creativity too. I've taken some pictures that are quite descriptive on their own, and as soon as I can, I'll post them. We had about a week to settle in, get our house habitable again and ready for company before they actually arrived. It's been a whirlwind of cleaning, rediscovering, unpacking, cooking, talking, building and laughing together. Ed and Doreen head home in just a few days and what a huge help they've been in helping us get roof trusses up, windows in and a gazillion other jobs we lured them into! We love them. Jeremiah is here a little longer and spends so much time in the hot sun it rather worries me. He seems to like life in Moz though and even has a friend Camelian (?sp).

Otherwise, settling in is going to take some time for me. I've been gone for awhile and will have to be patient with the process of readjusting. I still have our little doggy shadowing my every step like before, and our cat, Ebony, has come back home to us. (She had moved in with a young Mozambican gentleman, Joao, and they were pretty sweet on each other :D).

I better run along for this time. This is just to let you know we're still alive and kicking in Mozambique!

TTYL