Life in Mozambique

Prayer Requests

2011-11-05T14:25:00.000+02:00

Our team traveling to Zimbabwe just left around noon today (Saturday). It will take them about two days to get there in the orphanage truck. The roads in Mozambique are extremely dangerous so please pray for their safety. Please also pray that God will teach them a lot through the YWAM Youth Leadership Conference. And please pray for the protection of all the kids who are back at the orfanato. Thank you for your prayers - they make a huge difference here!

Youth Leaders Trip To YWAM Conference In Zimbabwe

2011-11-04T18:19:00.002+02:00

Look how little luggage Mozambicans are able to travel to another country with!!!

Early tomorrow morning we are taking a team of youth leaders on a trip to Zimbabwe to attend a YWAM conference on youth leadership. Victor found out about the conference through our friend Elias, who is with YWAM, and decided to take our staff and several other young people and pastors who work with kids and young people in the church. Going on any trip inside the country is a huge big deal here, so going on a trip outside the country is basically too exciting for words. Most of the people going on the trip expressed to us that this trip is exceeding their wildest dreams for anything they ever imagined doing!

The Team: Back: Fernandes, Pedro, Gabriel, Victor, Pastor Basilio, Silva, Elias, Elídio; Front: Samuel, Jaime our driver, Osvaldo, Marta, Antonio, Tomás, Mario, and Adelia.

The Leaders: Elias (YWAM), Marta (Evanjáfrica), Victor (Evanjáfrica), and Pastor Basilio (Asembleia de Deus Avante Pela Fé)

Last minute tire repairs.

Mechanics working on finishing touches before the trip.

New benches in the back.

Loading the luggage.

The team in the back of the Orphanage Truck, which a group of mechanics have been madly working on since it was destroyed in a crash a short while ago.

The kids look on from the shade of a nearby tree.

The drivers: Jaime and Victor.

The team with the truck, good as new again!

More kids look on from under another tree.

And life in the orfanato continues on in the background (these three are serious about improving their goal posts for lots of soccer when the team is gone)!

Sunday Night Open Air Service

2011-10-30T18:41:00.002+02:00

Almost a year ago we began having an open air church service every Sunday night under a big cashew tree in the orphanage. The service goes from 4pm to 5pm just when the shadows are long enough to keep everyone in the shade. Marta prays and the orphanage band leads singing. Then Victor preaches and then people who want can get prayed for. We have loud speakers so the whole neighborhood can hear the service and some people say that they listen to the singing and messages from their homes. Other people have heard and then started coming. Besides the kids in the orphanage and some neighbors, youth groups from different churches and even many of our friends from the Congo come once or twice a month. After the whole thing is over some go home while others stay for hours into the night singing and dancing along with the band. The service has a really great feel to it and it's a really nice way to reconnect with God one more time before the weekend comes to a close.

Victor preaching.

Dorcas and Yohani in the audience.

Girls Dorm Cleaning

2011-10-28T17:38:00.000+02:00

Many "housekeeping" (literally in this case) things turn into whole-day events when you are doing them with over 40 kids. And fire is usually involved when it's in Africa. A few weeks ago there was a gigantic cleaning out of the boys dorm and then a week later, of the girls dorm. It's actually more like a room inspection or "locker check" type thing and then everything that should or doesn't need to be in the kids' possession (as determined by the staff) gets thrown into a blazing fire bin. The boys seem to handle this fine, but the last time the girls dorm was "cleaned out" (monitored by Victor and TJ) it resulted in a lot of tears and hysteria (from the girls, not from Victor and TJ). So this time the staff was determined to have a spring cleaning that was nice and peaceful (and the boys were there to watch in case it wasn't).

Clearing everything out of the (temporary) girls dorm.

Virginia, Nolita, Tercia and Regina trying to sort through their stuff before Victor comes to see what items need to be thrown in the blazing fire bin.

Some of the boys watched from the doorway of their dorm.

Canito and Samito.

The wiser ones watched from a distance.

Francisco, Manuel, and Yohani.

And the wisest ones just went to the other side of the property and stayed under the mango trees by the well until the whole thing was over.

Belson, Merecido, TJ, Celso, Little Victor, Jose, Jordão, Gil, and Jeremias.

The blazing fire bin burned the entire day.

There is no trash collection or disposal system here so you have to burn everything (yourself). This really means everything - like plastic tubs, suitcases, batteries - everything. (I'm sure you can imagine how good it smells and how long the aroma of plastic (and other things that should never be burned) lingers after the fire is put out! But the smell reminds me of traveling in other parts of the world so it always gives me good memories.)

The whole day went well and the girls were able to part with the things they "didn't need" and even appreciated being able to go back into a fresh and clean dorm at the end of the day. It is sometimes really entertaining to watch Victor and the other guys on staff handling the teenage girls when they act like American teenage girls. But it's a good thing that the kids are in an environment where they are comfortable enough to be themselves when they are happy and also when they are frustrated. And ideally you want every experience to be a learning experience. During the last cleaning out several of the girls had huge melt-downs when stuff they were not supposed to have got taken away. Afterwards there were a lot of meetings and discussions over how the whole thing went and this time everyone was more prepared and had good attitudes about the cleaning day. And our kids are really, really great. Even cleaning is fun with them and certain kids always bring energy and laughter to the most seemingly un-fun situations!

Leonora's Lunch

2011-10-25T12:12:00.001+02:00

Me, Regina, Leonora, Gabriel, Marta, and Zaqueio eating Leonora's birthday lunch.

Victor, Yohani, and TJ eating the birthday lunch.

A few weeks ago Leonora turned 21 and she came up with a little bit of money to make lunch for the staff and a few of the oldest kids here. She and Regina made chicken, coconut rice, and salad, and they got refrescos too. It's really amazing and fun when the older kids initiate doing something on their own and then include us in it!

Nolita and Cocas

2011-10-22T21:31:00.002+02:00

Nolita and Cocas making pink heart cookies.

I really love Nolita and Cocas, two girls in the orphanage. They both came from pretty difficult situations when they first arrived here a few years before I did. I used to really worry about them when they were about 12 and 11 – seeing how much they would have to struggle to overcome the situations that led them to the orphanage. Now they are 15 and 14 and they are both doing really great!

I used to do occasional baking projects with all the girls at once but it was such a huge ordeal that we hardly ever did it. Then I finally realized that if I just worked with two girls at a time (week after week) – they could actually really learn to bake and cook well and then teach others.

Even within the chaos of the entire group baking/cooking (like 20 girls at once, which is really fun but really crazy) I was kind of shocked to learn that Cocas and her older sister Minoca had actually learned to bake a cake! Once in a while the kids get a chance to go out and visit their relatives and the last time Cocas and Minoca went they came back and told me they had baked a cake for their relatives and the family had loved it! This really touched me and made me realize they were getting much more out of the opportunity to cook than I realized was possible in this setting.

So I decided that I would just work with two girls at a time and I chose Cocas and Nolita because they were two of the girls who have not been involved with the other things going on (like the band and different things that come up in the orphanage, at church, or in school).

This has been a really great thing for me and I think for them too! I at first planned to just work with the two of them for about a month, then extended it to two months and now it’s been almost a year. I can just see how valuable the whole thing is and I don’t want to end it with these two.

I know that to most people reading this – it doesn’t seem like it would be difficult to learn to cook with measuring spoons. But here it is a pretty foreign thing and when I have worked with different women and girls here– using measuring spoons has been a really difficult thing to “get” (and don’t even get me started on the concept of fractions (not) being taught (for understanding) in school here). So I know this may not sound like a huge “feat” – but if you could see how difficult a thing it is to follow a written recipe here . . . We can now just give Cocas and Nolita a recipe and they can go into the kitchen and basically bake anything by themselves – and I am very happy and impressed with them for this!

During the week we usually ask the kids what they want us to bake for breakfast Sunday morning and they usually want corn bread (my mom's yellow cake corn bread recipe but with corn flour). Other favorites are banana bread, carrot cake, and cinnamon rolls. Then each Saturday the girls walk down the road and buy eggs from the local egg seller. Recently the egg sellers have become interested in what they're doing with the eggs and when they heard that they were making "cakes" they wanted to know what kind. When they heard they were "American cakes," the egg sellers got even more interested and then asked if next week we could pay them in cake instead of money!

This week the girls asked if there was such thing as coconut cake and if so, could we make one? (Little do they know there is EVERY kind of cake.) We have coconut trees all over (including a really good one in the middle of the orphanage) but our coconuts (according to those who know these things) aren't ready. So this morning we came up with some change and then the girls went and bought some coconuts and grated all the coconut meat out with this little coconut grater stool thing (I'll put a picture up another time - it's a really good little contraption).

Right now Nolita and Cocas are in our kitchen baking coconut cake for all the kids for breakfast tomorrow morning and our house smells really good!

Counting in Macua

2011-10-10T00:21:00.005+02:00

How complicated could it really be?

You have NO idea!!!

Over the past few years I have listened to countless conversations in Macua, the local African language. I only know about 30 words in Macua and I get really excited whenever I am able to pick them out of a conversation. I can also recognize any Portuguese words that people use when there is no Macua equivalent, and I have noticed on numerous occasions that people always use Portuguese when they say numbers. Whenever I hear this I ask the people if they know how to count in Macua and this usually results in some arguing and confusion. Obviously people here counted before the Portuguese arrived but for some reason Macua numbers have been replaced by Portuguese numbers even for those who don’t speak Portuguese. I have always wondered why this was and planned to some day investigate it.

For Yohani’s birthday my mom sent him a really great book that teaches kids how to count in Swahili. As I started reading the book to Yohani I decided that if we (Yohani and I) are going to learn to count in Swahili, we should also learn to count in Macua (since Yohani IS Macua). I got my pen and paper and went over to where a group of kids, some neighbors, and our cook (who is a grandma and mainly only speaks Macua) were sitting near the cooking house. “Can you teach me how to count in Macua?” Again – big confusion, lots of discussion and arguing - nobody knows for sure. Finally everyone agrees to agree with whatever the grandma cook says. I write down the numbers. And then later I even find a website that claims to teach how to count to ten in every language in the world. I compare the 1-10 I got from the grandma cook, kids, and neighbors with the 1-10 on the website. They’re close enough. I feel that I have the right numbers and can now memorize them with confidence.

And the fascinating thing about the Macua (and some other Bantu) number system is that it is 5 based instead of 10 based. (This means it starts over after 5 instead of starting over after 10.) VERY interesting to me.

Counting from 1 – 10 in Macua (or so I though) . . .

1. èmózà

2. píli

3. tháru

4. xéxè

5. tânu

6. tânu ná mózà

7. tânu ná píli

8. tânu ná tháru

9. tânu ná xéxè

10. m'lókò

After seeing the whole base 5 number system thing I thought I knew why people must have switched to Portuguese numbers. If you’re counting by 5s instead of 10s, numbers are going to get really long and complicated really fast and it will be more confusing to talk about larger numbers.

Meanwhile . . . I had been searching for a Macua dictionary or grammar book for a long time now and I recently finally found one being sold on the street (Método Macua by Gino Centis). I bought the book and then excitedly looked through it. Sadly, I was immediately completely overwhelmed with the complexity of the language. Macua is REALLY complicated.

After a while I thought to myself that I would just find the page with the numbers 1-10 to confirm that at least I know ONE thing in Macua that is simple and straightforward (to encourage myself). Well . . . when I got to the page with the numbers I was in for a surprise. It turns out there is no simple “one, two, three” (or “emoza, pili, tharu”) in Macua. Instead there are four different ways to say every single number. There is one set of numbers for counting “atthu” (people), another set of numbers for counting “mahiku” (?), a third set for counting “itthu” (?), and a fourth for counting “miyeri” (?)!

There are four different ways to say EVERY SINGLE number!!! For example – if you want to say the number 2 – and you’re talking about 2 people, then you say “anli.” But if you’re talking about mavaka then you use the word “manli,” if you’re talking about itthu you use the word “pili,” and if you’re talking about mirima then you use the word “mili”!!! No wonder nobody can agree on how to simply count and no wonder people have just switched over to Portuguese!

As soon as I saw what was going on here I became so discouraged that I just decided to give up on the entire Macua language. I am already SO bad at learning other languages – simple counting being SO complex was the last straw for me.

Later that week I told Erica and Jonas about my “discovery” about Macua numbers and I showed them the page with the sets of numbers. Jonas looked at the page and started laughing and told us that one of the number sets was just for counting spears and another was for counting pots. Erica and I thought this was really funny and it actually kind of encouraged me to give the whole thing another try. I mean, how intriguing that there would be a whole set of numbers JUST for counting spears!!!

So in case anyone reading this actually cares . . . here is how you count in Macua (I think) . . .

If you are counting people:

1.mmosa

2. ànli

3. araru

4. axexe

5. athanu

6. athanu na mosa

7. athanu nànli

8. athanu n’aràru

9. athanu n’axexe

10. muloko

If you are counting spears:

1. nimosa

2. mànli

3. mararu

4. maxexe

5. mathanu

6. mathanu na mosa

7. mathanu na mànli

8. mathanu na mararu

9. mathanu na maxexe

10. muloko

If you are counting things (like pots):

1. emosa

2. pìli

3. tthàru

4. xexe

5. thanu

6. thanu na mosa

7. thanu na pìli

8. thanu na tthàru

9. thanu na xexe

10. muloko

And finally, if you are counting hearts, souls, consciences, lives, loves, understandings, and other things like that:

1. mmosa

2. mìli

3. miraru

4. mixexe

5. mithanu

6. mithanu na mosa

7. mithanu na mìli

8. mithanu na miraru

9. mithanu na mixexe

10. muloko

Macua’s pretty deep.

Truck Crash

2011-09-28T18:11:00.009+02:00

Last night our truck was in a bad accident. Amazingly nobody was killed or badly hurt. The truck was carrying food, not people, so none of the kids were in it when it crashed and the truck it collided with was not really damaged. Mainly we are just grateful that nobody was badly hurt. This is Africa. This is Mozambique. The risks on the road here can be very, very high. God has graciously kept us and our loved ones safe on the road time and time again. So thank you for all your prayers!

Concerning our truck – this truck has been FANTASTIC for the life of the orphanage. A few short years ago we were able to get it from one organization’s great generosity towards us. In our city everyone puts messages on their vehicles, so our truck says, “Jesus Christ is the King of Glory” (in Portuguese), and the kids all call the truck “Gloria.” Right now the cab of the truck is badly damaged but we are already working on repairs and it looks like our only serious challenge will be finding a new windshield.

Conversation of the Day:

2011-09-24T13:15:00.003+02:00

Today two of our little girls were braiding (my hair) for fun. These girls have played with me and called me “Mana Christina” a million times but now that they have Yohani I have suddenly become “the Mother of Yohani.” Listening to the way the kids word things (especially in another language) is always so entertaining to me . . .

Mena (age 7): You’re not old enough to braid yet. Go play with Yohani.

Dorcas (age 4): No! I need to make the Mother of Yohani’s hair look good.

Mena: Yohani wants you to play with him.

Dorcas: I can’t right now. I’m busy braiding the Mother of Yohani’s hair.

Mena: You have to go play with Yohani in case a bug comes and you have to kill the bug so that it won’t get him!

Dorcas: The Mother of Yohani will kill the bug when it comes!

Mena: No she won’t! The Mother of Yohani also needs someone who can kill bugs!

Dorcas and Yohani playing in our living room. Yohani LOVES Dorcas!!!

Mena (then age 3) and me when I first came to Mozambique.

Dorcas (then age 2) and me when she first arrived at the orfanato.

Dorcas, Mama Maria, Yohani, and Mena.

Animal of the Day: "Baby" Spider

2011-09-23T13:01:00.000+02:00

Isaty with the "baby" spider.

This morning I saw this large (in my mind large) spider descending from the mango tree I was sitting under. I asked the kids if it was dangerous and Isaty immediately jumped up and grabbed one of the spider’s legs and then Canito started playing with it and carrying it around on a little twig. I told them I didn’t want them to bring it to me because I was scared of it. They all thought this was really funny. After playing with the spider they placed him/her gently back in the tree, but the spider fell out. I asked if the spider was very old and about to die and the kids informed me that, no, he (or she) was just a “baby.” How did they know? Because this spider is so “little” and haven’t I seen the grown up ones? Yikes! Yes I have seen some gigantuan spiders here but this one seemed pretty big to me! If you can’t tell from the pictures the body of the spider is the size of a finger. Anyway . . . I am terrified of spiders but I actually started feeling sorry for this one when the kids were trying to help him climb back up into the tree. They kept placing him back on the trunk and trying to help him climb up, which he eventually kind of did.

The poor baby spider trying to climb back up the mango tree trunk. (I think he blends in a little too well.)

(On a side note - I noticed that the spider only had 7 legs and asked the kids if they thought he was hurt cause one leg was gone. They told me he was born this way and that in Mozambique spiders can have only 7 legs. I was starting to think they just weren’t educated about spiders enough but then I remembered all the times I’ve thought that only to be proven wrong and learn something new. The kids telling me this came from the jungle and I’m sure they’ve handled billions of spiders. So now I am just going to believe that some spiders in Mozambique are born with 7 legs, until proven otherwise.)

A close up of him (or her?). His (or her) body is the size of a finger and he (or she) is only a baby (according to the kids)!!!

Delicacy of the Day: Mowowo

2011-09-22T17:00:00.001+02:00

Mowowo.

One day I heard a huge commotion and then Jose crying and barely able to talk as he reported some injustice that had been inflicted upon him. Later when all had been restored to peace and Jose was happy again, I asked TJ what happened and he explained that someone hadn’t let Jose get any mowowo. “Wait. There’s a word, mowowo????” Yes – it’s the food crust still stuck to the bottom of the pot when it’s time to wash the dishes and the Macua word for it is “mowowo.” Okay - this may not seem funny to you reading about it but in the context of everything here – I think “mowowo” is the funniest word ever. The sound of “mowowo” somehow perfectly captures what is left in the pot – think something that looks like the remains of mashed potatoes or split pea soup. And mowowo is somehow like a delicacy to the kids. Don’t worry – they are getting good sized portions of food three times a day – but coming away from dinner with a palm full of beans scraped off the bottom of the pot seems to make anyone’s day here. And the fact that it’s called “mowowo” is just SO fitting.

Mowowo.

Merecido eating mowowo from a pot of matapa.

Sound of the Day: Batukis

2011-09-21T16:35:00.000+02:00

This may look like a peaceful scene, but TONS of noise and sometimes even raging fires come over this wall quite often.

This morning I woke up to the sounds of the batukis and I thought to myself, “Oh, the sounds of Africa.” Ironically I then remembered these same sounds drifting by my window in Wallingford whenever the free-spirited Seattleites had drum fests at the Good Shepherd Park near my parents’ house. But anyway . . . back to here in the deep heart of Africa . . . “Batukis” are traditional African drums. In our neighborhood here on the edge of the city batukis have long been replaced by radios and loud speakers playing reggae, hip hop, and Celine Dion music. But whenever the batukis do come back – it means there is a real traditional ceremony taking place.

The traditional ceremony of the day is the King of the Village, our neighbor, being crowned king. We all thought he was already the king but I guess today it becomes official with a batuki ceremony. The old king just recently passed away and he was really old and had been king since colonial times when our area was still “the jungle” and had lions roaming around in it and stuff. The new king is like a teenager (or young 20s?) and he is pretty different from the old king. Anyway . . . if you want to read about the new king’s wild parties you can find all that information on TJ’s blog.

Banana Madeira (Plantains): My New Obsession

2011-09-12T21:54:00.000+02:00

Plantain Bananas

The cutest tree

I think banana trees are the cutest tree so last year Victor planted a few along the outside of our wall and then a few months ago he plopped down a gigantic bunch of ripe plantains on our kitchen table. This was the beginning of my obsession with plantains, which I’m sure will last the rest of my life. For Mozambicans and probably more than half of the rest of the world, plantains, a.k.a. Banana Madeira (“wood banana” in Portuguese), are not this exciting because it’s a normal part of the cuisine. But for me! I can’t believe I was missing out on this most delicious, delicious treat my whole life and I am now making up for it on a daily basis!

Here are my three current favorite ways to eat Banana Madeira:

1. BOILED

Put the plantains in a gigantic pot and boil them for a while.

Peel a cooked plantain and put it in a bowl.

Mash it up.

Mix in some water and then show it to a cute baby.

Feed the baby the mashed plantain. He will love it. It tastes like banana and apple mixed together.

2. FRIED

Peel the plantains and then slice them up.

Fry the plantain slices in hot oil.

Dry the fried plantains on napkins.

Put them in a pretty little glass dish and sprinkle them wish salt. They are SO tasty!

Or even better – Cuban Style – serve them with black beans and rice. This is the best African version of a Caribbean meal EVER!

3. FRITTERS

Mix up a dough with a few mashed up plantains, ½ a cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, ½ a teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of sugar (Wycliffe Cookbook), shape the dough into little paddies, and then fry them in hot oil.

Dry the fritters on napkins and then dip them in powdered sugar.

Plantain fritters are SO good.

A tasty American style African breakfast: Black Gurue Mozambican tea with sugar for Victor, South African red bush tea with milk for me, boiled plantain mash for Yohani, boiled eggs, and plantain fritters – yum.

What the Orphanage Looks Like Today

2011-09-05T20:57:00.000+02:00

The front gate.

The front wall.

Along the front wall and the road outside the orphanage.

Our beautiful new boys dorm.

Our girls dorm being built now.

The house where the girls are currently living while they wait for their dorm to be built.

TJ's house a.k.a. male volunteer and visitors house.

Marta's house a.k.a. female staff and visitors house.

Mama Maria's house.

Future recording studio (we hope to someday have a Christian radio station in the Macua language).

Office.

Storage house.

Current dining hall. (We hope to build a new one after the girls dorm is completed.)

Current cooking house.

Bathrooms (and shower).

Guard and meeting house.

Looking into the orphanage from the front gate.

Looking towards the front gate from inside the orphanage.

The Drama (Love, Hate, Tragedy) of the ONLY Grocery store in Northern Mozambique

2011-08-15T21:11:00.000+02:00

Me and Yohani, Victor, and my dad in Shoprite almost a year ago.

I know that my posts have been sadly (or pathetically) lacking good content/details for over a year now and that a grocery store is not a subject that suddenly deserves some actual writing. So sorry about that. But anyway . . .

There is only ONE grocery store in the entire northern half of this country. To put this into perspective - it takes over 12 hours to drive to the next closest grocery store. Our little grocery store is called Shoprite and I think that everyone who lives here who is from somewhere else has a love-hate relationship with this store.

We LOVE the fact that a grocery store exists at all and we are extremely grateful that we can live here and still get some of the little luxuries that we so took for granted back home. Decaf tea, (edible) canned tuna, ground beef, baked beans, sometimes grapes, lunch meat (chicken, turkey, ham, salami), feta cheese, cereal, split peas, mustard, salad dressing, Worcester sauce, cough drops, kitchen appliances, and tons of other little things can ONLY be found in Shoprite. Also – like all grocery stores – you can basically do ALL your food shopping in one store.

And the hate part . . . well . . . outside the grocery store it is intensely crowded with dozens of men begging or selling things and harassing you to buy or give, endless lines of people standing neck to neck in lines for banks, aggressive taxi drivers taking up every conceivable place to park in front of the store, impatient drivers of gigantic vehicles yelling and honking and almost hitting each other and any pedestrians. Getting to and from the store is the greatest most uncomfortable hassle there is in the city (in my opinion). You feel irritated or angry at the aggressive men trying to sell their stuff. You don’t know if you should feel sympathetic towards these guys because you know there are NO jobs in the city or if you should be against them because you have seen some of them rob people. To top it off there are at least a dozen street kids who should be in school but instead are begging or trying to get paid pennies to wash or guard your car. Street kids make me feel mad and guilty at the same time – first I feel mad that the kids are not in school and furious at whatever adult should be caring for them, and then I feel guilty because I am in such a good situation (to say the least) compared to these kids and I can only imagine what kinds of conditions have caused them to end up here. And then finally – the very worst thing at Shoprite is this TERRIBLE man in our little city whose only goal in life is to kiss white (or lighter skinned) women. He spends 100% of his time roaming the city looking for white women to kiss and then tries to kiss them. Every foreign woman here hates having this guy around and he spends 90% of his time outside Shoprite. I am irrationally scared of encountering him and have seen him many times. My one single run-in with him ended with him and two police officers in our car with us, Victor in a foot cast, and a “trial” in court that was crazier than a three-ring circus (previous blog post). Anyway - this guy always being there (hiding so you don’t know he’s there until it’s too late) makes some (like me) hate going to Shoprite as much as I feel grateful that there is a Shoprite.

And for the tragedy part . . . one morning a few weeks ago Yohani and I went outside to play with the kids and one of the girls immediately ran up to us and told us that Shoprite had “burned down.” Throughout the day everyone was talking about it and then we saw that there had been a big fire in the store. It didn’t look like anything had collapsed but all the walls leading into the store were black. I still don’t think that anyone knows what actually happened but it’s now several weeks later and it doesn’t look like the store is preparing to re-open anytime soon. One of our friends wrote to Shoprite and asked how long it would be and Shoprite wrote back and said 18 – 24 months minimum. So basically – it’s just OVER and we no longer have a grocery store here. Just imagine if your local grocery store burned down and the next closest one was a 12 hour drive away!!!

In front of the store on one of the few days when the police had cleared all the sellers and everyone else away.

Sarah!

2011-08-05T23:46:00.005+02:00

Everyone at the orfanato was overjoyed to have Sarah back here this past week, even though her time here was way too short! It's hard to even describe who Sarah is to us but basically she is one of Victor's "American" sisters and the daughter of Michele and Arthur Bryngelson who have been like parents to Victor since he first met them over ten years ago! Sarah's family has been involved with this ministry and has helped Victor with the orphanage since before it even existed and Sarah grew up watching all of these kids, the ministry, and even the physical buildings grow into what they are today. So having her here was really special for us (to say the least)!

Jose, Yohani, Ofeita, Estela, Sarah, and Dorcas.

Jose, Ronilda, Regina, Cocas, Sarah, Yohani, Atija, Canito, and Ofeita.

Sweeping construction debris from one of the rooms in the soon-to-be girls dormitory.

Jordao in the background, Cocas braiding Sarah's hair, Yohani and Dorcas playing, and Belson contentedly sitting.

Sarah feeding Yohani. Yohani had a great week with Sarah!

Catching up on life, family, and friends both in the U.S. and in Mozambique.

Victor, Sarah, Yohani and I.

Jonas & Erica's Wedding

2011-08-05T22:04:00.010+02:00

On July 16th Jonas and Erica got married here in Nampula. Jonas is Victor's cousin and Erica is our dear friend who is originally from Ohio but has lived here for the last two years as a teacher with MAF.

The night before the wedding the orphanage kitchen was full of ladies who spent the entire night cooking. (Animal lovers do not look too closely at this picture.)

Yohani in his wedding outfit.

In Mozambique weddings take place at the public courthouse in the center of the city and then at church. Erica's mom and best friend, Shanna, came to Africa for the first time for the wedding and here they are waiting outside the courthouse.

Jonas waiting inside the courthouse.

Erica's dad walking her down the aisle while all the people sing African wedding songs.

Now in the church. Victor was the pastor and he did the wedding in English with a Portuguese translator. Weddings here are very long so the bride and groom and wedding party sit in chairs in front of the church.

Some church leaders praying for the new couple.

Some of Erica's students - Ashley, Khosi, Beverley, Elyssa, Julianne, and Celine - played and sang and I loved the way it sounded.

Then our kids played and sang - Felix, Jeremias, Gizela, Graca, and Anabela. I always love it when our kids sing.

Erica and Jonas with their maid of honor, Shanna, and best man, Estefano, enjoyed all the wedding festivities inside the church, including lots of singing, dancing, and gift giving during the ceremony.

Leaving the church after the wedding. This is the church that Victor and Jonas grew up in and where Victor and I were married almost four years ago.

Jonas introducing Erica's mom to his five sisters.

The reception was at the orphanage - the the place where Jonas and Erica first met almost two years ago!

Me, Erica, Jonas, Victor, and Yohani. It was really a privilege to be involved in this wedding and we so happily look forward to a lot of fun with these guys in the future. They are now our neighbors, which the kids are all very happy about too!

2011-07-03T10:18:00.002+02:00

Isaque Pequeno, Yohani, Mena, Ofeita, Jose, and Dorcas.

Makhuwa Makeup

2011-06-23T15:32:00.002+02:00

Cocas, Dorcas, Ofeita, and Mena wearing traditional Macua soap mask made from a tree.

The Orphanage Basketball Team

2011-06-20T11:00:00.003+02:00

Isaque Pequeno, Estela, Ofeita, Ronilda, Canito, Belson, Atija, and Coach TJ

Girls Dorm Progress

2011-06-06T11:56:00.050+02:00

We've had great progress on the construction of the girls dorm and all the kids have been enthusiastically helping.

The kids gather rocks in left-over cement bags, buckets made out of old plastic oil containers, and wheel barrows.

Then they (the kids and TJ) haul the rocks up on the foundation.

They use this machine to flatten out the fill-in dirt.

Then the kids dump the rocks between the stone/cement outlines and Victor makes sure they're placed evenly.

Here is the plumbing in the bathroom.

Victor told the kids that if they filled these two sections with rocks by the end of the day they would get to watch two movies.

Dorcas sitting in front of the two filled in rock sections (the kids got their two movies).

The next morning Jose was up bright and early and working hard.

Jose (and Canito) are the two smallest boys and the two most energetic workers.

The wheel barrows are used by the kids for EVERYTHING in this orphanage.

Others laying planks to make wheel barrow ramps.

More wheel barrow ramps.

Kids resting under the shade of the coconut tree.

Riquito and Isaty fixing one of the wheel barrows. It's really amazing how things are used and fixed endlessly here.

Over at the cement mixing circle the construction workers prepare more mortar for the final stage of the foundation.

Marta, Graca, and Yohani in the evening after the walls have started going up.

The completed foundation and beginning of the walls.

The walls get higher.

The builders working on the walls.

Curved windows.

From the wall at the end of the dorm.

This is the boys dorm and is just how the girls dorm will look when it's completed.

When the orphanage first started the kids were living in small dorms made from bamboo and mud, which ended up collapsing. Because of generous donations we have been able to construct our beautiful boys dorm and are now half way through the girls dorm. This year we received a $25,000 matching grant from an anonymous donor. If we get this same amount from new donors we will receive $25,000 and be able to complete the girls dorm. If anyone is interested in helping us get the matching grant (even by telling others about it) - we are registered as a non-profit in the U.S. and checks can be written to Evanjafrica and sent to

Michele Bryngelson

308 Tuggle Lane

Ridgeville, SC 29472

Thanks so much to all who have already been so extremely generous to us and gotten us to the point where we are today - in developing the orphanage and in all that's involved in caring for the kids. We are so grateful for all who make everything we do possible. Thank you.

Mozambican Children's Day

2011-06-01T19:36:00.001+02:00

In Mozambique Children's Day is the biggest day of the year for kids. This year a local school donated lots of treats and the youth from a local church came to the orfanato and put on a little show for our kids and some kids from the community that we invited to join us. There was singing, dancing, jokes and riddles, a children's sermon, a skit, a puppet show, good food, lots of treats, and finally a big soccer game between the kids and the adults as the sun went down. The kids scored two goals and won! A perfect ending to kids day!

Fish 4 Dinner

2011-05-25T19:10:00.000+02:00

Today the mayor of the city brought lots of fish for the kids. They were THRILLED and all were immediately busy washing, gutting, cooking, and then eating them for dinner a few hours later.

New Cousin Anthony

2011-05-10T00:32:00.007+02:00

Baby Anthony

My sister, Ann, and I with her new baby, Anthony.

Me bonding with Baby Anthony.

Ann and Mike with Natey and Yohani.

My dad and Yohani.

Yohani and Anthony making a connection.

Anthony and Yohani riding in the car.

My mom working wtih Yohani and Baby Anthony.

A slumber party. Yohani was in heaven with the attention he got from his cousins!

Natey, Yohani, and Mia.

Ann reading Yohani and Mia a story.

Sunny and Peter with Natey and Yohani.

Sunny and Peter with Mia, Natey, and Yohani.

Ann and her new baby Anthony.

Ann, my mom, Yohani and I.

My mom with three of her grandkids.

Mia and Yohani reuniting.
Mia feeding Yohani.

Mia and Yohani playing patty cake.

Cousins in Mozambican capulana pants (and skirt for Mia).

New Cousin Edna Elizabeth

2011-05-10T00:15:00.006+02:00

Baby Edna Elizabeth

Victor's sister, Carmina and her husband Lucas with Yohani and their new baby Edna Elizabeth.

Yohani with his aunt, Carmina.

Carmina and Lucas with their new baby Edna Elizabeth.

Carmina and I with our babies.

Two New Cousins for Yohani!

2011-05-10T00:11:00.004+02:00

Anthony and Edna Elizabeth (both very serious looking here)!

In March Yohani got two new cousins! First Anthony Mickey Eugene was born to my sister Ann and her husband Mike, and then Edna Elizabeth was born to Victor’s sister Carmina and her husband Lucas. I am so grateful Yohani and I were able to take a short trip to meet both of them!

Girls Dorm Foundation

2011-03-30T17:39:00.001+02:00

Rebar.

Rocks.

Sand.

Cement Mix.

Working on the foundation.

Girls dorm foundation construction.

Our Wall

2011-03-21T15:14:00.000+02:00

The front of the orphanage from the outside.

Our guard, Mutilima, at the entrance into the guard house and orphanage.

The front gate and guard house from inside the orphanage.

Wonderful Libby!

2011-03-15T20:27:00.000+02:00

Libby, Isaque Pequeno, Friend, Canito, Jose, Friend, and Jordao taking a break in the middle of the funniest game ever (it was the funniest game ever because Jose was the goalie).

Our good friend Libby came for two weeks and we all had a blast playing with her! It was either tons of soccer, speaking Italiaguese, sharing funny stories, baking Icelandic cakes, extreme experiences in the city, or just hanging out!

Libby dazzled everyone with her talents on the field!

This week there were a few afternoons with perfect weather for playing (meaning it wasn't scorching hot).

The goal keeper. Jose is SO cute and everyone enjoys him immensely. When Jose's the goalie it guarentees that the other team will win, no matter what (even if the 10 best players are all on the same team with him). And for some reason eveyone accepts him being the goalie again and again - maybe because he is SO entertaining (and serious about his position)!

The audience: Canito, Minoca, and Yohani.

Sunday evening . .

Estefano and Jeremias.

Anabela and Nolita.

Ofeita and Jose.

Brother and sister, Dionisio and Estela. These two have been through a lot and we are so thankful for Dionisio's good health as he had some severe issues last year that have all been resolved now.

2011-03-13T21:49:00.000+02:00

Kids Moving Up and Out!

2011-01-25T23:43:00.010+02:00

This year is a gigantic turning point for us as we have 13 kids from the orphanage moving on to the next stage in life. Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world and it’s only been 19 years since almost two decades of war ended. Severe poverty, disease, and corruption still plague the lives of almost everyone here. Most people turn to witchcraft when life is hard, and life is hard for everyone. Because of all these things – it is impossible to compare any part of Mozambique with the U.S. With education – when Victor was a child his classroom was outside under a tree. Today our kids have physical school buildings but the teacher to student ratio is 1 teacher for every 70 or more students at the elementary school level. I know this sounds impossible but this is the reality. I could go on and on about how difficult things are here but to get to the point . . . a very small percentage of Mozambicans ever make it through 10^th grade, which is required to enter colleges for teaching, nursing, or trade school. Only universities require 12^th grade but so few people get through 12^th grade that most districts don’t even offer an education past 7^th or 10^th. There is a push for this to change and things are changing rapidly. A few years ago there was only one university in the country but now there are several.

Our kids at the orphanage come from the worst poverty and some of them had never set foot in a school building until they came here. Others were many years behind as they had only gone to school a few years or started very late. All of their educations were disrupted when their parents died or became too sick to care for them. So for us to have our kids get through tenth grade or higher is more exciting than I am able to articulate. Second to their faith is education and we can not say enough about how much it means to us to have our kids leave here with skills or degrees that will get them jobs where they will “be somebody” in society and hopefully be able to make a difference as Christians.

This month we have 13 kids from the orphanage going on to some kind of post-secondary education, training, or job. Sorry for making this blog so long but we just want anyone reading this to be able to see who our kids are and what they’re doing next!

Hope Bible College

Beira, Sofala Province

Clara

Age 21 (came to the orphanage at age 15 and in 5^th grade)

Clara first came to the orphanage after her mom died and her younger brother Salmon is also in the orphanage. Clara has a voice as sweet as honey and has always been the lead singer in the orphanage band, and writes lyrics for most of the music. She is one of the nicest people you may ever meet. She is kind to everyone and we will often find her playing joyfully with a kid that nobody else wants to be around. She loves visitors and makes friends with everyone. A few years ago she became such good friends with girls from the refugee camp that she would ask to go stay with them on all her school breaks. Clara grew up on the coast where there is heavy practice of animism but she became a Christian at the orphanage and has been so serious about her faith ever since. She often fasts and prays and always goes to God for guidance in everything. She was also trained by Sueli as a Sunday School teacher and has done a tremendous job teaching God’s word to all the kids at church and in daily bible studies at the orphanage. After bible school Clara wants to work in children’s ministries. Her dream is to attend a music academy and she would like to focus more intensely on training praise and worship leaders in the future. We hope to have Clara back at the orphanage on staff in a few years.

Prayer Requests:

That Clara will find the right husband.
That God will continue to develop Clara’s gifts in music and working with kids.
That God will make his plan for Clara’s life obvious and then guide her in following it.

Daniel

Age 24 (came to the orphanage at age 16 and in 4^th grade)

Daniel first came to the orphanage after his mom was killed by a land mine and he was rescued from his relatives who forced him to make beer instead of going to school. Daniel is one of the most humble and hard working people. He always sees what needs to be done and then does it without anyone telling him to. He just completed his first year of bible school (with a huge graduation at the end) and is now doing year two. He says that bible school has opened his eyes to a new understanding of everything he had learned here and his faith has been growing tremendously. He wants to work with kids after he’s done with bible school.

Prayer Requests:

That Daniel will do well in school this year and learn everything put before him.
That Daniel will find the right wife.
That Daniel will find and be able to follow God’s plan for him.

Young Africa Trade School

Beira, Sofala Province

Carlitos

Age 22 (came to the orphanage at age 14 and in 5^th grade)

Accounting

Carlitos first came to the orphanage after his mother was so sick she could no longer care for him. He was rescued from people who had taken him in and were using him as a servant instead of allowing him to attend school. His brother Martinho is also in the orphanage. Carlitos is shy and humble and trustworthy. He doesn’t talk that much but we usually discover that he knows everything and he gets really good grades in school. Carlitos is great with numbers and math and he wants to be an accountant.

Prayer Requests:

That Carlitos will find the right wife.
That Carlitos will do well in school and get the right job afterwards.
That Carlitos will grow in his faith.

Claudia

Age 21 (came to the orphanage at age 15 and in 4^th grade)

Human Resources

Claudia first came to the orphanage after her parents died. Her dad was a police officer. She has siblings but none of them are here. Claudia has always done such a good job taking care of the younger girls that they always vote for her to be in charge of them. When Dorcas came here as a tiny baby, Claudia volunteered to take care of her and Dorcas has called Claudia “mom” ever since. Claudia is the most skilled hair braider and women from all over the neighborhood come here to have her do their hair. We think that she will be able to open her own salon. Now she is studying human resources and we expect she will be able to get a job that will give her the experience she needs if she wants to start something herself later on.

Prayer Requests:

That Claudia will find the right husband.
That Claudia will continue to develop in her faith.
That Claudia will do well in her studies and get a good job afterwards.

Félix

Age 20 (came to the orphanage at age 13 and in 5^th grade)

Refrigerator and Air Conditioning Repair

Felix first came to the orphanage after his parents died. He was from the jungle and his family was Muslim. His younger brothers Isaty, Mauricio, and Canito are also in the orphanage. Felix and his brothers are known to be the most athletic and hard working kids who always go all out whether they’re playing games or helping with work. At the trade school they recommended that Felix learn how to repair refrigerators and air conditioners because they expect that these skills will always be in high demand here.

Prayer Requests:

That Felix will not have any health problems, especially with his vision.
That Felix will learn everything before him in school and get a good job afterwards.
That Felix will grow in his faith.

Helder

Age 22 (came to the orphanage at age 16 and in 6^th grade)

Culinary

Helder first came to the orphanage after his dad, a well-respected local pastor, died. His siblings in the orphanage are Silas, Felix, Samito, and Ronilda. Helder loves cooking and several years ago he was put in charge of the kitchen. He makes really good chicken, goat, rolls, and other things. He showed a great understanding of the bible and his soft personality always drew children to him. He went through Sueli’s Sunday School training program and ended up being a fantastic Sunday School and children’s bible study teacher. He is so good at explaining things to children and they love being around him. Even when he is outside cooking or barbecuing, groups of kids will gather around and want to help and sing with him. Helder may want to go to bible school later but he first wanted culinary training because he loves cooking. We expect God to use Helder in great ways.

Prayer Requests:

That Helder will not be influenced by negative pressure from his family.
That God will show Helder a clear plan for him and help him follow it.
That Helder will continue to grow in his faith and desire to serve God.

Silas

Age 16 (came to the orphanage at age 9 and in 3^rd grade)

Beautician

Silas first came to the orphanage after her dad died. Her dad had been a well-respected pastor in the community. Her siblings in the orphanage are Helder, Felix, Samito, and Ronilda. Silas has a great and easy-going personality. She has always gotten along with everyone and is well loved by the other kids. She also played guitar in the orphanage band. Silas didn’t originally go with the group to Beira but had been praying that somehow she would get to go to the trade school this year. Then after Victor met with the director and found out what a good program it would be for her, she got to go. Since there wasn’t enough time to get there by bus (it took the group 20 hours to get there in the truck) we explained our situation to the local airline company and they gave a good deal for her to fly here. So Silas was the first kid from the orphanage to fly in a plane. For someone from where our kids are from to go on a plane is almost comparable to someone from the U.S. going on a space shuttle. The other kids could not believe one of their own was going on a plane and now everyone in the orphanage has hope that someday they may get to fly too.

Prayer Requests:

That God will bring Silas the right husband at the right time and give her patience to wait for it.
That Silas will do well in school and get a job afterwards.
That Silas will grow in her faith this year.

Piaget University

Beira, Sofala Province

Lazaro

Age unknown (came to the orphanage in 2^nd grade)

Journalism

Lazaro first came to the orphanage after his mother died, he lived with his aunt, she died, and then he lived with another aunt who also passed away. He has had a pretty difficult life, exacerbated by a condition that inhibits his growth. Nobody is sure how old Lazaro is but he is older than his sister Regina, who is 21. Outside of church and the orphanage, people have always given him a really hard time for looking like a child when he’s really much older. Lazaro is very smart and has always been really interested in journalism, politics, English, and French. We are so excited about him going to the university and expect him to love his classes.

Prayer Requests:

That Lazaro will not have any health problems, especially while he is far away from us these next few years.
That Lazaro will have a great experience in school and be able to find work afterwards.
That God will bring Lazaro a wife that is perfect for him and at the right time.

Marrere Teachers Training College

Nampula

Janete

Age 23 (came to the orphanage at age 16 and in 6^th grade)

Janete first came to the orphanage after her parents died. Her dad was also a police officer. Janete’s wonderful younger brothers VoVo and Gil are also in the orphanage. Janete has always been gifted in administrative skills and came on the orphanage staff a few years ago. Janete is extremely ambitious and has always created her own little projects to make money, doing things like baking and selling cakes. She recently expressed wanting to be a teacher and is starting the teachers training college this month.

Prayer Requests:

That God will be present and active in Janete’s life.
That Janete will get a job after she goes through the teacher’s training college.
That Janete will be a good teacher.

Leanora

Age 20, (came to the orphanage at age 14 and in 5^th grade)

Leanora first came to the orphanage after her parents were too poor to take care of her. She has no siblings here. She is a great friend to all the girls here and Leanora can always be counted on to help in any way. She loves being involved in activities with the other kids in church. Leanora has done well in her studies and got good enough grades to get into the teacher’s training college, which has been harder to get into every year. The other girls are going to miss her so much this year.

Prayer Requests:

That God will bring Leanora the right husband at the right time.
That Leanora will learn and pass everything in school and then get a job at the end.
That Leanora will continue to grow in her faith.

Ruben

Age 18 (came to the orphanage at age 11 and in 5^th grade)

Ruben first came to the orphanage after his mother died. He has no siblings here but Janete, VoVo and Gil are his cousins. Ruben played keyboard in the orphanage band and has always excelled in academics and especially in English. Last year he finished 12^th grade, which is an amazing accomplishment as a very, very few percentage of people here have ever done this.

Prayer Requests:

That Ruben will grow in his faith.
That Ruben will do well in school and then get a job.
That Ruben will have patience and strength to wait for the right wife.

Commercial Driving School

Nampula

Gabriel

Age 21 (came to the orphanage at age 11 and in 2^nd grade)

Gabriel first came to the orphanage after living alone in abandoned buildings as a small child. After his mother died other relatives had tried to discard him and then he had lived with neighbors who had rescued him. He has no siblings in the orphanage. Gabriel has always been extremely hard working and has a great smile. He is also passionate about injustice and local issues. Gabriel has been going through commercial driving school. Getting a driver’s license here is nothing like getting one in the U.S. Here you must go through a school where you learn automobile mechanics and don’t receive your license until instructors feel that you would be able to fix a large truck.

Prayer Requests:

That Gabriel will grow in his faith.
That Gabriel will learn and pass all the tests in school.
That Gabriel will get a good job.

Teaching

Nampula or Zambezia Province?

Regina

Age 21 (came at age 10 and in 1^st grade)

Elementary School Teacher

Regina first came to the orphanage after her mother died, she lived with her aunt, she died, and then she lived with another aunt who also passed away. Lazaro is her brother and she has always been very emotional about him and what he has been through. Regina is a great young woman and has always taken on a lot of responsibility. She is very social and people always end up confiding in her because she is safe and kind. I’ve even seen younger boys in the orphanage crying and refusing to tell anyone what was wrong until Regina got there. She is also someone who has really lived like a Christian and refused to go along with the crowd no matter how much kids at school pressured her to be involved in a lifestyle that has led to almost every one of her friends being a teenage mother. Last year Regina went through the teachers training college and then graduated last month. This week she was supposed to starts her job teaching in a district in Zambezia province but the government cut a large percentage of teaching jobs at the last minute so she still doesn't have a position. I think Regina will be a fantastic teacher and someone that students will end up coming to for support in and out of school.

Prayer Requests:

That Regina will get a job this year.
That Regina will find a good community of Christians where she will be living.
That Regina will find the right husband.

Young People From Outside The Orphanage Who We Are Also Sponsoring

In addition to our own kids, we are also sponsoring 7 young people from 4 different churches who come from situations where they would not be able to go to bible college or trade school without help.

Hope Bible College

Beira, Sofala Province

Lourindo & Donativa (with their baby Jonas)

Igreja União Batista (Union Baptist Church)

Lourindo and his siblings came to Nampula from Zambezia province after their parents died. He and his older brother, Visado (who is on staff at the orphanage), are in a well-known local church choir. Lourindo is one of the most talented musical people we have ever seen and creates almost all the music for the Tcharuwani choir. We first met Lourindo (and Visado) after hearing their choir sing and wanting to get involved with them. Donativa grew up here and is also in the choir. She and Lourindo got married last year and this year their desire is to go to bible school.

Prayer Requests:

That God will be very present and active in the life of this family.
That Lourindo and Donativa will be able to learn and apply everything presented to them.
That God will have a great plan for their lives and that they will be able to see and follow it.

Ruthie (with her baby Wilson)

Igreja Evangélica Paz de Cristo (Peace of Christ Evangelical Church)

Ruthie is a young, single mom from church who wanted to go to bible school this year. In the past two years she has become very active in all the church and youth group activities and especially in the choirs and music program.

Prayer Requests:

That God will do a great work in Ruthie’s life and transform her completely.
That Ruthie will learn and be able to apply everything presented in her classes.
That God will have a great plan for her life and that she will be able to see and receive it.

Silmone

Igreja Evangélica Paz de Cristo (Peace of Christ Evangelical Church)

Silmone grew up in our church and is the son of Mama Laura, one of the orphanage cooks. Though his family and friends have pressured him to get married and keep working (selling yogurt on the side of the road for pennies (there are just NO jobs here)) he has really wanted to go to bible school for a long time. Last year he completed his first year at bible school and absolutely loved it. He won many awards for his involvement in children’s ministry and he did really well in his internship here at the orphanage these past two months. On a side note, Silmone loves Yohani and would play with him everyday and Yohani loved it. Silmone was also really great with any administrative task that Victor needed help with.

Prayer Requests:

That God will bring Silmone the right wife at the right time and give him the patience to wait for it.
That Silmone will continue to grow in his faith and that God will give him great integrity in every area of his life.
That God will have a great plan for Silmone and that Silmone will be able to see and follow it.

Vicente

Igreja Peniel (Peniel Church)

Vicente is originally from Malawi, which is bordered by Mozambique on three sides and whose people are of the same ethnic groups as those in Mozambique. Vicente’s parents both died when he was a little boy. His mom was sick and his dad, a prison guard, died from complications in the hospital after being injured in a prison riot. Vicente and his sisters were cared for by their grandma and always went to church. A few years ago he traveled to Mozambique and became good friends with Gracio, who took Vicente under his wing and helped him get into bible school. Vicente is very gifted with children’s ministries and has done some of the best Sunday School classes we have ever seen.

Prayer Requests:

That God will bring Vicente the right wife at the right time and give him the ability to see clearly and wait for it.
That God will give Vicente great integrity and the strength to do the right thing in every situation.
That Vicente will not get distracted from God’s plan for him and that he will follow where God leads him.

Young Africa Trade School

Beira, Sofala Province

Eva

Igreja Evangélica de Cristo (Evangelical Church of Christ)

Eva is a young woman from a family of girls who were left to fend for themselves after their mother died. The sisters have been through a lot, living in terrible conditions and doing whatever they could to get food to eat. No matter what happened they kept going to church and have stayed heavily involved. We hope that this training will give Eva a chance to gain the skills needed to get a good job.

Prayer Requests:

That Eva will grow in her faith.
That God will keep Eva’s sisters safe and healthy and with enough food to eat.
That Eva will learn and understand well and then get a good job.

Nelson

Igreja Evangélica Paz de Cristo (Peace of Christ Evangelical Church)

Nelson is a young man from church who is well loved and respected by everyone. He got good grades in school but had no way to get further education. Because of his reputation we really wanted to help him. We are sure that anyone would be more than happy to have an employee like Nelson and we wanted to help get him the skills he will need to get a job.

Prayer Requests:

That Nelson will learn everything he will need to get a good job.
That God will bring Nelson the right wife at the right time.
That Nelson’s faith will grow this year and that God will continue using him in a way that is helpful to others.

Still at the Orfanato

Zaqueio

Age 21(came at age 15, grade 3)

Zaqueio is one of the most wonderful young men we have ever had the privilege of knowing. He is so humble and hard working and always 100% reliable. Zaqueio has enormous integrity and is always a safe person to be around. He is also extremely courageous but has a soft heart and can be sensitive. He lost his older sister Alzira less than a year ago. Zaqueio was excited about going to Young Africa this year but the day before the group left, he had a terrible pain in his abdomen. For many years Zaqueio has had chronic abdominal pain that has disabled him on many occasions. He has been hospitalized several times and the doctors always give a diagnosis and treatment but whatever it is has never been permanently resolved. Zaquieo has learned to do electrical work by always helping electricians who have come to the orphanage and we call him for everything having to do with wires. He had his heart set on going to trade school to learn more about being an electrician but we won’t let him go at this time because of this health problem. Different doctors here have said he needs some kind of surgery to take care of whatever he has once and for all. Also – though we are not happy about Zaqueio still being here because of health issues, it is a great blessing to still have him around, as he is such a big part of making the orphanage function well.

Prayer Requests:

That Zaqueio will somehow be able to see a doctor who will be able to successfully treat this problem once and for all.
That no sickness or health condition will harm Zaqueio or interfere with his life.
That Zaqueio will grow in his faith and really be able to experience God’s love – that he will know how precious and valuable he is to God.

Along with the great pride and joy we feel about our kids being in these schools, we of course also have the “empty nest” feeling and we all miss them terribly already. Just like normal parents, our relationships with these kids don’t end the day they go out the door and we are still supporting them financially, spiritually, and in every other way that we can. Two weeks ago Victor drove all the kids going to Hope Bible College and the Young Africa Trade School to Beira in the truck. It took 20 hours but they all had a great time. Gracio (a wonderful long time friend who you can read about in other places on this blog) lives in the area and is watching over our kids while they’re in Beira. He was able to get a house for the boys going to the trade school and university to live in and Victor took Helder shopping to get everything they need for cooking. We will hopefully be visiting them at least twice a year. Thank you SO much to all those who have been and are still supporting our kids through prayer and with financial help – you are making it possible for what we do at the orphanage to really make a difference once our kids leave.

The group that Victor took to Beira to start bible school and trade school: Silmone, Eva, Helder, Daniel, Nelson, Vicente, Donativa with Jonas, Lourindo; Claudia, Clara, Ruthie with Wilson, Félix, and Carlitos.

2011-01-14T16:09:00.002+02:00

Claudia and Yohani.

I am SO grateful for how much the kids love Yohani and for how much he loves them! I can only be outside the house for about two minutes before someone comes to play with him and his little face just lights up every time he sees or hears the kids!

Victor's Family BBQ

2011-01-08T17:37:00.004+02:00

Yohani with his aunt, Heliane, and cousin, Vana. Today is Heliane's 23rd birthday. She currently lives in Beira where she is studying accounting at a university there and she is back in Nampula just for Christmas break.

Yohani playing with his aunts, Estalinda and Dimisa, and cousin, Vana.

Everyone loves it when Yohani gets riled up.

Victor BBQing, Alberto, Zaqueio, and Jonas making rice (and Jonas really knows how to make good rice).

Victor BBQing chicken, beef, and fish with his niece Vana. (Maybe Vana's thinking about the sharp teeth of that giant fish head cause that's basically the only thing I could think about once it appeared on the wheelbarrow grill.)

Victor grilling the fish fins and peppers.

Heliane, Vana, Estalinda, and Alfenia watching Victor's dad on the swing.

Vana, Victor's dad, Yohani, Heliane, Dimisa, Estefano, Victor's mom, Erica, Miqueias, and Estalinda.

Everyone relaxing on the hill, enjoying the scenery.

Everyone gathered around the centerpiece of the yard (the orange truck cab).

Vana with her mom, Estalinda.

Yohani and his grandpa. I think Yohani looks exactly like Victor's dad and I always call them "Gemios" ("Twins" in Portuguese). (I'm sorry I could not get them to make the same expression at the same time so you could all see how much they really look like gemios.)

Yohani with his grandparents and cousin, Vana.

Victor's brother Charles with his wife Estalinda and daughter Vana. (Estalinda is also the daughter of Mama Maria, the orphanage cook.)

Me, Heliane, Yohani, and Dimisa.

Two peas in a pod - cousins, Jonas and Estefano, together on their little swing. Miqueias (another one of Victor's brothers) is watching (and it's Miqueias's birthday today (he and Heliane are twins) and he has malaria).

2011-01-06T22:22:00.002+02:00

Tonight Victor made me a romantic dinner with taco pasta, his own made up salad that included chick peas and feta cheese, cinnamon toast, guava juice, fruit salad with extra cherries, and mosquito keep away candle. Then he called all the older boys to come to our kitchen to study it and told them that they have to make romantic dinners for their wives (someday when they all have wives). After that he kicked them out and we had the romantic dinner with just the two of us plus Yohani sleeping soundly next to the table. I hope the boys will be receiving many more husband lessons from Victor this year! (And sorry there is no picture of the boys studying the romantic meal!)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T23:35:00.007+02:00

Yohani standing.

Victor strolling Yohani.

This was a pretty amazing sunset.

New Years Eve

There was a gigantic game of Capture the Flag in the dark. One team had glow-stick bracelets and the other team had glow-stick anklets.

These people are in "jail" and are being guarded by the one on the left.

Yohani and me.

Victor preaching to all who were at the orfanato from New Years Eve to New Years Day (literally a sermon right through the actual year change). Besides the kids, the Tcharuwani Choir and many youth from church came to the orfanato to celebrate with us. In Mozambique churches celebrate New Years even more than Christmas or Easter. Victor says so many people die here that people can't help but reflect on all the friends they've lost during the year and just want to spend New Years thanking God that they are still alive to see the next year begin. This is something that may be hard for us who are not from this continent to really grasp but for Christians here New Years is about their faith and it's always celebrated at or with people from church.

New Years Day

Pete and Mandy and TJ organized a day full of games and the kids LOVED it! This was a mango eating contest and the kids went crazy eating them.

After the mango eating contest.

Another game was dodge ball with water balloons. I am so sorry that I didn't get pictures of all the other games but there were TONS of them. The kids were in heaven. All the kids were divided into 4 groups and Pete kept track of who won each game/activity so that there was one big winner at the end.

And now there will be 14 pictures of people eating a goat . . .

Helder, Estela, Mauricio, Samito, Riquito, Jose, Mena, Virginia, Dorcas, and Alfenia enjoying the goat.

Pilonte, Lazaro, and TJ enjoying the goat.

Dionisio, Canito, Atija, and Belson enjoying the goat.

Pete and Mandy enjoying the goat.

Gil, Francisco, and Marino enjoying the goat.

Martinho, Little Victor, and Salmon enjoying the goat.

Silas, Manuel, Graça, Isaty, Carlitos, Ofeita, and Ganito enjoying the goat.

1/3 of the orfanato enjoying the goat.

More enjoying the goat.

Isaque Pequeno, Clara, Anabela, Minoca, and Gabriel enjoying the goat.

Tomo's girlfriend and Tomo enjoying the goat. Tomo is a great guy who is currently volunteering at another orfanato in the city through Japanese Peace Corps. He has become friends with our orfanato and is so great with the kids. His girlfriend was here visiting for only about one week and they had a great time!

VoVo enjoying the goat sozinho (sozinho, as I have mentioned before on this blog, means "alone" and is one of my favorite Portuguese words).

Victor enjoying the goat while Baby Yohani sleeps soundly.

Daniel drinking a coke after serving the goat to everyone else.

And finally, this guy (Helder) enjoying the goat after he killed it with his bare hands, skinned it, cut it up into pieces, froze it, marinated it, cooked it, and now eats it. How many of us can say that we prepared our own food and mean it like that?!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-25T21:32:00.012+02:00

Isaque Pequeno, Canito, Riquito, and Dorcas.

Christmas Cookies

On Christmas Eve Minoca and Silas made tons of cookies.

Charity also made tons of cookies and frosting. Then the Rogers Family (Charity, Pete, Noah, Renata, and Asher) and the other Rogers Family (Mandy and Pete) helped everyone frost, sprinkle, and eat! Mandy, Asher, Daniel, Gizela, Terçia, Silas, Leanora, Noah, and Charity.

Mena.

Canito.

Christmas Breakfast

For Christmas breakfast we all had Egg McMuffins and sodas. Everyone loved the Egg McMuffins and everyone loved getting pop for breakfast. Belson, Manuel, Virginia, Atija, Isaque Pequeno, Cocas, Estela, Ofeita, Francisco, and Isaty.

TJ, Celso, Martinho, and Solomão.

Marta, Vicente, and Samito.

Jordão, Helder, and VoVo.

Canito, Gil, Ronilda, and Regina.

Carlitos, Nolita, Lazaro, Dionisio, Leanora, and Claudia.

Salmon and Jeremias.

Silas, Zaqueio, and Felix.

After breakfast there were extra Egg McMuffins so TJ thought it would be a good idea to finger-sword-fight for them. Everyone agreed it was a great idea. Thanks Joe for teaching everyone finger-sword-fighting.

Christmas Sermon

I failed to get a picture of the Christmas sermon but there was one. Victor talked about the birth of Jesus and there was a little praise and worship as well.

Christmas Presents

In the afternoon we gathered everyone on the veranda of the boys dorm for presents.

TJ, Mandy, and Pete getting out the stockings Mandy's class (Mandy's a 3rd grade teacher) and other family and friends made and put together for all the kids.

Pete and Mandy are from Spokane, Washington and are volunteering here at the orfanato during their Christmas break. We are thrilled to have them!!!

The kids LOVED the presents!!!!!

Manuel, Terçia, and Cocas.

Isaty, Celso, Belson, and Jose.

Canito, Canito, Jordão, and Gizela.

Mauricio, Martinho, Marino, and Francisco.

Virginia, Anabela, Salmon, Atija, and Isaque Pequeno.

VoVo, Merecido and Samito.

Estela, Ofeita, Lazaro, and Claudia.

Graça and Nolita.

Claudia, Regina, Clara, Silas, and Leanora.

Felix.

Cocas, Gabriel, Ronilda, Carlitos, and Zaqueio.

TJ got the kids tons of presents too, including soccer balls, mirrors (very very appreciated), chocolate, and bracelets his aunt made for each girl. They LOVED them!

Then TJ asked the kids what they got for him and then he gave them something to give to him, which was a blank notebook for them to write a Macua dictionary in. Very creative TJ.

Christmas Dinner

Kids getting dinner from the dining hall.

I'm sorry I did not get pictures of everyone enjoying the fabulous Christmas dinner. We had chicken and rice with french fries and soda. This is the favorite meal here and always first choice and it was delicious!

Christmas Joy Ride

After Christmas we all went on a big joy ride in the truck.

Even Yohani went and got to sit in front with his dad.

And on the Christmas Joy Ride we saw dozens of goats on top of this container truck.

Thank you so much to everyone who got such wonderful presents for the kids this year and to those who donated for our Christmas meals. Christmas is the highlight of the year for our kids and the only time in their lives that they ever get presents and this kind of big all day party! The kids talk about Christmas all year and they really treasure every little thing they are given, especially personal cards and letters. (They also eat all the candy they get in about 20 minutes!) Again, thank you so much to all those who have made this and every other Christmas SO SO wonderful for our children.

Blessings and Merry Christmas!

Yohani Eating, Reading, and Working

2010-12-23T09:06:00.002+02:00

Yohani turned 6 months old this month and started eating rice cereal. He loves is.

Can't wait for his dad to wipe his face and continue on.

He reads now too.

So far his favorite book is this one where a soft little bunny head pops out and wiggles around and talks to him. It always ends with him trying to eat the bunny head.

He works hard in the office with his dad on the computer.

And he attends staff meetings. Here are some staff and interns in an evening meeting - Solomao with Yohani, Vicente, Marta, Visado, Daniel, and Victor.

This is what it looks like on a cloudy morning at 4:30am . . .

2010-12-21T05:00:00.000+02:00

4:30am on a cloudy day - this is why I think that Mozambique is on the wrong time zone by two hours! And it's dark before 6pm on the longest day of the year!

Goodbye Fishers and Joe!

2010-12-12T10:20:00.006+02:00

Joe and John - one final photo before saying goodbye to all the kids.

We had a wonderful, wonderful week with the Fishers and then we took them back to Pemba to catch their flight home to Kenya. We also absolutely loved having Joe here for several weeks - Joe slept in the dorm in a room with a bunch of the boys and the kids had the best time ever playing with him constantly.

Victor and Yohani crashed in the sand while the guys went swimming in the Indian Ocean.

Joe, John, and Estefano.

Estefano and Warren relaxing on the beach.

A big conversation.

Yohani with his uncle, Estefano.

Yohani is so interested in his uncle.

Victor and me with our baby, Yohani.

Sandra helping Yohani try on his first Husky apparel. He loved it.

Warren and Sandra.

Joe and John now in their own little world. I wonder what they're talking about?

And back to sleep for Victor and Yohani.

2010-12-10T11:42:00.002+02:00

John Fisher with Jose, Alfenia, Jordão, and Dorcas. On Friday this group played chase together for hours (all five of them).

Regina Graduates From Teachers Training College

2010-12-09T11:19:00.000+02:00

On Thursday Regina, one of our girls in the orphanage, graduated from a teachers training college!

The Nampula sports arena was packed with the graduates and their families and friends.

Me and Yohani with Warren, John, Sandra, and Joe at the graduation.

Yohani liked it.

Me and Yohani, Regina, Victor, and Thomas. The orphanage helped Tomas also go to the same college since he has been teaching and tutoring the younger kids at the orphanage for us.

Victor's dad with Yohani, his first grandson.

Vincent, Janete, Tomas, Regina, Daniel, and Solomão at the little orphanage graduation party afterwards. Janete made cakes and the Fishers got soft drinks for all the kids.

VoVo, Manuel, and Gabriel with Yohani, Gil, Ruben, Jeremias, and Carlitos.

Dionisio, Salmon, Merecido, Felix, Sandra, Alberto, and Warren.

Sandra, Salmon, Merecido, Dionisio, Felix, Alberto, and Canito having a good time with a picture book Sandra brought.

Cocas, Graça, Yohani, and Virginia.

The Fishers Are Here!

2010-12-08T21:23:00.006+02:00

Sandra with Yohani, Warren, John, and Joe (I think now a Fisher for a while too).

The Fishers are some of our dearest friends who have been like family to me almost my entire life. They normally live in Seattle but this year they are in Kenya working at Kijabe Mission Hospital and we are SO SO SO happy that they were able to come down here and be with us this week.

On Sunday we also had a wonderful visit from Patrick, our great friend from Arkansas. Here we are all eating a good chicken lunch after church - Victor, Patrick, Sandra with Yohani, Warren, Joe, and John.

Sandra gave Yohani his very first toy and he LOVED it.

John and Yohani (or Yohani and Yohani since Yohani means John in Macua).

Eating mangos and cashews in the evening, both very in-season right now. And this is the only time of day it's not over 90˚!

Sandra and Victor on our front porch.

A big game of throwing a ball against the wall.

While the kids were trying to get mangos out of the tree they knocked down this gigantic bat who was sleeping up there.

The bat - kind of sad.

Daily Things

2010-12-03T18:05:00.007+02:00

Yohani with his cousin, Milena.

Yohani with his aunt, Madalena.

Yohani with his Uncle Lazaro and Aunt Madalena.

Joe using Jose for weight training.

Joe working with Dorcas and Jose.

The kids singing in Murrupula. Last week kids from our orfanato went to another orfanato to sing and feed the kids lunch and talk about God.

At the other orfanato.

Yohani

2010-12-01T06:56:00.009+02:00

Our baby Yohani, 5½ months.

Sitting up by himself.

Getting TONS of attention, which is the BEST! (With Terçia, Cocas, Ronilda, and Estela.)

Playing with his dad.

Joe's Games

2010-11-30T13:49:00.006+02:00

Joe is from Portland and the University of Washington. We get to have him here at the orfanato for a few weeks and we can only imagine how sad everyone will be when he leaves. Joe came to the orphanage with TONS of games and this is the best, funnest thing you could possibly do here. I'm sorry I only have photos of a small percentage of them.

In this game you can't move your feet while you try to tip over your opponent before he knocks you down.

Finger sword-fighting. I think this is the funniest game so far. The ones playing it can not stop laughing and neither can anyone watching. The two opponents lock hands and then whoever touches the other one first (with their finger) wins.

I knew I would not be bored when I went outside and found Joe and TJ with a huge stick (weighing who knows how much) and some kids and some mangos.

There was baseball . . .

Hitting and pitching.

There was even T-ball!!!

Golf.

Hockey???

Patricia and Courtney

2010-11-29T23:27:00.002+02:00

Courtney, Leanora, Claudia, Christina, Regina, Patricia, and Yohani!

We were honored to have Courtney and Patricia stay with us for a week and all the kids wished they could have been here much longer. They were traveling through Mozambique visiting different orphanages and children't homes and it was a privilege to have them with us! They were so wonderful and delightful to have at the orfanato. Thanks so much for coming Patricia and Courtney!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T00:09:00.003+02:00

This is our kitchen at 5:00am. Yes, the sun is already bright and shining at this hour and we still have a month left until the longest day of the year (here in the southern hemisphere)! I am convinced that Mozambique is in the wrong time zone. I think we’re two hours off.

And this is Yohani taking his first nap of the day (at 5:30am).

Besides being Thanksgiving today was also TJ’s birthday so we started the day with a French Toast breakfast to celebrate.

Courtney with Yohani, Patricia, Joe, TJ, and Victor. (And this is before TJ sought out his annual birthday haircut from a barber that had never touched “white people’s hair” before.)

At dinner time TJ told the story of Thanksgiving. Victor wore a blue tie with his t-shirt to celebrate TJ’s birthday and all the kids thought that was funny.

TJ, Joe, Courtney, and Patricia got special food for the whole orfanato. Since there were no turkeys or pumpkins in Nampula (that we could find) we instead had chicken, rice, French fries, soft drinks, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate chip cookies (made with Pecan pie chocolate chips)!

VoVo, Courtney, Joe, and Patricia serving the food.

Thanks to Josh Nichols the kids already know the American birthday tradition of spanking! Luckily TJ’s only 24 or this may have gotten way more out-of-hand.

Some kids even leaped over counters to get TJ for his birthday!

Victor held TJ down while dozens of small children joyfully pummeled him. Only Yohani (being held by Erica) seemed concerned.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Rainy Season Always Starts With A Huge Storm

2010-11-21T21:52:00.006+02:00

The rainy season always starts with a bang. There is no easing into it – there are months without a single drop of rain as it gets hotter and hotter and hotter and then suddenly there is a massive storm that ends up destroying everything that isn’t “ready.” It’s also the ultimate test to see how well you did on all your summer building projects.

When the storm hit we were with our wonderful new volunteers outside TJ’s (and now Joe’s) house, which was one of the best places to be because they finished putting a new tin roof on it yesterday. After about half an hour of Jose’s VERY enthusiastic playing in the room where we were all waiting out the storm, we all realized how funny it was that only one kid was with us and it just happened to be Jose (basically the wildest of all the kids).

Victor with Baby Yohani, Joe (from Portland and the University of Washington), Patricia (from Switzerland), Courtney (from Michigan), Jose, and TJ waiting out the storm.

The northwest corner of the orfanato. Last time I was here for a gigantic storm this is where the boys were in their tents!!!!! (To see it click here.) This time nobody had to swim in it so they just reminisced about their days in the tents and skipped rocks like they were on the edge of a lake.

Jose, Lazaro, Courtney, Isaque Pequeno, Manuel, Gil, Pilonte, Joe, TJ, Patricia, Ofeita, Samito, Mauricio, Ronilda, Cocas, Leanora, and Atija.

Me and Little Cutsie. And that in the background is where the boys are all living now – in their dry and secure dormitory! And the huge rock pile you see is what will be the beginning of the girls dormitory, which we hope to begin constructing very soon!

2010-11-19T20:06:00.002+02:00

Just wanted to say that Zaqueio got his medicine from Maputo and has now taken all of it. He still has another week of antibiotics but is feeling back to normal and seems happy and himself again. Thank you so much for praying for Zaqueio and for the health of everyone in the orfanato.

Papaya Trees

2010-11-14T18:18:00.000+02:00

Papaya trees are so cute and funny looking.

And they look really good in pictures.

2010-11-11T22:41:00.000+02:00

Thank you so much for your prayers for Zaqueio. It looks like he has the parasitic disease schistosomiasis, which you can get from stepping in stagnant water. The doctor prescribed a medication that we are not able to find in any pharmacy here so we are waiting to see if we can get someone to send it from Maputo, the capital.

Please Pray for Zaqueio

2010-11-10T12:35:00.001+02:00

Zaqueio is one of the oldest boys in the orphanage and he is a wonderful, wonderful young man. He is the younger brother of Alzira, who passed away earlier this year. Last night we found him in such excruciating pain that he could not talk. Victor rushed him to the hospital where they sedated him and then did many tests. He was able to see two kind doctors and then spent the night in the hospital. This morning TJ and others have been visiting him. We are now just waiting for the doctor to return and figure out what’s going on, but we suspect it may be some kind of hernia.

Please keep Zaqueio in your prayers and we will give an update when we know more. Thank you.

Daniel Graduates From His First Year Of Bible School

2010-11-02T15:55:00.006+02:00

Vincent, Daniel, Robbie, and Solomão

Last year we sent Daniel (from the orphanage) and Solomão (from our church) to a bible school in Beira. This past weekend was their graduation from the first year, so we made a trip down to the center of the country to attend the graduation. We took Clara (from the orphanage) and Bautista and Benvinda (a young couple from church) with us because we want to send them to this bible school next year.

Bautista, Benvinda, Clara, and Yohani

The Road

Our trip began so sadly. We left Nampula before 5am and just around 6am we were driving along through the bush (in “the middle of nowhere”) when we could see up ahead of us a large crowd of people standing on the side of the road, all with their backs toward us. We slowed down and as we approached the crowd we could see that there were over a dozen people lying on the ground on the side of the road. The people were lying so still, shoulder to shoulder and they looked perfect and then we realized that they were all dead. I don’t think I have ever seen anything more terrible and sad in all my life. It was on the edge of a bridge and only one police officer was at the scene, reporting into his phone that there were so far 17 dead. A large truck with no covering, transporting people, had driven off the bridge. It looked like everyone from the nearest village was there pulling bodies out of the dry riverbed below. A young woman sitting under a tree had survived the accident but beside her on the ground was her baby the same size as Yohani, not alive anymore.

I can’t stop thinking about the people lying on the side of the road - young men dressed in their best shirts for traveling, pretty girls with their capulanas neatly tied around the waist – such dignity in the clothes of these people in their poverty. There are no choices for transportation for 99% of people here. Too much of life here – people are at the mercy of something so massively out of control – like public transportation, fragile food and water sources, flooding, disease, non-existent sanitation, first grade classrooms with one teacher and 150 students. A hundred little children watching this accident – seeing their people – every dead person looks just like a mother, a father, a sister, a brother, a daughter, a son, a cousin, a friend. Nobody should see something like this but how much death do these children see? I can’t fathom the range of the human experience – how can you even compare life in Sweden with life in the Congo? How does God oversee us all?

Everyone in our car was so sad after seeing this accident even though the rest of the 15-hour drive was uneventful. There was one other thing we saw that was unsettling. After we crossed the great Zambezi River in mid-afternoon we were again driving along in “the middle of nowhere” when we saw a crowd of people in the road up ahead. We again slowed down and this time we saw the most raggedy makeshift camp on the side of the road. It looked almost like a normal market but without any life – no colorful fabrics, fruits and vegetables, or lively people – in fact no women either. It was strange and weird and we were all confused. At the end of the camp was a bridge and as we crossed the bridge we looked over the edge and in the river below there was a scene that looked just like something from the movie Blood Diamond – the shallow river below was full of people mining with pans. We think they were mining for gold. It seems they have recently discovered gold and precious stones in this country and now there is a big issue of illegal mining. The whole scene was very creepy, especially considering history and what happens when something valuable is discovered on African soil.

The Bible School and the Graduation

We are now in Beira, in the center of the country, for Daniel’s graduation from bible school. Daniel came to the orphanage after his mother was killed by a land mine left over from the war. She had been working in the fields when it happened. After that Daniel’s father and other relatives made him into a servant and didn’t allow him to go to school or do anything but make beer for them to drink and sell. Daniel was rescued and brought to our orphanage. As Daniel got older we found him to be a person who could handle a lot of responsibility graciously and without ever complaining. Last year after he finished 10^th grade (the highest grade needed here to go to most colleges) Victor sent him to bible school in Beira.

A wonderful Australian lady and her team of pastors and volunteers who teach all the classes in Portuguese and English run the bible school. During the graduation there was incredible singing, lots of dancing, an inspiring speaker who flew in from Kenya, and a community of outstanding Christian leaders. All the graduates looked so sharp and handsome in their dress shirts and ties and robes and they were singing and dancing with joy throughout the whole thing. At the very end of the ceremony there were awards for different areas of ministry and academics. Solomão and Vincent won quite a few of the awards and everyone cheered – we are so proud of them. At the end of all the honors, the director, Robbie, came up and talked about one final award that exceeded all others because it would be presented to the person who most embodied the Christian character we should all be aspiring to. She described this person as being one who never complained, never “murmured,” always worked hard, always put others first, always served quietly, etc. etc. etc. I wish I had a transcript of her words and a recording of her emphasis because I am not doing it justice. The way she was describing this award and this person – you could almost cry with emotion imagining how wonderful one of these young people is to be like this. And then when she finally called the person’s name, it was Daniel. I knew it would be him, but when I heard his name I did burst into tears. It is so true how Daniel is like that. What an amazing honor to be recognized for his humble ways by a great lady at such a spirit filled place.

Daniel receiving his award.

I feel I am failing to describe the bible school but it is a place where God is really working in the lives of young men and women who will be sent out to preach the love of Jesus and work for the most precious and humble people living in the most severe conditions of poverty and spiritual oppression. This bible school is equipping these young guys with everything they can give – to understand the message God has given to us through the bible, to aspire to live a true Christian life, and to support his people, working for the Kingdom.

Towindo, Bautista, Solomão, Vincent, Benvinda with Yohani, Gracio, Daniel, Clara with Tobey, Victor, Norma, and me.

Celebration dinner afterwards - the power was out in Beira most of the weekend so the lighting didn't really work out for pictures. But we had a great celebration dinner after the graduation.

So now we have Daniel, Solomão, and Vincent with us for a few months before they go back for the second year of bible school. Solomão is a young man from our church and Vincent is a young man who came to Mozambique from Malawi after his parents died. Gracio helped Vincent go to the bible school and Daniel and Solomão became good friends with him and helped support him while he was there.

Norma with Yohani who is talking to her. Norma used to work at the orphanage before I came but now lives with her husband, Towindo, in Beira. Norma and Towindo showed our group enormous hospitality all weekend and beyond. We hit it off so well - I really wish they lived closer to us. They are both originally from Zimbabwe so I didn't have any language barriers connecting with Norma on a deeper level.

Yohani with his Aunt Heliane who is also in school in Beira.

Victor is Mustafa and Yohani is the Lion King.

Gracio

Yohani loves playing with Gracio!

After the graduation we went to Chimoio with Gracio. I don’t know how to even describe who Gracio is but he is someone very special to Victor and to my family. If you have ever heard Victor’s more detailed testimony, when he first started in the ministry he had a group of guys who went with him when he was involved in the most powerful evangelism, before the orphanage started, and Gracio was the first in that group. Gracio is also one of my brother’s best friends here in Mozambique and is also very dear to my parents. After working at Simon’s orphanage in Chimoio for many years, Gracio is now living in the city in a bairro and has started a prison ministry. Victor and I were so touched by what he has been doing in the prison. It’s actually one of only three penitentiaries in the country. Considering what a struggle it can be for normal people to survive and get enough food and water – I’m sure you can only imagine how much worse it is for prisoners . . . let’s just say they are the last priority. Gracio does not have much but what little he has he shares with the men he ministers to in the prison. We are just so touched and impressed by him and we think so highly of the work he has started here – bringing the Good News to the most despised people. So far he has only been able to go on the men’s side. Please pray that he will also be allowed to bring ladies to work on the women’s side. This morning Victor and the three bible school guys – Daniel, Solomão, and Vincent – went to the prison with Gracio.

Simon’s Orphanage

Erin, Yohani, Silvia, and Clarissa.

In Chimoio we also stopped by Simon’s orphanage and were so happy to see Simon, Erin, Clarissa, Silvia, and everyone else. We are only missing Courage who is at school in South Africa!

2010-10-25T19:02:00.000+02:00

A container we’ve had here for years has finally been removed. We were thrilled to find someone who would take it for free and that person was thrilled to get a free container – a win win for everyone.

There is an audience for (the duration of) absolutely everything.

The Heat

2010-10-17T21:47:00.001+02:00

Yohani relaxing in the evening.

It's gotten to be way over 100˚ in our little house recently and it's not even the hottest month here yet . . . please just imagine.

How The Kids Get New Clothes

2010-10-15T21:36:00.001+02:00

A lot of people have asked how we get clothes for all the kids.

A few days ago we went to a warehouse and bought several gigantic bundles of clothing. The clothing comes from the U.S. and is used but it great condition and is sorted into bundles (adult t-shirts, children’s t-shirts, adult pants, children’s pants, etc.). We are not sure if they are supposed to be selling these donated clothes, but normally street vendors buy them and sell them absolutely everywhere. (I don’t think you can take a trip to town without someone coming up to you and trying to sell you a pair of pants.)

We gathered all the kids on the porch of the boys’ dorm and told them to bring all their clothes.

Then we opened the bundles, read all the t-shirts, discarded the ones with bad words, and sorted the rest on the porch railing.

After that Victor called each kid up and inspected his or her clothes and then confiscated the ones that were too dirty and torn up to ever be worn again. Then TJ confiscated all the boys clothes that are supposed to be girls clothes. (This actually started several weeks ago when I (jokingly) told TJ not to let little Canito continue wearing these blue floral leggings. The next thing I knew, Canito came to me looking like he was about to cry and asked me why I did not want him to have any pants. TJ thought it was very funny. But at least now they are Ofeita’s pants and look a million times better on her.)

TJ didn't think Rock should have this "Don't Make Me Pout" sweatshirt.

Some of the kids’ clothes were ridiculously dirty and torn up (from playing really hard) but when Carlitos presented his clothes Victor was so impressed that he quieted everyone down and then declared that Carlitos would receive an egg for having the best smelling clothes. I thought this was really funny.

After the clothes inspection each kid was sent to the right pile to pick a certain number of shirts and a certain number of pants.

At the end everyone was very happy.

Jeremias in his new outfit.

2010-10-10T14:50:00.000+02:00

A few nights ago I noticed the two kids who probably need the most supervision engaged in a gigantic wrestle with each other. I did not get bored watching the wrestle turn into a chase and then some kind of game which TJ guessed must be "Macua Hostage Crisis."

Mena looks on as Isaque Pequeno captures Jose.

Somehow the rubber glove and plastic bottle keep Jose in the chair.

Then another chase breaks out. This time Jose is the chaser and Isaque Pequeno is the one running away.

Mena watches as Jose ties up Isaque Pequeno and puts the rubber glove on him.

Finally Isaque Pequeno is the one who is captured by Jose and Mena's interest moves elsewhere.