Acia and Fatima

Yesterday Britney, another volunteer, and took a chapa (taxi van) to the central market. While we were on the chapa we noticed two young girls sitting infront of us. They were talking, and tried to talk with us...but still my portuguese is not up to par. They laughed at us, Britney and I got off the bus and we went our seperate ways. About two hours later we walked from the market up the street in busy Maputo to try and catch a chapa home. There were sooooo many people waiting in line for a chapa; pushing to squeeze as many people as they could in the tiny taxis. While we were waiting we again encountered these girls. This time we tried to carry on a conversation. They shared some small cookies with us as we waited for what seemed like hours for the right chapa to come. In the end we invited them to come to our house for coffee and exchanged phone numbers.

Fast Forward to today.....

Today Acia (A-sha) and Fatola came over for coffee. They are 18 years old and attend a boarding school here in Matola. They came over for coffee, taught us Mozambican games, and played withthe kids. When it was time for them to leave I went with them to there school and they gave me a small tour. I started talking with them and invited them to our house church. They are muslim and invited me to come to church with them as well. So this Friday I am going to a Muslim mosk and on Sunday the girls are coming here for church. Please keep them in your prayers. And also pray for me as I atempt to love them as Christ would and as the language barrier is frustrating.

Camp 2000

A couple of days ago I had the chance of a life time. In 2000 floods covered Mozambique. Many peoples homes were destroyed. A refugee camp called camp 2000 was started for them and I got to visit the area this past week. The boys (Justin, Pedro, and Luis) and I left as the sun was rising to take one of our little boys Idrussi to his village in camp 2000 to visit his grandmother. We took a Chapa for three hours to find the pastor and his wife who had found and helped Idrussi. I loved the long ride though. I loved seeing the country...I got to see the Africa that I dreamed about; the red sand and the flat landscape spotted with reed shacks and brush.

Once we found them we were led by another woman in the village on a one and a half hour walk to Idrussi's home village. His grandmother started wailing when we got there. Tears of happiness. She had not seen Idrussi since she had given him up over a year ago and he had been dying then. It was so hard for her to believe that chubbie Idrussi was the HIV infected, malnourished, bone of a dying baby that she let go. It was such an incredible moment...I'll never forget it. The whole village then came to see him, talk to him, hold him, and sing to him. They speak Shagaan in this village, so I didn't understand a word that they were saying...luckily Luis, the ever amazing translator, was with us! I also did my first hitch-hiking ever! We hitch-hiked back into Benefica from the village! I love these kind of adventures.

Traveling in Africa is insane. There is no time in Africa. Everything is always late and uncertain. After a crazy few days of travel I am now safe in Cape Town, South Africa for a short Holiday. I am staying with some people that I met in Mozambique! They are amazing Zurk and Charne. So I am taking a little bit of rest before my last month in Africa. It is wonderful to take a warm shower from a shower head and to drink water from a tap...things that we take for granted in America every day.

I am so sorry that I have not been able to do pictures...I promise to create a page for them when I get home....the Internet is just too slow here. BUT click on the MY HOME IN AFRICA link at the top of my page. It has pictures of all of our kids at the orphanage and stories as well.

I love you all.

Time to Play

In the new Vanity Fair AFRICA edition Madonna was qouted saying, "I asked one of the children in Malawi If you've got the world listening to you, if there's one thing that you would say to them, what would you say?" The child responded, "'Please just help us forget that we are orphans.'" This seems to be the theme of my time here in Africa. Just to love on the kids here and help them forget...

I love the sound of the kids laughter. Their entire faces light up...and in that moment you see the purest form of hope, and joy. If Jesus were alive to day I am sure that He would spend his free time here in this baby house. I know that He is alreay here...he does spend time here. I see him laughing with them, dancing with Aninha and Jessica as they shake their hips, He says chao with Dudu, and runs and skips with Luis. The Lord takes such joy in these little ones.

I am learning that play is universal...all kids everywhere play. They might not have PlaySchool toys, but they play anyway. Yesturday I saw two girls playing some jumping game with a warn piece of string, there were boys tossing a plastic bag full of sand as their ball, and five kids running down the street after kites of plastic and sticks. I love that the Lord created us to play and I plan to do more of it.

Africa is Hungry

Well it is only noon here and already there is much to write about. Justin, Britney, Luis, and I went into the comunidad to help hook up the water at the grandparents house. And it will be hooked up in 1 week! Praise the Lord! They are so precious...it breaks my heart. While we were there we visited another Tiki's family. Tiki is a 16 year old boy who looks like he is four...he is soooooo malnourished. Because of malnourishment he also has mental disabilities; he acts like he is four as well. Tiki's skin is peeling off because of the malnourishment. It is crazy how many lives could be saved and changed here with clean water and food...and it is sooooo inexpensive. It seems like everyone in Africa is hungry. We took food in with us, but there is never enough for everyone that we encounter.

Pray for Africa and think deeply about how you can help its people!

This Is Africa

I am falling in love with one of our boys here...his name is Marcelino and he is three years old. He is my boy. I lvoe everything about him. His little eyes, his hands, his smiles. He has the most amazing spirit about him; very playful. If I were older I would be trying to adopt him so quickly.

I brought out bubbles for the kids today! I wish you could have seen the delight on their faces and heard their happy voices. I wish I could upload pictures but the internet is too slow...I promise to post pictures soon.

Today I also went to a TB hospital in a nearby town. Please pray for Moazambique and Africa. The men that we saw looked like holocost victoms....they are so skinny and suffering so much. They were so excited that we were there just to pray for them.

The most interesting thing that happened today was that a neighbor boy that I think is about 18 brought me a gift (a beautiful mozambiquan bag) and asked me out on a date. His name is Samosa and he is pretty persisent. It was hard and I think will continue to be hard to turn him down. I wonder how many cows I am worth?

A bit Rocky

Well I have been at the orphanage about 5 days now and things are a bit rocky for me. I spend most of my time in the orphanage working with the kids and hanging out with Pieter, Rika, and the other volunteers. I am longing to spend time in the community, but it is not something that happens very often. I went out with some of the guys today to dig a trench. We are attempting to get water to one of the grandparents houses (some of the money you gave went to pay for this water project thank you sooo much), but I left after we had gotten the supplies. I should have stayed and played with the kids or something, but instead I went into Maputo with the girls and ran errands. But I will get to go out into the community again on wednesday to deliver food to the families and spend time there. I will also be using some of the money that you all donated to build a kitchen for one of the grandparents in the community

I also got to give the kids all of the toys and clothes that you at the church donated today. They loved them! And Pieter and Rika are soooo thankful for all of the supplies. Their shelves are full!

So another day in Mozambique is finished and I am filled with thankfulness for this opportunity. I don't know what the Lord will teach me here, but I cannot wait to find out. I am already feeling broken and am waiting for the Father to grow me up, to refine me and make me more like himself.

Keep praying for my as I try to do life here, to serve here, and be content here.

I am Home

I am in Africa! I arrived yesterday night and have almost completed my first full day at the orphanage. The babies are beautiful and so much fun! Already the Lord is giving me direction here and opening doors.

I awoke this morning to the pitter patter of little feet and hands on the tiled floor. It was like they were all making thier own music. Everything is very chill here. The babies have a schedule and everyone chips in to et the job done. There are two people my age from Texas and another three volunteers from Kansass, needless to say I am finding great campanionship and I do not feel lonely. All four of us girl volunteers sleep in a room together and try to ward off the killer mosquitos....I have never seen them this big in the states. I am very comfotable and already feel like my room is my room.

Today we took four of the Babies to the village clinic to be weighed. The babies have to be weighed officially so that the orphanage can get funding from the govt. I cannot explain the brokenness that I saw at the clinic. I would have loved to spend an entire afternoon there hearing the peoples stories and loving on them, but we were in and out soooooo quickly. Three of our two year old boys have AIDs so pray for them (ricardo, luesch, and edrusee). Today we also went to a hospital in the city where a little one year old named Thelma is being treeted for malnurishment. She is so beautyful! but you can see every bone in her body. Thelma will be coming home to the orphanage with us as soon as she is released...we are hoping within the next week or so.

Answer to prayer: I am going to be starting an ART program at the orphanage! I will be working out all the details...writting curiculum by sunday and presenting it to Pieter and Rika. I will also be training two Mozambiqan women once I have a program formed. I can't believe that I get to do this! God is sooo good! Please pray for this project. I also am hoping to spend at least one day a week outside of the orphanage working with the village grandmothers...so pray for that as well.

Africa here I come!

I leave tomorrow for Mozambique! I am sooooo excited and cannot wait to meet everyone in Africa; to be sharing life with them and serving them. I'll write all of you as soon as I can once I arrive. I love you all!