Indiana Summer

Well, it's been a long time since we paid attention to this blog. Our excuse is that we were taking a break in the U.S. since the end of June.

This included spending fun times with family including three family reunions.

We loved being with the grandbabies! (And our kids, of course ...)

 

One of the reunions was in Tennessee so we spent a little time hiking in the Smoky Mountains. Beautiful!

 

 

 

In between the travels and reunions we did get some work done. For Steve mowing a pasture is fun work. He and his brother also spent time fixing tractors and getting them ready to sell for their Mom. There was also work to do for his parent's estate such as helping to sell properties, cutting down many small trees that were in the wrong place and lots of miscellaneous things on the to-do list. It was great to be able to help her which we haven't been able to do much while we're in Moz.

We also had a good time reconnecting with people from our church and other friends. This is an important part of being home for us.

Labor Day weekend we made our traditional sojourn to Lake Michigan. Bocce ball in progress here.

 

We fit in a baby shower for the next grandbaby coming soon and had fun being creative with the melon. Keith put his artistic talent to work.

 

 

On our way home to Mozambique we stopped in Germany for a weekend to visit missionary friends but that will wait for another entry. We're back remembering how to live here. Steve is OK with driving on the left but he keeps forgetting what side the blinkers are on and so the windshield wipers go on quite regularly!

 

One of my first impressions at the airport was the spontaneity of Africans, laughter, joyful singing. Yeah, and a guy talking so loudly that he interrupted my nap.  But it's good to be back.

 

 

 

 

May Newsletter

Just a note to let you know that our latest newsletter has been posted and you may click on it on the sidebar if you don't already receive it.

Livraria Evangélica

Steve and I have been on the board of a non-profit local CLC Christian bookstore for many years. For most of that time it has been an advisory board which meets 1-2 times a year. Lately, however, I have been getting more involved in the nitty gritty daily affairs.

 

A young man managed the store for a long time and the great thing was that he was very honest. The downside was that he didn’t want to go out to churches, conferences and seminaries to promote the store. After the store moved, many people no longer knew where to find it. The regional director was very frustrated but felt she couldn’t find anyone as honest as him. We know a young lady who loves marketing, is very honest and loves God and suggested her. A year later she came on board.

There was no handover so she is figuring things out as she goes. One of the huge challenges is termites! The wooden shelves are full of them and they are in termite heaven in a bookstore. All that paper, all that wood, yum, yum (and no apologies from them)! Many of the books have been damaged and the shelves are a loss. Used metal shelves are being donated in England and will be put on a container to send here but that will take awhile. In the meantime we need to figure out what to do so that all the books are not eaten before we can sell them.

I have been helping a bit with book tables at community fairs and meetings. It is great to get out and meet people who have been looking for the store, or for a place to buy Christian literature. Please pray for success as it is the only evangelical bookstore ministry in the country (there is also a small branch in Beira).

A Pig in a What and She Bought What?

Life in Africa has been more about travels these last 3 months than about being in one place, which has been Maputo.  We hope that this does not represent a trend that continues for too long into the future.  That said, Steve will be traveling extensively until we go on home leave starting June 20.  After April 7, he will be in Zambia twice, Eastern DRC, Rwanda (just passing through) Kenya and South Sudan.

While our previous blog focused on N. America visits, this one is for Mozambique.  The week after Rachel got back from the US, she went to the village and Steve went to Maxixe to visit the coconut oil factory.  On the way home, I, Steve took a bus that was not too full of people, but was certainly packed with goods.  One of those items was a live pig.  You have probably heard of people transporting live chickens on the bus, where the old lady had one in her basket, or there is a crate of them you have to climb over in the aisle. 

Well this was a pig.  Ok, granted I did not know it was on the bus because they had stowed it down below in a separate compartment.  Its legs were tied and it stayed quiet until they picked it up to toss in onto the side of the road.  You might imagine the pig squeals that the handling and tossing of a trussed up pig can elicit.  Well it certainly got my attention in the middle of Maputo. 

 

Rachel in the meantime, was having her own adventure.  She decided to buy a bunch of bananas from the agriculture association in Mohambe. Ok, I said, no problem.  No, she said, a whole bunch, like the whole thing that hangs on the tree!.  Really? Who is going to eat them since I am traveling next week.  Oh, they are green so it will take them a while to ripen.  Yes, but they will all ripen at once!  Now for the true African, Oh-o-O-o-O! (the 5 syllable, drawn out version meaning “really?”, or “I see, so that is how it is!”)  

The solution was obviously to cut them off the stalk and offer them to our work mates at a reasonable price.  Now Rachel only has about 20 bananas to eat (but they will still all get ripe around the same time).  Bananas, anyone?

 

Rachel here - Actually I was just trying to help my friend Rosalia (below) with some sales. So I brought a crate and a half of tomatoes, and some huge, delicious papayas that you cannot find in the city. Our friends at work would have liked even more produce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we're talking about trees and fruit - has anyone ever seen anything like this fruit below?

 I certainly haven't!

 

 



Visit to the U.S. to Meet the New Grandbabies

Last year when we learned that two of our children would have children within a month of each other we decided it would be a good time to use our Delta miles. It was a very special family time and we are grateful that we could go.


On our first stop we met Oliver who was just getting out of the hospital for the second time since birth. He had RSV and was in NICU on oxygen for more than a week. We are so thankful that he is healthy again.

It was great to spend time with Oliver's older sister, Sophia. She loves books, her babies, and she has learned some signs to communicate, such as "more" with a pleading look in her eyes!

 

 

From their house we drove 1.5 hours to our daughter's home. (Isn't it nice that they live close together? It made it very convenient for us.) Joanna was due in about a week but I assumed she would be early since I always was. Wrong. Miss Evelyn decided to wait for another week and a day after her due date. But she came at just the right time and it was a privilege to be with Joanna and Keith during her labor and delivery. Keith did a great job of telling Joanna vivid stories every time she had a contraction to distract her from the pain. The nurses were all talking about this natural birth and how beautiful it was. Evy is an answer to prayer and we thank God for her.

 

 

 

 

 


Before I came back to Moz I visited Janelle and David at their new home which I hadn't seen yet. They live in a winter wonderland on a wooded lot. This year the snowfall record was broken so you know they have had a wild winter! Thankfully it was fairly calm when I was there.

When I landed in Maputo it was a bit of a shock to breathe the warm, humid air. But I've adapted and now the seasons are starting to change as we head toward Fall.

Thank you, God, for a time to be with our growing family at such an important time. Thank you for our two homes and the ability to travel fairly quickly between them and for your provision.

"For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Ps. 100:5

Boas Saidas e Boas Entradas

We had a very restful end of the year. Our preference would have been spending it with family but the next best thing was to find some beautiful spots in Mozambique. So we went to the beach!

Our friends Rachel and Natasha joined us for a few days.

After the beach we headed to Swaziland to a lodge on a working farm.

 

 

 

Here is the view off our front porch.



One evening we saw an incredible sunset that lasted for about a half hour.

 

We went for many walks around the farm, usually accompanied by the farm dogs. Unfortunately the ticks found us. Rachel got African tick bite fever a week later but thankfully Steve didn't get it, because he's already had it and is immune to the fever. With the help of some antibiotics and God's healing, Rachel is fine now.

 

After one day at home to catch my breath it was on the road again. This time I accompanied the WR Africa directors to a working retreat. I helped organize the logistics and this bus was a huge answer to prayer when we were down to the wire.

 

It's back to the beach again!
 

The sunrises were awesome!



Of course we spent most of our days inside this room and only got to enjoy the beach on our breaks.



The last evening we had a very meaningful time of communion and hand washing.

On the last day of our retreat we visited the villages where WR works and this church leader's training.
One of these women, Carlota said,

 "We used to think about the life to come but not how to live in this world.

Now we know it's not only important to come to church but how to care for my family. We had to find the African God who cares for us and is stronger than the witchdoctor."

Carlota is conveying the lessons and stories she is learning to five other people in her church.

 

 

We also made a home visit to Rosaria. She was full of rage after her husband abandoned her. After she started attending WR church partners trainings she realized she needed to forgive him. God has done many things for Rosaria. She is now a leader in the agriculture association and in her church. 

The verses Rosaria wanted us to read:
Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
Remember His marvelous works which He has done.
I Chron. 16:8-12a