Do you recall those lyrics, “I hear the roaring thunder?” Maybe you remember them as “I hear the rolling thunder.” Last night I had to think of those words and add a little volume during one of the most intense thunder storms I have ever heard.
I was awakened around 3 AM with what I first thought was a large truck rumbling down main street, a quarter block from our bedroom window. Then I realized the noise was not stopping and it sounded more like a jet taking off from the airport and flying around the city trying to gain altitude. It would fade in and out, but there was a constant roar with various crescendos, coupled with occasional explosions.
Maybe it was the foggy brain, but to sort it out I had to get out of bed and see what was going on. About then we were hit by a heavy rain shower and it began to dawn in me that the continuous noise was actually thunder.
There was not much to see due to being on the ground floor and lots of tall buildings all around. What I could tell was there were constant flashes of lightning, followed by long rolls of thunder blending together to actually sound like the roar of a jet engine. If I have been in the Midwest, I would have thought it was a freight train or tornado. Because the storm passed to our south, we were not in the center of it. Much of the lightning seemed to be cloud to cloud, resulting in long horizontal strikes followed by 5-10 seconds of rolling thunder. Multiply that by 2-3 flashes per second, plus echoes and you get some pretty consistent reverberations. It was impressive.
Well, if we are awed by His nature, we should also be awed by His presence. I hope you are.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
When the unique and unusual becomes ordinary…
When the unique and unusual becomes ordinary…
Is that a sign you have been traveling too much, been away from normal too long or are just too busy to find the time to write about it? Those are some of the thoughts rolling around in my head as I lay awake at 5:30 in the morning, waiting for the rest of my body to wake up before I went out jogging. So, I (Steve) am writing this brief note just to give you a flavor of life at the moment.
While I have only been on one trip so far this year, it was a bit of a whirlwind. I traveled with a team from the US to the Turkana region of Kenya for an agricultural assessment in early February and then on to Zambia with two different teams in 10 days. Coming back to Mozambique keeps us just as busy planning for my next trip to eastern Africa (4 weeks long where Rachel gets to come with me for half the time) and keeping up with the Mozambique side of things. (More details in our coming newsletter.)
There are not many dull moments right now, but we are looking forward to a break come May 12 when we start our leave. In the meantime, nearly every day has something scheduled.
One thing we have been doing is saying goodbye to some special people. The Nigerian ambassador and his wife have been part of the leadership team at our church and we will miss them.
With some other friends at the farewell party. Some of them are also leaving soon. We have had to get used to many comings and goings!
Our good friends, the Brandbergs:
Is that a sign you have been traveling too much, been away from normal too long or are just too busy to find the time to write about it? Those are some of the thoughts rolling around in my head as I lay awake at 5:30 in the morning, waiting for the rest of my body to wake up before I went out jogging. So, I (Steve) am writing this brief note just to give you a flavor of life at the moment.
While I have only been on one trip so far this year, it was a bit of a whirlwind. I traveled with a team from the US to the Turkana region of Kenya for an agricultural assessment in early February and then on to Zambia with two different teams in 10 days. Coming back to Mozambique keeps us just as busy planning for my next trip to eastern Africa (4 weeks long where Rachel gets to come with me for half the time) and keeping up with the Mozambique side of things. (More details in our coming newsletter.)
There are not many dull moments right now, but we are looking forward to a break come May 12 when we start our leave. In the meantime, nearly every day has something scheduled.
One thing we have been doing is saying goodbye to some special people. The Nigerian ambassador and his wife have been part of the leadership team at our church and we will miss them.
With some other friends at the farewell party. Some of them are also leaving soon. We have had to get used to many comings and goings!
Our good friends, the Brandbergs:
Monday, March 12, 2012
February Happenings in Zambia and Maputo
It seems we're getting a bit lazy about this blog and instead of writing much, we're pointing you to other people's blogs.
In February Steve, Jeff and Jenna Friesen went on a “beyond the bush” trip in Zambia to fulfill some of the grant requirements for the Friesen’s who are living in Tanzania for a year. You can read about their adventure on their blog here: http://tanzaniafriesens.wordpress.com/ (See the Feb 16 entry.) Here's Jenna. I think she was a lot more tired by 5 a.m. when they finally quit driving.
That is just part of the story. The next day Steve and Jeff and the driver went on and found some beautiful falls. The people want to develop the area for tourism and will need electricity for that, but they didn’t seem interested in a hydroelectric option.
So, it was a very long trip without many results. They dropped the Friesen’s off at Victoria Falls, and went back to Mongu through Lusaka on the good roads rather than the sandy track - still another 15 hour drive.
While Steve was gone I helped a Korean missionary with a CHE (Community Health Evangelists) seminar that she organized. She did a great job of communicating with different churches and seminaries who sent people. I have never seen people more motivated to arrive on time (even early!) and participate faithfully every morning for three weeks. It was amazing! Here I am at the closing ceremonies where the facilitators were presented with a capulana, a mocume (two capulanas put together to make a bedspread) and everyone got headscarves. You can see that there were some fun people there. There were about 20 people but the larger group pictures didn't turn out well.
This seminar makes me hopeful for Mozambique and its people. The participants said that they are better prepared to go to the communities with good information about health, community development and ways to share the Good News. And they are the kind of people who will go out and do something about the needs they see.
In February Steve, Jeff and Jenna Friesen went on a “beyond the bush” trip in Zambia to fulfill some of the grant requirements for the Friesen’s who are living in Tanzania for a year. You can read about their adventure on their blog here: http://tanzaniafriesens.wordpress.com/ (See the Feb 16 entry.) Here's Jenna. I think she was a lot more tired by 5 a.m. when they finally quit driving.
That is just part of the story. The next day Steve and Jeff and the driver went on and found some beautiful falls. The people want to develop the area for tourism and will need electricity for that, but they didn’t seem interested in a hydroelectric option.
So, it was a very long trip without many results. They dropped the Friesen’s off at Victoria Falls, and went back to Mongu through Lusaka on the good roads rather than the sandy track - still another 15 hour drive.
While Steve was gone I helped a Korean missionary with a CHE (Community Health Evangelists) seminar that she organized. She did a great job of communicating with different churches and seminaries who sent people. I have never seen people more motivated to arrive on time (even early!) and participate faithfully every morning for three weeks. It was amazing! Here I am at the closing ceremonies where the facilitators were presented with a capulana, a mocume (two capulanas put together to make a bedspread) and everyone got headscarves. You can see that there were some fun people there. There were about 20 people but the larger group pictures didn't turn out well.
This seminar makes me hopeful for Mozambique and its people. The participants said that they are better prepared to go to the communities with good information about health, community development and ways to share the Good News. And they are the kind of people who will go out and do something about the needs they see.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Turkana, Kenya
Here are some sites that tell about Turkana, where Steve is traveling right now. The first link is to a blog by Don Golden of WR. He has some great pictures. They are a pastoral tribe and WR is trying to figure out how to best help them with agriculture or other projects. Climate change and the drought is changing their lifestyle.
The men wear a piece of cloth over one shoulder. They carry a staff, a small stool to suit on and wear a circular knife on their wrists. The women shave their heads on the sides and wear many necklaces.
I’m doing well in Maputo and thanking God every day for air conditioning. I wish I could share some heat with the folks in Europe and Asia!
The men wear a piece of cloth over one shoulder. They carry a staff, a small stool to suit on and wear a circular knife on their wrists. The women shave their heads on the sides and wear many necklaces.
I’m doing well in Maputo and thanking God every day for air conditioning. I wish I could share some heat with the folks in Europe and Asia!
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Deborah
Last week was a very special girl's 3rd birthday. If you've read this blog very long you know that our friends rescued Deborah from malnutrition and neglect. At one year she could not sit up. Now at 3 she is an active, normal little girl that is a joy to be with.
In January they stopped by the house once to pick something up but didn't come in because we weren't home. When Deborah realized they weren't going in, she started to cry loudly and kept it up as they were going down the road until they reached me by phone and she heard my voice. Then she calmed down.
This Sunday when she saw me she came running with her hands up to be held. That melted my heart. Children are so innocent and precious.
Here are some pictures out of our photo shoot:
With her friend, Santos.
In January they stopped by the house once to pick something up but didn't come in because we weren't home. When Deborah realized they weren't going in, she started to cry loudly and kept it up as they were going down the road until they reached me by phone and she heard my voice. Then she calmed down.
This Sunday when she saw me she came running with her hands up to be held. That melted my heart. Children are so innocent and precious.
Here are some pictures out of our photo shoot:
With her friend, Santos.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Floods
In January some agriculture associations that WR works with and others like it had their fields completely flooded by rain and because a dam up-river was opened overnight. They lost a tomato harvest that would have been ready in one week, mango and papaya trees, irrigation and other equipment, fertilizer, and all the investment they had put into this crop. Please pray that they will not lose hope or faith in God.
They went from this …
To this, overnight in Chinhangane.
In Mucatine it looked something like this:
And then it flooded:
This is a huge loss when you are surviving off the land. We have been working on getting information to our headquarters so that some relief aid can be given to these people and others in neighboring communities. WR will give food, seeds and hopefully some help to replace the irrigation and other equipment that was swept down the river.
In Maputo we had about 6 inches of rain over two days which caused some rivers in streets where there is not good drainage. It is the outlying areas close to rivers that were hardest hit with some people needing to move from their homes, some deaths and many harvests ruined. We are thankful to God that the second cyclone went through the Mozambique channel and did not cause as much damage as it could have.
We need to keep on praying for Mozambique.
They went from this …
To this, overnight in Chinhangane.
In Mucatine it looked something like this:
And then it flooded:
This is a huge loss when you are surviving off the land. We have been working on getting information to our headquarters so that some relief aid can be given to these people and others in neighboring communities. WR will give food, seeds and hopefully some help to replace the irrigation and other equipment that was swept down the river.
In Maputo we had about 6 inches of rain over two days which caused some rivers in streets where there is not good drainage. It is the outlying areas close to rivers that were hardest hit with some people needing to move from their homes, some deaths and many harvests ruined. We are thankful to God that the second cyclone went through the Mozambique channel and did not cause as much damage as it could have.
We need to keep on praying for Mozambique.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Christmas 2011
The Christmas celebrations started with the staff at WR going to Costa de Sol, a great seafood restaurant across from the beach.
Check out this seafood platter with prawns, lobster, barracuda, calamari and more:
Christmas Day we were in church and then at home with a Korean friend. We forgot to take pictures! We had invited several others but for one reason or another they could not come so there was plenty of food left to eat the rest of the week.
Monday we stopped in to see our Cuban friends. Miss Debora is modeling a dress I made her out of two head scarves (with room to grow into it). I got the idea from the last church team that came. Ladies in the village are making them (and other items)to earn money for another truck for their agriculture association.
Then we were off to a great B&B at a farm in Swaziland. They have lots of litchi trees that are just starting to be harvested. I didn't know they could get this huge!
The hydrangea were also in full bloom. The Afrikaners call them Christmas Roses.
We spent time reading, and walking all over the farm on hiking trails.
On the way home we stopped at a small game park, Hlane. The animals were being shy, or maybe just lazy with the heat like these rhinos.
This dung beetle was certainly being industrious.
The giraffe family was fun to watch and almost close enough to touch as we drove by.
Anyone who has been to a park knows that the impalas are abundant. This time we came across two "nurseries" with very new babies. So cute!
We also saw a herd of waterbuck, wildebeest, warthog, kudu, hippos. It was a great mini-vacation.
Check out this seafood platter with prawns, lobster, barracuda, calamari and more:
Christmas Day we were in church and then at home with a Korean friend. We forgot to take pictures! We had invited several others but for one reason or another they could not come so there was plenty of food left to eat the rest of the week.
Monday we stopped in to see our Cuban friends. Miss Debora is modeling a dress I made her out of two head scarves (with room to grow into it). I got the idea from the last church team that came. Ladies in the village are making them (and other items)to earn money for another truck for their agriculture association.
Then we were off to a great B&B at a farm in Swaziland. They have lots of litchi trees that are just starting to be harvested. I didn't know they could get this huge!
The hydrangea were also in full bloom. The Afrikaners call them Christmas Roses.
We spent time reading, and walking all over the farm on hiking trails.
On the way home we stopped at a small game park, Hlane. The animals were being shy, or maybe just lazy with the heat like these rhinos.
This dung beetle was certainly being industrious.
The giraffe family was fun to watch and almost close enough to touch as we drove by.
Anyone who has been to a park knows that the impalas are abundant. This time we came across two "nurseries" with very new babies. So cute!
We also saw a herd of waterbuck, wildebeest, warthog, kudu, hippos. It was a great mini-vacation.
Friday, December 09, 2011
Tribute to Steve's Aunt Mary
Steve's Aunt Mary passed away this week at the age of 86. This is our tribute to her - a gentle, wise and caring person who exhibited the fruit of the Spirit.
While I don’t remember the first time we met, I can only guess it was when you and Grandma N. stopped by the hospital in Elkhart to visit the latest arrival in the family. During my earliest years, you helped care for us as you did my other siblings when they came along as well. You were the one that collected the grade school papers and artifacts that others might have disposed of and sent us post cards from Chicago while you were on study leave there.
You came to our house quite often, but visiting your place was an unusual treat partly because of the challenges of getting the group of us corralled, cleaned up and put in the car and partly because there were so many unique things to explore at yours. You took us places that were special and it was special just to spend that time with you.
When you were at our house, there was always a clamor around the supper table as to who got to sit beside Grandma and Mary. Fortunately between the two of you, you had four sides and the majority of the demand was satisfied. Once you even crawled under the table so you could say you experienced what we did to make a quick escape from the corner nook.
After Grandma retired, you drove her to Elkhart 2-3 times a week, where she spent the day and then came back for the evenings events. I am sure it was a challenge to spend that much time on the road. Gas was 35 cents a gallon and US 33 was a long stretch of farm land, but you never complained.
We remember the many times you gave of yourself to the family by working in the garden, helping with homework, typing papers, snapping beans, playing games, encouraging, reading books, giving your time, donations and support and living a life of integrity and love for God and others.
You always had high expectations for us, but you never pressured us. You helped us through the tough patches by believing in us and reminding us that we could do it. You planted the seeds of the love of learning and watered them.
It is with much love and appreciation that we think of you now, hoping that we can be of the same encouragement to others.
Mary is on the left with Steve's Mom on the right.
While I don’t remember the first time we met, I can only guess it was when you and Grandma N. stopped by the hospital in Elkhart to visit the latest arrival in the family. During my earliest years, you helped care for us as you did my other siblings when they came along as well. You were the one that collected the grade school papers and artifacts that others might have disposed of and sent us post cards from Chicago while you were on study leave there.
You came to our house quite often, but visiting your place was an unusual treat partly because of the challenges of getting the group of us corralled, cleaned up and put in the car and partly because there were so many unique things to explore at yours. You took us places that were special and it was special just to spend that time with you.
When you were at our house, there was always a clamor around the supper table as to who got to sit beside Grandma and Mary. Fortunately between the two of you, you had four sides and the majority of the demand was satisfied. Once you even crawled under the table so you could say you experienced what we did to make a quick escape from the corner nook.
After Grandma retired, you drove her to Elkhart 2-3 times a week, where she spent the day and then came back for the evenings events. I am sure it was a challenge to spend that much time on the road. Gas was 35 cents a gallon and US 33 was a long stretch of farm land, but you never complained.
We remember the many times you gave of yourself to the family by working in the garden, helping with homework, typing papers, snapping beans, playing games, encouraging, reading books, giving your time, donations and support and living a life of integrity and love for God and others.
You always had high expectations for us, but you never pressured us. You helped us through the tough patches by believing in us and reminding us that we could do it. You planted the seeds of the love of learning and watered them.
It is with much love and appreciation that we think of you now, hoping that we can be of the same encouragement to others.
Mary is on the left with Steve's Mom on the right.
Monday, December 05, 2011
All in a Day's Travel
Greetings from Mbeya Tanzania. It was an eventful bus trip, but not due to problems with the bus, from Mumba this morning. I arrived dusty with a suitcase covered with dust and something, not sure what, but it smelled a bit fishy. We went straight to a guest house, dumped the clothes that were not impacted on the bed and asked a guard to wash it “very” well. We took a small stack of clothes to the home of my hosts and they are washing as we speak.
I woke up early (5:30) so we could drive about 40 minutes to catch a bus passing from Sumbawanga to Mbeya. One of the mission contacts where I had been staying had pre-purchased the ticket. I was warned that this bus would be full, standing room only, but that I would have a designated seat and the conductor would make sure I had access to it.
When the bus came, I tossed my bag in the cargo hold and got on board. There were at least 10 people that I had to squeeze past, just to get to row 6 and sure enough my seat was occupied. The conductor chased someone out and since there were so many people in the aisle and I did not want to climb over two others, I thought no problem, I can sit on the aisle.
The first thing I noticed was the two babies to the left across the aisle and next, one came over the seat from behind to sit beside me on a young girls lap. This one was a bit older and not too compliant as it ended up fussing for nearly 2 hours.
The bus could not travel more than 40-50 kilometers per hour as the dirt road was pretty rough. There is a major project underway to put in a tarmac road but completion is several years off. The view was not all that interesting, so sleep seemed like a good option. The problem was one of the guys standing ended up with his elbow banging my head or hand gripping the seat where I was trying to rest my head. The bus also kept stopping to discharge and accept new passengers.
At one stop, we picked up two moms with two more babies, who ended up in the aisle right beside and in front of my seat. Five babies within arm’s length could get interesting. I started dozing, and woke up to find the one baby’s back side sitting on my shoulder as its mom tried to shift her weight around. OK, hopefully it won’t get closer. I went back to sleep. Suddenly, I felt someone rubbing the inside of my left knee. I came to, to find the mother in front of me trying to rub something wet and yellow off my slacks. I can only assume it was spit up and not the other end as there was no significant smell.
Since she had been standing for some time, she decided to sit on the floor, jamming my left leg up against the metal seat frame, which would not have been too bad had the road been smooth. However, it took a knock with every bump the bus went over. Of course since the one was on the floor, the other could shift around a bit more and I found that baby’s rear was suddenly in the middle of my chest and his back up against my face. So much for not wanting to inconvenience any one and sit on the aisle. The guy sitting in my seat by the window was sleeping un-molested. We had only been traveling 2 of the 6-7 expected hours!
Fortunately, after 3 hours we took a bush break (this is where the men go one direction and the women another). When I got back on the bus, I told the guy sitting by the window that I wanted to sit there and he obliged. The young girl took the aisle seat and started holding the baby that was so in-my-face and everybody has happier. I am grateful that I did not have to stand for the entire time.
All in a day’s travel. I guess that qualifies for the “willing to endure hardship” clause in my job description that I read sometime back. By the way, my bus ticket reads, “Sumry High Class.” Maybe it is the best thing going!
Roasting bananas along the road.
I woke up early (5:30) so we could drive about 40 minutes to catch a bus passing from Sumbawanga to Mbeya. One of the mission contacts where I had been staying had pre-purchased the ticket. I was warned that this bus would be full, standing room only, but that I would have a designated seat and the conductor would make sure I had access to it.
When the bus came, I tossed my bag in the cargo hold and got on board. There were at least 10 people that I had to squeeze past, just to get to row 6 and sure enough my seat was occupied. The conductor chased someone out and since there were so many people in the aisle and I did not want to climb over two others, I thought no problem, I can sit on the aisle.
The first thing I noticed was the two babies to the left across the aisle and next, one came over the seat from behind to sit beside me on a young girls lap. This one was a bit older and not too compliant as it ended up fussing for nearly 2 hours.
The bus could not travel more than 40-50 kilometers per hour as the dirt road was pretty rough. There is a major project underway to put in a tarmac road but completion is several years off. The view was not all that interesting, so sleep seemed like a good option. The problem was one of the guys standing ended up with his elbow banging my head or hand gripping the seat where I was trying to rest my head. The bus also kept stopping to discharge and accept new passengers.
At one stop, we picked up two moms with two more babies, who ended up in the aisle right beside and in front of my seat. Five babies within arm’s length could get interesting. I started dozing, and woke up to find the one baby’s back side sitting on my shoulder as its mom tried to shift her weight around. OK, hopefully it won’t get closer. I went back to sleep. Suddenly, I felt someone rubbing the inside of my left knee. I came to, to find the mother in front of me trying to rub something wet and yellow off my slacks. I can only assume it was spit up and not the other end as there was no significant smell.
Since she had been standing for some time, she decided to sit on the floor, jamming my left leg up against the metal seat frame, which would not have been too bad had the road been smooth. However, it took a knock with every bump the bus went over. Of course since the one was on the floor, the other could shift around a bit more and I found that baby’s rear was suddenly in the middle of my chest and his back up against my face. So much for not wanting to inconvenience any one and sit on the aisle. The guy sitting in my seat by the window was sleeping un-molested. We had only been traveling 2 of the 6-7 expected hours!
Fortunately, after 3 hours we took a bush break (this is where the men go one direction and the women another). When I got back on the bus, I told the guy sitting by the window that I wanted to sit there and he obliged. The young girl took the aisle seat and started holding the baby that was so in-my-face and everybody has happier. I am grateful that I did not have to stand for the entire time.
All in a day’s travel. I guess that qualifies for the “willing to endure hardship” clause in my job description that I read sometime back. By the way, my bus ticket reads, “Sumry High Class.” Maybe it is the best thing going!
Roasting bananas along the road.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Steve in Tanzania
I arrived safely in Mumba, Tanzania after an overnight bus ride from Mongu to Lusaka, then I flew to Kamama in the northern province of Zambia, bussed to Mbala and took an $11 taxi ride 21 kilometers on a bumpy road to the border.
At the border there was no guard, just an empty guard house, so I went through the gap in the fence and walked about a half mile to the other side of “no man’s land” to Tanzania. It was a warm day so I got a bit warm myself, not dripping though as the altitude is pretty high and it was not humid. I stamped in (the passport) on the other side and met my new friend, coworker Jeff Friesen (interesting Menno connection here with his great grandparents having come out of the Ukraine through China and India, at one point serving as pastoral missionaries in India for several years). His grandmother was born two weeks after the family left China and crossed the Himalayas. Sounds like a Joseph and Mary story.
The trip to Mumba was uneventful with the exception of a bumpy road. We had a late supper of chicken, peanut sauce and rice. After having an omelet for breakfast, chips and juice on the plane for snack, one hardboiled egg and water for lunch, it was delicious. I will teach them how to make maize meal porridge and oatmeal pancakes before the week is up. My cooking skills are coming in real handy! Ha.
The view out my window is more like Switzerland, than Mozambique or Zambia. There are lots of pine trees here on the Bible school campus and the wind blowing through them with the cool clean air make me think of Heidi in the Alps, we are only missing the milk goats. Only the clay brick walls and thatched roof on the little shed give it away. It is pretty amazing though, to have internet and be online with a little phone like device and wireless to the computer. The house has solar energy and batteries. This will change within the year as the reason for this couple to be here is to install a hydro electric generator for the campus and nearby village. It will be a separate, off-the-grid electrical system.
At the border there was no guard, just an empty guard house, so I went through the gap in the fence and walked about a half mile to the other side of “no man’s land” to Tanzania. It was a warm day so I got a bit warm myself, not dripping though as the altitude is pretty high and it was not humid. I stamped in (the passport) on the other side and met my new friend, coworker Jeff Friesen (interesting Menno connection here with his great grandparents having come out of the Ukraine through China and India, at one point serving as pastoral missionaries in India for several years). His grandmother was born two weeks after the family left China and crossed the Himalayas. Sounds like a Joseph and Mary story.
The trip to Mumba was uneventful with the exception of a bumpy road. We had a late supper of chicken, peanut sauce and rice. After having an omelet for breakfast, chips and juice on the plane for snack, one hardboiled egg and water for lunch, it was delicious. I will teach them how to make maize meal porridge and oatmeal pancakes before the week is up. My cooking skills are coming in real handy! Ha.
The view out my window is more like Switzerland, than Mozambique or Zambia. There are lots of pine trees here on the Bible school campus and the wind blowing through them with the cool clean air make me think of Heidi in the Alps, we are only missing the milk goats. Only the clay brick walls and thatched roof on the little shed give it away. It is pretty amazing though, to have internet and be online with a little phone like device and wireless to the computer. The house has solar energy and batteries. This will change within the year as the reason for this couple to be here is to install a hydro electric generator for the campus and nearby village. It will be a separate, off-the-grid electrical system.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Visitors and Village Visits
It's been a busy but fun couple of weeks since we last wrote. Tim and Joan from our church came to visit and arrived on my birthday. I was surprised with a cake and singing by my co-workers plus other surprises that came in the days ahead - flowers from the kids, a meal out with Tim and Joan, gifts and well-wishes.
We spent a couple of days in Maputo getting organized to go to the villages and meeting a team of two ladies who were also going out. We bought lots of capulanas for their sewing project and some for Joan's rag rug project. We also visited our friends at the orphanage in Rio Matola. Here we are with Yudel looking at pictures of Dondo where Tim and Joan spent their first week.
The heat and humidy in the villages was intense - 100+F. We hadn't had it like that since last December. Now I understand why in some countries people sit in the shade and take it easy, especially in the middle of the day!
We did a kid's club with Sybil and found a little energy to jump and sing.
Then we passed out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on big rolls and sodas ("cool drinks" in Shangaan) to all the kids. What a treat for them!
After a couple of days we moved on to Mukhotwene. We did the rag rug project. It takes a lot of material to make a small item! But at least they learned quickly and hopefully they can find more scrap material to continue on their own.
We also met with the agriculture leaders in the village, visited the field, talked about faithfulness, told Bible stories, and listened in on a Spiritual Transformation Group meeting. That was a highlight to see Atalia leading the group and to see the eagerness of the members to learn what the Bible really has to say. They have been taught many things and are now finding out that the Biblical truths are different.
In the village Steve had an encounter with a small scorpion. He felt it under his shirt and brushed it off. He jumped up and said "I felt a scorpion!" We searched on the floor until we found it and promptly stepped on it. Wow, two scorpions in less than a month when we have never seen one in 7 years.
It was also a week for power outages. In the villages we used candles and went to bed early. In Maputo the challenge at our house is that when the electricity goes, the water pump also stops! Thankfully the first outage was short. The next one was 24hrs but most of the time we were away from home. Our guard called to tell us that the transformer just outside our gate was on fire. I guess people were running and in a bit of a panic. Thankfully they replaced it with another one fairly soon.
After getting everyone to the airport we made a flying trip to South Africa then had a church leadership retreat over the weekend. Sunday afternoon Steve got on his first flight of many as he visits four countries in the next weeks. Sunday night I caught my breath and enjoyed the quietness of the house. Thanks for your prayers!
We spent a couple of days in Maputo getting organized to go to the villages and meeting a team of two ladies who were also going out. We bought lots of capulanas for their sewing project and some for Joan's rag rug project. We also visited our friends at the orphanage in Rio Matola. Here we are with Yudel looking at pictures of Dondo where Tim and Joan spent their first week.
The heat and humidy in the villages was intense - 100+F. We hadn't had it like that since last December. Now I understand why in some countries people sit in the shade and take it easy, especially in the middle of the day!
We did a kid's club with Sybil and found a little energy to jump and sing.
Then we passed out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on big rolls and sodas ("cool drinks" in Shangaan) to all the kids. What a treat for them!
After a couple of days we moved on to Mukhotwene. We did the rag rug project. It takes a lot of material to make a small item! But at least they learned quickly and hopefully they can find more scrap material to continue on their own.
We also met with the agriculture leaders in the village, visited the field, talked about faithfulness, told Bible stories, and listened in on a Spiritual Transformation Group meeting. That was a highlight to see Atalia leading the group and to see the eagerness of the members to learn what the Bible really has to say. They have been taught many things and are now finding out that the Biblical truths are different.
In the village Steve had an encounter with a small scorpion. He felt it under his shirt and brushed it off. He jumped up and said "I felt a scorpion!" We searched on the floor until we found it and promptly stepped on it. Wow, two scorpions in less than a month when we have never seen one in 7 years.
It was also a week for power outages. In the villages we used candles and went to bed early. In Maputo the challenge at our house is that when the electricity goes, the water pump also stops! Thankfully the first outage was short. The next one was 24hrs but most of the time we were away from home. Our guard called to tell us that the transformer just outside our gate was on fire. I guess people were running and in a bit of a panic. Thankfully they replaced it with another one fairly soon.
After getting everyone to the airport we made a flying trip to South Africa then had a church leadership retreat over the weekend. Sunday afternoon Steve got on his first flight of many as he visits four countries in the next weeks. Sunday night I caught my breath and enjoyed the quietness of the house. Thanks for your prayers!
Monday, November 07, 2011
Mabuda
This past week we were busy with Ancient Paths seminars. Four afternoons we were with seminary leaders. We were excited that they want to continue with Level II and then on to facilitator training so they can train their own students. We also want to get other seminaries involved.
Friday we went to Swaziland to help facilitate a seminar with our friends that we mentored there. People traveled to a B&B whose owners are also very excited about AP. They allowed us to use their house which looks like an English Manor and is filled with antiques. I appreciated their low key approach to their wealth (much of it inherited). The B&B is part of a working farm and we enjoyed some long walks around the property.
It would be a great set for a movie!
I was so sorry that we left the camera at home. There was a row of gorgeous orange trees like I've never seen before. I need to find out what they are.
The small roundavel we stayed in was very quaint and nice. The only problem is that the creepy critters thought so to. Steve killed 4 big spiders, 1 scorpion, 1 centipede, a beetle and two worms. The second night I decided to sleep under the mosquito net in case anything decided to venture into the bedroom. During the seminar one of the facilitators had to jump in and kill a tic that was climbing someone's leg. Better an interruption than African tic bite fever!
The seminar went very well and some people were healed deeply by God. Sorry I can't share specifics as it is confidential. Let me just say that it leaves us with a deep joy at the end to see what God can do.
Friday we went to Swaziland to help facilitate a seminar with our friends that we mentored there. People traveled to a B&B whose owners are also very excited about AP. They allowed us to use their house which looks like an English Manor and is filled with antiques. I appreciated their low key approach to their wealth (much of it inherited). The B&B is part of a working farm and we enjoyed some long walks around the property.
It would be a great set for a movie!
I was so sorry that we left the camera at home. There was a row of gorgeous orange trees like I've never seen before. I need to find out what they are.
The small roundavel we stayed in was very quaint and nice. The only problem is that the creepy critters thought so to. Steve killed 4 big spiders, 1 scorpion, 1 centipede, a beetle and two worms. The second night I decided to sleep under the mosquito net in case anything decided to venture into the bedroom. During the seminar one of the facilitators had to jump in and kill a tic that was climbing someone's leg. Better an interruption than African tic bite fever!
The seminar went very well and some people were healed deeply by God. Sorry I can't share specifics as it is confidential. Let me just say that it leaves us with a deep joy at the end to see what God can do.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Steve's Travels - Zambia and East Africa
In August, I Steve, took off for Zambia and spent 9 days there with the ZambiaWorks team. They are working hard and doing a great job of helping small farmers to raise vegetables using a low cost model to generate income for their families. The area had experienced its first hard frost in years and some crops and trees were damaged. One of the resulting factors as that the green vegetable crops needed to have the damaged leaves stripped off so they would shoot new ones. As I was watching the farmers strip off the leaves, I noticed that several were still in pretty good shape, so I said, “Oh, you could eat those. “ Wiggan just looked at me and smiled saying, “They have so much of that kind of food at home, they are not even interested in these leaves.” Wow, what a far cry from where these families were just one year ago when there was not enough to eat. It is amazing to see what a little assistance and motivation can do.
In early September I took off again on a 3-week trip to East Africa. The first stop was Burundi where I worked with the micro-finance board for two days. I then traveled to the hills of Makamba in the south and looked at the work of one of our partners and some cassava projects. There is a serious problem with mosaic disease and this program is propagating mosaic resistant varieties and selling the cuttings. We are getting ready to hire an agriculture manager who we hope will oversee the program long into the future. The goal is to build an agriculture institution to provide technical and marketing support to the rural farmer as well as provide much needed agri-credit to these communities.
After the week, I went to Kigali, Rwanda and met with one of the WR regional technical people whose focus is village savings and loan associations (VSLA). WR has been doing savings programs for a couple of years and after some time, most of the participants start asking, “What’s next?” For me, the obvious answer is agriculture or some kind of micro-business. I have created an approach that moves people through the phases of savings, saving plus agriculture, then if they qualify, agriculture plus loans. I was also able to visit the essential oil business that had been started by WR several years ago. The grow and distill oil from geranium, lemon grass and eucalyptus.
The second week found me in Goma, eastern DRC on Lake Kivu (see left side of map). I spent several days working with the MFI and looking at their ag-credit program. You might think that this is becoming a bit routine, which it is as I get to know the process and the people. However, it really is a challenge to make loans of any kind to poor people, but when you add agriculture to the mix, it gets even more challenging.
At the start of the third week, we traveled back to Burundi for a conference hosted by the Canadian Food Grains Bank. They have provided us with a 3-year agriculture grant in Congo and wanted to train us on the proposal writing and reporting side of the equation.
Mid week, I hopped on a plane to Nairobi to meet with our WR office there and see how we might go about starting a sustainable agriculture program in Kenya. Some early impressions about the capital, is that there is construction and cars everywhere. Their challenge is the street sizes have not kept up with the demand. Imagine a two lane road, backed up as far as you can see, and no stoplights or stop signs to direct the traffic. Let gridlock prevail, and it does! Fortunately the only time I had to go through the main part of town with bad traffic, was on the way back to the airport. While stuck at a traffic circle, we saw a herd of cows moving through the intersection!
It was a good interaction with the Kenya team. We just scratched the surface with two days of meetings and a little travel outside the city to see the countryside. There are some huge, 10+ acre greenhouse businesses there that fly their fresh cut flowers straight into Europe. We also saw some Maasai herds of goats and cattle out on the dry grass ranges and experienced one of the first rains of the season. The countryside will look very different next time I see it for sure.
In early September I took off again on a 3-week trip to East Africa. The first stop was Burundi where I worked with the micro-finance board for two days. I then traveled to the hills of Makamba in the south and looked at the work of one of our partners and some cassava projects. There is a serious problem with mosaic disease and this program is propagating mosaic resistant varieties and selling the cuttings. We are getting ready to hire an agriculture manager who we hope will oversee the program long into the future. The goal is to build an agriculture institution to provide technical and marketing support to the rural farmer as well as provide much needed agri-credit to these communities.
After the week, I went to Kigali, Rwanda and met with one of the WR regional technical people whose focus is village savings and loan associations (VSLA). WR has been doing savings programs for a couple of years and after some time, most of the participants start asking, “What’s next?” For me, the obvious answer is agriculture or some kind of micro-business. I have created an approach that moves people through the phases of savings, saving plus agriculture, then if they qualify, agriculture plus loans. I was also able to visit the essential oil business that had been started by WR several years ago. The grow and distill oil from geranium, lemon grass and eucalyptus.
The second week found me in Goma, eastern DRC on Lake Kivu (see left side of map). I spent several days working with the MFI and looking at their ag-credit program. You might think that this is becoming a bit routine, which it is as I get to know the process and the people. However, it really is a challenge to make loans of any kind to poor people, but when you add agriculture to the mix, it gets even more challenging.
At the start of the third week, we traveled back to Burundi for a conference hosted by the Canadian Food Grains Bank. They have provided us with a 3-year agriculture grant in Congo and wanted to train us on the proposal writing and reporting side of the equation.
Mid week, I hopped on a plane to Nairobi to meet with our WR office there and see how we might go about starting a sustainable agriculture program in Kenya. Some early impressions about the capital, is that there is construction and cars everywhere. Their challenge is the street sizes have not kept up with the demand. Imagine a two lane road, backed up as far as you can see, and no stoplights or stop signs to direct the traffic. Let gridlock prevail, and it does! Fortunately the only time I had to go through the main part of town with bad traffic, was on the way back to the airport. While stuck at a traffic circle, we saw a herd of cows moving through the intersection!
It was a good interaction with the Kenya team. We just scratched the surface with two days of meetings and a little travel outside the city to see the countryside. There are some huge, 10+ acre greenhouse businesses there that fly their fresh cut flowers straight into Europe. We also saw some Maasai herds of goats and cattle out on the dry grass ranges and experienced one of the first rains of the season. The countryside will look very different next time I see it for sure.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Joy in Chaimite
A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of accompanying a team from Ohio to the villages of Chaimite and Koka-Misava. It is always a treat to leave the city and get to the "real" Mozambique. Sometimes people say that Maputo is like another country. In the village, people are very traditional and many speak their native language and do not speak Portuguese. It was a good week and one of the highlights was being invited to the dedication of a new water station. Here's the background:
From The Chapel, Akron, Ohio Website:
“Our Christ-centered, holistic ministry gained momentum in November 2006. A team of eight taught the Bible to many Bible-illiterate church leaders and served in very practical ways such as health education. Chapel representatives met with village leaders and learned of their biggest health need—water. The village wells yield only brackish water. And, in just a year, 32 women and children were killed by crocodiles in the nearby river while collecting the only potable water available. Added to the problem, severe waterborne diseases in the river threaten the population. Upon return, the team led The Chapel’s congregation to give $25,000 for a pump, a two-mile pipeline, and storage tanks so clean water would no longer be a concern.
“With great delight, as of Summer, 2010, The Chapel has provided four clean water stations in Chaimite (serving 1000 families), with all of the water pumped from the Limpopo River (no more crocodiles or waterborne diseases!!). Three water stations exist in Koka-Misava (serving 1500 families), with one station drawing water from a solar-powered well and the other two from another well–all water from deep, clean aquifers).
“The two villages have a history of some Christianity mixed with a large dose of animism and witch doctors. Either no understanding or a warped concept of Jesus and the Gospel is the norm in southern Mozambique. However, Chapel teams, in cooperation with on-the-ground World Relief personnel and others committed to Christ and sound doctrine, have been able to teach the Gospel widely to adults, youth and children. There is a growing embrace of Christ and his Word. Physical water has saved many lives, but our prayer is that the living water of Christ Jesus will quench the thirst of those who are spiritually parched. ”
Each water station is staffed by a person who collects a small fee for each container of water. The community water committee handles the funds and uses them to maintain the water stations and pay the staffers. In Chaimite the fund grew and they decided to build another water station themselves. They dug 3,600 feet of trench to lay the pipe and paid $10,500 for the materials and labor to do this.
The team from The Chapel that was visiting was invited to the dedication, October 4, 2011. The village was very grateful to The Chapel for providing the seed money for the first water stations and to World Relief for organizing the construction of the stations. This has led to a sustainable water project for this village of 9,000 people. They are taking responsibility to meet the needs in their community with their own funds. It is a good example of giving a hand-up so people can help themselves instead of making people continually dependent on hand-outs.
During the dedication they sang a song that speaks of the water of life that satisfies and quenches thirst. It is living water and we will never be thirsty again. A skit was presented of women collecting water at the river and being attacked by a crocodile. They are so grateful that now they can get clean water close to home and without this danger. The community leader expressed deep appreciation to The Chapel and World Relief for bringing this resource to Chaimite and for helping the community to begin reproducing water stations. They spoke of The Chapel and WR being the “grandparents” seeing this new “child” born. No celebration would be complete without singing, dancing and presenting capulanas and scarves. It was a very joyful day in the village of Chaimite.
You can view more pictures of Chaimite and Koka Misava here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mjsm1th?blend=22&ob=5#p/u/0/HwXyDzGDpg0 This was a trip two years ago but some of the same people returned this time.
From The Chapel, Akron, Ohio Website:
“Our Christ-centered, holistic ministry gained momentum in November 2006. A team of eight taught the Bible to many Bible-illiterate church leaders and served in very practical ways such as health education. Chapel representatives met with village leaders and learned of their biggest health need—water. The village wells yield only brackish water. And, in just a year, 32 women and children were killed by crocodiles in the nearby river while collecting the only potable water available. Added to the problem, severe waterborne diseases in the river threaten the population. Upon return, the team led The Chapel’s congregation to give $25,000 for a pump, a two-mile pipeline, and storage tanks so clean water would no longer be a concern.
“With great delight, as of Summer, 2010, The Chapel has provided four clean water stations in Chaimite (serving 1000 families), with all of the water pumped from the Limpopo River (no more crocodiles or waterborne diseases!!). Three water stations exist in Koka-Misava (serving 1500 families), with one station drawing water from a solar-powered well and the other two from another well–all water from deep, clean aquifers).
“The two villages have a history of some Christianity mixed with a large dose of animism and witch doctors. Either no understanding or a warped concept of Jesus and the Gospel is the norm in southern Mozambique. However, Chapel teams, in cooperation with on-the-ground World Relief personnel and others committed to Christ and sound doctrine, have been able to teach the Gospel widely to adults, youth and children. There is a growing embrace of Christ and his Word. Physical water has saved many lives, but our prayer is that the living water of Christ Jesus will quench the thirst of those who are spiritually parched. ”
Each water station is staffed by a person who collects a small fee for each container of water. The community water committee handles the funds and uses them to maintain the water stations and pay the staffers. In Chaimite the fund grew and they decided to build another water station themselves. They dug 3,600 feet of trench to lay the pipe and paid $10,500 for the materials and labor to do this.
The team from The Chapel that was visiting was invited to the dedication, October 4, 2011. The village was very grateful to The Chapel for providing the seed money for the first water stations and to World Relief for organizing the construction of the stations. This has led to a sustainable water project for this village of 9,000 people. They are taking responsibility to meet the needs in their community with their own funds. It is a good example of giving a hand-up so people can help themselves instead of making people continually dependent on hand-outs.
During the dedication they sang a song that speaks of the water of life that satisfies and quenches thirst. It is living water and we will never be thirsty again. A skit was presented of women collecting water at the river and being attacked by a crocodile. They are so grateful that now they can get clean water close to home and without this danger. The community leader expressed deep appreciation to The Chapel and World Relief for bringing this resource to Chaimite and for helping the community to begin reproducing water stations. They spoke of The Chapel and WR being the “grandparents” seeing this new “child” born. No celebration would be complete without singing, dancing and presenting capulanas and scarves. It was a very joyful day in the village of Chaimite.
You can view more pictures of Chaimite and Koka Misava here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mjsm1th?blend=22&ob=5#p/u/0/HwXyDzGDpg0 This was a trip two years ago but some of the same people returned this time.
Training Church Leaders
We have some catching up to do on this blog!
Today I'm thinking of World Relief and the work we help to organize from the head office. I work with Church Development. One of the main things we have done is to help four coordinators in different areas to hold trainings and seminars for pastors.
Pastor Madeira, who has worked in the center of the country with World Relief reported that “lack of unity among pastors brought unhealthy competition among themselves, disunity, lack of trust and enmity to the extent of some of them going after witchdoctors in order to prosper more than the other. With the unity we brought among them, there is now the spirit of cooperation, repentance from the wrong done in the past and a passion to serve more and more strongly for the Kingdom.” Jose Madeira is the one on the left of the picture, next to Anastase Nzabilinda who is the director of Church Dev. and other leaders from Sofala Province.
Willem Nel, director of Volta a Biblia, a Bible training center said that it takes a long time, much prayer and discipleship before people are willing to leave ancestor worship and animism. And then he commented that we are all tempted with idolatry, whether it is ancestor worship, or trusting witchdoctors in Africa, or materialism and security in the West.
I learned early in my time in Mozambique that many pastors are chosen because they can read, or they have natural leadership abilities, not necessarily because they are Christians. The country of Mozambique does not have a strong background of Christianity. During the Socialist era Christianity was suppressed and it has only been 20 years since then.
The training these coordinators have been doing is very basic "What we believe" teaching so that the pastors will receive the truth and then pass it along to their congregations. The sad news we received recently is that we can no longer give them even the small stipend we were giving because there is no budget money for this in this new fiscal year. We are also needing to stop support to two young men who have worked with children's clubs and with trainers of children.
It really grieves me to see this part of our ministry end. Who knows, these pastors may continue going out and training even without funds for transportation but I know it will be difficult for them to continue.
If you would like to contribute to WR, one way to do so is through the catalog you can find here: https://worldrelief.org/page.aspx?pid=723&nccsm=15 If you'd like to give to leadership training go to "Stand for the Vulnerable" and then "Train a Church Leader." Mention Mozambique if you'd like.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Hab. 2:14
Today I'm thinking of World Relief and the work we help to organize from the head office. I work with Church Development. One of the main things we have done is to help four coordinators in different areas to hold trainings and seminars for pastors.
Pastor Madeira, who has worked in the center of the country with World Relief reported that “lack of unity among pastors brought unhealthy competition among themselves, disunity, lack of trust and enmity to the extent of some of them going after witchdoctors in order to prosper more than the other. With the unity we brought among them, there is now the spirit of cooperation, repentance from the wrong done in the past and a passion to serve more and more strongly for the Kingdom.” Jose Madeira is the one on the left of the picture, next to Anastase Nzabilinda who is the director of Church Dev. and other leaders from Sofala Province.
Willem Nel, director of Volta a Biblia, a Bible training center said that it takes a long time, much prayer and discipleship before people are willing to leave ancestor worship and animism. And then he commented that we are all tempted with idolatry, whether it is ancestor worship, or trusting witchdoctors in Africa, or materialism and security in the West.
I learned early in my time in Mozambique that many pastors are chosen because they can read, or they have natural leadership abilities, not necessarily because they are Christians. The country of Mozambique does not have a strong background of Christianity. During the Socialist era Christianity was suppressed and it has only been 20 years since then.
The training these coordinators have been doing is very basic "What we believe" teaching so that the pastors will receive the truth and then pass it along to their congregations. The sad news we received recently is that we can no longer give them even the small stipend we were giving because there is no budget money for this in this new fiscal year. We are also needing to stop support to two young men who have worked with children's clubs and with trainers of children.
It really grieves me to see this part of our ministry end. Who knows, these pastors may continue going out and training even without funds for transportation but I know it will be difficult for them to continue.
If you would like to contribute to WR, one way to do so is through the catalog you can find here: https://worldrelief.org/page.aspx?pid=723&nccsm=15 If you'd like to give to leadership training go to "Stand for the Vulnerable" and then "Train a Church Leader." Mention Mozambique if you'd like.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Hab. 2:14
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Magaliesburg Adventures
We recently returned from two weeks in Magaliesburg, SA for a Family Foundations training. They asked us to come help facilitate some groups and we also benefitted from the change of pace and learning to know some wonderful people from S Africa, Malawi, DRC, Kenya and Nigeria.
I never saw a more faithful dog than this one! He went everywhere with his master.
The event was held at a YFC camp with beautiful surroundings. We hiked up the stone mountain a couple of times and explored the gorge.
The last day a group of us went hiking early in the morning.
We enjoyed spending time with and learning from Leon and Marietjie, the Africa coordinators for Family Foundations. They are an inspiration and have a huge job to get the ministry to all the countries of Africa.
On the weekend we stayed with the camp directors. They asked if we wanted to go see kids swinging from the bridge as they had a visitor with them that wanted to swing. So we went and watched and then got in the vehicle to leave. Then the young man said he wanted to go again, so we all piled out. As he was swinging, I decided I'm not too old for a little adventure so I said I wanted a turn too. Here I am thinking to myself "What am I doing? Am I crazy?"
And here I am swinging away. It was worth it, although it was a bit scary. I never quite got the courage to let go of the rope.
Coming and going we met an interesting group called the Latter Rain Assemblies of SA. Some people call them the Blourokkies because many of the women wear blue dresses. They live very simply in community and eat their meals together. In some ways they reminded us of the Hutterites, although their theology is more Pentecostal. We met some very nice people who are also involved with FFI and who hosted us very well. When they found out we would be on an overnight bus ride they were sure we needed lots of food. We said we don't usually eat at night, but they insisted on being generous.
I never saw a more faithful dog than this one! He went everywhere with his master.
The event was held at a YFC camp with beautiful surroundings. We hiked up the stone mountain a couple of times and explored the gorge.
The last day a group of us went hiking early in the morning.
We enjoyed spending time with and learning from Leon and Marietjie, the Africa coordinators for Family Foundations. They are an inspiration and have a huge job to get the ministry to all the countries of Africa.
On the weekend we stayed with the camp directors. They asked if we wanted to go see kids swinging from the bridge as they had a visitor with them that wanted to swing. So we went and watched and then got in the vehicle to leave. Then the young man said he wanted to go again, so we all piled out. As he was swinging, I decided I'm not too old for a little adventure so I said I wanted a turn too. Here I am thinking to myself "What am I doing? Am I crazy?"
And here I am swinging away. It was worth it, although it was a bit scary. I never quite got the courage to let go of the rope.
Coming and going we met an interesting group called the Latter Rain Assemblies of SA. Some people call them the Blourokkies because many of the women wear blue dresses. They live very simply in community and eat their meals together. In some ways they reminded us of the Hutterites, although their theology is more Pentecostal. We met some very nice people who are also involved with FFI and who hosted us very well. When they found out we would be on an overnight bus ride they were sure we needed lots of food. We said we don't usually eat at night, but they insisted on being generous.