Chicks and Crocodiles

Last Friday morning found us piling into our car along with some of Kayla’s classmates and heading out of town to the Chicken farm called Novos Horizontes.  For the expat community here in Nampula, we call the area “The Farm”.  But it’s really a number of businesses that are run by dedicated Christians from around the World.  The official name is "Community of Fusion."They use the businesses as a way to provide jobs for nationals as well as way to show and teach good ethics in business dealings.  Their ultimate desire is to disciple and strength the local church.  While they are busy running businesses, they are first and foremost Christians spreading the love of Jesus.   If you are curious about what they are doing here is a youtube link to see more about what they are doing.

"Communities of Fusion: Mozambique"

 So Kayla’s kindergarten class, Grade 0 as they call them here, had a field trip and I had agreed to drive.  The morning was full of fun and lots of new information.  Since all the home school families also have kids in the kindergarten class, the home school kids got to join in the field trip too.  It was a fun morning as we learned all about baby chicks.  The day we visited they were busy getting 20,000 chicks ready to ship to a town about 5 hours away for people to raise there.  The kids had some much fun holding the baby chicks.

Getting to touch the chicks was so much fun.  They were so soft.

The smile says it all.

Look what I found.

Everything thing needs a little "kiss" and love now and then.

Learning how to tell if it's a boy or a girl chick

The whole group

Then it was off to the crocodile farm.  There is a location on the farm where they are now raising crocodiles.  Crocodiles are on the top of the food chain so are easy to feed.  When the crocodile gets big enough, they can be sold for their skins as well as the meat can be eating.  But because the skin is so important, the kids had to be very quiet as not to scare the crocodiles.  If a crocodiles gets scared they scratch themselves leaving their skin not usable.  So quietly we watched them feed the crocodiles.

The trail to the crocodiles

Dipping our feet in disinfectant so that we didn't bring in any disease.

These were four weeks old crocodiles.

The 4 week olds enjoying their lunch (maggots).

These crocodiles are around 1 year and 4 months

Resting in the shade but we did get to see a couple move very quickly to the water.

We also found a few other "friends" along the way.

Walking Stick

Very Big Spider. I was happy he stayed right there in his web!

Lastly we stopped and played at the school where the kids will travel to next year for Grade 1.  It was a very fun morning.  Thank you Novos Horizonte, Rapale International School, and Eggs for Africa for taking the time out of your busy schedules to teach us more about chicks and crocodiles.  

The Water Adventure

   Friday afternoon found us trying to enjoy a local pool while the rain poured from the sky.  It was a friend's birthday party and even though there was rain, the swimming must go on. :)  As I sat under a shelter and watched the kids swim, my mind went back to a time when every rain brought terror to my heart.  Conrad has worked hard and fixed the problem so now our house is so much better and rain doesn't bring terror anymore.  Now I can enjoy the rain.

   The kids were just talking about the this story the other night again.  Now two years later it's fun to see that it's a family memory that we still talk about.  Not the horribleness of it but the adventure it was.  So I decided to share what I wrote as a reflection just days after the experience happened.

  In the darkness of my children’s bedroom with only the flicker of a candle showing my way, I am kneeling in 1 inch water.  Water, that has just poured down their wall like a persistent waterfall.  A waterfall, I was helpless to stop.  I hear in the next room, my husband doing battle with his own “lake” of a couple of inches of water on the floor.  As I once again take the towel and wring it out into the bucket, sweat drips into my eyes.  My heart is crying out to God, really, really is this what you have for me?  Couldn’t you have come up with something just a little easier or a little better?  Couldn’t you at least just turn the electric back on so I could use my wet vac for the job?  God, I just can’t do it anymore?  God, I’m tired, can’t I just quit.

   My 8 year old girl and 6 year old boy are right beside me with their hand towels, soaking the towel and then wringing out the water into the bucket.  They are working so hard and are tired just like me.  I have to put on a brave face and figure out how to make this an adventure, an experience that in the future we could talk about and laugh about.  But in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to climb on to the next plane going away from here.

   Over an hour later and over 40 gallons of water hauled out two rooms, the floors in the room are now at a place where we could all get some rest.  The kids climb back into bed, after getting a treat of chocolate milk and a little time of playing on Daddy’s ipad, and quickly drift off to slumber land.  There was no talking from them as they waited to go to sleep, just silence.  Conrad and I sit on the couch hoping the electric will return so we could get at least a little of peaceful sleep and a short break from the sweltering heat.  I happen to glace over my shoulder and notice that a locally made wooden candlestick holder seems to be burning oddly bright.  Upon inspection, I realized that the candle holder itself was starting on fire and now I have a wooden candle burning happily on my wooden table.  This time I grabbed water and thanked God for it.

  This experience from a couple nights ago has been going around and around in my brain.  What is God trying to teach me?  I know my heavenly father well enough to know that there is always a bigger purpose in the challenges we face.  I also know that He will continue to teach us if we don’t learn what we were suppose too and this one I wanted to learn right away.   

   I find it fascinating that the very thing that just a short time before was making my life miserable, water.   Was the very thing that God had available to use when the wooden candlestick started to turn into a wooden candle.  And at the time I was feeling the lowest, He gently reminded me of the imprints my response would leave on my kids.  But God what is the lesson, what is the big picture, my heart cries.

  As I think back on the time of cleaning water in a candle light room with my two oldest kids, I see a family working together for a goal.  A goal of making something better than it was, we had purpose.  Then it hits me, isn’t that what Christ calls us too.  Christ calls his family, the church, to work together for a common purpose.  A purpose of touching whoever we come in contact with and impacting them for Christ.  Life has challenges and living in a developing country were water to drink, electric, and a dry house are not a given, He still calls us to make Godly impact on others.  I see his hand of protection, his provision, and his strength to face the challenge.  But more than that, I see him gently looking on and say “I know you’re tired, but there is a purpose in what you are doing.  Keep going, it will make a difference.  Keep loving others and making a impact for Me on their lives.” Suddenly in my memory, the room isn’t as hot, my knees don’t hurt as much, and I’m not quite as tired.  Why?  Because Jesus showed up, gave me the strength to keep going, and made it a family adventure.

    I know now without a shadow of a doubt that even if that plane would have come to my front door, I wouldn’t have boarded, because Jesus was giving me what I needed to survive.  We all have challenges, but I now have a better understanding of how Jesus can take the “water of frustration” and turn it into something good “protection from fire”.  Jesus can take the heat, exhaustion, and temptation to quit and make it an amazing “family” memory of making it through on His strength.  Because this life is not about what I have accomplished but what the family of God has accomplished together.  It’s about the “family memories” that we have when we can see how Jesus showed up.  So whatever you face today, may you make an imprint for Jesus.  May you find water for your soul.  May your find strength to carry on.  May you be part of the “family memory” that Jesus has for you.

Dreams

Dreams.  The dictionary defines a dream as “something wished for; a hope or ambition.” Dreams are interesting things.  Sometimes dreams are for a season.  Sometimes dreams are there but then life happens and for a time they lay dormant in your heart.  Sometimes dreams come but as you seek God they also go again.  Sometimes dreams are all consuming and one much pursue it with reckless ambition.   

When we first came to Mozambique, 6 years ago, I had a dream to use my love of photography to bless others.  As long as I can remember, I’ve loved taking pictures.  When I was younger, I loved pictures of scenery, still life, and animals.  As I’ve grown, I’ve starting enjoying taking pictures of people.  The challenge of trying to capture a moment in time that also reflects the person, is something that I enjoy.  I love trying to find ways to make the subject feel beautiful as I capture their smile.  As I looked around the mission community here, there was no one who was excited about taking pictures of other missionaries.  We all need new prayer card pictures.  We all need pictures to send to our relatives in our home countries.  I noticed that as missionaries, we were focused on getting pictures of our ministries to share with supporters but our family photos just didn’t get done.

Well, life got busy.  Just the daily grind of living overseas, took over my life and consumed me.  The dream of taking pictures for others started to go dormant in my heart.  The other thing that happened was I started looking around and saying to myself things like “But my camera isn’t as nice as ….  I don’t have the software to do the editing I want to do.  Why would I think that I could do something like this? What if I’m not good enough?  What if I fail?”  And so for a season, I dismissed the dream.   As life found a routine and life overseas became the normal for me instead of the abnormal, the dream started to surface again.  So now what?

I started taking it to the Lord in prayer.  I started asking God what He wanted me to do with this dream.  I started listening to what He was whispering into my heart.  I stopped believing the lie that it was better to not try then to try and fail.  As I started to seek God, God started to show Himself strong.  First, He blessed me with a new camera. Then two amazing lens fell into my lap from a photographer friend.  I had asked her a photography question and in the process shared my dream of doing pictures to bless other missionaries.  She informed me that she had two lens that she had just retired due to an upgrade and she wanted to give me the old ones.  Tears ran down my face as I read the message, I knew God was opening the door.  I needed to have the courage and faith to walk through.

Even so, it took longer to walk through that I thought it would.  The fear of failure is very powerful.  But God wasn’t done, He brought a couple of people into my life to help motivate me and guide me in the process of starting.  Then my hubby provided the last link that had been my final excuse, editing software.  So I knew I must step out in faith.  I must see where it goes. 

Since March until we went on a short furlough in August,  I’ve had the privilege of doing around 15 photo shoots for people.  People of different nationalities.  People that are serving  Jesus.  Are my pictures perfect?  No.  I’m always learning new things and way to make them better.   But I’m so thankful for on-line resources and classes that help me improve even when I live in a location that going to a classroom isn’t an option.  As I keeping taking pictures, I keep seeing them improve.  But more than anything, I find joy in seeing how it’s a way to bless others.

It’s when I hear someone say, “Our church just emailed and needs a picture of us.  For the first time, I have a picture I’m not ashamed to send.” I see God using my love of photography.  When I hear, “My children have all grown up here in Mozambique, but I don’t have any nice yearly school pictures or senior pictures of them, just the horrible passport pictures.  Having you take my daughter’s senior pictures is a huge gift to me.  I get to “keep” part of her here with me while she leaves for college next year.”  I better understand why God placed the dream on my heart.  When I hear, “Thank you for helping us take part of Mozambique with us through pictures as we move to serve God in another country.   These pictures are symbolic of the stage of our life spent here in Mozambique and will always be a way of remembering our time here.”  I thank God that He didn’t let the dream die and gave me the courage to step out in faith. 

So what dream is God asking you to use to build up His Church.  Don’t let the fear of failure or what others will think stop you.  Move in faith and see what God does.

Here a few of the photos that I’ve taken for others.  Enjoy!

A Zimbabwe family right before their oldest daughter headed off to college in Ireland.

Looking back

  “Where did last week go?  Where did last month go?  Where has the last four months gone?”  When I moved overseas, I figured that my life would be so much simpler and at a much slower pace.  I thought that I would have time to stop and smell the roses everyday with my cup of coffee in my hand.  But the longer I’m here, the more unrealistic this expectation becomes.

   While in some ways, life is simpler.  When I got to the grocery store, I only have to make the decision, “Do I want it or not.”  I don’t have to worry about brands because there is only one brand available.  Most evenings find us home enjoying supper around the table as a family.  Yet because life here is challenging and take so much more emotional, mental, and physical energy than living many places, by the time one gets to the end of the day we are just exhausted.  There is always more work to do than can be done.  So one must constantly choose which need you will help with at that moment.  Even after 5 ½ years of living here, cultural challenges are still a part of our lives.  Then there is the inability to plan because you can’t know for sure that you will have electric or water that day.  It also feels like we are saying good-bye to friends, which takes a lot of emotional energy.  In the last three months alone, we have said good-bye to 8 families, some will hopefully be returning and other are moving away.

Even in this challenging and uncertain place, God has been teaching me how to live in the moment.  So as I reflect back over the last four months the regrets of not doing enough, aren’t as strong.  As I reflect of the last four months, I can see how God has orchestrated my day.  As I reflect, I remember

·         The first day after many months of hearing the MAF planes back in the air as Conrad had been able to finally get the needed documents.

·         Many meals with friends and provided for friends as a way of blessing them.
·         I see God giving me strength to follow a dream (a blog to come)
·         I was able to finish on time every assignment for the on-line classes I was taking to keep my teaching degree current.  Even with the many power and internet outages, every assignment was able to be submitted in time.  That was completely a God thing.
·         I see God going before as we renewed our residence visas.  Allowing the process to go quicker than normal so we could still make our flight to South Africa for a time of rest and help with my back pain.

·         I see God orchestrating a very special time in South Africa for a period of rest and relaxing due to back issues for me.  I was able to find some ways to help with the back problems here in Mozambique on my own and have been in considerably less pain. Praise the Lord!
·         I see God providing visas for our newest team members with hours to spare.  Their Mozambique visas arrived on Thursday to coworkers going to Portugal for language training.  The visas for Portugal arrived on Friday and the coworkers left on Saturday.  Hand delivering the Mozambique visas on Sunday and our new coworkers flying out on Monday arriving here in Mozambique on Tuesday.   I have no doubt that God’s hand was orchestrating this.

·         I see God giving us strength to help lead the English Fellowship each week.
·         I see God giving us strength to say Good-bye even though it’s hard.
·         I see “Hellos” as we welcomed new coworkers to Mozambique for the first time.
·         I see God orchestrating everything so that everyone was able to make it to the MAF family conference.  There were a number of travel challenges but God worked in each case and we had a very special time together as the MAF teams from Lesotho and Mozambique.  Conrad and I were in charge of running the conference this year and God also gave us the strength to be able to enjoy the conference even with the added responsibility.
·         I see “Welcome backs” as our Program Manger family returned from furlough to take over the running of the program for us.
·         I see tears and laughter as we navigate this life here with friends and our family.
·         Most of all I see a God who is constantly walking with us, giving us the strength for each day, caring deeply about our lives, and speaking wisdom into our heart.  A God who has the strength to carry our cares and our concerns. 

Yes, the last four months have been very busy, but I see God going before and providing.  I’m so thankful that this journey is not on my own and when it doesn’t look like I thought it would look, I can still learn to live in the moment and rest in the strength of my God.  While there are no actually physical roses here to smell, I can still take my cup of coffee and reflect on the goodness of my God.  I can still stop and enjoy the many God ordained moments in my life. 

Flexibility is the name of the game.

   So my plans were set.  I knew what needed to get done for the day.   So I got my cup of coffee and settled down to start enjoying it and putting the final touch of details on my day.  It was going to be a full day as there was laundry to fold, photo shot to get ready for, calls to make, texts to send, school work the needed to be done, canning that needed to get finished and a ladies night out to finish it off.  Conrad was planning to take our oldest out for a date and the day was off.  Then I looked at our oldest, there was no doubt she was sick.  So off to bed for her.

  Then came the call.  The call that I wasn’t expecting for today, my day that was already full.   The call that said that a friend of a friend had butchered a pig and was wanting to sell the meat.   Having grown up on a hog farm, I miss having pork.  But finding good pork around here is a challenge and can be very pricy.  So when someone butchers, it’s time to drop everything and cut up meat.  So Conrad ran over to the friend’s house and got the meat and brought it home.

   Out came the knives and computer.  I goggled, “Where are the cuts of a pig?”  Normally I would just call my dad but since it’s would be around 3:00 in the morning, I don’t think he would appreciated a call.  So we checked out the chart online.  Then started the cutting.  It’s always an adventure to say the least.  But in a couple of hours or so, it was all done and in the freezer.  The best part is that we were able to have pork roast for dinner on Sunday and more in the freezer for later.  The skin with the extra fat will go to our house helper and night guard who always are so excited for this special treat.

The pig as it came to us.

So a number of things on the list, just didn’t get done.  But on Sunday as I sunk my teeth in to the yummy roast, I thanked the Lord for providing this special blessing.  I am thankful for the mental and emotional strength to be able to be flexible.  I’m thankful for the many ways that God not only continues to provide for our needs but also adds little blessings into our lives.

Stress, Struggle, and God's Guidance

As I reflect over the last three months, three words come to mind: stress, struggle, and God's guidance.

I love December and the Christmas season.  This year I was so excited because it also was going to be a long weekend due to how Christmas fell this year.  But instead our December was busy trying to put out fires with the MAF registration process.  The stress mounted as the 206 was heading out for a paint job that couldn’t be rescheduled by the end of the month.  But we needed it to be registered in Mozambique to keep the process of registration going.  Many calls, much waiting, more calls, more waiting, rescanning documents that had been sent many times before, more waiting and finally the decision to send the plane for the paint job and let the chips fall where they may.

January was a month like we have never had before.  In the first week, I suddenly realized that I needed to take college classes to keep my teaching certificate current.  So I started searching out my options.  Conrad and I had been chatting about what kind of course I wanted to take.  I said, “I would love something that had teaching and counseling together.”  Then I found my alma mater was now offering online classes.  In less than a week they had a class starting that was addressing how to deal with diversity in a biblical way through basic counseling tools.  I couldn’t believe it.  But the class was closed already and one of the books didn’t have a way to view online because it was out of print.  But I had to try as this was exactly what I had been hoping for.  The day the class started, I received word that the school had received permission to scan the textbook and send it to me.  I was able to join the class.

That was also the day, after a three day tropical storm with constant rains, that we learned that bridges to the south on the one road that bring much of our food, cooking gas, and other items had been washed out. The tracks that allow the train to bring fresh produce into town had been washed out.   We also learned that large high tension electric poles had fallen and we would be out of electric for a while.  The internet and phone service was also very sporadic, giving one a very isolated from the outside world feeling.  The “while” without electric was 29 days to be exact.  So for the next 29 days, we thanked God for our generator.  We watched prices soar and water becoming more limited because there was no electric to distribute it.  Yet, God provided and the electric returned.

Then in the end of January, one Thursday afternoon I received a text from Conrad saying “I am going to Maputo tomorrow morning, just so you know.”  With the situation in the north still not having electric, the timing didn’t seem ideal but we sensed God’s hand moving.  In less than 12 hours, he was on his way to Maputo, the capital, to chat with government officials about our operating certificate.  We have been waiting for 7 months for this paper, on that Thursday afternoon Conrad knew after weeks of being “promised tomorrow”, the time to make the trip had come.  God went before and answered many prayers and he returned with the much needed document.

Kids doing school work on the porch because the light was better there.

Conrad bringing more fuel for our generator.

After 29 days, the electric returned.  There was much rejoicing as we were able to enjoy hot water, use the microwave, iron, and other electric appliances again. (Our generator isn’t strong enough to run some items.)  I also was amazed at how God had given us internet and electric at just the right time so that I could meet all the requirements in my class on time. 

After the electric returned, we hoped things would calm down a little.  But then our plane getting a paint job in South Africa ran into some unexpected complications with the aviation government offices there.  Conrad also ran into some more unexpected challenges here in Mozambique as we continue to work on getting MAF on a more stable and solid footing in the country.  Also the guys got the call that they had been invited to take the test for their Mozambique pilot license validation only 4 days before the test.  A test that we have been hearing horror stories about the difficulty.  So the end of February found Conrad once again heading to Maputo to take the test, and he PASSED!!  Then Tropical Storm 15 hit northern Mozambique bring with it 5 days of straight rain.  Many mud huts are collapsing.  Sickness due to the cold (70 degrees F), malaria (lots of water sitting around so mosquitoes are many), and cholera (drinking water contaminated) has become rampant.

Yet through all the stress and struggles, God has been moving.  The plane in South Africa has now been released and has returned.  

The plane on the right is the one with the new paint job.

The generator broke but was able to be fixed and the electric stayed on during that time.  I was able to finish my first class.  We were able to find food during the tough times to help our workers with food for their families.  

Chima, a cornmeal flour, which everyone uses was in shortage due to electric being out and they couldn't grind the corn.  My house helper was able to find this bag for us at a very "nice" price and we split it up among our workers.

We have seen prices getting back to more normal in the city.  With every struggle, God has given us the grace to keep going.  God has also given us the ability to help others in greater need than us during this time.  God has given us the peace that even when we don’t understand and life is hard, He is still in control and working out the big picture to His Glory.

A rainbow, a reminder of God's promise, taken from our driveway

We thank the many of you have been holding us in your prayers over the last number of months.  It is only through God’s strength and peace that we have been able to come through these challenges.

Home School Presentation Night

   As we have embarked on the journey of homeschooling, I'm very thankful for other families here that also home school.  We have started a co-op.  From time to time, the moms get together for coffee and just to chat.  We also have started putting together special activities for our children.  Some things we have done so far have been field trips, messy art day, and presentation night.  This last Thursday night was a presentation night with the theme of Social Studies. 

    We, as a family, chose to speak on China.  We are enjoying our Social Studies Curriculum called “Children Around the World” from Winter Promise.  They have so many different activities and interesting stories about China and was a great jumping off point.  I was so thankful that our internet was working well during part of the study as we were able to stream different education video allowing the kids to “visit” China.  We even had fun trying out some yummy Chinese food (my first attempt at trying to cook Chinese food) and trying to eat with chopsticks.  But we all turned in our chopsticks for “real silverware” very quickly. J

    Yes, the unit was fun.  Putting the presentation together took work, but it was so much fun to see it all come together.  I was able to buy the material used for the display board as well as the girls’ costumes, when we were in South Africa.  The kids worked hard on the display and went over and over their presentations.   The night of the program came.  Less than an hour before we needed to leave, I finished Kayla's costume.  In a whirlwind, we got everyone ready and out the door.  When it was Alissa and Justin's turn to present, they got up and did a great job of sharing the information they had learned.  

Alissa presenting her part called "Challenges" dealing with population, endangered animals, the Great Wall, and the church in China.

Justin presenting his part called "Meet China".  He talked about the location, tigers, the Forbidden City, the New Years Celebration, and some inventions.

Kayla "helping" her daddy with the powerpoint.

Their table display

The three "Chinese" kiddos

   As I look back on the evening, it was so worth all the stress and time.   Seeing the kids developing in their speaking skills, seeing them take ownership in what they had learned, and having others encourage them in their studies is such a valuable part of their education.  So we will look forward to the next presentation night.