MozamWeek

Yesterday we went up to our HILL to see how things went while we were in Vila. We found the "guard" there who we entrusted with the task of keeping people from stealing or destroying our rocks. Sure enough, the RockBreaker was back! Some guy has been basically removing a big boulder from our land. He started a month ago, worked for a couple of weeks when we weren't looking, and then he got Malaria... so he took a couple of weeks off! On Monday, he was well enough to pound on the rocks again... though he was informed by our guard that we didn't want him to continue! He went to get his "boss" who hired him to remove our boulder. It turns out that some lower official ignored the plot markers and gave away our land to a Brazilian! He is planning to build his house on our spot... as far as he knows, this is legal! Needless to say, we were shocked and unsettled. Not exactly angry, but very concerned. We have all the legal documentation from the city planners and h...

This week and next our family is in Vila Ulongwe... near the Malawi border in Mozambique. Mikael and I are teaching at Hefsiba Bible College. I'm teaching Literacy Principles for Mozambican Churches for the 5th time. It is always a joy... and this time it is especially easy. I have only 5 languages to deal with, the course materials are already developed, and the big project will have to wait for the next part of the course. That is where all the hard work and late night consulting sessions come in. But, that is next time. We are talking about why churches in Mozambique should be interested in their local languages. Why should they develop materials that are easy to read in churches? Why should they struggle through the process of writing in a language usually only used orally? What is the point if Portuguese is the official language anyway? There are theories for all these issues and more. Only about 30% of the population that can read or understand Portuguese well. The rest strug...

Mikael arrived Tuesday afternoon, safe and sound, tired and hungry, and grinning from ear to ear! What a welcome sight! We missed him for the week he was gone! Not only did he drive up in a great car that everyone assures him was a great deal, but he got a chance to shop for presents while in Maputo! Thanks to those of you who sent Christmas money that we never were able to spend in Tete, he brought 2 new bicycles and a scooter for the kids. Of course he didn't get much rest until at least one of them was assembled! Needless to say, they didn't actually get their homework done that night! Last week was the LAST week of the term for Zambezi Junior School. The last week of the first term (the school year starts in January here) is traditionally International Week. Each class chooses a country to study and represent at an open house on the last day of school. I look forward to uploading pictures of Tete versions of Swedish forests and midsummer, Argentinian tango dancers, and a wh...