MozamWeek

A slightly amusing result of the robbery in January was that my spare make-up was stolen. I don't use much here in Mozambique, but a bit of sunscreen and face powder make me feel more "put together". In lamenting my losses, I began to replace what I could from the local market. One day when leaving the minibus stop, I saw face powder compacts lined up on a mat on the ground. Some young guy was selling make up to minibus riders... like me. Well, the majority of minibus riders are Africans who are truly Dark and Lovely. As I stooped to check out the offerings of the local selection, I was disappointed to see that all the compacts were "medium" and "dark". Upon inquiring where I could find a wider selection, he indicated a central market. There to my delight, I found it: Dark and Lovely, light . It was only $2.00; a great bargain considering that my usual powder runs about $8 and has to be shipped from America! So, I've gone native... the color isn...

You probably think you know what we do on Sunday mornings in Tete. Actually, we probably don't do what you expect. Since we work with Bible Translation for a language group that has a lot of influence in the city, we find ourselves keeping up contact with many churches in the area. That is good, but it means that we don't really have a "home church" here either. This is complicated by the fact that we now don't have a car to take us around on Sunday mornings. When the kids were little and most of the churches were hot and crowded, they cried and begged to go out and dig in the dirt. The African kids all sat in a row and didn't make a peep during the service. I'd get pulled on to go out with kids and miss most of the preaching. As they got bigger, Mikael was usually called on to preach somewhere. I'd stay home on those weeks and we'd "do Sunday School" at home. The kids loved this and I did too. But it didn't seem right to NOT be in ch...

No, not the car... the pictures of the kids! Here are the kids with the dog near our house at Good News Church. These were taken on the day we flew to Vila Ulongwe for our getaway. Reunited with the Ker kids on the steps of the house in Vila. Took all of 10 minutes for each of the older ones to pair up with a younger one. What a blessing! Anyway, now I know how to use this camera and transfer the pictures to this computer and use this connection to upload them... More pictures to come soon.

So, we left Tete. It was just too much. There was a plane with empty seats. I filled them early in the morning. We flew to the hills. We fled to the mountains. The cool green-ness was refreshing. The away-ness was refreshing. The leaving and landing somehwere else was refreshing. The hugs and smiles and tears of friends who are family were cleansing. It is ok to be weak in a family. It is ok to need a shoulder when yours are weighed down. It is good to need someone sometimes. Thank you, Jesus, for taking me away to my home-away for awhile. Thank you, Lord, for making me whole again for awhile. Thank you, Lord, for open arms and open doors both here and there. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me a rest when I needed it. It is good to be home again. It is good to be here again. It is good that You are always here with me.

Here are the kids with their Valentine's Day package from Charity Chapel. They were really excited and thought it was very fun to get cards from kids in the USA! Treats also appreciated! They opened the box and another envelope the next day... We also got a package from the Hanna family in Sweden at the same time... and Cards for everyone from Grandma! We have ordered a new PO Box key... our was stolen with the car! It has taken a month and it still isn't ready! They said, "Don't worry, some people have been waiting a whole year and still don't have their key!" Uh... is that comforting?

Hello from Isoka agian! I think I have found your truck is it a Raider? It is very difficult to get any info because they think I want to steel it from them... HA! It look just like the one on your blogg only it does not have a camper shell on the back (Bed of the truck) and there are two bullet holes in the windscreen... Sorry, that happened in Isoka when the police were chasing them. They said that all you need to do from the Zambian side is to show up with the registration paperwork and you could drive it home within 24 hrs.... I dont know if that helps or not! It is locked up and looks pretty good...one fender is messed up a little and the turn signal lights are broken on that same side, but all in all looks good! Hope this helps Blake Anything that I could do to help let me know and I will do my best That is very comforting news for us! I know, messed up fenders, missing canopy, and bullet holes in the windshield! But, Hey, it is ours and it is found... and it is possible to bring...

Duiker Attacks children in cross-country training while at school in Tete, Mozambique! So, I asked for something else to write about, and I get a Duiker. These miniature antilope are only about a foot and a half tall... but the males have sharp little horns and can be aggressive. While running up the hill at school PE, Katie and a classmate were attacked by a duiker. It was serious enough to get her out of PE for a week... and she got 3 stitches! The stitches were removed today and she is back on the hill... but she isn't allowed to swim for awhile since the deeper wounds are still a bit sensitive! OK, I'll just keep writing about the car! Pray for the kids' safety... uh, ours too! Thanks!