MozamWeek

It isn't often that I'm on the computer at 6am, but this chilly morning I thought an update was in order before our trip. Besides Bible translation for the Nyungwe people in Mozambique, we also teach 4 weeks a year at a Bible College 4 hours away. Today is the day we head to Angonia district to visit the school. We enjoy the change from hot, dusty Tete each year... and the interaction with Mozambicans who are getting a higher education. During our furlough year, we couldn't teach our Literacy Principles or Translation courses scheduled for first and second year students in the theology program at Hefsiba Christian Institute. This creates scheduling problems when we need to combine classes. So This year we have had to teach in shorter blocks and divide up the courses. For me it has worked out well. We wrote simple Bible stories last week in 5 languages from central Mozambique! Hopefully a bit more knowledge about writing in Mozambican languages, special needs of new readers,...

I had lots to do today... kids are out of school... Mikael is teaching at the Bible school this week. Grandma and Farmor and all our aunts and cousins are far, far away! What is a missionary mom to do in this case? Call another missionary mom, of course! It just so happens that Chris and Katie Nalls live half a mile away. This couple from Georgia have been in Tete for nearly 6 months. They are working with the Baptist church here in Nyungwe-land. So, when I have a 9am meeting in town, and people building gazebos and guardhouses on the Hill on the other side of the river I need a hand. Thanks to the Nalls, my kids had a lovely day with little Abigail and I got my work taken care of! Click HERE to visit their blog where they have posted pictures of my kids from today! I also have taken pictures, but my camera is in the shop and my phone doesn't talk with my computer, so you will have to wait to see the excitement of building on The Hill! I did see the preliminary sketches of our hou...

Today I left the kids at school for the penultimate time this term. I drove straight to the house of Q, my guard/worker on the Hill. He has been waiting on rocks... that got sorted out later. Today, I was in search of SHADE! For $8 I can get 4 3-meter poles... we bought 3 bunches. I hauled them home to Q's since he wasn't sure if he'd get them secured on the Hill before sundown. Apparently, someone will steal them if we leave them lying around up there. "I want it here. Make a circle from this center. Shift it if you have to and dig for the poles." "Do you want a door?" "No, just poles and a roof. Can we do it?" "Yes, maam. No problem." I headed to town to hunt down a load of rock for the foundation of the guardhouse. Once it is built, Q will move his family to the Hill. His family consists of a wife and various relatives that seem to be rotating in and out of town. Some brothers, some brothers-in-law, some 5 year olds and 10 y...

It isn't chilly at night for most members of family. The bridge over the Zambezi is being renovated... one-lane traffic... long lines and waits between home and school. We left school at 4:30 yesterday and arrived at home at 6pm. It is usually a 15 minute drive. It is often 45 minutes, but yesterday was the worst! Fuel crisis... well, sometimes we have enough diesel in town and sometimes we don't. The Hill... There is now a pile of sand on The Hill. Querino, the defender of the Hill, has brought a big load of thatch from the village and is storing it in a "pit" by his house. We expect a truckload of rock to arrive today for the foundation of a storage/guard house. We have bought 1,200 bricks that still need to be hauled over the highway and up the hill. The mason is charging about $60 to build the guard-house up to the roof. Then I need to get someone else to put the roof on. We have chosen a registered technician to draw our house plans and submit them to the city co...

Today is Saturday. I like it when I have a day off school. I watched TV in the morning. It was "Yakari" a cartoon from Brazil. I don't understand everything, but it's about an indian child. Then I ate pancakes with chocolate frosting (left-over from Mom's birthday cake) for breakfast. I got candy to eat outside. On weekends, Samuel is here. He's our guard; he works outside at our house. Today I saw Samuel kill a spitting cobra! It was on the ground in the bushes in the yard. It was white and black and as fat as my thumb and as long as my arm up to my elbow. It was a baby one. I'm glad Samuel is here! He hit it with a long fat stick 3 times and then on the neck and it died. Then he picked it up with the stick and threw it over the fence. I would like to kill a snake one day, Mom hopes it will not be soon!

Internet was really bad last month. Some software glitch made our computers incompatible with the modem... long story. In order to fix the problem, we had to switch computers... again! Only MY computer with Vista will run the new driver for the modem. Mikael's new computer won't... and the OLD computer is out of the question. *sigh* Connected again! Yea! I uploaded pictures to the net... I must be doing something wrong, because David says that Picasa is the fastest and most user friendly. Appreciate the effort, please! I did it for you! Other connections that have worked out: A missionary returns to Brazil for 2 months break... needs somewhere to store a few things... so our office now has enough chairs for the translators to sit together... and a printer to use at the office. So nice we could help out! A year is up for Holly who has been building underground dams in Tete Province. She is going back to America this week. I've been trying in vain to get contact solution. (Th...

When my friend came into town from Lilongwe, she brought us a few quarts of strawberries. That is a real treat around here and it came just before the 4th of July! I sent out a frantic e-mail and text message to Mom and my sisters for the family strawberry pie recipe. This is the reply that I only managed to read today, July 5th... Since we had home-made ice-cream for the 4th, I didn't make pie. We will have that today! Oh my! What do I want for a prize. Mom is getting her cookbook. We are at her house. For my prize, I want a picture of your 3 kids. Fresh Strawberry Pie 1 qt. strawberries 1 c. sugar 3 T. corn starch 2 T. white corn syrup 1 c. water pinch salt 2 T strawberry gelatin red food coloring Put Strawberries in baked pie shell. Cook until clear sugar, cornstarch, water, salt, corn syrup. Cool slightly, add gelatin and food coloring. Pour over berries in pie shell. Top with whip cream. (Old church recipe book) I will share my prize since we are ...