MozamWeek

My schedule seems to be determined by so many things. What's going on? Here's a sample. Monday: Doctor visit. Kids with ear aches and sore throats. Tried all my usual tricks so I've called in a professional. One's on antibiotic, the other two must use ear plugs for swimming, but are fine. Bible club... memory verse sheet requests from some students! I hope that means they want to memorize! I just listed all my favorites. You can send me ideas for more verses that every kid should know! We are starting practice for Carols evening as well. Getting an air conditioner installed. First we must upgrade our electricity... then we must buy the big machines, then we have to have someone install them... leg work, filling out forms, why can't it be easy? Planning for my bedroom and hallway floors to be taken out and redone. We had the living and dining areas done in April... what a mess! But, the top layer of cement is starting to break up in the rest of the house, so we might...

My computer support person said to me, "I have always refused to accept it when people tell me that a computer is bad... but, working on your computer this week, I have to admit there is at least one bad computer out there!" So, I had a lovely week in Nampula. I'm on an "entity committee" for our mission so I get to travel about twice a year to business meetings. My trip takes me to Nampula where we have a training and conference center. I travel through Lichinga where I have a dear friend from days gone by in Portugal and Tete. It has been good to take care of business, be "on-the-road" and meet people I don't usually get to meet. I have relaxed, while Mikael has had a lot of extra work at home without me. It has been good. I have seen God's hand taking care of me when there has been trouble. No bad computers... just mine! While I was sitting in meetings, I had turned my machine over to the capable people in our computer department. I had a se...

We get paid in Swedish crowns and US dollars. We exchange the money for Mozambican meticais (met-ee-kysh). The exchange rate is favorable for us, but over the years we've learned to think in "mets" instead of dollars. Prices continue to rise every week. We especially see the difference in meat, milk and eggs... luxury items for a Mozambican, we see them as main items in our diet. Here's a shopping list with what we paid back in May compared to what we have to pay now for the items we usually keep on hand. 1 liter of milk=52mtn, =75 mtn 1.8kg milk powder = 520mtn, =600mtn 1kg dried beans = 35mtn, =40mtn 30 eggs = 140 mtn, =200mtn 1 kg beef = 110 mtn, =150 1 kg chicken = 100 mtn, =160 1 kg cheese = 400 mtn, =580 mtn, when available 1kg onions = 50 mtn 1 kg tomatoes = 30 mtn 1kg potatoes = 20 mtn, =30 mtn 1kg rice = 25 mtn, = 32mtn 1 kg wheat flour = 30 mtn, =35mtn 1 kg sugar = 27 mtn, =33mtn 1 roll toilet paper = 15, =20, when available 1 liter cooking oil = 60 mtn, 75...

We have boxes of books. English books. Swedish books. Portuguese books. Nyungwe books. Each trip home brings us back with a load of books, some new clothes and shoes. We buy more clothes and shoes at the market here, but can't get many books. The library isn't well-stocked and you can't actually take the books out of the building. The two bookstores in town sell school books or volumes of civil legal codes. I can't afford the books they sell here. A novel might be sold for $20 to $50. Most of the novels don't pass that "whatsoever" test anyway. Some reference books are offered. A big Portuguese dictionary costs 2,000mt… that is about $70. Back to my boxes. Stacked in a corner of our guestroom/office/store room we have about 10 boxes. Most are books we've collected and don't have shelf space for right now. The boxes are labeled: Christian, reference, novels-English, novels-Swedish, misc. children's, cookbooks… More telling are the books that hav...

Maybe my sisters remember. Dad told us to think about the Whatsoevers . I didn't know when I was 10 years old that he was teaching me how to control my thought life. It's in Philippians 4:8 where it tells us how to choose our thoughts. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is pure, whatever is admirable --if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think on these things." In the NIV it isn't whatsoever like in the King James I memorized as a child. These are the whatevers for my kids. What an awesome tool to protect heart and mind! Choose to think about good things. Should I replay the insults someone shouted at me in anger? Should I dwell on the gossip about a friend? Should I see the horror movie? Should I choose that computer game? Should I let my mind wander to the worrying uncertainties of my future? We can make a choice if we want to. More than ever kids are bombarded with choices of what to ...

Sometimes it is hard to define what I did after a day in Tete. I start off with one plan and things almost always change by 10am. Monday I was nicely defined as a substitute teacher for John's class... until noon. At noon, I should have driven home to make lunch for the other two... then back to school to teach Bible Club and hang out until swimming was over at 4pm. But... something changed. We have to look at Sunday- the team went with Mikael to deliver the Gospel of Mark in Nyungwe to 7 churches "on the other side of the river." He drove on good highway... and some normal dirt suburb roads. They had a warm welcome in the church they visited and headed out for the second on the list. "Ka-plomp, ka-plomp, ka-plomp." Flat tire. How odd that a 5 inch metal shard would be stuck in our new big, tough Wranglers! The spare was low. Power cuts on Sundays. No compressors to pump up and no repairs possible. So Maliko came home with Mikael on Sunday and we didn't want...

Katie had a lovely birthday today. It was also the first day of school after a 3 week break. It was also the day I taught Bible Club at school. So, it was a big day. I'm trying a new way to upload blog stuff and just need to see if this works.