MozamWeek

Pão... carcaça 12 cents, and pão de água, 15 cents from our favorite Tete bakery, Kase Kome. When I was a little girl, we used to hear that in prison you just get bread and water to eat. It sounded boring and basic. But those simple things... Bread Water ... can be such tremendous blessings. Is there anything better after a day of sweating in the heat and dust than pouring a glass of clear, cold water? Is there anything more delicious to a hungry tummy than freshly baked bread, steaming from the oven? I often smile here in our simplified life in Tete. When the bread is warm from the bakery and we share a broken lump... and reach into the fridge for the coldest water we can find. "Mmmmm...", they sigh. My kids will never have the same perspective of "just bread and water" as I had as a kid. They are living a life where these small things are taken to another level. It probably helps that we have one of the best bakeries in Mozambique right down t...

Some things about living in Mozambique are uncomfortable. There is the heat. There are the bumpy roads. Add in the power cuts, dirty water, no water, and all that comes with living in a underdeveloped area. Those things are uncomfortable. But there is something else. It is a little harder to explain. It is being the "expert" in the place where you really don't know anything. That really makes me uncomfortable. Today, once again, I'm faced with the decision to give advice to a person who lives in an alternate reality from my own. Does that sound rediculous? Unreal? Well, I don't know what else to call it. The man and his wife are Mozambicans from somewhere and they live in the city of Tete now. We have given the man a job... at the request of a friend who knew what we needed. Now we employ the man... and we are somewhat responsible for the well-being of his family. We would like to insist that the man is an adult and can take care of his own affairs since h...

We spent most of our Christmas vacation here at home in Tete, Mozambique. Some years this has been a time of homesickness for me, but this year I was happy to be home to decorate and celebrate as a family. Katie came home from boarding school, and it was wonderful to have her cheerily settled into her old room. Here are a few of the surprises we experienced during the long summer-Christmas break when the kids were out of school, the team was off work, and our own work was done for the year.    A Christmas tree on the Zambezi River... Dhow River tour on the Zambezi. Usually it is a little pricey for us, but when two other families were interested and available, we signed up. Hippos were out bathing, but we didn't see any crocs this time.  Tiki, Semu's son, seemed to love trying the recorder and wouldn't let anyone else play it after he got the chance. They opened a bumper-car park in our town! They actually worked and added a fun activity to our li...

5 years... 200 posts... 8,647 page views Not quite the once a week journal I envisioned, but it is a good enough record of our lives as a missionary family in Mozambique. That isn't really very impressive for blog statistics, but I've enjoyed the time I've spent sharing excitement and wonder at new experiences and the dread of facing packing and moving. I'm glad a few of you have followed along. And I'm glad a few more pop in from time to time. Here are the top 5 most viewed posts: Divide a circle into 11 equal parts There must be a lot of people with geometry questions, and I'm sure they were disappointed to find a blog about a white lady building a shady gazebo in Africa! Be still and know My baobab post. Inspired by a great picture by Gigi at snappingafrica2. In the evening Written after hearing about Rosa's death... while I was still in England. I think this is one of my favorites. Mother-in-law for a roommate Written while living in Swed...

When I was 15, I lived in a small town in Indiana. I had a small circle of friends. I babysat on weekends. I went to basketball games and football games or slumber parties at my friends' houses. I was in 10th grade. I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I knew I'd figure it out eventually. I wasn't in a hurry. Being a kid was pretty good, actually. I had no illusions that growing up meant more freedom. I was free... to be myself... in a loving family... in a safe home... God would grow me up in time. I knew that even then. Last week a 15 year old girl came knocking on my gate. She turned out to be the niece of one of our night watchmen who happened to be off work for a few days. She needed to see him. He didn't answer his phone. She didn't know where he lived. She met him here before... she wasn't from Tete, but another part of the province. Her time in Tete last month was short and she worked at a neighbor's house looking after an elde...

My friend Gigi takes amazing pictures. She has lived in Tete for about 3 years or so. When she came, she said she wanted to find beauty wherever she was. I said, "Good luck, you are in Tete now!" She has shown me the beauty of the place around me and I look at my African home differently. I want to thank Gigi for showing so many of us here in this dry, dusty place where the beauty is. Her blog is  SnappingAfrica . Have a look. It is a wonderful glimpse of life here in Tete! Baobab It towers over everything around it. It looks dead. Waiting for the two months of rain during the hottest part of the year. For just a fraction of the year there is respite. Otherwise, wait. Still. You can't tell it is alive until it buds and blossoms and produces fruit. Those seemingly dead branches give fruit every year. The baobab stands in God's stillness and waits for the blessing of rain. Through the burning sun and the drought with no sign of help. It knows. God is here. In hi...

There is a friend from long ago who upon deciding to follow Christ chose to memorize the book of 1 Peter. I was her "hearer"... the first 2 chapters are so familiar to me even today. There is so much I've learned from and leaned on in this epistle that it's become a part of my psyche. It is good to have verses that live in you. They are there before you know it even if you've left Bible reading aside for far too many days... again. Like strangers in the world... So that your faith, of greater value than gold, can be proved genuine... We, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house... The enemy is like a roaming lion seeking someone to devour... Know that for now you will suffer all kinds of trials... Love one another deeply, from the heart... Cast your anxiety on him, for he cares for you... Submit to authority... live as free people... show proper respect for everybody... Even the angels long to look into these things... Pieces ...