Happy 1 year to us!

Happy 1 year to us!

One year ago last month on June 16, 2015, we stepped off that little airplane that brought us to our new home in Nampula, Mozambique. What a RIDE it’s been!

While we’ve had obvious profound challenges as any little family would adjusting to a totally new culture and surroundings in a 3^rd world country, I can honestly say that I love being here and I wouldn’t change it for anything. Being where God wants you produces a peace that no amount of difficulties can take away.

So, being that I haven’t updated the blog in almost 8 months (ouch!), I’ll touch on some of the highlights (and lo-lights) of life serving here in Mozambique.

NOVEMBER

Highlight: I made my FIRST turkey for Thanksgiving! It took a few weeks, but I was able to find 2 turkeys to cook, and would you believe they were both from North Carolina? Ha! We had a lovely time with about two dozen Americans and a few adopted Americans 😉 The turkeys turned out pretty good. I was so nervous cooking for so many people!

Lo-light: My kitchen temperature reached 110 degrees! Remember, seasons here are flipped from the USA. And it being the end of dry season, November and December are the hottest months. Talk about working up a sweat! I had a floor fan going, drank a lot of ice-cold water, and took a few breaks in one of the bedrooms with A/C. Nonetheless, I was dripping-sweat HOT! But, I was determined to cook up a storm for the holidays. (The previous year, I got depressed not celebrating T-day ON the day with all the traditional fixings.) And in the end? Totally worth it.

DECEMBER

Highlight: We went on our first family Ambassador Aviation flight! (MAF in Moz is known as Ambassador Aviation.) Steve had open seating in his airplane to the Niassa reserve (a 2-hr flight up to the high north of Mozambique) where he would stay over 1 night, take a photographer on a few aerial photo-shooting sessions of wildlife, and then take him back to Nampula the following day. The family who runs the reserve is pretty isolated and have 2 young kids. They told Steve a few months prior to bring us (his family) with him next time. So, in a spur of a moment (with only a few days to plan), all 4 of us piled in the 206 and flew up with Pilot Daddy! It was an incredible experience to fly as a family and hear the squeals of excitement from 2 little girls! (Ok, reality moment too: Hannah hated being strapped in and wiggled her way out a few times until she finally gave up and fell asleep on me in the heat of summer… but, other than that, it was a dream come true!)

We landed on a dirt/grass airstrip and were welcomed by this sweet South African family with a 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. Bekah, Hannah, and the little girl Bea immediately ran off to play, and before long, they were having a tea party on the front porch of the family’s newly built house (they had lived in modified tents for the last several years). But before they ran off to play together, Bea’s mother Sheline warned the girls not go past a certain point as a lion had been spotted there the last few days. In the same breath, Sheline went on to explain that her garden used to be right over there, however an elephant got into it a few months ago and trampled it to pieces! (Seriously, where are we?!) My eyes were SO big! Where in the world did Steve just fly us?! This was SO cool! And nerve-wracking!

The Niassa Reserve is the largest conservation area in Mozambique and is located in the far north of the country bordering Tanzania. In the 70’s and 80’s, it was badly affected by civil war like the rest of the country and was extensively poached. More recently though, game populations such as elephant, buffalo, zebra, hippo, and lion have slowly started to recover and have become a great interest for wildlife safaris.

This dear couple has dedicated the last 13 years of their life and career to helping conserve wildlife, protect animals from poachers, and see that the reserve continues to grow healthy. Their particular interest right now has been the African elephant. Tens of thousands of elephants are being killed every year for their beautiful ivory tusks that are illegally exported to other countries, particularly in Asia, and carved into ornaments and jewelry. Because of this, some African elephant populations are endangered. After 2 weeks of the ranger Vim and the photographer searching via car for the species, very few elephants were seen… an extremely discouraging find.

As all 2-year-olds do in new places when you are trying to make a good impression, Hannah had a melt down and was beyond consoling. To try to calm her down, Steve took her to a quiet, remote setting: a cliff that overlooked a large bank. With the change of scenery, she looked out and got very quiet. Off in the distance, Steve could see a wild herd of something, but couldn’t tell what it was. He shouted, Vim the ranger rushed over, squinted his eyes, spit his cigarette out, and exclaimed “Elephants!” He ecstatically ran as fast as he could to the Range Rover and yelled for all of us to get in the car (photographer, his family, our family, and another conservationist with a special degree in wild buffalo). We drove off as fast as possible in a  4WD truck through the bumpy trails and onto the riverbank.

When we got out of the car, it felt like something out of a safari movie. In the distance (maybe only ½ a mile away) we could see a herd of elephants walking together, trumpeting, and bathing in a nearby body of water. Not just 10 or 20, but close to 200! It was so surreal! Tears of joy streamed down Sheline’s face “In all my years here, I’ve never seen THIS MANY elephants!” She was so grateful that their efforts against the poachers and to preserve the wildlife in the Niassa were indeed making a difference. It was incredible to be part of this historical moment for this conservationist family. If they didn’t believe in miracles then, surely God’s glory could be seen now!

That night we “glamped” in one of the wilderness reserve’s tent houses that had 2 queen sized beds, running water, and a toilet. We were served a 3-course meal along with the other safari guests on the veranda overlooking the sunset on the savanna. It was incredible. However… those of you who camp with young kids in the heat of summer, know that camping is not for quietness or sleeping 😉 We felt so bad for our neighboring safari tourists who had to listen to crying kids all night, but we have NOW invested in battery-operated fans to bring with us next time!

So, as if our December wasn’t already exciting enough…

Highlight: Our container arrived! We packed all of our belongings nearly 2 years ago and now we were opening them up like it was Christmas! And it was Christmas! We had bought the girls a few things for their Christmas 2015 and now we could give it to them. AND as clever of parents as we are, we wrapped up a bunch of their old toys and gave it to them as Christmas gifts too! Ha! Bekah remembered a few of her toys, but Hannah? She was rolling in “new” stuffed animals, books, dress up clothes, and dolls. It was a Christmas miracle for all of us!

But my FAVORITE Christmas gift of all was…

Highlight: Our house! We got the keys to our house on December 14^th. The house is a 4 bed/ 2 bathroom house located on MAF’s newly purchased property (from Boa Nova) and is between the properties of YWAM (Youth With a Mission, formerly owned by SIL—Wycliffe Bible Translators) and AIM (Africa Inland Mission). The property has 3 houses, ours being the one in the middle, and is full of big trees, space, and grass (no big cement walls with shard glass and barb wiring!). (Yes, we have security that includes day and night guards and fences with barb wiring, but it’s at a distance from our house and where the girls play.)

The shade over the house makes it nice and cool. The variety of trees ranges from mango, lemon, cashew, banana, tangerine, and papaya. And get this: MY KITCHEN HAS AN AIR CONDITIONER! I cried as the cold air blew on me as I pretended to stir a boiling pot. This month just could NOT get any better. I was SO ready to SETTLE DOWN in my own home after 2 years of being so transient and living in other peoples’ homes and out of a suitcase.

However…

Lo-light: Several things needed to be fixed before we could move in to our house, and we wanted to make some much needed updates. We were so close to unpacking our container and settling in to our new house for Christmas. But, we decided, it was best to do the necessary repairs, and fix our home the way we wanted it before moving in. Thankfully, we were given the time and resources to do most of the repairs, we had a wonderful baby-sitter who could watch the girls while Steve & I got to fix up our own house, and we found a hard-working, honest tiler to put down floors in our home.

4 weeks later…

JANUARY

Highlight: We got to move in to OUR HOME! My dreams for decorating a house were birthed this month (you can take the midwife out of the birth setting, but you can’t take birth out of the midwife!) From painting a red accent wall to creating wall art with local fabric bought at the market and constructing the frame from re-purposed wood salvaged from an old part of the ceiling, I just loved making our new house a home. Ya’ll, it was awesome.

Lo-light: We had to pack up to leave! Imagine how exciting it was to finally UNPACK after 2 years of being PACKED and then a few weeks have to pack up again and LEAVE?!

But it was because…

FEBRUARY

Highlight: We went on furlough! Only a few months prior to this month, MAF decided to officially change the furlough policy from every 3 ½ years to every 21 months. We were in tears happy to find out that we can go back to the States twice as frequent as we were told when we first joined MAF a few years ago. It was a dream come true!

To be back with family & friends and in the comfort of our home culture for a few months was so life-giving to us. I can’t say enough good things about our time there. We rested, we played, we ate (boy, did we eat), and we just enjoyed being WITH our loved ones. FaceTime and Skype are wonderful, but there’s just NOTHING like a hug!

Lo-light: We got word that our first family dog Abby had to go 😦 She was our guard dog, but we still considered her being a part of our family. Before we moved onto the MAF property, Abby lived with another family who had 2 guard dogs who were “training” her. She was a good dog, obedient with the adult couple, and gentle with the kids. We were puzzled why when she moved on to our property how protective she was of us to the point of growling at anyone who would try to enter our home. We figured that after a few weeks, she would get used to her new surroundings and ease up a bit. Unfortunately, she didn’t. Her aggression grew and the family who was caring for her while we were gone ended up getting bit as she was trying to “protect them.” Thankfully, the bite was very minor, but the decision was made that she had to go. Another expat family who knew her breed (Rhodesian Ridgeback) said that they didn’t mind her “extreme loyalty” and decided to adopt her. They came to pick her up a few days after the incident, and just like that, our dog was gone! We didn’t even get to say good-bye 😦 The girls took it well, overall, when we broke it to them. Steve and I were a bit bummed, but we definitely understood.

MARCH

Highlight: We went on a Caribbean cruise! For the past four years we having been saving a little every month so that we could do something big and fun for our 10-year anniversary. Well, being in the States allowed us to take advantage of the grandparents’ babysitting and the opportunity to do something big! We officially blew our 10-year anniversary fund at 8 years & 9 months of marriage, but it was SO worth it!

APRIL

Highlight: Saying goodbye to loved ones again was HARD, but returning to Mozambique actually felt like we came HOME. Our family and our country will always have our heart, but let’s face it—there’s NOTHING like sleeping in your own bed and being in your own space! What a treat to travel so far and yet we were ecstatic to be returning to this 3^rd world land we now call “home.” Totally unexpected. Totally such a blessing.

Highlight: Steve’s buddy from college Shane Beans came from America to BLESS us with 10 days of hard work toward home repairs! Shane and his wife Linda love missionaries and are dedicated to blessing them with a portion of their time and income. Linda is a pilot for Delta and Shane is a part-time avionics technician and a full-time dad to their 2-year-old daughter Kaitlyn (and soon-to-be new baby this month!). So, you can imagine the appreciation and utter blessing this was to us to have him here doing whatever we needed! He did everything from minor projects like installing towel bars, fixing screen holes, and painting chipped areas of the ceiling to helping Steve construct a playset for the girls, installing a door closer, and hammering a hole through a wall to install our dryer hose. The list goes on! At one point he was on top of our roof, cleaning off leaves, so that he could identify the holes that are common with our leak-causing V-shaped roof! It would have taken Steve at least a year to do all that Shane did in a week and a half. Did I mention what a blessing he was to us in loving on our girls, too? He tickled them, read them stories, chased them around the house, and let them be a part of whatever he was doing too. What. A. Blessing.

Highlight: We got to attend MAF’s Annual Africa Manager’s Conference in Cape Town, South Africa! The Program Manager from each MAF program in Africa got to invite one other couple on their team to join them for the conference. The couple perhaps is seen as having potential leadership possibilities. Steve and I were very honored to be chosen! We not only learned about how the other African programs function in Congo and Lesotho, how the MAF budget works, and what kinds of new changes are coming to the organization, but we also got to meet other people from other programs around Africa who have similar struggles and joys. It was encouraging, refreshing, and eye-opening. We are so pleased to be a part of such an incredible organization that loves God, His people, and the world we serve.

Highlight: We had the unique privilege of taking a tour of Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for a few decades before apartheid was finally abolished in 1994. What a sobering sight to witness the remnants of racial cruelties of the past. While we learned so much about this part of history and how far our world has advanced in this arena, it is still quite evident that there is much more to be done for true racial reconciliation in this part of the world. We are very grateful to have been able to see this portion of history and even more grateful that it is in the past!

On a lighter note, we saw wild penguins! Of course, this was the girls’ favorite part 😉 I mean, come on. Who takes their toddler and Kindergartner to a former prison island with wild penguins? This couple! Bekah’s world history and wild animal knowledge is growing by leaps and bounds 😉 Hannah is just so proud of herself for chasing off and almost touching the flightless birds. (Remember, Cape Town is the southern most tip of Africa and is fairly close to Antarctica. Did I mention it was pretty chili there too?)

MAY

Lo-light: Just being honest here and not to complain (because I feel so grateful for everything we have been able to experience thus far), but by May, we were wiped out. I was done traveling for a while. All I wanted to do was stay in my house and sleep in my own bed and not go ANYWHERE. We had moved to our new house in January, but 4 months later, we had literally only lived in it as a family for a few weeks. I was craving routine and order. We were STILL unpacking from our crate and what we re-packed from furlough. Steve was the only licensed pilot at the time and had a big trip down the coast of Moz that eventually landed him in South Africa for over a week to do a necessary and routine maintenance job on the airplane. He was gone 12 out of 17 nights by the 2^nd week of May. I was feeling drained from him being gone so much.

And then…

Highlight: Mission flying picked up! Up until this point, a lot of our business was commercial flying. With the restructuring of the flying doctor program and the transition of our hangar and business model, business had been slower than normal. However, due to a recent increase of rebel fighting in the north, traveling along the roads has been deemed unsafe. Ambassador Aviation has been happy to help be a part of the solution for safe travel for the missionaries. We have flown more missionaries in the last 3 months than in the last year. What a blessing!

Then I got to tag along for one of those flights! An open seat came up last minute on a day that I had already arranged a babysitter to watch the girls for different plans that ended up falling through. (Thanks, God!) We flew together to a small village on the coast that is predominantly Muslim. The 1-hour flight to this airstrip would have taken almost 8 hours by car. Steve had to clear the airstrip by doing a low pass to make sure there wasn’t anything that would be dangerous to land on as this airstrip hadn’t been accessed in a while. It was fun to see the whole village come out to welcome the airplane!

 

 

On this flight we were picking up a woman that had been encouraging a missionary family who live in a remote village about an hour and a half away from the airstrip. The New Tribes missionaries who we were visiting described their work of translating the Bible into the people’s heart language. They shared that early on after they arrived to begin their translation work, the village elders told them that fourteen years ago, as they were reading the Quran in Arabic without understanding any of it, had prayed that God would bring someone to their village to explain the Scriptures. God used this to bring the truth of the Bible to them in their own language.

Getting to go on this flight with Steve was so good for me. Yes, I was still drained from him being gone so much, however, I got a better glimpse of WHY WE’RE HERE! I felt inspired and part of the greater picture. I needed that. God knew it. I came away from that experience refreshed.

And it was a good thing, because…

Highlight: In May, we had an MAF donor group of 9 people from the U.S. come for a vision trip to see how their donations are being used in ministry. They were able to fly with Steve to 2 different airstrips to hear about the work that other missionaries are doing in partnership with MAF. It was a special honor for us to host everyone in our home for a brunch, including the President & CEO of MAF John Boyd, our Africa Regional Director, and our VP of Ministry Advancement Barb Bowman.

Highlight: The greatest privilege during their visit was dedicating our new Caravan to God’s service. About 80 people total from the community (locals and expats) came out to celebrate and pray with us.

Well, that brings us up to these months in June & July, and I can honestly say, I’m just happy that we’re not moving anywhere or traveling anywhere anytime soon! Steve’s still working a lot, but I’m more settled and that helps. The weather is incredibly cool and breezy (50-60’s at night, 70-80’s during the day). It’s refreshing! The girls are content and enjoying space to run around in and playing on their playground. I feel thankful for this last year of challenges and blessings. Some of them came one in the same. I look forward to what this coming year holds for us!

Thank you for your interest in our lives, taking the time to read this blog and pray for our family. We so appreciate it!

 

 

Our first 3 weeks in Africa

Overwhelming. Overstimulating. Overjoyous. These are the best 3 words to describe the last 21 days. Adjusting to our new lives here in Nampula has been A LOT. It’s been harder than I expected, more exhausting than I anticipated, but it’s also been more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. Like any major transition, balancing life again takes time. The process cannot be rushed. Giving myself grace is the name of the game. I must enjoy this season for what it is, because soon enough, it will change!
 
So, what’s been OVERWHELMING? Safety, water, and health. As teenagers, both Steve and I spent time in southern Africa on month-long mission trips. When I was single, I lived in northern Africa for a fall semester teaching at a small Christian missionary school. However, being here with little kids who we are in charge of is a whole new ballgame! The safety concerns in Nampula are similar of living in a big metropolis city, such as Los Angeles (only this is Africa). Poverty is rampant. Jobs are scarce. Crimes of convenience are the main concern. Having bars line each window of the house is a must, employing a night guard is needed, and owning a few big dogs that roam around the house inside the gate is normal. Purses must be kept zipped tight with an overlapping flap and closeby to avoid pick-pocketting. Nothing of great value should be openly worn or held out (like an iPhone) or left out in the car (like a diaper bag). While driving, windows are rolled up and doors are locked.

We are using an MAF vehicle, which has manual everything, and there’s even a particular way to lock the passenger side from the outside. Not only do we need to remember to lock our doors each time we climb in and out, but we need to turn around and lock the kids’ doors too. The other day, I came THIS close to locking Hannah IN the car! I did the whole “hold-in-the-handle-while-locking-the-inside-button-then-release-to-shut-the-door” to lock my door, but I forgot to unlock Hannah’s side! I thought she was locked in! Thankfully, Bekah’s door was still open. Phew.

Water is a little tricky here. From the faucet, one can wash hands and bathe, but after the dishes are washed, they must be dipped in a basin of bleach water to be sanitized (gallon-size basin with a cap full of bleach). All fruits and vegetables must also be soaked in this bleach water mixture for 20 minutes to be santized. If the type of produce is very porous (like lettuce), then it’s better to soak it in a vineager mixture (same amount of water, but with 2 cap fulls of vinegar) for 40 minutes. Drinking water comes from a filter that sits on the counter. Before we can pour water into the filter, it first must be boiled. We cook with, brush our teeth with, and drink filtered water only. Try telling that to a 19-month-old! Every now and then I catch her drinking the bath water. Oh boy.

From the moment we arrived here, the girls have enjoyed getting dirty. All the other kids run around without shoes, so they want to go barefoot, as well. Cuts and scrapes have to be treated a little more cautiously around here to prevent greater infection. So, after the cut is cleaned with soap and water or alcohol, it needs to be covered with a band-aid until it is mostly healed. Preventing bug bites is also important, because malaria is so prevalent. Screens line every window. Each bed is covered with a mosquito net hanging from the ceiling.  Bug spray must be applied around dusk, when mosquitoes tend to be more prevalent.

Even with all of those precautionary measures, poor little Hannah has been bitten several times. By our 3rd day here, she had 2 bites on her eyelid that swelled up so much that she could only slightly open her eye. When she woke up from her nap the next day, she was screaming and rubbing her eye (which only made it worse). Concerned that the inflammation was turning into an actual infection, we phoned the MozMed nurse Bart and brought her over as soon as we could to have him and Doctor Nico (who just moved here from the Netherlands the previous day) take a look. Both of them agreed that it still just looked like normal swelling, but they gave us sterile gauze to use as a cold compress to alleviate the swelling. They came by our house the next day to check on her, and, thankfully, the swelling went down. What a scare. And what a blessing to have this medical team here with such quick access.
I woke up that next day in tears. The stress of that situation drained me. There were so many new things all at once. I felt for a moment “undone.” I needed a good cry. I needed to talk to God and tell Him all those feelings: fear, being overwhelmed, relief. I was then reminded of: His promises in His Word, how He has worked in my past, how He has called us here to this land, and that He would always be with us. Peace, hope, and joy settled in. I love how the Holy Spirit works. Steve took the girls outside to play. I had the whole house to myself. I turned on some music and cleaned and organized my kitchen. I bleached those dishes. I filtered that water. I soaked that lettuce in some vinegar water. My new normal had begun. And this was me embracing it at the top of my lungs singing to my familiar American music!

So, what’s been OVERSTIMULATING? Finally being a part of the Mozambique MAF team in country and experiencing new day-to-day “normals” in a new culture. Who said being overstimulated was a negative thing, per se? It’s been wonderful…sometimes too wonderful. Sometimes, Steve and I have to make ourselves stop talking about the day, because it’s 1am and we need to go to sleep!

Just 4 days after arriving, our team had our yearly Ministry Plan meeting. It lasted 8 hours. What a fabulous opportunity to learn all about what the MAF program has been doing this last year and what future plans lie ahead. We discussed the program’s strengths, weaknesses, what could be changed, and what we thought should remain. We prayed together as a team that God would give us a vision of what He wants us to do and to stir in us the passion to carry it out. Talk about being overstimulated. Vision and passion came oozing out of our brain cells and hearts that night. What a privilege to have been intentionally invited to this meeting as part of the team! We were honored!

Last Sunday, we attended our first African church service as a family here. Djembes (traditional African drums), tamborines, triangles, and maracas were dispersed throughout the congregation of nearly 50 adults and 25 children. A choir of 6 adults sang and danced up the aisle in acapela leading the rest of us in praise and worship. The babies who were tied to their mother’s back just bobbled as their mommas praised God in song and dance. Hannah’s hips swayed, Bekah’s feet moved from side to side. One can’t help but clap and dance to the beat. Familiar hymns like “Tudo Entregarei” (“I Surrender All”) were sung with an African twist. We loved it. Children’s church was held on the side of the church under a thatched roof. Two dozen children ages 1-11 sat on a bamboo mat and colored a half-sheet Bible story page. We sang some songs and played a few games. I was impressed with the children’s patience as the whole service lasted 2 ½ hours. When we returned home, we ate a brief lunch and slept the afternoon away.

So, what have we been OVERJOYED about? Ah, where do I begin?! Being able to speak the language of the locals, being BACK in Nampula and reconnecting with old friends, and watching both Steve and I tap into our dreams come true. How’s that for starters? Ha, I know. A bit of a romanticist view, but just read on. Only God could write this story.

Both Steve and I have traveled to many countries before and the most difficult aspect of getting around is the inability to communicate. So, what a refreshing feeling to be in such a new and unfamiliar place but be able to: read road signs, food labels, and billboards; understand greetings, musical lyrics, and how much something costs; be able to reply with appropriate responses, tell the grocer what you’re looking for, and surprise a local by asking them how they are doing today. What a difference from arriving to Portugal last year! Yay that even though we transitioned again to a new country, we didn’t have to be lost in the language! Even the double kiss on the cheek is the same! Yippee!

For me, being back in Nampula felt familiar. For two and a half years, we have been preparing to come here: emailing the team with questions, reading up on Mozambique’s culture/ blogs of people living here, and praying for the people God has called us to move across the world to live in community with. But for me, I WAS RETURNING to Mozambique. Fifteen years ago, I came here on my first short-term mission trip with Teen Missions International to help build a hospital. I told the missionary surgeon who we were helping that I wanted to be a midwife one day and maybe I’d return in the future. His ministry of meeting physical needs and then sharing Christ with them made a great impact on me that summer, leaving me with a lasting call to overseas full-time Christian missionary work. And now, I’m BACK. I’ve got my Master’s in Nursing as a certified nurse-midwife and family nurse practitioner. I’ve got my kids with me. I’ve got my missionary pilot husband with me. I’m all in.

Guess who else is here? My former Teen Missions leader Lori and her husband Victor and their 4 children. I haven’t seen her since summer of 2000. They just arrived here last month! Lori and her family have been living about 2 hours away from Nampula for the last decade or so and have just relocated for the first time in their family’s life. They are the leaders of Youth With A Mission (YWAM: Christian discipleship training) who just took over the missionary compound here where we were living our first 2 weeks. We are practically neighbors! Is God cool or what? And she’s expecting her 5th baby next month! I think I was in country less than 2 hours before I was already doing Leopold’s maneuvers (common method of determining the baby’s position) on her pregnant belly. After over 2 years of not attending a birth (besides giving birth myself), I am hoping to be a support person for my dear friend’s birth!

With a growing aviation program and the preparation for half the team to be gone for furlough this fall, Steve is excited about getting back in the air and growing in leadership. Last Saturday, he flew his first airplane since April 2014! He was so excited. With a growing MozMed team (flying doctor service to the unreached parts of northern Mozambique), a Cessna 208 Caravan arriving early next year, and 3 new pilots arriving within the next 12 months, he is overjoyed to be here in this growing and changing season of our program.

Thank you for sharing in our adventures by reading our blog, praying for us, and cheering us on. With all these new changes, we are so thankful for a God Who has been so faithful to us and doesn’t change. And we are so thankful for our family and friends who have stuck by us all these years, no matter how many miles separate us. Thank you!

Some pictures of our first 3 weeks…

Our 29-hr journey from Coimbra, Portugal to Nampula, Mozambique. Hannah barely slept. Bekah fell asleep just fine. The rising South African sun was so promising and gorgeous. One of my favorite memories: explaining to Bekah what a squatty-potty was in the Johannesburg airport! That was the first hint we were definitely in Africa.

Our home on the YWAM base the first 2 weeks, then we moved into our teammates house (about a 7 min drive away) where we’ll stay until our shipment arrives (4-6 months). Finally, we will move one last time (hopefully for a while)!

The girls make friends wherever they go.

My cooking endeavors: pumpkin muffins and olive/bacon pizza (ALL from scratch, baby!).

New way of life… At YWAM, trash is collected in a pit, then burned. Lixo means trash. Laundry is done in a central building, by someone hired to put it in the washer and then hang it on the line. You pay per load and get a book of tickets (about $2 per load– not bad!). It must be dropped off first thing in the morning (7-10a)… about a 6 min walk from our house. Steve learning how to drive on the left side of the road. Would you believe we are BOTH independently driving now?! Praising God for courage!

In 3 short weeks, we celebrated 4 special dates: Father’s Day (June 21^st), our 8^th Wedding Anniversary (June 23^rd), Mozambique’s Independence Day (June 25^th), America’s Independence Day (July 4^th).

“No-Nappers” Club: Let the little children COME!

A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. But a way to a momma’s heart? Her children. You wanna do something nice for me? Love on my girls. Jesus had the same thoughts when He taught on who would be the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcome Me.” Matthew 18:3-5

Within 48 hours of arriving on MAF’s campus, I already found little children coming in my home. You see, it’s kinda like living on a college campus… you leave your door open and people will come! Well, now I’m married with kids living in close community with 3+ other families, and my 3-year old is already bringing any of her 7+ friends over to my kitchen on any given moment! At first, it kinda overwhelmed me. But, then, one day… I just embraced it. I stopped what I was doing, sat down, and starting reading a book to Bekah and her 2 little friends. Within moments, little Ethan stuck his thumb in his mouth and rested his head on my arm. I was IN LOVE. These little missionary kids (also known as MKs) are amazing. They are moving all over the world for the sake of the Kingdom. Do they even know what “moving to Indonesia” means?!

Adjusting to being a stay-at-home has been, well, uh, an adjustment. I love my kids, I love the time to cook and clean (I DON’T  love how often I have to do this since I’m home all the time), and I love that my husband is flying airplanes for Jesus, but the openness of the day is intimidating! I don’t need a rigid schedule, just a rhythm. A solid one 😉 After that day in my living room with those 3 little kiddos snuggled up next to me while all their little baby siblings were taking naps, I came up with “No-Nappers Club.” For 60 minutes each Monday, I take all the non-napping children to my house (don’t be too impressed, there are only 3) and we read books, color, sing songs, laugh, make crafts, and learn about the countries that they are moving too. (It gives me an excuse to learn about these countries too. I’ve learned so much!) On Wednesdays & Thursdays, the other moms rotate and do “No-Nappers” Club at their house too. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to those 2 hours “off” per week!

My favorite book to read this last month is “Adelina Aviator.” It’s a story about a little girl who finds her courage to move to the jungle with her family to live out the Great Commission. She has lots of questions, fears, and joys, but the hardest part for her is leaving her grandparents. It took me about 5 times of reading this book before I could reach the end without crying! But, the message is so profound: When God calls you to do something, He also gives you the courage to do it. “Momma, what’s courage?” “Courage is when God asks you to do something big, bigger than you ever thought you could do, and you do it.”

Readers, these little MKs that I get to spend time with each week are some of the coolest kids you’ll ever meet. They’ve left there homes, friends, doggies, backyards, teddy bears, cousins, and grandparents to live the story of selflessness and sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel. They’ll be at least bilingual, make friends of multiple ethnic backgrounds, be well-versed in packing light, and know how to entertain themselves for hours on end when the power is out… multiple times a week!

How can you be an encouragement to the MKs you know? Check out http://www.MKsRock.com for some great ideas. How about sending them a copy of “Adelina Aviator”? You can order yours today from that website above.

About the Author

Jessica Vana studied aviation at the university Time magazine called “The Harvard of the Sky,” where she graduated as a commercial pilot. Jessica and her aviator husband Phil serve with MAF (heading to Indonesia this summer), along with their three rockin’ MKs: Adelina (4), Jeremiah (2), and Solomon (9 mo). Jessica writes Bible studies, small group materials, poetry, articles, and children’s books.

Adelina & Bekah have become the best of buds here at MAF 🙂

 

 

Out of the classroom and into the hangar

 

It is good to be out of the classroom and back to working on airplanes again. We’ve been in Idaho for a FULL three weeks and I’ve learned so much from the wealth of wisdom of the instructors here at MAF. The first two weeks were flight and maintenance ground school with this past week focusing on practical application maintenance projects. For the aviation folks out there…. we spent the first two days tearing down and building up both a Slick and Bendix magneto (the ignition system in an airplane) and then timing it to Big Red as we affectionately call our run-up stand. We spent another three hours making a lot of noise and wind outside while learning how to adjust the fuel system. Other projects included working on the nose strut of one of the training airplanes and repairing an alternator that was sent back from the flight program in Lesotho. We were able to take it completely apart, run some tests on the stator and rectifier diode, replace some items with serviceable parts, clean up the components and case, put it all back together, and bench test it as pictured above. The alternator I worked on will be sent back out for use on an overseas program.

I’m grateful that God has given me opportunities to build my maintenance skills these past few years and am excited to use the abilities He has gifted me with to make a difference in the Mozambique program. I’m off to another full week of maintenance training and will begin flying next week. Check back for some videos on what it’s like to fly as an MAF pilot!

Our picture in the Palm Beach Post

Family picture in the Palm Beach Post

Our local newspaper recently wrote an article about our family and ministry in Mozambique, Africa.

Click here for the full story.