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 Mozambique Rhythm

We’ve been here in Nampula, Mozambique for 5 months now. Every time I’ve wanted to update our blog, I feel a bit overwhelmed with how to convey it all. Life is so different here!

Many aspects are more difficult than what we’re used to, like culture, reliable electricity, and driving. And then other aspects are simpler, like finding community, greeting strangers, and fruit/vegetable availability. Some of the hard stuff is becoming easier as we’ve figured out ways to manage, like I now know how to turn on the generator without Steve home. But still other challenges are still very challenging, like witnessing the daily poverty and social injustice. I’m thankful for the aspects of life that have become smoother and sometimes I’m surprised at the aspects of life that I see as “normal” now, like a pedestrian carrying a tall stack of 20 dozen eggs on his head!

Life has been full here, nonetheless, and we’ve persevered to make it our own. God has been faithful in giving us what we need and then some. Of course, there are still things we are trusting Him for. Here is a taste of our daily lives here. We call it “Our Mozambique Rhythm.”

 

Early morning

First alarm of the day goes off at 5:30 am. It’s mine. Yes, I know that I’m the stay-at-home-mom without a time clock to punch, but managing a home well here means that you’ve got to be ahead of the game… and ahead of the afternoon heat. The sun rises at 4:30, which is when our neighboring rooster first crows. Earplugs are helpful 😉 Most Mozambicans get up at that time and the streets are bustling with all ages by 6. So, culturally, 5:30 is sleeping in!

 

After a quiet time with the Lord, I get myself ready for the day. Steve is up by 6 and gets ready for his day. Dogs are fed, clothe diapers are in the wash (each load takes a little less than 2 hours, and with several loads to do that day, I need to get an early start since I don’t know how long I’ll have working electricity!), windows are opened to allow in the “cool” morning breeze, ice water bottles are made for each family member to stay hydrated and beat the heat, ice trays and water pitchers (including one in the bathroom for brushing teeth) are filled, big water jug starts getting refilled with filtered water (takes about 45 min for 5 gallons, lasts 1-2 days), Bekah’s snack (usually an apple, homemade granola bar, or crackers) is packed, Steve’s sack lunch is packed (usually peanut butter and jelly), and sometimes Steve and I even have a quick coffee together on the front screened patio that houses our oven and dining table. (2 mornings a week, I run a few miles with a friend or two at 6am. Any later and it’d be too hot.) The kitchen temperature gauge usually shows that the outside temp is in the upper 70’s/ early 80’s while inside reads about 85 F. This is the coolest it will be all day, so we enjoy it. There is only air-conditioning in the bedrooms and back living room. The kitchen gets quite hot over the course of the day. Girls are up by 7 and we start getting them ready for the day. Steve leaves for the hangar about 7:45 and drops off Bekah at her ½ day American kindergarten at YWAM (Youth With A Mission; discipleship training center) which is only a 7-minute drive away.

 

We are very thankful for our new Toyota Land Cruiser that just arrived! Since we got here in June, we’ve been using the MAF program vehicle. It’s had some oil leak problems that have left us stranded in town at one point. Steve fixed it on 3 different occasions using parts of another vehicle (think junkyard). It’s helpful to be a mechanic when you’re living overseas!

Thank you for all of you who gave financially towards it and prayed for its provision. This vehicle is well-equipped with 4-wheel drive and can plow through the bumpy, uneven African roads. Hannah often cries “wee” and “whoa” as we drive these roads.

 

One morning when the program vehicle was leaking oil and unusable, Bekah got a lift with our teammate Dave to Kindergarten. Such an excited little girl on her first motorcycle ride!

 

Mid-morning

Steve works at the hangar each weekday from 8am – 5pm with a few weekend and/or overnight flights each month. The program has been going through a lot of transition as the government has required us to become a Part 135 air charter operator due to the commercial flying that we do to subsidize our mission flying. This has also required us to register as a Mozambican business. The official Mozambique name is Ambassador Aviation Limitada (AAL). (It is still MAF, but only known as AAL here in Moz.)

 

With these changes and the addition of a new Cessna Caravan in the near future (larger, 10-seat turbine aircraft), more expansion has occurred. They’ve been in the process of moving to a bigger hangar at the airport that has had many construction needs. Steve’s been putting in new false ceilings, doing roof repairs, running electrical and internet wiring, installing the light fixtures, repairing the plumbing, pressure washing and painting the interior/exterior walls, and setting up the office IT system. He also helped bring in two new part-time national workers to help out with some of the general tasks. It’s funny, a few months ago, he was the new guy who walked off the plane as #4 in the program. Now, with 2 of the guys gone on furlough, he’s 2nd in command, and often when Dave the program manager is swamped doing the books and managerial-type stuff, Steve’s in charge of hangar projects. He enjoys it but it’s been a lot. Thankfully, God has gifted him with great leadership and organizational skills. He’s even pretty good in his Portuguese communication as he coordinates projects with the Mozambican workers. But there’s nothing that can prepare you for the culture shock that hits you when you least expect it.

The guys we hired to help do some of the work live in pretty basic homes and have a completely different set of standards when it comes to construction. These are the nicest ceilings they most likely have ever seen. Installing the ceilings requires math precision and careful attention to detail. So what if the new ceilings for the hangar offices are not exactly straight and have smudge marks on them from the painted walls? This drives Steve nuts, but he’s learning how to understand culture, communicate expectations, and figure out who is teachable enough to keep on the job. This past month, we had an American couple (Joe & Natalya Brown) join us here for 3 weeks to help with these tasks. Ironically, Joe is a floor business owner. However, installing ceilings is somewhat similar and then at times the exact opposite! They were a great help in getting the ceilings finished, windowpanes installed, and our new logo painted on the front side of the hangar.

Several weeks ago, Steve was the pilot for a community development flight. Community development sometimes means flying people for vacation and leisure. They pay the bigger cost, so we can fly the missionaries and humanitarian workers for less. This also gives our pilots an opportunity to be a first-person witness of the Gospel in the cockpit with those who look at his white skin and say, “What are you and your family doing here in Mozambique?”

His clients arrived a little late from South Africa which delayed their departure time up to the Niassa Reserve. The Reserve is an area set aside by the government to protect the species in that area (think Yosemite but with hippos, zebras and elephants). Steve landed at a short, dirt airstrip and began unloading his passengers and their bags. Because they had departed Nampula later than expected, Steve wasn’t able to return with enough reserve time before sunset and decided to stay overnight. The guides had mentioned that evening that they were having a problem with a certain lion prowling their campsite in the middle of the night. They were hoping to get a picture of the lion so they set up some motion-activated cameras and a slab of meat to attract it. Sure enough, at 3:30am Steve heard an enormously loud roar about 20 yards from his tent. Apparently, lions roar after they eat. It’s a little disconcerting to hear that loud roar when all you have is screen mesh tent between you and a hungry lion! Steve didn’t sleep the rest of the night and was happy to takeoff the next morning and head home.

 

Those flights are fine for Steve, but his heart beats for mission flying. Just this past week, Steve had the opportunity to fly a team into a remote village to share the Gospel. The opportunity came from another ministry needing an experienced pilot that has flown in Mozambique and knows how to navigate the airspace and radio procedures. Their main pilot is in the hospital back in the US and the replacement pilot had never flown in Africa. Steve agreed to fly with their pilot on the trip and spend the night with their team. They arrived mid-aftenoon and set up an outreach project on the property of a local Mozambican church. The team was able to show the Jesus film, share the Gospel (translated into Swahili and Portuguese for the diverse crowd), pass out solar-powered lights and solar-powered audio Bibles, and accompany the local Mozambican church members going door to door in a village to share Christ and invite them to their church. What a blessing to be a part of helping share the Gospel and train a new missionary pilot!

 

Bekah is loving going to school. She attends the Kindergarten at the YWAM center which is a part of Rapale International Christian School. Her teacher is Miss Dancy who is from Pennsylvania and has been teaching for 48 years (23 in Mozambique!). She is well-known and well-loved in the mission community. Bekah has 13 other classmates, only 4 of which are American. The others are from different parts of Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe), but mostly from Mozambique. Kindergarten is taught in English, so everyone has to learn it if they don’t already. Bekah has quite the advantage and told me that she loves her school because it’s all in English! Sweet girl… what a challenging (but rewarding) year at Portuguese school last year.  She remembers a lot of her Portuguese and likes to practice it with her Mozambican friends at school.

 

My morning rhythm consists of managing our home and caring for Hannah. One morning a week I attend an English-speaking Bible study. The fellowship and teaching is life for my soul, and at the end of each month it becomes a social “Ladies Tea.” So, I get to have extra girly fellowhsip once a month too, which is quite lovely.

 

But, normally during the week, I do all the normal things that most stay-at-home moms do: food shop, food prep, dishes, laundry, cleaning, organizing, changing diapers, reading and playing with Hannah, loving on her, correcting her, feeding her, cleaning up after her, etc.. I thought this would be doable all on my own until I got a few weeks in and realized… I’m not in Kansas anymore, Todo!

 

Living here in Mozambique is uniquely more challenging, especially with the transition of me becoming the full-time home keeper while Steve is working throughout the week with the occasional overnight trip thrown in as well. Without a dishwasher, dryer, faucet drinking water, sanitary produce (everything must be sanitized with a bleach or vinegar soak before consuming), many ready-to-eat foods or decent snacks for purchase at the store, parks, playgrounds, fastfood drive-thrus, a 2^nd vehicle to use to get around, or paved roads with streets signs for easy navigation, my job is much more challenging. And let’s face it, not having my mom or any family around to help makes it difficult too.

 

The electricity goes out nearly every day, sometimes for a minute, an hour, and other times for a whole day or several days. We have a generator, but it cannot run 24/7. And when it is on, only 1-2 things can run at a time (depending on the amount of power it takes to run, you pick 1-2 of your choice: an A/C, washing machine, water heater, 1 burner on the stove, the oven). If you turn on more, the power is shot! And the generator may or may not turn back on. How exhausting to deal with a power outage in the middle of a much-needed productive morning! Many times, we try to go without until absolutely necessary. Here, Bekah is cracking eggs to make a cake one evening. We waited a while to let the electricity turn back on, but then decided to just finally turn the generator on in order to bake the cake.

It’s funny to think of the things you take for granted until they are gone. NOW I understand the term “that’s the best thing since sliced bread.” By the 5^th week here, I had a melt down because I couldn’t find loaf bread at the store for a 3^rd attempt of an outing (which alone takes a lot of time and energy). I was so tired of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on white crackers! And besides produce, there weren’t any good snacks in the house either. (Both Steve and I lost about 5-10 lbs just because we were SO HUNGRY!) I would do the dishes in the morning, but by the evening, I was too wiped out to get to them. Each session of dishes took 1-2 hours. The heat, the energy caring for the kids, the dishes, while adjusting to language, culture, and safety issues, I was DONE! I never even got to the whole laundry thing or clean the house thing. The kids were often neglected, as I had to try to get stuff done just so that we could EAT. I was harsh with them, because I was just so exhausted. I wasn’t sure I could hack this stay-at-home-mom thing here. I was stressed, overwhelmed, hot, and feeling defeated. Did I mention lonely? I was feeling trapped by the walls, the locks, the shards of glass on top of the walls to “protect me” from the very people I actually needed. Then, I was encouraged by a helpful friend here to try hiring somone to help out around the house. I said “maybe” at first. I was scared. I never “hired” anyone before. Could I trust them? How weird is that to have a stranger in your home? Those are my dirty dishes and underwear… I should be the one cleaning them. I’m the woman. Isn’t that my job? Blah, blah, blah…

But then I realized if I want to NOT JUST SURVIVE here, but THRIVE, I NEED help. So what if others can do it, but I’m struggling? My family is suffering here and I can do something about it. I just needed to get over myself. It’s extremely affordable, jobs are very difficult for locals to find here, and our teammate had a reliable and good helper that was looking to increase her hours. So… that’s when I met Sabina.

 

At first, I told her this would be a trial-basis to make sure we were a good fit for each other (or so I tried to say in my best Portuguese, as she doesn’t speak much English). I told her that it would be for 2 half-days each week and I mainly needed help with dishes and cleaning (dirt and dust pile up here quickly; a constant red dirt residue is found on most surfaces regularly; how was I supposed to do this with a toddler running around or clinging to my leg constantly?). So, she started. Dishes were done twice a week and my floors were cleaned once a week. I felt like I could finally breathe and play with my kids a little. So I asked her if she could come a little more often…

I taught her how to make muffins, granola bars, cereal, and yogurt. She showed me how she roasts peanuts, shaves a coconut (seen above; done sitting on a stool that has a sharp blade connected to it; called a “relador”), and makes tortillas, known here as “apas.” I taught her some English phrases. She taught me some Mozambican customs. She laughed at me when I didn’t know enough Portuguese to explain myself so I just explained it all in English also and used my hands to help me “talk.” I laughed back at her when she responded with a big “Yes!” at my charades and foreign tongue. She got me and my need to verbally process 🙂

I hired her for the full week, half day each day. This became her 2^nd part-time job that she was looking for to support her large family of 5 kids and extended family.

I may have given her the job she needed to sustain a livable income for her and her family, but I’m pretty sure she has given me what I needed to sustain living here well. She has given me margin to enjoy time home with my kids while managing the home well. She has also given me friendship… especially for those lonely days when I don’t leave the house. I’m amazed at her and how she cares for her family and “does it all” with 5 kids. She says “I have family that help me. I couldn’t do it without them.” I nearly teared up when she told me that. Sabina has become that person to me. She helps me “do it” in a foreign land where my family is millions of miles away. No shame in that. It’s a partnership. We are thankful for eachother. She’s such a gift to me. And vica-versa.

 

One day I handed her a carseat while I went to get something real quick. Assuming she’d put it down, I came back to her with it on her head! Cultural differences can be quite funny at times. Everything goes on the head around here 🙂

 

Another morning a week, Hannah and I venture out into the neighborhood and play in the sand piles on the street and make friends. When Bekah doesn’t have school, she comes with us. This has given us a chance to reinforce acquaintances with kids and adults who we’ve met at the neighborhood church and various neighbors we see regularly that wave at us and shout the famous English phrase “How are you?” One neighbor has brought me his English homework to help him with. Learning English may help him get a job one day.

We’ve also gotten to know a few of our Muslim neighbors who attend the neighborhood mosque. Some women are covered from head to toe in beautiful black fabric where only their eyes show. It’s given me a great opportunity to explain to Bekah what Islam is and how we can love our neighbors well here. We often hear the faint call to prayer several times a day, which reminds us to pray for our neighbors.

 

Another morning a week, I watch a 2-year-old girl named Thirza from Holland while her mom teaches at Rapale. She and Hannah have become good little buddies and are learning how to play together and share. Thirza is teaching Hannah Dutch: “nay” is no and “spane” is pacifier.

 

The favor is returned to me on Fridays so that I can work on midwifery stuff (organize paperwork to become licensed in Mozambique, complete midwifery continuing education, make phone calls, and meet with local people in the health care community to formulate ministry opportunities and ideas). I’ve had a few opportunities to use my fetal heart Doppler to allow women in the mission community to hear their babies’ heartbeats, usually for the first time! It’s been so satisfying for me.

 

Noon

This is the part of the day when life begins to wind down a bit and the heat intensifies, especially inside the house where the heat gets trapped indoors with little chance of breeze (the kitchen gauge starts to creep into the mid-90’s at this point). Bekah comes home from school (gets a ride with the LePoidevins, Annie has become her best bud here). I make lunch for us (usually PB&J’s on bread when I can find it or make it, scrambled eggs, or grilled cheese; carrots; fruit).

 

Afternoons:

My favorite part of the day happens here: I put on all the bedroom air-conditioners and we all take a rest, while Hannah naps. Bekah usually gets to watch a show and I get caught up on e-mails. My guilty pleasure is lighting a Yankee candle in my dark, cold bedroom while drinking an ice cold Coke-a-cola from a glass bottle. I never drank soda much in the States, but here it’s the one thing besides ice water that will quench that dry thirst.

 

After some down time, Bekah and I read books together (required 15 minutes a day for school) and we catch up on Bekah and mommy time (games, tea party, etc…). This would not be possible if I had a mountain of dishes waiting for me. Again, I am so thankful for Sabina. This is especially an important time of the day to rest and escape the heat. We have to work hard to hydrate and stay cool. Dehydration and overheating are a real thing! Our afternoons are a reprieve!

 

One afternoon a week, the YWAM center has an open “library time.” Miss Dancy, Bekah’s teacher, is the librarian and allows parents and kids to check out books for a minimal “maintenance fee” ($7 for every 100 books) between 3-5pm. With over 80,000 children’s books and 100 or so DVDs on hand, this is a mom and kid’s dream come true! Then afterwards, we play at the YWAM center and I get to chat with the other parents who come for this weekly event.

 

This past week, we had a little informal birthday party for Hannah during library time at the pavillion at YWAM. I read Curious George books to her and her friends, she passed out banana muffins to all of the kids, and she ran and played her heart out. YWAM is our happy place.

 

Evening:

This is also one of my favorite parts of the day. The heat starts to subside a bit, the girls are bathed (or at least their feets get washed in the bidet, which also doubles as a toddler’s sink… perfect height!), and Daddy comes home. As soon as the girls hear the automatic gate roll open and the noisy engine from the truck start to back into the carport, they run out of the house screaming “Daddy!” and greet him with a big hug. Steve and I catch up on our days, set the table in the living room with the A/C on, and I finish cooking dinner in the 95 degree kitchen/ patio area (which takes 30 min or less since Sabina and I did all the prep work in the morning; smart, eh?).

And what do we eat, you may ask?

 

Sometimes, Sabina will make us a traditional Mozambican dish called matapa served over rice. It’s made from kale, crushed peanuts, garlic, and coconuts. Delicious, hardy, and healthy! I love it, Steve likes it, and the girls are learning to like it 😉

 

Our favorite meal here that I make is steak fajitas and yellow rice. It sounds easy enough, but there is a lot of prep work that goes into it! The tortillas and sour cream are home-made, the yellow rice has about 6 spices that are measured and mixed into it (turmeric gives it the yellow color), the cheese is hand-grated, and the peppers have to be bleached before being cut up and sauteed. After that, the steak is cut-up, marinated, seasoned, and fried with the peppers and onions. We get excellent beef here. Some of the best-tasting we’ve ever had. Who would have thought? What a blessing!

 

My other favorite meals and traditions we’ve started here are Friday pizza-movie nights and Sunday popcorn-smoothie nights! (This makes my cooking schedule a bit less complicated.) We found a little pizza shop that makes pretty good pizza (even stuff-crust) for a reasonable price. It would be bonus if they delivered, but I’m not going to push it! The first few weeks here I was making pizza from scratch… yummy, but too much work and too many dirty dishes… ruined the whole end of the week relaxing meal purpose! On Sundays, we try to rest and eat left-overs (again, break from dishes, cooking, and the hot kitchen). In the mornings, we attend our local Mozambican church. In the evenings, we attend an English-speaking fellowship. When we get home, we want an easy meal. So Steve makes popcorn on the stove, and I use left over fruit and yogurt from the week to make smoothies in the blender. Then we watch a VeggieTales movie together that I get from the YWAM library earlier that week. It’s easy and a treat for us all!

So, that pretty much sums up our week and daily rhythm here in Mozambique. Thanks for reading, praying, and being interested in our lives and ministry. Comment below with any further questions or recipe requests. I’d be glad to share!

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).

On our way!

Bags are packed, van is loaded, kids are buckled in… We are on our way to the airport! So surreal. The grieving is subsiding a bit, the excitement is beginning. Bekah has already downed 2 of her 5 snacks I’ve packed, Hannah is chewing on her toes, and I get to just sit here as Steve and our friend Colleen drive us to the airport. So nice to finally just SIT and do nothing! 18 months ago we joined MAF and now we’re finally on our way! We should arrive in Frankfurt, Germany tomorrow morning with an hour and a half layover, then arrive in Porto, Portugal around noon (7am FL time). Fun fact: Germany and Portugal play each other in the World Cup that night! Small world. Thankful that we get to explore it. Let the adventure begin!

MAF Standardization Mountain Flying

Training is almost complete! I learned how to land on the side of mountains and fly precision approaches to short airstrips in the process of officially being approved to serve overseas as an MAF pilot. Check out this 5-minute video of me and three other pilots training in the Back Country of Central Idaho.

CAUTION: Do not try this at home.

Happy Flying,
Steve

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.