Victor & Christina

Maputo, Nampula, U.S.

2009-11-10T16:28:00.005+02:00

Last week Victor and I flew to Maputo for a few days where we were able to visit some of Victor's family, get a visa from the embassy, and celebrate our second wedding anniversary together. After that Victor flew back to Nampula and I flew to the U.S. for some medical care. Victor is hoping to join me as soon as the boys' dorm in finished and then we will return to Nampula together.

In celebration of our anniversary, here is a pictures from our wedding two years ago . . .

During one part of the wedding all the kids came up and threw flower petals on us. Some of the kids looked like they were throwing the petals with all their strength and we were glad they were only petals! We had so much fun at our wedding and we are having even more fun being married today!

Terrible Incident that Happened at the Orphanage

2009-10-31T17:54:00.000+02:00

These last two weeks have been very very difficult for us here at the orphanage because something very terrible happened. A little over a week ago our little pet dog Simba disappeared. He was gone for three days and we thought that we would never see him again. Then last Thursday morning (Oct. 22) after leaving for school, Isaque came back into the orphanage with his hands and arms mangled and bleeding. He said that he was walking down a little path in another part of our neighborhood when Simba suddenly jumped out of the bushes and viciously attacked him. He said that at least one other person passing by had also been attacked. Victor and Sara (an 11th grader who wants to go into medicine) immediately put gloves on and washed Isaque’s wounds with soap and water and then Silva took him to the hospital. Then Victor and three of the older boys had to go find Simba. When they got to the place where Isaque had been attacked there were other neighbors there saying that nobody could walk down that path because Simba was there and he was “like a lion.” When they finally found Simba they said that he was not like the Simba we knew at all but was completely ferocious. Victor and the boys had to put Simba down and then the government veterinary authority flew his remains to Maputo for an autopsy.

Yesterday the veterinary authority called to report that Simba’s autopsy test came back positive for rabies. We were SHOCKED to hear this because Simba had his rabies shot last December and the next one was not due until over a month from now. We were also extremely shaken up over this because of our kids who were bitten. Simba bit Mauricio a few days earlier when he accidentally put his chair on Simba’s leg, which caused Simba to cry and bite him in self defense (one small bite that did not bleed but was still a bite). We all loved Simba and played with him constantly but do not think anyone else was infected by him, though the whole thing is so creepy and horrible to think about (for me at least).

Today Isaque, Mauricio, and a neighbor lady all began receiving anti-rabies treatment from the veterinary authority – they all got the first in a series of five injections. Please pray for them and please pray for the whole orphanage concerning this matter. Please pray that the ones bitten will be completely healed with no further complications. And please pray that no other person was somehow infected without us knowing. This has been a very traumatic experience for all of us. Simba is the first and only pet anyone at the orphanage has ever had. He was a great little dog until Thursday when he turned into a monster. It seems like all the kids (including the ones bitten) are doing okay and it seems like the veterinary authority here has experience handling this type of situation, as rabies is much more common here than in the U.S. Please just keep us all in your prayers and ask God to continue protecting and watching over all of us (and our neighbors), especially concerning this scary matter.

Isaque, age 15, was viciously attacked and had huge bite wounds all over his hands and arms. He is a fantastic kid, always looks out for younger children, is always willing to help others, and loved playing with Simba before this happened. He seems like he’s doing okay and continues hanging out and talking with his friends. Please pray that the anti-rabies treatment works perfectly on him and that he is healed without any further problems.

Mauricio, age 12, was bitten one time on the back when he accidentally put his chair on Simba’s leg. He is also a great kid – quiet, kind, and dearly loved by all the boys his age AND everyone thinks he looks like the president of Mozambique. He seems to be doing okay and is still playing with his friends. Please pray that the anti-rabies treatment also works perfectly on him and that he is healed without any further problems.

Other Very Sad Story - Jackson

Besides the Simba incident we had several other very very difficult things that we had to deal with this week. One that we would like to share is the death of a young man in our church named Jackson who sang in the youth choir and was good friends with all the kids in the orphanage. About two months ago Jackson felt very sick and thought he might have malaria. He went to the hospital and they could see that there was clearly something wrong but found that it was not malaria or any other illness they are familiar with here. Jackson stayed in the hospital from then on and got worse and worse. According to everyone from church who visited him and said they saw this, Jackson then began vomiting up bones, even though he had never eaten anything with bones in it. To me this sounds impossible but everyone here says it is “witchcraft.”

In Mozambique people have been practicing animism/witchcraft for hundreds of years. This includes praying and sacrificing to ancestor spirits, concocting potions and spells to try to make something happen, and lots of other very bad stuff that ends up harming people very very badly physically and spiritually. As Jackson got worse he started asking friends to clean out his baracca (little stand that people sell stuff from) and they found a lot of witchcraft items in there. He also kept telling people to take the bones he had been throwing up and give them to Victor. Since Victor is a pastor I think he imagined that Victor would do something with the bones to undo the witchcraft or something. But Victor reprimanded the people who were bringing the bones and told them he didn’t even want to see them and that as Christians we don’t need to and should not have anything to do with stuff like that.

Victor and other pastors here constantly preach and counsel people to separate themselves completely from all witchcraft practices. But it is very very difficult for many to give up a belief system that has been practiced in their families for endless generations. It is very normal to find Christians in church who have little witchcraft charms tied around their waists under their clothes – they are too frightened to give that up as they believe it is protecting them. When a family here has a serious illness or other problem and they don’t think God is taking care of it, they often revert to witchcraft, even if they are Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, or any other religion.

So a few days ago Jackson died in the hospital. The doctors never figured out what was wrong with him. We believe that he was a Christian but had been struggling to free himself from witchcraft for a long time and was finally discarding all the items involved during the last days before his death. I’ve never heard of someone “throwing up bones” before but nobody here is skeptical or surprised to hear about it.

Victor did Jackson’s funeral on Thursday and it went really well. A lot of people in the neighborhood who are not in the church community were there and seemed very interested in the message. Victor talked about how we would all honor Jackson by remembering the good things about him even though he, like all of us, had both strengths and weaknesses. Victor talked about the importance of living a life in Christ and nothing else and what it means to be a Christian. We hope that Jackson's family and friends who knew how he was trying to rid himself from the bad things in his last days will not wait until they think they are going to die to do the same. Jackson still had things he wanted to do before he passed away and he didn’t get that chance. Jackson’s death was very sad. We hope that somehow whatever happened, though still very mysterious, will help others get rid of any bad things they are holding onto and truly follow God.

And One Good Story from this Week – Visado’s Wedding

This morning Visado and Flora were officially married at Union Baptist Church and had their wedding reception here at the orphanage. This is a really big deal because weddings are pretty rare in Mozambique. When the Portuguese first came here traditional African marriage customs were replaced with the European style wedding ceremony. Hardly anyone here can afford to put on a European style wedding, so weddings stopped happening in most families. Today the majority of couples end up talking to their family and then starting a life together without ever having any kind of official ceremony before the community. This is so common that even the government census recognizes the couple as being "married." Visado and Flora have been considered "married" by their family for many years and have three children of their own but never actually had a wedding.

Since Visado began working at the orphanage a few months ago Victor has been mentoring him on the importance of family and having some kind of wedding ceremony before the church and community. We wanted to help him have his wedding in the church, which finally happened today. Visado’s parents died when he was young but Flora’s family is nearby and sent a goat over for the meal. Last night Victor and the kids slaughtered and marinated it and then everyone was up early this morning cooking the wedding feast. It was a cloudy day with everyone cooking over an open fire and reminded me of the coziness of camping. The kids made goat, beef, chicken, rice and beans, french fries, and hundreds of Christmas cookies (Jenni style, their choice). After the wedding the whole church came to the orphanage (in many singing truck loads). Visado and Flora are both in the Tcharuwani Choir so there was tons of amazing live music from lots of people, including our kids, at the reception. Everyone had a great time and we hope that this wedding will encourage more young people to look for a way to get married in front of their families, church, and whole community.

Visado and Flora were married at Union Baptist Church and then had their reception at the orphanage. Everyone had a good time.

One More Piece of Good News - Dionisio

The last good thing that we are able to report is that Dionisio has recovered from the measles and no other child was infected. He really went through a horrible month alone in his tent in isolation but is now back outside, happy, and playing with the rest of the kids. We thank God that he recovered from this.

Construction on Boys' Dorm Finally Resumes!

2009-10-13T07:53:00.010+02:00

Thanks to some more generous donations construction has finally resumed on the boys’ dorm!!!

We were able to purchase enough cement to fill up the orphanage truck. The cement was then unloaded into the store room in the cooking house.

Then tons of wall plastering began.

Smoothing out the walls.

Meanwhile back to one of the soon-to-be most beautiful bathrooms in all of Mozambique . . .

Sink-Installer comes with drill.

Sinks are now in!

Window-Bar-Maker comes with measuring tape.

Then he makes bars to go in the bathroom window (there will be good ventilation here).

Meanwhile Janete has successfully planted a little garden of couve behind her house. For the last two years I have been more than confused about what couve actually is. It’s the main thing that the kids always try to plant here and then cook in some of their meals. But what is couve in English? Finally today I looked it up in Portuguese Wikipedia and then translated it into English. I still have no idea what it really is but found that couve is “Brassica oleracea, or Wild Mustard” (?!?!) and is in the same family as kale, collard greens, Chinese broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and kohlrabi. Doesn’t that make it sound tasty? Anyway – it’s very healthy, has lots of Vitamin C, and grows well in this region.

Today's Event Watched By All

2009-10-12T16:58:00.001+02:00

What was today’s big event, watched for several hours by the whole orphanage and much of the neighborhood?

A very old looking container has been sitting right behind Victor’s and my house (in the MIDDLE of the orphanage) for many many years now and today it was moved to the FRONT of the orphanage.

I know that a container being moved a few hundred feet doesn’t sound like something you would want to spend hours watching, but ANYTHING could happen so there was a huge crowd. The thing that made the whole thing highly worth watching to me was that every single job involved in moving the container (driver of giant tractor thing, driver of transporter truck, chain-hooker-upper, digger and scraper, and manual placement of container in truck bed) was done by one guy!!! It was like a crazy one-man circus but with a purpose!

Man driving tractor thing (Seattle people please notice it’s a Volvo tractor) and making it pick up container.

After leaping out of tractor and running around behind the big box, man suddenly appears on top of it, directing helper on how to hook it up. (That is the back of Victor’s and my house behind the container.)

Man runs between tractor and container-carrying-truck every few seconds as he maneuvers the container using the tractor and the truck almost at the same time. Here he is just having leaped out of the truck and about to run back to the tractor.

After driving both vehicles to the front of the orphanage he again resumes racing back and forth between them (here he is running from the truck back to the tractor).

After finally driving the truck out from under the container for the last time, he sprints back to the tractor where he will guide the container to it’s final sitting place.

And this is our new front of the orphanage landscape.

Bye Mano TJ!

2009-10-07T14:08:00.005+02:00

Tuesday was a huge day of sadness at the orfanato because Mano TJ left us after being here three whole months. I don’t even know where to begin in telling all the things that TJ did while he was here, but some of his roles included water engineer, fixer of anything, tutor of every subject in a language he had never even heard three months ago, driver to places most people would never even attempt going in a car or gigantic truck, hole digger, emergency latrine construction supervisor, Whinnie the Pooh reader, explainer of things like how satellites work and how to ventilate libraries, photographer, translator, English teacher, band electrician, host and tour guide to visitors from all over the world, water hauler, cook, meal server, preacher, African youth choir member, mentor, impossible internet homework assignment assistant, preventer of kids making explosives for homework, guard, explorer, Bible study leader, Michael Jackson expert, and tons of other amazing and helpful stuff that I don’t even know about.

All the kids came home from school to gather under the tree and say goodbye. Everyone was VERY sad and many were shedding tears.

Each kid gave TJ a final hug before he departed the orfanato for the last time. I tried my best to capture TJ shedding a tear but he was able to hold off all his sobbing until he got on the plane.

Thanks for everything TJ! Now everyone here is either waiting to hear when you’re coming back or waiting to just see you walk back through the gate with all your stuff.

Prayer Request for Dionisio

2009-10-01T13:57:00.001+02:00

Please pray for Dionisio who is one of the boys in the orphanage. About a month ago he got sick with an unknown illness and after several trips to the hospital we found out he had measles. We do not know how he got it but the health officials have told us that he has to be completely isolated so that it does not spread to anyone else. Kids in Mozambique normally get vaccines when government health officials visit neighborhoods and villages and we are not sure if Dionisio ever had one for measles or not. We are thankful that nobody else has been infected but Dionisio has been alone in his tent for many weeks and he still has it. Please pray that Dionisio will recover quickly and for his emotional and spiritual well-being while he is sick and alone in his tent for such a long time. Thank you.

Brothers, Sisters, and Cousins in the Orphanage

2009-09-23T17:57:00.021+02:00

VoVo, Gil, Janete (brothers and sister), and Ruben (cousin). These kids were tiny when they first came to the orphanage more than seven years ago. Now the boys are all teenagers and Janete is on staff.

We have 54 kids in the orphanage right now and most of them have siblings here with them. I always get really emotional when taking their pictures in their little family groups – especially little ones where there's just two of them and I think about what it must have been like at some point when they had nobody but each other.

Jordão, Dorcas, and Jose (brothers and sister). Our newest kids who arrived just a few months ago.

Ofeita, Francisco, and Atija (brother and sisters)

Dionisio and Estela (brother and sister)

Graça and Isac Pequeno (sister and brother)

Martinho and Carlitos (brothers), with cousins Anabela and Virginia (sisters) and Mena (niece)

Mauricio, Felix, Isaque, and Canito (brothers)

Merecido and Celso (brothers)

Cocas and Minoca (sisters)

Samito, Silas, Helder, Felix, and Ronilda (brothers and sisters)

Manuel and Marinho (cousins)

Pilonte and Rock (cousins)

Clara and Salmon (sister and brother)

Regina and Lazaro (sister and brother)

Terçia, Zaqueio, and Leonora (cousins)

All the kids who don’t have any family in the orphanage: Back row: Gabriel, Little Victor, Nolita, Claudia, Gizela, Sara, Filipe, Daniel; Front: (Simba), Belson, Canito, and Jeremias.

The photos in this entry include all the kids in the orphanage and were all taken this month (September 2009).

OUR NEW WELL!!!

2009-09-15T08:41:00.008+02:00

We have GREAT news, which is that we now have a well!!!!!

Over the past five years we’ve had kids walking several kilometers carrying water on their heads, a shallow hand-dug well which quickly dried up, and city water piped in only to be shut off during the times water is most needed in the dry season. Last year during the dry season we had no water for over a week several different times. It was scary and stressful. The kids could not take showers or wash dishes and cooking and drinking water had to be rationed.

After hearing about this last water crisis one friend took it upon himself to raise money for a well for the orphanage. After receiving this awesome gift, we waited for the next dry season (which is now) and were then able to have a deep well drilled. We are SO happy to report that we now have a 55-meter deep drilled well right behind the boys’ dorm, inside our property! It is hard to even express how incredible it is for us to have our own water source and we don’t even know how to describe the relief we now feel, knowing we will not have to face another water crisis.

We would like to give our greatest thanks to everyone who gave donations for the well and especially to those who raised the funds on our behalf. And we would also like to continue saying thank you to all of you who support us through prayer, donations, letters, and visits! You make it possible for us to care for 54 kids who would otherwise be living in the very worst situations. Thank you so much for making our ministry here in Mozambique possible.

Here are some pictures of the well . . .

A man from the drilling company testing the water while all the kids watch.

This isn’t an old-fashioned well with bricks going around in a circle and a bucket being dipped in from a rope. It’s a PVC pipe going down 165 feet into the earth with an electric pump (currently plugged into the dining hall kitchen via extension cord) pulling the water up.

TJ measuring water pressure.

TJ marking down his findings.

Isac Pequeno, Jordão, and Canito getting water.

Our next task is to build a water tower, hook up a gigantic filter, and then connect pipes that will distribute the well water throughout the orphanage. We are SO grateful to have our very own engineer, TJ, with us right now working on the design for all of this!

2009-09-04T09:18:00.009+02:00

Isac Pequeno, Canito, Estela, Ofeita, Belson, Mena, and Jose making little round, three-layers-high, mud cakes.

Our little beast Simba is fine and happy. (If you saw the kinds of hideous wounds this dog has come home with you would not believe he is still alive.)

The girls had a big soccer game, practicing for a competition at school. (In this picture: Graça (very far left), Sara (header), Leonora, Estela, Gizela, and Terçia.)

All the boys watched from the wall. (Girls playing: Graça, Anabela, and Nolita. Boys sitting on the wall: Pilonte (very far left), Mussa, mechanic, Martinho, Salmon, Little Victor holding Dorcas, Manuel, Francisco, TJ, Jordão, and Felix (at gate).)

Gabriel was the referee and instructor and VERY VERY serious about it. (Graça, Leonora, Sara, Gabriel, Nolita, Terçia, Gizela, and Ronilda.)

Estela and Virginia – two girls nobody wants to mess with, especially Virginia!

Victor eating sugarcane with a huge machete-sized knife in the kitchen. (Normal for him, entertaining to me.)

Ilha de Moçambique

2009-08-26T09:33:00.020+02:00

Ann on Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island).

On Monday we started a little trip to the coast with my sister Ann and cunhado (bro-in-law) Mike. First we went to Mozambique Island, one of the most famous places in East Africa.

After driving onto the island (on a kind-of-scary one lane wide, three kilometer long bridge) we immediately found a gigantic tree that made everyone think they were 12-years-old again. Mike, Victor, and Ann climbing in the tree.

And then they each departed the tree by swinging off on these big Tarzan vines.

After that we went to lunch at a great little restaurant.

Ann, Mike, and Victor all had shrimp in red coconut sauce over rice – they all loved everything about it except for how tiny the portions were.

After lunch I went outside and took a picture of this boat because it reminded me of all the pictures I saw of pirates in the news a few months ago. This water (in this picture) is in the Mozambique Channel between Mozambique and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

Victor and me.

Ann, Victor, and Mike walking.

Ann and Victor had many intense conversations and Mike listened “thoughtfully.”

Me in front of some ruins.

The Portuguese came here around the same time that Christopher Columbus first reached America. Then until 1975 (almost 500 years) they ruled Portuguese East Africa (present day Mozambique) from this island. They did a few good things (like pretty architecture) and tons of bad things (like slavery and killing and exploitation). I won’t go into details about all the bad stuff they did on the island but basically the Portuguese built up this island with magnificent grand palaces, a massive fort that they even had sea battles against other European countries from, churches, houses, mansions, and everything else. They ruled the whole country from here and made Macua people work for them as slaves (in Mozambique and shipped to Brazil). The Portuguese probably imagined what they had built on this island would be indestructible and ruled by them and their ancestors for hundreds of years more. I’m sure they imagined that after their time here passed people would be in awe of what they left behind. But now, a few very short decades after Mozambique won independence from Portugal, everyone and everything that had ever been on the island before the Portuguese got here is right back on again. Now it is as if the Portuguese had never been here at all. All the grand stuff they left behind is still there – but the people are living how they always used to live right on top of it. I kind of like that.

Besides the ruins there were a lot of things on the island that kept reminding me of Rome, like this.

Ann, Victor, and Mike.

Look how pretty people paint the boats!

A dramatic cross next to a church on the island.

It seems that we can not go anywhere without it being way too “eventful.” We planned to only go to Mozambique Island for a few hours and then go to Pemba for two nights. But while we were on the island the alternator on our car stopped working. So we had to spend the night there!

Mike and Victor relaxing at the really cool hotel that we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy if our plans had gone through.

The next morning we got up and had a great breakfast of omelets and bread with ginger papaya jam. Then we just prayed that our car would still make it off the island (on the one-lane wide, three kilometer long bridge) before breaking down.

We were relieved and thrilled to make it off the bridge and then we followed directions to a “mechanic,” which was basically eight little boys playing one-on-one-on-one soccer under a tree between the local opposition party headquarters and a mosque. Mike and Ann just want every experience to be as adventurous as possible so they loved the whole thing and were immediately in the soccer game.

Victor called the orphanage truck to come get us and several dozen people came to “help” get our car in our truck.

This is how we had to ride back to Nampula.

The view from our seats. Getting in our car IN our truck was funny enough. But I could not stop laughing my head off the entire three-hour drive home, imagining everyone we know in the streets in our neighborhood in Nampula seeing us riding in both our car and our truck at the same time.

Here is where they get salt. The ocean water comes into this shallow place divided into sections and then when the water dries up only the salt is left.

Unloading the car from the truck back in Nampula.

Ann and Mike were pretty disappointed to miss seeing Estefano and Pemba.

But they were happy to resume their playing with the kids back at the orfanato.

Ann and Mike

2009-08-21T23:27:00.012+02:00

Mike and Ann (my sister) are here!!!

The second Mike arrived at the orfanato he disappeared from our house and we found that he had gone outside and gathered a little group of kids to start the first of many, many games.

The first game involved throwing discarded tile chips at bottle caps. It became so serious that a white board had to be set up outside to keep score (with Virginia as the score keeper).

The second game is Ann's game (retrieved from her childhood) and is basically dodge ball in a circle – very wild and funny.

Ann's next game was jump rope. Ronilda could hardly even keep twirling the rope she was laughing so hard at Mike’s jumping!

There are no limits to the number of things that can be played with a jump rope.

Then there was Night Frisbee.

A fire occurred next-door.

When you see a fire you should go get a stick and then rummage around in all the dry grass right next to it. Why? Because if there were any snakes in there they will be coming out. Yes – fire, dry grass, snakes, kids with sticks, rummaging around, and flip-flops – all combined into a very appealing activity option.

A group of snake hunters (Mike included) searches the shrubs for snakes fleeing the flames.

The more sensible people watch from the wall. (Isac, Dorcas, TJ, Isac Pequeno, Jordão, Samito, José, Clara, Ronilda, Ofeita, and Ann.)

The snake hunters with their sticks.

After not finding any vipers, spitting cobras, or mambas in the bushes they give up the snake search.

But everyone gathered and ready with sticks in hand can not be wasted so they begin hunting for gigantic bugs instead.

Bugs like this . . . (Felix)

are supposedly very tasty. (Clara)

Finally after enough bugs were caught to satisfy all, everyone was ready for another gigantic game of circle dodge ball.

Claudia, Ann, and Clara.

Isac Pequeno fractured his arm at school today. They gave him this plaster cast at the hospital. He is supposed to stay in it for 30 days. Please pray for Isac Pequeno and the healing of this injury.

CD Launching

2009-08-14T14:49:00.018+02:00

The kids at the orphanage are really really good singers. To make a long story into one sentence – the orphanage has a band, last December we recorded their songs, and this past week (thanks to help from the OCC team and many others) we had a big concert to “launch” the CD here in Mozambique.

After some final tiling, . . .

digging, . . .

“Joy Ride” around Nampula, . . .

awesome dinner with the Woodrows. . .

and rehearsal at church the night before . . .

it was finally time to load up the trucks and head to a theatre in town.

Arriving at the theatre.

Different groups practiced. (When people launch CDs in Mozambique they have a big concert and invite lots of other groups to perform too.)

While everyone else was (very seriously) watching the final rehearsal on stage, a group of boys were up in the back of the theatre trying to copy the ballet moves they had seen Nicole performing (nobody here had ever seen ballet before now). (Filipe, Nicole, Felix, Rock, Gabriel, and Jorge.)

These pictures can not capture how outrageously funny this was (so please just try to imagine it). (Felix, Jorge, Nicole, and Gabriel doing a big leg stretch.)

The OCC team performed. (Ashlie, Sarah, and Michael (Josh was playing the piano off to the side and Nicole was dancing in the background).)

The group from the Congo singing is always a highlight of any event.

Grupo Coral Tcharuwani was also launching their CD with us this night.

And finally our kids sang and they were amazing! (Jeremias and Ruben on keyboards, Gil on drums, Felix and Sara on guitars, Domingos playing saxophone, and Clara, Graça, and Anabela singing.)

The kids’ band is simply called “Banda Orfanato Evanjáfrica” (Evanjáfrica Orphanage Band) and their CD is called “Kinetta Na Yesu,” which means “Walking with Jesus” in Macua. They have seven songs and six of them are in Macua and written by the kids. I love the kids’ music SO much and their music has become beloved to the people here in Nampula. Every time the kids sing people here can not stay in their seats and not one minute passes before almost everyone is dancing down the aisles.

We are currently working on making the kids CDs available in the U.S. and will post information about it here on our blog soon.

Well Drilling Problems

2009-08-08T20:51:00.002+02:00

After drilling on and off for over a week in the place where they believed there was water, they struck something that they said was “bad water.” We are not really sure what this means but maybe it’s that the water is mixed with something else in that location (?).

They have moved the well drilling trucks to another corner of the orphanage property where they have now begun drilling again.

Please pray that they will find “good water” on our property and that it will be sufficient for taking care of all our water needs. We really need your prayers as water availability can be a very scary and serious issue here! (Click here to read about the water crisis we had last dry season.)

Thank you for praying for this!

The two huge well drilling trucks moved behind the boys dorm and have now started drilling all over again.

Dinner with Victor's Family

2009-08-06T07:14:00.006+02:00

Back: Victor’s Dad Pastor Mocala, Victor’s Mom, Carmina, Estefano, Miqueias, Artimiza, Christina, Victor, Mr. Nichols, Sarah, Nicole. Front: Pastor Mark, Michael, Josh, Ashlie.

On Tuesday night we had dinner with Victor’s family at his parents’ house. Everyone had a great time and the food was delicious! We had chicken, beef, coconut rice, French fries, and refrescoes.

Sarah, Nicole, Ashlie, Miqueias, Josh, and Estefano eating on the porch. Carmina and Artimiza in front.

Carmina, Estefano, Michael, Miqueias, Sarah, Ashlie, and Nicole were outside talking and laughing and being entertained by Josh (who had more energy than ever that night).

Victor’s dad, Mr. Nichols, Pastor Mark, TJ, and Victor. Victor’s dad told his testimony and some amazing stories about what the family went through during the Mozambican Civil War.

Victor’s Mom, Sarah, Carmina, and Artimiza.

Sunday

2009-08-02T16:51:00.005+02:00

Youth Day was celebrated at the Mother Church this Sunday. (Somewhere in this picture are Michael, Ashley, Jonas’s head, TJ, Josh, Filipe, Marta, Sara, and Victor’s sisters Artimiza and Carmina.)

Many choirs sang.

Then the OCC team sang. Two people with cameras ran up and took picture of them, which made the whole church laugh because everyone has seen American visitors taking pictures of Mozambican choirs but nobody had ever seen Mozambicans taking pictures of an American choir before! (Nicole, Michael, Ashley, Josh, and Sarah.)

The Youth did a skit on the Prodigal Son. I think this part is supposed to show what bad shape the son was in between squandering his wealth and returning to his father because the other two guys on the floor with him are pretending to be pigs.

Pastor Mark preached about how important it is to be the way God tells us to be in all the little normal parts of life as we interact with our families and neighbors and not just during the times when we are doing something spiritual. Victor translated into Macua.

Well, Ballet, TV, and Birthday

2009-08-01T22:02:00.011+02:00

Yesterday morning the well drilling began.

There was a big audience.

For many, many, many, many hours there was very, very loud drilling. Lots of redish orangish dirt would come out and once in a while it would spew out.

Filipe and Mr. Nichols worked on tiles all day.

But the well drilling never lacked an audience.

Though there was not really anything to “see happen” nobody wanted to be away from it (the drilling).

A ballet class began.

Little Jose’s version of ballet.

The kids LOVED Nicole’s twirls!

At night we got to watch Victor and the band live on TV!

Graça, Clara, and Anabela sang two songs

and Victor was interviewed about the orphanage and concert the band will do when they launch their CD next week.

The OCC team brought a huge bag full of beautiful blue and white soccer jerseys. Everyone loved the blue ones so much that BOTH teams decided to wear them. Somehow this did not cause any problems or confusion at all.

Tonight we got to celebrate Josh’s birthday! After singing and blowing out the candles on a cake the kids got to see a few other American birthday traditions they didn’t know about before.

I think the birthday spanking ended up being the most exciting event of the week!!! (Not for Josh, but definitely for everyone else.)

He survived getting (way more than 17) spanks from almost the whole orphanage.

And then everyone lined up for a "special American birthday game" . . .

Pin the Tail on the Donkey! It was a huge hit!

And finally . . . Dorcas is smiling now! She was here for almost a month before she started smiling, laughing or expressing herself. Now she seems to have a huge personality, calls absolutely EVERYONE “ma-MA!!!” (with great emphasis on the second “MA”), likes to pet Simba, and lets all the other kids “scare” her with a toy dino. Here she is with Jordão, Cocas, Graça, and Virginia – all the kids are really wonderful with her.

The OCC Team is Here!

2009-07-30T22:54:00.011+02:00

This week we are privileged to have a team of very special people here from South Carolina. When Victor started the orphanage almost ten years ago there were several families who were behind him the whole way and have supported this ministry and the children since the very beginning. Some of these people are here for the first time this week and this is extremely meaningful and exciting for us (to say the least). On the team here this week are Mr. Nichols and his son Josh (Mr. Nichols’ daughter Ashley was the first Evanjafrica volunteer to come to Mozambique (ever) and is the one who actually helped raise money to buy the property that the orphanage sits on today), Pastor Mark and his son Michael, Sarah Bryngelson (Michele and Arthur’s daughter), Ashlie (who was here last October), and Nicole.

A few pictures from their first day here . . .

Michael, Mr. Nichols, Victor, and Pastor Mark discussing plans in front of the boys dorm.

Now they are discussing plans for a magnificent septic tank that will probably end up being more amazing than any other septic tank ever built in these parts.

Now they are discussing the tiling that is about to be done in the dorm bathroom.

Meanwhile Sarah and Josh begin Portuguese immersion with the kids. (I am not even going to mention TJ anymore because he has basically just become one with the orfanato now.)

Quite a few games of “rocks” (usually known as “spoons” when spoons are used) were played, resulting in some minor hand injuries and one rock tug-of-war (between Josh and Merecido). (Ashlie, Merecido, Nicole, Nolita, Josh, VoVo, Atija, Michael, Ronilda, Filipe, and Sara sitting in a circle playing “rocks.”)

Sarah , Jose, and Ofeita playing a more peaceful game.

Two GIGANTIC well-drilling machine trucks arrived!!!!!!!!!! The workers were pretty exhausted from their last drill so they parked the trucks and then walked home to rest. They will be back to drill THE WELL tomorrow!!! This is amazing for us!!!!!

After dinner, singing Happy Birthday to Pastor Mark, band practice, and dancing; Josh fell asleep sitting in a chair; Silas, Helder, and VoVo did homework; and Mr. Nichols, Pastor Mark, and Victor resumed planning for construction projects tomorrow morning.

The day finally ended with Jeremias, Ruben, Rock, TJ, Felix, and Carlitos working on science, and Sarah and Filipe (and soon everyone else too) working on language translations.

Actually the day didn’t end because even late into the night Victor and Sarah kept working – here they are soaking the tiles that will be going up in the dorm bathroom tomorrow.

2009-07-27T14:43:00.001+02:00

I wish I had nothing to say on this subject but unfortunately I have quite a few things to say about it. I have also been trying to hide this subject from anyone who might read this blog because I don’t want to disturb or scare any of you. But I can’t keep it in any longer! What is it, you may be asking yourself? It’s rats!!! I hate rats man! We never had a rat incident in this house until we put grass on our roof (not knowing grass is like a rat playground) and now we can’t get rid of them!!!

Basically to sum it up . . . a lot of rats live with us now (the real live animal kind, not the “snitch” in gangster movies kind). The rats are not scared of being seen by humans anymore. When we were in Chimoio with Sunny and Peter there were even bigger rats there and we actually witnessed two rats chasing each other around and around in circles on rafters above our heads – leading to a climax of them embracing in a wrestle, twirling around (as they hugged each other) and then flipping off the rafters, falling down below and landing in Victor’s lap. (This sent Sunny into hysterical screaming (and then hugging Peter (out of fear)).)

Well anyway . . . guess what! When we returned to our very own house in Nampula – I got to see another rat show, this time with squeaks too! I was sitting on a chair in the kitchen when I heard a rat chase approaching. There was TONS of squeaking. It got louder and louder until the two of them (the rats) actually APPEARED like less than two feet in front of me on the kitchen floor, embraced in a hug, twirled around in circles wrestling and squeaking, and then finally ran away.

After describing all of this to my mom on the phone (more than once) she wanted to see pictures of it. So I actually sat in the kitchen with my camera for over an hour, hoping that if I ever had to see a rat again in my life, it would at least be in a rat wrestle so that I could take a picture of it.

Well – I didn’t capture any “wrestles” but one loan mouse (a “rato pequeno”) did emerge for a few photos.

Here you might even think he looks like a “cute” mouse from a children’s story book or something.

But now he looks more scary, doesn’t he?!!!

Now look what's happening! (Don't worry - it's not the "cute" little one from the first picture.) (Thanks Daniel.)

TJ

2009-07-21T16:08:00.015+02:00

TJ a.k.a “Mano Tay-Jota” is here! After graduating from the University of Washington a few weeks ago, TJ got on an airplane (actually many airplanes), made his way to Nampula, and has now become a part of the orfanato for (at least) the next three months!

Filipe and TJ putting the finishing touches on their new house.

Since every nook and cranny of the property is being utilized while we’re constructing dorms, we really needed another place for people to sleep. We considered making TJ build a house from scratch (which he is actually capable of doing) but then decided it would be even more fun to try and construct one before he got here (starting from the very second Victor got the idea a few days before TJ arrived).

In like two days this went from being a rouge part of the soccer field to being a house! We are all calling it "TJ's house" and TJ is calling it "Filipe's house."

Doorways.

Rafters.

Round roofs are neat.

Nice weather.

The kids watch everything that’s happening and then make their own little versions. (Belson and Canito mixing clay, baking bricks, building walls, dividing rooms, and then putting on the rafters.)

The grass finally goes on the roof of the real house.

Meanwhile the boys dig a septic tank . . . actually Zaqueio digs a septic tank while all his friends tease him (“tease” in a nice way of course).

At the end Zaqueio is exhausted.

Everyone else is more energized than ever!

Time for soccer!

Whether he likes it or not, TJ's new favorite game is now soccer.

The septic tank digging was so wonderful that Victor had everyone dig another one.

This time was even better because the person digging was wearing a jacketless hood. Since it’s normally REALLY hot here, “cold” weather brings out the best outfits.

The girls painted the new house yellow.

Terçia and Silas relaxing on a very painful couch.

Filipe and TJ holding pipes that do not fit anywhere.

We love having TJ here with us and have been SO impressed with his ability to adapt to absolutely every single thing – even eating xima for lunch ten days in a row!!! We don’t know if he’ll have much time to update it, but if you want to follow TJ’s blog – it’s http://tjgoestoafrica.blogspot.com/ . I'm sorry I have not captured all that he has done so far in these pictures but TJ can "do" or "make" just about anything and we can already tell what a great friend he is becoming to the kids, especially the older ones. We feel REALLY grateful to have someone like TJ here!

Sunny and Peter

2009-07-02T23:13:00.002+02:00

We had SO much fun when Sunny and Peter were here!!!In Chimoio we saw lots of old friends. (Larry, Victor, Christina, Sunny with Lisa, Peter, and Faith with Leslie.)

Sunny immediately dove into every conceivable cooking situation. (Silvia, Alfina, Sunny, and Dora making fried chicken.)

We got to spend (not nearly enough) time with Courage.

When it was time to drive back to Nampula Victor shook as much gas into the car as possible (very normal for filling up cars here).

Our trip went smoothly.

But we found an accident where a truck overloaded with people and goods had turned over. Peter got out his first aid kit and he and Victor tended to wounds. Some people needed stitches but refused to go to the hospital because they were scared since they had no I.D. Many rural people never get I.D. because of poverty and bureaucracy.

Back at the orfanato . . . (Graça and Dorcas, the new baby.)

We watched Mozambique lose to Tunisia in soccer (sad – it was the last chance to earn a spot in the World Cup)!

HUGE cooking began, starting with Janete showing us how to make cassava with red sauce. (Janete and Sunny peeling the bark off the cassava roots.)

Yum! It was SO good!!!

Next Janete taught us how to cook this delicious pumpkin thing with coconut chicken and rice!

Victor's favorite drink in the whole world (which is actually just fizzy grape juice) can't be found here so whenever he goes somewhere he searches for it. He was so happy to find some in Chimoio!

Sunny led the whole orfanato in a tae bo leson. The kids could NOT get enough of it!!!

June 25th was Mozambican Independence Day. Everyone ate good food and then had a very relaxing day. (Tercia, Minoca, and Gizela.)

New little Jose is still mesmerized by cameras.

Some serious conversations happened. (Peter and Estefano.)

The conversations did not stop.

Meanwhile there was TONS of drama involving Simba . . .

Which landed him at the vet (AMAZINGLY there IS a vet here!!!) After roaming the bairro Simba got really really sick and couldn’t eat or walk or anything. We had to take him to the vet four days in a row for antibiotic injections and we found out that he is the biggest cry baby ever! Every time Simba would sit on the examining table waiting for the doctor he would start thinking about what was going to happen (a shot) and cry and moan so loudly that even people passing by would peer in and then laugh when they found out it was a dog thinking about getting a shot. Simba had to be comforted by at least three people the whole time!

Sunny and Peter did a health survey focus group with some of the kids. We learned a LOT from this!

The whole visit ended with an ENORMOUS egg roll samosa production and eating

Sunny made HUNDREDS of egg rolls (a Mozambican version of them)

which the kids folded into samosa shapes! They were like nothing anyone has ever had before! And they were delicious!!!

The whole orfanato went to the airport to see them off.

It was SO sad when Sunny and Peter finally had to say good-bye!!!

(Half of the pictures on this post are from Sunny's camera. Thanks Sunny!)

Three New Kids

2009-06-27T16:29:00.004+02:00

Last week an aid worker from Austria brought a small special needs child to the orphanage. She had observed a group of kids living on the streets and could not stop thinking about the littlest one – the others were beating him and taking away whatever he had. There are many aid workers and missionaries who come through Nampula and there are many street kids but only one other time have we ever had someone actually bring one of these kids to us (a great story which can be told another time).

Anyway – because of legal reasons and policies the orphanage could not take this little boy, Jose, when she first brought him because Victor and I were in Chimoio at the time. But she was so determined to help him that she delayed her trip until our return and in the meantime actually found his family.

As soon as we got back to Nampula she brought Little Jose to the orphanage. He is tiny. He is smaller (shorter and skinnier) than our four-year-old but walks around like an old man. His personality is HUGE. Jose appears to be completely in his own world, oblivious to all around him while at the same time it seems he’s in on a joke that nobody else is smart enough to “get.” He is a complete character to say the least. It is impossible to tell his age but he may be between 7 and 12. It is also impossible to tell what’s going on in his head, which may be a new challenge for us.

When the orphanage staff investigated where Jose had come from we found that his mother has severe mental disabilities that completely prohibit her from taking care of a child, his grandmother can not remember her own daughter’s name, and there are two more siblings including a baby sister who is named Covaella, which in Macua translates literally into, “this is what I was afraid would happen.”

After finding the other kids and the conditions they were living in the staff decided to take all three into the orphanage. Jose’s older brother is probably about 12 and is named Jordão. Victor changed the baby sister’s name to Dorcas. She is probably about one and a half years old.

Please pray for our three new little ones. Jordão is easy going and fits in as if he’s always been here. He acts like he’s in heaven now. Little Dorcas will get a check up at the hospital next week – she will probably need a lot of medication to overcome worms and malnutrition. Claudia, one of the older girls, is in charge of Dorcas and all the others take turns helping with her. It seems that they are all excited about having a baby to work with. Little Jose needs the most attention. Because he was living on the streets he can be pretty wild. He has been living by rules of survival, which are contradictory to the rules of the orphanage. But he is also adorable and funny and extremely entertaining. Whenever he thinks of it he bursts into a very serious and deliberate Macua song with a dance that goes with it. Sunny says she can’t even imagine the orfanato without Jose and I think that everyone else is beginning to feel that way too.

One more thought . . . when we were in Chimoio we visited Maforga where they are working with kids similar to ours. One of the people in charge talked about how “we” (people who have had Christianity in our families for many generations) have had people praying for us and the ones taking care of us for generations. My parents have prayed for me since before I was born - my grandparents and even great-grandparents too! And my parents were prayed for and their parents were prayed for. Think what a big difference that must have made in my entire life! Then think about a child who has never been prayed for (and their parents were not prayed for). Not only that but for children here - many kids’ parents did sacrifices to evil spirits on their child’s behalf. Parents and parents’ parents practiced witchcraft and engaged with evil spirits who they believe are angry dead ancestors. Imagine what kind of a difference this could make in a person’s life!

After Victor heard that Jose’s baby sister was named “this is what I was afraid would happen,” he explained to us that many people give their babies names according to how they want “the spirits” to interact with them. Some women believe that they have miscarriages because the spirits ate their baby, so the next time they get pregnant, they immediately name the baby a name that is something disgusting to eat so that the spirits will not find it tasty. For the rest of the child’s life he will walk around with a name like “rotten relish” because of the fear that drives the practice of animism.

When Little Jose was living in the streets he would imitate what a witch doctor does, which was funny and entertaining to people passing by (especially because he is so tiny). This is how he earned money to survive. But imagine what kinds of negative things have had an influence over Jose.

Your prayers for our kids are very very important. Thank you for all the times you have thought of them already and please continue to pray especially for our new little ones – Jose, Jordão, and Dorcas – they have come out of a rough place and they greatly need your prayers.

Jordão, Dorcas, and Jose

2009-06-22T22:16:00.004+02:00

Sunny painted all the girls fingernails . . .
which they LOVED.
And just in case you didn't notice the puppy wrestle . . .

here are some close-ups.There is now a puppy wrestle going on in the background (or foreground) at all times.

Trip to Chimoio

2009-06-12T07:46:00.002+02:00

Getting on the road – the road is nicely paved about 70% of the way between Nampula and Chimoio.

Mocuba, a large village in Zambezia province, looked beautiful and enchanting along the edge of a river.

The River Zambezi! The Zambezi is one of the largest rivers in Africa but the only way to cross it is on a ferry that only takes 4 cars at a time! Trucks can get stuck waiting to cross for hours or days before getting a turn on the ferry!

Sofala province on the other side.

The drive from Nampula to Chimoio was about 1100 kilometers and took us 14½ hours to drive.

We finally arrived at Simon’s house in Gondola (right outside Chimoio) at 9:30pm. Simon’s brother, Victor, and Simon talking; Alfina sitting on the sofa in the living room.

Three Friends from Nampula: Gracio, Felisberto, and Victor. Gracio and Felisberto are two young guys who became Christians through Evanjafrica after hearing Victor preaching in Nampula about seven years ago. They were in the group of the first young people to get involved in Evanjafrica Ministries. After discipleship training Victor saw great potential in them and sent Gracio and Felisberto to bible school in Manica province. During this time they felt called to different ministries. Gracio remained at Simon’s orphanage where he is still on staff today. Felisberto completed his studies at a bible school in Beira and is now the pastor of a church he has started here in Chimoio.

Felisberto, his wife Sara, and their baby girl Loide, with Victor and I at their house in Chimoio.

Sunny and Peter (my brother) are finally here!!! On Friday afternoon we picked them up from the airport in Beira and then ate lunch at the beach before returning to Simon’s orphanage where Peter has been coming for almost ten years now.

Busy Week

2009-06-08T07:18:00.001+02:00

Staff Breakfast

Visado, Helder, Daniel, Silva, and Marta. We had quiche, breakfast potatoes, cinnamon toast, and tea. Nobody had ever had quiche before – they liked it, were all calling it pizza, and thought it must have more ingredients than any other food.

Painting

There has been a lot of painting going on. After our staff breakfast in the blue room we turned it into the yellow room.

Goat Update

Sorry people who thought the goats were cute. (Helder and Dionisio cutting up the raw goats meat . . . yummy!!!)

Hanging Out

There’s always a lot going on.

Boys Dorm Construction Update

Finally ready for the roof!

Constructing and placing the rafters.

Older boys doing the electrical wiring. Felix is in the green shirt holding the hammer. Zaqueio is in the blue shirt standing up on the scaffolding. Zaqueio understands and is in charge of all the electricity in the orphanage.

The tin roof starts coming on!

Visitors from Germany

On Friday we had a great day with a visiting team from Germany. There was a lot of hair braiding, a very lively soccer game, a good lunch, and a massive amount of multi-language translating (Macua, Portuguese, English, and German) – very fun!

Grass Comes Off Tin Roof In Our House

I could make this into a ten page story but instead I’ll just try to sum it up very quickly: Tin roof makes our house unbearably hot so we cover it with grass. Grass awesomely cools house down by at least ten degrees, ends indoor swimming pool formations during rain storms and makes it possible to hear another person talking over the sound of a rain drop. Everything is fine and wonderful for many months. Then rats discover space between tin and grass on roof is their ideal climate/house/playground. Rats multiply. Rats stop being scared of humans . . . etc. etc. (If you want all the gory details you can email me.) Anyway - it suddenly became very urgent to get the grass off the roof.

On Saturday all the girls were inside our living room watching the Parent Trap when Victor spontaneously decided it was the perfect time to take the grass off (without telling us). One drop of rain on the tin sounds like somebody is hitting it with a baseball bat so imagine what it sounded like when there were suddenly 10 teenage boys up there dismantling a bamboo and grass structure. Every step they made resulted in a huge deafening crunching sound and you could see the tin denting underneath. All the girls looked at each other and looked at the tin. Outside the window we could see the younger boys catching bamboo sticks and heaps of grass being thrown off by the older ones up above. We started gathering up our stuff to go outside when rats started raining down from holes in the roof!!! All the girls are Mozambicans so they didn’t start screaming and running around hysterically but there was still a commotion and we all ran out of the house one at a time, dodging the debris being hurled off the roof.

I tried to take a picture of the scene outside but it was kind of hard to capture everything in a photo. I think now all the rats are gone.

Water

Man using divining rods to detect whether or not we have water under the orphanage property. (There will be a big story about this later.)

Girls On Their Way To School

Terçia, Graça, Virginia, Anabela, and Cocas leaving for school.

Dia das Crianças

2009-06-01T19:48:00.008+02:00

June 1st - International Children’s Day - is a really big deal here in Mozambique!
The night before we started a big cookie making production. (Cocas, Estela, and Mena.)
I was amazed and impressed with Mena’s determination to do every part of the dough mixing on her own!
Thanks to left over decorations from the Christmas box from Utah the cookies were very colorful and extra tasty looking!

Little V and Zaqueio bringing water into the house (we’ve been out of water for two weeks because of a broken pipe somewhere in the neighborhood).
Hair braiding and coconut rice making. (Nolita, Gizela, Minoca, Graça, Silas, Terçia, and Anabela.)
Helder, VoVo, and Marta preparing lunch. It seems like they’re enjoying what they’re doing.
A visit from Dr. Ferrão and his staff. Dr. Ferrão is the president of Lúrio University – a new medical school here in Nampula. He and his family have visited the orphanage many times and they really care about the kids. They have given the children special meals, provided the teenagers with computer training, invited us all to educational events in the city, and sent wonderful visitors our way. For Dia das Crianças Dr. Ferrão and his staff brought cake, apples (a great delicacy here), orange sodas, notebooks for school, colored pencils, and a huge bundle of clothing!
The girls with new notebooks and colored pencils!