Africa: Week 4

It's hard to believe it's been almost a month since we left for Africa. Tonight, I am borrowing a computer and typing with reasonably fast internet service--what a treat. We've had a pretty good week this week. The boys took a course of antibiotics for diarrhea and seem to be doing better now. Levi is picking a little at some of the food, and then requesting snacks when we get home...but sometimes I do the same thing :) Every morning we eat bread roll with a thin layer of peanut butter and jelly and for lunch we have rice and beans. Dinner is a bit of a wild card--but always involves rice. Rice with cabbage, rice with fish heads (which we gladly give to the Mozambican pastors-in-training at our table), or rice with seaweed/spinach. The beans and rice are actually quite good, except when sand/dirt somehow gets in. Thankfully, that only happens about once a week. There are a couple of restaurants around, so maybe once or twice a week we'll venture out and grab a snack.

The dynamics in our house are surprisingly good. We are all really easy-going and are getting along well. I am so thankful. One of the hardest things to deal with this week has been the lack of water and sometimes electricity. For at least half of the days we have had no running water--and sometimes I find myself really wanting to wash my hands, take a shower, flush a toilet--you know. But that's life for all of the kids in the village. It is hard to believe that so many people live without such basic necessities. The average life span here is 38 years.

We were walking on the beach with "Issa," one of the village kids that we have connected with, and while we were walking an 18 year old girl with a one month old baby boy named Antonio came asking if we could help her. She said her baby was hungry and had been unable to nurse. She took down her shirt and showed us her breast and said that she was hurting. (Random fact: Here, breasts are not seen as sexual at all. It is all about the knees! We cannot bare our knees at all--even when swimming.) I looked at baby Antonio and could see that he was a little dehydrated. So, I held the baby and we walked with the momma up the hill to the small clinic on the base where we live. Fortunately this young mother was making milk. She had a big sore likely from nursing in one position too often and was given cream to help prevent infection, encouraged to drink a lot of water and assured her she was making plenty of milk. The doctor and nurse that run the clinic are both so incredible. It was basically a glorified lactation consultant appointment, but it was wonderful to be a part of it.

A couple weeks ago we went on an outreach to a village about 30 minutes away that also has an Iris base and children's center. I heard something about a little girl being healed from blindness, but hadn't heard any details, so I kind of shrugged it off as maybe an exaggeration or something. I am a bit of a doubter by nature. I am always praying for more faith and I do feel it rising up in me, but faith for healing is something I've always struggled with. It's felt unobtainable, frustrating, etc. But today, the leader from that base in Mieze spoke and said he had heard something about this little girl, but didn't know the story. He asked if anyone at the school knew about this little girl. 3 or 4 students that we have classes with got up to the microphone and shared a vivid account, saying that the baby was named Albertina and was approximately 12 months old. She was in her mother's sling and had eyes that were milky and white, and that lacked both irises and pupils. This little one had been blind since birth. After praying for her for a while, they took her to Heidi (called Mama Aida by the locals) and when she prayed, the baby was given beautiful chocolate brown eyes and could see for the first time in her little life. The students from my school saw a blind baby healed! People get healed of deafness and blindness here often. It's amazing. Bill Johnson's book "When Heaven Invades Earth" is helping to really change the way I think about kingdom matters.

On a different note, I was opening the clinic door on Sunday to get medications to take to the kids and a big lizard fell on my head!! We see lizards everywhere! We were headed back from the village the other day and the kids were making over Max as usual. He was in a sour mood, and I was mortified when he told one of the kids, "Go back to your own house!" I am so glad she didn't know English!! Watching Max do the African dances in church is so funny. Levi just shakes his head really fast--and his dance moves aren't African (they are actually quite white), but they are pretty funny. He was so sweet with the little baby we took to the clinic. He has such a tender heart.

Many blessings to all of you! We are looking forward to a safe return in August, and what an adjustment that will be! Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!

Much love,
Kate