Africa: Week 6

This week marks the half-way point on our Mozambican adventure. Week 6 has been very good, other than Max's asthma flair-up. He's still wheezing some, but is doing very well overall. The doctors here are great and are keeping a close eye on him. There is often smoke and/or dust in the air here, so I am hoping that he doesn't need his inhaler (a.k.a. fireman mask) so often when we get back to the States. Max is a fairly popular kid around these parts--everyone seems to know him. An eleven-year-old boy at the children's center said, "I love that name Max. I will have a son when I grow up and I will name him Max."

Today, in a quiet moment during class, Max said in his cute raspy voice, "Mommy, watching a Bob the Builder DVD is a really good idea, isn't it?" And a group of girls giggled at him, to which he emphatically responded, "It's not funny!" He has made friends with all of the security guards that are stationed at the back of our house and borrows the big, black sticks they carry so that he can pretend to play baseball. Next week, when we go camping in the "bush bush," a friend named Chelsea is going to stay here with Max. She is wonderful with our boys and I think he'll have a really fun time getting some one on one with her. Zach and I are grateful to be able to go on the same outreach and not to have to change diapers in our tent :)

Levi has made friends with one of the new long-term missionaries named Bridget and today she took him to play with the babies at the baby house. She said that he did really well. Last week was hard (discipline wise), but this week Levi has been wonderful. We've told him that the kids at the center don't have a mommy and a daddy, so that he needs to be extra kind to them and give them lots of love. It's funny though, because now if Zach is with him, apart from me, Levi will say, "But I need a mommy and a daddy." We are giving him lots of opportunities to share with the children and have been so pleased with his thoughtfulness and compassion. Today he got to give one of my favorite little guys with HIV a little piece of candy and a drink. Earlier this week, he was getting picked on by an older missionary kid, and he forgave him quickly--more quickly than I did, I think. :)

On Saturday, Zach stayed with the kids and I had the pleasure of attending a Mozambican wedding. The couple getting hitched was Ed and Rosa, and they both work with the children here. They are a beautiful and amazing couple and it was really special to get to be a part of their big day. Ed is from California and Rosa is from Mozambique. We were all quite involved with the wedding preparations. Each of the student houses was responsible for making loads of popcorn and a couple of cakes for the big day. Over a thousand people needed to be fed! I spent 3 hours popping popcorn on our little propane stove, with oil spattering everywhere.

While I was was popping popcorn and Max was sleeping, Zach took Levi on an outreach to pray for people in the village. Levi did great and they saw a lady's knee get healed. Today a group went to pray for a lady in the village who has been so tormented and out-of-control that she has been chained to a tree outside of her house for 8 years. I am not sure if she was healed or not, but please pray for her.

Last night I worked in the kitchen and served up hundreds of bowls of rice in the kitchen with the Mozambicans. The pots of rice and beans are so enormous! We jump in and serve in little ways, and love on the children at the center and in the village, but sometimes we just relax on our front porch or take a walk to the beach. We have a good balance between working and resting, I think. Having the kids forces us to slow down a bit. As someone once said, "If you want to do more for Jesus, stay single, but if you want to be more like Jesus, get married." :) We came all of this way, and while I do want to do really cool things, the main thing I think about is simply loving Zach better. We received a cool prophesy when we first got here and were told that people would experience the love of God and the heart of the Father just by walking through the doors of our home. I felt really encouraged by this.

We have been so blessed this week. Zach and I just look at each other with an understood, "Aren't you so glad we came here?" In preparing for the trip, I would often have thoughts like, "What the heck are you doing??" But, all of that work was so worth it for this life-changing experience. We are feeling a renewed sense of vision, experiencing a huge increase in faith and love, and we really, really needed this. Even though it's dirty and crowded and we eat a diet of white bread and rice and beans, we feel completely refreshed and invigorated. It's like we're getting a life-time of the best sermons and guest speakers (and worship) all in one summer. Heidi is such an inspiration to us and I love, love, love listening to her speak. Week 6 was a huge success and we're treasuring each day that we are here. The time is flying by, and in 36 days we'll be headed back to the U.S.

Thank you for the love and the prayers!

Love,
Kate