Africa: Week 9

This week has been good, but it has been stretching too. First, Zach broke his arm skateboarding with a couple of Mozambican kids. He's doing well, just taking ibuprofen here and there. We've definitely worked as a team since we've been here, carrying items up the hill to the classroom, changing diapers, getting the boys dressed, etc. so I've missed that arm a lot. Physically, it's been a bit exhausting, and I joke around that I should have thought to break my arm first :)The good news is that as far as fractures go, it could be a lot worse. He doesn't need surgery and his main concern is that it doesn't negatively influence his golf swing or his guitar playing :) Another good thing is that x-rays here cost a little under $2.

And it's kind-of funny, but kind-of makes me want to cry--but our portable DVD player broke the same day as Zach's arm. Seriously??! There is no fence to keep the boys in, so they have the potential to get out of our sight pretty easily. Parenting here requires everything we've got. There are 23 other kids running around too. There's no just letting them go play in the backyard, so that is why the occasional DVD was even more valued than normal. Fortunately, Zach's dad blessed us with an amazing package with some things to entertain the boys. It's been a big help this week. Sending things here is so so expensive...it's ridiculous, but we are grateful.

As the end of our trip is drawing near, Zach and I are asking each other what laying our lives down really looks like. We had a speaker named Amy here and she and her family live in the poorest part of Jackson, Mississippi. She and her family have chosen to live in the inner city, where most people would never consider staying, even for a night, for fear of getting shot etc. The addicts in their community are always yelling that they hate her, etc and there are no other white people in that part of town, at all. Her boldness and the way she loves her community are really inspiring to us. She just says that what her family does is just the normal Christian life.

The boys have been requesting to go to the baby house nearly every day and that continues to be where my heart is. A couple of days ago we were there and this little boy (less than 2 years old) fell and hit i head on a concrete step. I was there to scoop him up and kiss him, etc., but my heart was breaking for all of the times these kids get hurt and have no one to comfort them.

One of our favorite kids is Paulo. He is 10 years old, but is probably the size of an American 6 year old. He "assists" me on my medical rounds by helping me to locate children, and checking the boxes when they've taken their medications. Zach bought the boys a nice red soccer ball to play with here, and the boys have decided that they want Paulo to have it when we leave. He is just the sweetest boy, and sometimes during our classes, he will find me and come sit in my lap and draw pictures in my notebook. I hug him and tell him that he's smart and that he is a very special boy.

While part of us is ready to return home, another part is really going to miss Africa. Mozambique will always have a special place in our hearts and we hope that we will be able to return as a family one day.

Levi has been telling me that he is a big boy and a little boy, and he is just so cute as he tries to describe things that are deeper and wider than his vocabulary. He's been so proud of himself as he is learning to climb trees and do other "big boy" things like that. He's doing pretty well and he loves going to the gazebo for 2 hours each week for child-minding with the older children. He calls it school and gets really excited about packing his snack and drink to go to the gazebo. I asked Levi what he missed the most about being home, and he said "the pizza restaurant," referring to Hideaway Pizza :) He keeps talking about his birthday and how he would like to get dominoes when he turns four. Then he says, "Is that a kids game?"

Last night was "seaweed night" at the cafeteria, so we decided to go out as a family for dinner. Max said that our taxi driver's name was "Obrigado' ("thank you" in Portuguese.) The cab driver thought that was pretty funny. Max has been telling everyone that he is five years old and holds up five fingers to show them. Then he laughs and laughs when I tell him to tell the truth. Last night he was really tired and I was holding him on my hip as we talked with a couple from Switzerland just outside of our house. He looked at them and put his finger to his lips and said "shhhh...it's time to go night night." We had a resident lizard in our bathroom for a while. One night, the lizard wasn't there and Max asked me, "Mom, have you seen our alligator?" :) He spends a lot of time talking to people around here about "big fat airplanes" as well.

In this world of cold, cold showers, I have discovered a little something to make life a little more pleasurable. At the end of the day, I heat up water in an electric kettle and soak my feet in nice, hot water. It is a nice reward after a long day.

While this week has been exhausting, tonight is going to be really great. One of the other missionaries offered to watch the boys for the night, so that we can have a night away. We are so grateful and excited to have a date night! At one point this week, all four of us were sleeping in our double bed! Not tonight :)

So, I guess that is all for this week. We love you all and are so excited to see you soon! Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.

All our love,

Kate