A New School Year

The twins are excited to start a new school year!  This year they will be attending Union Grove Christian School; their teacher is Ms. James.  Unfortunately, we were still in Mozambique on their first day of school but Meme got them up and off to their first day while sneaking in the classic first day of school picture!  Eden cried when she got to school but quickly calmed down and settled into her new class.  I'm glad they have each other during these times.

Our last days in Mozambique

We spent our last few days in Mozambique trying to absorb all the information we've taken in during this trip.  So we took a day off and went to one of the Terpstra's little hideaways in Catembe across the bay from the capital, Maputo.

We ate at a restaurant that overlooks the bay and it has a sandy beach where the kids played all afternoon.  It was nice to watch a barge exit the port and feel the cool breezes on our skin.  Mozambique is known for their prawns and they exceeded our expectations as we devoured these delicacies.

The Terpstra family

Our last day was spent at the market buying a few souvenirs.  We've been very spoiled on this trip with great weather.  It's normally a bit cooler here than what we've been experiencing and we're blessed in that we didn't bring clothes for cooler weather.

 

 

While we were away, our children played . . .

While we were in Mozambique, Daryl's family took our kids to the beach.  This "little trip" turned out to be a fantastic distraction for our kids and a relief to us knowing that they are having fun and certainly not missing us!

Gabe's "mean guy" face

 

 Nana assured me that Silas wouldn't miss me while I was gone!

 

Silas loved the sand but didn't care much for the ocean.  He didn't even like it when his Nana went into the water. 

 Mimi's girls

 

 To say my kids love their cousins, is an understatement.

 

Eli and Silas

Olivia and Eden.  They had their share of "girl time" and got closer to each other on a whole 'nother level! ;)

 She's sweet on Isaac!

Kruger Park Safari and Candlelit Boarder Crossing

I have really been looking forward to going on this wildlife safari in South Africa and it was not at all what I expected . . . it was so much better!

Kruger Park is about the size of the state of New Jersey.  When you drive up to it, there are huge fences to keep the wildlife in and poachers out.  You can pay extra to have a guide or ride in a jeep but most people just drive their own car through the park and that's what we did.  The animals are not fed by people or the park staff so that they are in their natural habitat.  There are about a dozen rest camps, blocked off by fences, throughout the park with restaurants, gas stations, and gift shops.  We stopped about every 2 hours and relaxed at a rest camp.

In Africa, there are five animals named "The Big Five" because they are the 5 most dangerous animals to hunt on foot and Kruger Park is home to all of these animals.  The big 5 includes lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards, and buffalo.  You're never guaranteed to see all of these or any animals at all because it's a park of animals in their natural home.  However, we got very lucky.  We saw all 5 of these animals and so many more.  Some of these animals were on the road, beside the road, or a bit of a ways off but since it's dry season and not a lot of vegetation you could see so far through the park.

The list of mammals we saw on the safari includes: lioness, elephants (way too many to count), a couple rhinos (very rare and hard to spot), a leopard (up in a tree), water Buffalo, giraffes, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, warthogs, a python (a rare sighting), a few zebras, impalas (these things are everywhere), kudu (it's like a huge antelope with curly horns), turtles, baboons, and monkeys (you have to keep your windows up or they'll try to climb in your car).  We also saw a gigantic catfish, lizard, and so many beautiful birds.

We took so many pictures that it's impossible to post all of them so we picked our favorites.

Hippos and Crocodiles

Kudu

 

This picture was taken at the rest camp we ate at for lunch.  A huge herd of elephants came up the river, crossed and began coming up the banks on our side to get to greener vegetation. 

 

Water Buffalo, one of the Big Five

On our way back home we stopped at a KFC right before the border to eat dinner.  While there the power went out which isn't unusual but it stayed out for the remainder of our meal and while crossing back into Mozambique.  When we arrived at South Africa's border patrol, they had generators on in order to process passports.  However, at Mozambique's boarder patrol they used long stemmed candles shoved into water bottles (to serve as candlestick holders).  The passport check was conducted, the car imported, and we were on our merry way.  It's so funny to see the stark differences between Mozambique and South Africa.  This border crossing is the second busiest in the world and Mozambique had to use candles during a power outage!

CAM and the Blanks

Today we spent the day with our teammates, Rob and Heather Blanks.

 

Heather and I began the day at her friend's house for a Bible study.  This view was from her 14th floor apartment.

 

While we were at the Bible study, Daryl and Rob were at the seminary he teaches at.  This wooden art of Africa was in the foyer of the university.

 

Rob and Heather have 4 kids and they live on the campus of CAM (Christian Academy of Mozambique).  We went on a tour of the school and met a lot of the staff.  After school let out, we helped with Kids Club, an out reach ministry to the kids in the local community.  During Kids Club we sang, prayed, practiced saying a Bible verse and played games.  We had a really good time playing and hanging out with the kids.

Today was a fantastic day.  We enjoyed our time with the Blanks and regret that we did not take a picture with them but hope to have more opportunities for one in the future.

Shoeless Feet

Today we visited my favorite children’s ministry.  We went to an organization called Masana in Maputo, the capital.  This is a day center for boys that live on the streets ranging in age from 8 to 18.  The center is open from 7-2 Monday through Friday but the kids can reach a member of the staff 24/7.  On a daily basis, the children receive 2 meals, a shower, an hour of education, game time, a chance to wash their clothes, a worship service, devotional, and a lot of love.

Although these children live on the streets, most of them are not orphans.  A lot of the boys have a family but for a number of reasons they are not living with them anymore and in some cases the family doesn’t even know the child is living on the streets.  The day center focuses on reintegrating the boys back into their homes.  They do this by making contact with the boy’s family, counseling, placement back into the home, and follow up services after placement.  The catch? The boys have to want to go back home.  It’s not going to work in the home if the boy doesn’t want to be there.  Masana doesn’t force the kids to go back home but they talk to the boys a lot about going back.

During our visit today we were able to experience the day to day operations, play games (checkers, dominos, relay games with balloons), sit in on the worship service, and eat lunch.  I’m really surprised by how many people speak a little bit of English in Mozambique so we were able to communicate with some of the boys.  Unfortunately, our camera died early into our visit so I’ll have to describe most of what we saw and experienced today.

We saw children dressed in dirty, worn out clothes that were 2, 3 and even 5 sizes too big (or too small).

We saw happy go lucky boys with beautiful smiles.

We saw their feet, calloused so badly from walking around barefoot or in flip flops that are too small.  A couple boys had shoes but on closer inspection the bottoms were worn out or they were too little.

We saw more of those big, brown, beautiful eyes.

We experienced love.  These boys love physical touch and adult interaction.  We weren’t there for very long before we were playing and laughing with the kids.  By the end of the day they were laying in our laps either asleep or just wanting to be loved on.  This love is God like love in that it expects nothing in return.  The boys just wanted to feel loved by someone they didn’t care from who or for how long.  We also saw how the staff loved the boys; it was unconditional and genuine.

Big, Brown, Beautiful Eyes

Today we went out to a town called Tchunene to visit a program that provides care for women that used to work the streets and their children.  The kids stay at the center all day and night and the women work out in the community.  In order to be in the program and receive care for themselves and their children they have to find work other than working the streets. 

There are 22 kids in this program and they range in age starting at 3 years old.  There are some younger children but they mostly stay with their mothers.  All of the children go to the local school and since there are so many kids that need school and so few schools, they go in different shifts.

When we arrived we got a quick tour of the place and then played and played and played.  All of the children are so sweet and they love attention.  Now that we’ve been to 2 different children’s ministries, there’s something that keeps jumping out at me.  It’s those big, beautiful, brown eyes.  All the Mozambican children have them and they are mesmerizing.

 

 

Daryl made a quick friend with the boy on the right in blue sleeves, named Nando.  He's also quite the eater; he probably had 3 servings of porridge at breakfast.

 

 

Beautiful girls.

 

Little hands . . .

This morning we drove around different parts of Maputo looking at school options for the kids.  There are some really, really good options.  We know we will definitely send the kids to a private school but there are a lot of options which is a great situation to be in.

After lunch, we went to an orphanage called, Iris which cares for about 180 kids ranging from infants to young adults.  This is a Christian organization and they’re campus is amazing; the programs they offer are spectacular.  We had a great time exploring the campus and talking to the staff.  We were given the opportunity to play with some of the kids for a little while and they weren’t shy.  This has been our first interaction with children-at-risk in Mozambique and although these children are provided for it broke my heart to leave them.

Afterwards we had our first grocery shopping experience.  When you step into the Shoprite it’s like you’re stepping into an American grocery store but all the signs are in a different language, you can’t get all of the same stuff you’d find in American stores, and any American made foods are really expensive ($8 for Rice Krispies).  We will be working more with kids tomorrow.

 

 

 

She just woke up from nap and walked right up to me when I entered the room.

When you're feeding 180 kids and staff you have to have big pots!

 

The baby house laundry.

 

Sweet children playing outside.

 

 

Peek-a-boo doesn't require the use of Portuguese.

 

These two boys put on a show for us.  The boy on the left is whistling with his tongue sticking out and the other boy is singing the song.  I videoed it too so you'll have to hear it!

Worship . . . Morning, Noon, and Night

The place we are staying at has a church right behind it; it’s so close you can stick your arm out of the window and touch the building.  On Saturday night we heard the worship band practicing for Sunday’s service with a lot of drums and singing.  We awoke Sunday morning to their service and we couldn’t help ourselves but dance to the rhythm of their worship while getting ready.  We went to church which contained more praising and singing.  I really enjoyed the service; we were fortunate to have the sermon in English since the guest speaker was from South Africa.  In the early evening, we went to a young adult’s concert . . . 3 and a half hours of worshipping, singing and praising God.  Of course we couldn’t understand much but you could see these young Mozambicans pour out their heart in true worship.

I love to watch Mozambicans worship.  It’s not just a little clapping or swaying; it is praising God with their whole body and voice.  This is praise and it’s genuine.  If you aren’t sweating by the end of the service then you haven’t fully committed yourself to praising and worshipping.  The songs they sing aren’t complicated.  Most songs have a few lines that are sang over and over and over again.  Phrases like, “Jesus is number 1” and “Christ rules above all” are just repeated in the songs.  I think at one point last night, they sang the same line for almost 30 minutes while full out dancing and every time the band ended the song they called out for more.  I loved it!  It reminded me of Revelation 7:9-10 and I pictured people in every tongue crying out and praising God.

 

We went for a quick trip to the beach after church and felt the waters of the Indian Ocean.

 

The skyline of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.

 

3 flights and 24 hours of travel . . .

Did you know there is a difference between flying to Washington DC and Washington Dulles?  I do, now.  The same airline had a flight to each of these departing from Charlotte within 2 minutes of each other.  We realized about 15 minutes before the flight departed that we were at the wrong gate and of course our flight was at the end of a different concourse.  So we ran . . . the irony? I was wearing my Color Run t-shirt which signified the last time I had accomplished any sort of exercise from March.  I was red faced, breathing hard, flip flops in hand, and 30 yards behind Daryl.  We made it!  Thank you, Lord!

The rest of our travel experience was pretty uneventful.  I was impressed with Ethiopian Air and the personal touch screens we had on board the flight.  The food was good and overall the time passed by quickly.  We were forewarned about the Addis Ababa airport and my type A personality took very deep breaths as we elbowed our way through the sea of people pushing their way through the “line” of security and baggage checks.  The airport was okay but we will make different travel arrangements when we return with our kids.  On our last flight we both found an empty row of seats and sprawled out for a good 5 hours of sleep. 

We were greeted at the airport by the whole Terpstra clan and 3 of their friends.   We ate a common Mozambique meal of grilled chicken and French fries, yummy.  The rest of the afternoon was spent just hanging out, talking, and trying to stay awake until 8:30 to help us adjust to the 6 hour time difference.  For dinner I had one of my favorite meals, peanut butter and jelly.  There is a local brand called “Yum Yum” peanut butter that is just like JIF and it was so good.

God has truly provided for us during this trip and we are thankful to be here.