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.

 

 

Summer Time Fun!

We have been so busy having fun this summer!  Here are some of the highlights!

 Nana taught us a neat trick at Red Lobster

 PJ Party in Mimi's bed!

 

 Best Friends 

 Moon Dough (flour and baby oil)

The kids' first time bowling.  They didn't understand letting one person bowl twice and then letting the next person bowl so we gave up and I let them bowl one right after another.  In the end, it looks like Silas won :)

 

 Fun playdate with Kenan 

 The kids turned into cows before we got to Chick-Fil-A!  This earned us some free food!

 Playing in the mud puddle!

Hehe

Fun in the water

The twins have really impressed us with all they are learning to do in the pool.  Gabe and Eden have figured out that they can touch the bottom of the pool in the shallow end although Eden has to be on her tippy toes to reach.  Last year, Eden would not jump into the pool, get her hair wet, or allow you to let go of her while in the water.  This year she's jumping in the water and holding her breath to go under.  Gabe is learning to swim.  He has figured out how to kick himself under the water and is beginning to propel himself forward while holding his breath!  He's a little bit taller than Eden so he has an advantage to learning to swim.  Silas is still a bit too small for his life jacket so he isn't able to control his body while in the pool.  He won't let anyone let go of him while in the water.  It takes a lot of courage for him to jump into the pool.

Our Mini Vacation: Rumbling Bald Resort

At the end of the summer, Daryl's company provided a long weekend vacation for their employees to the Rumbling Bald Resort on Lake Lure.  This trip couldn't have come at a better time, right before Daryl and I leave for Mozambique. 

 We didn't really spend a lot of time at the lake because the kids loved the pool, water park, and lazy river.

Saturday was a rainy day so we decided to find something fun to do, indoors.  We  didn't realize that we were going to have to drive for an hour but we found a neat place for the kids to play that allowed them to dress up, slide, and bounce on inflatables. 

 On our way back to the cabin we stopped to eat at Golden Corral.  The kids discovered cotton candy and love it!

Daryl's company had a photo booth and a nice dinner for everyone that came to the lake.  We even won an iPad mini!

Daryl's Ordination

Daryl sought to be ordained by a panel of pastors before we leave for the mission field.  This process is quite consuming and very labor intensive.  Daryl studied, read, and prayed a lot before sitting before a panel of eight men who asked him Biblical questions.  At the end of the questioning, we were dismissed to the hallway while they deliberated.  When we came back into the room, they informed us of their decision to ordain Daryl as a pastor.

The following Wednesday, was Daryl's ordination ceremony.  John Clagett gave a charge to the church and Rob Decker gave a charge to Daryl using 2 Timothy 2:3-4.  The men on the panel prayed over Daryl and encouraged him as he continues the process to full time missions.

Those on the panel include several pastors from our church: Rob Decker, Lead Pastor, Shean Phillips, Young Adults Pastor, Jared Hoots, High School Youth Pastor, Tim Gerber, Children's Pastor, and Dick Lockheart, Care Ministries Director.  Other panel members include John Clagett, former pastor and Bible professor, Chris Byrne, Senior Pastor of New Friendship Baptist, and Scott Wilkinson, Senior Pastor of Summer Oaks Presbyterian.