When we first arrived at Mama Rita’s house in Beira, Mozambique, we were quite surprised to discover that we had to share the house with a whole army of rats. Yes…rats. Huge rats that weren’t afraid of us at all. The first two nights were peppered with exclamations, squeals, and shouts as people awakened to the uncomfortable feeling of rats running across their toes or above their heads. It was unsettling, to say the least!
In response to these disturbances, Warren and AJ went on the warpath, determined to exterminate the rat population that was infesting Mama Rita’s house. The number of attempted rat-killing methods was quite impressive, ranging from axes, makeshift spears, rat traps, rat poison, and slingshots. We found that the slingshot method was the most effective. From then on we could rest securely, knowing that AJ was on the hunt with his flashlight, slingshot, and gardening gloves. The rats learned what it meant to be afraid of people after that!
Even though hunting down rats one by one was fun, we all knew it was only a temporary solution to the rat problem. After doing a little bit of research and a lot of prayer, we decided to pay to have Mama Rita’s roof replaced and all the holes in the concrete walls filled in to completely seal the house off from the rats. With four days left at Mama Rita’s, the project began. While the contractors were busy taking off and then replacing the entire roof, the rest of us occupied ourselves with filling holes inside the house, completely cleaning out Mama Rita’s room, and putting up window screens on all the windows (to keep the mosquitoes out).
Three days later, the project was finished. The
roof had been replaced and sealed so that neither rats nor rain could get in. The windows were finished. The rooms were cleaned out. There were no more holes for the rats and bugs to enter through. “No mas ratos!” which means “no more rats” in Portuguese, became our victory cry. Now Mama Rita and the children can sleep peacefully at night without rats and bugs crawling all around them and in their food. It was so satisfying to complete a project that will be an immediate blessing for these precious people. It is definitely a relief to be able to say, “No mas ratos!”
