After our tearful goodbyes to Anacleto and his incredible family (see last blog post). We were off to the second half of our trip. We were headed to Maforga Missions which is near the city of Chimoio. One of Anacleto’s friends volunteered to personally drive us to Maforga, and we were so grateful!The only way to get around Africa is the ultra sketchy public transportation (Decrepit 15 passenger vans with at least 30 people in them, and sometimes goats, chickens, and other farm animals) or find someone who owns a car.. which to most is a luxury! Before we left we calculated that the journey to Maforga was about 127 miles, so it should take about 3 hours, according to MapQuest. Boy were we wrong! So.. I dont know if you have traveled on African roads before, but honestly I dont even know how to describe them. The roads are beyond terrible.. awful.. almost undriveable.. pot holes that are more like craters! I don't think I have ever felt so car sick in my entire life… About a hour into the drive we got a flat tire.. great… We (Austin) changed the tire and continued on our way.. 30 minutes later.. ANOTHER flat tire.. seriously??.. And this time we didnt have a spare…Being the take charge male of our group, Austin decided to hitch hike to the nearest city in search of a spare tire.. 6 hours later Austin returned and our 2nd flat was changed..
We were finally back on our way.. Hallelujah!
(Cell phones dont work very well in Africa, and there is no AAA!)
(taking pictures while "Dad" fixes the flat!)
FINALLY we reached Maforga.. and it was well worth the tough journey!.. Maforga is such an amazing place. It is run by a group of Missionaries who have established two orphanages, a primary and technical school, an out-patient clinic and baby clinic. These missionaries are passionate about the people of Mozambique, and are making huge sacrifices to advance the Gospel.
My favorite thing about Maforga was all of the children there. They were the most amazing kids I have ever met! They follow you around, and hang on to you like your the best thing in the world. Most of these kids are orphans and have nothing but they are the happiest kids you will ever meet. Seeing these kids so content and happy with nothing but a few toys really opened my eyes, and made me realize how much I have been blessed with and how I take it for granted. I fell in love with every child at Maforga,
and continue to pray for them everyday.
(Making balloon animals is one of my many talents! I decided to take balloons with me to Africa. I figured it would be a good way to connect with kids since there was a language barrier. One day I sat down by myself under a tree and just started to make balloon animals. About 3 minutes later I was completely surrounded by children who were so amazed by what I was doing. I think I went through 100's of balloons that day!It was such a funny sight to see all the children in the village running around with balloon hats on! They LOVED them, and days later would come up to be so upset because their hat had deflated. For the rest of the time I was there I was daily replacing deflated hats & animals. I was SO glad I decided to bring the balloons. The children LOVED them and it was a great way for me to get to spend time with them, get to know them, and show them love!
Our work at Maforga was different everyday. Some days we would play with children all day, or feed hungry babies. While other days we were doing manual labor, digging latrines in neighboring villages, or painting school rooms. Some of my favorite days were spent with nurses making house calls in the small neighboring villages. I'm a very out going person and loved being able to reach out and get to know the local people and hear their stories. Although I enjoyed making these trips with the nurses, sometimes it was very overwhelming to see such sickness and death. I would lay in bed at night in tears thinking about all the men and women who in reality seemed like the didn't have much of a chance, but who still had such great faith in the Lord and such a positive attitude towards life. Here I was, perfectly healthy and able, and yet my faith in the Lord wasn't nearly as strong as these peoples, and my attitude towards life wasn't nearly as positive.
My trip to Mozambique really opened my eyes to how much I needed the Lord in my life. I realize how much God has blessed me with, and how much I take for granted in my everyday life. I learned so much about myself in Africa, and this helped strengthen my relationship with God.
I cannot wait to get back to this AMAZING place!
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THANK YOU!
Peace,
Caroline
