Chibuto, Mozambique
5:21 The roosters begin to crow. I lay in my tent, pretending not to hear them, but end up having to reinsert the earplugs that have fallen out overnight.
6:41 Still hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep, the sun begins to creep through the windowscreen of my bamboo hut.
7:13 I finally succumb to the morning sunlight and muster up the energy to slip out of the tent I have set up inside of said bamboo hut.
7:15 I “unlock” the door of our room by turning the rusty bent nail so it is no longer securing the door of my bamboo hut and head over to heat some water on the gas stove in our makeshift kitchen. The weather is perfect. Not too hot, not too cold…just the right temperature for a hot cup of instant Ricoffy to accompany my bread roll breakfast.
7:45 We walk up the dirt path to the bamboo church. Today is Thursday and it is our 4th church service of the week.
8:00 Church. The church service is simple…nothing fancy, but it is so much fun. One guy usually starts singing in Shangane and we repeat. I still don’t know exactly what we are saying, but it sounds like, “Aiyah kumala, aiyah susala, aiya venkala, when I eat salad, ahyay, uga yahvey,” and we clap our hands a lot and sometimes form a conga line around the chairs. Everyone here sings in perfect harmony and has natural rhythm. My teammate will share the message which is translated from English to Portuguese (the national language) to Shangane (the local language). After a brief service, we stack up the plastic chairs and carry them back to the huts.
9:15 Construction. We are building a house for our contacts, Anna & Felito, who have been given land here to start a community that houses and cares for dozens of orphans. Their ministry is called Africa on Fire. Days 1 – 3 we helped with spreading dirt over the foundation and constructing the frame & roof, but these last few days have been spent tying bundles of bamboo together with palm tree reeds. They will eventually form the walls.
9:53 The roosters are crowding our work area and Sarah proceeds to throw bamboo shoots at them like a javelin.
12:10 We start playing the celebrity game or movie game or band game or whatever game we can think of that helps to pass the time.
2:00 Lunch! Locally grown fresh salad with fresh rolls. Who would have thought!?
3:30 Church service # 5. Repeat earlier note.
5:00 Tea time “talk & walk” around the land.
6:00 Hangout by the campfire with the village guys until dinner is ready. One of the guys jokingly dangles a rodent hanging on a stick over the campfire and freaks us all out. Not a funny joke right before supper.
7:00 Dinner. Always white rice accompanied by either pumpkin leaf surprise or boiled bean soupy stuff.
7:30 Sing-off competition around the campfire: Mozambiquans vs. the Americans. Always entertaining!
8:30 Back to the tents…I instinctively reach for a light switch inside the door to our hut, but remember there isn’t one. No electricity. No running water. No problem!
Bom nuete, as they say here. Goodnight!
