This morning I put in 3 ½ hours of “reeding” (stripping the bark off of the reeds). I started out alone, but women from the church slowly gathered around me under the shade of a tree. It was not long before the clicking sounds of reeds splitting joined the back and forth banter or the women working. I looked around at the beautiful dark faces accented by the colorful wraps and it hit me…I am in Africa! I love getting to share daily activities like stripping reeds with the people we meet.
Sadly I had to say goodbye to the orphans and the reeds today. The missionary from South Africa, Jaco, invited us to stay on his land where he lives with his wife, Maria and two kids, Maggie and Rudo. I set my tent up next to their beautiful reed hut overlooking the lake. We are planning to join Jacob in his ministry with orphans and the Jesus film. I am also hoping to bless Jacob’s wife by helping out around the house and with the kids. A stay at home mom has a tough job, so you can imagine how difficult Maria’s job is as a stay at home missionary mom in Mozambique.
This evening we joined the family at a local restaurant for, “the big game”. Two teams from South Africa battled in a very close rugby game as many enthusiastic South Africans cheered them on.