I’m finally in Mozambique! And oh what a journey it has already been. I’m sitting under the mango and avocado trees at the Iris base in Dondo, Mozambique and I can’t believe that I’m here. It’s beautiful. I’m hot and dirty and I couldn’t be happier. It really is hotter than I have ever experienced in my life. For those who know me well, you know that I rarely sweat. Well, let me tell you, I feel like I’m doing hot yoga just sitting here. I’m talking dripping sweat- all the time. Don’t worry, I’m drinking a lot of water.
Let me fill you in on how I got here.
All 50 of us left Washington, DC at 6am last Friday morning (Jan. 11) on a giant Emirates plane. This flight was glorious. They brought us hot towels and nice meals every couple of hours, we had our own TV screens, and the flight attendants were so great.
We flew for 12 hours to Dubai where we had a few hour layover. I’ve now been to Dubai! We then flew for another 8 hours to Johannesburg, South Africa. By this time none of us really knew what time it was and our bodies started to get a little confused. When we got to Africa, I was so excited, and even though I was exhausted, was literally jumping up and down.
Then comes the saga of the busses. 50 people, two tiny busses with trailers hitched to the back for our packs. We left the airport at 7:30am, all piled on top of each other.
When we made it to the border of South Africa and Mozambique we all had to get visa pictures. This turned into 6 hours of waiting. Africa runs on its own schedule.
When we crossed the border into Mozambique there was an immediate difference in the scenes running past the bus window. Extreme poverty. It was my first experience seeing the third world with my own eyes. And it broke my heart. Mud huts. Wrinkly women carrying heavy loads on their heads. Children carrying children. Goats and chickens and skinny dogs everywhere. Every person we passed stared at me and I at them, meeting for the first time.
We continued to drive and finally got to a contacts home where we were staying for the night. We got there around 11:30am the next day. We had that day to rest which was good because we were all beyond tired. To be honest, I don’t remember too much about this part of the trip. We had worship together, ate a great spaghetti dinner and crashed early for the night.
The next morning we woke up at 3:30am to start the rest of the journey. We were on two different busses, this time with no trailers for our packs. Figuring out how to fit everyone was quite a production. And once we did, the bus was busting at the seams. Four people to a row that should only hold three. I had my pack on my lap for the entire trip.
Another surprise of the trip was that I got terrible cankles. After not moving for hours on end, this, apparently, is what happens to my body. Let me just tell you, cankles are no joke.
The bus drivers in Mozambique like to stop at gas stations an unusual amount of times, often to just say a hello to their friends. Actually, to be honest, we had no idea what they were doing. There were several times we stopped and just sat there. Not cool to a group of people who have been traveling for days.
Well, finally at 12:30am Tuesday morning we arrived at the Iris base. Thank the Lord.
We traveled for 79 hours.
We had Tuesday to rest and started ministry on Wednesday. My team and I are assigned here at the Iris base and will be partnering with the missionaries here who have ministries in Dondo.
Our entire squad is here on the Iris base. We have a session together every morning and night which has been really good. We are learning to walk through vulnerability with each other and there has been a lot of healing for a lot of people through these sessions.
I am living in a little “clinic” with 19 girls. Yes, 19.
But I am so thankful that we have somewhere to stay other than our tents this month. There is no running water and the electricity works only when it wants to. We don’t have internet, which is why I’m just now posting this.
It’s the rainy season here. So many afternoons this week there has been a downpour, which brings a much needed cool breeze. One day I went for a walk in the rain and tried to soak in my current reality. I’m trying to be present here.
I’m in Africa. I’m in Mozambique. I’m walking in the rain under the mango trees.
I’m living the life that God has called me to live.
There’s no place I’d rather be.
