Where in the World? Mozambique
As you have noticed there hasn’t been very much communication over the past few weeks, which was due to me being out of the country of Swaziland. The day after my birthday, Molly and I ventured off for twelve days to Maxixe, Mozambique where we were able to visit a friend of hers who has been working with a Methodist organization since June. The rest of our team stayed back for amazing teaching and discipleship with Gary Black.
So here is a quick low down on our trip.
– A 20 hour trip there- which on the way back only took slightly over 10 hours! And to boot, a 10 hour bus ride with no bathroom break! (you know that is a miracle for any Wheeler woman J) But the amazing thing was being protected in Maputo and meeting safe people who spoke English to guide us to the correct bus. Molly and I had a blast and were filled with the best attitude ever.
– Matthew (Molly’s friend) was amazing. I felt as if I had known him for years. He is an amazing servant and has a huge gift of hospitality. He let us invade his room, and home for 10 days, all the while catering to us. We were there to help and serve him but in turn left feeling very rejuvenated ourselves.
– We visited Matthew’s church on Sunday morning. I had to go up twice in front of the congregation. Once for my birthday being that week, and the other to share about who I was because we were the visitors. It was a neat service (even though it was in Portuguese) especially since the Youth was running it for that week. It was encouraging to see young people step onto leadership and show a love for God.
– On Tuesday, we went to the small village, Cambine, where Mathew’s ministry is and his week days are spent. The village has electricity only from 6pm-8pm (some of the days), and sometimes there is running water. I never got to actually experience the water flow and resorted to taking bucket showers (which wasn’t so bad, at least I was cleanJ).
Map of Cambine
– We helped Matthew out with the hospital, which has been his main focus while staying there. It is run by nurses and has been neglected from the civil war, so Matthew has been on a mission to help restore it a bit. Our days were filled with painting doors and cutting wire for the buildings in order to keep the bats out. While our nights were filled with getting our daily cokes, watching the bats fly across the sky, and stargazing.
The finished product. The hospital is looking good!
– We met really neat people who have become a part of Matthew’s life and community. Sherri, Deborah, and her son Marquee. They were fun and so gracious to allow us to invade their home and become apart of the household for a week.
Sherri and I catching a drink in a local bakery
Vi-Vi is a young girl who lives with her mom in Cambine, who is a nurse. She was so loving; embracing us, laughing with us, and kissing us right away. She truly had a spirit of spunk and happiness.
Mama John, Craig and Nina were missionaries from S.Carolina who shared their amazing hearts and lives with us. We had a great time with them over dinner with talk about life and God. I was truly blessed by their company.
Lazarus was a neat friend of Matthews. His legs were paralyzed from the war but he still maintains an awesome positive attitude. He makes you laugh and we enjoyed hearing about his love for God and children. He has his own shop where he makes clothing, so of course we had him make us some skirts. We always need more clothes on the race. (Check out Molly’s blog on Lazarus. He has had an interesting life)
-We visited the nearby Orphanage in Cambine, and I instantly acquired two buddies. They were precious boys who sat in my lap and held my hand the entire time we toured the orphanage. It was very clean and nice and it was encouraging to see a place that could offer safety and security to these children.
-We had to take a sailboat ride to visit the ocean. It was fun and smooth, which for some reason caused me to get sea sick and throw up. But I felt much better afterward. Another boat ride was so rough and choppy and I was totally fine. Boy, my episodes are surly unpredictable. ;0
-The beaches and Indian Ocean was amazing! I think it was the most beautiful water (crystal clear and warm) and sand that I have seen and swam in. The waves were extra strong on the first day, due to a cyclone nearby, and it brought many laughs as we were taking down by some very small BUT powerful waves.
-We were able to go back to the beach for two days of rest and relaxation. The beach was deserted and we were quite spoiled. Eating, swimming, resting, and taking walks was apart of our routine. It was great when we came back twice to our villa to have our meals prepared and waiting for us. Matthew was a gem…serving in action!
-It was a great 11 days in Mozambique. The scenery of Palm Trees and ocean was breathtaking along with the ministry being inspiring. The decision to go forth and move on to a new country was so beneficial and Spirit led. The days in Mozambique was filled with memorable moments that I know will be cherished in my heart.
