Saying goodbye

This past week Naftal left our little world and went to Heaven, where true life begins.  It was a lot to take in, a lot to handle when I’m so far away from “normal” and my family.  But God has everything under control, and He’s given me an amazing peace about Naffy.  I miss him so much, but I only cry selfish tears when I miss him.  I don’t actually want him to be here, because who would choose earth over Heaven?  No one should. Two things I want to process about Naftal: one) the doctor over his case, and two) saying goodbye to boys.

One: Ros told all the missionaries at the Monday meeting that our doctor had explained to her how the head doctor on Naftal’s case directed the other doctors under him not to provide anything except Paracetamol and a multi-vitamin.  The doctors under this head doctor, according to our doctor, were upset about this instruction.  My first reaction to hearing this news was: oh my gosh that is disgusting and horrible, we have to pray for this doctor’s heart because no one should live like that –ever.  And I was thankful for this reaction, I was glad not to hate the doctor.  But now that I’ve thought over the millions of motives this doctor could have had, I really, really hope that God just gave him wisdom.  Even in the States, Naftal’s future would have been bleak. He probably would have lived for many more months, but I doubt he would have been happy.  I don’t think he would have been very comfortable at all.  I pray that God gave his doctor wisdom and foresight that Naftal really wasn’t going to live very long.  And once again, no one would ever choose earth over Heaven, if they were in love with the Lord.  I love to imagine what Jesus and Naftal could be doing.  That’s really special.  I also really hope (and think) he gets to hang out with my Granddad and Adam.

Two:  Simois & Daniel are moving back home next week.  For so many reasons, this breaks my heart but makes me smile.  At first I was only upset, but now I’m mixed up between being really joyful that their family is going to be a real family, and wishing we could all just go to Heaven now like Naftal.  I know this may sound odd, but I don’t like thinking about how Simois and Daniel are moving out of the center into a world where I can’t contact them.  It’s what I fear about moving away from the centre in general.. no longer will I have easy (or any?) access to these boys’ lives and hearts.  I have so much security in Naftal right now that I just so desperately wish I had with all of the boys, especially Simois who I’ve grown so close with.  I’m still processing through all of this, because like I mentioned, it’s great and completely awesome that they get to be a family. I just have to pray for the future of all our boys with a very committed heart.  I want them to grow into men of God and the centre provides a nice(r) bubble for this to happen than (possibly) the community they could live in outside of Iris.  I don’t want to worry about anything, or be discouraged, I know God’s going to work everything for His plan and purpose.  This is going to require a lot of prayer on my part so that God really has HIs time to talk me through everything.

…just thoughts..

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hey guys, i've got some videos up on youtube. couldn't get it on my comp, no time -- but check out youtube: pelicanorc!

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24!!

My birthday is on saturday!!!!!!  BIRTHDAYS ROCK! :o)

fall into my lap

So the whole time I’ve been here I’ve really been learning how to pray and wait for God’s provision.  It’s mainly been with money, but today some pretty cool things happened.  I found out this weekend that I have to move out of my house and into a smaller room in the visitors compound.  **there is a lot of shifting around here as long term missionaries come and go, my move is making room for a couple** For a lot of reasons, this will be a very uncomfortable move, but I’m keeping my head up and very stubbornly telling myself I cannot carry about with a foul mood.  So, I checked out my room today, and in some ways I am looking forward to it :o)  I noticed two things in the room that I will need (or maybe want lol): a desk and a mirror.  I instantly decided to pray about it and let God give me what I need, knowing those are not things to worry over.  Well later on in the day, a fellow missionary told me about a desk that can go in the room!  Ha!  How awesome is that :o)  I actually laughed out loud when she told me because it was just too cool.  *I’m still praying about the mirror!*  Well this is really silly, but, I also prayed for more chocolate.  Haha, crazy I know!  But anyway, the only sweets I have here are chocolates and the bar I’ve been chipping away at in the refrigerator is getting very small.  I’m negative in money right now, so I knew I wouldn’t be buying chocolates any time soon.  Well!!  At the meeting tonight John & Sandra gave all the missionaries chocolate bars!!  Woohoo!  I’ve been learning how to see God as my Father recently, and little lavishing gifts like these make me feel like His beloved daughter. I love how God lets things fall into my lap.   


I’m trying to keep track of these answered prayers, specifically when I ask for things I can’t afford.  Today I got to #17.  That’s like one a week!

that’s what I like about you

1. you can jump out of the car during traffic and buy any of the following: fruit, pasta, rice, vegetables; movies, paintings, boutiques; skirts, t-shirts, tanktops, pants; and my personal favorite: molds for cinderblocks.
    *when the dog bites, when the bee stings*

2. seeing little feet print everywhere in the sand :o) little toe prints make my day better, every day.  i look down and think “awwww that is so cute!” and it never gets old!
    *when i’m feeling sad*

3. never having to carry things from one place to another on base because there is always a boy around to help, especially when buying refrescos & carrying my suitcase –both super heavy.
    *i simply remember my favorite things*

4. sending boys to the market so that i don’t have to walk in the nasty heat :o) and giving them something productive to do during the summertime

      *and then i don’t feel so bad!*

5. eating with my hands

6. refrescos: i LOVE drinking coke out of a glass bottle.  it’s old school and tastes amazingly better. coke light rules.  *there is no diet, they have “light” everything instead*
7. this is a love/hate relationship: my beautiful pink mosquito net, with pretty butterflies.  i feel like an african princess.  but sometimes i just want to fall into bed but i can’t, i have to crawl through my net.
8.  i live at the beach.  the Indian Ocean beach, no less!  it’s the coolest ocean on the map because its the furthest from home! *sweet*
9. the nearby islands and the bay: beautiful and easy/cheap to get to.
10.  all the delicious fresh french loaves and fruit i can find every morning.
11. I get to (re)-learn Portuguese! *this is actually something God’s been showing me slowly: it’s a very safe environment for me to learn one of my native languages, kids don’t really care if you mess up every single word ;-)
12. My family is right next to me :o)  It’s an amazing safety net, a great comfort and such a unique and amazing opportunity to get to know them better!  This time here is going to change our relationships for ever, how cool!
13.  I live at a children’s centre, my boys are here all the time.  Which is completely exhausting a lot of the time.  But it means I get to eat breakfast with them in the morning,  I get to see them during showertime –which is so adorable—and I get to band aid scrapes, oh and hug them good night! i love night time with kids :o). 
14.  Podcasts, this isn’t unique to Africa but it’s definitely unique to my experience: I can download loads of podcasts from home and stay connected :o)

border trip

Wow.. today was so … african!  I had to go to the border and get my visa stamped, something I have to do once a month (long story). The day started with rain.  I was really excited because it hasn’t rained in a long time, maybe a month, and usually it means I get to wear jeans because it’s not hot.  It was humid and rainy all at once though, so I wasn’t in jeans… I decided to wear my white shorts since most of the day would spent in the car.  In my head that meant a skirt would be uncomfortable and they’d probably stay stark white all day.  Well we left right at 9am, me and Gildo (the driver) and all seemed fine… that is, all seemed fine in the first 100 feet of driving.  When we left the center I quickly realized what a journey it would be to get to the border in the rain.  It was a torrential down pour.  The car’s A/C wasn’t working very well (but it’s the only car with A/C)and there was no heat to speak of, making the windows wet inside and out, so I couldn’t see what was in front of me.  I prayed Gildo could. Here’s a little history about Mozambique: freedom from Portugal: 1975, end of civil war: 1995; country-wide floods: 2000.  So every time it rains, it’s really flooding.  Thus, the toll was closed which meant we had to go the long way; the long way on top of the slow driving due to rain!  And, Gildo was taking our truck off the road and driving through huge puddles most Americans avoid, in order to get in front of the traffic!  Basically, he was doing exactly the opposite of what Americans are taught to do –scary!  Oh my gosh, it took 3 hours to get to the border, which is how long it should take round trip!

Well everything at the border went well, which is an amazing blessing, and kept my spirits high for a most of the rest of the day.  Right when we left the border Gildo slows down and says, what I understood as: I’m tired.  But no, oh no, he was saying “oh no, the tire.”  So we pull over and he jumps out to check out the tire.  In true Mozambican culture, we end up with five guys helping us.  So I just stayed in the car, even though I wanted to help (because I love cars) I thought staying dry was a better option :o)  I ended up just furthering the stereotype of white people being lazy and girls knowing nothing of cars…but again, I thought being dry was a much better choice.  So they put the spare tire on, and for whatever reason, the decision is made that this spare isn’t good and we need to fix our original tire before trying to make it home.  From later observation, I’m pretty certain there was next-to-no tread on this spare tire.  So we drive two minutes with the guys who helped us hitching a ride in the back of the truck and land at a little place that apparently fixes cars.  I’m in a small heaven here :o)  First of all, the guy who’s working there looks my age and he’s really cute.  But more importantly, I get to hang out at a car shop and watch this guy fix the tire in Africa!  It was awesome.  This, like the border stop, kept my spirits high.  I took the liberty to walk around and check everything out, it was really fun!  So after ten minutes and 100 mets ($3) we’re off again on our original tire. 


This is when it really got fun, about ten minutes –no, five minutes, into the drive this tire starts making a weird noise.  I point it out to Gildo and he says “It’s fine--”  But before he can finish his sentence the tire totally blows out and we’re on the side of the road for round two.  This time is different in so many ways though… first, we get no help.  Second, I realize Gildo doesn’t really know how to change the tire (probably never having owned a car).  He lifts the truck before loosening the blots, classic beginner mistake.  Well it’s (#3) starting to rain, again, and to add on to the rain the road and every where around the truck is covered with ants (#4).  To try and paint a picture for y’all: the ground is moving there are so many ants.  This is when my attitude to laugh about the day turns immediately into frustration and disgust.  I have ants and rain all over me!  Eww.  Difference #5.  So I try to show Gildo how to loosen the bolts (the only way me and my mom could ever do it was to stand on the wrench and bounce a little) and he gets them loose in no time.  *white shorts, not so white anymore*  Then he tells me to get in the car, which I do immediately because I’m really tired of constantly stomping my feet to keep the ants off (which doesn't work any way).  I literally couldn’t make contact with my feet to the ground with out having ants on me.  Moving on, I’m back in the truck again because I didn’t need Gildo to tell me twice.  He ends up finishing about ten minutes later and jumps into the car –dripping wet.  I felt so bad for him, he was wet pants and shirt all the same.

We’re on the road again, and this time it looks like we’ll make it home.  This is where it’s important to remember that little detail about the spare tire not having tread left.  I was literally praying the first 30 minutes into the drive home because I was so scared.  Gildo didn’t seem to get that you have to nice and gentle with spare tires, he was taking the turns at 180kph.  I don’t even want to know what that is mph. :o)  And this is the tire on my side, too!  We stop at the first gas station we see to get more fuel and I go in to buy chocolate.  Because at this point, I need comfort food, and it’s 2pm so I need food in general hah.  I bought two cokes, two sandwiches and a big chocolate bar.  It was great that this place had sandwiches, uncommon for gas stations :o)  I got home around 3pm, three hours later than I had expected.  All in all, I got what I need done and I was home safe: good day. Nothing went according to plan: African day.