A day in the life...

Since getting here I have been meaning to write about what a day is like for the boys. So here is my best attempt at doing that.
On weekdays the boys are up no later than 5am, but sometimes as early as 4am. They start there day off with a time of singing and prayer. After that they all have chores. They sweep the yard, their rooms, do any dishes left over from the night before and do their laundry. For breakfast they eat bread and drink tea.
School here operates in half days. Some kids go from 7am till noon and others go from noon to 5pm. The kids that aren’t in school get tutored at least two days a week by some of the workers or even the older children. All the kids eat lunch at the center, either before or after school. Lunch is usually beans and rice.
The music teacher, Daniel, comes a few days a week to teach the kids to play the piano and the guitar. They all have time slots and get lessons each week and then practice when the keyboard isn’t in use. Some days the keyboard is played from sunrise to sunset.
The art teacher, Zito, comes two days a week and helps the kids make cards and necklaces. It is amazing watching the kids and Zito create the cards with such simple tools.
Dinner is usually sometime between 5 and 6pm. Dinner is usually a starch and a protein or salad (if a large serving of protein was served at lunch). The starches are rice, spaghetti or sheema. I just found out that sheema is basically flour cooked over the stove with water, no wonder it tastes like nothing. The protein varies each day from beans, fish, or goat meat. Salad is cabbage and cucumbers and sometimes a banana or other seasonal fruit.
At 7pm the boys all gather to talk over their day. They all sit in a circle and one of the Maputo guys goes around asking them to share about their day. They usually say things like “my day was good, I went to school.” Sometimes they share about how something bad happened to them or a funny story. Last night Latino shared that on his way to school his pants split open and riding his bike made the hole get bigger and bigger. He ended up stopping to ask a taylor to fix his pants. He explained to the man that he didn’t have any money but wouldn’t be able to go to school with the hole in his pants. The man fixed his pants while Latino waited in his underwear… everybody got a good laugh out of that story.

The kids start making their way to bed around 8 and lights go out at 9. All the boys share one shower and so there is usually a line for that and others try to do more laundry.
On Friday night the kids get to watch a movie. They have tv in the common room and a DVD/VHS player. They mainly watch movies in English and they talk though the whole thing, but they love to laugh at the funny parts. The tv is locked up during the week and only gets brought out for the 3 or so hours of watching. Bedtime is extended to lights out at 10pm and the kids get to sleep in until 6am on the weekend.

Depending on who is around is what shapes the weekend. When Julie was here the kids went to IRIS ministries for church in the morning and then we all went to the beach in the afternoon. Now that Michael is here the kids have the option to attend the church of their choice but we also have service at the house.

Hopefully I'll have more pictures next week, but I didn't realize that I wouldn't be able to get the ones I took last week off of my camera...
 
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020325&id=102500461&l=51b516af63

The foot Doctor is in?!

These kids constantly think they are sick… especially Pedro. He has gotten so bad about my “medicine” that I’ve had to cut him off from band-aids and I’ve started telling him that he can’t have pepto bismal tablets unless he lays down… I mean if your stomach hurts laying down makes sense right?
The funny thing is it isn’t just the kids. I gave Michael some nasal decongestant and when I left his place 4 adults were grabbing their throats asking for medicine. I’m also apparently the local foot doctor. Ugh I hate feet! With all the walking and poor shoes here it makes sense that there are a lot of foot problems. I’m just like I’m no doctor people but they think I have medicine for everything. I do my best to clean the cuts and put Neosporin on them, hoping they don’t get infected. The “best” part about being the local “doctor” is that most people come to me days after getting cut… so yep things are infected. Amido had a cut on his leg and we had to poke it with a needle to get the puss out before I could do anything. I looked away for a minute and he grabbed a rusty nail off of my floor and went to poke it… I was like “NOOOOO!!” The Juma G came to me with a cut on the bottom of his foot and there was so much dirt in it that I had to try to cut it open enough to attempt to clean it. I was using a needle for that too and Pedro brought me this rusted up exacto blade and I was like “no dirty!” In total I’ve clean 6 feet, 2 shins and 1 elbow. I’m sure glad I brought gloves.
It pains me to tell you that my mouse problems aren’t over. I noticed more poop and set my trap near the door again. I woke up this morning to really weird screaming noises, but the boys run around right outside of my window… so it’s normal. I usually lay in bed trying to figure out who is making the noises until I fall back asleep, as I was listening to this noise I noticed that something was scratching/sliding on the floor. I popped up really quick, put my glasses on, grabbed my flashlight and looked at my trap only to find a mouse screaming and trying to escape the sticky glue!
The funny thing about this is that modesty is big here and so for me to go running out of my room first thing in the morning isn’t ideal… so I’ve altered my pajamas keeping that in mind. It was a good thing too, because from the safety of my mosquito net I leap of the bed put my shoes on and am out the door looking for someone to help. These kids sit on the porch all day but when I need them they are nowhere to be found. Luckily I found Momade and he came and got the little sucker. I got a good look at this guy and he looked more like a little rat than a mouse, about 4 inches in length. It gave me the chills thinking about his screams.

The boys all think it’s hilarious that I don’t like mice, so they got a good laugh while I was sitting out on the porch at 7am trying to work up the courage to get back in my bed. I finally make it try to carry on like it is any other morning. I start out by listen to my ipod the first song is always “Lead me to the Cross” by Francesca Battistelli. I had my eyes closed just trying to relax and take in the words. I was about 2 or 3 songs in when I opened my eyes and saw a mouse climbing up my window!!! I screamed and he fell onto my bed! The only thing that separated us was my bug net. I flew and I mean flew off of my bed and went running out the door yelling for the boys to go find it.

They went in and I got the dogs (who like to eat mice). The kids and Daniel took my room apart looking for the little guy, but they didn’t find him. Sumate was out there when I went flying out of my room and I don’t think he will ever let me forget how I reacted. All day every time he sees me he starts laughing… ugh. Apparently girls here aren’t afraid of mice.

I probably stood on the porch bare knees without shoes on for an hour. It’s just funny and hard because no one relates… it’s a strange cultural difference but it definitely is a difference.

Uggs?

My visa was only for 30 days and so I had to go apply for another 30 visa. Michael also needs to renew his Dire (similar to resident visa), so we’ve made several trips to immigration. My visa only took 3 trips but I was so afraid that they were going to keep telling me to change the text in my letter explaining why I was here. The Dire on the other hand… I’ve lost track as to how many times Michael has gone to immigration. You go and they tell you go get this document translated at an official office. You come back and they then tell you one more thing to go do. It really is a strange system. I had to give them my visa for a week, which is also nerve wracking but at least I have copies of it =)
If you checked out my Facebook profile picture then you’ve already heard part of this story, but it’s cute. Juma P has become my little buddy. Even though he is 7, he like a 4 year old (if not younger). He usually takes an afternoon nap where ever he gets tired. He comes to my door a lot in the afternoon while I’m typing and so I’ve started inviting him in to sit in my other chair. It’s crazy how such a little gesture can put a smile on a child’s face. He sits down watches me type for a few minutes and then he passes out. Sometimes he sits on my lap and one day I asked him if he wanted a hug, but he speaks no English so of course he had no clue what I was asking. I hugged him a few times and would say “hug” while I was doing so.
The next day when Juma was standing in my door as he often does I said “Hug?” to which he put his head down, smiled and shook his head “yes.” Later that night I ran to Michael’s place to grab something and heard Juma talking to me while I walked over there. I was in a hurry and didn’t really pay attention because I never have any idea what he is saying. When I got inside he waited on the steps for me and when I came out and was locking the door I heard the cutest little voice say “uggs?” My heart melted and I looked at him and said, “do you want a hug?” and he shook his head “yes.” This has become a daily thing for us and has expanded into him taking a few of his daily naps on my lap.
Some of the older boys think it’s really funny and some of the middle kids try to be cool about asking for hugs and even tease me about it by chanting “hugs.” The ones who tease are of course the ones who want hugs themselves. I ususally try to force a hug on them when they tease me about it. The other night we were watching a movie together and Juma P asked for a hug as he was going to bed and it started a waterfall effect where Pedro, Amido and Juma G asked for hugs. How is it that something so simple can impact my life and their lives so much?

Prayer |Requests:
- Continued health. I'm still taking my Malaria pills but some days I forget. I don't like them. They are suposed to make me more sensative to the sun but when I put sunblock on it stings... same thing with bug spray. Also if I don't have just the right amount of food in my stomach I get sick. On the bright side I found out that there are different types of Malaira and the type here just gives you the flu and you take meds to cure it. In other parts of the world you get it and have it for the rest of your life.

Go play in the STREET!

Last Monday some guys came out the dig a new drainage field for our septic system, because our current field leaks whenever it rains (stuff bubbles up). The hole is about 10’ deep and was supposed to be about 6’x 8’. The entire project was supposed to take 4 days. Well the one edge of the hole keeps collapsing which keeps adding to what they have to dig, by hand no less. The hole was finally dug and the guy doing the work went to cash our check to buy materials and it bounced and we didn’t get money wired till the following Monday. One night we got a really bad rain storm and when I work up there was about 7’ of water in the hole, which by now has spread to 8’x 12’. It took two days for the guys to remove all the rain water, using oil jugs with holes cut in the side and rope. One bucket at a time for two days. Last night I noticed that one of the guys was in the hole shoveling out some of the mud from the bottom of the hole, they had finally finished. About a half an hour later I noticed the most disgusting smell and I looked out and everyone was standing around the hole with their hands over their noses. Another chunk of ground had caved in and it opened up to the old drainage field. Yuck Yuck Yuck! For 30 minutes it was like Niagra Falls pouring into the hole and it smelled so bad I had to wet a wash cloth and put it over my nose.
We are now on day 11 with a big hole and huge pile of dirt right in front of the house and about 5’ from my window. Michael was able to find a sewage waste company to come out and drain our hole and septic tank, but that is an additional $250 that we didn’t budget. I laughed at the check bouncing, more than anything because I think it’s good for people to see that the ‘white’ people don’t have an endless supply of money. It is hard though because money is tight for the organization right now and even though someone stateside made a donation for the septic system repairs we have surpassed the donation. Where does the money come from then? Michael. I’m amazed at how many times both Michael and Julie have dipped into their own pockets to cover expenses that we didn’t budget for. There is always something and none of it is cheap.

Yesterday the guys pulled 4000 Liters out of the hole, they came back to finish the job but their truck wasn’t working. They were supposed to come back at 7am today, but I think it was raining. When I looked out my window this morning the hole was full again because of the rain last night. With all the rain we’ve been getting how is this hole ever going to get filled?!

The hole has made life interesting at the house. It was about 5’ from the door when it started and now is probably less than 3’. I brought a few soccer balls from the states and laugh every time a kid asks to use it and I say “Go play in the street!” Of course no one here thinks that is funny but I laugh every time.

Prayer Request:
- Please continue to pray for Pedro, I still don't know what to do with him most days.
- My computer... it is still having problems and now 2 of my memory cards aren't working right either. So I am not able to get the pictures off of them. I'm hoping that I will be able to get a mini usb to usb to try to pull them off the camera that way.

Just say no to bugs.

I'm happy to report that things have slowed down here. Not a whole let has been happening, partly because I"ve spent so much time in my room writing blogs!

The biggest adventure of this week was taking the shopa. It's their version of public transportation. It cost 5 MZN (less than $.15) and you basically get what you pay for. When Nunu told me how cheap the shopa was I commented how cheap that was and it's times like this I feel like a spoiled brat. His response was "Not for most people." They range from the 'nicer' (nice only cause there is more room) bus that seats 3 across to a van that has seats for about 10... the thing is they pile as many people in as humanly possible.

Nunu also showed me around town, not that there is really much to see, but you just get such a different feel for an area when you walk it.

I've also been hanging out with Nunu, Santos, Sumate and Ernesto a lot more. I'm not sure if they just decided that I don't bite or if it took them some time to warm up to me. I've said it before, they are all amazing and I love to watch them interact with each other. The other night I was in there room (which is about half the size of mine) to watch a movie. There room is very small it has room for 2 bunk beds and 2 storage shelves and that is it. The fan basically takes up the rest of the floor. Anyways it's a tight fit and I was sitting on Santos' bed and the other three guys laid/sat on the other bed. Correct me if I am wrong, but I just don't think to many American guys their age would have done so. It was just one of those moments were I have to convience myself not to smile.

After a few hours of watching movies with the guys Santos decided to tell me that something in his bed has been biting him at night... I was like great. Sure enough the next day I had red marks on my arms and I went to see if that is what he was talking about, but of course with the difference in our skin color we couldn't compare.

Sure enough this morning I have more bites and more than likly I have bed bugs!

I've also had some funny conversations with them trying to explain Sunburn and why I have to wear Sunblock and what aloe is for. It is hard to explain what a sun burn feels like, but I ended up putting aloe on Santos' arm and sticking it in front of the fan to be like this is the only thing that makes it feel good after you get burned.

So more on the bugs, my computer is also having issues. I have a memory card that isn't working right and so I haven't been able to pull pictures off of it. I'm pretty sure it has a bug.

I guess all of my prayer requests have to do with bugs right now =) If you all could pray for my bed and my computer I would really apperciate it!

Amanda

The Beach & The Breeze

I typed this blog while I was still in Moz... it should have posted between "The Market" and "Just say not to bugs" not sure why it didn't post, but enjoy. More blogs to come soon!

Julie and Adriano left today. Everyone went to the airport to see them off. We packed as many people in the truck as we could and then the rest of them made the 10 minute walk to the airport. Now it’s just me and the boys, I’m the only female sleeping in the house. It will be good though, because I will be able to get to know Michael better and see what he does here and I will have more time with the boys.

After the airport I walked to the beach with Ernesto, Joao and Mack. It was probably a 30 minute walk, but it’s nice to get out. I was also really excited because when I was cleaning out the garage I found a Frisbee, so I brought that along. As we walked the beach we saw a few of our kids running around and eventually we came across Nunu and Santos sitting talking, so we joined them. We eventually got up to play Frisbee and it made my day! The funniest thing was that Nunu was near the water and there were big piles of dried seaweed, so depending on the throw he would have to jump up on one. I threw it to him and I thought he tripped, but everyone was laughing so hard. Well I finally realized that he split his pants and then I could barely throw the Frisbee I was laughing so hard.

I think I like walking so much here because there is always a good conversation, with Joao and Ernesto other days and with Nunu today. Every day that we are out I see two guys holding hands, so I asked him about that. I guess it is a cultural thing and the norm to walk down the street holding your friends hand. Not that I wondered if there were homosexuals in Africa, I just wondered more about them being Muslims or if they were ostersized from the community. He just said yeah there are homosexuals and you see them more at night. I also found out from him that a lot of Muslims in Pemba still have arranged marriages.

The power had been off all day probably about 12 hours by now. When we go to the house I was praying that we would have power, but we didn’t. I was now hot, sticky and sweaty from the walk back from the beach. I was trying to work myself into taking a bucket shower, when poof the lights came on and at the same time the most amazing heavenly breeze started blowing. Even though I wasn’t praying for those things I really feel like God has been using the strangest things to communicate with me here. This time it was with the most beautiful cool breeze on a hot day and the restoration of power.

The other night I was talking movies with the guys and they were telling me about this movie that they like about all these famous painters… the movie may have been called Magliano. So we watched that together. It was good, not the best movie I’ve ever seen. It just makes me mad that I forgot to bring some movies with me. I guess there is always next time =) 

Picture Link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020325&id=102500461&l=51b516af63

Thanks as always for your prayers!

Amanda

The Market

Saturday afternoon we went to the market so the kids could buys some clothes. They were each given 150 MZN, about $4.80. The market we went to was the one near JP’s house and the roads were even worse than the other day. We had to drive through two sections of moving water and the erosion was insane. We got stuck in the second one and as always the community is there to push you out, granted they want money for their work but still it’s an event when we get stuck.

I’ve come to realize that the House or Center is like a bubble. Yeah it’s Africa, but it’s this safe little place that feels like home to me. When I’m in places like this village that is when I realize I’m really here! Julie loves to take Mack with her on our adventures, so today was no different. Mack is the nicest yellow lab, but the Muslims in the area believe that all dogs have venom in their teeth and so they are afraid of him.

When we got out of the truck this little girl picked up a handful of dirt and threw it at Mack and then she acted like she was kicking him twice. As we would be walking people would look at me and Julie kinda curious, and then they would see Mack and there expression would change. They would take two steps to the side, some kids would even turn and run. Also, while we were standing still I noticed kids inching toward me and when I would turn away I feel them rub my arm. By the time I looked back they would be running away rubbing their hand on their face. I started sticking my arm out to let them touch or to shake their hand but I think they were all sure I would rub off on them. 

Eventually when we started walking they wanted to hold my hand. So I walked though the market with as many as five kids holding my hand, wrist, finger… whatever they could. This one little girl kept peering in front of me to my other hand and giggling, by the way they were reacting you would have thought I was famous.

We had to wait for some kids so we sat on this cement step for a bit with our entire entourage there must have been 25 or 30 kids, some of them ours, some we met in the market. My little hand holders sat and stood all around me, including a few girls behind me. Just like with my skin they kept sneaking touches at my hair. I pulled it down for them to play with. They really didn’t do much they just kept smoothing it down and trying to tuck it behind my ears. I just remember being that age and how much I loved playing with hair.

We had a long walk back to the truck and we were escorted most of the way by out entourage.  Once we got out of the market two kids from the house came up and grabbed my hand out of the village kids hands. Not in a mean way but kinda like they were saying “okay, you’ve had her long enough… it’s our turn.” They eventually let go of my hands but I like to walk in the back of groups, not sure why I’ve just always done that. I guess Amido was concerned that I was gonna get lost, so he kept coming back to grab my hand.

I’m so glad that I’m able to be here for so long. I feel like some of the kids are ready to open up the second they see you, while others take weeks to let you in even the slightest bit. A few weeks here just wouldn’t have been long enough, and it breaks my heart knowing that my seven weeks will eventually come to an end.

The older guys have been harder to get to know. I’m not sure why, we just haven’t talked as much. The tides are however changing. Ernesto wanted to make friendship bracelets so the two of us set out to do so and before I knew it the other three joined us. We talked about the funniest stuff too, Sumate has a girlfriend and so we got on the topic of marriage and it was just funny to listen to these four guys tease each other and fill me in on the ongoing jokes. Who would have thought I would have bonded with these guys over friendship bracelets and a marriage discussion. It’s funny how often I forget that these guys are still in High School. They act so much more mature than any 18/19 year olds I know in the states and they have so much more responsibility. They work at the Center, while going to school full time. They discipline, love, care, encourage and live life with these boys. I asked once if they thought that too much was asked of them and they were all looked at me strange and were like “no.” They have all chosen to be here and they actually moved from Maputo (the capital) to work with The Dream Project in Pemba. 

It's funny how many times I think... oh my timing here is perfect! The Maputo guys are just another reason. They arrived late December early January so we would have only crossed paths and they are working on writing support letter and so I have been able to help them with their typing/grammar and add in some pictures. I'm just remembering that when I was talking with them and Julie about their letters and we were talking about how much they are trying to raise... they thought that $200 a month was to much. It was hard to try and explain to them that $200 isn't much to most Americans and that they weren't asking for to much money!

When it rains it pours...

Early Thursday morning the power went out. We have been having lots of rain storms the last few days. It doesn’t just rain here it’s either sun or torrential down pour. This morning it was so nice and cool (78) from the storm that I didn’t even put the batteries in my fan. It was completely silent in my room and when I put my head on my pillow I could hear the mouse! The word for mouse in Portuguese is rato, they don’t differentiate between mice and rats. So sometimes when I hear the thing or see signs of it my mind starts running wild. So that morning I laid there imagining a cute little mouse like you see in Pet-smart. Also the boys think nothing of mice when I tell them there is mouse in my room they don’t even acknowledge it. Julie is always ready to lend an ear when I need to talk about my cockroach and mouse problems =) What am I gonna do once she leaves?!

Today I also got to really experience Africa. We went into one of the village to meet with Juma P’s mom and to hear their story. Driving there was crazy. The center is about a 3 minute walk to a paved road, Juma’s house is probably a 45 minute walk. The main street is lined with bamboo stalls selling things like peanuts, fabric, flip flops, used clothing, soap and other basic necessities.

We wound our way though bamboo fences and houses where we came to a small hole in the ground that was full with water. A mosquito breeding ground no doubt and right next to that was Juma’s house and their latrine. It actually looked like one of the nicer house in the area made of sticks, stones and mud.

Juma’s mother and younger brother were there and I also got to meet his sister Gina. Gina is such a beautiful little girl with an amazing smile. I instantly fell in love with her. She is so shy and you can tell she just wants to fade into the background.

Julie interviewed the family for me and I asked her to try and focus on the positive. Juma’s mom speaks Macua the local tribal language, so Julie would speak to the camera in English, then to Momade in Portugues and he would speak to Juma’s mom in Macua. Her story is heart breaking and it’s difficult to tape and take pictures of such pain and suffering knowing that I’m planning to share something so private.

The house they live in is not their own, rather a woman is letting them borrow it. She fears that one day the woman will show up asking for her house back and they will be put out on the street. I asked Julie what a house would cost and she thinks around $1,500. Might not sound like much but in a community where $100 a month is a good wage, for a woman who doesn’t have a job it’s unthinkable.

At some point her husband died from AIDS and she too has tested positive along with Juma P. She said that much of her family have stopped talking to her, I can’t remember if it is because of the death of her husband or because she has AIDS. Either way she is fighting this battle alone. I will make a video about my conversation with the family and post that once I’m home.

As far as the house itself goes it consists of 2 bedrooms and 2 common rooms. One room has a few bowls and pans and the other contains only a bucket for drinking water with a cup on top. I am surprised at how clean a house with a dirt floor can be kept. There is not bath in the house and up until a few weeks ago they were taking bucket showers in one of the rooms. What changed, The Dream Project built a latrine outside for them to go to the bathroom and take bucket showers. Be sure to see the pictures, it’s crazy how a family can be in need of something so simple.

Michael has officially arrived. While we were in taping the family, he was outside evangelizing to the neighborhood and counted 17 people committing their lives to Christ. Even better he told them he would be back the following Monday to disciple them and teach them more about the Bible.

I also handed out crayons and a sheet of paper to the kids Michael was talking to and three minutes later a group of people showed up wanting them, including this really intimidating woman. It’s just so hard because I have no clue what people are saying and they really don’t smile in daily conversation. Once someone explained that there were no more crayons she was fine. She went to grab this little girl who doesn’t speak, hear, see or walk. Michael prayed for her and it was a very precious moment.

In one of my letters I spoke of Izack’s and Njuale’s mother. She passed away a little over a year ago. She is buried at the cemetery with a simple wood cross marking her grave, and because of that the boys are concerned that someone will bury another person on top of her or something like that. We are trying to figure out how to put a cement cover over her grave to mark it.

Originally we were supposed to get it covered today but we were running out of daylight. We ended up buying cement blocks and cement and other stuff. It turned into a much more expensive project than Julie had thought and Abhrimo thought it would be better to wait till the next day to start at 5:30am.

That night we ate at one of the tourist places where they import everything from South Africa. I got myself a burger and fries with a coke, what a treat… but it still just isn’t the same as at home =)  

Every morning since setting my mouse traps from behind the super protection of my mosquito net I look to see if I have caught any mice. This morning I looked at the spot under the door, but there was no trap. Weird, because I had duct tapped the sucker to the floor since the mouse kept pushing it out of his way. I shine my flashlight all around looking but nothing, so I decide that when the boys swept that morning they must have seen the tape and pulled the trap from under my door and thrown it away.

I spend the next hour or so reading  and decide it’s time to shower. I walk toward the door to turn my radio on and I see movement! It scares me half to death and I have no clue what came out of my mouth... some sort of yelp scream combo. So here I am still in my PJ’s  (shorts and a tank top) trying to decide if I’m dressed appropriately enough for the boys to see me (bc women are supposed to keep their knees covered). I throw on a tee shirt and decide changing my pants would take way to long. I pull open my door to see who is outside and start saying Rato, Rato and gesturing for someone to come help me! Carlos comes in and I cower near my bed, and I’m like get it out and don’t come near me with it… of course he speaks no English. Then I’m like wait I want to see how big it… so I peak over Carlos’ shoulder for half a second cause the little guy is in one of those sticky traps and I hate to see them squirming, I think he was about 4 inches long… yuck! The worst part is Carlos brought me back the trap… he somehow managed to pull the little sucker off of the sticky glue. I tell you these kids are fearless.

Julie then asked me to organize some of the toys in the garage and all I could think about was mice hiding out in the corners of things. It was so hot in the garage, even with a fan I was dripping sweat. I did find some good toys, books and movies for the activities cabinet.

Adriano took me into town to show me all the good places to buy things and I learned that I have to hand over my passport for about 2 weeks. That’s weird to me but in order to extend my visa I have to do that. On the way back to the house, we stopped to get the boys from the cemetery the two hour job turned into a full day of work.

Back at the house Julie tried to pay Abrihimos 500 MZN ($16) for his work keep in mind that a good days wage is 100 MZN ($3.20), he was like no I want 9,500 MZN (about $300)! A few days back he came into the Center asking for work saying he would take whatever we would pay him and so he was hanging some awnings over a few windows for us. Julie never even thought to ask what he would charge because he said pay him what we want. He said that he would normally charge 15,000 MZN but that he was cutting us a ‘deal’ and the reason the price was so high is because the grave yard is filled with bad spirits that could have chased him home and done bad thing to his family.

This is a Christian man, but here in Pemba the belief in spirits and witch doctors is so culturally strong it hard for people to break away from the thinking.

Things here just don’t work like they do in the US and if Abrihimos decides to take us to court and they saw we were white and Abrihimos was native he would win before we even opened our mouths. The truth is that The Dream Project is on a very tight budget over here and we don’t have an extra $300 to pay someone. When someone said this to Abrihimos his response was I know money is tight but you should have asked what the cost was.

Ugh what an ending to a long day. I just sat and listened but there was probably three hours of conversation trying to speak some truth into Abrimhos, but he wouldn’t budge. These are 4 kids with nothing who just wanted to properly cover their mother’s grave. The younger 2 are orphans… it’s just mind boggling. Abrihimos apparently saw the opportunity to take advantage of us and was going for it.

He wouldn’t accecpt any money even when Julie tried to give him either 1000 or 2000 MZN. The next morning he was supposed to come back to finish his other work with the awnings but it was raining. I heard singing and I looked out the window and Abrihimos was out with all the guys singing and worshiping. I won’t even recap all of what happened but after another 3-4 hours of talking with him he finally accepted the 2000 MZN. It was crazy though! 

 

I think the longer I'm here the more evident my Prayer Request become based on my stories. I'll let you know if I have anything additional to what is written in my stories.

For those of you that have commented one way or another... thanks! It's nice to know people enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing.

Love you all!

Amanda

A mouse in my house...

Just so you know all my blogs are about a week behind. This past week has been the most interesting so far, so I have a lot to say! I’ll break the blog up throughout the week just like I did last time.

I realized last Tuesday that I had a roommate. I opened a drawer where I was keeping gauze pads and rubber gloves and thought to myself “I didn’t open those?” It took me a minute to realize there was a mouse in my drawer! My door has a mouse hole in it and I was sure there was a mouse going in and out of my room, but Adriano was trying to tell me that I was seeing Salamander poop…  I know better.

We have a team coming this fall to build some new rooms for the house. We are hoping to purchase one of the neighboring plots of land to expand, but as soon as the neighbors realized that ‘white’ people were interested he tripled the price or something! We are hoping that we can talk them back down and purchase the lot for between $3000 and $5000. So in an unexpected twist I have been able to use my Architecture skills since arriving, well really just my autocad skills. I’ve been drawing up the existing plans and drawing our wish list of buildings and additions or a room here or a bathroom there.

That night while I was in Julie’s place the kids were coming in and out. Pedro came in and was saying that everyone was his brother and then he called me his mother =o (ß my mouth dropping open).  I had no clue until Julie told me after he left, but this kid just worries me. I’m not sure who he thinks I am, I don’t remember when but he asked me if I could bring him back to the US with me. He really just makes things here hard for me when he takes things so far. What stinks the most is that if any other kid were to call me their mom I would be happy, but Pedro just thinks about thing differently and he takes things SOO personally. I’m not even sure how to explain it.

That night when I got back to my room I opened THE drawer and I’m 99% sure that I saw a mouse tale! I immediately went to get the dogs and Adriano, but when they came back there was no sign... although the dog definitely caught the scent of something.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned the dogs yet or not. Most of the dogs here are random strays that my doctor told me to stay away from. She actually told me not to look at them, at the center though we have some dogs. Mack an older yellow lab who Julie was given by a missionary from South Africa, Black aka Blackie a  black street dog who is a GREAT guard dog, and then we this little guy the kids have name Max who wonders in and out of the center. The fear with most dogs here is rabies, but we vaccinate Mack and Black and if Max is around the next time we call the vet he will get shots as well.

Wednesday is when the week started really getting interesting. I was sitting in my room trying to get some work done and I heard people yelling and the dogs barking. At first I thought nothing of it, the kids get loud you have to yell over them sometimes, but once I realized that the dogs kept barking and barking I looked out my window. I saw the music teacher waving his arms and just going off. Then I saw him pick up a rock and whip it at Black. So I went flying out my door and yelled at him.

Turns out he was drunk. He speaks English but he speaks really fast and it is hard to understand, so I’m not really sure what he said to me, but the boys were all like Amanda just go back in your room till he leaves. Shortly after I went back into my room Momade walked him outside of the gate. About half an hour later though I heard the dogs going crazy again, I looked out my window and sure enough it was Daniel. He had calmed down but I could tell he was still ranting about whatever it was, and he left a short time after that. A short time later he came back again, this time I looked out the window and I could tell that Nunu was talking to him.

The American in me was like… he is done. He has no right here with the kids. Not that this justifies his actions but Julie had commented to one of the kids not to let anyone in the house and he took serious offense to that statement.

The leadership team met the next morning as usual and decided that they wanted to walk alongside Daniel and give him another chance. It is times like these that I realize just how different things are here.  Not because of the response but because of the reason behind the response. The leaders here realize that if they kick Daniel out he doesn’t have another outlet. I doubt they have AA here. It definatly isn’t Western thinking but I understand and respect the decision they came to. The only condition was that he apologize to the children for how he acted.

That night I wanted some Milk. Pedro and some of the kids love to run errands, but they were all nowhere to be found. I’m sure I would be fine alone, but it’s a good excuse to spend one on one time with the kids which doesn’t really happen that often. Joao agreed to go with me.t then as we were about to walk out the door Ernesto was like let’s go to the school. We decided to make a big loop and go to school and then to get milk.

This was my first time walking around Pemba so I was actually excited to go with them. It was really fun because we just talk or make attempts to talk. The learned how to say walk and sweat in Portuguese. Ernesto also asked me what an adjective was and I was like oh boy… uh I think it describes something. Here we go again the girl who at 30 still needs her parents to do proof reading is being asked questions about the English language. (Stop laughing Nay!)

We decided to help each other with our language skill with the help of my little Portuguese to English dictionary. Later that night he came in my room and we worked on some words and just tried talking. I feel charades should be part of the training for missionaries… I’m constantly trying to act things out or use my hands to explain what I am saying!

Then I hear a knock on my door and it was Nunu. He said “Amanda I’ve got a question for you… when did George Washington die?” I almost burst out laughing and was like why do you need to know that?! He had a History test today and I think he got it wrong or wanted to check if he got it right or something. I was like I have no clue. I officially feel like the dumb American.

Projecto Sonjho

The Dream Project in Portuguese, Projecto Sonjho.

The kids that live in the house, I’m guessing on their ages. Many of them came to the house without a birth certificate, so we have to create them once they arrive. We currently have 11 living in the house, because social services has asked us to leave a bed open for them in case of emergency. We hope to have an addition built in the fall allowing us to house 2-4 more children.

Amido – abt 8

Carlos – abt 16

Helder  (silent ‘H’) – abt 7

Izack – abt 13

Joao – abt 16

Juma P (Pequeno, because he is the smallest and youngest of the 3) – abt 7

Juma G (Grande – big) – abt 11

Latino – abt 16

Nelson – abt 9

Njuale – abt 13

Pedro – abt 12

We also have some 4 Interns that live in the House. They are like the kids older brothers, making sure the kids are staying on task. It has been amazing to watch them interact with the kids, you can tell how much they look up to these guys. They all go to school during the day, except Nunu who takes night classes.

Sumate – Activities & Family Time/Bed Time

Nunu – Tutor & Administrative (Leadership Team)

Santos – Finances

Ernesto – Wake-Up & Morning worship

The workers are also like family to the kids. You will notice we have many cooks. Many people are in need of work and this way we are able to give them a little bit of money and feed them.  To give you an idea in Pemba, $100 a month is considered a decent wage for most people.

Maria – house mom (Leadership Team)

Daniel – Music (guitar and piano)

Genito – cook

Musa – cook

Antonio – Administrative (Leadership Team)

Zito – Crafts (mainly cards)

Mendes – Night guard

Momade – cook

Geneito - cook

We also have kids we work with in the community. Some of them you would think live in the house, because they are here so often, others come out for lunch during the week or on Saturdays to check in.

Helena (aka Bitta or some sort of nickname – she is Maria’s granddaughter ) – abt 5

Elsa

Chuale – abt 16

Antonio – abt 15

Osvaldo – abt 8

Mateus – abt 16

Anna – abt 8

Juma Mendes (his uncle is Mendes, not actually his last name)

Elicio

Aida

This house really does function like a family.  In fact, a lot of the kids and even some of the adults are related. One example is Izack and Njuale are twins living here and their older brothers are Musa and Genito who both help with the cooking. They have lost both of their parents, but because of The Dream Project they are able to see each other daily.

For Prayer Requests today, please pray for the kids/adults by name =)

It will make them happy to know people in the States are praying for them!

Amanda

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020325&id=102500461&l=51b516af63

Retreat in Paradise

This weekend we went away from Saturday to Sunday. We went one town or so over to Murrebue It was supposed to only take us a half an hour to get there. Our directions were, ”once you get thought the town look for the white sign with blue writing, go left. At the triangle, go left.” Of course we got lost.  Lost in Africa is amazing though, well except for the roads. It just so beautiful out here. The roads make Detroit’s roads look amazing. We were out in the country and when there is a hard rain it really takes a toll on the road. The rule of thumb is drive where the road is the best. You’re supposed to be on the left, but if the best side of the road is on the right that is where you go. Granted there isn’t much traffic out in the country, but still it’s a new experience. One part of the road was so badly damaged from rain the locals had crammed bags full of trash in the space where the water had eroded the road.

I forgot to mention that we got 31 people and 1 dog with food, clothing etc into 2 vehicles. One vehicle is a mid-sized SUV and the other a truck with 5 seats and a roof over the bed of the truck.

The beach we stayed at was so amazingly beautiful, it was paradise. Crystal clear blue ocean and sand so soft it might be mixed with baby powder. We set up tents on the beach for sleeping and I introduced the kids to some Campus Life games. These kids are hilarious and unlike kids in the states, they show NO fear. I mean NO fear for themselves or others. We played Buck Buck, where you jump on each other backs trying to create a big pile of people without anyone falling off and they just threw themselves onto each other with no regard for heads or backs anything. It was so funny to watch them though. We also played a game where you pile things in the center and each person around the edge gets a number and when the number is called people have to run in and grab as much stuff as possible. Granted I probably didn’t set up a big enough game site but you would have thought this was tackle football. The last number I called every kid ran in and we had a huge pile up!

The kids played soccer or football as they call it till dinner… they have so much energy I don’t even know what to do with myself. After dinner we had a fire. The kids were so funny they went out hunting crabs in the dark, armed with bamboo. They would see one making a run for it and then wack it on the head and then bring them back for cooking. I went out with them with my flashlight and I don’t get how on earth they could find these little fast moving crabs in the dark. They dog must have been their secret weapon. They probably got about 20 or so and they would just bring them back and cook them. I ate some at it was much better than what I remember crab tasting like.

The boys began singing around the fire as well. I don’t even know how to describe their singing, but it was so amazing! Jesus was about the only word I could pick up on and they probably even sang some in their tribal language. These boys are just all so talented and full of life, it’s just amazing to watch them be themselves.

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sleep on the beach in Africa… so while everyone else slept in a tent or on a tarp surrounded by all the tents, I slept on a blanket on the sand. I probably should have slept in the really soft sand closer to the water, but I didn’t want to get run over by any crabs =)

The sky was amazing and the stars were so bright, looking around you see no sign of life. No building, no electrical towers, no nothing… just God’s beautiful creation. I probably ruined the moment by reading on the Kindle app on my phone, but I can’t resist a good book and crashing waves.

Sunday morning Adriano and Michael had to run to town, because the kids who packed the food had forgotten the spaghetti for dinner the night before, which threw every meal off. While waiting for them to come back the kids played Uno, Jenga, swam and who knows what else. We all hung out in the shaded area and once the guys arrived back we ate, and had church.

After lunch we played capture the flag. They played on the beach and it appeared as though they all really like the game. I sat the one out and went swimming in the Ocean and took pictures. I still can’t get over how warm the water is here. It’s actually more refreshing to jump in and then get out that it is to stay in the water. 

The weekend was lots of fun, but it was nice to get home and sleep in my little bug protected bed =)

Prayer Request:

-          Continued prayer for health and learning Portuguese.

-          Julie and Adriano are leaving on Sunday for Brazil and then the US. Pray that they are able to accomplish what they need to before they depart and for their stress level.

Same Pictures as last time: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020325&id=102500461&l=51b516af63

Amanda