He's Back!

On Wednesday after we got back from the Leprosy place, we are putting the final touches on the John & Laura’s room… only to find out that they missed their flight in London which started a snowball effect. And they have been told that Saturday is the next available flight out of Johannesburg to Pemba!!

So we spend the afternoon at the hospital getting an x-ray for Juma’s chest. Then tomorrow we have to take the x-ray to the private clinic to see if he has Pneumonia or Tuberculosis.

Oh one thing that I don’t think I’ve mentioned is that we decided to bring Juma back to the Center to live. It was becoming fairly clear that he is better off with us. The kids have been out of school for the last two or three weeks but in this time we have been unable to get him into a school closer to home and he is unable to walk to this school from his house. In addition to school with all of his medical issues, while we don’t have them figured out, when he’s here at least we know what he is eating and if he is taking his medication.

I’m also not really sure what the situation is but he is saying that his mother isn’t feeding him the eggs we are sending home for him each week. So on Sunday after church he came rushing into Julie’s house and told her that he needed to come back, that he wanted to be here. When we asked Cifa about the eggs she said he is eating them, so who know what’s really going on but if he is here we know what he is eating and we are able to keep a better eye on him. So he’s back!

Thursday morning I dropped Julie, Julia, Maria, Cifa, Juma and Billette off at the clinic. We are going away for the weekend to celebrate Nunu and my marriage. We are off to buy food and a few other things for 35 people for the weekend. Nunu and I run all over the markets and it’s down right exhausting.

We eventually get a call from Julie saying they are done, so Nunu and I pop into one more store before going back to get them. As I pull up I can tell something is off.

She tells me that Juma has been bleeding very badly from a toe prick. I guess it was supposed to get bandaged but the nurse didn’t think it was bleeding so he didn’t apply the bandage. But as soon as Juma stepped out the door his foot started gushing blood. Cifa rushed to his side and started wiping the blood from his foot with her hand and then wiping the blood on her clothes and his clothes. Not good.

Cifa, Juma and Bilette sit in the back of the truck, which is very common here in Mozambique. They end up going home to clean up before returning to the Center. It’s just so hard and we can only do so much. How does a clinic take blood from someone in a country ravished with AIDS and not apply a bandage? How do you balance the love of a human with the reality of the highly contagious disease that is running through their veins? I do my best to love unconditionally, but it really is a lot of pressure… knowing that how I treat these kids will shape them into the adults they become. Don’t get me wrong I realize that their entire upbringing isn’t on my shoulders but I am responsible for my actions. I wasn't really there when he started bleeding but I wonder with situations like this how would I respond? 

Our day is nowhere near over, we still have some shopping to do and John & Laura now arrive tonight. They had to buy new tickets through a different airline, but they are on their way!

Welcome dance for John & Laura!

Amido is putting a capalana on Laura.

Prayer Requests:

- This seems like a common one lately but just keep Juma's health in your prayers.

Alemo... A bit more on Leprosy

As promised on Wednesday we went to the Leprosy support place called Alemo. It was such a beautiful experience. We arrived during a literacy class that is offered. The class is open to the public and it’s used to help people become more comfortable with people who had Leprosy. This place was so funny… in a good way. In the kind of way where you just want to put people in your pocket and take them home with you.

Alemo's logo. The tree trunk looks like the hands of someone suffering from
Leprosy and the branches & leaves symbolize the growth and change that
comes from healing. The dead leaves that fall to the ground even symbolize
something but I don't remember exactly.

When we first arrived we met three people, two men and one woman. In one way or another they run the place. I think the man who spoke the most had Leprosy as his hands were deformed. He was so passionate and so proud (as he should be) of his work. The woman was so cute, she told us she was happy to have woman visitors. And she asked us not only our first names but insisted on our last names too. “Nichols” popped out of my mouth and then I was like… “oh wait Macarrao” (I think that was the first time someone asked my name since marriage)… the lady thought it was sooooo funny that I didn’t know my last name… and so we all got a really good laugh.

After a quick overview of what they do, we went out to meet the students. They asked us to introduce ourselves and then one by one all 20 of them introduced themselves to us… first and last name. They sang a song for us and then asked that we do the same in return. It was a little awkward, but did our best version of Amazing Grace. I asked if I could take a picture and they said yes, as long as I showed it to the people. So that is what I did… I walked along the front of the classroom with my camera showing each person the group picture I had just taken.

On our tour we also saw the infirmary… a simple small room with a low ceiling. Not many medical supplies as far as I could see but there was one cart of gauze and stuff. We also saw that they had a corn mill. It was just one man standing in a room with 2 or 3 large machines, everything was covered in white, even the man… as if it had just snowed. They use the sales from the mill to help run the facility.

We also met two men who were soaking and cleaning their feet, a vital part in warding off infection. It’s kind of odd looking at these men, wondering just what their feet look like. Are their feet infected? Do they have legions? What does a legion even look like? But never in a million years would I ask to look at their feet, but before I know it our tour guide has asked.

The first man pulls his foot from the red wash tub. I’m not sure what I expected but it’s not this. He basically has a hole the size of a half dollar in his foot, but there is no blood. It’s just a hole. There is nothing gross about his foot, it just looks SO painful. The next man pulls his foot and he too has a hole, but his is shaped more like a 4” carrot. I suddenly understand just what the doctor was telling us yesterday… people whose nerves are damaged from leprosy wear holes in their feet because their body never sends the signal to readjust how they are walking and standing.

As we continue to walk around, I notice that everyone has on good shoes. While flips flops similar to the ones at Old Navy are what most wear, I’m seeing much sturdier sandals like Tevas and gym shoes. Even if people have on Tevas, they also have on socks.

Our tour ends in a rooms that is full of pottery. Handmade bowls and vases, they all are a burnt shade of orange with some dark silver highlights. We eventually find out that the woman makes them and they are sold to help the organization. I get a little lost in translation but eventually figure that she has said she wants to give us some of these but the I can tell that the Leprosy doctor is trying to politely say no.

We realize that the price of the pottery is written on the side of each piece. Things range from 10 mzn (36 cents) to 25 mzn (89 cents). It might sound strange to refuse a gift that costs so little but it’s so hard to accept knowing how much little bits of money help people. This is one of those times that I don’t question paying more than the asking price.

The Alemo staff, Julia, Julie and I with our new pottery.

Before we left, I asked if we could take pictures with our pottery and the lady who made them and they all said yes… but once again the condition was that we show them our pictures. The woman beamed as I showed her, it was such an awesome morning. 

Leprosy??

On Tuesday, I drove Julie and Julia around again. We first went to the Leprosy Mission. A missionary Julia knows works for the Leprosy Mission. It was quite interesting. While Leprosy has been eradicated in most of the world, there are a few countries that are infected. There was a map on the wall (it didn’t exactly look current, but I’m not sure what year it was made) that highlighted Brazil, a few small countries in Asia, and two African countries… one of which is Mozambique.

Walking in, I honestly didn’t know much (if anything) about Leprosy. I found this visit really interesting. Leprosy is “usually spread person to person by respiratory droplets” (according to wikipedia). Meaning if you are talking with someone and they sneeze or spit when they talk and you breathe it in. The other scary thing about the disease is that you can be infected for up to six years before you ever have any symptoms. But don’t freak out just yet Wikipedia also says that 95% of people are naturally immune.

The most common symptom of Leprosy is a rash that loses feeling. Meaning if you poke or touch the middle of the rash, you can’t feel it. Leprosy is curable but you can live with the effects of it for the rest of your life, depending on how early on you started getting treated. The most common problem is that you lose feeling in your feet and hands. So if you pick up a pan that is hot, you don’t feel the burn but you end up with third degree burns.

The biggest problem is your feet though. Think about a day that you spend on your feet. Even if you are standing still, your feet get sore and you constantly change your position. You move your body weight from one foot to the other from heal to toe and so on. Well if you lose the feeling in your foot, your body no longer communicates that it’s time to shift your weight. So people with Leprosy end up with legions on your feet. But you don’t even feel them, so you have to constantly be checking your feet and hands to make sure you haven’t hurt yourself or began developing a legion, which could get infected.

We learned that one of the things that the Leprosy Mission does is help set up support groups from people who are in recovery or have recovered (I’m not sure what to call them but those who aren’t contagious). Julia asks if there is a local support group and if the PA’s would be able to spend a day there.

To make a long story short, not only can the PA’s visit there but we are going to see the place tomorrow! I’m not really sure what to expect, but I so curious now.

We head out and while sitting in the car we call another contact and decide to swing by Food for the Hungry (FH). We meet with the Director and try to gain a better understanding of what they are doing.

I guess even thought their office is in Pemba they are actually working about 8 hours to the North. They have developed a system to try improving the quality of life. They have this amazing set of 8 picture books that explain everything from how you should defecate near or in your water source to how a baby will need to eat 24 hours a day. Since many in the villages can’t read, the picture books are perfect. The drawings tell the story… it’s awesome!

Then they have one contact in each area who teaches the material to “mother leaders” who have been appointed in their village. Then the mother leaders commit to work with 10 families from their village.

They also work with farmers. They focus on foods that the locals don’t eat which helps to ensure that the farmer will make a profit… since he won’t be eating his crop. One thing they focus on is sesame seed. They also have helped to start a share cropper network. While a big sesame seed company won’t pay to have 20 kilos of seeds transported they will pay for a truck load. The share cropping has done so well that they have even created a system of pooling their money to help each others farms grow.

I’m sure I didn’t get all that this guy was saying and this probably isn’t the most exciting post I’ve ever written but I get so encouraged to see how other ministries are helping Mozambicans. I feel like it helps me to think more outside of the box and to think bigger. I think it also keeps me in check… am I putting band-aids on problems or am I helping to come up with life long solutions. Am I seeing a problem that really isn’t important?

I really love that song by Hosanna (by Hillsong and so many others), the lyrics are “break my heart for what breaks yours.” It’s easy for my heart to break because of the things I’m used to, because of the high standard I have being from the States. But I have to try to see things from a different perspective… God’s perspective… what breaks His heart? 

You... Big Problem

The last few weeks have been so exhausting… the thought of reliving the events in this blog makes me want to take a nap. But I will do my best to share what I’ve been up to.

One of our visitors names in Julie to try to keep things clear, I will refer to the visitor as Julie. When I say Julia, I’m talking about our full time missionary.

In mid September we have to PA (Physician Assistant) students coming to do their medical rotation with us. Julie and Julia have been overseeing this as they are both PA’s themselves. While Julie is here, she and Julia will be spending much of their time looking into the medical community to see if there are possibilities for the PA students to shadow different aspects of health care in Pemba.

Julia’s drivers license was stolen while she was in Brazil and so she is trying not to drive. She was able to finally find a photocopy and requested a new DL, but by the time it got to her mom’s house she didn’t have the time to mail it to Julie. So it will come Wednesday with our second set of visitors. Until then, I’m the official driver.

On Monday we went to IRIS Ministries. IRIS is the big orphanage in town and they also have a medical clinic. We met with a South African (or maybe Australian) doctor and she explained that they see 20 patients each day and also do outreaches to remote communities on Mondays and Thursdays.

It was interesting but I guess it’s kinda what I would expect from a Clinic.  There was a cluster of people just outside the door sitting on a porch. Some with very obvious ailments, such as a misshapen leg and others who you not sure what is wrong. They had two national staff that helped with the bandaging; I think they both want to study medicine to be nurses. The inside was a nice organized space, they were bandaging someone so I didn’t look to closely. But from the other room, I could see drawers of medical supplies… everything put neatly in it’s place.

The afternoon we spent driving all over the villages looking for Maternity Clinics. Maria our house mom was giving directions, but here directions were all based on the way she walks. On a few occasions I wound all over a village to find it and then on the way out we were only two minutes from the road.

The Maternity Clinics were very interesting. They are located in the villages and that is where most locals go for their prenatal care as well as delivery. The first one we went to was constructed of cement blocks, the exterior was nicely painted… the bottom half of the building was peach and the top half white.

A nurse and a helper run this clinic. The nurse was very talkative as Julia explained about the PA students coming and how they want to offer a class for expecting mothers. We were given a tour. We walked in through the double doors and immediately took a right. We were in a hallway that was about 20 feet in length. The hallway had about 4 rooms off of it. The rooms did not have doors, rather the opening was the size of the room and then there was a simple metal framed three-partition screen for privacy. The rooms were very small and each had a very simple metal cot covered by some sort of vinyl or plastic (whatever it was it looked easy to wipe off). One room had a young woman laying on the bed. She was sort of rocking herself side to side, but she was facing the wall and so I couldn’t tell what was wrong.

At the end of the hall there was a room. It had eight simple metal framed beds each with it’s own mosquito net and there was one tv in the middle of the room. I felt horrible as soon as I walked in because the first thought in my mind was that it looked like how the movies portray old Phyc wards in scary movies. I’m not really sure why I thought that other than that it was so simple, plain and white… with the exception of the bug nets.

In this room there were three woman and their new born babies. All the babies were wrapped in colorful capalanas (common fabric, usually with beautiful designs). One woman was at the bed right by the door and she positioned her baby so we could see. The baby had been born yesterday!

We went back out the same way we came in and she pointed to a room that was an office and another room that was for prenatal exams and such. The nurse told us that the rooms off the hallway were for delivery. It was kind of surprising though because the young lady I saw didn’t appear to have a big baby bump. But it didn’t feel right to ask.

This woman was very excited about our classes for new mothers saying that they try to teach them the importance of things like Iron and even good hygiene. I can’t remember the statistics right now but I know that many babies die before they reach the age of two in Mozambique.

We ask about medication during labor and the nurse tells us that it is only provided if the mother can pay for it. I’m not sure of the cost, but I would guess that many women go without. I also highly doubt they are administering epidurals in these Clinics, but I didn’t think to ask what the medication was.

We wound our way to another clinic. This one I had to squeeze our truck between a fence and a jagged rock. My depth perception for the left side of the car is so off, being that we drive on the right. And the mirror is messed up on the left, so I’ve never really figured out my bearings. So I skimmed the fence and Julia had to get out and help me. We arrive at the Clinic and while the first one made me think of a Phyc ward, this one… was scary. The outside had once been painted blue and white but the years have gathered layer after layer of dirt… or maybe it was chipped paint. This clinic also had a massive tree growing about three feet from it’s door. So rather than walking up steps, we had to maneuver our way up tree roots.

The inside was just as dark as the outside. But it was pretty much the same thing as the first Clinic, minus the white walls. We only walked in and walked out. When we got back into the car, we went out a different way and easily found the road. Well we found it but we couldn’t get to it. The main streets are lined with these big cement water ways for when it rains. Some of them you can drive over and some of them the angle is to sharp to drive over, so there are footbridges. Well this one just has a footbridge and when I look left and look right, all I see are footbridges. There are some kids around us and I can tell they are thinking what is this girl doing.

Maria tells me to go left and so I wind my way around electricity pole and people, all while I have fences and homes a few feet to my left and the cement drop off to my right. I think eventually we will hit the road and there won’t be a water drain, but I’m not really sure. So we drive for a few minutes and sure enough we are able to get back on the road.

We are now driving along the Indian ocean (that’s so fun to say!) I notice the road splits and so I go to the left, but Maria motions for me to go to the right. So I break a little and then realize no I’m going the right way, it’s then that I look up I see the police about 50 feet up ahead. So I get nervous and try to start driving.

Our truck is diesel and it’s stick. So it’s powerful and I have to shift with my left hand. A few times each day I lose 3^rd gear. I’m not sure where it goes, I think that is what I’m shifting to but I either end up in 1^st or 5^th … both gears give the truck a good shake and it sounds like I am revving the engine. I try to play it cool and shift into 3^rd gear, but I miss. And I draw a lot of attention from the police.

In Mozambique the police stand on both sides of the street and just motion you to pull over if they want you to. Sometimes they have a reason, but often it’s just to check to make sure you have all the required papers. My heart sinks a little and my stomach is instantly full of butterflies as the police officer mentions for me to pull over.

Julia says that she isn’t going to speak Portuguese unless she needs to and just to do my best. I put down my window and he just starts talking. I give the most innocent smile I have and say in Portuguese, “I only speak a little Portuguese.” I offer him my International Drivers License and he says something I don’t understand. Julia says quietly give him the car documentation. So I pull down the sun visor and hand him whatever papers are there and he takes what he needs.

He walks around the car looking at our registration and who knows what else. He comes back and says…  “You, Big problem.” And more Portuguese, Julia again in a little voice says give him your passport. I had that to him and his mood just changes. He becomes happy and starts making jokes… even Maria in the passenger seat is laughing. He hands me all my papers back and tells me to have a good afternoon.

As we pull away, Julia asks Maria to repeat what the police officer said. Laughing she talks to Julia in Portuguese and then Julia tells me that he said that he wanted to marry me!

We go to one more Maternity Clinic. This one is by far the easiest to get to, which I’m happy because I’m not sure how much more driving my stress level can take today! This Clinic looks fairly new, it’s all white inside and out. When it comes down to it all three clinics were pretty much the same, the difference was just how clean the space felt. There is one thing at this Clinic that strikes me as odd. When we are in the delivery room, which is much bigger than at the first clinic and it’s full of equipment. I look near the door and I see two pairs of white rain boots. My gut reaction is that it’s because of the blood during delivery and it freaks me out… a bit later, either my common sense or desire for justification jumps in and I decide the boots must be for clean up. But it’s an image that will stay in my mind for a long time.

Driving is exhausting but it’s so interesting to see some of these places that I’ve never seen before. It’s also fun to meet people, like the first nurse, and see their passion for what they are doing as well as their desire to help people.

I later found out that Maria, had six children and two of her daughters died in child birth in the clinic we visited. One of the babies was still born and the other died a few weeks after.

Days like these are so full of emotions, and this was just one day. While it’s hard seeing some things, I can’t say enough how happy I am to be in Mozambique!

Welcome to Projecto Sonho!

I think I mentioned that we have a few visitors coming though in August. The last few weeks have been busy preparing for them. So I haven't had much time to write and blog, but I want to keep you all in the loop... so I've decided to do a photo blog =) 

Ben and Julie first arrived at Projecto Sonho on Sunday morning and joined us for church. Our children have been preparing a dance for all of the visitors and so below are pictures of the dance and our church services.

Sunday morning church service at Projecto Sonho.

Worship leaders... Ernesto, Antonio & Izack

Ben & Julie

Let the dancing begin!

Don't you just love the matching outfits!!

Joao... what a smile 

Some of the neighbor girls joined us for church. They started giggling when I  pointed my camera at them.

Joao, Juma G, Nelson, Izack, Njuale, Antonio, Latino
Osvaldo, Pedro, Juma P, Helder, Amido
These are the boys that live at our house, minus Carlos.
Antonio is one of our community kids.

The whole gang!