Agua Gelada... Agua Gelada...

This morning we are meeting with the Luis, he is the son of one of the pastors in town who has been helping The Dream Project (TDP) with the land. I’m told it’s like a 45 minute walk from town to TDP’s land. So that morning I fill up my water bottle just like any day and I figure since we will be outside I should wear some sunblock.

When we meet up with Luis he mentions needing to fill up his water bottle. It’s in this moment I start to wonder just how bad of a walk we are going on… no matter where I’ve gone or what I’ve done in Mozambique no local has ever brought a water bottle.

This would be like the suburbs of Ponta.

We start making our way winding around following sand paths. It quickly becomes evident that we are headed to the middle of nowhere. The sand dunes get bigger, up and down. I feel like a schapa driver, but I’m not avoiding holes in the ground… I’m going to where the shade is. I realize that I should have brought twice as much water.

Cooling off in the shade.

I don’t like to eat first thing in the morning, so I packed a peanut butter sandwich. We’ve been walking for about 25 minutes (40 since my hotel) I ask if we can stop so I can eat it. I’m not really that sweaty but I’m so hot… I imagine my face is beat read. When I ask to stop they walk for about 3 minutes more, it feels like eternity. Especially because we are walking up a dune, but when we get to the top and sit, I realize that because we are on top of a dune the breeze is amazing. We sit in the shade. I eat and reapply sunblock. For the first time I really understand why people take afternoon naps under trees… it’s a different world here under this tree.

The Land! I didn't do a thing to this photo... it's really this beautiful!

The rest of the walk seems to fly and we are at the land before I know it. It is marked by large posts in the ground. The land is on a rolling hill, it is covered in long grass with trees scattered all around. We walk from post to post and I do my best to take pictures to describe the landscape. There is a dirt road that runs through the property. I find a tree in that is near the center of the land and I climb it to try and take pictures. It’s not very tall, but it helps me to see a little bit more.

Wish I had a pic of the whole tree, cause it wasn't that big.
It'd probably look funny that I decided to climb such a small tree!

We take one more break under the shad of a tree before making the trip back. It’s about 11:30 and the sun is so hot on my skin. We stop again in the same shaded area. Walking in sand dunes is no easy task. We wind our way back to town. I like to look down when I walk, so I looked up and saw this huge dune in front of us, we get to the top and sit to take a break. I hear a really faint pop. I sit for a second and then take off my sun glasses. The plastic below the lens had snapped. They are black sun glasses, I probably got them at Target for $10… it sounds crazy but I think the heat from the sun snapped my glasses!

A little bit of the rolling dune trail on our way home.

I’m just about out of water, I’m so thirsty but all I want is cold water. I joke with the guys that I’m so thirsty I’m thinking of cold water in Portuguese… “agua gelada, agua gelada, agua gelada!”

Luis tells me that from his house to the land is a little over a 3 mile walk, probably 4 miles from my hotel. I think years from now I will be telling my grandchildren about the walk in Ponta… up sand dunes both ways, in the intense heat of the African sun.

We make it back to town and I run into the store to buy a large bottle of water. The store is about half the size of a 7eleven, there is a counter for paying and other than there there are three freezers along the right wall. It's so hot here that fridges can't keep up with all the opening and closing but freezers do the job well. Above the freezers are shelves with warm beverages, I dig to the bottom of the freezer and find a frozen bottle of water. I sit on the porch of the store and I embrace the bottle of water. I melt enough to drink and can't describe how amazing this cold water is as it hits my mouth... it puts me in a daze. I drink a bit more and just sit staring out.

Three young girls approach the bar next to were I'm seated. They are probably about 7 years old. They hand a woman some money and she brings out a pitcher of water and fills one glass. Each girl takes a turn drinking the entire glass until the pitcher is empty. I notice they have a small bag of mangos. I wonder, "were they sent to town to buy mangos?" and "how far did they walk?" I'm encouraged that they understood the importance of water. As I sit and watch them, I can't help but wonder about their daily lives and what is normal to them.

Prayer Requests:
- I've been sick for the last 4 days. I think I had a coke with ice in it. I was feeling much better yesterday but then I think I got sick from the medication I was taking. I feel great right now, prayer that this feeling continues and I stay healthy! (Praise God it's not Malaria!)
- I'm still in Maputo. Doing my best to help Nunu as we try to file some important paperwork. It's very confusing and nothing is easy. Pray that God would open doors and give us grace and wisdom as we collect and file paperwork.

I'll try to post more, but it's been hard not feeling so well. I'd love to know who is reading my posts, so please shoot me a message or make a comment. Thanks for reading, praying and thinking of me... it all makes me feel so loved and supported!